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

As for how Yi Zhonghai would gloss over the issue, or whether he would sign some humiliating treaty again, Zhang Dabiao and his group had no interest in caring. The people in the compound felt the same way; Yi Zhonghai used to be a big shot, and everyone would give him some face.

But now that he's no longer the powerful figure he once was, to be honest, Yi Zhonghai is somewhat powerless to protect the Jia family anymore.

Madam Jia also learned some things that her sons in the courtyard hadn't told her: her sons had recognized Yi Zhonghai as their godfather, and Liu Cuilan wanted to divorce Yi Zhonghai in order to get half of his property. So, in order to avoid a divorce, Yi Zhonghai could only let her do as she pleased and couldn't control her.

He Yushui recognized Liu Cuilan as her godmother, Yi Zhonghai recognized the deaf old woman as his godmother in front of everyone, and Liu Guangqi's daughter, Liu Xiaoqing, recognized Zhang Dabiao as her godfather...

It's a complete mess.

However, considering that Yi Zhonghai had bought a room for her family, Jia Zhangshi temporarily compromised.

Without a word, she moved into the new house and even dragged Banggeng over with her. Jia Dongxu didn't say anything about this arrangement. This way, the house would be more spacious, and he and Qin Huairu would have some private space, which was actually a good thing.

He's so hungry right now, he really doesn't have the energy to cause any trouble. As long as Jia Zhangshi doesn't cause any trouble, then let her be.

That evening, Jia Zhangshi ate a dinner meant for three people by herself, and then took Bang Geng to the house in the front yard and fell fast asleep.

The next day, the neighbors in the front yard suffered the consequences—

Because of Zhang Dabiao's vegetable gardening in his small courtyard, everyone in the front and back courtyards started planting vegetables too. Vegetables were planted in every corner using discarded wooden boxes, flower pots, or small fences built with bricks.

When Jia Zhangshi got up in the morning, the neighbors in the courtyard had gone to work or school. When she went out to empty the chamber pot, she was too lazy to go to the public toilet in the alley. She didn't know that there was a large vat in the corner of the courtyard used to collect artificial fertilizer. Taking advantage of the fact that no one was paying attention, she poured the whole chamber pot into the Yan family's vegetable garden. The smell was awful!

Not only that, she saw that the green onions and autumn cucumbers in her neighbor's vegetable garden were ripe, so she just picked them, wiped them, and ate them.

Then, Yang Ruihua, who was home at the Yan family's house, caught them red-handed. Hu Zi's grandmother, whose scallions and autumn cucumbers she had stolen, also rushed out. The three old women started fighting. Jia Zhangshi couldn't handle it, so she called Qin Huairu for help...

Anyway, it was a complete mess.

Qin Huairu was also on the verge of tears. Since her mother-in-law came back, she had been causing trouble every day, never stopping. In fact, she was even more unruly and shameless than before she went in. What had she gone through?

What happened?

My cornbread was constantly being snatched away. During my time in the labor camp, they would even snatch a rat and eat it raw. What did I go through?

Anyway, let's eat first and worry about whether it's stolen or robbed. Once it's in our stomachs, it's ours. What does fighting or getting beaten up matter?

That was commonplace on the farm, and Jia Zhangshi was used to it and didn't care anymore! She had completely let herself go!

When they got back from get off work, all the families knew about the incident. Liu Haizhong stepped forward to uphold justice, and Jia Dongxu had no choice but to pay compensation. He also had to clean up the Yan family's vegetable garden. Who would dare to eat those vegetables if they were urinated on? Moreover, it would burn the seedlings, so he had to pay compensation. Otherwise, the Yan family's sons would tear down their door panels and burn them as firewood!

Anyway, after Jia Zhangshi returned, the front and middle courtyards suffered terribly, with minor disturbances every day and major disturbances every three days. However, she dared not enter Zhang Dabiao's small courtyard.

While on the farm, we were also taught some laws: going in and taking things was considered stealing, and if the amount was large, you could be shot.

But it doesn't matter if the vegetables are grown in public places. Who told you to grow them in front of my house? There's no sign with your name on them, and even if there were, you didn't fence them off.

Besides, it's just a little bit of food, not public property. I ate it and that's it. If the police come, it's just a neighborhood dispute, and they'll just give me a lecture and that's it.

Jia Zhangshi didn't care about any of that. She had been starving inside for eight months! Eight months! Do you know how I survived?

Let's eat our fill first and then make up for all that fat we've gained.

Even if my son can't cover everything, there's still Yi Zhonghai—if he doesn't cover everything, I won't let Dongxu support him in his old age!

Your Yi family line has ended, and I, Jia Zhangshi, am determined to take advantage of you!

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

At the end of October, Tatsunosuke returned to China with their newly produced disposable lighters. The Ministry of Foreign Trade then summoned Zhang Dabiao, since he was the one who invented the product.

Zhang Dabiao glanced at it; it was basically the same as the later-era products in his "little nest," but the price in Japan was 250 yen. Of course, there were also versions with more exquisite stickers. But the basic version was equivalent to 0.69 US dollars, which is about 1.7 yuan!

Tatsunosuke came for two reasons. First, he wanted to show off—that the things invented by you Chinese are not produced by your own industrial technology, and you still have to rely on your own small businesses to produce them. Second, he wanted to see if he could export them to China, since developing private trade was his main purpose before the two countries established diplomatic relations.

The Ministry of Foreign Trade naturally rejected Tatsunosuke's proposal. "Are we crazy to import this stuff? 1.7 yuan, equivalent to more than a day's wages for an average worker, just to buy this thing? Matches only cost two cents a box!"

I can buy 85 boxes of matches for 1.7 yuan!

I must be crazy to buy a lighter, especially an imported one, which would cost me foreign exchange.

So the import deal didn't go through, but the Ministry of Foreign Trade still managed to extract information from Tatsunosuke's side, or rather, the information was deliberately leaked by the other party.

Their first production line is already up and running, with an estimated annual output of around 500 million units. The first batch of goods has already been sold to Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, as well as Malaysia and Taiwan, and sales are very good!

When the higher-ups did the math, they couldn't sit still—based on its pricing, the annual production volume represented a market of over 347 million US dollars!

They can't calculate the exact profit margin, but they now understand the sheer size of the market.

That's over 3 million in ten years, and what about in twenty? Not to mention whether the market will expand in the future, and whether production lines and output will increase.

Everyone then looked at Zhang Dabiao and finally understood what he meant by saying that the $30 licensing fee was not expensive at all.

What a terrifying market this is!

Tatsunosuke sent a box of 100 disposable lighters to the Ministry of Foreign Trade, saying that their country had already promoted these things in various foreign affairs activities. Director Zhao and his colleagues felt very uncomfortable about this.

Accepting these lighters and using them in diplomatic activities might seem prestigious, but they're printed with "Japan"! Turns out, they were invented by Chinese people, but we lacked the capacity for industrial production, and the Japanese ended up commercializing and popularizing them…

Will the higher-ups kill them?

They were truly filled with deep regret.

Zhang Dabiao didn't care. It was only a 5-year license, and he already knew their pricing and production volume. After 5 years, the starting price would be $30 every 5 years, with adjustments made "technically" based on market developments. Sounds reasonable, right?

Buy it or don't, it's up to you! If you don't want to buy, then so be it!

In addition, Tatsunosuke also sent some of their local specialties, as an attempt to explore the possibility of private trade in the absence of diplomatic relations. He brought their flagship product – Nissin Chicken Ramen.

Instant noodles that can be eaten simply by soaking in boiling water!

While Tatsunosuke was having instant noodles with the leaders of the Ministry of Foreign Trade, tasting them, and boasting about recommending them,...

Zhang Dabiao, the nobody standing to the side, watched the leaders' utterly astonished and ignorant expressions, and muttered under his breath—

"What's so good about instant noodles?"

"I'm so tired of eating this that I feel like throwing up..."