Siheyuan (courtyard house): My father, Li Yunlong!

When Li Zhenhua pushed his bicycle back to No. 95 Nanluoguxiang, it was already late at night. The courtyard was quiet, with only a few houses still having dim lights shining from their windows.

He had just propped up his bicycle under the eaves of his house and hadn't even locked it when he heard a rustling sound of footsteps coming from the front yard.

Looking back, I saw several figures approaching in the darkness; they were Old Li's wife from the front yard and the elderly Sun couple from the middle yard.

"Director Li... Director Li, you're back?"

Old Li's wife rubbed her hands together, a fawning smile plastered on her face, her voice kept very low.

The old man from the Sun family also stepped forward and said awkwardly.

"Zhenhua, I'm so sorry to bother you so late... It's just that we're really starving at home, and the baby is crying from hunger... I heard you... have connections, could you... spare us some cornmeal? Just a little! We'll pay the black market price! We won't let you lose out!"

Looking at their sallow faces and the anxious yet ashamed expressions, Li Zhenhua knew in his heart that they had been driven to a dead end.

In today's black market, even with money, it's hard to buy real grain; those mixed with sand and dirt are in high demand and fierce competition.

The news of his "promotion" to deputy director of the logistics department clearly gave these neighbors their last hope.

He hesitated for a moment, looked around to make sure no one was watching, and then said in a low voice.

"Come in, but keep your voice down."

The three men, feeling as if they had been granted a pardon, quickly slipped into Li Zhenhua's small house.

Li Zhenhua didn't say much. He simply thought of it and took out three small bags of cornmeal, weighing about five or six pounds each, from his system space, pretending to put them in old cloth bags.

"That's all. I went through a lot of trouble to get these. On the black market, it's three yuan a bag."

"Oh! Thank you, Director Li! Thank you!"

Old Li's wife hurriedly pulled out a crumpled roll of small bills and hugged the bag of cornmeal tightly as if it were a life-saving ration.

The elderly couple from the Sun family paid the money with profuse thanks and accepted the grain, their eyes reddening with emotion.

"Go back quickly, don't let anyone see you."

Li Zhenhua waved.

The three of them were filled with gratitude again before sneaking away along the wall like thieves.

Li Zhenhua sighed softly and was about to bolt the door when suddenly, a slender figure appeared timidly in the moonlight at the doorway—it was Qin Huairu.

She had clearly been waiting in the shadows outside the door for a while, and only dared to show herself after the three men left.

At that moment, she lowered her head, her hands nervously twisting the hem of her clothes, her cheeks appearing exceptionally pale in the dim light.

"Director Li... Director Li..."

The sound was as faint as a mosquito's buzz.

Li Zhenhua raised an eyebrow, a playful smile playing on his lips, and deliberately drawled out his words.

"Sister Qin? It's so late, is something wrong? Could it be... that Madam Jia is craving meat again?"

Upon hearing this, Qin Huairu's face instantly flushed red, the blush spreading all the way to her ears. She was so embarrassed that she wanted to disappear, and even her neck turned pink.

She instinctively brought her legs together and lowered her head even further.

"No...no..."

Her voice trembled as she hurriedly explained.

"It's...it's my family...my parents' side..."

She mustered her courage and raised her head, her eyes already brimming with tears that glistened in the moonlight, filled with pleading and unspeakable embarrassment.

"I... my family sent a message saying... that we've been without food for over a week... tree bark, grass roots... we've eaten them all... my father is swollen from hunger, and my mother is about to collapse... Director Li, I beg you, please have mercy and lend me some food! Not much, just ten jin... no, five jin of cornmeal will do! I'll pay you back when Dongxu gets his salary, or... or I'll find a way to pay you back! I'll give you a written agreement! I... I'll do anything for you!"

As she spoke, her legs went weak, and she was about to kneel down.

Li Zhenhua reacted quickly, grabbing her arm to prevent her from actually kneeling down.

When I touched her, I could only feel that her arms were slender and trembling slightly.

Li Zhenhua never imagined that Qin Huairu's family situation had deteriorated to such an extent. They had been without food for a week, eating tree bark and grass roots, and the elderly were suffering from edema... In that era, this meant they were on the verge of death.

Looking at the woman in front of me, although she seemed to have ulterior motives, the despair and tears in her eyes were genuine.

She truly sacrificed even her dignity for her family.

However, despite the sympathy, Li Zhenhua is not a great philanthropist, and he would never do a losing business like giving away food for free.

Especially since it's Qin Huairu, if she really gets the better of him, she might try to take advantage of him later.

He pondered for a moment, a look on his face that seemed to indicate a dilemma or a weighing of pros and cons.

"Five catties of cornmeal?"

Li Zhenhua shook his head, his tone carrying a cold realism.

"Sister Qin, I'm not trying to be mean, but five pounds of cornmeal, how many days can that feed your family? At most, it'll last three to five days. After that, won't they starve to death? It's just a drop in the ocean; it doesn't solve the fundamental problem."

Upon hearing this, Qin Huairu's eyes dimmed instantly, thinking that Li Zhenhua was going to refuse her, and her tears flowed even more fiercely.

However, Li Zhenhua changed the subject.

"Since we're going to borrow, we can't just think about the immediate future. We need at least twenty catties to help your family get through this toughest time. Maybe we can even have some leftovers to exchange for something else and keep them afloat."

"Twenty...twenty jin?"

Qin Huairu suddenly raised her head, looking at Li Zhenhua in disbelief, her despairing eyes suddenly bursting with ecstatic joy!

Twenty pounds of cornmeal was an astronomical sum that could save lives in those days!

Her voice trembled with excitement.

"Director Li! You...you're serious? You really can lend me twenty kilograms?"

"I, Li Zhenhua, always keep my word."

Li Zhenhua smiled faintly, but his gaze, as if hooked, swept over Qin Huairu's chest and slender waist, which were heaving slightly with excitement. The meaning in his eyes was self-evident.

When Qin Huairu met that gaze, her ecstatic mood was instantly dampened, as if doused with a bucket of cold water, and she sobered up instantly.

Equivalent exchange... the same old rule.

The gratitude that had just begun to rise was instantly replaced by immense shame and the coldness of reality.

She bit her lower lip so hard it almost bled.

On one side was the tragic prospect of her parents starving to death, and on the other side were the humiliating conditions proposed by the man in front of her.

The struggle lasted only a few seconds.

Thinking of her father's swollen body and her mother's dying appearance, Qin Huairu steeled her heart, and a resolute determination replaced her hesitation.

She took a deep breath, as if using all her strength, and whispered in a trembling but unusually clear voice.

"Thirty...thirty jin! Director Li, I need thirty jin! Please...add ten more jin!"

She proactively raised the price, as if she wanted to use the extra ten catties of grain to seek some psychological comfort for the huge price she was about to pay, or to exchange it for her family's survival for a little longer.

Li Zhenhua raised an eyebrow in surprise, then a knowing smile appeared on his lips.

This woman knows how to seize opportunities, and she's ruthless enough, especially to herself.

"make a deal."

He nodded decisively.

Seeing that Li Zhenhua agreed, Qin Huairu felt as if she had completed a major transaction and breathed a sigh of relief.

She quickly looked around to make sure no one was nearby, then lowered her voice and spoke very fast, as if to embolden herself or to remind Li Zhenhua to finish the job quickly.

"My mother-in-law... is fast asleep, hugging the stalk of a dog. Dongxu... Dongxu is rushing to meet a deadline at the factory today and has to work overtime until late at night... he definitely won't be able to come back."

The implication in those words couldn't be clearer.

Li Zhenhua understood immediately.

He stopped talking nonsense, and the playful smile on his face was instantly replaced by an aggressive desire.

With a forceful pull, he drew Qin Huairu's soft body tightly into his arms, and his other hand skillfully slipped under the hem of her cotton-padded jacket.

"Well……"

Qin Huairu let out a suppressed gasp, her body instantly stiffening, but she did not resist. She simply closed her eyes tightly, her long eyelashes trembling violently, letting Li Zhenhua's burning kisses fall on her neck and cheeks, finally sealing her lips.

The large hand that roamed around her waist and back carried an irresistible force.