Courtyard houses: Those who are capable are rewarded, and many children bring many blessings.

"This is so embarrassing. Everyone says that women in this era are reserved, but that applies to young women. The people queuing to use the toilet are all young girls. Why don't you queue properly and instead keep staring at me?"

"Hey, Huai Ru, I think that young man came from your old place. I've never seen him before," the young woman, whose two braids were a little disheveled from not having washed or combed her hair, asked Qin Huai Ru, who had come up behind her, in a low voice.

"Which one?"

"Hey, the one in the padded jacket up ahead, the one with the flashlight in his pocket!"

"It's not even spring yet, and you're already meowing like a cat." Qin Huairu knew who it was just by looking at the shadow behind her, and felt a little uncomfortable.

"What's wrong? Your relatives are being so protective!"

"You're so annoying, but he really is my relative, my brother-in-law."

"Oh... I knew it! I'll stay at your place tonight?" The young woman immediately understood.

"No, it's quite a coincidence. His uncle is Niu Youliang, who lives in our backyard. He married my cousin last winter. When he came to the city in the spring, he asked his uncle to help him find a job."

"Hehe... I'm coming to visit you this morning!"

Good grief, seven or eight squat toilets in a row, with no partition in the middle, it's an eyesore...

There was no toilet paper back then. All sorts of paper were used. Using cigarette paper was understandable, but using packaging paper was like practicing with an iron gate.

After having his fill, Niu Dazhuang trotted back to the backyard; the early spring chill was truly biting.

Niu Youliang also got up, took the chamber pot, and went out.

Niu Dazhuang started making breakfast, opening the damper of the coal stove and adding some firewood to the stove to help the fire get going quickly.

Put water in an iron pot, and after washing up, the water will be boiling. Grab two handfuls of cornmeal and stir quickly until the cornmeal is well mixed. The cornmeal paste will then be cooked.

Take out three more steamed buns and place them on the iron plate on the stove.

"Uncle, wash your hands and eat."

"(ノ⊙ω⊙)ノ Wow, that's great. Once I find you a job, I'll bring your wife over too. We can accommodate you both. You can stay in the inner room, and I'll just set up a four-poster bed in the outer room."

"That won't do. Even if I bring Xue Ru over later, we'll sleep in the outer room and you'll sleep in the inner room. But I don't plan to bring her over anytime soon; let's wait two years. Uncle, do you have any bicycle tickets?"

"No, are you thinking of buying a rickshaw?"

"Yes, having a bicycle makes it convenient to go anywhere, and it's also convenient to go back to my hometown."

"Just wait, once we find you a job, we'll save money together, and in about six months we can save enough to buy a rickshaw."

Niu Dazhuang leaned closer and asked in a low voice, "Didn't our family keep any secrets?"

Niu Youliang hit Niu Dazhuang so hard that he stumbled. Niu Youliang truly loved his nephew, and he hit him with real force.

"Stop thinking about that. Didn't I tell you, you can't wait even six months?"

Niu Dazhuang rubbed his head and said aggrievedly, "Uncle, I didn't say I was going to sell it, I was just curious."

"What's there to be curious about? I'll give it all to you sooner or later. Let me tell you, if you fail, I'll give it to your wife."

"Even if you don't let me see, I roughly know what it is, I've just never seen it in person. I just want to broaden my horizons!"

"Go, go, go stay somewhere cool. Don't wander around aimlessly. Take your cloth coupons and buy some blue cloth to make yourself some clothes. Look at the city people, they all wear outer garments. There's still the wild pheasant you brought over in the kitchen; you can stew it for lunch."

After saying that, Niu Youliang got dressed and strolled off to work.

Niu Dazhuang glared at Niu Youliang's retreating figure, muttering under his breath, "That stubborn old man, he's so inflexible, and he's got a pretty strong grip. Ah..."

Niu Dazhuang put his clothes back on and lay back down on the kang (a heated brick bed) for a second nap.

The sun was already high in the sky when Niu Dazhuang finally got up lazily. He had been in this world for several months, and this was the only day he could sleep in.

He washed his face to refresh himself, then took out all the cloth ration coupons from the cabinet on the kang (heated brick bed). He didn't know how many yards of cloth he would need to make a set of clothes. He also took about ten yuan, packed everything up, and went to the central courtyard.

Qin Huairu was seen chatting with a young woman she didn't recognize, glancing at her son every now and then. Both of them were busy sewing shoe soles.

"Sister Huairu, can you make me a coat? I want a dark blue Zhongshan suit. This is all the fabric ration coupons my family has. Do you think it's enough?" He said, spreading out his hand to show her the fabric ration coupons and money.

"Oh my, you two are really relatives?"

Qin Huairu explained, "She's from the next courtyard; you can just call her sister-in-law."

Niu Dazhuang glanced at her; her face was alright, but her figure was a bit too thin—she'd probably feel rough to the touch.

"Hello, sister-in-law."

"Hehe, okay, you're good too."

"Can you watch the baby for me? I'm going to take his measurements." After saying that, Qin Huairu didn't give her a chance to speak and swayed her slender waist as she walked home.

"Sigh..." The young woman wanted to say something more, but then she saw the two of them walk to the Jia family's door.

"Is your mother-in-law not home?" Niu Dazhuang asked.

"When does she ever spend a day at home? She's old but still hasn't given up."

Once inside, Qin Huairu took out a measuring tape and said, "Stretch out your arm..."

When measuring the top, everything seemed normal, but when Qin Huairu measured the length of the trousers...

"Stop fooling around, there are people all over the place outside." Qin Huairu coquettishly stopped Niu Dazhuang's groping hands.

Niu Dazhuang knew his limits; he was just indulging in a bit of fun...

"Dazhuang... your shirt alone requires 20 feet of cloth, and your pants also need 10 feet... the dark blue cotton cloth costs 31 cents a foot... I hate it." Qin Huairu broke free from Niu Dazhuang's clutches.

Niu Dazhuang sniffed his demonic hand with a sly grin: "Hehe, I'll give you two packets of medicine tomorrow, and I'll give you all the cloth coupons too. It'll be about thirty feet, and here's six yuan."

"Okay, you can go out first, I'm going to wash my face." Qin Huairu's pretty face was already flushed.

After leaving the Jia family, Niu Dazhuang, having nothing to do, wandered over to the Tianqiao area, having already heard that the area was lively.

Hehe, there really are people doing stand-up comedy on the street. Niu Dazhuang went over to listen, and wow! It's all vulgar stuff, the "Eighteen Touches" routine is for kids...

Niu Dazhuang listened for a while, then left without giving a single penny, preferring to watch the monkey show.

I skipped the shadow puppet show, and after walking around for a while, I had a bowl of tea and bought two donkey rolls to tide me over.

Seeing a group of people watching a magic trick, Niu Dazhuang's eyes lit up. He'd first check how much income they'd make.

It was almost noon, and the magic show was entering its second half.

I saw a young woman helping a middle-aged, thin man stretch out a piece of black cloth.

The middle-aged man had one hand inside the black cloth and the other hand reaching out to grab something in the upper left corner. He called out, "Here it comes! I'm impressed!" He then pulled the black cloth away, revealing his hand inside holding a small porcelain basin with some water spilled out.

Then, holding the porcelain basin, he circled around everyone, and three red goldfish were seen swimming back and forth in the basin.

Then cheers erupted. At this moment, a girl with two long braids, holding a gong, began asking for money…