The sky collapsed, and in the blink of an eye, I found myself transported to Nanluoguxiang.

The workday passed quietly, and Station Master Zhao didn't come looking for Li Kaixin.

Sun Yingjun finally quieted down today, perhaps realizing that no one was paying much attention to him, but his arrogant expression remained unchanged.

After greeting everyone in the transport team, Li Kaixin got on his bicycle and headed home.

Just as I arrived at the entrance of No. 94 courtyard, I don't know if it was just bad luck today, but I bumped into Yang Houping and his son who were about to leave.

Upon seeing the person in front of him, Yang Houping immediately put on a smile and greeted him warmly, "Master Li, are you off work already?"

However, Yang Wei, standing next to him, was not skilled enough; his forced smile looked obviously fake.

To an uninformed person, this scene would make them think the two families were very close.

Li Kaixin didn't respond, but simply nodded slightly with a cold expression before heading straight into the courtyard.

After taking only a few steps, Yang Wei's smile crumbled, and he turned to complain, "Dad, why do we have to smile like that? Look, they don't appreciate it at all."

"What do you know!" Yang Houping had long lost his previous enthusiasm and was now completely calm: "I'm trying to make him lower his guard."

As he spoke, he glanced at his son beside him, his tone turning serious: "Also, learn to control your expression in the future, so that people can see right through you."

After listening, Yang Wei's face showed a look of understanding but not quite.

Seeing his expression, Yang Houping sighed inwardly.

My son is a complete failure; he didn't inherit any of my intelligence, he just took after his mother.

Li Kaixin didn't take the earlier incident to heart at all. After parking his car, he walked towards No. 93 Courtyard.

After greeting Aunt Zhao and the others in the courtyard, Li Kaixin pushed open the door to her house and went inside.

Since it's Sunday, neither of his parents are at work, and they've already prepared a meal for him.

Li Kaixin sat down at the table and smiled at her father, "Dad, how are you feeling? Are you feeling any better?"

"What's bothering me? That little bit of alcohol is nothing to me," Father Li Mingde stubbornly insisted.

Li Kai, the younger brother standing nearby, immediately chimed in with a grin: "Big brother, you don't know, Dad threw up all over the place this morning."

"Oh? Is that so, Xiao Kai?" Li Kaixin smiled slightly.

His father hadn't gotten up when he left in the morning, so he really didn't know about it.

When the father realized his words had been exposed, his face flushed red, and he turned to glare at his second son: "Xiao Kai, you're such a chatterbox."

Seeing this, Li Kai, the younger brother, shrank back.

At this moment, Qin Xiuli, the mother, brought out the last dish from the kitchen and scolded her husband.

"Don't you know what you're like? And you won't let others say it? Kaixin drank more than you yesterday, and he didn't get drunk."

"Daughter-in-law, I wasn't in the right state of mind last night. Normally, I would have to give in to them," the father, Li Mingde, tried to argue.

Mother Qin Xiuli placed the dishes on the table and coaxed with a smile, "Yes, yes, you weren't really in the mood. Let's eat first!"

"Wife, why won't you believe me!"

Li Kaixin and her younger siblings watched this scene and secretly smiled with their lips pursed.

......

In the early hours of the morning, Li Kaixin got out of bed, changed into his black market gear, and opened the gate to No. 94 courtyard.

Although the commotion of leaving the house was small, the sound of the door opening still startled Yang Houping across the hall.

Not long after Li Kaixin left, Yang Houping also slipped out in the dark, but a figure followed him at a distance.

Li Kaixin made several turns in the alley, and was almost at the courtyard house where he had arranged to meet Zhao Zhengping.

After looking around to make sure no one was there, he took out a cart from the secret realm, along with fifty chickens, twenty-five ducks, and twenty-five rabbits.

They loaded everything onto the cart and then pulled it toward the agreed-upon place.

In the secluded courtyard, a few kerosene lamps illuminated the space, where Zhao Zhengping, Zhao Yu, and two middle-aged men waited anxiously.

One of the middle-aged men finally couldn't hold back any longer and spoke up: "Zhengping, it's already past midnight, where is the person you're supposed to trade with? We've been waiting for almost three hours."

"Brother Zhengliang, it must be... something must have happened on the way that delayed you." Zhao Zhengping wasn't sure either, and his tone was a little hesitant.

He regretted it now, because he only said it would be tonight and didn't specify a time.

Another middle-aged man chimed in, his voice tinged with impatience: "I think we should just leave! The person you're dealing with probably isn't very reliable."

"No, Zhengqiang! Why don't we wait a little longer?" Zhao Zhengping quickly advised. "What if they arrive and find we're not here? Wouldn't that make us look like we broke our promise?"

Zhao Zhengqiang thought for a moment, then frowned and said, "I'll wait another hour at most. If he still doesn't come, I really won't care anymore."

If it weren't for the chickens, ducks, and rabbits Zhao Zhengping brought back last time, he wouldn't have spent so long here.

"Alright, alright! It should be about an hour before Brother Zhou arrives." Zhao Zhengping replied, reassuring the two men.

No sooner had he finished speaking than there was a knocking sound at the front door.

Immediately afterwards, a rough, hoarse voice rang out: "Brother Zhao, are you there? I've come to deliver the goods."

"Brother Zhengqiang, look, they're here!" Zhao Zhengping's face immediately relaxed, and he replied to the outside, "Brother Zhou, I'll open the door for you right away!"

As he spoke, he hurried towards the gate.

Upon opening the gate, one sees Li Kaixin with her face covered, and a cart full of chickens, ducks, and rabbits.

Zhao Zhengping said excitedly, "Brother Zhou, I've been waiting for you to come!"

"Brother, do you mean you've been waiting for a long time?" Li Kaixin asked, somewhat puzzled.

"It's been about three hours," Zhao Zhengping said, then quickly explained, "But this is also my fault; I didn't set a specific time last time."

Just after he finished explaining, Zhao Zhengliang and Zhao Zhengqiang followed.

The two men glanced at the cart, and their previously impatient expressions vanished instantly.

Zhao Zhengliang stepped forward, a smile plastered on his face: "You must be the Brother Zhou Zhengping mentioned? You're certainly capable."

"Who are these two?" Li Kaixin turned his gaze to the other two strangers.

Zhao Zhengping quickly introduced, "Brother Zhou, please don't take offense. They are both my cousins, one named Zhao Zhengqiang and the other Zhao Zhengliang. We need quite a lot of goods this time, so I invited them to lend a hand."

Li Kaixin nodded slightly, but in his heart he knew that these two people were probably brought in by Zhao Zhengping to keep things under control because he was worried that he would double-cross him.

Zhao Zhengping stepped aside to let the courtyard gate open, gesturing for them to come inside: "Brother Zhou, it's not convenient outside, let's talk inside!"

As he spoke, he gave his two cousins ​​a wink, and they understood and immediately stepped forward to help pull the cart.