The entire courtyard is full of villains

"Oh!" Yan Jiecheng felt as if he had been granted a pardon and quickly lowered his head to wash his face.

After washing, Cui Yingying handed him a towel. The towel was soft and had a faint scent of soap. Yan Jiecheng took it and wiped his face, his heart suddenly skipping a beat—could this be Yingying's own towel? After wiping, he saw that the snow-white towel was indeed covered with several black streaks.

"Sister Yingying, I...I'll buy you a new one later!"

“No need,” Cui Yingying laughed. “Have you forgotten what I do? Our textile factory may not have much else, but we do have towels. Look at me, I’m so forgetful.” She gently patted her forehead, turned and went into the house, and came out with three yuan. “Jiecheng, this is your wages, take it.”

"Sister Yingying, this..." Yan Jiecheng put his hands behind his back, not wanting to take it.

“Listen to me,” Cui Yingying said gently but firmly, “If you’ve done real work, you deserve to be paid. That’s what the elders say.” Without waiting for a reply, she grabbed Yan Jiecheng’s hand and stuffed the money into his palm. “Take it. It’s getting late, you should go home early. Anyway… you know my house now, so if you want to visit later, just come over.”

"Okay!" Yan Jiecheng agreed readily this time, feeling as if he had a warm stove in his heart. He said goodbye to Cui Yingying and Aunt Ma, and walked briskly out of the courtyard gate towards home, feeling full of energy, even the evening breeze felt particularly comfortable on his face.

Once the courtyard gate was closed, Aunt Ma immediately moved closer to Cui Yingying, her previous amiable expression gone, and lowered her voice: "I think this lad seems like a kind and honest man."

"Honest my foot!" Cui Yingying's gentle and amiable demeanor vanished. A sneer appeared on her lips, her eyes flashing with annoyance. "That bastard! I deliberately dropped my wallet this morning, hoping he'd find it and come back to return it, putting on a good 'honesty' act to make it easier to strike up a conversation. Guess what? This bastard looked around to make sure no one was watching, then grabbed the wallet and tried to stuff it into his pocket! Luckily, I reacted quickly and turned back, otherwise that scoundrel would have already run off with the money!"

"Really? He looks quite honest..."

“What don’t you know?” Cui Yingying frowned and interrupted Aunt Ma. “The actor that Wu found for us this time doesn’t seem very bright, but he’s probably quite cunning. This job is probably not going to be easy.”

“We have to do it no matter how hard it is,” sighed Aunt Ma, her wrinkles deepening. “That Wu fellow has our weaknesses at his fingertips. But he did promise that if we handle things properly this time, he’ll return the thing to us and let us leave Beijing.”

Cui Yingying nodded, a resolute glint in her eyes: "Then let's do this one last job. After that, we'll all go our separate ways."

"to make."

"Aunt Ma!" Cui Yingying gestured towards the main house. "When you have time, remind Hu Lao Er's husband. Damn it, put some effort into your acting! This afternoon, he squatted by the door pretending to wash clothes, scrubbing for ages, but not a single garment was clean. Only that silly boy Yan Jiecheng wasn't paying attention; if it were someone smart, they would have noticed something was wrong long ago."

"I understand," Aunt Ma replied.

"I don't want anyone else to be exposed and ruin our plans this time!"

Aunt Ma hesitated for a moment: "Yingying, what if... he doesn't come back?"

"Not coming?" Cui Yingying chuckled, smoothing her hair behind her ear. Her voice was low, yet it carried a cold certainty. "I've never failed to catch a fish with my hook."

Chapter 119 Getting Deeper and Deeper

If there hadn't been people on the road, Yan Jiecheng could have run and jumped all the way home. As he approached the alley entrance, he composed himself and put on a listless appearance.

"Dad, Mom, I'm home."

The curtain was lifted, and Yan Bugui came out. "Boss, did you find any odd jobs today?"

"No, Dad," Yan Jiecheng said with a bitter face. "As soon as they heard my surname was Yan, they wouldn't even let me in the door."

"Then why did you wander around for so long before coming back?"

"Dad!" Yan Jiecheng couldn't help but complain, "You told me to go to the East District to look for it, and when I couldn't find it, you told me to go to the West District. I didn't earn any money today, so how could I dare to take the tram? That's why I walked back. Dad, quick, do we have anything to eat? Let me have something to eat, I haven't had a bite to eat all day."

"Just wait, your mom's sitting there. She'll bring dinner up tonight."

That evening, Yang Ruihua served dinner. Yan Jiecheng glanced at it and saw that the liquid in the bowl was so watery you could see your reflection in it.

"Dad, this...this cornmeal porridge you made, you just added some water, didn't you?"

The couple exchanged a guilty glance, realizing Yan Jiecheng had been right. Even so, they each only received a small bowl. Yan Jiecheng finished his, feeling as if he hadn't drunk anything at all. If it weren't for that braised pork offal meal he'd had that day, he would have collapsed by now.

The next morning, Yan Jiecheng was kicked out by Yang Ruihua again. After searching for work all morning without success, he inexplicably wandered to the vicinity of Cui Yingying's house around noon.

"If I go to Sister Yingying now, will she look down on me?" He paced back and forth at the door, struggling with the decision several times. Finally, he gritted his teeth and went up to knock on the door.

The person who opened the door was Aunt Ma from yesterday.

"Oh, you're that young man from yesterday...and today..." She tilted her head and thought for a moment, "Jie Cheng, your name is Jie Cheng, right?"

"Yes, yes, Aunt Ma. May I ask if Sister Yingying is here?"

"Yingying hasn't come back yet today."

"Isn't she working the night shift? Why isn't she back yet?"

"I don't know. Maybe something got in the way, or maybe she went back to her own home."

"Her own home?" Yan Jiecheng blinked. "Doesn't Sister Yingying live with her family?"

"Sigh!" Upon hearing this, Aunt Ma sighed deeply.

"Auntie, is something wrong?" Yan Jiecheng asked tentatively.

"Well, never mind, I think you're a good young man, so I'll tell you." Aunt Ma lowered her voice. "Yingying has had a hard life since she was little. Her mother died not long after she was born. Her father raised her alone, and when she was about ten years old, he remarried."

You know, once you have a stepmother, you also have a stepfather. Plus, a few years ago, Yingying's stepmother gave birth to a son, so Yingying really couldn't stand being at home anymore. Fortunately, her uncle, out of consideration for her mother, helped her find a job in a textile factory.

Yingying is hardworking; she worked her way up to a team leader in the factory after several years. Last year, she was assigned to live in our compound. But her parents are terrible; they keep coming to our door to make trouble, forcing Yingying to give up her job to her stepmother and even trying to marry her off to a family whose son is mentally challenged. So Yingying has been avoiding them.

Sigh, if it weren't for their commotion, Yingying would probably be married by now. Poor girl, she's already twenty-three, practically an old maid…”

"Huh?" Yan Jiecheng's mouth dropped open. "Sister Yingying... is she really that unlucky?"

"Who can argue with that?" Aunt Ma shook her head and sighed. "Alas, every family has its own troubles. It's such a pity that Yingying is such a good girl..."

Just then, Cui Yingying walked in from outside the door.

"Oh, Jie Cheng is here today?"

"Sister Yingying! I did odd jobs around here this morning, and I figured you hadn't bought any cabbages yet, so I thought I'd come over and buy some for you."

"Oh, you know what," Cui Yingying laughed, "Jiecheng, I was actually planning to buy some cabbage. Aunt Ma, are you buying any?"

"Buy it!"

"Alright, let's have Jie Cheng buy it for us again today."

"Okay." Aunt Ma turned around and went back into the house to get the money.

"Jiecheng, I'll have to trouble you today. Do you know where the market is?"

"I know, Sister Yingying."

"Okay, you go buy it. Perfect timing, I'll cook at home, you can come back and eat with me."

"This...this isn't right, Sister Yingying. I'm taking your money, and I still need to eat..."

“It’s alright, my sister has a small appetite, and there’s always some left over from her monthly ration.” Cui Ying said, taking out money and food coupons from her pocket and handing them to Yan Jiecheng. “Thank you for your help.”

"Okay! Sister Yingying, I'll go right away!"

Yan Jiecheng happily ran to the vegetable market, borrowed a cart, and helped Cui Yingying and Aunt Ma buy the cabbages. They neatly stacked them under the window and covered them with straw curtains.

"Jiecheng, you're an excellent worker!" Aunt Ma gave him a thumbs up. "You're already twenty, why didn't your family arrange a job for you?"

Yan Jiecheng was a little guilty: "I graduated from junior high school and I've registered at the neighborhood office. I guess it'll be my turn soon... But I can't stay at home idle. I go out every day to do odd jobs and supplement my family's income."

"Oh, Jiecheng, you're such a good boy," Aunt Ma praised repeatedly.

Yan Jiecheng scratched his head and smiled sheepishly. At this moment, Cui Yingying came out of the house, wearing an apron around her waist and sleeves rolled up to her elbows: "Jiecheng, go over there and move the table over, it's time to eat."

"Hey!"

"Yingying," Aunt Ma said, deliberately raising her voice as she watched Yan Jiecheng's diligent figure, "I think Jiecheng is quite nice. The two of you together look just like a young couple!"

"Oh dear, Aunt Ma, you mustn't be talking nonsense!" Cui Yingying blushed. "I'm already twenty-three, I'm old and past my prime. Jie Cheng is only twenty, this... no, no."

While moving a table, Yan Jiecheng blurted out, "Sister Yingying, how are you old and faded? You're still very beautiful! None of those young girls are as pretty as you!"

"Giggle..." Cui Yingying covered her mouth and laughed. "Oh my, Jiecheng, I thought you were an honest boy, but I didn't expect you to be so sweet-talking? Did you secretly eat some sugar?"

"No!" Yan Jiecheng blushed. "Sister, Sister Yingying is absolutely gorgeous!"

"Alright, alright, stop praising me. If you keep praising me, I'll float to the sky."

"Even if you float up to the sky, you'll still be a fairy!" Yan Jiecheng quickly added.

"Come on, come on, eat up. A hot steamed bun isn't enough to shut you up?" Cui Yingying said with a smile as she brought out the food. The dish was stir-fried cabbage, and the steamed buns were made from a mixture of wheat and water. Yan Jiecheng couldn't help but widen his eyes.

"Come on, Jiecheng, eat quickly."

"Hey! Sister Yingying, you should eat too."

Cui Yingying steamed five large steamed buns. She only ate one herself, and Yan Jiecheng ate the remaining four.

Yan Jiecheng couldn't help but burp.

Cui Yingying covered her mouth and laughed.

"Sister Yingying, I...I..."

“Jiecheng, you’re a man in your prime. Besides, what’s there to be afraid of if you can eat?” Cui Yingying’s eyes curved into a smile. “As the old saying goes, eat your food honestly and stand firm as a person.”

"Yes! Yes!" Yan Jiecheng nodded heavily, feeling a warm glow in his heart.

Chapter 120 I have to scheme against you

After finishing his meal, Yan Jiecheng couldn't find an excuse to stay any longer, so he got up and said he had to go out and look for odd jobs. Cui Yingying didn't linger and politely saw him to the door.

As soon as the door closed, Aunt Ma came over and whispered, "Yingying, I think this boy has taken the bait."

“Of course,” Cui Yingying said, a smile playing on her lips, a look in her eyes that was completely different from her gentle demeanor just moments before. “Aunt Ma, I’m not trying to be mean, but there’s no fish I can’t catch.”

"Then why did you send him away today?"

“This is called playing hard to get,” Cui Yingying said, smoothing her temples. “If you really keep him there, he won’t know what to say.”

"I understand," Aunt Ma nodded knowingly. "Then shall we continue with our plan?"

“Let’s go.” Cui Yingying nodded.

As Yan Jiecheng left Cui Ying's house, his mind was filled with Cui Ying's every smile and gesture. He felt a sweet warmth in his heart, yet also a profound emptiness. As he walked, he couldn't help but sigh.

Cui Yingying is incredibly beautiful, has a decent job, and her own apartment. And what about me? I can't even afford a decent meal at home. Yan Jiecheng, oh Yan Jiecheng, are you good enough for her? He murmured to himself, the warmth that had just begun to rise in his heart being extinguished by the cold water of reality.

He wandered aimlessly, eventually ending up at the shore of Houhai Lake. He found a place to sit down, the afternoon sun warming him, but unable to dispel the chill in his heart. He suddenly remembered a sentence he had read somewhere long ago: What people fear most is meeting someone who will amaze them for a lifetime when they are at their most powerless.

He didn't understand before, but now he seems to understand a little. This feeling is truly utterly powerless.

Yan Jiecheng lost all interest in the afternoon and just sat there by Houhai Lake until it got dark, when he finally dragged his feet back home.

When I got home, it was dinnertime. Sure enough, on the table was the same thin, watery porridge as yesterday, with your reflection in it.

“Dad,” he finally couldn’t hold back and started complaining, “I know you’re upset about the money we lost. But… but you can’t use the health of the family to cover the losses. Eating like this every day would make even a healthy person sick, let alone me, who has to go out and find work every day…”

"So, did you find it?" Yan Bugui asked irritably.