Courtyard House: Drunk and tipsy, the whole courtyard exposed at the start.

Mu Wanqing lowered her head and held the bowl. She was just a little shy, after all, she was bringing food to a boy.

Her mother said that Zhang Dabiao is all alone now and is still a teenager, so he must be very careless in his daily life. She asked Mu Wanqing to take good care of him.

They're not even in the same yard, how are we supposed to take care of them?

But her mother asked her to deliver the Lantern Festival dumplings, so she couldn't possibly refuse.

Then I saw Qin Jingru cooking big glutinous rice balls...

And those colorful little glutinous rice balls made her feel even more inferior.

Why would anyone need her to deliver Lantern Festival dumplings?

They're living a very comfortable life!

Zhang Dabiao hesitated for a moment, but still accepted it. Then he took a large bowl, scooped out a few large millet dumplings, ordinary black sesame dumplings, and a spoonful of random colorful mini fruit-flavored dumplings from the pot, and handed the bowl to Mu Wanqing.

"Hey, we're eating tangyuan too, so we'll give you a bowl as well."

Be careful on the road, don't spill anything.

If someone treats me with respect, I will repay them tenfold. Isn't it normal for neighbors to give and take?

It would be abnormal for the Jia family to only borrow from Sha Zhu and never repay.

Zhang Dabiao didn't think much of it. Mu Wanqing hesitated for a moment, then took the bowl and went back to the No. 97 tenement.

On the way, Xu Damao and Liu Guangqi happened to be returning to their courtyard after get off work when they saw Mu Wanqing carrying a bowl. They approached Zhang Dabiao's house and teased him cheekily, "Hey, Dabiao, are you seeing someone?"

Zhang Dabiao said irritably, "What's there to be 'dress up' about? Someone gave me a bowl of glutinous rice balls, so I'll return the favor with a bowl."

"Then why would they give you glutinous rice balls for the Lantern Festival? And only to you?"

"I sent some cough medicine to her family before, didn't I?"

"this one?"

"Otherwise, it can't be because I'm handsome, right?"

Xu Damao and Liu Guangqi hesitated for a moment, glancing at Zhang Dabiao's youthful mustache...

"No, absolutely not!"

Zhang Dabiao, enraged and embarrassed, shouted: "Damn it! Get out of here! Bring your own bowl and serve the glutinous rice balls!"

"Having food isn't enough to shut you up!"

Those two bastards really don't give me any face at all! I'm just starting to develop now. When I've grown up and taller next year, I'll amaze you all!

Incidentally...

Zhang Dabiao patted his belly; he was still a bit overweight.

Why don't you give it a try?

Want to become a muscular hunk?

We can ask Captain Qin about kung fu later, but I can start training my body now.

Starting tomorrow, I'm going to work out! I'm going to exercise!

Nothing much happens on the Lantern Festival. Everyone just eats glutinous rice balls. These days there are no TV programs or the internet, so there's not much entertainment at night.

Midway through, Sha Zhu ran over wanting to buy some glutinous rice balls, of course for the deaf old lady in the backyard and Yi Zhonghai, who had just been discharged from the hospital and was lying at home like a corpse. There was also Bang Geng making a fuss at home, and Qin Huairu also came out carrying a large bowl, but they didn't manage to buy (or borrow) any of them, since they only had so many to begin with.

And even if there were extra, he wouldn't want it.

He also pointed to Sha Zhu in front of He Yushui.

"The Mu family next door is so poor, yet they still managed to scrape together money to buy Mu Wanqing a bicycle, just so it would be easier for her to go to school. And Mu Wanqing was adopted."

"What about you, you idiot Zhu? You promised me everything just a few days ago, where's the car? Where's your face?"

Sha Zhu blushed instantly, because he had paid for Yi Zhonghai's medical expenses these past two days. When he went to the trust store, he found that a second-hand women's 28-inch bicycle cost 130 yuan. Although they said no receipt was needed, Sha Zhu didn't have enough money.

So naturally, I forgot about buying a car for rainwater.

So Sha Zhu quickly turned around and went back into the house. Too embarrassed to admit it, he muttered as he ran, "Fine, I'll buy it tomorrow!"

"Zhang Dabiao, you're something else! You don't hit someone in the face, do you have any manners at all...?"

He Yushui shook her head expressionlessly. She didn't even know how to describe this brother.

After finishing the glutinous rice balls, Zhang Dabiao took out the roast chicken and steamed buns for a snack.

After he had almost finished eating, Yan Jiecheng, Xu Damao, and Liu Guangqi came over to play cards!

But as the fight went on, Yan Jiecheng's stomach started rumbling...

Zhang Dabiao really couldn't stand it; it was a terrible thing.

He took out a few cornbread buns and some leftover chicken skin and neck bits, and handed them to Yan Jiecheng.

"Let's put some money in first, so we don't deliberately try to renege on our debt after losing a hand."

Yan Jiecheng's eyes reddened slightly, knowing that Zhang Dabiao was trying to save face for him, so he handed the paper over to him, saying, "Wait a minute, I'll go home and get some more notes, there aren't enough to stick here."

"I, Yan Jiecheng, am going to stick notes all over your faces today!"

How could Zhang Dabiao possibly not have enough notes?

However, no one said anything. Ever since Yan Bugui was forced to become a gardener by Zhang Dabiao, their food rations had indeed decreased significantly. But they were all men, and they didn't want to offend Yan by directly saying that.

This is why Yan Jiecheng only came over after Zhang Dabiao had eaten and drunk his fill. If you come over when others are eating, you'll really look like a beggar, and Yan Jiecheng also has his pride.

He said he was going back to get some paper, but actually he was also taking the cornbread and chicken back to share with his younger siblings, and to make soup with the chicken carcass and some cabbage—it smelled so good!

And Zhang Dabiao's chicken is roasted, so it's very oily.

Before long, Yan Jiecheng ran over with a red paper, and after eating a steamed bun, he instantly became energetic.

"One red bar equals ten white bars! Let's have another 300 rounds!"

But after playing cards that night, Zhang Dabiao reached into his pocket to smoke—

"Holy crap, the matches got stolen again?!"

"Yan Jiecheng, you bastard, you've been eating and taking bribes all you want!"

"I'll catch you red-handed one day!"

------------

The following day, the sixteenth day of the first lunar month, which is Friday, February 12th in the Gregorian calendar.

Today is the day when residents of Nanluoguxiang receive their grain coupons, meat coupons, and industrial coupons. These are distributed by district and at designated times. It's also the day when residents of this area use their grain ration books and purchase certificates to buy their rations at the supply and marketing cooperative, grocery stores, and grain stations.

Several families had their children stay home from school, preparing to go out early in the morning to shop.

Zhang Dabiao, Qin Jingru, and He Yushui also went out to shop together.

It wasn't until today that Zhang Dabiao realized just how low a person's rations were.

For a 16-year-old student like Zhang Dabiao, the grain ration was 27 jin (already reduced several times, and part of it consisted of coarse grains such as cornmeal and sweet potatoes), 1 liang of meat coupon, 0.25 liang of oil coupon, 15 shi chi of cloth coupon per year, 2 liang of sugar coupon, and a small amount of tofu coupon/side ration book...

What the hell are you eating?

I don't even get a pound of whole grains a day.

Moreover, he is currently "supporting" this nanny, Qin Jingru. If it weren't for the fact that his "little nest" could infinitely refresh supplies, he wouldn't even be able to feed himself in this day and age.

Can you believe a monthly meat ration coupon? That's not even enough for one kebab!

0.25 taels of oil coupons a month... No wonder everyone is so careful about dividing the hot pot broth after eating hot pot; the beef tallow in it is enough for them for several months! The fat in a whole roasted chicken is more than that!

Zhang Dabiao shook his head. There was no point in him worrying about it; the whole country was like this, and Beijing was considered relatively better off.

It's good enough if you can take care of yourself.

He Yushui was quite happy because these allotted portions were hers and wouldn't be lent out by her silly brother anymore. She had come with her godmother, Liu Cuilan, and was also taking Sha Zhu's portion back with her. She didn't care what happened to Sha Zhu after that.

Zhang Dabiao also saw Mu Wanqing pushing her bicycle and queuing with her mother, Aunt Mu. Aunt Mu looked much better and didn't cough.

People nodded to each other across the crowd without much conversation. They lined up in separate sections, making it both safe and convenient for everyone in the courtyard to be together.

Qin Huairu and others were still in her line. She carried Xiao Dang on her back and stood in line alone at the back, looking rather pitiful...

But not far away, there were women queuing up, one carrying a child on their back, another in their arms, and a child being led by the hand—there are many people in this world who suffer more than those in Qinhuai.

So Zhang Dabiao didn't bother with it.

Soon it was Zhang Dabiao's turn. When he handed over his grain ration book, receipts, and other documents, he saw that the person carrying the large sacks behind the grain station was Yan Jiecheng.

"Hey, it's Da Biao!"

"You came to buy the grain yourself? What a mess this has become."

"Why didn't you just tell me and I'd bring it back for you?"

"Brother Wang, this is my brother, help me get him something good."

Yan Jiecheng originally wanted to show off in front of his brothers and neighbors, to prove to people that he knew a lot of people and had a lot of influence.

but--

"Yan Jiecheng, are you out of your mind?"