Courtyard house: Just the right amount of pressure, leaving you bewildered but not brain-damaged.

That evening, the atmosphere at Gao Xiaosheng's house became increasingly lively.

Sun Youtian, He Yuzhu, Gao Xiaosheng, and He Yushui chatted and laughed as they ate.

A pound of loose Erguotou liquor, paired with two hearty dishes—stewed beef with radish and stir-fried mutton with scallions—and other seasonal vegetables, made everyone's mouths water.

In the east wing of the central courtyard, Wu Guizhen carried a plate out, deliberately wandered around the courtyard before slowly walking towards the backyard.

"Hey, you old lady, why did you bring the dishes out?"

"Caiyun, this is for my godmother, we're just about to send it over."

"Tsk tsk, there's meat, eggs, and steamed buns..." Li Caiyun smacked her lips enviously.

Logically speaking, both Liu Haizhong and Yi Zhonghai in her family are intermediate-level workers and earn the same amount of money each month, but in terms of food, she really can't compare to this couple.

Liu Haizhong is a blacksmith who does heavy physical labor. He can't lack nutrition. He must eat an egg every day and occasionally buy some meat.

With three children in the family, there are tuition and book fees for the eldest and second eldest, plus the cost of buying fabric and making clothes. Money is needed everywhere.

"Old Liu, I just saw Guizhen..."

As soon as they entered the room, Li Caiyun started talking about this with Liu Haizhong.

"Hmph, ignore them. They've made a couple of bucks and they're already showing off." Liu Haizhong said with a disdainful look.

Previously, the Liu and Yi families had a decent relationship, but ever since Liu Haizhong became the second uncle, he has found Yi Zhonghai disagreeable.

An old man with no descendants, instead of thinking about adopting a godson, actually has the mind to recognize a godmother and act like a grandpa. Isn't that just a waste of his time?

The key issue is that it's blocking the path to self-improvement!

On the other side, in the west wing of the central courtyard, was the Jia family's residence.

"Huai Ru, go to the front yard and ask Sha Zhu for some food. They have beef and mutton, but they didn't even mention sending some to our house. That's not fair."

Although Jia Zhangshi had a sweet tooth, she wasn't stupid. She certainly wouldn't dare to go to Gao Xiaosheng's house and risk getting into trouble, but arranging for Qin Huairu to go would solve the problem.

"Grandma, I... I dare not. Gao Xiaosheng is too fierce. He even slapped this old man's face until it was swollen."

Qin Huairu shook her head repeatedly, hiding her hands behind her back, refusing to take the enormous bowl from Jia Zhangshi's hands.

"Pah, you're spineless. What are you afraid of? He can't possibly hit you, can he? If he dares to hit you, just lie on the ground and roll around. I don't believe he won't pay you back."

Jia Zhangshi held the bowl and tried to stuff it into Qin Huairu's arms.

Qin Huairu could only back away and dodge, while looking pitifully at Jia Dongxu, hoping her husband could say a few words of justice for her.

"Mom, come on, how many times has he hit you? Has he ever paid you back?"

"Master was beaten so badly, and you still let Huai Ru go out of her way to cause trouble? Isn't that just asking for more beatings?"

"If I really anger Gao Xiaosheng, he'll take it out on me. What if he finds another excuse to lock me up in detention?"

If Qin Huairu simply asked He Yuzhu for food, Jia Dongxu certainly wouldn't object.

Going to Gao Xiaosheng's house could have serious consequences.

What happened to Yi Zhonghai today really startled him.

His master was his greatest support and backer. Anyone that Yi Zhonghai couldn't afford to offend, Jia Dongxu had to avoid.

I used to think Gao Xiaosheng was nothing special, but now, I'll just wait and see what my master has to do.

"Yes, yes, Grandma, we can't let Dongxu get hurt."

"I saw an older woman carrying a plate to the backyard just now; it looked like it contained meat and eggs. Should we ask Dongxu to go check on the old man?"

In order to divert Jia Zhangshi's attention, Qin Huairu quickly steered the conversation toward Yi Zhonghai.

"Huh? Really? I didn't see it." Jia Zhangshi glanced at Qin Huairu with some doubt, then turned and walked to the window.

Coincidentally, Wu Guizhen came out of the deaf old lady's house empty-handed.

"Oh, she really did go to the old lady's house."

"They have good food but don't bother to order any for us, they're only thinking about that old geezer in the backyard."

"Huai Ru, did you see that clearly? There really is meat on the plate? And eggs too?"

Jia Zhangshi stared at Wu Guizhen, her eyes darting around.

"Yes, I really saw it."

"Dongxu, hurry to your master's house." Madam Jia grabbed her son and gave him instructions.

"Remember, meat and eggs are considered 'heaty' foods. Your master's face is swollen, so he can't eat these things. The more he eats them, the more swollen it will become. He won't be able to go to work tomorrow after a good night's sleep."

"After you finish speaking, put the empty bowl on the table, and he'll know what to do."

To be honest, Jia Zhangshi didn't know if what she said was right or wrong, but that didn't matter. She just needed an excuse and a pretext to get her son to go to Yi Zhonghai's house to ask for food.

As for whether she could actually get it, she wasn't sure. She was taking it one step at a time, just in case it worked out.

"Useless trash, good for nothing, just eats rice and does absolutely no good."

After giving Jia Dongxu her instructions, Jia Zhangshi turned around and started scolding Qin Huairu.

Who could blame them? He Yuzhu's cooking smelled so good that the aroma wafted into the house, making Jia Zhangshi's mouth water.

When you're itching to eat but can't get it, of course you'll want to vent your frustration on someone.

The scene in the west wing of the front yard, belonging to the Yan family, was quite different.

"Wife, take the pickled vegetables downstairs and pour a few glasses of water."

"Eat quickly, while it still smells good, smell it a few times and then take a bite of the cornbread. If you choke, drink some water."

Yan Bugui twitched his nose, sniffing incessantly like a hunting dog, while holding the cornbread in his hand to his mouth.

"Dad, what are you doing? At least leave a dish of pickled vegetables. I can't swallow just cornbread."

Yan Jiecheng was clearly not skilled enough. He kept swallowing his saliva as he smelled the aroma of the dishes wafting from Gao Xiaosheng's house, but he couldn't match Yan Bugui's ability to "make rice taste better with the aroma."

The Yan brothers, Jiefang and Jiekuang, were even worse off; they didn't touch their cornbread, and their saliva was dripping all over the ground.

"Hey, Lao Yan, why don't we just leave the pickled vegetables here? They won't keep you full without any salt."

No one knows a husband better than his wife; Yang Ruihua understood Yan Bugui all too well.

A direct rebuttal is out of the question, but as for eating cornbread alone, even she, let alone the children, couldn't do it.

"You guys really don't know how to manage your money. What did I tell you?"

"You won't get poor from eating or dressing, but you will if you don't plan ahead."

"A dish should be appealing in color, aroma, and taste. Even though we can't see the color or taste the flavor, the aroma is enough to make us feel like we've eaten a third of it."

"Shazhu made four dishes, which means we smelled four different kinds of food. That's more than just one dish, you know?"

At this point, Yan Bugui pointed at his wife, Yang Ruihua, with his finger.

"You're wrong too. What you're saying about not being able to keep hungry without salt is just nonsense."

"You can't do any work without salt."

"We'll eat, rest for a bit, and then go to sleep. There's no work to do. Tomorrow morning, we'll just have cornmeal porridge and pickled vegetables, and that'll make up for it."

The entire family, young and old, was rendered speechless by Yan Bugui's words.

Yang Ruihua knew that smelling the aroma didn't mean eating it, and that the whole dish was just nonsense, but she didn't dare say it. She could only remind the children with her eyes.

Yan Jiecheng understood immediately and quickly reached out to grab a few pickled vegetables.

The Yan brothers, Jiefang and Jiekuang, followed suit.

"Honey, you know so much. I'll take the pickled vegetables away right now." Yang Ruihua picked up the pickled vegetables and headed straight for the kitchen.

Of course, she also secretly slipped two more between her fingers.