Courtyard House: I fish in the heavens, a professional bird abuser.

"Quan...Quanjude?!" Sha Zhu dropped the cigarette he had just lit onto the ground with a "plop," his mouth gaped open wide enough to fit a duck egg, and his eyes widened in disbelief.

He thought he'd misheard! The whole workshop? Plenty of roast duck? Had that bastard He Yuanchao gone mad? Or was there something wrong with his ears?

Yi Zhonghai, clutching his still throbbing left eye socket, which was bruised and swollen, suddenly stopped in his tracks.

That face, which usually wore an expression of "concern for the country and its people," was now completely filled with immense shock and a trace of indescribable regret!

A fifth-grade worker! Quanjude! This kid... this kid is really going to soar to great heights!

Yesterday he was thinking of having Sha Zhu teach the other party a lesson, but now he realized how incredibly foolish he had been! A strong sense of crisis and regret for missing the opportunity, like a cold, venomous snake, instantly tightened around his heart.

At the same time, inside the Jia family's house, after a moment of deathly silence, an even more jarring commotion erupted!

"Quanjude?!" Jia Zhangshi's face, which had been sallow from weakness, suddenly flushed with a sickly redness, as if she had been injected with chicken blood!

His triangular eyes widened, radiating a greedy green light like a ravenous wolf eyeing fatty meat! "All-you-can-eat roast duck?! Plenty of drinks?! The whole workshop?!"

She abruptly sat up on the kang (a heated brick bed), ignoring her weakness and throbbing stomach, her voice shrill and piercing, "Qin Huairu! You stubborn fool! Such a great thing! Why didn't you say so sooner?!"

She excitedly patted the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), spittle flying everywhere: "He's a coworker from the same factory! He's treating! Why can't you join him? You're from the fitter workshop too! Right?! Huh?! This is a steal! You're getting all the benefits! Hurry up! Get ready! You're coming!"

Upon hearing "Quanjude" and "all-you-can-eat roast duck," Banggeng instantly forgot all his previous dislike for the lunchbox!

His small eyes lit up with an astonishing light. He jumped off the kang (a heated brick bed), pounced on Qin Huairu's legs, and shook them violently, his voice trembling with sobs and desperate longing: "Mom! Mom! I want to eat roast duck! I want to eat Quanjude! Take me! Take me to eat roast duck! Mom—!"

Xiao Dang and Huaihua, still confused, came over, looking up at their little faces and timidly following their brother, calling out, "Mom... duck... eat duck..."

Qin Huairu was shaken so badly by her son that she could hardly stand. Looking at the children's longing eyes and listening to her mother-in-law's greedy and self-righteous commands, she felt a chill run from the soles of her feet to the top of her head, and her heart sank to the bottom of an ice cave.

She closed her eyes in anguish, her voice trembling with sobs and deep helplessness: "Mom! Banggeng! Stop it! They...they didn't invite me! How...how can I go?" The last few words were as soft as a sigh, filled with unspeakable humiliation.

"fart!"

Like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, Jia Zhangshi's triangular eyes blazed, her voice suddenly rising eight octaves as she pointed at Qin Huairu's nose and launched into a tirade, "Didn't he invite you? It's a meal for all the workers in the workshop! Does he need to invite each one individually? He Yuanchao can invite the whole workshop, why would he need you? I think you're just too proud to admit it! You're so concerned with saving face that you're suffering for it! What's your face worth? Is it worth a roast duck?"

She grew increasingly agitated with each word, spitting as she cursed: "I'm telling you, Qin Huairu! You're going to this meal today, whether you like it or not! How long has it been since Bang Geng and the others have had any meat? Don't you feel sorry for them as their mother? Are you just going to watch your child starve to death? Huh?!"

She was panting heavily, her triangular eyes glaring fiercely at Qin Huairu. "If you can't bring yourself to sit and eat, then wait until they're finished! Go pack up the leftovers! Especially that roast duck! Bring them back for me! Do you hear me?! If you come back empty-handed… I… I'll tear you apart!"

"Pfft—pfft pfft—"

Perhaps due to excessive emotional excitement, or perhaps due to a complete breakdown of bodily functions, before Jia Zhangshi could finish her rant, a series of loud, rapid farts, accompanied by distinct watery sounds, burst forth from behind her without warning! The sound and the speed instantly drowned out her shouts!

Immediately afterwards, a familiar, nauseating stench, like a small-scale poison gas bomb, suddenly spread around her!

"vomit……"

The little boy, being the closest, was the first to suffer. His face instantly scrunched up, and he covered his nose, backing away repeatedly. His eyes were filled with fear and even deeper disgust as he looked at his grandmother.

Xiao Dang and Huaihua were also made to cry loudly by the sudden stench.

Jia Zhangshi's old face instantly turned a deep liver color!

Overwhelmed by shame and anger, she trembled violently. She squeezed her legs together tightly, but the uncontrollable gate seemed to loosen again, and a warm, sticky sensation sent her shivering!

She dared not move or curse again, frozen on the edge of the kang, her face a mixture of red and blue, her expression twisted like a demon.

His arrogant and greedy demeanor from just now was instantly shattered by this physical embarrassment.

Looking at this chaotic, foul-smelling scene filled with greed and humiliation, Qin Huairu felt a wave of dizziness wash over her.

She abruptly pushed away the stick that was holding her legs, staggered back a few steps, leaned against the cold earthen wall, and slid down weakly, covering her face with her hands. Suppressed, desperate sobs leaked out from between her fingers.

Regret! Hatred! Endless regret, like the most poisonous vines, tightened around her heart, causing her unbearable pain! Which eye of hers had she been blind to all along?!

……

In the backyard, there was He Yuanchao's small side room.

He Yuanchao changed out of his work clothes and put on a clean dark blue khaki jacket, making him look more energetic and neat.

He was adjusting his collar in front of the small, blurry mirror on the table, his expression calm.

A knock came from outside the door, deliberately soft and clearly ingratiating, accompanied by Yan Bugui's low but still barely concealed excitement:

"Yuanchao? Is Yuanchao home? Third Uncle... Third Uncle has come to congratulate you!"

He Yuanchao's lips curled slightly, revealing a knowing smile.

He turned around and opened the door.

Outside the door, Yan Bugui changed out of his usual faded, worn-out jacket and put on a new, dark blue Zhongshan suit instead!

Although still thin, she had clearly taken great care of herself; even the lenses of her worn-out glasses seemed to have been polished a bit.

He was carrying a small paper bag in his hand. When he saw He Yuanchao open the door, his face immediately lit up with a chrysanthemum-like smile, and even his wrinkles revealed his fawning.

"Aid Korea! What a joyous occasion! What a joyous occasion!"

As soon as Yan Bugui entered, he clasped his hands in a salute and loudly congratulated him, "A fifth-grade fitter! A fifth-grade fitter at the age of twenty-seven! The first one in our steel rolling mill! You've brought honor to your family! You have a bright future ahead of you!"

Uncle San was overjoyed to hear the news! That's why he specially changed his clothes to come and congratulate you!

As he spoke, he handed over the small paper package, his face showing a hint of reluctance yet trying his best to appear generous. "It's just a small token, homemade roasted peanuts, they smell delicious! Please don't mind!"

He Yuanchao's gaze swept over the bag of peanuts, which was worth at most a dime, and then looked at Yan Bugui's "formal" attire and the undisguised expectation in his eyes. He knew exactly what was going on.

That old miser is quite well-informed; he's caught wind of that Quanjude meal and is now thinking about it.

He smiled slightly, didn't take the bag of peanuts, and casually asked, "Third Uncle, are you busy tonight?"

Yan Bugui's heart skipped a beat, realizing something was wrong! His smile widened, and he rubbed his hands together, his small eyes gleaming with shrewdness: "It's nothing! It's nothing! What could possibly happen to a retired old man like me? I'm just idling at home anyway."

He Yuanchao nodded, his tone as calm as if he were saying the weather was nice: "That's perfect. I'll treat my coworkers from the workshop to dinner at Quanjude tonight, to thank everyone for coming."

"If you don't mind, Uncle, why don't you come and join the fun? No need for gifts or anything, your presence is already a great honor for me." He deliberately emphasized the words "no need for gifts."

boom!

Yan Bugui felt a tremendous surge of joy coursing through his body like an electric current!

My mind went blank, and I almost fainted from happiness!

Quanjude! Peking duck!

Yan Bugui has lived half his life, and he doesn't even know which way the door of Quanjude restaurant faces, let alone how to eat!

He Yuanchao actually took the initiative to invite him?!

This was like a gold ingot falling from the sky—no, it was like a roast duck falling and hitting him on the head!

Overwhelmed by immense joy, he was so excited that he became incoherent, his old face flushed red, and he rubbed his hands together. He wanted to be reserved but was afraid that He Yuanchao would change his mind. He wanted to agree but felt he should be polite: "Oh! This... this is too much!"

"Yuan Chao, you're treating your coworkers to dinner. It's...it's not appropriate for an old man like me to go...it's too much of a waste!"

He said it wasn't appropriate, but his feet seemed rooted to the spot, and he didn't move an inch, staring longingly at He Yuanchao.

"There's nothing inappropriate about it."

He Yuanchao waved his hand, his tone casual yet undeniably authoritative, "Third Uncle spoke up for justice yesterday in the courtyard, and I remember that favor. It's just a meal, a matter of adding a pair of chopsticks."

His words both gave Yan Bugui face and made the reason clear—it wasn't a free invitation, but rather to restore the "human touch" you had shown yesterday.

Upon hearing this, Yan Bugui's last bit of composure vanished instantly! A surge of immense pride and the ecstatic joy of a "successful investment" welled up within him! His words yesterday had indeed been worthwhile! Worth it! Absolutely worth it! A meal at Quanjude!

"Hey! Hey! Yuanchao, you...you're too kind! You're giving Third Uncle too much credit!"

Yan Bugui's voice trembled with excitement as he repeatedly bowed, "Then...then this third uncle will shamelessly bask in your glory, this talented young man! I'll bask in your glory! I'll bask in your glory!"

He smiled so broadly that his eyes disappeared, as if he had become ten years younger.

"Okay, then we'll leave in a bit."

He Yuanchao nodded.

Yan Bugui was overjoyed and scurried out the door. As soon as he reached the passageway connecting the backyard to the middle courtyard, his barely suppressed elation and desire to show off could no longer be contained! He deliberately straightened his thin back, cleared his throat, and shouted loudly enough for the middle courtyard and even the front courtyard to hear:

"Yuanchao! You're such a kind and considerate kid! Treating your coworkers to a meal is the right thing to do!"

He insisted on dragging this old man to Quanjude to broaden his horizons! I said no, no, I'm afraid I'll embarrass you! But you wouldn't agree! Sigh! I couldn't refuse his kindness! I just couldn't refuse!

His loud voice was like a bucket of cold water being poured into a pot of boiling oil!

The curtains on the doors of every household in the courtyard were instantly lifted!

Faces, some surprised, some jealous, some incredulous, peeked out!