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

Tonight, the Jia family is the most miserable in this courtyard.

There wasn't a single spark in the room, and it was so cold it chilled my ankles.

The cornmeal porridge on the table had long since frozen over, and was so thin you could use it as a mirror.

Qin Huairu lay slumped on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed) in a daze.

In her arms, Xiao Dang and Huaihua had just fallen asleep when they were abruptly awakened by the aroma of meat wafting from the backyard, and they were crying their hearts out.

"Mom, I want to eat meat... It smells so good... Please give me a bite..." Xiao Dang clutched Qin Huairu's clothes, her face covered in tears and snot.

Hearing her daughter's cries and smelling the oily aroma seeping in through the crack in the door, Qin Huairu couldn't hold back her tears, which streamed down her face.

This is outrageous! This is what you call killing someone by breaking their spirit!

When Banggeng was taken away by law enforcement officers in the evening, she felt like the sky had fallen.

But only now does she understand what true hell is: her enemy is eating meat with greasy mouth next door, while her own family is drooling in an ice cellar!

"No, I'll go take a look!" Jia Zhangshi couldn't bear the shock, and swallowed hard as she rolled off the kang (a heated brick bed).

Her swollen eyes were filled with greed: "It's definitely that little bastard Zhou Jianguo refining grease! Why is he getting all the benefits for himself? What's wrong with sharing half with our family? Our Banggeng was implicated because of him, consider this compensation!"

"Mom! Sit down!" Qin Huairu grabbed her mother-in-law's arm, her voice trembling. "Haven't you embarrassed me enough?"

"Didn't you see clearly what happened with that thick steel needle that pierced the deaf old woman? If you're tired of living and want him to physically send you to your grave, go knock on his door!"

Upon hearing the words "steel needle," Jia Zhangshi's face stiffened, her legs cramped on the spot, and her shrewish temper, which had just surfaced, vanished in an instant.

She collapsed back onto the kang (a heated brick bed), venting her frustration by slapping her thighs and howling, "Has God gone blind! We, a widow and her children, are left to starve while that living devil is refining oil in the house! Is there no justice left?"

Qin Huairu bit her pale lips until a trace of blood seeped out.

She looked through the hole in the window paper at the window in the backyard, where warm yellow light shone through.

On the other side, Zhou Jianguo was fully aware of the vulnerable state of these beasts, and he almost couldn't help but laugh.

The main focus is on releasing pornographic content late at night.

The pork fat in the pot has been rendered thoroughly; the originally snow-white chunks of fat have now turned into golden, crispy cracklings.

He used a large iron ladle to scoop the clear lard into an enamel jar, leaving a thick layer of oil and a small bowl of cracklings at the bottom of the pot.

"Now, it's time to serve the main course."

The top-quality white flour produced in the space was poured into a large bowl.

Crack four eggs into the batter, sprinkle with finely chopped scallions, add a pinch of salt, and mix with water to form a thick batter.

"Sizzle—!!!"

The batter was poured into the boiling lard along the edge of the pot, frying into a golden-brown flower.

The aroma of eggs, the fragrance of scallions, the wheat scent of flour, and the intensely rich aroma of lard completely enveloped the entire courtyard!

Zhou Jianguo flicked his wrist and skillfully flipped the wok.

Each "egg, scallion, and pork crackling pancake," about the size of a washbasin, was pan-fried until golden brown on both sides.

The outer crust is crispy and bubbly, while the inside is soft, tender, and stretchy.

Turn off the heat and remove the pot from the pan.

He picked up a piping hot fried dough stick with his chopsticks and sat down swaggeringly at the large wooden table by the window.

The window still had a small gap about two fingers wide, which was still carefully left open.

"Snap!"

Zhou Jianguo opened his mouth and took a big bite, making chewing noises without any restraint.

"Mmm! Crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, these pork cracklings are absolutely amazing!"

He smacked his lips and deliberately raised his voice in exclamation.

It's not very harmful, but extremely insulting!

The intoxicating chewing sounds, carried by the cold wind, transformed into invisible blades, piercing precisely into the hearts of every beast in the yard who was stealing a sniff.

In the main room of the courtyard, an old man named Yi Zhonghai had his head covered by the quilt, so angry that he was trembling all over.

This isn't making pancakes at all.

Every crisp sound was like a slap in the face to Yi Zhonghai!

Hearing the commotion from the Jia family next door, Jia Zhangshi drooled so much that her pillowcase was soaked with saliva. She was so hungry that it felt like hundreds of claws were scratching at her heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys.

Inside the room, Zhou Jianguo ate with his mouth full of oil.

One after another.

This feeling of being the only one experiencing joy while everyone else in the hospital is suffering is exhilarating!

For these scheming beasts, this is called spiritual torture.

After eating four large pancakes, his forehead beaded with sweat, Zhou Jianguo finally let out a loud and long burp.

He sealed the remaining lard and cracklings into a jar and stored them away.

"That feels so good!"

He stretched out a big yawn, got up, slammed the window shut, and drew the thick curtains.

Once the window was closed, the source of that mouthwatering aroma was cut off, but the lingering smell of meat in the yard still persisted.

The entire courtyard fell into a deathly silence.

No one dared to curse anymore, and even the children stopped crying.

The despair of smelling something but not being able to eat it is more devastating than being subjected to two severe beatings.

The Jia family.

Qin Huairu remained frozen in the darkness.

She stared blankly at the window in the backyard, where the lights were already off, her tears long since dried.

That Zhou Jianguo... that good-for-nothing who used to let the Jia family leech off him, is now not only ruthless like a living Yama, but also has an endless supply of fine grains and meat in his house!

A head-on confrontation would be suicide. Even Yi Zhonghai and the old ancestor were subdued by him. What could a widow with a child do?

But... if you can't beat them, then don't force it.

Qin Huairu slowly lowered her head, and in the cool moonlight, touched her still voluptuous and graceful figure, even though she was wrapped in a tattered cotton-padded coat.

In this cannibalistic courtyard, her greatest weapon was never her mouth.

"As long as I can get the rice stalks out, as long as my two daughters can have a hot meal with some oil on it..."

A bold, crazy idea, one that even abandoned all moral boundaries, took root uncontrollably in Qin Huairu's mind, fueled by extreme hunger and despair.

The aroma of pork cracklings didn't dissipate overnight.

In the front yard, Uncle Yan Bugui, the third uncle, stood at the doorway, holding a chipped enamel mug. His nose twitched like a dog's, his Adam's apple bobbed, and he swallowed a mouthful of sour saliva.

"What a waste..." Yan Bugui stared at the tightly closed door in the backyard, his mind racing with calculations. "Three catties of lard! That's enough for my family to eat pickled vegetables for half a month. This kid used to seem like a quiet, reserved person, how come he's even more wasteful than a landlord now?"

Just as I was feeling sorry for other people's money, Uncle Liu Haizhong strolled out of the courtyard with his hands behind his back. His work clothes were buttoned up tightly, and if you didn't know better, you would think that the factory director had come down to inspect the work.

"Old Yan, stop drinking! Call for backup!" Liu Haizhong said with an air of authority. "This old man has spoken: a hospital-wide meeting in ten minutes. No one is allowed to be absent!"

"A meeting at this hour?" Yan Bugui pushed up his glasses warily. "For that kind of thing?"