Courtyard houses: Those who are capable are rewarded, and many children bring many blessings.

Big Bear scratched his head and said in a simple and honest way, "Brother, it's not as expensive as you think. This official's hat chair that you like only cost five yuan."

"How much?" Niu Dazhuang thought it was cheap, but he didn't expect it to be so cheap. Could it be that he had run into a spendthrift who knew nothing?

"Five yuan, of course not all of them are like that. These screens are much more expensive, five yuan each. I thought the porcelain flowers on the screens were nice, so I gritted my teeth and bought them all."

"Even at this price, a hundred definitely won't be enough!"

"Hehe, that's not enough. We were all tricked out of our wages last month by that kid Da Xiong to buy all this. Also, the furniture that Grandpa uses, Grandpa paid for it." Da Yu said while observing Niu Dazhuang's facial expression. If his boss got angry, running away would be the most important thing.

Niu Dazhuang, a master at ripping off the old man, not only wasn't angry, but even praised him. "Whose idea was this? Not bad. Next time you collect good stuff, sell it to the old man at a high price." This time, Niu Dazhuang pulled out about five or six hundred yuan and gave it all to Da Xiong.

"From now on, stop collecting furniture that's missing parts or brackets. Instead, focus on collecting the better pieces, especially those made of rosewood or huanghuali. You can also collect some chicken wing wood, but the main focus should still be on rosewood and huanghuali."

"Brother, I know a family who has an eight-step bed and wants to replace it with a new set of pine furniture. I thought the price was too high, so I didn't dare to agree."

Niu Dazhuang patted Da Xiong's head: "Haha, change it, change it right away. As long as you've got your eye on it, take all the big cabinets you can find. Come back every two weeks from now on. Sometimes you can't come over, just leave a message for your sister-in-law. When you're free in the evenings, tidy up all the furniture, buy some wax to maintain it, and if anything's missing, get a repairman to fix it."

"Brother, if we use all this money to buy furniture, we probably won't have enough room at home," Big Bear raised a very practical question.

You all pick out all the intact rosewood and huanghuali furniture first, and I'll have someone take them away next time we come back. Niu Dazhuang walked out of the room, tilted his head to look at the porcelain under the eaves, and casually picked up a piece.

Niu Dazhuang genuinely didn't understand; the debt was from the Daoguang era. "Also, rinse these porcelain pieces with clean water," he said, pulling out another hundred yuan.

"This money is to supplement your wages. Use the extra to treat yourselves to something nice. I won't be going with you."

The three brothers didn't refuse and happily accepted it.

Upon entering the main house in the front yard, the old man was sitting in a grand chair, smoking a pipe and looking at Niu Dazhuang with a cheerful expression.

"I heard you brought both of your sisters-in-law to live with you? You better watch out, lest you end up with more grandchildren than I have and get yourself into trouble."

Niu Dazhuang doesn't smoke a pipe anymore, but seeing the old man puffing away, he got a little itchy to try it himself. He took the old man's pipe, tore off a strip of paper, and rolled up a cigarette.

"Grandpa, I know what I'm doing. I'll give you lots of grandsons, so don't find it troublesome."

I think you and Aunt Zhao should just move out. We have plenty of space now!

"I don't care about your business, and you shouldn't interfere in mine. Maybe one day when you come back, you'll be able to eat some scallion pancakes made by Chunni."

"Ahem... Sir, what's Aunt Zhao's name?"

Grandpa Niu glared at Niu Dazhuang with annoyance, his posture suggesting that if Niu Dazhuang uttered any disrespectful words, he would be in for a beating.

"Zhao Chunni, what's wrong!"

"Nothing's wrong, everything's fine, everything's fine."

"Hmph! Everyone was young once. Back in the day, Chunni was just as good as your wife! But that's... never mind, why am I telling you all this? You've seen her, go do what you need to do!"

"Oh, I know someone at the Mentougou coal mine. You won't need to buy coal for the winter anymore."

"Don't be so pretentious, kid. You have coal briquettes to burn, but you insist on burning smokeless coal."

"Hehe, the smokeless coal I bought isn't more expensive than the coal briquettes you bought, so why insist on burning coal briquettes? Don't worry about it. Dayong, have the coal delivery person come over in two days..."

Before Niu Dazhuang could say anything to me, Dayong said, "Brother, we know, let's make some arrangements for your wife."

"Your three brothers are much better than you. They haven't shown their faces for over a month, and they've been taking care of all the housework. They come to visit you whenever they have time. You can't let them suffer."

"Don't worry, sir, I consider them my own brothers. I'm leaving now."

For people in the north, the most important thing before winter is to stock up on supplies for the winter. The most important of these supplies is heating materials, such as firewood, rice, oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, and tea. There's a reason why firewood is listed first.

Families with better financial conditions would prepare all the coal briquettes they needed for the winter at once, while those with poorer conditions would buy them basket by basket.

Another important storage commodity was winter-stored Chinese cabbage. By the 1980s, storing Chinese cabbage for winter was also a key task for the government. Even a penny increase in the price of winter-stored Chinese cabbage would make the news.

"You're like a rabbit, you can't stay still, get out of here!" That was the mentality of the old people back then. They didn't care when they came, but when they did, they had a stern face.

Niu Dazhuang also wanted to spend more time with the old man, but time was short and the task was heavy. There was a pregnant woman in the alley ahead, and a player with the number eight was waiting for him.

The more body hair a woman has, the greater her sexual desire becomes. Niu Dazhuang was genuinely afraid that this woman would cheat on him.

Ye Chunmei and Ye Chunlan are stronger than Xu Huizhen, Chen Xueru, and Lin Yongmei.

If we're talking about the best, then the Ye sisters are the real gems. One has a blank tile, and the other has an eight of bamboo. The visual impact of the black and white contrast alone is top-notch...

Ye Chunmei is now more than five months pregnant, and her belly is getting bigger. We need to take good care of her.

I'll sleep here tonight.

The next day, Niu Dazhuang got up early; there was a young woman in the courtyard waiting for him to appease her.

When Niu Dazhuang arrived at the west courtyard, Su Ting was combing Xiao Qinling's hair.

"Big brother, it's been so long since I've seen you! Don't you like playing with me anymore?"

"I love it! I love playing with Xiaoling the most. Big brother has to go to work. He went to the countryside for a while, but he came back as soon as he got back."

"Oh, I see. It's a pity I have to go to school today. How about we play together when I get home from school?"

"Maybe I'll have to leave around the Lunar New Year. I might have to leave today."

After combing Xiao Qinling's hair, Su Ting gave her five cents: "Have breakfast outside."

Little Qinling, carrying her schoolbag, happily went to school.

"Why didn't you come last night?" Su Ting asked.

"Your sister told you?"

"My sister is back too? I heard them talking about it last night. I thought..." Su Ting's expression darkened considerably.

"I had something to do last night and wasn't home."

"That's a pity, I have to go to work now. Maybe next time!"

"Well, I just came to check on you and see if there's anything I can do for you."

"Do you want others to not know our relationship? No need, someone will help me with the work. If you don't have anything important to do, just leave. Don't come over during the day unless you have a very good reason." Su Ting was still very careful.