Courtyard House: Purchasing Agents' Comeback from the Great Famine

The next day, early in the morning.

Today, Wang Feng was going back to Qin Family Village. Qin Jingru got up before dawn to make breakfast for him.

I made egg noodles for breakfast, and the three of us finished eating at 6:30 in the morning.

Wang Feng took forty catties of flour, ten catties of wild boar meat, three packs of Daqianmen liquor, and six bottles of Lianhua Baijiu from the kitchen, and tied them all to the back seat.

Qin Jingru was very pleased to see that Wang Feng had prepared so many things, but she still reminded him:

"Brother Wang Feng, my parents have plenty to eat and drink, is it really necessary to bring so much stuff back every time? Every time my parents see us bringing so much stuff back, they scold me, saying I don't know how to manage money or something."

Wang Feng waved his hand and explained with a smile, "Jingru, have you forgotten how I asked your uncles to deliver a wild boar to the steel mill when I went to Hong Kong last time? They are your own uncles, and they helped me so much last time, so we should show them the proper courtesy. Besides, our family doesn't lack these things."

Upon hearing this, Qin Jingru nodded: "I almost forgot about that. Brother Wang Feng, come back soon. I'll wait for you to come back tonight before I cook."

"Um."

Just as Wang Feng was about to leave, Lu Banxia called out to him, "Brother Feng, wait a minute."

"Banxia, ​​is there anything else?" Wang Feng asked.

Lu Banxia pursed her lips, seemingly wanting to say something but holding back.

Seeing this, Wang Feng urged, "Banxia, ​​tell me, what is it?"

Qin Jingru rolled her eyes: "Yeah, Banxia, ​​we're all family, what's there to be embarrassed about?"

Lu Banxia hesitated for a moment, feeling a little embarrassed:

"Brother Feng, it's like this, aren't you going to Qin Family Village? I remember Qin Family Village isn't far from Lu Family Village, right? When I fled to Lu Family Village before, it was Third Grandma who kindly helped me. Third Grandma passed away not long after, and in the end, Old Village Chief Uncle Lu also often helped me, otherwise I might have starved to death."

After a pause, Lu Banxia continued, "I'm doing well now, and you're on your way, so could you help me express my gratitude by giving Uncle Lu a hundred yuan? The harvest is bad these days, and Uncle Lu has a large family, so giving him some cornmeal would also be fine."

As she spoke, Lu Banxia took out a hundred yuan from her pocket and handed it to Wang Feng.

Wang Feng didn't take the hundred yuan; he nodded in satisfaction and smiled.

"Banxia, ​​it's good that you remember how Uncle Lu helped you during those difficult times. This shows you're grateful. Our family has plenty of money and food. We will definitely repay anyone who has been kind to us in the future. Don't worry, I will take good care of Uncle Lu's family in the future."

"Alright, it's getting late, I'm heading out. Don't worry, Banxia, ​​when I get to Qin Family Village, I'll send some money and provisions to Uncle Lu."

"Yes, Brother Feng, thank you."

Wang Feng smiled, said nothing, and pushed his bicycle out the door.

"Hey, Wang Feng, where are you going? All those bags and packages?"

"Hehe, I'm going back to my father-in-law's house. I heard they're almost out of food, so I'm bringing them some cornmeal."

Wang Feng smiled and responded to the people in the courtyard. He pushed his bicycle out of courtyard number 95, stepped hard on the pedal, and rode off towards Qinjiazhuang in Changping.

This time, he rode his bike alone, so he didn't need to ride slowly to wait for Qin Jingru. It only took him three hours to reach the entrance of Qinjiazhuang Village.

Wang Feng was quite familiar with the militiamen of Qin Family Village. He gave them two Daqianmen cigarettes and then entered the village.

This time, he didn't see any aunties chatting under the big tree at the village entrance. It's spring planting season now, so they're probably all in the fields earning work points.

When Wang Feng arrived at his father-in-law's house, he found the door tightly closed. Without asking, he knew that his parents-in-law must have gone to work in the fields.

Seeing this, he rode his bicycle towards the fields of Qin Family Village.

When Wang Feng arrived at the fields of Qin Family Village, he saw an endless expanse of fields and hundreds of people planting seeds together.

It's March now, the perfect time for wheat planting, but there are so many people and the area is so large that he hasn't seen his parents-in-law yet.

Wang Feng found an older man nearby, handed him a Daqianmen cigarette, and asked, "Sir, do you know where Qin Changyao and his wife work? I'm their son-in-law."

The old man took the cigarette, grinned, looked at Wang Feng, and said, "I remember you, you're Jingru's girl..."

Before the old man could finish speaking, Wang Feng interrupted, "Sir, Jingru is my wife. I've come back to Qin Family Village today to visit my father-in-law and mother-in-law. Do you know where they are?"

The old man shook his head: "I don't know, but I know the village chief is there. Isn't the village chief your second uncle? Just find him and ask him to go find the person."

"Alright, sir, take me to find my second uncle."

"Alright, come with me. From now on, don't call me 'Grandpa.' According to seniority, you should call me 'Third Uncle.'"

"Yes, yes, Third Uncle, you're smoking."

Wang Feng took out another Daqianmen cigarette and lit it for the old man. The old man grinned and led Wang Feng to a low-lying area.

Qin Changyi was discussing the digging of an irrigation canal with the commune cadres when Wang Feng saw him and shouted, "Second Uncle!"

Qin Changyi turned around and saw that it was Wang Feng. He quickly told the commune cadres and walked towards Wang Feng.

Wang Feng handed a door open and said, "Second Uncle, where are my parents? Could you ask them to come home? Also, Second Uncle, could you ask my eldest uncle and aunt to come to my parents' house for lunch later?"

"Okay, you go back and wait. I'll go and inform the third brother right away."

"Okay, thank you, Second Uncle."

Wang Feng thanked him and rode his bicycle back to his parents-in-law's house to wait.

He waited for a full twenty minutes, smoking four cigarettes in the process, before Qin's parents finally rushed back.

"Oh dear, Wang Feng, you didn't even tell us you were coming! Mom could have prepared in advance. Hey, where's Jingru? Why didn't she come?"

"Mom, let's talk about this later. Let's take the things inside first."

"Dad, come have a smoke."

"Um."

Wang Feng took out a Zhonghua cigarette and offered one to Qin's father. He didn't tell them about Jingru's pregnancy right away, otherwise they would have kept asking him questions. He also wanted to take advantage of the early hour to visit Lujia Village.

"Okay, let's go inside and talk. Wang Feng, how many times have I told you not to bring so much stuff every time you come? We have plenty to eat and drink. You don't even know how to be frugal. After you and Jingru have a child, there will be many expenses."

Wang Feng carried the bags and packages into the house, and his mother-in-law's mouth never stopped. However, Wang Feng did not feel annoyed. On the contrary, he felt quite warm. After all, his mother-in-law was doing it for his and Jingru's good.

"Dad, Mom, thank you for cooking lunch at home. I also invited my eldest uncle and second uncle over for lunch. I still have some things to take care of in Lujia Village. I'll be back before lunch."

"By the way, Mom and Dad, I have some good news to tell you when I get back."

After saying that, Wang Feng didn't give Qin's parents a chance to speak. He got on his bicycle and disappeared in a flash.