I Have a Lake as I Walk Through the Courtyard

The rich aroma of wine and meat wafted into the courtyard. When Jia Zhangshi, who had just been exhausted, returned to the courtyard, her mouth watering like a waterfall. She glanced at Nan Yi's house with her eyes scanning it, silently cursing him for more than ten minutes before dragging her tired body back inside.

Qin Huairu was exhausted after a long day, and she couldn't even lift her arms, but she felt an unprecedented sense of satisfaction. The improvement in her skills made her feel very at ease. She rushed out half of Sha Zhu's lunchbox, ignoring her son's ravenous eating.

"Oh, so why didn't you bring me food? You're secretly eating delicious food yourself, neglecting your son!"

Qin Huairu didn't even bother to lift her eyelids when she heard the voice; she looked like a starving ghost reincarnated. "I've been moving iron for two hours today, and I'm so hungry and sleepy. Can't we stop this? Otherwise, if Sister Hua asks about it tomorrow, I might say something inappropriate!"

"You..." Upon hearing the name "Sister Hua," Jia Zhangshi's fat trembled. Looking at the half-bowl of greasy food, she grabbed her chopsticks and slapped her two granddaughters' hands away. "What right do these worthless girls have to eat this? This is my grandson's!"

Xiao Huaihua's lips immediately pursed. Seeing this, Qin Huairu sighed, pushed some of the food from her own bowl into her two daughters' bowls. "Eat..."

This was the first time Qin Huairu had eaten faster than Jia Zhangshi. After finishing, she tossed her bowl aside. "Mother-in-law, I'm so sleepy, you can wash the dishes later..." Qin Huairu said before leaving the room. She hurriedly fetched water to wash up, feeling like her eyelids were about to close. "Zhu Zi came back way too late..."

"You want to make..." Before she could finish speaking, Jia Zhangshi, seeing the look in her daughter-in-law's eyes, hurriedly shut her mouth, her usually chubby face quickly plastered with a smile. "You've worked hard, go wash up and go to sleep!"

Qin Huairu nodded, and Jia Zhangshi's lips twitched. "I can bend and stretch, just you wait!"

Time flew by. Lin Feng quietly delivered a basket of eggs and duck eggs into a courtyard. The man helped pull Lin Feng into the house, and after counting the eggs in the basket, his face lit up with a smile. "Miss is really something."

"Why is there no fish today? And where's the lotus root starch?"

"You sent so much last time, were you able to finish it all?"

"Just deliver it! Don't worry, we can't finish it all. We can pickle it!"

Raymond Lam...

"Okay! I'll get it for you next time I see it in Pigeon City!"

"Thank you for your trouble!" After Lin Feng left, the middle-aged man muttered to himself, "Why can't I find these good things when I go to Pigeon Market?"

"Honey, don't be silly! She used to work in purchasing. If you were that capable, you wouldn't be stuck in the factory now! Hurry up and get the young lady's share ready. I'll sneak it over tomorrow when there are fewer people around!"

Back in the house, seeing that there were still a few hours until dawn, Lin Feng decided to enter his spatial dimension and not sleep. He made a small bucket of soy milk and started using brine to curdle tofu.

Lin Feng was unsure of himself as it was his first time making this, so he made a very small batch. As the temperature rose, he slowly poured the brine into the soy milk, stirring constantly with one hand, and only stopped when he saw the tofu curds gradually forming.

"I hope it works!" Thinking of the delicious tofu stew with meat, Lin Feng unconsciously swallowed. After drinking a large bowl of soy milk, he felt refreshed. He checked his watch, then leisurely walked out of the space towards the supply and marketing cooperative.

"Sister Zhao, so early today?"

Upon seeing Lin Feng, Sister Zhao sniffed. "What's that smell? It smells so good! Is it tofu?"

Lin Feng had long since given up on questioning people's sense of smell in this day and age. "Just got back from Pigeon City this morning!"

"How much did you buy? Could you spare some for Sister Zhao?"

"I'm too late today! I'll see if I can still run into him tomorrow; that guy won't just be here for one day!"

After a busy morning, the two quickly had some free time. Lin Feng looked at the knowledge in the book and made clicking sounds. There really are no waste products from beans. Soy milk, tofu dregs, tofu skin, and finally tofu! Even if it goes bad, it's still edible. If all else fails, you can make fermented tofu! It's practically an all-purpose ingredient.

Lin Feng tossed the tofu dregs into the pigpen, and ten pigs came running at the smell. Watching this, Lin Feng chuckled. "Eat, eat! Grow fat quickly... My cleaver is itching for a bite!"

"What's bothering you?" Hearing Lin Feng mutter to himself, Sister Zhao couldn't help but laugh. "Missing you, are you missing a wife? Want Sister Zhao to help introduce someone?"

Lin Feng looked embarrassed. "Sister Zhao, please stop teasing me!"

"You're not young anymore! You'll be 19 this year, and 20 by the traditional Chinese age reckoning!"

"Sister Zhao, I'm 19 years old (by Chinese reckoning)..."

"It shouldn't be too different, this age is ideal! What kind of person are you looking for?"

Lin Feng was having a bit of a headache; this topic was a bit unavoidable!

The atmosphere in the steel rolling mill workshop was unusually tense today. Sister Hua approached Qin Huairu. "Relax a little, your skills are great! We've all seen your hard work over the past three months!"

Qin Huai forced a smile. "I'm still a little worried!"

"You only passed Level 2! Don't worry, you've forgotten Master Yang's teachings: a fitter's mental fortitude is crucial! Once you pick up a workpiece, don't think about anything else."

Qin Huai took a deep breath, just as she was about to speak, when a voice suddenly came over the loudspeaker: "Congratulations to Comrade Liang Ladi from Workshop 3 for passing the Level 6 welder assessment and becoming the first and most honorable Level 6 female worker in the entire workshop! Let's give her a round of applause!"

Sister Hua and a group of female workers jumped up. "Haha, we have a Level 6 worker now! Liang Ladi is amazing! Level 6, how much does she earn a month?"

Qin Huairu clenched her fists, took a deep breath while watching the jubilant female workers, and slowly walked onto the worktable after hearing her name called.

When it was time to leave work, the courtyard was bustling with activity. Several families were emitting the aroma of stewed meat. Qin Huairu was also unusually happy and used her meat coupons, despite Nan Yi's disapproving look, to exchange for two ounces of meat in the kitchen!

"Mom, what day is it today? You actually bought meat."

Qin Huairu pinched her son's cute little face. "Your mom got a raise! I'm a level two worker now."

Upon hearing this, Jia Zhangshi, who was inside the house, dropped her shoes to the ground. It took her a long time to realize what was happening and pick them up. She thought to herself, "I'm afraid I won't be able to keep this daughter-in-law in check from now on!"

Yang Laowu sat inside the house, surrounded by five or six women. The table was piled high with all sorts of good things, such as eggs, pickled fish, and cured meat.

"Master Yang, thank you so much! Without you, I don't know when my husband would have been able to upgrade!"

Old Yang happily accepted the gift. "It's all thanks to their solid foundation and their own hard work! Your family's good days are just around the corner..."

Liu Haizhong also received a lot of gifts, but it was still far less than what Yang Laowu received. In the past, Yang Laowu's life was the only one that was better than Yi Zhonghai's, but he never expected that even this would be surpassed.

"Life is getting unbearable..."