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

"Wow! Zhang Dabiao, you can even get your hands on Coca-Cola?! It's not available in China, how did you manage to buy it?"

"Wow! They even have Russian bread! Only the Russians have that! How did you manage to get some?"

Wow! They even have yogurt?!

"Wow! Such big grapes? Why have I never seen grapes like this before?"

Zhang Dabiao felt that Lou Xiao'e alone was worth more than a dozen ducks—

Why are you yelling like that? I'll beat you until you scream!

There are so many "whys".

Why do you have so many "whys"? You have a hundred thousand "whys"!

Also, that's Pepsi, not Coca-Cola...

The regular sugary version only comes in one plastic bottle, the rest are sugar-free. Zhang Dabiao had to tinker with them several times to collect this many.

Before Zhang Dabiao could even retort, someone else took over the conversation.

"That's because my brother Da Biao is awesome...and incredibly capable!"

"He's a purchasing agent for a comprehensive utilization plant now!"

It turned out to be Xu Damao, who ran over carrying several bottles of Arctic Ocean orange soda.

Without a second thought, he squeezed himself down between Xu Xiaoling and Lou Xiao'e: "Da Biao, count me in!"

Zhang Dabiao rolled his eyes, not caring at all.

Sha Zhu walked straight over.

"Silly Zhu, what are you doing here?"

"..."

Sha Zhu hesitated for a long time before finally uttering a sentence—

"I'll help you grill the meat!"

"Zhang Dabiao, your grilling skills are a complete waste! I simply can't stand watching!"

"Just tell me if it's okay or not!"

Sha Zhu's reason... seems... seemingly?

That makes perfect sense.

If someone helps us grill, we can just eat. What's wrong with that?

Besides, Xu Damao's sister was there, so he shamelessly squeezed in.

Silly Zhu's sister is here too; he even helped with the barbecue.

I also have a nominal "adopted sister" here...

Forget it, so be it.

As for whether Xu Damao and Shazhu had designs on Lou Xiao'e—

What does it have to do with me? It's none of my business.

You know what, Sha Zhu's control over the seasoning ratio and the heat is really impressive.

The group ate and chatted, talking about everything under the sun. Xu Damao was trying to curry favor with Lou Xiao'e, while Sha Zhu would always hand her the grilled food first and place it in the large basin in front of her. Everyone could see what he was thinking.

And Zhang Dabiao?

eat!

Just eat!

But as they were eating, Qin Jingru kicked Zhang Dabiao's foot.

"Um?"

He looked up and saw...?

Mu Wanqing is here?

Is he holding a clay pot in his arms?

Mu Wanqing blushed deeply. She had originally planned to make something nice for her mother to help her recover, but her mother had asked Zhang Dabiao to send some over instead.

But every time I see him, he's always eating a lavish meal!

Does he lack that?

So at this time, the person delivering food ran into them having a meal together...

Even if you say you're not here to freeload, people might not believe you!

This is awkward.

"My...my mom asked me to bring this to you...thank you for the day before yesterday."

"I've left it here, I'm going now."

Mu Wanqing put down the casserole and left, but was stopped by Xu Xiaoling and the others.

"Wanqing, since you're already here, why don't you sit down and eat with us?"

"No, my mom is still waiting for me at home."

"I'll go tell Aunt Mu—" Qin Jingru dashed off to the neighboring yard.

……

What else is there to say?

Sit down and eat.

Mu Wanqing brought over a mushroom and chicken soup, which was stewed until very tender and had a light flavor, but it suited Zhang Dabiao's taste perfectly.

Zhang Dabiao ladled out a small bowlful and drank it down: "Ew—this feels so good!"

"Mu Wanqing, this soup is beautifully made! Excellent cooking!"

Zhang Dabiao gave a thumbs up repeatedly. He had been eating a lot of oily and salty food lately, and he couldn't find this kind of home-style flavor.

My skills aren't good enough, and I can't control the heat of the stove well. Qin Jingru's skills are just so-so, about the same as mine, and she's rather "economical" with oil, salt, and seasonings when cooking... You can't expect a twelve-year-old girl to be a great cook.

The mushroom and chicken soup that Mu Wanqing brought over was just right.

Zhang Dabiao was about to say a few more words of praise, but Sha Zhu had also finished tasting the flavor and started babbling on and on.

"This stew isn't cooked long enough; it needs to simmer on low heat for another fifteen minutes."

"The dried shiitake mushrooms weren't soaked long enough; they should have been soaked in warm water with a pinch of salt..."

Zhang Dabiao glared at him and shouted, "Go over there and grill the meat!"

Silly Pillar—[?]

[Didn't I say anything wrong? Can't you understand polite language?]

Am I giving her pointers?

However, the rain gave Sha Zhu a push, urging him to hurry up and grill the meat.

People kindly brought chicken soup to Zhang Dabiao to express their gratitude, and Zhang Dabiao didn't say anything. You, an outsider, are making irresponsible remarks and saying that his cooking skills are not good.

If you can't use your brain, just sell it, okay?

Feeling embarrassed even by the rain, he could only awkwardly explain to Mu Wanqing with a forced smile, "Wanqing, my brother is a bit too straightforward, so..."

Mu Wanqing nodded: "I've heard of him, the head chef at the steel mill, nicknamed 'Silly Pillar'."

Sha Zhu thought it was a compliment and felt a little proud, since his nickname was quite well-known in the area.

But Zhang Dabiao's next words broke him down—

"There are no wrong nicknames, only wrong names—he deserves to be surnamed 'idiot'!"

"Hahahahaha—"

"Goose, goose, goose, goose—"

Sha Zhu was enraged—"Zhang Dabiao!"

Passive skill activated – "Your grandpa's here!"

"Goose, goose, goose, goose—"

Lou Xiao'e and Mu Wanqing both burst out laughing. The young people in this courtyard are so much fun!

Then, the group of 3 men and 5 women continued their meal together.

Sha Zhu was barbecuing, Xu Damao was creating a lively atmosphere, and Qu San from the Lou family was waiting in his car outside the courtyard.

The conversation started with why Sha Zhu's surname was Sha (meaning "silly"), then moved on to why Zhang Da Biao's brain had cleared up, why Zhang Da Biao could draw, when Sha Zhu sold the bicycle to Yu Shui, how Qin Jingru was sent to pay off a debt, how Zhang Da Biao had broken Sha Zhu's arm, and how Da Biao had recently done some pretty outrageous things...

The main whistleblower was Xu Damao, who loved to expose Sha Zhu's misdeeds, while he would praise Zhang Dabiao in various ways.

Sha Zhu would occasionally banter with Xu Damao, but nowadays he rarely resorted to violence.

However, he was not convinced by Xu Damao's belittling, so he brought up all the despicable things Xu Damao had done in the past, such as giving bad advice on Jia Dongxu's wedding night, and wanting to set off firecrackers under someone's window last night... one by one!

Xu Damao was so angry he was furious.

The two of them danced back and forth like two males during courtship, which was really fun.

Of course, all the women listened with great interest, especially Lou Xiao'e.

Just as Xu Damao couldn't take it anymore and decided to expose Sha Zhu's peeping at Qin Huairu and his drunken outburst of calling her "Sister Qin"—

A loud roar came from the Intermediate Court—

"Yi Zhonghai!"

"Screw you!"

"Oh my?! He Daqing?"

"Help! Help! It's Sha Zhu—"