I Have a Lake as I Walk Through the Courtyard

After receiving the call from Factory Director Yang, Director Wang thought for a while after hanging up the phone, and then quickly called two staff members to go to Courtyard No. 95.

The three men quickly took Jia Zhangshi away from the courtyard where she was sewing shoe soles. All the neighbors in the courtyard were stunned. It turned out that Yang Laowu was not just making threats!

"They really took it!"

There was a lot of discussion in the courtyard. Xiao Dang, holding his younger sister who was a few years old, hurriedly ran home.

Inside the neighborhood office, Sister Hua brought several women comrades from the neighborhood to the scene, which looked like a joint trial.

As usual, after finishing his work for a while, Lin Feng took out a book and slowly started reading it behind the counter. Just as he was engrossed in reading, a noisy shout outside the shop attracted his attention.

"Down with the wicked mother-in-law!"

Bored, Lin Feng ran out to take a look and saw that Jia Zhangshi was wearing a tall paper hat on her head, her body was tied up, and she was being escorted by four women, walking at the front of the procession.

"Sister Zhao, is this a public parade?"

"Yes! This old woman oppresses women and has caught the attention of the Women's Federation. She's going to suffer the consequences. They'll have to make a fuss for a week to achieve any publicity effect."

"A week..." Lin Feng clicked his tongue. If he had to endure this for a week, he would go crazy.

Sister Zhao patted Lin Feng on the shoulder. "This is a negative example. We not only need to criticize it, but also to use it as a public warning to awaken those victimized women. You watch the shop, I'll go check on it..."

"Okay!" Sure enough, when it comes to gossip, women are much more curious than men.

Lin Feng returned to the shop, only to find it completely empty, so quiet it was almost unbearable. "It's time someone cleaned up Jia Zhangshi's place!" he thought. He figured she probably wasn't in the yard today, so hopefully no one would bother him at the party he was hosting tonight. "She's a level eight worker, huh? No wonder Yi Zhonghai was so arrogant before."

Lin Feng was pondering what to get for dinner when a voice made him look up. "Get me a bottle of soy sauce!"

"Lou Xiao'e! What happened to you..."

Lou Xiao'e was also taken aback when she saw Lin Feng. "What are you doing selling things here? Are you a salesperson?"

"Yeah!" Lin Feng said, deftly taking the soy sauce bottle. "You didn't marry someone from around here, did you?"

Lou Xiao'e smiled. "My family used to work at a steel rolling mill, so it's not surprising that I married someone from there!"

"That's true!"

"Your job must be so comfortable!" Lou Xiao'e looked at Lin Feng with a hint of envy in her eyes.

Are you feeling unwell? The Eighth Official was just joking! Lou Xiao'e took the full soy sauce bottle and paid. "Remember to let me know if you get anything good, I won't treat you badly!"

Lin Feng rolled his eyes. "You think your family is lacking anything?"

"Sigh! Things aren't like they used to be. The little bit of stuff the government provides for my family is just enough for my parents!"

"Pigeon City! You can buy anything there if you have money. Why would you need to ask me for help?"

"I dare not go, and I can't get up!" Lou Xiao'e pouted and looked at him. Lin Feng was speechless for a moment, but his eyes lit up. This silly girl is rich but stupid, and she never takes advantage of others.

"What do you want? I go there often. Since we're acquaintances, I'll get you some!"

Lou Xiao'e's eyes instantly lit up like light bulbs, like a weasel in the night. "Meat! I want to eat meat! I haven't had meat in so long..."

Lin Feng was speechless. "Even your family is short of meat? Your dad knew so many people; sending someone to the black market wouldn't be difficult!"

Hearing this, Lou Xiao'e panicked a little. "Don't talk nonsense! Even I'm going to marry a worker; my family's situation isn't as good as you think!"

"Ahem!" Lin Feng glanced around instinctively. "Where's your husband?"

"Ugh, don't even mention him! He's just a technician, his arms aren't even as thick as mine. He's okay at technical stuff, but forget about everything else."

"Alright then! But with so many people around, don't try to scam me. How do we make the deal?"

Lou Xiao'e's eyes darted around. "There are too many people in the courtyard where I live. Go to this address. This person used to be a worker for my family. You can give him the things when you come back from here, and he will pass them on to me."

Lin Feng nodded. "That's how it'll be!"

After seeing Lou Xiao'e off, Lin Feng's consciousness sank into his space. He looked at his dozen or so pigs and his mouth watered. Fish and meat were good, but nothing tasted as good as pork! The piglets in the space did nothing but eat and sleep every day. In half a year, each pig had grown to more than 100 pounds, but they were still a long way from being ready for market.

Looking at the beans he had planted, they were almost ripe, but not yet at the ideal level for making tofu. Lin Feng put down his book in frustration, his mouth watering more and more as he looked at them.

The fastest-growing animals are the ducks. The loaches by the lake are almost an infestation. These creatures have an amazing reproductive capacity. These ducks and geese eat them almost every day, and they all grow up to be plump and healthy! Their egg production is astonishing.

Lin Feng didn't raise too many poultry. In the past six months, he only added some chicks. Relying on natural reproduction, the number of pheasants and wild ducks has also formed a huge population. But these things are much more noisy than domestic chickens and ducks. If it weren't for his craving for wild game, Lin Feng would have started to clean them up long ago. These things eat a lot but don't gain weight, and the eggs they lay are small.

After getting off work, Lin Feng quickly went home, grabbed his bucket and fishing rod, and set off on his bicycle. He had to be careful in this courtyard, otherwise Jia Zhangshi would be a cautionary tale; arrogant people never have a good ending.

Upon arriving at the lakeside, Lin Feng parked his bicycle and smiled as he saw an old man by the lake – a familiar face!

"Is nobody here?" Lin Feng asked, showing the old man a set of bright white teeth. As soon as the old man saw him, he put away his fishing rod, turned around, and left without saying a word.

"Is it really necessary? At your age, you're still so petty!" Lin Feng muttered to himself, glanced at the time, and without thinking much, put down the fish tank and fish bucket to begin his performance.

After patiently waiting for more than ten minutes, two large turtles and a grass carp weighing more than three pounds were quickly lifted from the lake into the fish bucket. The whole process took no more than half an hour.

The old men not far away were already used to it; they glanced at it enviously before calmly turning away, their earlier surprise gone. Looking at the palm-sized fish in their buckets, they silently took out a cigarette from their pocket, lit it, and with deep eyes, exhaled a puff of smoke towards the lake, as if sighing.

Watching Lin Feng leave on his bicycle with his catch, the fishing buddies exchanged glances and then the lakeside fell completely silent.

After glancing at the fish bucket at the gate, the three aunties silently turned and went back into the house. A little while later, the Yan brothers, along with their little sister, hurriedly went out with their fishing rods.

Lin Feng parked his bicycle and arrived at Nan Yi's house. Liang Ladi's face was beaming with joy. When he entered the house, he saw Xu Damao and Yang Laowu sitting in the living room, already waiting for him.

"Haha, I've never seen anyone as good at fishing as you in the north! If you had skills like that where we're from, you wouldn't just be starving, you'd probably be..."

Yang Laowu swallowed the words "get rich" back, and Lin Feng gave a forced,憨憨 (simple and honest) smile. "No one should bother us today, right?"

"Don't worry! I'll change the atmosphere in this courtyard sooner or later. Don't they know who's sitting in this house?"

Xu Damao's eyes darted around. "Three high-ranking officials and an eighth-grade worker, what's wrong with them eating some meat?"