Courtyard House: A System Connecting Two Worlds, Resources for the Nation

The next morning, just as dawn was breaking, Qin Huairu got up.

The elderly and young at home are still asleep, but she still has to make breakfast, turn on the stove, and boil water before going to work.

She turned to look at her mother-in-law, who was still asleep, and sighed silently.

Other elderly women sleep less and get up early to work.

But my own husband is all talk and no action, and yet he keeps causing trouble.

Today she complains that steamed buns are dirty, tomorrow she complains that flour is disgusting. She won't wear any clothes you buy for her. She's always finding fault with you.

Qin Huairu, who was being served, felt mentally exhausted.

After making breakfast, she was about to go out to relieve herself when she saw Zhou Feng in the front yard also get up and squat under the eaves of his house, brushing his teeth with an enamel mug, his mouth full of foam.

Hey, it's rare to see someone get up this early.

Just then, Bai Ling's voice came from inside the house, tinged with a hint of coquettishness: "Zhou Feng! Did you steal some of the peach shortbread I left you last night? That's why two pieces were missing!"

The two of them ate together, and Bai Ling left all her usual food in Zhou Feng's room, thinking that since they were decades later, Zhou Feng must have eaten all sorts of delicious food.

As it turns out, he really was a reincarnated glutton; he would steal some peach shortbread one day and eat two pieces of candy the next.

Zhou Feng mumbled a reply, "Who stole them? Maybe a mouse took them! Besides, your peach shortbread was almost soggy in the cupboard. I was just helping you clear out your inventory and avoid waste!"

"Pah! You always have so many excuses! I saved that to eat if I get hungry tonight!"

Bai Ling, wearing an apron, came out carrying a basin of water to pour out. Seeing Zhou Feng squatting there brushing his teeth in such a messy state, she couldn't help but laugh and scold, "Hurry up and brush your teeth, then come in and eat! I made you an egg pancake, it'll get cold if you're late!"

"Alright! Coming right away!"

Zhou Feng gargled and wiped his face haphazardly, his movements swift and efficient.

Qin Huairu watched from the side, feeling a pang of envy; they could eat eggs so early in the morning…

Listening to this bickering between the young couple, I felt a strange pang of bitterness and a hint of inexplicable jealousy.

These young people, even their banter is full of intimacy and vitality.

Looking at myself again... Jia Zhangshi's harsh words from last night echoed in my mind again.

"Look at Zhou Feng in the front yard, he's capable... Besides, you can at least get some eggs or meat..."

Yes, Zhou Feng is capable!

Xu Damao is such a ruthless person; he can get someone locked up just like that.

Bai Ling comes from a well-off family, is a cadre in the municipal bureau, and is young and beautiful.

What about yourself?

A widow with a family to support works the hardest jobs in the factory, earning a meager wage, while also having to deal with her mother-in-law's difficult behavior and the malicious stares from the factory workers...

Qin Huairu bit her lip, her eyes darkening.

Just as she was about to bypass Zhou Feng and leave, she suddenly bit her lip, as if she had made up her mind, and quickly showed a slightly ingratiating smile on her face as she walked over.

"Brother Zhou Feng, up so early?"

She deliberately softened her voice, but Zhou Feng frowned and turned to look at her.

Today, Qin Huairu changed into a slightly worn blue floral-patterned jacket. Her hair was neatly combed, and although her face showed signs of hard work, the mature charm of a woman in her eyes and brows could not be concealed.

She deliberately took two steps closer, and a faint scent of soap and a barely perceptible fragrance of face cream wafted over from her.

"Is there something you need?"

Zhou Feng nodded, his expression calm, but he subtly took a half-step to the side, creating some distance between them.

Qin Huairu seemed oblivious to his aloofness, instead moving closer and glancing into Zhou Feng's room. She lowered her voice, her tone tinged with a hint of affectionate complaint: "You young people have it so good. You can sleep in and wake up to a hot meal. Unlike us, we have to get up before dawn, taking care of the old and then the young..."

She sighed, her eyes darting to Zhou Feng's face. "Bai Ling is so lucky to have found someone as capable and caring as Brother Zhou Feng. We, a widow and orphan..."

As she spoke, she seemed to unconsciously brush her hair behind her ear, revealing a glimpse of her neck, which appeared exceptionally fair in the morning light.

Zhou Feng's mind immediately went into overdrive, and a sense of disgust welled up within him.

Good heavens, this early in the morning, Widow Qin has come here to perform her tea-making skills?

Even if it's green tea, it still has to be tea first, right?

In the original drama, Qin Huairu would argue with Xu Damao in the warehouse over a few steamed buns. That was really dirty and not even worth mentioning. He found it disgusting!

"You're joking!"

Zhou Feng's tone turned cold, and he took another step back, raising his voice slightly: "With your mother-in-law's help at home, and your job at the factory, plus the help from people in the neighborhood, you'll manage to get by. There are plenty of people who are worse off than you, and none of them complain about how hard it is."

He wanted to see if this Widow Qin was simply trying to seduce him with her beauty, or if she had some other purpose.

Qin Huairu's smile froze. She hadn't expected Zhou Feng to be so unresponsive and to speak so bluntly and harshly.

It had been quite a while since she was last confronted, and she had almost forgotten that the guy in front of her wasn't someone easy to talk to.

Her eyes immediately reddened, and she looked like she was about to cry: "Brother Zhou Feng, you...you must have some misunderstanding about me? I just...I just thought you were a good person and wanted to talk to you..."

Zhou Feng raised an eyebrow. This woman's tea ceremony skills were truly terrible; in fact, they were almost an insult to the very concept of tea ceremony.

There's no point in continuing this charade, so I might as well be blunt and stop playing games: "What misunderstanding is there? I'm young and straightforward, and there are some things I don't understand. Like last night, when it was completely dark, I saw an old man secretly slip you a bag of flour and tell you not to let anyone see it..."

"I'm just wondering, helping your neighbor is a good thing, why is this old man doing it so secretly? Is he afraid of gossip, or... is this something that's not aboveboard, something he's ashamed to admit?"

Well, now Qin Huairu's expression became even more awkward.

She was actually a little resentful of the old man. If you're going to give me some noodles, you could just give them to me directly!

They have to make it all so secretive, like it's some kind of underground operation that can't be seen by anyone.

After all that effort, I still couldn't keep it from just a few people.

Not only did her own mother-in-law find out, but even Zhou Feng from the front yard saw it. What was she hiding?

Zhou Feng's voice was quite loud, and not only were Yan Bugui's family secretly watching, but Bai Ling's lips also curled up in a smile inside the house.

But Sha Zhu, who had just come out of the Central Court humming a little tune, was in a different mood.

As soon as they entered the front yard, they heard Zhou Feng's words, and their feet immediately froze on the ground.

His eyes widened as he looked at Zhou Feng, then at Qin Huairu, whose face had turned deathly pale and who was swaying precariously. He immediately became displeased.

"Zhou Feng! What nonsense are you spouting!"

He knew Zhou Feng was capable, but he, Sha Zhu, was not one to bully the weak or fear the strong!

Now that Zhou Feng is bullying his sister Qin again, he has to step in and stop it.

"That old man was just being kind by helping Sister Qin's family! Don't you dare slander such a good person!"

With Qin Huairu behind him, Sha Zhu pointed at Zhou Feng, giving off a rather fierce but actually cowardly vibe.

If it were before, he would have already used all sorts of foul language and even wanted to fight, but now, considering Zhou Feng's identity, he just kept shouting and had no intention of making a move.

Qin Huairu seemed to have found her pillar of support. She immediately hid behind Sha Zhu, grabbed his arm, and tears streamed down her face as she cried out in a pitiful voice, "Zhu Zi... don't... Brother Zhou Feng... he might really have misunderstood... the old man just felt sorry for our child... I didn't... sob sob sob..."

Zhou Feng almost laughed in anger when he saw the classic combination of a naive and a sycophant on the other side.

"No, you silly Zhuzi, you can donate your ears if you don't need them, right? I said it's a bad thing for an old man to give you heroin? I said why does he have to do it 'sneaky'? Can't he just give it to you openly? Or do you also feel that this is something that can't be done in the open, so you get anxious as soon as you hear it?"

"I…"

Sha Zhu was taken aback, but his anger flared even more. "It's none of your business! What an old man does is his business! Who gives you the right to interfere? I think you just don't like Sister Qin and are just looking for trouble!"

"I don't like her? Who does she think she is? Does she think she's someone I should deliberately pick a fight with? I'm brushing my teeth here, and she just comes up to me, okay?"

Zhou Feng sneered at Sha Zhu: "Did you go crazy from cleaning up the alley toilets? Or did you sneak out there for a snack? Have you lost your mind?"

"Do you think I'm like you? I don't want to be Jia Dongxu, and don't drag me into this. If you want to take advantage of Qin Huairu like Xu Damao, go ahead and do it yourself! Anyway, you two are probably even more involved than you and Qin Huairu!"

"You son of a bitch!"

Sha Zhu almost fainted from a moment of panic.

The two things he hated most when others mentioned to him were being tied up with Xu Damao to watch over the melons, and being punished by being forced to clean the alley toilets for three months!

There is nothing more despicable than a head chef of a steel mill going to the place of the cycle of grains.

Several families in other alleys had wanted to invite him to their banquets, but they all refused because of this incident. They even refused to accept a discount when he asked for less money!

He considered this a lifelong disgrace, but now Zhou Feng had brought it up in front of him.

What's most infuriating is that both of these incidents are related to Zhou Feng!

"Pillar! Don't do it!"

Seeing that Sha Zhu had clenched his fists, Qin Huairu immediately grabbed Sha Zhu's arm tightly.

She knew how formidable Zhou Feng was. Xu Damao had been sent to jail just for talking; if Sha Zhu were to lay a hand on him, he would surely be in trouble.

Their family is counting on the leftovers that Sha Zhu brings home all the time, so they can't afford any mishaps!

Sha Zhu was speechless. Of course he knew he couldn't hit Zhou Feng. He was just pretending. He didn't expect Qin Huairu to grab his arm so easily.

I have to say, this feeling...

Inside the house, Bai Ling kept her ears perked up, listening to the sounds outside, while holding a spatula in her hand.

When she heard Qin Huairu shouting that Sha Zhu was going to make a move, her eyes turned cold, and she was about to leave.

But when she stood at the door, she realized that Zhou Feng was still some distance away from them. Sha Zhu really didn't intend to make a move, but she leaned against the door, ready to subdue Sha Zhu at any time.

Zhou Feng glanced at Sha Zhu's clenched fist, then at his arm that Qin Huairu was holding, and a look of disgust appeared on his face.

"If you two want to hug, why don't you go back to your own home? Jia Dongxu's photo is still hanging there, isn't it better if you hug him in front of him? It'll be a good opportunity for him and Aunt Jia over there to be witnesses."

"ah!"

Qin Huairu exclaimed in surprise and quickly let go of her hand. When she looked back, she saw Jia Zhangshi's plump face right there in the hallway. She met Jia Zhangshi's gaze for a second before coldly snorting and going home.

Got it!

We haven't even finished explaining what happened last night, and now there's another one!

"Hey, you idiot Zhu, I'm not part of your game. Either you hit me, or you take your Sister Qin and get the hell out of here. Don't make trouble for yourself!"

Zhou Feng's disdain was palpable. Sha Zhu's face turned red with embarrassment. Seeing Zhou Feng's fearless demeanor, Sha Zhu really wanted to punch him.

But his reason told him that if he did that, he would definitely be in a much worse situation than Xu Damao!

"Alright, alright! What are you still crying about? Your tears might work on Sha Zhu, but they won't work on me."

"Instead of wasting your time, think more about how to do your job well, teach your children to walk the right path, and stop thinking about crooked ways all day. Can you rely on others for handouts and play the victim for a lifetime? How long can an old man's white flour incense smell good? Save your breath!"

Seeing that Sha Zhu didn't reply, Zhou Feng turned his attention to Qin Huairu and launched into a barrage of questions.

He even had a new idea that could directly break Qin Huairu's defenses, but he would still need to find time to go back to the modern world.

But who would have thought that such a large amount of emotional value could be easily harvested so early in the morning?

"Zhou Feng, are you done cursing? Come in and eat if you're tired of cursing, the pancakes are getting cold."

Bai Ling, who was standing at the door, suddenly waved her hand. Her face was expressionless, but there was a hint of a smile in her eyes.

She could tell that Zhou Feng had finished cursing, so she gave him a way out.

"Here it comes!"

Zhou Feng's expression changed instantly. He grinned and went into the house without even glancing at Qin Huairu and Sha Zhu, who were still in the yard.

Outside the door, Sha Zhu stared at Zhou Feng's door, his chest heaving violently. After a long while, he kicked a small pebble away and growled, "What is that?!"

Qin Huairu's face flushed red and then turned pale. She bit her lip tightly and stared at the closed door of Zhou Feng's house with a complicated and unreadable expression.

"Alright, what are you still looking at? I'm just being a fool, standing up for you first thing in the morning and getting myself all angry!"

Sha Zhu said something in a bad mood, and Qin Huairu immediately filled her eyes with tears and walked outside.

"What are you rushing off to again?"

"Going to the toilet!"

Sha Zhu's expression froze again: "Fine, I didn't ask!"

He sighed helplessly; he still had to go home for breakfast!

I got a beating from Zhou Feng first thing in the morning, that was really something.

With emotional appeal to accompany his meal, Zhou Feng ate his breakfast with extra relish.

Bai Ling's cooking skills have improved even more. Her egg pancakes are golden and soft, and they're perfect with millet porridge and homemade pickled vegetables!

Halfway through the meal, Zhou Feng suddenly remembered something, put down his chopsticks, and said to Bai Ling, "By the way, Bai Ling, I have a question for you."

"explain."

"If I could get some household appliances or similar convenient gadgets from the US, could I just put them in my house and use them?"