Courtyard House: Purchasing Agents' Comeback from the Great Famine

Not long after He Yushui left, Wang Feng saw a group of children going from house to house to wish people a Happy New Year. Led by a ten-year-old child, dozens of children marched from the front yard to the middle yard in a grand procession.

Even Banggeng and Xiaodang followed the group this time. Banggeng originally wanted to do the same as last year, but his mother warned him before he left, so he obediently followed the group to pay New Year's visits.

Seeing this, Wang Feng smiled. Such a scene was rarely seen in later generations. He drank tea and smoked cigarettes, watching as the group of children arrived at Sha Zhu's house.

These children won't be coming to their house. They've already given them all the peanuts, candies, and red envelopes they were entitled to, so the children have already paid their respects for the New Year.

Soon, He Daqing brought out a large pile of peanuts, melon seeds, and fruit candies from his home. He gave some to each of them and then gave each of them a red envelope. Only then did the group of children head to another house.

Wang Feng sat at the doorway, drank a pot of tea, then moved the table, chairs, and benches back inside. He came into the room and said to Qin Jingru:

"Jingru, I'm going to your master's house to pay a New Year's visit later at noon. You should rest well at home. After you finish your postpartum confinement, you can bring the baby over for your master to see."

Hearing that she was going to her master's house, Qin Jingru really wanted to go, but she still nodded in agreement.

"Okay, Brother Wang Feng, do we have any more ginseng and tiger bone wine? If so, could you take two bottles to my master and mistress? My master cooks all year round, and Wu Yun told him that his arms sometimes hurt."

Wang Feng nodded: "Okay, I'll bring two bottles over later. Banxia should be back before lunch. Don't cook, just let her cook when she gets back."

"Okay, Brother Wang Feng, I understand," Qin Jingru said sweetly.

After explaining things to Qin Jingru, Wang Feng took a lot of things from the house, including cigarettes, alcohol, meat, and two bottles of ginseng and tiger bone wine. Then he pushed his bicycle out the door.

"Wang Feng, Happy New Year!"

"Wang Feng, Happy New Year! Oh, all those bags and packages you're carrying, whose house are you visiting for the New Year?"

"Hehe, Uncle Zhang, Happy New Year! I'm just taking advantage of the holiday to visit my elders and wish them a Happy New Year. Come on, Uncle Zhang, have a smoke."

As Wang Feng walked from the middle courtyard to the front courtyard, he encountered many people from the courtyard. They greeted him as soon as they met, and Wang Feng responded with a smile, even offering them cigarettes.

Today is the first day of the Lunar New Year. If you don't watch your mouth and say something unlucky, people will blame you for any bad luck they have in the year. Generally speaking, unless you have a real grudge, you won't go too far on this day. After all, everyone wants to have good luck.

Wang Feng went to Qin Family Village on the first day of the Lunar New Year last year, but now that Qin Jingru has just given birth, it's not very convenient for her, and Lu Banxia hasn't returned yet, so he doesn't dare to go far.

After visiting Master Qin Jingru's house to offer New Year's greetings today, it's the same as going to Qin Family Village tomorrow.

When Wang Feng arrived at Qin Jingru's master Wu Jing's house, he was surprised to find a large group of people there, seven or eight in total, all of whom were Wu Jing's apprentices.

He spread the cigarettes around, and after Wu Jing's introduction, everyone knew that this was Qin Jingru's man, and they were all very polite to him.

When Wang Feng revealed that Qin Jingru had given birth to a son for him, Wu Jing, Aunt Wu, and Wu Yun were all very excited. Wu Yun especially wanted to go to Wang Feng's house to see the child right away.

In the end, Wang Feng said that Qin Jingru was home alone and there was no one to entertain her, so Wu Yun gave up. However, Wu Yun also discussed the time with Wang Feng and agreed to go see the child on the fifth day of the Lunar New Year.

Wu Yun had previously learned to cook with Qin Jingru at Fengzeyuan, and they had a very good relationship. Now that she heard that her good friend had a baby, she was naturally happy.

When the other fellow disciples heard that their junior sister had given birth, they all came over to congratulate Wang Feng. However, some of them were not so excited and were just going through the motions.

After all, Qin Jingru didn't know all of her senior brothers. When Qin Jingru was learning to cook at Fengzeyuan, there were only two or three senior brothers there, and the rest were not at Fengzeyuan.

At noon, Wu Jing asked each of his apprentices to cook a dish, intending to test their culinary skills. After eating, Wang Feng couldn't help but secretly purse his lips.

None of Wu Jing's apprentices are good cooks; they are far inferior to Qin Jingru and her two sisters. Even their eldest brother is much worse than Qin Jingru and her two sisters.

According to Wang Feng's evaluation, the eldest brother's cooking skills were barely comparable to He Daqing's, or even worse, and the worst was not even as good as Sha Zhu's.

After finishing his meal at Wu Jing's house, Wang Feng secretly found Wu Jing, gave him the ginseng and tiger bone wine, and told him not to give the ginseng and tiger bone wine to outsiders before he took his leave.

Wu Jing knew that Jingru was home alone, so he didn't try to stop her and said:

"Wang Feng, there are too many people at home today, so I haven't been able to entertain you properly. Next time you and Jingru have time, bring the kids over, and Uncle Wu will personally cook some of his signature dishes so we can have a good drink together."

Wang Feng smiled and waved his hand: "Uncle Wu, you're being too polite. You are Jingru's teacher, so you are my teacher too. As the saying goes, 'A teacher for a day is a father for life.' If it weren't for your unreserved teaching of Jingru, she wouldn't have achieved what she has today."

After a pause, Wang Feng continued, "Uncle Wu, let me tell you, if you and Aunt Wu drink an ounce or two of this ginseng and tiger bone wine every day, I guarantee your health will get better and better. This is a treasure that money can't buy. If Jingru hadn't kept telling me that Uncle Wu's arms are a bit clumsy from cooking all year round, to be honest, I wouldn't have been willing to take it out."

"Hahaha, you little brat, don't act all innocent after getting a good deal. Jingru is beautiful, and her cooking talent is amazing. What? Does she think my apprentice isn't worth two bottles of wine?"

Wu Jing laughed heartily, feeling very gratified. Jingru was the most talented of his disciples, and seeing his youngest disciple's filial piety made him feel comforted.

"Hehe, Uncle Wu, I didn't say that. These two bottles of ginseng and tiger bone wine are really effective. You and Aunt Wu can try them tonight and you'll see. I'm saying this so you'll take it seriously. Please don't give this wine to outsiders," Wang Feng said with a smile.

Seeing how much importance Wang Feng attached to these two bottles of wine, Wu Jing nodded emphatically in agreement.

"Wang Feng, don't worry, this old man guarantees that this wine will only end up in my and your Aunt Wu's stomachs."

Hearing this, Wang Feng smiled and nodded: "Hehe, okay then, Uncle Wu, Jingru is home alone right now, and I'm a little worried about her since I've been away for so long, so I'll head back now."

"Okay, then you can go back first. On the fifth day of the new year, if your Aunt Wu and I have time, we'll go see Jingru and the child together."

"become."

Wang Feng smiled and agreed, then rode away on his bicycle.