Courtyard House: In times of famine, my hamster became a spirit.

In the winter of 1960, Zhou Jianguo was awakened by hunger.

He died from overwork in his previous life, and his transmigration starts in hell mode.

He suppressed the dizziness caused by low blood sugar and rushed to the cabinet in the corner.

That was the half-bag of cornmeal he risked his life for, his last hope to get through the month.

However, the lock was pried open.

The cabinet doors were wide open, and the inside was completely empty.

Forget about cornmeal, even the cloth bags used to hold it are gone.

boom!

Zhou Jianguo's eyes instantly became bloodshot.

This is a plan to kill off his family line; it's a plan to starve him to death!

He grabbed the fire hook from behind the door, and following the scattered cornmeal dust on the ground, stepped out of the room.

The powder broke off beside the water trough in the middle courtyard, near the Jia family's door.

A hairless mangy dog ​​was licking a broken bowl, the rim of which was covered in golden corn porridge.

That was his life, and now it's become dog food for the Jia family.

"Hey, Jianguo..." Uncle Yan Bugui was about to greet him.

Zhou Jianguo ignored him, carrying a fire hook and heading straight for the Jia family's gate, his voice like sandpaper: "Who did this?"

There were a few middle-aged women washing clothes in the yard, but they all stopped now.

The curtain was lifted, and Jia Zhangshi's fat face peeked out, with oil still dripping from her mouth.

"Are you trying to call back the dog's soul so early in the morning? I feel sorry for the dog, what's wrong with feeding it some food?"

"That's my food ration." Zhou Jianguo gripped the iron hook tightly.

"Did you write your name on it?" Jia Zhangshi rolled her triangular eyes, spitting out a sunflower seed shell. "You childless wretch, why are you arguing with an animal? Everyone, be the judge, is Zhou Jianguo trying to extort money from us?"

Banggeng popped out of the house, cornmeal smeared on his lips, and made a face at him: "Hehehe, you big idiot, no food to eat!"

The commotion attracted an elderly man named Yi Zhonghai, who stood with his hands behind his back and a furrowed brow: "What's going on?"

"Old man! This widow and her child have no children and are stealing from my house! Isn't this bullying an orphan and a widow?" Jia Zhangshi accused the villain first.

Yi Zhonghai glanced at the dog bowl on the ground, then at Zhou Jianguo, whose face was deathly pale, and knew exactly what was going on.

Besides Bang Geng, who else in the entire hospital is so dishonest?

But the Jia family was in dire straits, making them a key group he focused on helping. Zhou Jianguo? A reclusive lone wolf, with no relatives or friends.

"Jianguo," Yi Zhonghai said, adopting an elder's tone, "Catch the thief red-handed. All flour looks the same, how can you prove it's yours? We're neighbors, don't ruin the harmony. It's just a little cornmeal, just remember to lock the door next time."

"A little?" Zhou Jianguo laughed, blood seeping from the corner of his mouth. "That's my life this month."

"Alright!" Sha Zhu came out, waving his enamel mug. "The old man has spoken, what are you still being so fussy about? Sister Qin's family isn't well-off, Bang Geng is just trying to keep the dog from starving, he's doing a good deed. Is it really necessary for a grown man like you to be so dramatic?"

Qin Huairu leaned against the door frame, her eyes reddening. She didn't say anything, just looked at everyone with a wronged expression, as if she were the victim.

No one acknowledged it. No one helped him. They even kicked him while he was down, calling him stingy and petty.

Zhou Jianguo nodded: "Okay."

"Nobody recognizes you, right?"

"It's not easy for anyone, is it?"

He turned around.

Yi Zhonghai breathed a sigh of relief and waved his hand, saying, "That's enough, that's enough..."

Before he finished speaking, Zhou Jianguo walked straight to the base of the Jia family's wall.

There were piles of dry firewood and stolen tarpaulins.

"Snap."

The last half box of matches was struck and lit, the flames dancing in the wind.

"Zhou Jianguo! What are you doing!" Yi Zhonghai's eyelids twitched violently, and he roared sharply.

Zhou Jianguo turned around, his eyes sharp.

"Since no one wants me to live, then no one should live either."

"If I have no food, you won't have any warmth either."

He loosened his grip, and the match fell into the oilcloth.

call--!

The flames instantly leaped up to waist height, roaring towards the Jia family's paper windows with the help of the north wind.

"Ah!!!" Jia Zhangshi screamed shrilly.

The fire spread faster than anyone expected.

With a gust of north wind, the pile of old firewood that the Jia family had hoarded for cheap prices, along with the tarpaulin, was practically a powder keg.

"Fire! Fire! Help!"

The old man, Yi Zhonghai, had shouted himself hoarse. He didn't care about his dignity as an old man. He grabbed the washbasin from the corner of the wall and started splashing water on it.

Sha Zhu was even more anxious, because that was Sister Qin's house!

"Zhou Jianguo, you bastard! Are you crazy?!" Sha Zhu roared, trying to rush over and attack, but the flames had already shot up to the roof beams with the wind, making the tiles crackle and pop, forcing him to fetch water to put out the fire first.

The entire courtyard was in complete chaos.

People carrying buckets and basins were shouting and giving orders, causing chaos and confusion.

Jia Zhangshi plopped down on the ground, slapping her thighs, her wailing drowning out the wind: "Old Jia! Dongxu! Open your eyes and look! This is bullying! This is murder! This damned bastard is going to burn our whole family alive!"

Qin Huairu, clutching Banggeng and Xiaodang, huddled in the corner, trembling. Her face was covered in soot, and she had lost all trace of her usual charming widow demeanor.

Zhou Jianguo stood right in the middle of the courtyard.

He didn't move.

The firelight reflected off his gaunt face, flickering and creating an eerie atmosphere.

He still clutched the rusty fire hook in his hand, coldly watching these beasts who had just been condescendingly advising him to be magnanimous.

happy.

This is the effect he wanted.

Reasoning?

Trying to reason with these man-eating beasts is like pushing yourself into a grave.

Only by being more ruthless, more insane, and more reckless than them will they be afraid and treat you like a human being.

"Zhou Jianguo!"

Uncle Liu Haizhong, with his potbelly, ran over carrying an empty bucket. Seeing the fire was under control, he immediately adopted an air of authority, pointing his finger at Zhou Jianguo's nose: "You committed arson! This is disrupting unity! I'm going to report you to the factory security department! Tonight we'll hold a company-wide meeting to criticize you!"

Zhou Jianguo didn't even glance at him, toying with the fire hook in his hand:

"Go. Go now."

"By the way, tell the security department that Jia Jiabang broke into the house and stole all the workers' rations, causing them to starve to death. My actions constituted excessive self-defense."

At this point, he glanced at Liu Haizhong's fat face: "Besides, this pile of firewood is blocking the firebreak. If a fire breaks out, the whole compound will be wiped out. I'm helping the compound eliminate a potential hazard; the neighborhood committee should give me an award."

"You...you..." Liu Haizhong's cheeks trembled with anger. He wanted to grab Zhou Jianguo's collar, but when he saw Zhou Jianguo's sinister eyes, he didn't dare to move his feet.

This kid has changed.

How come that pushover who used to be so quiet and unyielding is acting like a jinx today?

The fire was eventually extinguished.

The window frames of the Jia family's house were burned away, the walls were blackened like charcoal, and the pile of precious firewood by the door was reduced to ashes.

Fortunately, the fire didn't spread inside the house.

Everyone looked disheveled and exhausted, panting heavily.

Jia Zhangshi, her hair disheveled, scrambled to her feet, baring her teeth and claws as she tried to scratch Zhou Jianguo: "Pay me back! You owe me firewood! You owe me my house!"

Zhou Jianguo slammed the fire hook in his hand onto the ground.

"clang!"

Sparks flew everywhere.

Startled, Jia Zhangshi shrank back and slammed on the brakes, nearly tripping herself and falling flat on her face.

"If you miss, then do it."

Zhou Jianguo's voice wasn't loud, but it carried a sense of desperation: "I'm barefoot now, so I'm not afraid of anyone wearing shoes. The food's gone, but I won't live much longer anyway."

Taking one or two people with you before you die is enough. Taking your whole family with you is a bonus.

He glanced menacingly at Bang Geng, who was hiding behind Qin Huairu.

Bang Geng was so frightened by that look that he burst into tears, his crotch getting wet.

"This isn't over yet."

Zhou Jianguo looked around at everyone and said, "Whoever ate my grain has to return it to me. If they don't, next time we won't burn firewood, we'll burn people."

After saying this, he picked up the fire hook and, amidst the terrified and resentful gazes of the crowd, turned and went back into the house.

With a "bang," the door slammed shut.

Blocked from the outside view, Zhou Jianguo leaned against the door and slowly slid down it.

That was just him holding on by his last breath.

Now that desperate, relentless energy was released, hunger and dizziness surged back, and my stomach burned with pain.

My vision went black in waves, and I saw stars.

Are we really going to starve to death here?

I was eliminated immediately after landing in the game?

Just then, a crisp electronic sound suddenly rang in my mind.