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

Liu Guangtian and Liu Guangfu turned back to look at Zhang Dabiao with resentment—

[Zhang Dabiao, shut up!]

The more you criticize my dad, the more he loses face, and the harder he hits him!

Are you trying to kill us? What grudge do you hold against us?

Liu Pangpang, however, got even more worked up: "What business is it of yours if I beat my own son! They stole Guangqi's eggs, so what if I taught them a lesson?"

"Do you know the saying 'Spare the rod and spoil the child'?"

This wasn't a case of hitting someone for no reason; no matter where you look, Fatty Liu is in the right!

Zhang Dabiao scratched his head. This seems to make a lot of sense.

Then he glanced at Liu Guangqi's crotch...

Liu Guangqi quickly covered his groin with both hands and hurriedly explained, "It's a fried egg, a fried egg, not my egg! Where are you looking!"

Zhang Dabiao said "Oh," and added, "Blame your dad for talking nonsense. I thought your two younger brothers..."

That would be a truly bizarre sight.

"How about we let them come to my place for a meal first, and then you can discipline them after they've eaten?"

"I beat them both up this morning, so it wouldn't be right for me to invite Guangqi to dinner without them."

"If you beat them after they've eaten their fill, they'll howl even harder, won't they?"

[Does God's howl get even more powerful?!]

[Zhang Dabiao, are you a devil?]

Did I kill your father or set your house on fire?!

But Liu Pangpang actually looked up and thought for a moment—yes, the children haven't been eating enough lately, so their crying isn't loud enough to demonstrate the power and correctness of his parenting!

The main problem is that the sound is too low for the people in the front and middle courtyards to hear!

Then all my education was for nothing?

Therefore, Zhang Dabiao's suggestion—

Yes, it's possible!

So he waved his hand, and Liu Guangtian and Liu Guangfu scrambled out of the house.

I was about to curse a bit, but when I smelled the odor and walked to the table in the center of the yard, I was stunned.

All four dishes were meat dishes!

There wasn't a single vegetable dish!

Xu Damao, Liu Guangqi, and Guang Tian were all stunned. Liu Guangtian, in particular, pointed at the four dishes and asked tremblingly, "Da Biao, is this for us?"

Zhang Dabiao sat down and picked up his chopsticks: "Hmm, what else?"

"Hurry up, it's cold, it'll get chilly soon."

Sha Zhu was standing in front of the door, craning his neck and swallowing hard as he looked in this direction.

He, Yi Zhonghai, and the deaf old lady shared half a portion of braised pork, one serving of stir-fried cabbage, one serving of pickled vegetables, and five steamed buns. However, because they had shared two rainwater buns, it still wasn't enough for them.

Are these 5 people eating 4 meat dishes?

Although the portion size seems a bit small, there are still four meat dishes!

Even during Chinese New Year, no one would dare to eat like this, right?

Everyone sat down. Liu Guangtian and Guangfu held their chopsticks but dared not move, and even glanced at Liu Guangqi.

Liu Guangqi, the eldest son of the Liu family, was among the most well-off in the courtyard, but even so, I've never seen anything like this before.

Seeing his younger brothers' envious yet hesitant expressions, and knowing that Zhang Dabiao had already started eating and was pointing at the dishes, he said to everyone—

"Eat up! What are you all standing there for? It'll get cold!"

It was already night, the lights were dim, and the temperature was low.

Liu Guangqi gritted his teeth and said, "Eat!"

"Zhang Dabiao beat us up this morning, this meal is an apology to us, so why not eat it!"

Only then did Guangtian and Guangfu cautiously add a slice of eggplant and slowly begin to eat.

The taste was so delicious that their eyes narrowed –

This is the taste of happiness!

Xu Damao took a couple of bites but put down his chopsticks, leaving Zhang Dabiao stunned: "What's wrong, Damao? Doesn't it suit your taste?"

Even though it's a pre-made meal kit, it can't be that bad, right?

Not to mention the generous amount of seasonings, heavy oil and salt, plus some Hextech technology, it should taste better than what we have now, right?

Sha Zhu also craned his neck to see Xu Damao's reaction. Could it be that there was something wrong with the food?

That would be a huge problem.

In this entire courtyard, in terms of how picky they are about food, they are Sha Zhu, Xu Fugui, Xu Damao, and the deaf old lady!

It's not something an ordinary person can easily fool Xu Damao.

But Xu Damao suddenly stood up, holding a bottle of loose liquor in his hand. He raised the bottle and said, "You're in charge of the dishes, so I, Xu Damao, can't be so unreliable. I brought the liquor, but—"

"This wine is not worthy of your food!"

"I'm going home to get a different bottle!"

"Wait for me, you guys can't steal any food!"

Then, Xu Damao quickly ran towards the Xu family's house.

Sha Zhu's eyes widened – a bottle of cheap liquor costing 7 cents wasn't even worthy of this meal?!

Surely not?

So he instinctively went over, wanting to taste it.

As soon as they arrived, Zhang Dabiao asked, "What's up, Chef He?"

"I'm just asking you, can I afford braised pork?"

Then the three Liu brothers stopped like vicious dogs guarding their food, staring fiercely at Sha Zhu, as if to say, "If you dare to touch us, we'll bite you to death."

Sha Zhu was naturally not going to admit his mistake and bow his head, but his old face turned red, and then he turned his head and said: "It's just braised pork, Kung Pao chicken, minced pork, eggplant, and shredded pork with garlic sauce."

"I'm tired of making this, and I hate the smell."

"This skill is not as good as mine!"

This is just stubbornness and an attempt to save face.

Then they went back to the old deaf man's house, lowered the curtain, and the three of them continued eating braised pork, stir-fried cabbage, pickled vegetables, and cornbread, but their minds were wandering outside.

But you said to have Sha Zhu go and get some food now—

He really can't afford to lose face like that.

Less than half a minute later, Xu Damao came running back with a bottle of cabbage and five or six cornbread buns, showing off as he said, "Cabbage, one yuan and sixty cents a bottle, not bad quality, right?"

"Let's add some staple food; just eating vegetables won't do."

Xu Damao was concerned about his image, but he handled the matter thoroughly. In those days, when other people ate at someone else's house, they had to bring their own food and food coupons.

Although it was Zhang Dabiao who was treating, Xu Damao knew about his family's situation and didn't bother to take advantage of his younger brother.

Upon seeing the cornbread, Zhang Dabiao didn't stand on ceremony and took a bite. *Ptooey!*

It hurts my throat and tastes awful!

Everyone was stunned. Dude, you're taking this showing off a bit too far.

What year is this?

Everyone else eats cornbread, but you're the only one who can't?

"No, it's really sore throat. Wait a minute, I said I'd treat, so I'll treat. My main course hasn't arrived yet."

"Just you wait! Asking you to bring food? That would be a slap in the face to Zhang Dabiao!"

As he spoke, Zhang Dabiao grabbed a large winnowing basket and ran towards the central courtyard.

Xu Damao and Liu Guangqi quickly stopped him, saying, "Da Biao, that's enough!"

"Damn it, Da Biao, stop wasting money! Start saving your own food! Are you trying to ruin your life?"

It didn't matter to them for taking a small advantage, but this matter concerned Zhang Dabiao's future survival. Zhang Dabiao only received a living allowance of 5 yuan a month. This dish with meat on the table would cost at least 36 to 40 cents a serving in a state-run restaurant, and even a small portion of minced meat and eggplant would cost around 20 cents.

That means the minimum charge for this table is 1.2 yuan, and it's very likely that it will go up, and you'll need to pay for tickets.

And don't you even look at what year this is?

Are you really struggling to make ends meet? You spend five to a quarter of your living expenses on a single meal?

But Zhang Dabiao turned around and pointed: "Sit down!"

"Drink today, for tomorrow we may die; let bygones be bygones."

"You all eat in peace, I'll be right back."

"Is this all the food you have? Are you feeding the fish?"

"If I, Zhang Dabiao, treated you to dinner and you didn't get enough to eat, that's a slap in my face!"

"Sit down and eat properly! Or I'll throw a tantrum!"

The CEO exuded an aura of dominance, so Xu Damao and the other three had no choice but to sit down.

After Zhang Dabiao passed through the moon gate, Xu Damao muttered, "This Dabiao... could he be suffering from some kind of terminal illness?"

"What?" The three Liu brothers were stunned.

"I've read in plays and novels that people eat and drink their fill before they die, spend all their money, and then go on their way in peace."

"The greatest tragedy in the world is dying before you've spent all your money."

"Besides, if he doesn't spend all his money on food, drink, and entertainment, who will benefit from his wealth?"

The four fell silent. You know what, Xu Damao's words actually made some sense.

Xu Damao and Liu Guangqi knew best what Cao Dan's courtyard house was like.

"Da Biao... he really treats us like brothers..."

"Who can argue with that?"

Xu Damao and Liu Guangqi chatted for a while, then opened a bottle of wine and shared a drink.

A tribute to our departed brother, Zhang Dabiao!

But the youngest, Liu Guangfu, suddenly said—

"Is it possible that he poisoned our food to take us all away? He even hit us this morning!"

--puff--

Xu Damao and Liu Guangqi immediately spat out their drinks!

You know what, it's actually quite possible!

The group instantly stopped eating, a chill running down their spines—[Could Da Biao really be like this?]

We don't have that much of a grudge between us, do we?

But Liu Guangtian, who had been sprayed in the face with alcohol, wiped the alcohol off his face and continued eating his food in a nonchalant manner, saying something.

"Impossible. Even if he were to take people away, he would only take the Jia family and the eldest uncle."

"They're the ones with a real grudge, otherwise he wouldn't have gone all out when he attacked us this morning!"

Xu Damao and Liu Guangqi nodded – that makes sense!

"Besides, even if it was poisoned, I'm going to eat my money's worth today!"

"I don't care anymore!"

As if venting his frustration, Liu Guangtian continued to eat heartily.

At home, they ate cornbread and cornmeal porridge every day. The Liu family had some money, enough to ensure that he and Guangfu were half full, which was considered good in those days.

But all the good things were reserved for the eldest brother, Guangqi. If he and Guangfu stole even a fried egg, they would get a beating.

Since we're going to get beaten up when we get back, we might as well eat as much as we can to make it worthwhile!

As for whether it's poisonous or not, who cares if it's poisonous or not? If it is poisonous, we'll just die a full-bodied ghost!

Liu Guangfu was stunned for a moment, then he also started eating heartily.

The two brothers went all out!

Liu Guangqi looked a little unwell. He couldn't help it; he was afraid of Fatty Liu at home too.

Xu Damao sighed – every family has its own troubles.

Just then, Zhang Dabiao ran over carrying a large winnowing basket.

A huge bucket of rice, a bowl of 12 juicy grilled sausages, a plate of steamed buns, and a whole roasted chicken?!

He put his things down and ran off, saying as he ran, "Wait a minute! And Guangqi, get another table; we don't have enough space!"

All four of them were dumbfounded.

What on earth is going on?!

One table isn't enough to fit them all.

"Guangtian Guangfu, go back and move the table!"