Courtyard House: My Hidden Wheat Seeds Caused a National Sensation

"How about we send a letter to Baocheng to ask?"

"Don't."

The old lady suddenly raised her eyes and said, "Go to Daqianmen and find Master Guan."

Ask him if he set up a chess stall at Shichahai today.

Yi Zhonghai was taken aback: "You think they misread it?"

"Those two brothers are exactly alike."

The old lady looked out the window at the gradually darkening sky, as dusk slowly crept over the gray-tiled rooftops.

After dinner, I planned to take a stroll around the area near Daqianmen.

"OK."

The deaf old lady responded, then lowered her voice and instructed, "Don't mention this to Zhu Zi. I'll talk to him about it myself later."

"it is good."

Before he could finish speaking, He Yuzhu pushed the door open and came in.

"Grandpa, Grandma, the food is ready—shall we go eat?"

Now that the grain coupons have been loosened a bit, several households in the courtyard discussed pooling their money to treat their bland stomachs after half a year.

The deaf old lady got up with her cane, and the group went into Yi Zhonghai's house.

The He and Jia families had all arrived, and the house was as lively as on New Year's Day.

Upon seeing the old lady enter, everyone stood up to greet her.

"Madam, please take a seat."

He Yuzhu lifted the pot lid, and steam rose up. "The last dish, braised pork, is ready to be served!"

"No rush."

The deaf old woman waved her hand, "Zhu Zi, first fill a large bowl and send it to Li Jianye."

I just saw him come back.

"Why should I?!"

He Yuzhu stiffened his neck. "Do you really think I'm an idiot?"

"You're such a blockhead!"

The old lady suddenly raised her voice and slammed her cane heavily on the ground, "I told you to get closer to him, but you insisted on going against my wishes."

Now that they've risen to power, shouldn't you hurry up and gracefully accept the situation?

"I'm not going!"

"Stubborn fool!"

The cane landed heavily on He Yuzhu's back, thud, thud, thud, each sound heavier than the last.

"I told you not to go! I told you not to go!"

"Oh dear! Go away, okay? Please don't get angry!"

He Yuzhu covered his head and rushed to the cupboard, pulling out a small bowl.

"Get a bigger one!"

The old lady said sternly.

He Yuzhu muttered something under his breath, smashed the small bowl, and brought out a large bowl instead.

The people at the table had different expressions.

Yi Zhonghai watched silently without interfering—ever since reading the newspaper, he knew that he could only befriend Li Jianye and could not afford to offend him.

Jia Dongxu and Qin Huairu stared at the bowl of meat, their eyes slightly red.

I've been starving for the past six months. When I finally get a meal of meat, a huge chunk is cut off before I even pick up my chopsticks, like a piece of my heart being ripped out.

But with the old lady sitting at the head of the table, no one dared to utter a sound.

The room fell silent for a moment.

"Why should that little beast get to eat meat!"

A child's voice suddenly rang out from the corner.

Ever since Jia Zhangshi went to prison, Bang Geng has become much more timid and no longer dares to steal chickens or dogs. However, he has become more and more unrestrained in his speech, still spouting the same filthy words.

"What nonsense are you talking about!"

Qin Huairu immediately rushed forward and patted her son on the back twice, her eyes already reddening. "What did I teach you? You're not allowed to swear!"

"I want to eat! Don't give any meat to that little beast!"

Banggeng burst into tears.

"I'll teach you to be greedy again! I'll teach you to be greedy again!"

Qin Huairu raised her hand and then lowered it, before wiping away her tears. "It's all my fault for being so useless... I couldn't even earn you a bite to eat."

Sister Qin, don't be sad.

Isn't it only natural for a child to want to taste meat?

Upon seeing that scene, He Yuzhu's mind went blank, and he hurriedly poured the meat back into the pot.

"Grandma, I'm not giving this meat to Li Jianye today no matter what!"

He's a researcher, always eating with the leaders and having a good time. How dare someone like him try to compete with us for a bite to eat?

How long has it been since we've had any meat? Why should we leave it for him?

Why not let the clams satisfy their cravings!

He Yuzhu's actions and words caused Yi Zhonghai, the deaf old lady, and Jia Dongxu's faces to darken.

Jia Dongxu felt a tightness in his chest, as if something was blocking his heart.

But then she thought again that He Yuzhu's illness was not completely cured, and Qin Huairu could not possibly be interested in such a person, so she suppressed her anger.

"well……"

The deaf old lady sighed deeply and gave Qin Huairu a sharp look.

Having lived to such an old age, what couldn't she see through? She knew exactly what kind of person Qin Huairu was.

But He Yuzhu's soul had already been captivated, and any further persuasion would be futile.

"Fine, let's leave it at that."

The deaf old lady finally shook her head and stopped insisting that He Yuzhu deliver the meat.

But another question quietly surfaced in her mind:

"It's strange, Li Jianye's wife is clearly more beautiful than Qin Huairu, so how come Zhuzi is completely controlled by Qin Huairu?"

And then there was Liu Lili from last time...

Could it be... that Zhu Zi only cares about women who are pretty but have impure intentions?

Thinking of this, the old lady couldn't help but secretly gasp.

"No, it must be because Zhu Zi is too soft-hearted that he's always led astray by women like this... Yes, that must be it!"

***

He Yuzhu was reluctant to give the items to Li Jianye, but the other neighbors in the courtyard were very generous.

Upon Li Jianye's return, everyone rummaged through their homes and brought out various items—handmade cloth shoes, dried goods picked from the mountains, freshly caught live fish, or a few rare old books—one after another, delivering them to Li Jianye's door.

Li Jianye was initially unwilling to accept the gifts, but the visitors were all very earnest, as if refusing them would be disrespectful to them.

Unable to refuse, he had no choice but to accept them one by one.

"Brother, why have all the people in this courtyard suddenly become so polite?"

While eating, Delilah asked curiously.

"Perhaps...it's because they want to build some rapport with me now."

Li Jianye shook his head with a wry smile.

For some reason, he suddenly remembered a saying: When you are strong enough, you will be surrounded by good people.

Now that he has become a nationally recognized hero, this once chaotic courtyard has suddenly become warm and welcoming.

"However, it's always a good thing that they're willing to get along."

I'm really too tired to keep scheming against those people.

Li Jianye murmured a sigh, then continued eating with his head down.

***

After the meal, Yi Zhonghai left the courtyard alone and headed towards Daqianmen.

Not long after, he stood in front of the mansion of Lord Guan, the Nine Gates Admiral.

After making several inquiries, it was indeed confirmed that the person who appeared at Shichahai today was indeed Grandpa Guan himself.

"Thank goodness... it wasn't He Daqing."

Yi Zhonghai breathed a sigh of relief and muttered to himself.

"What's wrong?"

Upon hearing this, Old Master Guan raised his eyes. "What happened?"

"When Zhuzi saw you, he mistook you for his father, He Daqing."

"snort."

Old Master Guan snorted coldly, his expression stern.

"I've said it before—what is, is; why bother with pretense?"

Yi Zhonghai didn't care about Grandpa Guan's background.

"So what if it's made up of ingredients?"

He said.

"Let's not talk about that."

Grandpa Guan interrupted him, "Isn't your son and daughter-in-law also planning to go abroad?"

These words prompted Yi Zhonghai to blurt out, "Didn't they also say they were leaving?"

"roll!"

Grandpa Guan's face turned pale with anger. "They dare say another word! I'll break their legs! Don't come here, get out of here!"

The door was slammed shut, kicking up a cloud of dust.

Yi Zhonghai spat out, "Who cares? You old fogey!"

When they returned to the courtyard house, a figure rushed out in a panic—it was Banggeng.

"Why are you running?"

Yi Zhonghai called out to him.

"stomachache!"

The child said something and ran away.

Yi Zhonghai shook his head, not thinking much about it, and went straight to the deaf old lady, telling her about seeing Grandpa Guan.

Upon hearing that it wasn't He Daqing, the old lady visibly breathed a sigh of relief.

After chatting for a while, Yi Zhonghai turned and went home.

Upon reaching the central courtyard, they saw Banggeng rushing out of the Jia family's house again.

"What's wrong now?"

Yi Zhonghai asked.

"stomachache!"

Banggeng didn't even turn his head.

Yi Zhonghai frowned; it was common for children to get food poisoning.

Little did he know that Bangeng had not eaten meat for a long time, and suddenly eating too much meat caused him to have diarrhea all night.

……

The next morning, the courtyard was bustling with activity as usual.

People come and go—going to work, going to school, buying groceries.

It soon quieted down.

Just then, a man in a mailman's uniform quietly slipped in.

His eyes darted around as he looked at himself—this outfit was just a disguise; his true identity was someone else entirely.

"Does Li Jianye live here?"

He muttered to himself.

"Who are you?"

A child's voice suddenly rang out.

The enemy agent was startled and turned around to see a child squatting on the ground playing in the mud. It was Banggeng, who had skipped school under some pretext.

Upon seeing that it was a child, the enemy agent relaxed and straightened his collar.

"Little friend, I am the mailman who delivers mail."

Remember this outfit, you'll recognize it next time you see it.

He forced a smile.

"oh."

Banggeng showed little interest and continued kneading the clay in his hands.

"Do you know where Comrade Li Jianye lives? Uncle has a letter for him."

"That annoying guy!"

Banggeng didn't even look up. "Live in the backyard."

The enemy agent was taken aback; such a young child was speaking with such barbs.

He thought to himself: The children raised in this place are indeed unruly.

However, this child's hostility towards Li Jianye might be useful.

I thought to myself, this is an opportunity.

He reached into his pocket and felt around, his fingertips touching a hard object wrapped in candy wrapper.

It turned out to be a White Rabbit milk candy.

"Young man,"

I crouched down and softened my voice, "How about I take Uncle for a walk in front of Li Jianye's house? You lead the way, and this candy is yours."

"OK!"

The child stared at the candy, his eyes suddenly lighting up.

But then he pursed his lips, a look of hesitation on his face—he still remembered how Li Jianye had teased him a few days ago by wrapping pebbles in candy wrappers.

"Give me the candy first."

He held out his hand, his tone wary, "I'll lead the way after you give me candy."

"become."

Without much thought, I handed the candy over.

The child took it, deftly unwrapped the candy, and popped the milky white candy ball into his mouth.

"Um……"

The sweet, milky aroma melted on his tongue, and he squinted his eyes in satisfaction, as if he had tasted the most precious flavor in the world.

"Young man, can you lead the way now?"

"It's possible."

He smacked his lips, looked up at me, and said, "When we get there, you'll have to give me another one."

"Oh?"

I was slightly taken aback; I hadn't expected this little guy to have so many ideas.

But then I thought, being greedy is good—greedy people are more likely to negotiate terms.

"OK,"

I smiled and agreed, my tone carrying a hint of deliberate praise, "You're really clever."

What's your name?

"Jia Geng".

He raised his chin, looking rather smug.

"Jia Geng is indeed smart."

I casually offered a compliment.

We followed him through several courtyard gates and stopped in front of two adjacent houses.

"Right here, both rooms belong to his family."

The child gestured towards the house with his chin, "I heard that little...that person has another place to live outside, but I don't know exactly where."

"I see."

I nodded, took another White Rabbit candy from my pocket, and put it in his palm.

"Thank you, Jia Geng."

Since he's not here, Uncle will come another day.

After saying that, he turned and walked out of the courtyard.

This trip was only to familiarize ourselves with the place; there's no need to alert them.

I unexpectedly found a helper.

Next time, let Lao Wang come and find out more about Li Jianye through this kid.

With sufficient intelligence, it's safe to take action.

The order from above came quickly this time—either send Li Jianye to the other side of the ocean, or deal with him on the spot.

With this little guy passing messages from the corner, things will go much more smoothly.

* * *

"Hehe, two White Rabbit candies!"

Jia Geng carefully smoothed out the candy wrapper and put it away along with the uneaten milk candy.

I'll take it to school tomorrow; I'll make those kids envious.

* * *

When the gate of the Academy of Agricultural Sciences came into view, Li Jianye paused for a moment while holding the steering wheel.

A striking red banner hangs across the gate of the courtyard: "Learn from Comrade Li Jianye"