The entire courtyard is full of villains

Yan Bugui's headache worsened upon hearing this: "But now that the bicycle is stolen, we have to take a bus to get to Jiefang... and taking a bus makes it easy to get checked!"

He sighed deeply, feeling utterly hopeless: "When you're down on your luck, even drinking water or farting can hit you on the heel..."

"Old Yan..."

"We'll see when the time comes," he finally waved his hand helplessly. "No... I'll borrow a bicycle from another teacher."

Chapter 117 Honesty in Returning Lost Money

In the chilly morning wind, Yan Jiecheng, hunched over, walked aimlessly down the main street with his hands tucked into his sleeves. He had been dragged out of bed early that morning by Yan Bugui—Yan Bugui had spent the entire night thinking it over and over, concluding that the first person to blame for the mess between him and Zhang Erhe was Yang Ruihua, and the second was Yan Jiecheng.

Yang Ruihua was his own wife, so he couldn't very well kick her out, and hitting her wouldn't be appropriate either. But Yan Jiecheng was his son, and it was only natural for a father to beat his son. So before dawn, he dragged Yan Jiecheng out of the house and made him go do odd jobs.

Yan Jiecheng argued, "Dad, you know it's hard for me to find odd jobs these days..."

"Then let's go further! If there's nothing in the East District, let's go to the West District! I don't believe Zhang Erhe can block off all the small businesses in Beijing!"

With no other option, Yan Jiecheng had to leave early, without even having breakfast. He was starving, but when he touched the 17 cents he had painstakingly saved in his pocket, he wondered what would happen if he bought food and went hungry again.

As he was walking, he wasn't paying attention and "thud," as if he stepped on something soft yet hard, and his ankle twisted. He was about to curse when he looked down and saw an embroidered wallet under his foot. Looking around, he saw no one. He quickly moved his foot away, picked it up, and squeezed it; it was hard as a board. Opening it, he found over twenty yuan and a work ID card.

God, are you here to help me out because you see how hard my life is?

Yan Jiecheng blinked and looked around again—only a woman's figure was gradually walking away ahead. He guessed that was the one who dropped it.

“Take it,” a little white figure urged him in his mind, “no one will see, just hide it secretly.”

Another little black figure popped up: "This is someone's hard-earned wages. If you take it, what will she do? That's not fair."

But soon, the "white little man" in his heart kicked the "black little man" away. Yan Jiecheng put away his wallet, just about to tuck it into his pocket—

"Comrade!" The woman suddenly came running back. "Have you seen an embroidered wallet?"

Before she finished speaking, her gaze had already fallen on the wallet in Yan Jiecheng's hand.

Yan Jiecheng secretly breathed a sigh of relief, thankful he hadn't put it in, otherwise he would have been in real trouble.

"Comrade, this, this is what I lost..." the woman said breathlessly.

Yan Jiecheng then looked up to examine her closely. The woman appeared to be in her early twenties, and was incredibly beautiful: cherry lips, willow-leaf eyebrows, and fine beads of sweat glistened on her forehead from jogging a few steps. A faint scent of face cream wafted by in the breeze—

Yan Jiecheng was stunned.

"Comrade? Comrade!" the woman called out several times before Yan Jiecheng finally realized what she meant.

"Oh, you...you...your wallet, right? Okay, here...here...here you go!" He then pushed the wallet forward.

"Pfft—" the woman laughed. "Comrade, aren't you worried that I'm a fraud? You should ask me what my name is. Hmm... my work ID is in my embroidered wallet. My name is Cui Yingying."

Yan Jiecheng hurriedly opened his wallet again, and inside was a work ID card, which clearly read: Textile Workshop No. 3, Cui Yingying.

"Here you go! Here you go!" Yan Jiecheng handed over the wallet.

Cui Yingying took the wallet: "Comrade, thank you so much today! If you hadn't found my wallet, I would have lost my salary for this month and would have had to get a new work ID, which would have been such a hassle."

"No...it's nothing." Yan Jiecheng looked at the beautiful Cui Yingying and felt his ears turn red.

"Comrade, what's your name?" Cui Yingying asked.

“I…I…my name is Yan Jiecheng.”

"Okay, then I'll have you explain the solution, is that alright?"

“Yes…yes.” Yan Jiecheng said, head down.

"Jie Cheng. My name is Cui Yingying, and I should be a bit older than you. How old are you?"

“I…I’m 20.” Yan Jiecheng said, his face flushed.

"You're 20? Then I'm a bit older than you, you can just call me Sister Yingying."

"Sister Yingying..." Yan Jiecheng's voice was even lower.

"Hmm. Jiecheng, thank you so much for today. How about... I treat you to a meal?"

"No, no!" Yan Jiecheng hurriedly waved his hand, but his stomach rumbled at the most inopportune moment.

"Pfft—" Cui Yingying covered her mouth and laughed, her eyes crinkling with laughter, instantly revealing her charm. Yan Jiecheng's eyes widened.

"Let's go, Jiecheng." Cui Yingying gently tugged at his sleeve. "I'm just an ordinary worker, I can't afford to take you to a restaurant. How about just some braised pork offal?"

“Well… alright then,” Yan Jiecheng stammered.

At the braised pork offal stall.

Yan Jiecheng looked at the large bowl of steaming braised pork that was served, his mouth twitched involuntarily, and he almost drooled. Then, he no longer cared about his image and began to wolf it down.

Cui Yingying watched, occasionally smiling slightly. Finally, after obtaining Yan Jiecheng's consent, she transferred the half-eaten portion of her own bowl into his bowl.

Yan Jiecheng slurped down his food, then wiped his mouth with satisfaction: "Sister Yingying, this braised pork offal is really delicious today."

"As long as it tastes good."

The two came out of the stall, and Cui Yingying paid the money.

"Jiecheng, I forgot to ask, what are you doing on the street so early in the morning?"

Upon hearing this, Yan Jiecheng lowered his head again: "I...I went out to do odd jobs this morning."

"Out so early to do odd jobs? You live nearby, right?"

"No, Sister Yingying. I live in Nanluoguxiang."

"Nanluoguxiang?" Cui Yingying gently covered her mouth. "That's so far! Why did you come here to do odd jobs?"

"I...there are too many people doing odd jobs over there, I can't compete with them, so I came here to try my luck."

“Oh…” Cui Yingying nodded thoughtfully, “Since that’s the case… then, can you buy some coal for me? I’ll give you the money.”

"No, no, no!" Yan Jiecheng quickly said, wiping his sleeve. "Sister Yingying, you've already treated me to braised pork offal, how could I let you pay again!"

“No,” Cui Yingying said sternly, “one thing at a time. I treated you to dinner because you found my wallet this morning and returned it to me honestly. Now you’re helping me buy coal, which is your physical labor, and I’m paying you for it. It’s what you deserve. If you don’t take the money, wouldn’t I be exploiting you?”

"No, no, no, sis, that's not what I meant..."

“Then accept the money.” Cui Yingying made the final decision.

"Okay...okay, sis." Yan Jiecheng had no choice but to agree.

Cui Yingying led Yan Jiecheng to a small courtyard. "Come in, Jiecheng."

Yan Jiecheng followed her inside. The courtyard was quite clean.

“I live in the west wing. The east wing is for Grandpa Ma’s family, and the main house is for Sister-in-law Hu’s family,” Cui Yingying introduced.

At the entrance to the main house, Aunt Hu was washing clothes. She looked up and exclaimed, "Oh, Yingying's back? Oh, this young man is really handsome. Is he your boyfriend?"

Yan Jiecheng blushed instantly.

Cui Yingying quickly said, "Sister-in-law Hu, don't talk nonsense! He's my benefactor. I lost my pay purse when I got home from work this morning, and thankfully Jie Cheng returned it to me. I treated him to a meal, and he's going to buy some coal for me right now."

"Oh..." Sister-in-law Hu drawled, smiling as she looked Yan Jiecheng up and down. "I thought he was your boyfriend. Yingying, you know what, this young man is a perfect match for you."

Yan Jiecheng felt a surge of warmth in his heart. From what he heard... Sister Yingying doesn't seem to have a boyfriend? Does that mean I... have a chance?

Chapter 118 Taking the Hook

As the saying goes, teamwork makes the dream work. With Cui Yingying by his side, Yan Jiecheng felt like he had inexhaustible energy. He bought the coal and stacked it neatly in the corner.

Just then, the door to the east wing across the way creaked open, and an elderly woman came out.

Cui Yingying greeted her, "Aunt Ma!"

"Hey, Yingying, did you buy coal?"

"Yes, those guys at the coal mine wouldn't deliver it, right? Jie Cheng helped me bring it back. Auntie, you didn't buy any coal either, did you?"

"No," Aunt Ma sighed. "Your Uncle Ma has been incredibly busy at the factory lately. As a woman, I can't get coal delivered by the coal mine. I can only wait until he has a break."

“Auntie,” Cui Yingying quickly offered to help Yan Jiecheng, “why don’t you let Jiecheng buy it for you too? You…you can just give him three yuan.”

"Will that work?"

“It’s feasible! Jie Cheng is also out doing odd jobs to earn money. You give him the money, and he helps you buy coal. Isn’t that normal?”

"Alright! Young man, wait a moment." Aunt Ma rushed in, then came out with the money and coal coupons. "Young man, thank you for your trouble!"

"No trouble at all, no trouble at all!" Yan Jiecheng was overjoyed. Today was truly his lucky day! Not only did he meet such a beautiful girl as Cui Yingying, but he also had a meal with her, and then he got two jobs, which would earn him five yuan!

By the time he bought the coal from Old Ma's house and neatly stacked it, it was almost three in the afternoon. He dusted himself off and was about to leave when Cui Yingying came out of her house.

"Jiecheng, are you done?"

"I'm done, Sister Yingying. Well... I'll head back now."

"Wait," Cui Yingying stopped him. "Look at you, you're covered in dust. Wait a minute, let me boil some hot water for you so you can wash up before you go."

"No need, no need, Sister Yingying!" Yan Jiecheng quickly declined.

"Wait!" Cui Yingying turned her head and replied, then hurriedly went back to the house.

Yan Jiecheng stood behind her, gazing intently at her retreating figure.

"Young man," a voice suddenly rang out beside him, "isn't Yingying beautiful inside and out?"

"Mmm...mmm!" Yan Jiecheng nodded involuntarily.

"So, do you want to marry her?"

"Of course I want to... um?" The words had barely left his mouth when Yan Jiecheng suddenly realized what he was doing, turned around, and saw Aunt Ma with a mischievous smile on her face.

"Auntie, you..."

"Young man, what's there to be embarrassed about?" Aunt Ma said with a smile. "Yingying is such a pretty girl, who wouldn't like her? The elders all say that marriage should be a matter of personal freedom. You two... could it be that you're married?"

"No! No!" Yan Jiecheng quickly explained, "I'm only 20."

"That's it!" Aunt Ma clapped her hands. "You're 20, Yingying is 23, a woman three years older than a man is like holding a gold brick! This is the best thing ever!"

"What wonderful thing is it?" Cui Yingying came out of the house carrying a basin of hot water.

"No, no!" Yan Jiecheng's face turned bright red, and he quickly gave Aunt Ma across from him a pleading look.

Aunt Ma immediately understood and laughed it off: "It's nothing, I was just chatting with this young man for a bit. Jiecheng, hurry up and wash up!"