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

Zhou Jianguo lifted the pot lid, and in the steaming heat, the meat chunks were reddish-brown and glistening with oil, trembling slightly. The fatty parts were translucent, while the lean meat had absorbed all the broth.

These days, fatty meat is the real deal; it's pure fat and succulent.

He picked up a piece, blew on it to cool it down, and popped it into his mouth.

The skin is soft and the meat is tender, with a perfect balance of salty and sweet flavors. The abundant oil spreads across the tongue and flows down the throat into the stomach, filling the body's long-standing deficiency of oil and water.

"That feels so good..."

Zhou Jianguo squinted and let out a long breath. This is what a human life should be like. Compared to this hearty braised pork, all the so-called neighborly affection and frugality in the courtyard are nothing but a fart.

In the virtual cage on the table, the silver-gray hamster was frantically scratching at the bars, waving its two little paws, its eyes wide open, and drool dripping from its mouth.

"You'll get your share."

Zhou Jianguo picked out a slightly thinner piece and casually tossed it into the cage.

The hamster was overjoyed, picking up a piece of meat bigger than its face with its two front paws, its cheeks bulging rapidly as it ate, its whole body trembling.

[Ding! Pet satisfaction has greatly improved.]

[Energy conversion in progress... Current energy reserves can be exchanged for: 10 catties of premium rice or 1 box of penicillin (antibiotic).]

Zhou Jianguo glanced at the panel. "Eat up. You'll have the energy to watch this whole show in the yard." These good neighbors probably don't look too happy right now.

……

Intermediate People's Court.

Auntie Er was standing at her doorstep sewing shoe soles, and the needle and awl were poking her quite hard.

"What a terrible thing!" she spat at the closed door, her voice shrill. "This isn't eating meat! Aren't you afraid of your intestines rotting from this?"

Several neighbors came out with bowls and squatted against the wall, slurping their gruel while cursing.

"Jianguo has really changed this week. He used to be such an honest kid, why is he so selfish now?"

"Alone? I think he's gone mad! He broke Bang Geng's leg last night, and he still has the nerve to eat and drink like this today. He's a cold-blooded beast!"

The curses rose and fell, but as these people cursed, the sound of them swallowing their saliva was louder than anyone else's.

Just then, a swaying figure appeared at the gate of the courtyard.

Qin Huairu is back.

Her hair was a mess, her face was deathly pale, and she was clutching a handful of crumpled IOUs in her hand—the money she had begged and pleaded with at the hospital, even kneeling before the workshop director, to save her life. Each IOU was a testament to her hard work and sacrifices.

As soon as she entered the Intermediate People's Court, the rich, sweet and salty aroma of braised pork wafted into her nose.

Qin Huairu paused in her steps.

She looked up, her eyes fixed on Zhou Jianguo's door.

The faint sounds of bowls and chopsticks clattering inside the house, along with the strained strains of model operas playing on the radio, conveyed a sense of comfort and abundance.

All she had were IOUs and debts.

Separated by a wall, one side is heaven, and the other is hell.

On what grounds?

Qin Huairu dug her nails deep into her flesh, a feeling of unprecedented grievance and despair welling up inside her.

She took a breath, dragged her tired body, and pushed open her front door.

"Squeak—"

There was no fire in the Jia family's house, and they were shivering with cold.

On the kang (a heated brick bed), Jia Zhangshi huddled in the corner, wrapped in two tattered cotton quilts, holding a half-finished cloth shoe with a thousand-layer sole in her hand.

Hearing the door open, Jia Zhangshi trembled. When she looked up and saw Qin Huairu, the fear in her eyes subsided slightly. But then, she instinctively hid the cloth shoes she was holding behind her back, her eyes darting around, muttering to herself, "A ghost, it was a ghost just now."

Qin Huairu stood at the door, not going inside to help as usual, nor pouring water for anyone.

Her gaze was fixed on the hand that Jia Zhangshi was hiding behind her back.

Zhou Jianguo's words from that morning were still echoing in her mind.

"This is the impoverished family you're talking about, struggling to make ends meet? They're practically stepping on their own pension money!"

In the past, Qin Huairu would never have dared to believe it. But now, seeing her mother-in-law's guilty and ashamed appearance, and recalling Banggeng's excruciating pain in the hospital and the doctor's cold gaze when pressing for payment, Qin Huairu's heart grew colder and colder.

She walked step by step to the table and slammed the thick stack of IOUs down on it with a loud "thud".

"Mom," Qin Huairu's voice was hoarse, "Bang Geng needs surgery, but we're still five yuan short. The doctor said if we don't pay soon, they'll stop the medication, and whether his leg can be saved is another matter."

Jia Zhangshi was startled by her gaze, shrinking back slightly, and shouted with a fierce but weak voice, "What's the use of telling me! I have no money! Don't you know what this family is like? I'm almost starving to death, where would I get money!"

"Yeah?"

Qin Huairu did not back down. Staring at Jia Zhangshi's hidden hand, tears streamed down her face without warning, yet a bitter smile remained on her lips: "I've borrowed from everyone, I've even abandoned all shame to beg. Mom, I'll just ask you one question: is there any money hidden in the sole of your shoe?"

"Bullshit! Don't listen to that good-for-nothing's nonsense!"

Madam Jia jumped up from the kang (a heated brick bed), her finger trembling as she pointed at Qin Huairu's nose: "You traitorous Qin Huairu! You'd rather believe that enemy who harmed Banggeng than your mother-in-law? That's Zhou Jianguo sowing discord! Trying to break up our family! And you're still taking his side, what are you up to!"

The louder she spoke, the more her body trembled, but she held onto the cloth shoe tightly with her other hand, not daring to let go.

Qin Huairu's heart shattered completely upon witnessing this scene.

That was Dongxu's life-saving money! That was Banggeng's life-saving money!

This old hag would rather watch her own grandson become disabled, and she would rather sell herself into slavery than give up her meager savings for her funeral!

"Those are the legs of a pheasant!!"

Qin Huairu suddenly let out a piercing scream and lunged forward, yelling, "Give me the money! Give it to me!"

"Splash—!"

Qin Huairu overturned the old square table, shattering bowls and plates all over the floor.

"You've gone too far! You've really gone too far!" Madam Jia Zhang, never expecting her usually submissive and meek daughter to dare to lay a hand on her, flew into a rage, brandishing her nails and scratching Qin Huairu's face. "You jinx! You killed my son, and now you want to steal my retirement money! I'll beat you to death, you unfilial brat!"

Give me the shoes!

"I won't give it to him! That's my money! It's mine!"

The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law wrestled and rolled on the ground.

Although Jia Zhangshi was old, she had always been well-fed and healthy, and coupled with her strong desire to protect her wealth, she possessed astonishing strength.

Taking advantage of the chaos, she slapped Qin Huairu hard across the face, and while Qin Huairu was still in a daze, she forcefully pressed the cloth shoe under her body.

"Snapped!"

A crisp slap rang out, and Qin Huairu covered her face, her hair disheveled and obscuring half of it.

She stopped grabbing and stopped crying out.

She simply sat quietly on the ground, staring at the old woman in front of her, who was still cursing, with resentful eyes through her disheveled hair.

……

Next door, the He family.

Sha Zhu sat alone at the table, holding a wine cup in his hand, with only a plate of withered peanuts in front of him.

The heart-wrenching cries and the sounds of tables and chairs overturning from the Jia family next door could be heard clearly, even through the walls.

Normally, Sha Zhu would have smashed his wine cup, rushed over to play the hero and teach those who bullied Sister Qin a lesson.

But today, he didn't move.

The terrifying electric shock last night, and Zhou Jianguo's eyes that seemed to stare at a dead man—that chill that rose from the depths of his being made him unable to move his legs, even as he listened to his goddess suffer.

What a fucking coward!

"Thump!"

Sha Zhu slammed the wine cup on the table, splashing strong liquor all over his hand.

Hearing Qin Huairu's final desperate scream, veins bulged on his forehead and his face turned a deep purplish-red.

They dared not confront Zhou Jianguo, nor even try to break up the fight; their pent-up frustration and anger had nowhere to go.

"Zhou Jianguo... that traitor Sun..."

Sha Zhu stared at the ceiling with blurry, drunken eyes, gritting his teeth: "You just wait, tomorrow at the cafeteria, unless you don't eat, I'll show you what it means to toss a wok."

He gulped down a mouthful of wine and then fell into a deep sleep.

The crying and commotion at the Jia family gradually subsided, leaving only a mess.

Only the aroma of braised pork lingered in the air above the courtyard, refusing to dissipate for a long time.