I Have a Lake as I Walk Through the Courtyard

After venting his anger by beating up Xu Damao, Sha Zhu thought about Lin Feng's words and felt increasingly uneasy. He usually looked down on this guy, Sha Zhu, thinking he was just a self-taught cook who was worlds apart from someone like Lin Feng who had a family tradition.

But what he heard today felt like a needle pricking his heart; he wasn't sure he'd get a good night's sleep until he understood.

Thinking of this, Sha Zhu quietly went to Lin Feng's house. "Is he home?"

Hearing the voice, Lin Feng pursed his lips, got out of bed, and opened the door. "What's up?"

Sha Zhu stood at the door, a little embarrassed. "I wanted to ask about the lunchboxes!"

"I have nothing to say to you!" The two had always disliked each other, and Lin Feng, who inherited the original body, was more or less affected by it.

"Hey, no! Brother won't listen for nothing!"

"Hehe, if you didn't listen for nothing, give me a like, right?"

"What does 'give a like' mean?" Sha Zhu was completely baffled by Lin Feng's words.

"They just talk about the benefits, but there's nothing in reality!"

"How could that be? Do you think I'm that kind of person? I'll give you something in return! If you're satisfied, how about I give you a secret recipe for braised pork sauce? Isn't that generous enough?"

Hearing this, Lin Feng's eyes darted around, and his arm that had been blocking the door unconsciously lowered.

Sha Zhu, all smiles, went inside and closed the door behind him. "Xiao Feng, can you talk to your brother about this?" When it came to getting a wife, Sha Zhu didn't dare to be negligent!

Lin Feng sighed. "That Yi Zhonghai guy has no good intentions. As the saying goes, 'A widow's doorstep is always full of gossip.' We're two grown men, bringing her free meals every day. If word gets out, what decent man would want to marry his daughter to us?"

"But what good does it do for an old man like us if we can't find wives?"

Lin Feng smiled. "Think about it yourself. If a man like Xu Damao came to your door to propose marriage, would you agree to let your sister marry him?"

Hearing this, Sha Zhu angrily slammed his fist on the table. "How could that be? That guy's rotten to the core; he's involved with countless women!"

"That's right!" Lin Feng shrugged. "Think about it carefully. If we dared to bring lunch to the widow's house today, those envious neighbors would make up hundreds of versions of our story tomorrow and spread them all over the alley. They wouldn't say anything nice! And that old woman from the Jia family, she'd be hoping we wouldn't get married so she could have a stable supply of free lunches!"

Hearing Lin Feng's words, Sha Zhu was secretly startled. How could he not understand such a simple principle? Not to mention, his third uncle had been eyeing his lunchbox for more than just a day or two!

Sha Zhu thought for a moment, then remained confused. "You mean that old woman from the Jia family would harm me? That's impossible! I helped her family!"

Lin Feng gave this guy a disdainful look. He could tell from the question that the guy hadn't given up yet, but for the sake of the secret recipe, he would give up.

"You know what kind of person that old woman is, don't you? Think about it, if you got married, would your wife watch you use your own things to help a widow? If you dared to do that, she'd definitely want a divorce!"

Sha Zhu gasped. "From what you're saying, if I give you the lunchbox, it'll be difficult for me to get married in the future."

Lin Feng patted his shoulder with pity. "You can try if you don't believe me. If you dare to give Qin Huairu your lunchbox, the three old men at the gate, the old woman from the Jia family, and Xu Damao in the backyard—just those three will spread the word about your heroic deed throughout the surrounding alleys and the entire steel mill! If your reputation is ruined, do you still want to get married? Dream on!"

Sha Zhu deflated like a punctured balloon, his face drooping. "Why is it so hard to do a good deed? Sister Qin, it's really difficult now!"

Lin Feng looked at this womanizer and wanted nothing more than to slap him on the head. "Her husband's death is a good thing for her. As for her family's difficulties? Who told you they were struggling? Your family's wealth might not even be as great as hers!"

"Impossible, right?" Sha Zhu felt like his worldview had been shattered.

Lin Feng took a sip of tea, listened to Sha Zhu's words, and fell silent. Seeing Lin Feng suddenly stop, Sha Zhu scratched his head anxiously. "Two portions of the secret recipe! And one portion with braised pork!"

"Hehe, deal!" Lin Feng slowly put down his teacup. "Think about it yourself, after Jia Dongxu dies, won't Qin Huairu take over?"

Sha Zhu nodded upon hearing this. "That's right! But Sister Qin won't earn much money since she's just started working!"

"She's back at work. The salary is one thing, but the most important thing is what? Her rural household registration can be changed! All three of her children and she now have rations! This can't be replaced by a few yuan more in salary each month! Her previous difficulties were precisely because the three of them didn't have rations, right? They didn't have enough food each month and had to go to the black market, right? Now that they have rations, where are the difficulties?"

"Hey, it really is! How come I didn't think of that?"

"You're not unaware of this, are you? People are constantly telling you about her family's difficulties. The more they say it, the more you start to believe it! That's called psychological suggestion!"

Sha Zhu's face darkened further upon hearing this, but he still refused to believe it. "That's barely enough to fill you up!"

Lin Feng saw that this guy wouldn't give up until he got what he wanted. "Both men in the Jia family were injured at work. Each injury is worth 500 yuan, so that's 1000 yuan for both! Plus the various compensations from the factory and the occasional subsidies from Yi Zhonghai, if I'm not mistaken, that old woman has at least 1000 yuan in savings. Do you? They even have a sewing machine openly displayed at home. With your assets, who do you think you are?"

After leaving behind two secret recipes, Sha Zhu walked out of Lin Feng's house looking completely lost. He couldn't refute what Lin Feng had said. After so many years in the courtyard, he knew the situation of every family inside and out. Even if he wanted to find an excuse for the Jia family, he couldn't.

"Brother, you got into a fight again today."

Seeing his brother return looking distraught, Yu Shui assumed he had been wronged. "I'm going to find Xu Damao right now!"

"It's not about that! By the way, why are you back?"

Rain looked at her brother and sighed. "It's already the beginning of the month, of course I'm back to get my living expenses!"

Sha Zhu scratched his head sheepishly, his hand instinctively reaching into his pocket, only to find it empty. The two yuan he had prepared earlier had been borrowed by Qin Huairu. Sha Zhu was stunned, then remembered Lin Feng's words.

"Brother, what's wrong with you today? Why are you so distracted?"

"Brother will go get you the money right away!" Hearing his sister's words, Sha Zhu came to his senses, pulled an iron box from under the bed, looked at the belongings in the iron box, counted them and found only 400 yuan, sighed, took out 2 yuan and handed it to his sister.

"Hey sis! I have some questions for you, give me some advice!"

Rain carefully put the money away, noticing her brother acting strangely today. "Go ahead and tell me!"