Courtyard House: Purchasing Agents' Comeback from the Great Famine

Wang Feng smoked five cigarettes at the village entrance before Qin's father and Qin Dashan slowly arrived, pulling a cart. Qin Jingru pushed her bicycle and stood beside them.

Wang Feng handed two Zhonghua cigarettes to Qin's father and son, saying, "Dad, there's a lot of stuff. Thank you for your hard work this time."

Qin's father took the cigarette, patted his chest, and laughed, "It's alright, Dashan and I will just make a few more trips. By the way, where are all the things?"

Wang Feng led Qin's father and the other two to a patch of grass nearby, smiling as he said, "Here they are?"

Seeing so much meat, fish, rabbit, and sweet potatoes, Qin's father looked at Wang Feng in shock and asked dryly:

"Wang Feng, so much meat, how much did this cost?"

Wang Feng nodded: "Dad, everyone's having a tough time these days. Let's have a good meal together. We don't need to accept any monetary gifts. Anyway, I hunted most of these myself, so it didn't cost much."

Qin's father and Qin Dashan both gasped in shock. How much would all that meat and sweet potatoes cost?

Normally, when they hold banquets in their village, they're lucky if each table gets a pound of meat, and they also have to give money as a gift. So, they end up losing a lot of money on each banquet.

Qin Jingru was also shocked by Wang Feng. She didn't expect him to prepare so much meat and not accept any monetary gifts. How much money must he have lost?

This was all her family's money! It broke her heart, but since Brother Wang Feng had done this, she didn't dare to ask any more questions. She just felt so bad for him.

Qin's father took a deep drag of his cigarette before slowly saying, "Alright, since you've prepared everything, let's arrange it this way. Dashan, quickly load the things onto the cart."

"They're here."

The two quickly filled the cart to the brim. Qin Dashan pulled the cart while his father pushed it from behind, and they soon disappeared from Wang Feng's sight.

After Qin's father and Qin Dashan left, Qin Jingru said with heartache, "Brother Wang Feng, we're treating the whole village to a feast. How much will that cost? It's so expensive!"

Wang Feng chuckled and said, "Alright, you money-grubber, didn't you want the whole village to envy you? Today we're treating them to a feast. Aren't all the aunties and young wives in your village green with envy?"

"Yeah, Brother Wang Feng, you're so good to me, but... but I feel like the price is too high," Qin Jingru muttered.

Wang Feng and Qin Jingru were chatting at the village entrance, while Qin's father and Qin Dashan had already walked away with their cart.

If it weren't for his wedding day, and Qin's father was afraid of getting his clothes dirty, it would have been much faster for him to go and help.

Back inside, Qin's mother poured Wang Feng a cup of tea and said with a smile, "Wang Feng, you've had a hard day. Come and have some tea."

"Dashan, go tell Uncle Liu to come over this afternoon to help with the cooking. Lao Qin, go and inform Second Brother to tell each household to send one person to the banquet tonight, and also to have any unemployed women come and help."

Before Qin's father and Qin Dashan could even catch their breath, Qin's mother had already assigned them a whole host of tasks.

"Okay, I'll go right away," Qin's father nodded.

"Mom, are you treating me like a donkey? You wait here, I'll go get a drink of water and then."

Qin Dashan gulped down a large bowl of water before he could catch his breath. Before he could rest for a while, his mother pushed him out the door.

For lunch, the family simply ate some plain steamed buns, along with a plate of hot and sour shredded potatoes and pickled vegetables.

Qin's father and Qin Dashan were so busy they barely had time to breathe. Wang Feng wanted to help, but Qin's parents wouldn't let him, afraid that he would get his clothes dirty and become a laughingstock that night.

At the threshing ground, ten tables had already been set up. Some people were killing fish, others were steaming sweet potatoes, and still others were washing vegetables. Everyone was busy and bustling about.

As for Qin Jingru, she's nowhere to be found right now, probably out chatting with her aunties and grandmas.

This is really not unfair to Qin Jingru. Qin Jingru had just returned from showing off at the end of the village, and now she was riding her bicycle to the beginning of the village.

"Sixth Aunt, Seventh Aunt, Eldest Aunt, Fourth Sister-in-law, what are you talking about?"

Qin Jingru parked her bicycle to the side and walked over with a smile.

"Oh dear, Jingru, today is your big day! Why aren't you at home? What are you doing wandering around like this?"

"Sixth Aunt, it's because my dad and the others are here. They won't let me help, so I was bored and came over to chat with everyone," Qin Jingru said with a smile.

"Jingru, you're so lucky! Look at what you're wearing, it must have cost a fortune!" Fourth Sister-in-law said enviously.

Qin Jingru smiled and waved her hand, but as she waved, she deliberately showed the hand with the watch on it, and said:

"Fourth Sister-in-law, you mean this dress? Wang Feng bought it for me. It wasn't very expensive, only about forty yuan."

"Oh my, forty-odd yuan isn't expensive? My family works in the fields all year round and can only save a few dozen yuan."

"Wait, Jingru, did your husband buy you this watch too?" Aunt Liu looked at Qin Jingru in shock.

Qin Jingru deliberately pulled her sleeves up a little, afraid that others wouldn't notice, but now they finally did.

Qin Jingru smiled and nodded: "The watch and the bicycle were both bought for me by my brother Wang Feng. The bicycle cost 178 yuan, and the watch cost me about 126 yuan."

"My goodness, Jingru, your man is so good to you!"

"Yes, you bought a bicycle and a watch, new clothes and shoes, Jingru. Your whole outfit must have cost several hundred yuan!"

Qin Jingru smiled and nodded: "The clothes, pants, and shoes together cost about seventy yuan, and if you add the watch, it's a little over two hundred yuan in total."

"My goodness, Jingru, all of your clothes together are worth more than two years' worth of our family's income! I think you'd better stay away from us. If we accidentally damage them, we can't afford to pay for them even if we sell them."

Qin Jingru waved her hand and laughed, "It's not that serious."

As she spoke, she looked at her aunt and, seeing her preoccupied expression, asked, "Aunt, what's wrong?"

Qin Jingru's aunt is Qin Huairu's biological mother. She had been waiting at the village entrance for several hours after Qin Jingru told her that Huairu would be coming back today.

Huai Ru's mother forced a smile and asked Qin Jingru, "Jingru, didn't you say you lived in the same courtyard as Huai Ru? She hasn't been back to her parents' home for years. How is she doing now?"

Upon hearing this, Qin Jingru sighed: "Aunt, I really can't say anything about this. Sister Huairu will be back soon, so you should ask her."

"Jingru, what's there to hide? Huairu's mother is your aunt, what's there to hide from her?"

"that is."

"I bet Huai Ru is just not doing well and is too ashamed to go back to her parents' home. She's been married for so many years, how many times have you seen her go back to her parents' home?"