Pursued by the Heavenly Dao, first level up in the courtyard.

As autumn arrives in the northern part of the city, temperatures begin to drop.

At dusk, the Jia family in the middle courtyard were having dinner.

On the table were cornmeal porridge, steamed corn bread, pickled vegetables, and stir-fried cabbage.

Zhang Cuihua took a bite of the cornbread and drank a few mouthfuls of cornmeal porridge, then frowned and said, "In this weather, it would be so nice to have some meat."

Jia Dongxu said awkwardly, "Mom, it's my fault. My salary is too low, and I don't even have money to buy you meat."

Qin Huairu said, "Mom, only Dongxu works in our family. There are four of us, and we can barely afford to eat meat two or three times a month. How about I go find a job?"

"Huai Ru, you go to work to earn money, who will do the laundry, cook, and take care of the crickets?"

Zhang Cuihua didn't want her daughter-in-law Qin Huairu to go out and show her face in public. With her outstanding looks and voluptuous figure, who knew if her daughter-in-law would get involved with someone outside?

Jia Dongxu also didn't want Qin Huairu to go to work; he didn't want his wife to get too close to other men.

The one-year-old boy cried out, "Grandma, Grandma, I want to eat meat! I haven't eaten meat in so long!"

Zhang Cuihua's eyes lit up, and she lowered her voice: "Dongxu, have you forgotten? Shazhu works in the steel mill's canteen and often cooks meals for the factory. There's a good chance there's meat in the lunchbox he brings back every day."

Jia Dongxu immediately perked up and chimed in, "That's right! How could I forget about Sha Zhu? He often brings meat back from the factory. Let's think of a way to get some for the ham hocks to supplement their nutrition."

Zhang Cuihua said, "Shazhu is soft-hearted, and Banggeng is young. When Shazhu comes back from get off work, Huairu will bring Banggeng to ask Shazhu for a lunchbox, and Shazhu won't refuse."

Jia Dongxu said admiringly, "Mom, you're really good at scheming."

Qin Huairu was tempted, but pretended to be hesitant and said, "Mom, isn't this a bit inappropriate? The lunchbox belongs to Shazhu. How can I ask him for it? If the neighbors see this, they'll definitely gossip."

Zhang Cuihua said impatiently, "What's there to be embarrassed about? Sha Zhu is all alone. It's a waste if he can't finish his food. Bang Geng is still young and needs to supplement his nutrition. If Sha Zhu doesn't give me a lunchbox, I'll never forgive him!"

Jia Dongxu advised, "Huai Ru, try it tomorrow. If it doesn't work, then forget it."

Zhang Cuihua resorted to moral blackmail: "Huai Ru, if you don't go, the corn stalks won't have any meat to eat and will suffer from malnutrition. Can you bear to see that?"

Banggeng said pitifully, "Mom, I want to eat meat. I haven't had meat in so long."

Qin Huairu's heart softened immediately. After hesitating for a few seconds, she nodded: "Okay, I'll try it tomorrow."

Zhang Cuihua laughed: "That's right, just act pitiful and talk about our family's difficulties. Sha Zhu falls for that. As long as you can get your lunchbox back, I'll let you eat more tomorrow."

The following afternoon, Qin Huairu, carrying a stick, wandered around the Intermediate People's Court.

The steel rolling mill is closing time. He Yuzhu returns carrying three lunch boxes.

Not being thick-skinned enough, Qin Huairu couldn't bring herself to ask for a lunchbox, so she asked to borrow one: "Shazhu, can I borrow a lunchbox? Banggeng hasn't had meat for days. I'll pay you back when your brother Dongxu gets paid."

When the goddess of his dreams asked for lunchboxes, He Yuzhu didn't hesitate at all and generously said, "Sister Qin, don't talk about lending them. I'll give you two lunchboxes, they're leftovers from the banquet, and they're full of meat."

As soon as He Yuzhu finished speaking, he took out a lunchbox and handed the net bag to Qin Huairu.

There were two lunchboxes inside the net bag, one containing chicken stew with mushrooms and the other containing braised pork.

"Silly Zhu, thank you so much."

"Sister Qin, you're welcome."

"Shazhu, I'm going home first. I'll wash the lunchbox and return it to you later."

"Sister Qin, I'm not in a hurry."

Qin Huairu, carrying a stick and a net bag, returned to the Jia family home.

With a beaming smile, Shazhu returned home with his lunchbox when suddenly he slapped his forehead.

"I was originally going to give the old lady a lunchbox, but it turned out that there was only one left."

"The old lady is old and has a small appetite, so skipping a meal of meat won't have much of an impact on her."

He Yuzhu steamed a few buns, heated up the vegetables in the lunchbox, and stir-fried some cabbage.

When He Yushui came home from school, she saw meat on the table and couldn't help but smile.

The Intermediate People's Court, the Jia family.

Seeing the contents of the lunchbox, Zhang Cuihua was overjoyed: "Braised pork, chicken stew with mushrooms, Sha Zhu is really eating well."

Banggeng stared at the braised pork with shining eyes, repeatedly shouting, "I want to eat meat! I want to eat meat!"

Zhang Cuihua said, "Huai Ru, Sha Zhu brings a lunchbox back every day, but he can't finish it all. You have to go to him every day to ask for the lunchbox."

As Jia Dongxu ate, he said, "Bang Geng is still young and needs more nutrition. Sha Zhu brought vegetables back from the factory without spending any money, so he should share some with us."

After eating a piece of braised pork, Qin Huairu nodded without hesitation.

Back in her hometown, she rarely ate meat, and even after marrying Jia Dongxu, she still ate meat very rarely.

Now, just a few words with Sha Zhu are enough to get a delicious meal of meat, and Qin Huairu feels it's all worth it without losing anything in return.

Half an hour later, at Zhang Cuihua's urging, Jia Dongxu went to Yi Zhonghai again to complain and borrow money.

Zhang Cuihua, Qin Huairu, and Banggeng are all registered residents of rural areas and own land in the countryside.

At present, the Jia family does not need to buy grain; the grain distributed by the rural areas is enough for them to eat.

Zhang Cuihua, Qin Huairu, and Banggeng lent their land in the countryside to relatives for cultivation, and each year they received a considerable amount of grain.

"Master, Banggeng wants to eat meat, and I'd like to borrow some money."

"Dongxu, didn't Shazhu just give Huairu two lunchboxes?"

"Master, my mother has a big appetite. The meat in the lunchbox isn't enough for her alone."

"Okay, I'll give you two dollars, you don't need to pay me back."

Yi Zhonghai took out a few dollars from his pocket, counted out two dollars and gave them to Jia Dongxu, then said, "Dongxu, your master's wife is sick and has to take medicine every day. My salary isn't much either, so you should be more frugal."

Jia Dongxu replied sincerely, "Master, I understand."

Yi Zhonghai, who wanted Jia Dongxu to support him in his old age but didn't want to be continuously exploited by the Jia family, came up with a plan and said, "I'll talk to Zhuzi and ask him to help your family more."

Sha Zhu often shared the lunchboxes he brought back from the factory with the deaf old lady.

For Yi Zhonghai, Jia Dongxu was more important than the deaf old lady.

The deaf old lady relied on the couple for her old age and dared not turn against them.

Sha Zhu gave the lunchboxes he brought back from the factory to the Jia family; he didn't give them to Yi Zhonghai.

After thanking him repeatedly, Jia Dongxu walked towards the Jia family home.

Yi Zhonghai lit a cigarette and walked straight to He Yuzhu's house.

"Grandpa, what brings you here?"

"Zhu Zi, there are four people in the Jia family, and only your brother Dongxu works. If you are able, help Dongxu more. If you help him now, he will help you in the future. We are neighbors, so we should unite and help each other."

"Uncle, don't worry, I won't stand idly by if the Jia family is in trouble."

"Zhu Zi, I knew you had a kind heart..."

It was past five o'clock in the afternoon when He Yuzhu returned carrying a net bag.

Qin Huairu, who was prepared, went up to them again and told them how difficult things were for the Jia family and how much the pigeons were lacking in nutrition.

Overwhelmed with sympathy, He Yuzhu didn't keep a single lunchbox for himself, but instead handed the net bag to his sister Qin with a silly grin.

"Shazhu gave the lunchbox to Qin Huairu again."

"I knew a long time ago that Sha Zhu had feelings for Qin Huairu."

"When Qin Huairu married into the family, Sha Zhu froze the moment he saw her."

"The Jia family is shameless; they even went to ask Sha Zhu for his lunchbox."

The neighbors in the courtyard were pointing and gossiping in small groups.

In the Xuanhuang world, within the mountain villa.

Qi Bing exerted all his strength and barely managed to lift the 12,000-kilogram alloy ingot.

"If I hadn't cultivated, my physical strength would have reached the limit of a level twelve human."