Courtyard House: Purchasing Agents' Comeback from the Great Famine

5:10 PM.

When Lu Banxia returned to Courtyard No. 28, the first thing she asked about was Wang Feng's ginseng and tiger bone wine. Tomorrow was her Aunt Li's birthday, and she couldn't help but worry.

Wang Feng gestured for Lu Banxia to sit down, poured her a cup of tea, and said with a smile:

"Banxia, ​​the ginseng and tiger bone wine is very effective. My son and I both drank it today. However, the effect is too strong. I was worried that your uncle and aunt's bodies could not handle it, so I mixed one bottle of ginseng and tiger bone wine with four bottles of ordinary white wine."

At this point, Wang Feng added with concern, "Banxia, ​​even if this ginseng and tiger bone wine has been adulterated, its effects are definitely not bad. I think you should not take the wine out openly tomorrow. Just let your uncle and aunt drink it secretly, otherwise they probably won't be able to drink more than a few cups."

"Okay, Brother Feng, I understand."

Lu Banxia nodded. Her Uncle Li was now a major general, and there would definitely be many people celebrating Aunt Li's birthday tomorrow. If she took this out, she estimated that not everyone would get a cup. Moreover, after those people experienced the effects of this wine, they would definitely ask her about the origin of the ginseng and tiger bone wine, which would bring her a lot of trouble.

Qin Jingru took a sip of tea and said with a smile, "Isn't that simple? Tomorrow, Banxia can go buy a couple of clothes and some pastries. That'll be enough to give them out. Once the other guests have left, we can bring out the ginseng and tiger bone wine, right? By the way, meat is scarce these days, so Banxia can also take a pheasant and a rabbit, and a fish too. That way, it won't seem so shabby, will it?"

"Yes, thank you, Sister Jingru," Lu Banxia said gratefully.

Qin Jingru waved her hand: "No need to thank me, we're all family. Besides, we have so much meat at home, we can't possibly eat it all."

"Okay, Sister Jingru, you two have some tea first. I'll go cook with Sister Xiao'e."

"Go."

In the evening, Lu Banxia and Lou Xiao'e cooked two dishes, both of which were vegetarian: stir-fried green peppers with winter bamboo shoots and hot and sour shredded potatoes. Everyone was just not very hungry today and didn't want to eat meat.

During dinner, Wang Feng took out the mixed ginseng and tiger bone wine and let Lu Banxia have a few cups as well.

After a few drinks, Lu Banxia felt much more energetic, but not as much as Lou Xiao'e at noon. At noon, Lou Xiao'e drank half a jin of ginseng and tiger bone wine and felt full of energy, even her strength had increased.

After Wang Feng told Lu Banxia about Lou Xiao'e's condition at noon, Lu Banxia suddenly realized what was going on. Lou Xiao'e, who was listening from the side, blushed and rolled her eyes.

After finishing their meal and taking a shower, the four of them went to bed.

In the past few days, Lu Banxia has been visiting. She is sleeping in a separate room with Qin Jingru, while Wang Feng continues his physical battle with Lou Xiao'e.

......

Early the next morning.

After the four finished breakfast, Lu Banxia took the two bottles of ginseng and tiger bone wine that Wang Feng had prepared in advance, along with a pheasant, a rabbit, and a fish, and pushed her bicycle out the door.

Wang Feng, Qin Jingru, and the other two had nothing to do, so they sat in the house drinking tea and playing chess. The three of them would give way to whoever lost, but Wang Feng didn't give them any leeway and directly defeated them, which made Qin Jingru and Lou Xiao'e grit their teeth in hatred.

Wang Feng and Qin Jingru don't plan to go back to Courtyard No. 95 today. Yan Jiecheng just died, and who knows if they will be assigned to work if they go back.

......

at the same time.

In a slightly dilapidated room at No. 46 Mao'er Hutong, a middle-aged woman's eyes were swollen from crying.

Ma Hua rushed home, panting, and urgently said to the middle-aged woman:

"Mom, I just asked Er Gou and Xiangzi, and they said they haven't seen Qiangzi these past few days."

Upon hearing this, Ma Hua's mother burst into tears, sobbing uncontrollably as she said:

"Where did Qiangzi go? It's been several days now. He's never stayed out all night before!"

Seeing his mother's worried and crying face, Ma Hua's expression turned very ugly. If his younger brother Ma Qiang came back, he would definitely give him a good scolding.

"Sigh, I hope Qiangzi can come back." Ma Hua sighed inwardly.

With a sigh, Ma Hua patted his mother on the back and comforted her:

"Mom, Qiangzi is probably having too much fun with his friends. He'll probably come back in a couple of days when he's had enough, so don't worry about him."

Ma Hua's mother wiped away her tears and choked out, "Hua Zi, don't try to comfort me. It's been so many days, and Qiangzi hasn't been seen alive or dead. Something must have happened to him. Hasn't the police heard anything? Has Li Wei still not been found?"

Ma Hua shook his head and sighed deeply: "The police told us to wait for news at home, and that they would notify us when there was news. There's no news from Li Wei either, and his parents are still looking for him."

"Why."

With tears in her eyes, Ma Hua's mother said remorsefully, "It's all my fault. I didn't take good care of Qiangzi. If something had happened to him, how could I face your deceased father?"

Ma Hua wanted to comfort his mother, but then he heard her sigh deeply.

"Qiangzi has never been a good student. He just hangs out with a bunch of bad kids all day. Hua Zi, you don't need to comfort your mother. I know something must have happened to Qiangzi. Otherwise, he wouldn't have stayed away from home for so many days."

Upon hearing this, Ma Hua felt very guilty. His younger brother had been disobedient since childhood, and he didn't know how many times he had beaten him, but the younger brother just wouldn't listen, and there was nothing he could do.

He hasn't gone to the countryside to buy supplies these past few days. He's been busy inquiring about Ma Qiang's whereabouts. His younger brother is missing, and he and his mother are extremely worried. They have no mood to go shopping.

Ma Hua's mother cried for a long time, until she was exhausted, and then said to Ma Hua:

"Hua Zi, you should go to work. Qiang Zi may never come back. We've asked and asked everything we could. Waiting at home isn't going to help. You have your own things to do. Mom can wait at home by herself."

Upon hearing this, Ma Hua nodded helplessly. His younger brother was missing, but they still had to continue living. Judging from the situation, Ma Qiang and Li Wei probably wouldn't be coming back.

He's already wasted several days, and if he doesn't go to the countryside to make purchases soon, he might not be able to complete his purchasing task for this month.

Ma Hua sighed helplessly: "Mom, don't worry too much. Rest well at home. While it's still not too late, I'll go to my uncle's place in the countryside to see if I can buy some supplies."

"Hua Zi, you should go quickly."

Ma Hua nodded, opened the door, pushed his bicycle, and left the yard.

Ma Hua is unaware that Wang Feng is the murderer who killed his brother. If he finds out, it's uncertain whether Ma Hua will seek revenge on Wang Feng.

Not only was Ma Hua unaware of this, but even Wang Feng was unaware that one of the two teenagers was actually Ma Hua's younger brother. However, even if he had known, he would not have hesitated to kill him.

Those two teenagers had crossed Wang Feng's bottom line; they wanted to harm his wife and children. No matter their identity or their reasons, he would kill them without hesitation.