Courtyard House: Purchasing Agents' Comeback from the Great Famine

5:30 p.m.

Wang Feng pushed his bicycle back to courtyard number 95, his backpack still containing some pork and mutton.

As he walked, he thought about what he had accomplished that day.

This morning I went treasure hunting in the moat. In less than three hours, I searched the entire moat, but the harvest was not very good. All in all, I only found about 600 jin of gold.

There were quite a few other miscellaneous items, but they weren't of much use to him.

He had lunch at Lou Xiao'e's place at noon, and then went to Ninth Master's place in the afternoon to learn traditional Chinese medicine. His schedule was packed.

Back at the Central Courtyard, Qin Jingru and Lu Banxia were already back. He parked his bicycle and went inside.

"Brother Wang Feng, you're back."

When Qin Jingru saw Wang Feng, she untied the backpack on his back and smiled sweetly.

Wang Feng smiled slightly: "Jingru, there are two catties of pork and two catties of mutton in the bag. There should be no vegetables at home today, right? Go and cook the meat, and save half for tomorrow."

"OK."

Qin Jingru opened her backpack, took out the meat wrapped in oil paper, and said with a smile:

"Brother Wang Feng, please sit down and have some tea. I'll go cook now."

"Okay, go ahead."

......

Just as Wang Feng was sitting in the house drinking tea, He Daqing brought He Yushui back to courtyard number 95.

Now, He Daqing has changed into a Zhongshan suit and is wearing shiny leather shoes. Even if you don't look closely when he walks, you can't tell that his leg is a little lame.

As soon as the two arrived in the front yard, they saw Yan Fugui watering the flowers. Yan Fugui also happened to see He Daqing, and he quickly walked over and asked:

"Old He, where have you been all this time? Everyone said you were back, but you left again without even going inside. I thought you went back to Baoding. So, this time you're back and won't leave again, right?"

He Daqing laughed and took out a bottle of Daqianmen cigarettes from his pocket and handed it over.

"Old Yan, come have a smoke. I'm just going to the hospital to see Sha Zhu. He's so badly injured, as his father, I have to go to the hospital to keep an eye on him. I'm planning to find some work in Beijing this time, and I won't leave again after I come back."

Yan Fugui took the cigarette but couldn't bear to smoke it, so he tucked it behind his ear, then sighed and said:

"It's good that you're back, it's good that you're back. Sha Zhu has had a really bad time lately. He just went out to prepare a banquet and still ran into thugs. Old He, how's Sha Zhu now? Is his injury still not healed?"

He Daqing also sighed: "It's not a big problem. He'll be able to be discharged from the hospital in a while."

Upon hearing this, Yan Fugui nodded: "That's good."

"Old Yan, Yu Shui and I are going back first. There's still a lot of stuff to do at home."

"Alright, you guys go back now."

Watching He Daqing and He Yushui's retreating figures, Yan Fugui shook his head and sighed, muttering to himself, "This courtyard is going to be lively again."

He Daqing returned to the Intermediate People's Court and encountered many people from the court along the way, to whom he responded with a smile.

He Yushui took out her key and opened the door. He Daqing saw the messy state of Sha Zhu's room and didn't know what to say.

"Rain, the coal at home has gone out. Go to Wang Feng's house and get a new one. Dad will cook you something delicious later."

"Okay, Dad."

He Yushui agreed, picked up a fresh piece of coal from the kitchen, and headed towards Wang Feng's house.

Wang Feng's house was not closed. As soon as she arrived at Wang Feng's door, she saw Wang Feng and Lu Banxia sitting inside drinking tea.

"Brother Wang Feng, Sister Banxia."

He Yushui walked into Wang Feng's house and greeted him with a smile.

"Hello, Rain Water. Have you eaten yet?" Lu Banxia asked with a smile.

He Yushui replied with a smile, "Not yet, my dad is back, and he said he'll cook something delicious for me later."

Seeing He Yushui carrying a piece of coal, Wang Feng asked, "Yushui, did your coal go out?"

He Yushui nodded: "Yeah, I haven't been back to the hospital for the past two days. Brother Wang Feng, could you help me change the coal?"

"become."

As he spoke, Wang Feng shouted towards the kitchen, "Jingru, come out here for a second."

Qin Jingru, who was cooking in the kitchen, heard Wang Feng's call and quickly came out of the kitchen.

"Jingru, Yushui's coal has gone out. Go and get her a new one."

"OK."

Qin Jingru smiled and nodded in agreement, taking the iron clamp from He Yushui's hand: "Yushui, wait for me a moment, I'll go change the coal for you right away."

"Okay, thank you, Sister Jingru."

Soon, Qin Jingru brought over a burning coal and handed it to He Yushui, smiling:

"Here, rainwater. Be careful not to get burned."

"Okay, thank you, Sister-in-law Jingru, Brother Wang Feng, Sister Banxia. I'll head back now."

He Yushui took the coal, smiled slightly at Wang Feng and the others, and then turned and walked out the door.

"Go."

Looking at He Yushui's thin figure, Qin Jingru sighed, "I wonder if He Daqing's return will be good or bad for Yushui."

Wang Feng took a sip of tea and smiled, "It should be good. No matter what He Daqing does, he won't treat Yu Shui too badly, after all, Yu Shui is his own daughter."

"Jingru, hurry up and cook, it's almost six o'clock."

"Okay, Brother Wang Feng, I'll go right away."

Qin Jingru agreed and went back to the kitchen.

Soon, a strong aroma of Chinese medicine wafted from the kitchen.

Wang Feng and Lu Banxia were already used to the smell, but the other residents of the Central Courtyard were annoyed. Every few days, he would brew Chinese medicine during meals, and the residents of the Central Courtyard had long been cursing Wang Feng in their hearts.

But they had no choice; they dared not offend Wang Feng, who was not only a skilled fighter but also the only cadre in the institute.

As for Qin Jingru, they dared not offend her even more. Almost every household in the compound had someone working at the steel mill, and Qin Jingru was the head chef in the canteen, serving meals to guests. If they offended Qin Jingru, they would definitely go hungry.

Moreover, it's not illegal for people to brew traditional Chinese medicine at home, so even if they try to reason with them, they have nowhere to turn and can only accept their bad luck.

In just over half an hour, Qin Jingru had prepared the dishes and served them on the table.

Today she made braised pork and stir-fried mutton with scallions. She made one pound of braised pork and one pound of mutton, and will use the rest to make more tomorrow.

"Brother Wang Feng, Banxia, ​​dinner's ready."

Qin Jingru served Wang Feng a large bowl of rice and a piece of braised pork, and the three of them began to eat.

Wang Feng picked up some meat from his bowl and put it in his mouth. He then looked at Qin Jingru and asked, "Jingru, the cafeteria offered a 'bitter memories' meal today. Did any workers cause trouble?"

Qin Jingru smiled and shook her head: "No, this Factory Director Li is quite adept at handling things. He had banners put up in the three canteens, and he even brought a group of leaders to the canteens to eat 'bitter memories' meals. He also explained some of his unavoidable hardships. Even if the workers were angry, seeing that their leaders were eating 'bitter memories' meals like them, what else could they say?"

Wang Feng smiled and nodded: "That's fine then."