I Have a Lake as I Walk Through the Courtyard

It wasn't until 5 p.m. that Lin Feng returned to the courtyard house. He placed the lunchbox he had brought from the factory on the coal stove. As the aroma wafted out, Lin Feng opened the lunchbox, looked at his own cooking, and ate it with disdain, finding it tasteless.

Just as Raymond Lam was wolfing down his food, the already flimsy door was suddenly pushed open with a bang, startling him.

Lin Feng narrowed his eyes and looked up, only to see Yi Zhonghai leading Sha Zhu straight in.

"Eating?" Yi Zhonghai asked with a gentle smile, which, combined with his square face, actually made him quite presentable.

Lin Feng suppressed his anger, wanting to see what the old man was up to. "What is it?"

Sha Zhu glanced at Lin Feng's dinner, his disdain undisguised, while Yi Zhonghai sat casually opposite Lin Feng.

"Xiaofeng, an old man has come to discuss something with you!"

"Tell me!" Lin Feng didn't stop eating for a moment. The world was big, but nothing was bigger than a full stomach.

"Lin Feng, you and Sha Zhu are both cooks in the courtyard, and you're both rare and promising young men!"

After being showered with compliments, Lin Feng remained silent, quietly eating his meal and waiting for what was to come!

"After the Jia family's things were gone, their lives suddenly fell into hardship!" Yi Zhonghai sighed as he said this, a trace of pity on his face.

"I discussed it with Shazhu. You're both cooks, so you can bring meals to the Jia family every day. Food is so expensive these days, and with the Jia family's meager resources, they simply can't afford any extra food. Do you think you could bring a lunchbox for the Jia family every day?"

"Sir, I can guarantee I can do it, but I don't know if this little wrecked thing can?"

Hearing what these two said, Lin Feng couldn't hold back any longer. He glanced at them out of the corner of his eye, grabbed the warm water he had prepared for himself on the table, and splashed it over Yi Zhonghai's head.

The sudden turn of events left the two speechless. But that wasn't all. Lin Feng stood up and pointed at Yi Zhonghai's nose.

"You old bastard, you're up to no good! Making a grown man like me deliver lunchboxes to a widow? How am I supposed to get married in the future? What about my reputation? You're so old, you can't possibly be that clueless?"

Sha Zhu, who was about to explode in anger, was stunned when he heard Lin Feng's words, and his fist, which was waving in mid-air, stopped.

"A little kindness is appreciated, but too much kindness breeds resentment! With that old woman Jia's character, forget about food; even if you served her lavish meals every day, she might not thank me. You've really found me a good match! If this old woman gets used to her gluttony, she'll definitely ruin my reputation everywhere. I'll never be able to get married again!"

Upon hearing this, Sha Zhu's face visibly darkened. His carefree personality did not mean he was stupid. After Lin Feng's prompting, he instantly realized what was going on.

Lin Feng kicked Yi Zhonghai out of the house with great force, then grabbed him by the collar. "Everyone come and see! How can someone with such a wicked heart act like a big shot? Pah!"

Yi Zhonghai struggled a few times, but Lin Feng's hand was like a vise, and he couldn't break free. He looked to Sha Zhu for help, but Sha Zhu's expression made his heart skip a beat.

"Xiaofeng, it's a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding! It was indeed my oversight in this matter!" Yi Zhonghai said, seeing more and more people gathering around. "Can we sit down and talk?"

"I'm talking about your mother! You old hag, you don't have a son, and all you do is scheme against this and that all day long. I think you're just bored!"

Lin Feng roughly shoved Yi Zhonghai away, causing Yi Zhonghai to fall flat on his face in front of the neighbors. To the neighbors' surprise, Sha Zhu, who was standing nearby, remained completely unmoved.

"Uncles and elders! Do you know what this so-called old man wanted from me today? He asked me and Sha Zhu to deliver lunchboxes to the widow's house, for free! You be the judge, is there any justice in this world? I'm a grown man delivering lunchboxes to a widow, how can I explain myself afterward?"

Lin Feng kept calling out "widow" to Qin Huairu, who was hiding in the crowd, until her face turned dark. Seeing that the old man was in a difficult situation, she touched her belly and walked up to Lin Feng.

"Xiaofeng! This is indeed an old man's fault; he didn't think things through properly. He just meant well and wanted to help our family!"

"Pah! Qin Huairu, I'm letting you off the hook today because of your belly. You say Yi Zhonghai is kind and only wants to help your family, but let me ask you, with his monthly income of just over 100 yuan, if he really wanted to help your family, would he need to come to us? That old bastard is up to no good!"

Hearing this, Liu Haizhong blushed and walked to the middle. "Yeah, Lao Yi! We're both from the steel rolling mill, we know each other inside and out, how exactly are you making this calculation?"

Yi Zhonghai stood up awkwardly, looking at the group of neighbors, a gloomy glint in his eyes.

"Everyone, I really misunderstood this! I thought the cooks brought food home for free, right? Besides, these days, buying food on the black market costs way more than a penny or two!"

Upon hearing this, all the neighbors' eyes lit up, and they all stared at Sha Zhu and Lin Feng!

Lin Feng remained calm and gave a cold laugh. "Who told you my lunchbox was free? I pay for my meals at the factory with real money and meal tickets! Do you think the canteen managers are just for show? These days, which canteen has extra food?"

"There are leftovers in the steel mill's canteen!"

"Who? Which bastard said that?" Sha Zhu looked at his neighbors' red eyes and hurriedly explained that it was no joke to be accused of such a serious crime.

"I'll pay for the extra food from the steel mill's canteen too. If you don't believe me, go ask around at the canteen tomorrow."

"What about the small canteen? It's full of leftovers! And a lot of meat!"

Sha Zhu looked in the direction of the sound and saw that he'd been caught red-handed. "Xu Damao! It really was you! All you do is stir up trouble all day long. Watch me, your grandpa Zhu, deal with you!"

As Sha Zhu spoke, he rolled up his sleeves and charged towards Xu Damao. Xu Damao was no pushover either, and with his experience, he ran towards the outside of the courtyard! The two chased and fled, and the scene in the courtyard instantly changed.

The neighbors' attention was drawn to the two idiots, and Yi Zhonghai unknowingly escaped a disaster.

"Alright, alright, I didn't think this through this time. I apologize to Lin Feng here!" Yi Zhonghai bowed deeply to Lin Feng before Lin Feng could react.

"Go and separate those two. We're supposed to be a harmonious courtyard house. What kind of behavior is this, fighting and fooling around like this? They're all grown up, yet they act like children. Everyone, please disperse!"

After Yi Zhonghai finished speaking, he ignored everyone's reaction. The neighbors watched the two of them having a good time, unaware that Yi Zhonghai had quietly disappeared into the crowd.

"Consider yourself lucky! Trying to outmaneuver me? I'm not that easy to deal with!" Lin Feng, seeing that the main character had disappeared, glanced at Sha Zhu, who was chasing after him with great enthusiasm, and then at Qin Huairu, who was still looking pitiful on the side. He went back into the house with a gloomy face!