Courtyard House: Purchasing Agents' Comeback from the Great Famine

Upon hearing the name Wang Feng, Sha Zhu's previously murderous expression instantly deflated.

Wang Feng really hit hard; it still hurts there.

"Hehe, Sister Qin, let's not stoop to Wang Feng's level. It's just meat. I have a bowl of braised meat here, you can take it back."

Sha Zhu stared at Qin Huairu's pitiful face and smiled foolishly, but when he smiled like that, the wrinkles on his face looked even more pronounced.

"Brother! This bowl of braised pork was bought for me to help me recover, and I haven't eaten it yet."

He Yushui panicked when she saw that the meat she was about to eat was going to be given to the Jia family again.

Sha Zhu waved his hand and said earnestly to He Yushui:

"Rain, didn't I teach you that you can't always think of yourself? Look how cute Bang Geng and Xiao Dang are. Can you bear to see them go hungry? We are adults. It's okay for us to miss a meal or two, but the children can't go hungry."

After saying that, Sha Zhu didn't even look at He Yushui's tear-streaked face, and poured the entire bowl of braised meat directly into Qin Huairu's large bowl.

While pouring the meat, Sha Zhu deliberately touched Qin Huairu's hand, which made him ecstatic.

"Silly Zhu, you're so kind."

Qin Huairu burst into laughter through her tears, grabbed Sha Zhu's big hand, and ran away with a flushed face.

Watching Qin Huairu's retreating figure, Sha Zhu chuckled to himself as he brought the hand Qin Huairu had just grabbed to his nose and smelled it, looking completely intoxicated.

"Brother! I hate you!"

He Yushui screamed and ran back to her room, sobbing.

When Sha Zhu saw He Yushui crying, he didn't take it seriously and even thought about giving her a good talking-to.

......

Qin Huairu brought the braised pork back to the Jia family home. Jia Zhangshi asked, "Wasn't it chicken? How did it become braised pork?"

"Mom, Wang Feng won't give it to me, and he even said... he even said..."

Qin Huairu blushed with embarrassment. Thinking of that bastard Wang Feng, who actually wanted to eat her big white steamed bun, she wished she could bite him to death.

Jia Zhangshi glared at her triangular eyes and said, "What else is there to say? Speak!"

"And...and you said I was shameless, using such a big bowl to borrow meat." Qin Huairu's voice grew softer and softer.

"You jinx, you're really useless, you can't even borrow a bowl of meat."

Madam Jia cursed and snatched the braised meat from Qin Huairu's hand, grabbing several pieces with her bare hands and throwing them into Qin Huairu's gaping maw.

Seeing this, Banggeng panicked and grabbed several pieces with his hands, throwing them directly into his mouth.

Just as Xiao Dang and Qin Huai were about to pick up some meat, Jia Zhangshi slapped their hands with a chopstick.

"Why are you two good-for-nothings eating meat? You can just eat cornbread."

After saying that, Jia Zhangshi divided the meat into three parts, taking the largest portion for herself, the second portion for Bang Geng, and the third portion for Jia Dongxu.

There was only three ounces of meat in total, which was devoured in just a few bites. In the end, Jia Zhangshi even ate some cornbread dipped in the oil from the large bowl.

When Xiao Dang saw that all the meat had been eaten, he immediately started to cry in grievance.

Qin Huairu also wanted to cry. She had borrowed the meat, but she hadn't been able to eat a single bite.

There was nothing she could do; life had to go on. All she could do was hold Xiao Dang in her arms and whisper words of comfort.

......

the other side.

After Wang Feng stewed the chicken and stored it in his spatial storage, Master Li arrived with six people carrying a large pile of building materials.

"Young master, we've prepared the materials this morning, and we can start now," Master Li said with a smile.

Wang Feng took out a pack of Daqianmen cigarettes, gave one to each person, then went inside and brought out two more packs of Daqianmen cigarettes, handing them to Master Li and saying:

"Master Li, I have something to do this afternoon and need to go out. I'll have to trouble you with this."

"Young master, take these cigarettes back. We've all been paid, I can't accept them."

Wang Feng shoved two packs of cigarettes into Master Li's hands: "Master Li, share these cigarettes with everyone. You've all worked so hard to renovate my house, I should at least show my appreciation, right? Besides, I'm counting on you all to help make my house sturdier."

"Hey! Young boss, just you wait and see, I promise I'll renovate this house to make it solid and sturdy."

Seeing how generous this young boss was, Master Li stopped being coy and accepted the cigarettes.

Wang Feng nodded and smiled, "Alright then, I have something to do, so I'll head out first."

After exchanging a few words with Master Li, Wang Feng pushed his bicycle out the door.

He rode his bicycle to No. 9 Courtyard. He remembered that Matchmaker Li lived there. Speaking of which, it was Matchmaker Li who introduced Qin Huairu to him.

As Wang Feng pushed his bicycle into the courtyard, an old man stopped him.

"Young man, who are you looking for?"

Wang Feng handed over a large Qianmen cigarette: "Sir, I'm looking for Matchmaker Li. Does she live in this courtyard?"

The old man took the cigarette with a broad smile: "Yes, I'll take you there right away."

"Matchmaker Li, someone is looking for you."

The old man was very enthusiastic; when he shouted, the whole courtyard could hear his voice.

This courtyard is a large, crowded tenement, with houses scattered here and there, looking quite messy, not as good as No. 95 Courtyard.

"Who...who is looking for me?"

A middle-aged woman who looked to be in her fifties hurried over, carrying a rolling pin.

Upon seeing the middle-aged woman, Wang Feng quickly stepped forward to greet her: "Hello, Aunt Li, I'm Wang Feng from compound number 95. I'm of marriageable age now, and I heard that you're the most famous matchmaker in Nanluoguxiang, so I've come to ask you to introduce me to someone."

"Oh, then come inside and let's talk."

When the matchmaker saw that a client had come to her door, she immediately smiled and led Wang Feng into her home.

Li the matchmaker poured a glass of water and handed it to Wang Feng, getting straight to the point:

"Wang Feng, what kind of partner are you looking for?"

Wang Feng pondered for a moment and said, "Aunt Li, first of all, she must be beautiful, then she must be diligent and obedient, and she must be a virgin. As for whether she is from the city or the countryside, I don't care."

"Aunt Li, please let me finish. Here's what I'm thinking: if you successfully introduce me to someone, I'll give you a 10 yuan thank-you gift. I won't give you any gifts during holidays or festivals after that."

"Also, I've heard that there are many pretty and hardworking girls in Changping. You can go there and take a look. But Aunt Li, you must find out carefully that the girl must be obedient, hardworking, and pretty, and her family shouldn't be too complicated. I can give 28 yuan as a bride price."

Wang Feng finished speaking in one breath, then looked at Matchmaker Li and asked, "Aunt Li, do you see any problems?"

Upon hearing the offer of 10 yuan as a thank-you gift and 28 yuan as a bride price, Matchmaker Li's eyes lit up instantly.

Normally, the thank-you gift she gives to matchmakers is 2 or 3 yuan, and at most 5 yuan is considered good.

Moreover, it's not that no one gave her gifts after the marriage, but very few. However, since others didn't give her gifts, there was nothing she could do. So, if she successfully introduced Wang Feng to someone, she could get 10 yuan.

Wang Feng didn't know what was going on, but the bride price was a whopping 28 yuan. She had been a professional matchmaker for over 20 years and had rarely seen such a large bride price.

"Wang Feng, where do you work? How much do you earn? What's your family's financial situation like? You haven't told me yet."

"Aunt Li, I just turned 20. I'm a purchasing agent at Hongxing Steel Rolling Mill. I took over my father's job after graduating from high school. I earn 38.5 yuan a month. I live alone now. We have four rooms in the No. 95 courtyard."

"Oh dear, Wang Feng, with such good qualities, why are you marrying a country girl? You should know that there's no quota for country girls," Matchmaker Li hurriedly advised.

Wang Feng nodded: "Aunt Li, I just want to find someone hardworking and obedient, whether from the city or the countryside, it's fine. My dad has worked for so many years and saved up quite a bit for me. With my salary, we can still afford to support her."

Matchmaker Li frowned: "That's true, but weren't you a girl from Changping before? Do you know any girls from there?"

Wang Feng waved his hand and laughed, "No, no, I just heard it from Qin Huairu in our courtyard. She said the girls in her village are both beautiful and well-behaved."

"Okay, I'll go to Changping tomorrow and take a look. If there aren't any suitable ones there, I'll find you another one. I guarantee I'll find you a wife who is as beautiful as an angel and as obedient as a child."

Matchmaker Li patted her chest loudly as she made her promise.

Wang Feng smiled slightly, handed five yuan to Matchmaker Li, and then gave her a final instruction:

"Aunt Li, here's five yuan for you, and another five yuan after it's done. If you bring the girl here, please don't bring her into our compound. There are so many bachelors in our compound, I'm afraid she'll be scared."

"Okay, Aunt Li understands, don't worry."