Courtyard House: Drunk and tipsy, the whole courtyard exposed at the start.

What the hell?

Get your money back!

Zhang Dabiao's eyes widened in surprise. He was just getting to the exciting part when Yan Jiecheng exclaimed, "It's you again!"

The two were sitting on a stone bench in the sheltered area of ​​the front yard, and Yan Jiecheng was talking animatedly, his words flying everywhere. Returning the cigarettes was impossible, especially since they were specially supplied filtered cigarettes; he simply couldn't afford it.

Therefore, I will speak freely!

But after talking for so long, my throat is dry. What I said before was more than enough to cover yesterday's economical meal and special supply. If you want to hear more, you'll have to give me something, right?

Seeing how hard he was working, Zhang Dabiao took out another one and gave him one.

Economic cigarettes.

Yan Jiecheng was a little unhappy: "Da Biao, that's not very nice of you. If you don't have a filter, at least give me a Daqianmen cigarette, right?"

"Give me a Daqianmen cigarette, and I'll tell you something even more interesting!"

Oh?

This can be!

Zhang Dabiao got interested. It was just a Daqianmen cigarette, so he decided to give it up!

Yan Jiecheng's eyes immediately narrowed into slits with laughter.

Then Zhang Dabiao turned around and started smoking Yellow Crane Tower cigarettes again.

……

Yan Jiecheng suddenly felt that Daqianmen (a type of Chinese liquor) was no longer appealing. "Why do you have a special supply with a filter?"

(Zhang Dabiao - Sorry, my food, clothing, housing, and transportation are replenished daily, to put it simply - unlimited!)

What kind of family is this?

I initially thought Zhang Dabiao was pitiful, all alone and miserable, since his father had died.

But now it seems...

It seems like she's having an even better time than him?

However, Yan Jiecheng was only annoyed for a few seconds. He took Zhang Dabiao's match, lit it himself, and continued to grumble as he smoked.

------------

Finally, in a very difficult situation, Yi Zhonghai, on Sha Zhu's behalf, compensated the Xu and Yan families with 500 yuan, which finally calmed their anger.

Moreover, Yi Zhonghai also returned 800 to Sha Zhu and compensated him with 1600. So, on the basis of paying such a high price, he finally received partial forgiveness from Sha Zhu.

That day, an older woman also went to the police station, slammed the medical report on the conference table, and slapped Yi Zhonghai across the face. You can all guess what the medical report was.

One can only sigh—

Yi Zhonghai is truly a cunning bastard! He schemed against He Daqing, his apprentice's entire family, and even the simple-minded Sha Zhu. And he schemed against his own wife for decades?!

However, the adults in the courtyard (the second generation) suppressed the matter and it was not discussed.

"500 yuan, 1000 yuan in total from both families, Yi Zhonghai is really generous." Zhang Dabiao sighed as he smoked.

How do you describe the purchasing power of 1000 yuan these days?

Even after houses were banned from being bought and sold in 58, a small number of houses in Nanluoguxiang were still privately traded under the guise of debt settlement, inheritance by relatives, and other similar transactions.

A 15-square-meter side room costs about 300 yuan, while a main room in a good location and with a large area costs about 450 yuan, but there are no buyers even if the price is right.

In other words, 1000 yuan is enough to buy all three side rooms of the Zhang and Jia families.

Yi Zhonghai spent a total of 3400 yuan to "save" Sha Zhu and to pay compensation...

That's enough to buy the entire Intermediate People's Court!

Think about housing prices in future generations...

No wonder Sha Zhu didn't send him in.

"So you got the money, but you didn't even treat yourself to anything good to eat or drink? You need to take good care of yourself." Zhang Dabiao was very curious about this. You got 500, surely you, Yan Jiecheng, can't even afford a pack of cigarettes?

Yan Jiecheng rolled his eyes: "It was my family that got 500, not me."

Do you think my dad would use that 500 yuan to pay for my medical treatment and health supplements?

Zhang Dabiao's eyes widened: "No way? This is a major event related to having children, a lifelong matter!"

"Your dad's stingy about this? Are you even his biological child?"

Yan Lao's stinginess truly shocked Zhang Dabiao.

"Who knows? My dad said that food is too expensive now, and he'll buy me some things to nourish my body once the prices stabilize in a while."

"These days, everyone is short of food. My situation is not unique. Many people are so hungry that they develop liver edema. I'm only malnourished, which is already considered good. I'll get better with some rest, so my dad didn't take it to heart."

"Besides, during this year of famine, I'm not married and I'm not in a hurry to have children, so I'm not in a rush to make up for it."

"However, please allow me to eat an extra steamed bun with each meal to replenish my body first."

At this point, Yan Jiecheng showed a sad expression, but then a smile appeared on his lips because of the "single cornbread," and tears welled up in his eyes. It was a story so heartbreaking that it would bring tears to anyone's eyes! Was he laughing or crying?

Zhang Dabiao was so shocked that he unconsciously handed over another Daqianmen cigarette.

Since the performer gave such a moving performance, shouldn't we give them a tip when listening to a storyteller in a teahouse?

With his ability to control his expressions, he could cry while laughing and then laugh while crying; he could easily become an award-winning actor!

When Yan Jiecheng saw Zhang Dabiao offer him a cigarette, he became even more enthusiastic.

"Da Biao, you know, we're both fathers, but Uncle Xu stewed a whole old hen for Xu Damao yesterday, while my dad only gave me an extra cornbread bun last night..."

"How can the difference be so big?"

He also discovered that the more pathetic and miserable he appeared, the more Zhang Dabiao softened his heart.

Wasn't that what I meant when I offered you the cigarette?

So he performed even more energetically.

"Tell me, am I really Yan Bugui's biological son? How could he treat his son like this?"

"Yes, the Yan family has many children, but I'm the eldest! It wouldn't be honorable for Yan Bugui, the eldest son, to have no male heir. Don't you think that makes sense?"

"How come he can't even figure this out?"

"..."

"Perhaps your dad is just stingy?" Zhang Dabiao thought to himself, but in the end, he couldn't come up with any other reason.

"..."

Both of them fell silent.

This is so stingy, Yan Laoshi...

"Forget it, good luck to you."

"I only get 5 yuan a month in welfare. I can barely survive on my own. What do I care if you have children or not?"

Zhang Dabiao shook his head and got up to return to the Central Court.

"Hey, Big Biao, how about we have another cigarette?"

This is your main purpose, isn't it?

------------

The courtyard was completely silent. Everyone was smart enough not to be fooled by what had happened yesterday and knew that they couldn't afford to mess with Zhang Dabiao now.

Didn't you see the old man still sitting behind closed doors reflecting on his mistakes?

The Jia family isn't stupid. Although they lost 10 yuan yesterday, Qin Huairu borrowed 100 yuan from Sha Zhu last night and is currently hiding at home eating delicious food.

Nobody's a fool; they need to calm down for at least two or three days before making a decision.

Then, screams of pain from hitting children echoed from the backyard.

"Dad, it was my eldest brother who wanted to go after Zhang Dabiao, not Guangfu and I!"

"Shut up! Get in the way!"

"You three brothers can't even beat a 16-year-old idiot who's still in third grade. You think you're right after losing?"

"—Aww—"

"Zhang Dabiao! I'll never forgive you!"

Zhang Dabiao snorted. There are plenty of people who are my sworn enemies. Who do you think you are?

You still have to wait in line.

Neither the Xu nor the Liu family came to settle scores with Zhang Dabiao, presumably because they felt it was too shameful to lose the fight that morning, and Zhang Dabiao was left with peace and quiet.

The door was opened, and thankfully no one had broken in, but there wasn't anything valuable in the house.

Zhang Dabiao thought for a moment. On the second day of the Lunar New Year, he didn't have many relatives. His father was said to have been driven out of the village, but no one had ever said what he had done wrong, so he didn't have many relatives to visit.

Let's just do a thorough cleaning then.

I picked up a wooden bucket, fetched a bucket of water from the pool, grabbed a rag, and went back inside to clean.

As for the broken glass, after sweeping it up, just cover it with some newspapers and that's it, since I'm not sleeping inside anyway.

The house had been a bit messy these past few days, but after Zhang Dabiao cleaned it, it became much brighter.

A rope and sheets were used to create a partition between the bed and the window to prevent anyone from peeping and discovering that I wasn't sleeping at home.

Everyone in the courtyard was observing Zhang Dabiao. Since his outburst yesterday, he wasn't stupid anymore, but his behavior was still a bit abnormal.

It's that feeling of being on the verge of going crazy; your mental state is quite unstable.

For example, why did you suddenly start buying hats, scarves, and gloves? Even your cotton shoes are new. Who doesn't mend and patch their shoes for three years? If you're so smart, why aren't you stockpiling food and instead buying hats and scarves? What else is that but being mentally ill?

Secondly, if a normal person's window glass breaks, wouldn't they rush to find someone to fix it in this freezing weather? He simply didn't take it seriously!

Besides, you're not even lighting the stove, how can anyone stand the temperature?

Moreover, Zhang Dabiao hasn't cooked at all in the past two days! He ran out of coal briquettes and didn't ask anyone to borrow any.

Everyone knows Zhang Bansian's financial situation; even if Zhang Dabiao ate at state-run restaurants every day, he still wouldn't have enough money.

What is this child thinking?

How can we live like this?

But no one explicitly reminded him.

However, Zhang Dabiao didn't care about these so-called neighborly relations at all. He was neither an I nor an E person, but rather someone who preferred not to ask for help from others.

After cleaning was finished, the clothes washed in the washing machine in the "little nest" were also spun dry.

Zhang Dabiao took the clothes out and hung them out to dry in the yard.

But this weather...

Wouldn't it freeze into "freeze-dried" food?

Seeing that others were doing the same thing, Zhang Dabiao decided to follow suit.

However, his behavior has attracted the attention of some people.

The clothes were washed shortly after I entered the house?

I didn't see him boil water or his hands get red from the cold.

It only takes a short time to soak and then it's dried.

Will this get clean?

If Zhang Dabiao knew what they were thinking, he would definitely say something sarcastic—

You guys are all just bored out of your minds. Whether I cook or not, whether I wash clothes or not, is none of your business.

It's cat-like!

There's another upsetting thing—

Where are my matches?

They've disappeared again?