I Have a Lake as I Walk Through the Courtyard

The canteen manager of the food factory was a middle-aged, overweight man with a ruddy complexion. When he saw Lin Feng, he smiled like a Maitreya Buddha.

"Oh, welcome, welcome! How many kilograms did you bring?"

"I'd estimate it weighs over 200 jin (100 kg)!"

"Haha, that's great!" The fat man glanced at the sack, saw that there was still movement inside, and his smile widened. He then ordered several cooks to bring out the large scale from the kitchen.

Lin Feng untied the burlap sack and poured the fish into a basin that the canteen cook had brought over. As soon as the fish saw air, they began to struggle wildly.

"Good fish, good fish! Fresh enough, weigh it quickly!" The fat man's eyes lit up, and the cook and the doorman were no better off. They were all like it was New Year's Day, hurriedly carrying the basins to the scale!

"A total of 213 jin! Your fish are big and fresh. I don't know how you negotiated with Li Fugui? What was the price before?"

"This fish costs 5 cents a pound! You can pay the difference if you need to pay extra."

Hearing that he could buy a ticket on the spot, the fat man breathed a sigh of relief. "Okay, this price it is. What kind of ticket do you want?"

"Cotton coupons and cloth coupons would be best! If not, grain coupons and newly issued industrial vouchers will also be acceptable!"

Upon hearing this, the fat man lowered his head and pondered for a moment. "I'll give you 60 yuan in cash, and the rest will be compensated according to the coupons. How about that? I'll exchange it all for industrial vouchers!"

"That's great!" Industrial coupons are all-purpose coupons, absolutely the hardest currency among hard currencies. Only one coupon is given for every 20 yuan of salary, and its value on the black market is no less than that of food coupons. With Lin Feng's current salary, he only gets one coupon a month! The iron pot he wants to buy will require 5 industrial coupons, and that set of cookware will take him at least a year to save up!

The fat guy was really generous; he gave him almost 20 industrial vouchers with the remaining money. Lin Feng happily put away the money and industrial vouchers, thinking that the big factories were really generous with their purchases.

"Young man, from now on, just send your best goods here! I'll definitely make sure you don't lose out!"

"Thank you!" The two shook hands excitedly before Lin Feng said goodbye to the fat man.

Lin Feng was pleasantly surprised to receive so many industrial vouchers. He had been worried about how to get a set of kitchenware and was thinking of asking his station manager for help, but he didn't expect to collect them all so quickly! He really needs to sell more things.

Lin Feng rode his bicycle to the state-run store as fast as he could, the bicycle almost sending sparks flying from its pedals. Fortunately, the state-run store was still open when he arrived.

Lin Feng parked his bicycle and ran breathlessly into the store. "Comrade, get me a complete set of professional chef's utensils!"

Seeing that Lin Feng was still out of breath, the older woman glanced at the clock on the wall. "What do you want?"

Lin Feng rattled off a long list. Professional chefs have four or five types of pots, including woks, stew pots, and soup pots. They not only have iron pots but also earthenware pots. As for knives, there are more than a dozen of them, plus some other small utensils, making at least twenty or thirty different kinds.

"Are you here to cause trouble, comrade? Don't you know it's almost time to leave work? We're about to go home!"

The eldest sister immediately exploded upon hearing this, and looked at Lin Feng as if she was about to roll up her sleeves.

Lin Feng's face turned green. The slogans on the wall constantly reminded him that people in this era were truly capable of violence. "Big sister, calm down! I really didn't come here to cause trouble! It's just a small token, nothing more! Consider it a tip for your trouble!"

The two waiters looked at each other. One of them, the older one, took the paper package from Lin Feng, opened it, and his eyes lit up. He quickly put the package back on the counter.

"Don't do that again next time! Come earlier when you buy things!"

"Okay, okay! Thank you both."

Although the knives from state-owned enterprises weren't as good as those handmade outside, Lin Feng only had so much money at the moment. After getting everything he needed, he spent all the industrial coupons he had just received, leaving only two lying forlornly in his pocket.

The 60 yuan he had just received was almost gone, and the money he had earned from selling 200 jin of fish was instantly spent.

"This money doesn't last long! When will I ever save up 1000?!" Lin Feng muttered with a bitter face as he collected various trinkets. Why is it that other transmigrators can pick up gold bars everywhere they go? And now it's my turn...

Lin Feng put the small item into a sack, tied the iron pot to the back of his bicycle, and muttered to himself as he worked. When he thought of the gold bars, his hands stopped moving! The more he thought about it, the brighter his eyes became! A word popped into his mind: Prince Gong's Mansion! In his later life, Lin Feng had seen a news report that only lasted a day or two, and he had specifically looked it up at the time.

"How could I forget this!" Lin Feng slapped his head, quickly packed his things, forcibly suppressed his pounding heart, and rode back to the courtyard house with a bang.

"Wow! Getting ready to practice your cooking skills! You've got all the gear ready! Want me to teach you?"

Hearing the sound, Lin Feng ignored it, his mind filled with thoughts of gold bricks and bars! With the Third Uncle gone from the gate, Lin Feng entered the courtyard much more smoothly. He pushed his bicycle into his house and was about to close the door when Sha Zhu stopped him with one hand.

Lin Feng's face darkened as he looked at the guy. "What do you want from me?"

"Hey, look at what you're saying! Aren't we neighbors? And in the same industry? Let's visit each other more often!"

Lin Feng really didn't want to deal with this guy. Just thinking about Qin Huairu behind him made Lin Feng's scalp tingle.

"Hey, Brother Zhu! We're all men, just say what you want to say!"

Hearing this, Sha Zhu felt a little embarrassed. "Xiao Feng! You said there are many female workers in the textile factory, is that true?"

Lin Feng looked at Sha Zhu's embarrassed appearance and wanted to laugh. This guy was almost driven to madness by the thought of finding a wife.

"Brother Zhu, you'd better not even think about it! With your current situation, finding a wife is just...sigh!" Lin Feng shook his head after saying that.

"Xiaofeng, I'm not bad either! As long as you can introduce me to someone, I'll definitely give you a generous kickback! I can even teach you cooking, I guarantee you'll be a star in this industry, what do you say?"

"Brother Zhu, your conditions are not just good, they're among the best in this alley! With your extra work outside and your salary, you can easily make seventy or eighty a month. Even Yi Zhonghai wouldn't stand a chance against you!"

Hearing Lin Feng say that, Sha Zhu immediately laughed. "You know your stuff! As long as you introduce me to someone, I promise I'll bring you along. I'll definitely take you with me when I go out to get jobs in the future, how about that! A man's word is his bond!"

"Brother Zhu, it's not that I don't want to help you! If I introduce you to someone, people will talk behind your back! You have no idea what those matchmakers are saying about you? They're practically blacklisting you!"

"What the hell?" Sha Zhu knew his reputation was bad, but he didn't realize the situation had deteriorated this much. Hearing Lin Feng's words, he immediately stood up, his eyes wide like saucers. "Explain yourself clearly!"