Courtyard House: Wudang Disciple Sweeps Through the Compound

"Thank you, brother!"

The little girl happily took the wrapped bread, took a big bite, and her eyes instantly curved into two beautiful crescent moons.

Chang Xu quickly rolled up a roast duck and handed it to Chen Wenzi with a smile.

"Thank you, Brother Chang."

Chen Wenzi accepted the roast duck with a shy smile and politely thanked him.

Upon hearing this, Chang Xu smiled gently, his eyes filled with undisguised affection.

He genuinely liked the three siblings in front of him.

The siblings have a harmonious and loving relationship, and they are humble and polite in their interactions with others. They are clearly well-mannered children.

"Don't be so polite with me, just eat as much as you want. If it's not enough, we can order more."

Chang Xu greeted the group very warmly, his tone showing no sign of formality.

Chen Wenqi followed their example, rolled up a roast duck by hand, and savored it carefully.

He had to admit that Quanjude's roast duck was indeed a rare delicacy in this era.

Thinking of this, a novel idea suddenly popped into his mind: In the future, he would build an oven in the secret realm, and when the ducks he raised grew up, he would try to make roast duck. Maybe it would taste even more authentic and delicious than the ones in this restaurant.

The group thoroughly enjoyed the meal, each person devouring it with great gusto.

The three plump roast ducks were devoured by the four of them, leaving not a single piece of duck skin.

Chen Wenqi and Chang Xu are both young and strong men, and their appetites are significantly larger than those of the two little ones.

However, after the meal, everyone's stomachs were round and full, and their faces were full of satisfied expressions.

In the end, only two relatively clean duck carcasses remained on the table.

Chang Xu immediately called over a waiter and asked her to help pack up the two duck carcasses.

This incredibly lavish roast duck feast cost a total of twenty-five yuan.

In those days, this figure was equivalent to a full month's salary for an ordinary worker.

"Brother, the roast duck is so delicious! My stomach is so full."

The little girl stretched out her tiny hand, touched her round little belly, and said with a satisfied look on her face.

"When your brother makes a lot of money in the future, he'll bring you here to eat every day."

Chen Wenqi affectionately ruffled the little girl's hair and smiled as he made a promise.

"Mmm, that's great! I knew my brother loved me the most."

The little girl nodded vigorously, her eyes sparkling with joy.

After a short rest, Chang Xu drove Chen Wenqi and his two siblings back to the entrance of the courtyard house.

Just then, I ran into Uncle Yan Bugui, who was leisurely watering flowers by the flower bed at the entrance.

Seeing a military vehicle approaching, he immediately looked up curiously.

Immediately afterwards, the car came to a smooth stop, the door slowly opened, and Chen Wenqi, carrying the little girl, was the first to get out of the car, followed by Chen Wenzi.

The scene before him stunned Yan Bugui so much that he almost dropped the watering can he was holding.

"Chen Wenqi, take these two duck carcasses too. You can make soup with them when you get back; they taste really good."

Chang Xu handed the packaged duck carcass out of the car window.

"Brother Chang, no need, you should take it back to eat."

Chen Wenqi waved his hand and politely declined.

There's still quite a bit of meat left on the roast duck's carcass. Whether you eat it directly or take it home to make soup, it's a rare delicacy.

After all, the point of roast duck is to eat the skin, and not many people care about the meat on the duck carcass.

"Here you go. I have tasks to complete this afternoon, so I won't stay. We'll contact each other later."

Chang Xu was very firm and insisted on stuffing the bag of duck carcasses into Chen Wenqi's hands.

Chen Wenqi had no choice but to accept the duck carcass, and couldn't help but add, "Then drive carefully on the road, and be sure to pay attention to safety."

"Okay, I'll be going now."

Chang Xu smiled and waved at him before closing the car window, turning the car around, and slowly driving out of the alley.

Only after the military vehicle had completely disappeared from the alleyway did Chen Wenqi, carrying the little girl and leading Chen Wenzi, slowly walk towards the gate of the compound.

Upon seeing this, Yan Bugui quickly stepped forward and asked with curiosity, "Chen Wenqi, who drove you back just now? Was it a relative of yours? Oh, this bag even has the Quanjude logo printed on it. You bought roast duck? I've never tasted this rare treat before."

"Is it any of your business? If you haven't tried it, just pay for it yourself."

Chen Wenqi glanced at him irritably, too lazy to pay any attention to this meddlesome old man, and led his younger siblings straight to the backyard.

Because Jia Zhangshi was still staying in the hospital, the usually noisy and restless Zhongyuan Courtyard was unusually quiet at this moment.

This made Chen Wenqi feel a little uncomfortable.

But then I thought, without that unreasonable old hag nagging in my ear, life is much quieter now.

He secretly plotted that if that old hag dared to cause trouble after being discharged from the hospital, he still had a lot of croton powder hidden in his hands, enough to make her suffer from diarrhea and regret her actions.

Yan Bugui watched Chen Wenqi and the other two figures gradually disappear into the distance, pouted in dissatisfaction, muttered a few words under his breath, and then turned around and went home in a huff.

"Old woman, guess what I just saw at the door?"

As soon as Yan Bugui entered the house, he couldn't wait to call out to the inside.

"What did you see? Why are you making such a fuss?"

Aunt Yang Ruihua was busy tidying up the house when she heard her husband's voice. She looked up and asked curiously.

The news that Chen Wenqi and his two siblings returned in a military vehicle, carrying a gift box of roast duck from Quanjude, immediately caused a stir among the neighbors.

Yan Bugui quietly sidled up to his wife and whispered, "Did you see that? The three Chen kids came back in a military vehicle, carrying roast ducks from Quanjude! Do you think they have some kind of official relative? Judging from how they were chatting and laughing with that soldier, their relationship must be quite special."

As Yang Ruihua wiped the table, he frowned and pondered before replying, "I can't say for sure, but didn't Chen Wenqi's father serve in the army before? Maybe it's his father's former comrade-in-arms who came to visit him."

Yan Bugui carefully considered his wife's words and found them increasingly reasonable.

He stroked his chin and pondered for a moment before slowly saying, "According to what you're saying, the Chen family is probably not as simple as it seems on the surface. They might be hiding some connections we don't know about."

"I advise you to stop trying to take advantage of that family and stop scheming against them. Chen Wenqi is not someone to be trifled with. Be careful that you don't end up gaining nothing and just getting yourself into trouble."

Yang Ruihua kept working without stopping, but she didn't forget to remind her husband.

"I just can't stand that kid's arrogant attitude. He has no respect for me, his great-uncle, and he speaks without any sense of propriety."

Although Yan Bugui was still putting on a brave face, he was already starting to have some reservations about Chen Wenqi.

After much deliberation, he decided that it was more prudent to wait and see for the time being.

Especially Yi Zhonghai in the courtyard, who is always trying to take advantage of the Chen family's orphans and widows. He might get a taste of his own medicine one day.

The walls of a courtyard house can never keep out the gossip and rumors.

The news that Chen Wenqi had returned in a military vehicle and brought back Quanjude roast duck quickly spread throughout the compound and became common knowledge.

Upon hearing the neighbors' discussions, Qin Huairu was secretly surprised, and a complex and indescribable expression appeared on her face.

When Banggeng heard that the Chen siblings had eaten delicious roast duck, his mouth watered immediately. He then lay down on the ground, throwing a tantrum and crying, insisting that he had to eat roast duck.

This time, Qin Huairu did not indulge him as usual.

She knew perfectly well that if she shamelessly went to the Chen family to ask for things again, it would only bring more embarrassing gossip.

Banggeng cried and fussed for a long time until he was exhausted, then he lay down on the kang and drifted off to sleep.

Qin Huairu sat to the side, looking at her sleeping son, but her heart felt increasingly uneasy.

Why is it that the Chen family, with their orphan and widow, lives such a comfortable life, eating fish and meat every meal, while we can only eat dry cornbread and barely survive on bland pickled vegetables?

The more she thought about it, the more suffocated she felt, as if a heavy stone was pressing on her chest. Her resentment towards the Chen family also deepened without her realizing it.

As soon as Chen Wenqi and his two siblings stepped into the house, they saw their mother, Zhou Shuqin, setting out the bowls and chopsticks neatly, preparing lunch.

Upon seeing the two glistening duck carcasses handed to her by her son, Zhou Shuqin quickly put down her bowl and chopsticks, her face full of doubt, and hurriedly asked about the origin of the duck carcasses.

"Mom, I helped someone out a little the other day, and they treated us to roast duck to express their gratitude. By the way, Mom, you were home alone at noon, have you already eaten?" Chen Wenqi explained with a smile, his tone revealing a hint of concern for his mother.

"I've already eaten. I'm home alone, so a few bites will do. But don't let them spend money so easily next time. Your younger siblings are still young, so you have to be careful when you're out and about and don't trust strangers easily." Zhou Shuqin was initially full of worry, but when she heard that it was a soldier who was treating, her heart calmed down a little.

"Mom, don't worry, your son is very clever and knows what he's doing. He definitely won't suffer any losses." Chen Wenqi quickly patted his chest and comforted his mother with a smile.

Zhou Shuqin nodded and turned back to the dining table to eat. However, looking at the two shiny duck carcasses on the table, she hesitated to pick them up, planning to reheat them in the evening to add a dish for the children.

Seeing his mother's frugality, Chen Wenqi felt both sad and warm inside. He had no choice but to take matters into his own hands and carefully remove the last bits of meat from the duck carcass.

He filled a large bowl with the duck meat he had removed and presented it to his mother, insisting that she finish the bowl of meat.

"Mom, you work so hard taking care of the housework every day, you should eat more meat to nourish your body. You have to finish this bowl of meat, don't leave even a little bit." Chen Wenqi looked at his mother and solemnly instructed her.

Looking at the bowl piled high with duck meat in front of her, Zhou Shuqin wore a helpless yet gratified smile. A warm feeling welled up in her heart, and she felt her eyes burning slightly, almost bringing tears to her eyes.

Her child has truly grown up; he knows how to be considerate and how to care for his mother.

After settling his mother in, Chen Wenqi turned around and went back to his room. He carefully closed the doors and windows before slowly immersing his consciousness into the Xuanwu Secret Realm.

Because so many things happened yesterday, the hard-won ginseng hasn't been properly processed yet.

Tissue culture of ginseng is not as difficult as one might imagine, especially in the Xuanwu Secret Realm, where Chen Wenqi can easily create a sterile culture environment with just his will.

Next, he found some potatoes and sweet potatoes, cooked them, mashed them thoroughly, added several essential nutrients, and carefully prepared a simple sterile culture medium.

He then carefully cut the ginseng into many small pieces of sterile tissue, placed them into prepared sterile petri dishes, sealed them carefully, and also took strict measures to protect them from light.

With the aid of ten times the time flow rate in the secret realm, Chen Wenqi could clearly observe that the ginseng tissue cells in the petri dish were gradually dividing and proliferating.

Seeing this, Chen Wenqi felt an indescribable joy. It seemed that the first step of the tissue culture had been successfully completed. All that was left was to patiently observe the growth over the next few days.

This ginseng is a genuine wild ginseng from Changbai Mountain in Northeast China. Although it hasn't been growing for very long, its variety and quality are truly top-notch.

After handling the matters related to ginseng tissue culture, Chen Wenqi turned around and entered the library in the secret realm. He enthusiastically browsed through the various books in the library, eagerly absorbing the knowledge he needed.

In the afternoon, Chen Wenqi went out alone again. Before long, he brought back more than twenty large fish weighing over ten kilograms each. He found a cart, took the live fish to the steel rolling mill, and went straight to the purchasing agent he had met before.

When purchasing agent Wang saw Chen Wenqi pull two buckets of lively, wriggling fish into the yard, her face immediately lit up with a smile, and the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes gathered together, like a blooming autumn chrysanthemum.

"Brother Chen Wenqi, you're a real lifesaver! You've really helped me a lot. I'll take all these fish. From now on, whenever you have fish, just send them to me. I promise you won't lose out," said Purchasing Manager Wang, rubbing his hands together enthusiastically.

"Okay, Mr. Wang, the purchasing manager." Chen Wenqi nodded and replied with a smile.

"Don't call me 'Purchaser Wang,' it's too formal. I'm more than twenty years older than you. If you don't mind, just call me Brother Wang." Purchasing agent Wang patted Chen Wenqi on the shoulder, his tone very friendly.