Courtyard House: Purchasing Agents' Comeback from the Great Famine

The next day, early in the morning.

After finishing the noodles Qin Jingru cooked, and after Lu Banxia went to work, Wang Feng rode his bicycle to No. 68 Dongzhimen Courtyard.

He had forgotten yesterday that the other four men all had wives and children. Luckily, he didn't go to Qinghe Farm to rescue them last night, otherwise their wives and children would definitely be under surveillance, which would have caused a lot more trouble.

When Wang Feng arrived at the gate of courtyard number 68 and saw that no one was around, he took out a large bag of flour, a dozen kilograms of pork and a dozen kilograms of mutton from his spatial storage, four pheasants, four rabbits, and four fish, as well as several dozen kilograms of potatoes and cabbage. Then he knocked on the door.

"Knock knock knock".

Wang Jiu was sitting inside reading a book when he heard a knock at the door. He quickly went to the door and asked warily:

"Who?"

"Ninth Master, it's me."

Upon hearing Wang Feng's voice, Wang Jiu quickly opened the door and respectfully said:

"Young Master."

Wang Feng nodded, pushed the bicycle into the yard, closed the gate, and said to Wang Jiu:

"Ninth Master, I have 100 catties of flour, some meat and vegetables in my cart. There are also pheasants, rabbits and fish here. You can take them and raise them for now. We'll kill them when we want to eat them."

"Yes, young master."

Wang Jiu didn't ask any more questions, took the pheasant, rabbit, and fish, and went back to the house.

After a while, he came over again, took the flour and vegetables to the kitchen, and then returned to the main room to pour Wang Feng a cup of tea.

Wang Feng took a sip of tea, looked at Wang Jiu, and asked, "Are you wondering why we brought so much grain and vegetables?"

Wang Jiu stood respectfully to the side and nodded, saying, "I believe that Young Master must have his reasons for doing this."

Wang Feng waved his hand: "Alright, I forgot to ask you yesterday where the families of the five of them are. If I rescue them this time, the police will definitely monitor their families. If I want to take them to Hong Kong Island, it will cause a lot more trouble."

After a pause, Wang Feng continued, "So bringing their families here first is the best option. Once the two months are up, I will send you all to Hong Kong Island."

Upon hearing this, Wang Jiu slapped his forehead, suddenly realizing what was happening. He then knelt down and kowtowed three times to Wang Feng.

"Young Master, please forgive me. I didn't think things through and almost ruined everything."

Wang Feng raised his right hand in a gesture: "Get up. This is not your fault. I almost forgot about it yesterday. First, tell me the addresses of the families of the five people, including the second brother."

"Yes."

Wang Jiu stood up and gave a detailed account of the addresses of the families of the five men, including the second brother.

Upon hearing that the five people's families all lived in the same courtyard, and that the courtyard only contained their families and no outsiders, Wang Feng's eyes lit up.

He had been thinking about how to bring the families of the five of them over. He didn't know anyone there. If they lived in a courtyard like No. 95, he would have to ask people for directions during the day. If the second brother and the others escaped from prison, the police could easily trace it back to him.

This is for the best. They all live in the same courtyard. He can simply bring them to his space at night while masked. No matter how much they investigate, they won't be able to trace it back to him.

"Ninth Master, please tidy up the room today. I will bring the Second Brother's family over by tomorrow at the latest. When they arrive at the courtyard, please explain the rules here clearly. They are absolutely not allowed to go out during this period. If they need anything, just tell me."

Wang Jiu patted his chest loudly, "Young Master, rest assured, if anything happens to them during this time, I'll offer my head in retribution."

Wang Jiu was aware of the gravity of the situation. Once the second brother and the others were rescued by Young Master Wang Feng, the police would definitely search for their families. Once they left the house, their small courtyard would be exposed, and they would all be arrested.

Hearing Wang Jiu's assurance, Wang Feng nodded: "Okay, then you go and tidy up the room, I'll be going now."

"Young master, please take care."

After seeing Wang Feng off, Wang Jiu felt a mix of emotions, including some self-reproach.

Young Master Wang Feng has been busy taking care of them, always thinking of them, and even taking such a big risk for them. He can only repay Young Master Wang Feng with his life in the future.

Fortunately, Young Master Wang Feng thought of the second brother's family, otherwise he would have made a huge mistake. If the second brother's family could not be reunited because he did not remind Wang Feng, he would never be able to forgive himself for the rest of his life.

He sighed. It seemed that he would have to be more cautious and meticulous when helping Young Master Wang Feng with his affairs in the future. He had to think three steps ahead for every one step he took in order to avoid making mistakes and causing significant losses.

After leaving courtyard number 68, Wang Feng checked the time; it was only a little before nine in the morning. Bored, he went to courtyard number 28 to cause trouble.

......

Noon, at the steel rolling mill.

After getting off work, Qin Huairu went to the third canteen for lunch. This time, she did not queue at Liu Lan's serving window, but instead queued at Aunt Wu's serving window.

Aunt Wu and she lived in the same courtyard. Although her family had some minor conflicts with Aunt Wu in the past, it shouldn't be necessary for her to be the one to cook for her.

She had been Aunt Wu's neighbor in the courtyard for eight years. Although Aunt Wu's family was poor, she was a good person and kind to others.

However, if Jingru instructs her to flip the wok, then there's nothing to say, and Aunt Wu will definitely do as she's told.

After waiting in line for about five minutes, it was finally her turn.

Qin Huairu handed the money to Aunt Wu and said with a smile, "Aunt Wu, I'd like two cornbread buns and a serving of cabbage."

"Wait."

Aunt Wu took the money and said something expressionlessly, then selected two of the smallest steamed buns and put them into Qin Huairu's lunchbox.

Then, she scooped out another spoonful of cabbage. When the cabbage was first scooped out, the spoonful was full, but her hand was shaking as if she had Parkinson's disease. By the time the spoonful reached Qin Huairu's lunchbox, the whole spoonful of cabbage had been reduced to some soupy liquid, and even the cabbage leaves were reduced to just two pieces.

Aunt Wu only started serving food a week ago. On her first day serving food in the kitchen, Jingru and Liu Lan taught her how to flip the wok and said that anyone who dared to offend the people in the kitchen would go hungry.

Qin Huairu saw two cornbread buns in the lunchbox, which together didn't even make a big one, and only two cabbage leaves were left, with the rest being soup.

She frowned at Aunt Wu and asked, "Aunt Wu, we're all neighbors in the same courtyard. Although we had some misunderstandings with you before, didn't we compensate you with the sewing machine afterwards? You don't need to toss the wok for me, do you?"

"Clang clang clang".

Aunt Wu banged the vegetable bowl with a ladle, making a "clang, clang, clang" sound, and pointed the ladle at Qin Huairu, shouting:

"Qin Huairu, who flipped the wok for you? That's how we serve food in our cafeteria. Sometimes there's more, sometimes less. We serve so many people every day. If we had to serve the same amount every time, how could we possibly keep up?"