Courtyard House: After disbanding the Elderly Care Gang, I went to the countryside to cultivate immo

Back home, Lin Shengli quickly cooked a simple meal to fill his stomach before entering his cave space.

He first sorted the seeds he bought in the afternoon and planted them in his cave space. He then used the newly learned but not yet proficient Little Cloud Rain Technique to water them with spiritual rain before entering the main hall and sitting cross-legged on the futon.

Today's encounter with Li Kuiyong piqued his curiosity. Since the plot of "Blood Romance" has already been incorporated, he wondered what other stories would be incorporated in the future.

After cultivating in his cave all night, Lin Shengli emerged from it just as dawn was breaking.

The sunlight from outside pierced through the old window frames and into the dimly lit room, allowing a faint outline to be seen.

Lin Shengli sat up and stretched his body, which had become more agile due to cultivation, feeling full of energy.

He had a lot to do today, and he planned to invite Sha Zhu to his home to thank him for saving his life.

After quickly washing up, Lin Shengli took out his money and tickets to buy groceries.

The supply of goods is not yet sufficient. If you go too late, you may not be able to buy good vegetables, let alone meat.

He hasn't started planting in his grotto world yet, otherwise he wouldn't need to go through all this trouble.

After locking the door, Lin Shengli carried the vegetable basket out of the room and left the courtyard.

Nanluoguxiang was already bustling with life in the early morning. Several elderly people were strolling around the alley entrance, and the breakfast stalls were steaming, with the aroma of soy milk and fried dough sticks filling the air.

Lin Shengli first bought two sesame seed cakes with fried dough sticks from a breakfast stall, eating them as he walked. The sesame seed cakes were crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, and the fried dough sticks were golden and crispy. Eating them hot made him feel warm all over.

The vegetable market is not far from the courtyard house; it's only a ten-minute walk away.

It was called a vegetable market, but it was really just a few dozen stalls set up in an open space. In those days, the supply of goods was still very tight, and the stalls mostly sold common vegetables such as radishes, cabbages, and potatoes. If you wanted to buy meat, you had to go to a special butcher shop.

Lin Shengli arrived early and was lucky enough to find half a pig left at the butcher shop.

"Comrade, how much is the pork?" Lin Shengli asked.

"Pork belly is 80 cents a pound, hind leg meat is 75 cents, and ribs are 60 cents." The stall owner didn't even look up. "How much do you want?"

"Give me two catties of pork belly and two big bones." Lin Shengli took out his money and handed it over.

This hostage was forced upon him by Wang Aiguo last night.

"Alright!" She quickly cut the meat, weighed it, and packed it up. "Two pounds of pork belly, one dollar and sixty cents. Two large bones, three mao, that's one dollar and ninety cents in total."

Lin Shengli paid the bill and bought some vegetables, tofu, and vermicelli. He also went to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy two bottles of Erguotou (a type of Chinese liquor).

When he returned to the courtyard house, the sun had already risen. In the front yard, Yan Bugui was watering several pots of chrysanthemums with a watering can. Seeing Lin Shengli return carrying a basket full of things, Yan Bugui's eyes lit up.

"Shengli, you bought so many groceries?"

"Yes, I'll treat Uncle He to dinner tonight," Lin Shengli replied.

"Invite Sha Zhu?" Yan Bugui pushed up his glasses. "We should invite him. Sha Zhu may be a bit of a rascal, but he's not a bad person at heart. If he hadn't carried you back yesterday, who knows what would have happened. Should we ask Uncle San to come and keep you company then?"

Lin Shengli shook his head: "Thank you, Uncle. Uncle He and I have some private matters to discuss today, so it's not convenient for you here."

Upon hearing Lin Shengli's words, the light in Yan Bugui's eyes dimmed instantly.

After returning home, Lin Shengli put the meat and vegetables directly into the storage cabinet in the cave, so that he wouldn't have to worry about the meat spoiling over time.

Looking at the sky, it should be before eight o'clock. Lin Shengli guessed that Sha Zhu hadn't gotten up yet, so he went to the Intermediate People's Court and knocked on Sha Zhu's door.

The knocking at the door woke Shazhu. He squinted and opened the door, seeing Lin Shengli, and asked, "Shengli, what's up?"

Lin Shengli laughed and said, "Uncle He, you got up quite late. Don't cook tonight, I'll cook some dishes and invite you over for dinner."

Upon hearing Lin Shengli's invitation, Sha Zhu grinned and said, "Hey kid, you're just being polite. Do you think your Uncle He would shortchange you on a meal?"

"Uncle He, you don't need this meal, but I can't be inconsiderate. Just wait and enjoy the meal tonight. I'm leaving now; you need to go to work too."

After speaking, Lin Shengli took his leave and left the Intermediate People's Court.

After closing the door from the inside, Lin Shengli entered the cave space again to begin cultivating.

Nearly a day has passed outside, and the grains and vegetables planted last night have already sprouted, their lush green leaves bringing joy to the eyes.

It wasn't until three or four in the afternoon that Lin Shengli came out of the space to start cooking.

At 5:30 p.m., the steel rolling mill closed for the day.

The workers returned to the courtyard in twos and threes, and the courtyard gradually became lively.

Sha Zhu was among the last to return.

He was in a good mood today, humming a little tune, carrying two lunchboxes in his hands—although Lin Shengli had said early in the morning that he would come to his house for dinner that night, he still brought lunchboxes back out of habit.

As they passed through the hanging flower gate, Lin Shengli came out of the house. "Uncle He, you're back? Dinner is ready, we've been waiting for you."

Sha Zhu then remembered the dinner party tonight and said with a smile, "Victory, thank you for your trouble."

"Of course." Lin Shengli stepped aside. "Uncle He, please come in."

Sha Zhu went inside, and Lin Shengli closed the door. Four dishes were already laid out on the table: braised pork, stewed cabbage and tofu, braised pork ribs with vermicelli, and cucumber salad, plus a large bowl of rice and a small bottle of Erguotou (a type of Chinese liquor).

"Wow, this is quite a feast!" Sha Zhu exclaimed in surprise. "Victory, your cooking skills are pretty good."

"I'm nowhere near as good as you, Uncle He," Lin Shengli said modestly. "It's just home-style cooking, please make do with it."

The two sat down, and Lin Shengli poured a drink for Sha Zhu: "Uncle He, let me toast you to thank you for saving me yesterday."

"Don't mention it." Sha Zhu picked up his wine glass and drank it all in one gulp. "We're all from the same compound, it's only right."

The two chatted as they ate. Sha Zhu's cooking skills were indeed good. After a few bites, he commented, "Shengli, your braised pork is well-cooked, the heat is just right, but the sugar was a little too caramelized. Next time, you can put the meat in earlier."

"Yes, I understand." Lin Shengli humbly accepted.

After a few rounds of drinks and several dishes, the two started talking more.

"Uncle He, there's something..." Lin Shengli put down his chopsticks and said hesitantly, "I don't know if I should tell you."

"What is it? Just say it." Sha Zhu drank another glass of wine.

"Well, a friend of mine was chatting with me the other day, and he mentioned our department," Lin Shengli said, carefully choosing his words. "He said his cousin went to Hong Kong on a business trip and ran into the Lou family..."

Sha Zhu paused, his hand still: "The Lou family? Which Lou family?"

"It's... Lou Bancheng's family." Lin Shengli looked into Sha Zhu's eyes. "He said that his cousin saw Lou Xiao'e in Hong Kong, with a little boy who was a little over a year old. His cousin jokingly said that when Lou Bancheng's daughter went to Hong Kong, she was pregnant."

"Clang!"

Sha Zhu dropped his wine glass on the table, spilling wine everywhere. His eyes widened, and all color drained from his face.

"What...what did you say? Xiao'e is pregnant?"

"That's what my friend said," Lin Shengli nodded. "Uncle He, I remember you and Aunt Xiao'e were about to get married. Could this child be yours?"

Sha Zhu suddenly stood up and paced back and forth in the room, his breathing heavy and his eyes bloodshot.

He recalled the night Lou Xiao'e left.

Sha Zhu stopped in his tracks, placed his hands on the table, and his shoulders trembled slightly.

"Shengli, you're not lying to Uncle He, are you? If there really is such a child, then it can only be my son!"

He muttered to himself, tears streaming down his face without him even realizing it. This usually carefree and irresponsible man was now crying like a child.

Lin Shengli did not disturb him and waited quietly.

It took Sha-zhu a while to recover. He wiped his tears with his sleeve and sat down again: "Shengli, thank you for telling me this news. It's so important to me."

"Uncle He, please don't get agitated." Lin Shengli poured him another glass of wine. "There are two other things I think you should know as well."

"What is it?" Sha Zhu picked up his wine glass.

"The first thing is about Qin Huairu," Lin Shengli said in a low voice. "I overheard two middle-aged women talking, saying that after Qin Huairu gave birth to Huaihua, she secretly got an IUD."

"Snapped!"

Sha Zhu dropped his wine glass again, this time smashing it on the ground.

"What did you say?!" Sha Zhu's voice trembled. "Sister Qin got an IUD?"

"I only heard about it," Lin Shengli said. "You can go to the hospital to check if it's true. But I think it's pretty much true. Think about it, if Qin Huairu really wanted to live with you, why wouldn't she register the marriage? Why has she been dragging it out?"

Sha Zhu's face turned ashen. He recalled all the times he had proposed to Qin Huairu over the years, only to be met with various excuses: her mother-in-law disapproved, the child was too young, the timing wasn't right...

It turns out she never intended to have a child with him!

"There's a second thing," Lin Shengli continued, "It's about an old man."

"An old man?" Sha Zhu was stunned. "What happened to him?"

"I heard that after your father ran away with the White Widow, he sent you and Aunt Yushui child support every month," Lin Shengli said. "But it seems that an old man intercepted the money and never gave it to you."

Sha Zhu's eyes widened even more: "Child support? How come I didn't know about that?"

"You can go to the post office to check the records," Lin Shengli said.

Sha Zhu slammed his hand on the table: "Yi Zhonghai! That old bastard!"

He recalled how difficult the years had been for him and Yushui. Their father had run away, their mother had died young, and the two siblings had depended on each other for survival. He had dropped out of school early to learn to cook, and Yushui didn't even have a decent set of clothes.

And what about Yi Zhonghai? On the surface, he seemed to care about them, but in reality, he embezzled their child support payments!

"Uncle He, please don't get agitated," Lin Shengli advised. "What good will it do to go find that old man now and beat him up? Why don't you have a proper talk with him and get the money back? With this money, you can save it and leave some belongings for your son when Aunt Xiao'e comes back with him, so that you won't be penniless when you want to call him."

Sha Zhu took a few deep breaths, forcing himself to calm down:

"You're right, we can't act impulsively. We need money, getting money is the most important thing!"

He looked at Lin Shengli with a complicated expression: "Shengli, why are you telling me all this?"

"Because you have done me a favor," Lin Shengli said sincerely. "I had heard about this before, but I saw that you and Uncle Yi had a good relationship, so I never asked. If it weren't for you yesterday, I might have died outside. As for whether you believe it or not, and how to handle it, that's your business."

Sha Zhu patted Lin Shengli heavily on the shoulder:

"Good lad! Uncle He was right about you! I'll remember this favor!"

The two chatted for a while longer, then Sha Zhu quickly finished his meal, got up, and said goodbye.

Before leaving, he said to Lin Shengli, "Shengli, don't worry, Uncle He knows what to do. I'll come back for a drink after I've finished dealing with this."