The Dream Fulfillment Master in the Courtyard

"We don't have that much money!"

Jia Zhangshi answered Qin Huairu's question almost without thinking.

Hearing Jia Zhangshi's answer without hesitation, Qin Huairu's heart sank to the bottom of the sea.

Does the Jia family have money?

Others may not know, but Qin Huairu does.

Although she didn't manage the money in the household, she had seen Jia Zhangshi counting money behind her back a few times.

"Mom, how about we borrow some from that old man?"

"Now that I have a job, I can change my household registration to an urban one, and then I'll have a food ration book. Even the corn cobs will become urban residents and have a fixed food supply!"

Qin Huairu was not giving up and still wanted to compete with Jia Zhangshi.

Madam Jia still shook her head, saying, "No, if word gets out, won't our family be laughed at to death? With so much debt, how will we survive?"

At this moment, Jia Zhangshi's attitude had completely changed.

Qin Huairu was completely bewildered, unable to understand why her mother-in-law's attitude kept changing.

Or perhaps she never intended to go to work in the first place?

Qin Huairu realized this too late.

And she just happened to know the truth!

If you don't want to go to work, then why did you make me go to see Comrade Shen?

Qin Huairu understood her mother-in-law less and less.

However, Qin Huairu was no pushover either. She made up her mind to talk to her husband when Jia Dongxu returned and see what he had to say.

……

After seeing Qin Huairu off, Shen Zhiyu drank a cup of tea and finally decided to go to bed and take a nap.

It's okay if you can't sleep, you can just doze off, and you'll fall asleep eventually!

That's exactly the case!

When Shen Zhiyu woke up, the room was completely dark.

Shen Zhiyu got up, put on her thick clothes, stretched her body after getting off the kang (a heated brick bed), and then opened the door.

It was pitch black outside, and the lights in the east and west wing rooms were on, but the room next door, belonging to Sha Zhu, was still dark.

Qin Huairu was washing vegetables in front of the tap.

Shen Zhiyu glanced at the busy Qin Huairu and walked straight outside.

I don't feel like cooking today, so I'll just go to a state-run restaurant outside and have something good to eat.

My cooking skills are still lacking, partly because I don't have many ingredients or seasonings.

When Qin Huairu saw Shen Zhiyu, she greeted her. Shen Zhiyu just smiled, nodded, and strode out of the courtyard.

You'd better hurry, or you might miss out on food.

Winter days get dark early, but it's not too late yet.

Shen Zhiyu went straight to the state-run restaurant, but unexpectedly saw Jia Zhangshi sitting in the corner.

There was a plate of dumplings in front of Jia Zhangshi, which she had almost finished eating.

Shen Zhiyu really didn't expect that Jia Zhangshi would be so blatant in giving her special treatment. This state-run restaurant wasn't far from No. 95 Courtyard.

However, things changed immediately after Jia Zhangshi finished eating the dumplings.

The person was wrapped up completely.

If Shen Zhiyu hadn't happened to see her face, she would never have recognized Jia Zhangshi at this moment.

No wonder Madam Jia is so plump; with this standard of living, it would be a miracle if she wasn't.

It's just unknown whether Jia Dongxu and Qin Huairu knew that Jia Zhangshi was receiving special treatment outside the home.

Shen Zhiyu watched Jia Zhangshi leave and then ordered himself a bowl of wontons.

On such a cold day, eating a hot bowl of wontons is an absolute treat.

A bowl of chicken soup wontons with meat filling costs one cent.

The portion wasn't very large, so Shen Zhiyu had to order another bowl.

After two bowls of wontons, I felt slightly full, mainly from the water.

Considering her situation, Shen Zhiyu did not continue. She got up and left the state-run restaurant, slowly strolling back to the courtyard house.

The hot wontons warmed me up from head to toe, but the cold wind was like a knife, scraping my face painfully.

When Shen Zhiyu returned to the courtyard house, she naturally went to relieve herself when she passed by the public toilet outside.

Shen Zhiyu had observed during the day that the public restroom originally had lights installed, but there were only wires, not light bulbs.

Shen Zhiyu guessed that someone had probably put all the light bulbs back in.

Moreover, the light bulbs were unscrewed quite a few times; otherwise, the public toilet wouldn't be without lights.

A light bulb costs one or two cents, but isn't one or two cents money?

It only costs him one cent to eat a bowl of chicken soup wontons!

Everyone says that prices are cheap these days, but people's incomes are generally not high!

So there's really nothing to envy.

Shen Zhiyu's eyesight is pretty good; she's unlikely to accidentally step into an empty space.

Of course, these days, many people don't go to public toilets at night, partly because it's cold, and partly because accidents can easily happen, like what happened to Jia Dongxu.

Having resolved her physiological needs, Shen Zhiyu leisurely returned to the courtyard house.

Yan Bugui was not seen at the main gate.

I guess they've gone home for dinner.

Shen Zhiyu walked home without encountering a single person.

However, the lights were already on in Sha Zhu's room.

It looks like Sha Zhu is back too.

Back in the side room, Shen Zhiyu was bored again!

The night is so long, and I don't even have a wife to talk to or do any exercise with. Damn it, what kind of life is this?

Having grown accustomed to spending her free time reading novels, watching videos, or going out for leisure, returning to an era with little entertainment felt like a huge contrast, and Shen Zhiyu found it difficult to adjust for a while.

Fortunately, the knocking came just in time.

"Officer Shen, are you asleep?"

"I'm stupid, Zhu!"

Outside the door, Sha Zhu's voice rang out.

Good heavens, this is really good heavens!

Sha Zhu really has a knack for it; he even calls himself Sha Zhu. Does he really not realize there's anything wrong with the name? Or does he think the old saying "fools are lucky" suits him perfectly?

"Master He, is there something you need?"

Shen Zhiyu opened the door and looked at Sha Zhu.

Sha Zhu grinned and said, "Didn't we say before that we could grab a couple of drinks sometime? Consider it my apology for my rudeness earlier!"

"Let me tell you, I got some really good stuff today!"

"Alright, let's go!"

When there's something delicious to eat, Shen Zhiyu will definitely not be modest.

When Shen Zhiyu arrived at the main house where Sha Zhu lived, she saw two dishes on the table: fried peanuts, braised beef slices, and pork jelly!

Only three dishes!

Judging from his appearance, Sha Zhu isn't particularly particular.

But what era are we living in? Why bother with the number of dishes and soups? What's the point?

"Officer Shen, please have a seat!"

"The conditions are simple, please don't mind!"

"Master He, what are you saying? There's nothing to complain about. With wine and meat, who would dare to complain?"

Shen Zhiyu looked at the wine that Sha Zhu took out and exclaimed, "Good heavens, Xifeng wine!"

In those days, Xifeng liquor was just as famous as Moutai.

"Master He, you're bleeding heavily!"

Shen Zhiyu didn't remember much about her past conflicts with Sha Zhu, but given Sha Zhu's behavior today, Shen Zhiyu didn't want to hold a grudge against him any longer.

Let bygones be bygones!

Compared to Jia Dongxu, this silly Zhu knows how to behave.

Exactly, your mouth stinks!

But in this world, having a foul mouth is a recipe for disaster.

Misfortune comes out of your mouth!

Do you really think our ancestors came up with this conclusion out of boredom?