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

"Why did you expose me if you said you were fine? What did I do to you?"

Liu Guangqi felt so wronged that he complained to Zhang Dabiao with red eyes.

Zhang Dabiao was initially quite moved and was about to pat him on the shoulder to show his understanding and encouragement, but then he thought, "Damn it, Liu Guangqi, if you're going to complain to me, then don't blame me for not giving you face."

"Who told you to force me to drink yesterday? I was so drunk I couldn't even speak!"

"If you guys hadn't forced me to drink yesterday, I wouldn't have been drunk, and there wouldn't have been so much trouble. How can you blame me for that?"

The logic is sound, but if they didn't force Zhang Dabiao to drink, he wouldn't have been able to travel through time.

"That's true, but Jia Dongxu told us to get you drunk!"

"So, the culprit is Jia Dongxu. It was the Jia family who plotted against my house and workplace, causing all of this, and Yi Zhonghai was an accomplice."

"It's none of their business. Why would I be so bored as to expose your dirty secrets?"

"Whether you come or not, whether you marry into the family or not, has absolutely nothing to do with me!"

"...Logically, what you said is also correct." Liu Guangqi thought for a moment and finally figured out the relationship.

Even if you want revenge, you should go after Jia Dongxu!

"So, who's the bad guy?"

"The Jia family and Yi Zhonghai!"

"That's right! You've even learned to answer first!"

They were teasing and joking around, and the curtain on the deaf old woman's side swayed again.

Yi Zhonghai originally wanted to show off, under the guise of respecting the elderly and caring for the young, and get some good food for the old deaf man, but damn it, does he dare to go out in his current state?

Wasn't that just walking right into the line of fire?

The three of them gathered again by the window, letting the light from inside continue to project their images onto the windowpane...

Zhang Dabiao and the others all saw it—

[Idiot! It was exposed a long time ago!]

At this moment, Xu Damao had already brought Xu Xiaoling over. The little girl was very shy and called out to Liu Guangqi, "Brother Guangqi, Brother Guangtian, Brother Guangfu, Brother Dabiao."

This girl is also 16 years old this year, the same age as He Yushui, Zhang Dabiao, Liu Guangtian, and Tian Liugen from the front yard. However, she is relatively low-key in the yard and is a nobody.

Most importantly, her brother Xu Damao was too flamboyant, so everyone naturally overlooked her.

The little girl had a slightly long face, with two large braids hanging down her back. The long faces in the Xu family were hereditary; on Xu Damao's face, it was a horse face, but on Xu Xiaoling's face, it was an oval face.

To be honest, she looks just as good as He Yushui, but it's obvious that He Yushui's thinness is from starvation, while Xu Xiaoling's thinness is natural and well-proportioned because her family has plenty to eat and drink.

As soon as she finished speaking, everyone chuckled and urged her to sit down and eat, but Xu Damao objected.

"Xiaoling, what are you saying? Biaozi is my brother! You have to call him 'brother,' call him Brother Biao!"

Whether Xu Damao was drunk or not, his words stunned both Xu Xiaoling and Zhang Dabiao.

Then Xu Xiaoling asked, puzzled, "Isn't Zhang Dabiao younger than me?"

"He may be young, but he's incredibly capable! Trust me, calling him Brother Biao is the right thing to do."

Xu Xiaoling could only awkwardly call him "Brother Biao".

Then Liu Guangqi slapped Guang Tian and Guang Fu, who were still frantically eating, on the head—

"What are you eating? Call me Brother Biao!"

Liu Guangtian was dumbfounded: "Brother, I'm three months older than Biaozi!"

"Just call out when I tell you to. Why make such a fuss? Do you think I'd let you suffer a loss?"

Finally, Liu Guangtian reluctantly called him Brother Biao, while Guangfu didn't mind, since he was only 13 years old and the youngest.

Zhang Dabiao beamed with joy. Being called "brother" by someone older than him was a sign of respect and recognition of his strength.

It's mainly about saving face!

"Little Ling, you won't let that 'Brother Biao' you call me for nothing. I'll get you something good!"

"Just wait!"

So Zhang Dabiao ran quickly towards the Central Court, naturally to get something back!

As soon as they arrived at the Intermediate People's Court, they ran into Qin Huairu peeking in from the doorway.

"Hey, Biaozi, what are you making at your place? It smells so good!"

They only came out because they smelled the aroma. Since Zhang Dabiao had cooked it and brought it directly from his small house, it didn't have the freshly stir-fried fragrance. Also, there were only the five men in the backyard, with Xu Xiaoling joining them for dinner, so it wasn't very noisy.

That's why the Jia family only realized it now.

But Zhang Dabiao completely ignored her, treating her as if she didn't exist.

I unlocked the door, went inside, bolted it, pulled the curtain closed, and went back to my little nest!

"Da Biao, Biaozi, Sister Qin wants to talk to you about something!"

"Biaozi, open the door!"

"Oh dear, why is this child so temperamental?"

Qin Huairu pounded anxiously on the door, but Zhang Dabiao ignored her.

The Jia family? Sister Qin?

What is that thing?

I went back to my little apartment, found a cloth bag, and took some Shine Muscat grapes from the refrigerator, along with some pear syrup candy, hawthorn strips, milk tablets, raisins, and prairie yogurt.

Girls are easily charmed by sweet and sour snacks.

Zhang Dabiao also found drinks; canned cola and boxed milk are both things that can be taken out.

But in China, only bottled carbonated soft drinks are available right now. You can't buy Coca-Cola or Pepsi anywhere outside. Those are Western brands. How can you buy them? Taking them out at this time could easily cause trouble.

Boxed milk is packaged in Tetra Pak, and at that time, this type of packaging was not available in China. Taking it abroad could easily cause problems unless the container was changed.

So in the end, Zhang Dabiao only found half a packet of fruit juice sandwiched in the kitchen with tongs!

This stuff hasn't expired yet, so it should be safe to drink!

After changing the glass jar, Zhang Dabiao went out.

Strangely, there's no one outside?

Has Qin Huairu given up?

That can't be!

Zhang Dabiao locked the door with a puzzled look and prepared to go to the backyard, but saw that He Yushui's door across the hall was open.

Yu Shui was clutching her stomach and lying on the table, looking like... she was in some discomfort?

Aren't you afraid of getting cold if you don't close the door now?

He tentatively walked over and knocked on the door: "Rain, what's wrong?"

"The door's just left open, aren't you cold?"

At this moment, Yu Shui raised his head, his face bearing a pained expression that Zhang Dabiao found difficult to describe.

It doesn't seem too serious, but the face is pale and there are beads of sweat on the forehead. It looks like the person has become accustomed to the rain and this happens frequently...

"Rain, is your period here?"

In later generations, it's not a big deal to ask such questions directly; there's nothing to be embarrassed about.

How about some boiled eggs with brown sugar, maybe with some rice wine, and a hand warmer?

But in this era...

The rain makes my liver ache—"But I have a stomachache, a stomachache!"

Zhang Dabiao was a little embarrassed, realizing he'd made a mistake...

Why does your stomach hurt?

"...I'm so hungry..."

"It can't be that bad, your brother is a great chef, no matter what."

"My pockets are empty... and his rice jar is empty too..."

"Yi Zhonghai lost money, can't you go buy some food?"

"My brother has taken it all and is managing it... and besides, it's the Lunar New Year, so you can't buy it outside..."

Zhang Dabiao felt embarrassed when asked again; who didn't know about Sha Zhu's messy affairs?

Everyone else can see it clearly, but Sha Zhu himself can't.

"How about we eat in the backyard?"

"I'm having a meal with Xu Damao and the three Liu brothers in the backyard."

"..." He Yushui was a little confused. They were shouting and fighting in the morning, but they were having dinner together in the evening?

"Who treated us?"

"I."

"Is this... convenient?" He Yushui was somewhat tempted, but she still felt uneasy. Firstly, she was afraid of troubling others, and secondly, Xu Damao was her silly brother's mortal enemy...

"You're already like this, what's the point of talking about convenience or inconvenience? Xu Xiaoling is eating over there too."

"Let's go, the world is vast, let's fill our stomachs first."

Zhang Dabiao greeted He Yushui irritably. He Yushui was a little embarrassed, but she still followed him.

"Let me tell you, you should go to the hospital for a checkup as soon as possible if you have a stomachache, get some medicine, and take good care of yourself."

"In the early stages, it's just excessive acid reflux, but later it can lead to stomach ulcers and even stomach perforation, which can be incredibly painful."

"Of course, the most important thing is to eat on time and take care of your stomach..."

As they walked, Zhang Dabiao explained to him, and He Yushui knew all of this perfectly well.

But it was normal to go hungry in those days.

She is 16 years old this year, and the monthly ration for students is 27 jin (18 catties)!

We don't even get a pound of grain a day! Dad's gone, and this mentally challenged brother of ours is sometimes in charge and sometimes not. Qin Huairu from across the street comes over every now and then crying and asking for grain and money. And Yi Zhonghai and the deaf old lady are clearly sexist, they only care about the mentally challenged brother and not about us.

What can He Yushui do?

She sometimes really envied Zhang Dabiao. Although he had some intellectual disabilities, Uncle Zhang never skimped on his food and drink.

And what about yourself?

Father was a cook, brother was a cook—

I got stomach problems from being so hungry...

Who would believe that if I told them?

But she didn't dare ask Sha Zhu for money or go against him, because she was afraid that Sha Zhu would abandon her too...

I had just walked through the moon gate in the backyard when I heard a noisy commotion over there.

"Da Mao, Guang Qi, I'll just take one bowl, one bowl is enough."

"You have so much fish and meat here, but my baby is still growing and my baby was only born two months ago. I'm not getting enough nutrition as a mother... Da Mao, Guang Qi, please be kind and let me have a small bowl."

Oh dear, so they came to beg for food while I was in the room, trying to take advantage of the time difference?

Qin Huairu is a true master of time management!