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

"Make way! Everyone make way! Don't you have eyes?"

The crowd that had been watching He Yuzhu make a fool of himself made way for a wide road.

He Yuzhu subconsciously looked up and saw two figures walking towards him.

The one on the left is Li Huaide, the deputy factory director who usually acts arrogantly.

But at this moment, Deputy Factory Director Li's face was beaming like an old chrysanthemum, and his body was slightly leaning to the right. His posture showed no trace of a leader's airs.

It's clearly an attempt to curry favor!

Walking to his right was Zhou Jianguo, whom He Yuzhu wished he could devour alive.

Today, Zhou Jianguo was dressed in a crisp work uniform.

His calm and collected demeanor was a world apart from He Yuzhu's disheveled appearance.

He Yuzhu instinctively wanted to shrink behind the crowd, wishing he could find a crack in the ground to crawl into.

But fate just happens to deliver the final blow at this crucial moment.

"Jianguo!" Li Huaide suddenly stopped, raising his voice to its highest point during the rush hour, "You deserve the most credit for this mission! If it weren't for your connections and resources, our factory would have been completely lost in this task of hosting the high-ranking leader! The leader specifically mentioned you before leaving, praising you highly!"

That shout was even more effective than the factory's public address system.

The room fell silent, then erupted into a murmur of discussion.

Everyone stared wide-eyed at the unassuming fitter.

The deputy factory director was playing the straight man in public?

The top leader personally called the roll?

This week, Jianguo... could it be some kind of deity descending to earth to experience life?

This is incredible!

Before everyone could fully grasp the situation, Li Huaide waved his hand dismissively.

The secretary behind him jogged forward, carrying a heavy white cloth bag in both hands.

Li Huaide took the cloth bag and forcefully stuffed it into Zhou Jianguo's arms, even patting the bag vigorously.

The cloth bag was blatantly printed with five bright red characters: "Special Supply for Internal Use: Rich and Powerful Flour!"

"This is a special reward approved for you by the factory management," Li Huaide said with a smile, his tone tinged with pride. "Ten catties of top-grade enriched flour! This is a hard currency that money can't buy. Even in Beijing, this is the only kind of flour you can afford!"

As he spoke, Li Huaide gave a thumbs-up and shook it vigorously.

The crowd erupted in chaos.

Pairs of eyes stared at the cloth bag in Zhou Jianguo's hand like hungry wolves, their envy and jealousy so intense it seemed to drip with moisture.

Fuqiang flour!

That's a special kind of grain that only top leaders can enjoy!

The steamed buns are whiter than snow, softer than cotton, and have a natural sweetness when you bite into them!

For these workers who even had to mix sweet potato vines into their cornmeal, ten pounds of enriched flour was a real life-threatening situation!

"Oh my god! That's gluten flour? I'd almost forgotten what it tasted like!"

"Is Zhou Jianguo going to take things too far this week? Is Deputy Factory Director Li personally delivering gifts?"

"No wonder they looked down on Sha Zhu's two shabby lunchboxes; they're on the government payroll! That's incredible!"

Hiding in the shadows of the crowd, he felt as if his heart had been ripped out and thrown on the ground, not only stomped on but also sprinkled with salt.

He stared at the bag of flour, his back teeth practically grinding to powder.

That should have been his glory!

If he's in charge of cooking, then this special supply of white flour should be his!

If he can bring back such a bag of high-quality flour, Qin Huairu will treat him like an emperor tonight!

That ingrate brat Banggeng had to kneel on the ground and call him his father!

But now, all of this has been taken away by that beast Zhou Jianguo who stole it all!

The bitterness in my heart felt like it had been fermenting for three days, rising straight to my throat.

"Pooh!"

Hiding in the shadows, He Yuzhu spat fiercely at the ground, "What meritorious service... it's definitely just ill-gotten gains from sucking up to the boss! Special supplies? I bet it's just speculation and profiteering! That bastard Zhou Jianguo... he'll get his comeuppance sooner or later! He'll make you spit out all the food you've eaten!"

He cursed fiercely, but his trembling hands and frantically bobbing Adam's apple betrayed his greed and despair.

A moment later, Zhou Jianguo smiled and thanked Deputy Factory Director Li, then hung the bag of flour that made thousands of people in the factory green with envy on the handlebars of his bicycle, took a long stride, and rode away with a flourish.

Li Huaide and his secretary also turned around and went back to the office building.

The excitement faded, leaving only a mess.

The workers were in a hurry to get home to start fires and cook, so no one paid any more attention to the waste in the corner.

A cold wind swirled with withered leaves, passing by He Yuzhu's feet as if mocking his incompetence.

It was completely dark.

He Yuzhu stood alone in the blind spot of the streetlight, looking in the direction where Zhou Jianguo had disappeared. There was nothing left there except the wind.

"No... we absolutely cannot go back like this."

He Yuzhu muttered to himself.

My mind was filled with Qin Huairu's disappointed, tearful eyes, and the tightly closed door of the Jia family's house.

If he goes back empty-handed again tonight, there will really be no place for him, Sha Zhu, in this courtyard!

His persona completely collapsed in front of the goddess!

"We need to make money...we need to get the real stuff..."

His hands groped nervously over his body, and finally, with trembling hands, he reached into a hidden pocket in his inner lining.

My fingertips touched something cold and hard.

It was a jade pendant only the size of a thumb.

It's not top-quality, but it still has a warm, smooth feel under dim light.

That was an old heirloom from the He family, the only keepsake his father left him, and the last bit of his savings that he had kept hidden away for many years.

Over the years, even in the most difficult times, even when he was starving, he never touched this thing.

but now……

The right path is blocked.

No one would lend me money, I couldn't take the leftovers with me, and I hadn't received my salary.

For Sister Qin's smile, and so as not to be completely humiliated in front of that grandson Zhou Jianguo...

He Yuzhu raised his head, a glint of light flashing in his cloudy eyes.

He turned up his collar, covering most of his face, and turned to walk in the opposite direction from the courtyard house.

There's a shady place there called "Pigeon City".

"Let's take a gamble..." He Yuzhu gritted his teeth, his figure quickly disappearing into the night. "As long as I get rid of this stuff, exchange it for meat and noodles, tonight I'll still be the invincible He Yuzhu! Sister Qin, you wait for me!"