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

(Update time changed to 7 AM and 12 PM. Also, my new work, "Returning to the Village to Worship Ancestors, a Stone Roller Blows Out a Myriad Spirits Sect," is making its debut today. I hope you will all support it! Thank you!)

"If you're going to do it, then do it properly. Four meat dishes, four vegetable dishes, two cold dishes, and one soup—not one can be missing. You have to do exactly what you said that day. Lao Liu and I have remembered it all. This is not only your family matter, but also a major issue concerning whether the three of us can get back on our feet. You need to weigh the pros and cons yourself."

Liu Haizhong added, his tone laced with threat: "If you dare to shirk responsibility or try to fool us when it comes to electing the Third Uncle, we'll both pretend you never existed. You're not the only one in the courtyard who wants to be the Third Uncle. You should think about it carefully."

That means—I'm not including you anymore!

It's not like we can't do without you, Uncle San.

After saying that, the two ignored him and walked out of the courtyard gate side by side.

The morning sunlight filtered through the branches of the locust tree, dappling Yan Bugui's body, but it brought no warmth whatsoever.

He sat alone at the small stone table, looking at the empty courtyard, and felt a sudden dizziness.

I want to cry, but I can't.

I felt incredibly frustrated and regretful.

He regretted his own words; he had been so quick to speak out and persuade Xu Damao to treat him to a meal.

He hated himself for patting his chest in public and making that promise.

He hated his good-for-nothing son even more for turning those cheap contraceptives into a disaster costing over ten dollars!

孽 孽!

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Yan Bugui returned home dejectedly, slumped into a chair, and remained motionless for a long time. Yang Ruihua, seeing his expression as if his parents had died, knew that his attempt to "seek help" that morning had failed.

"What's wrong, Lao Yi and Lao Liu, aren't they going to help you?"

Yan Bugui didn't even bother to lift his eyelids, and waved his hand weakly: "Don't mention it... those two were even more ruthless than Zhang Dabiao, they cut off my escape route."

"So, it's absolutely necessary to invite them?"

"Please!" Yan Bugui spat out the word through gritted teeth, abruptly sitting up straight, a calculating glint in his eyes. "We absolutely have to invite them, but how we invite them and how much it costs is none of their business!"

Who is Yan Bugui? Is he the kind of person who would suffer in silence?

Since we have to bleed money, we must find a way to minimize the losses!

Four meat dishes, four vegetable dishes, two cold dishes, and one soup—that's the standard. But standards are rigid; people are flexible.

Meat dishes range from large, meaty dishes to simple dishes with just a few slices of meat floating in the center. Vegetable dishes include fresh, seasonal vegetables as well as slices of pickled mustard tubers that have been preserved all winter.

Yan Bugui's mind started calculating again. But this time, he wasn't calculating how much money he would have to spend, but how to spend no money, or at least spend less money.

He remembered Yi Zhonghai's words, but he still habitually wanted to scrutinize them.

The first person he thought of was the cook.

Silly column!

Xu Damao hired him as a chef and paid him two yuan. That was a rule set by Master Shazhu: how much he should be paid for each level of service. You couldn't just bargain, or you'd be breaking the rules of the trade.

But if Yan Bugui also gives two pieces, wouldn't that be like cutting off a piece of flesh? No way!

He decided to personally go and "talk" to Sha Zhu.

In the afternoon, Sha Zhu had just returned from the factory and was tidying up in the kitchen when Yan Bugui approached like a ghost, his face beaming with a chrysanthemum-like smile.

"Silly Zhu, busy?"

Sha Zhu glanced at him sideways and said irritably, "If you have something to say, say it. If you don't, don't block my way from starting the fire."

"Hey, look at you, how can you talk like that?" Yan Bugui wasn't angry at all. He rubbed his hands together, his face full of flattery. "Silly Zhu, I want to talk to you about something. You see, my Yu Li is pregnant too. I was just thinking that we should set up a couple of tables and have some fun with everyone."

Sha Zhu blew on the tinderbox to make it burn brighter, lighting the firewood in the stove, without even looking up: "That's your business, why are you discussing it with me?"

"I'd like to hire you to be the chef!" Yan Bugui leaned even closer. "Everyone in and around the courtyard knows your culinary skills, He Yuzhu! They're absolutely superb! This job can't be done without you!"

Sha Zhu finally raised his head and looked at him: "Okay. Same old rules, two yuan per table, four yuan for two tables. You decide the menu, you buy the food, and you pay first."

Yan Bugui's smile froze.

Four yuan?!

He reacted like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, his voice shrill: "Four yuan? Zhu Zi, that's not fair! We live in the same courtyard, we see each other all the time, and you're asking me for money? Besides, I'm doing this for your third uncle's family, it's a happy occasion! What's wrong with helping out?"

Sha Zhu laughed, threw the fire poker aside, stood up, and patted the ash off his hands.

[Third Uncle? You, Yan Bugui, haven't you stopped being Third Uncle for over a year?]

"Teacher Yan, what are you saying? What's my relationship with Xu Damao? My mortal enemy! He treated me, and I didn't pay a penny less. He may be my enemy, but he's fair and square. That two yuan per table was a rule my master set for me."

Even close brothers keep clear accounts. I earn my living with my skills, it's only right and proper. If you think it's too expensive, you don't have to invite me. There are plenty of aunties and grandmas in the neighborhood who can cook, you can just pick one, they might even give you money back.

That's incredibly sarcastic. Everyone knows how bad the other people in the neighborhood are at cooking. If they were to cook, those four meat dishes and four vegetable dishes would turn into four plates of mush.

Yan Bugui was so choked up that he couldn't speak for a long time, and his old face turned as red as a pig's liver.

Seeing his discomfiture, Sha Zhu felt extremely pleased and added, "Besides, Teacher Yan, I'm afraid my cooking skills aren't up to par for your feast. What if I cook too well, and you feel bad looking at the food, and then blame me for cutting the meat too thick or putting in too much oil? Who can I complain to then?"

"You!" Yan Bugui pointed at Sha Zhu, his hand trembling.

"I'm leaving. Figure it out yourself." Sha Zhu was too lazy to pay attention to him anymore. He hummed a little tune and took the enamel mug to the tap to get water.

Xu Damao and Zhang Dabiao had already figured out Yan Bugui's little scheme yesterday when the young people were chatting, and Yan Jiecheng was even adding fuel to the fire. Everyone had already guessed what he was thinking and what he would do.

Yan Bugui was rebuffed and stomped his feet in anger.

But he quickly calmed down. If being a chef wasn't an option, then he'd try something different with the dishes!

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The next day was the weekend, and Yan Bugui got up very early, carrying a vegetable basket, and headed to the Xidan vegetable market with great pride.

But instead of going to the stalls selling fresh meat and vegetables, he went to the far corner of the market and specifically picked up the processed and poorly-looking vegetables.

"How much are these green beans?" he asked, pointing to a pile of slightly wilted green beans.

"It's sold off, three cents a pound."

"Too expensive! Two cents! I'll take them all!"

"Why are this fish's eyes sunken in?"

"What's left over from yesterday, selling cheap. If you're really interested, I'll throw in a smaller one."

"Okay, I'll take this one!"

His actions were witnessed by Liu Guangqi and Hu Zi, who were also there to buy groceries. The two exchanged a glance, both seeing amusement in each other's eyes.

"Let's go, follow them and see." Liu Guangqi winked.

These young people, for the sake of their own bellies, had to keep an eye on Yan Bugui!

They think they can fool us and make us eat rotten vegetables and dead fish? No way!