Courtyard House: Purchasing Agents' Comeback from the Great Famine

After putting down the ingredients, Wang Feng went out again without stopping, but this time he didn't ride a bicycle.

Less than twenty minutes later, Wang Feng returned to courtyard number 28, pulling a cart.

The cart had a large iron pot and a large steamer, as well as a lot of side dishes and miscellaneous items.

There was still a lot to prepare, and it would take several cartloads to get enough. After unloading the goods, he went outside to haul more.

The cart was taken out of his spatial storage. Apart from the seasonings he needed to buy, everything else in his space was complete. After all, he had done it once before, and he had collected so many supplies in his previous life that he basically had nothing in his space now.

Wang Feng kept bringing back supplies and tools to Courtyard No. 28. Lou Xiao'e and Lu Banxia also began preparing ingredients in full swing, some killing chickens and others cutting meat. Qin Jingru, on the other hand, was quite idle and occasionally handed knives to Lu Banxia and the others.

After hauling four large cartloads of supplies and tools to Courtyard No. 28 and buying a large amount of seasonings, Wang Feng finally had everything he needed.

Fortunately, the first time he brought back meat by bicycle, he used a large sack so that outsiders couldn't see it. When he brought back rice and flour by cart, he also covered them with a tattered cloth. Otherwise, if passersby had seen him carrying so much grain and meat, they would have called the police to arrest him.

Lou Xiao'e and Lu Banxia built a total of four stoves: one for cooking rice, one for steaming white flour buns, and the remaining two for stir-frying large pots of vegetables.

There was no other way; the yard was only so big, and setting up four stoves was already the limit. Fortunately, there were two coal stoves in the kitchen, which could also be used to boil water.

Lou Xiao'e and Lu Banxia were busy as bees. Wang Feng wasn't familiar with cooking and could only offer limited help. Besides, he disliked cooking the most.

In his past life, he was an old bachelor. He was a lone wolf who never had to worry about anyone. He often ordered takeout, or if he was going to cook, he would only make one dish, but the portion was enough to last him a day or two. If he couldn't finish it in one meal, he would just reheat it and continue eating. That was the simple and unpretentious life of an old bachelor.

Seeing that he couldn't help much, Wang Feng simply stopped trying. Qin Jingru brewed a pot of tea, and the two of them sat in the courtyard drinking tea, watching Lou Xiao'e and Lu Banxia busy themselves. Qin Jingru would occasionally hand them things and give them pointers on what to do next.

In terms of cooking, Qin Jingru is better than the other two, especially when it comes to making large-pot dishes. Lu Banxia has no experience at all, while Qin Jingru sometimes makes large-pot dishes at the steel rolling mill and is quite skilled in this area.

In one morning, we cooked 100 jin of rice, 100 jin of steamed buns, and 100 jin of braised pork. We haven't started cooking anything else yet.

It was such a waste of time to kill and pluck chickens; it took the two of them more than three hours just to process thirty roosters.

Lou Xiao'e didn't even cook lunch at noon, since there was already rice and braised pork on hand. After eating, she continued working.

After the two women finished cooking, Wang Feng, while the food was still warm, filled a large bucket with it, placed it on a cart, covered it with a cloth, and then pulled the cart away from courtyard number 28.

However, the aroma of the food was so strong that he immediately went into a secluded alley as soon as he stepped out. When he found that no one was paying attention to him, he put the food into his spatial storage.

In the afternoon, Lou Xiao'e and Lu Banxia worked much faster. In the morning, they had already slaughtered thirty roosters, and the mutton and beef did not need much processing. By 4:30 pm, they had cooked 100 catties of Kung Pao Chicken, 100 catties of stir-fried mutton with scallions, and 100 catties of spiced beef. They had even cooked 100 catties of rice and 100 catties of steamed buns.

After the four of them finished their simple dinner, Wang Feng took the food away.

When he returned to courtyard number 28 with his cart, he checked the time and it was already 5 p.m. Wang Feng said to the girls:

"That's all for today. Everyone must be tired after a long day. Get some rest and we'll come back tomorrow morning."

"Um."

Lou Xiao'e wiped the sweat from her forehead and didn't complain. Wang Feng had been so good to her, saved her parents' lives, and helped them so much. She was very happy to be able to do something for Wang Feng now.

Lu Banxia didn't say much. Although she came from a capitalist family, she was now with Wang Feng. As long as she could help Wang Feng, she would definitely do her best.

Qin Jingru looked at the chicken innards, heads, and tails in the large basin, which weighed at least thirty or forty pounds, and said directly to Wang Feng:

"Brother Wang Feng, it's a shame to throw away these chicken heads, tails, and innards. Let's take them back to Aunt Wu. She can add more salt and then air-dry them, so Aunt Wu and Ya Ya can eat them for a long time."

Wang Feng nodded: "Okay, we'll take it back to Aunt Wu."

As he spoke, Wang Feng poured the chicken head, tail, and internal organs into a bucket, then covered the bucket with a burlap sack, and pushed his bicycle away from No. 28 courtyard with Qin Jingru.

On the way back to Courtyard No. 95, Qin Jingru sat in the back seat, and Wang Feng said:

"Jingru, when you give these things to Aunt Wu later, don't let outsiders see them. Let her secretly handle them at home. Tell her there will be rabbit and goose innards tomorrow. If all else fails, have her take a day or two off to handle these things. It's hot now, and these things will spoil if left for a day."

Qin Jingru nodded her head: "Brother Wang Feng, don't worry, I'm very good at handling these ingredients. I'll teach Aunt Wu how to do it later."

"That's fine then."

The two returned to courtyard number 95. Wang Feng and Qin Jingru had just stopped their bicycles when they saw Qin Huairu walking back from outside. Judging from Qin Huairu's appearance, she seemed to have dressed up specially, especially her hair, which was styled into two ponytails, making her look younger and prettier than before.

"Jingru, Wang Feng, where have you been? Why are you carrying such a big bucket back? What's in it?" Qin Huairu asked with a smile.

"It's nothing."

Qin Jingru replied coldly, picked up the bucket, and walked towards Aunt Wu's house.

Wang Feng was too lazy to talk to Qin Huairu and pushed his bicycle toward the Intermediate People's Court.

Seeing this, Qin Huairu sighed deeply in her heart, her eyes filled with loneliness.

It seems that she has completely severed ties with the Qin family village.

Fortunately, Li Huaide is treating her very well now, otherwise she really wouldn't be able to survive.

Today she went to Mao'er Hutong to meet Li Huaide again. Li Huaide gave her another twenty yuan and a piece of cured meat. She could save the money and cook meat for Banggeng tonight.