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

"Comrade Zhou... Zhou Feng, I see you still have quite a bit of meat here, right?"

After a long silence, Qin's father suddenly looked at Zhou Feng and took out the money from his pocket.

"Ah, Uncle Qin, what's wrong...?"

Zhou Feng was a little confused, but Qin's father grinned and said, "It was Comrade Bai Ling who reminded me just now that we can't accept this money. How about we exchange it for some grain and meat? We can use it for the New Year, is that alright?"

Although Bai Ling is Zhou Feng's friend, she could pretend not to know even if she saw it, but he must have given so much money home to his relatives.

If even one person leaks the information, they will all be reported and arrested.

Since that's the case, it's better to exchange some resources with Zhou Feng and take them back. At least bartering doesn't involve so many formalities.

"This…"

Zhou Feng glanced at the kitchen. He had enough supplies, but how much rice, noodles, and meat could a hundred yuan buy? If he loaded it all onto the cart, he was afraid that Qin's father and the others wouldn't be able to get back to the commune.

They'll be robbed halfway there!

After all, one shouldn't flaunt their wealth; these days, grain is wealth!

"You don't need to give me too much, just give me forty catties of grain and twenty catties of meat. I'll also help you find this timber in the countryside later."

Upon hearing Qin's father's words, Zhou Feng's face showed a hint of embarrassment.

Forty catties of grain and twenty catties of meat, even if you go to the pigeon market, are not equivalent to a hundred yuan.

He doesn't lack these things, so why should he take advantage of an honest person?

Noticing Zhou Feng's expression, Qin's father fell silent for a moment, then cautiously asked, "If it's too much, a little less is fine too."

"No...no, Uncle Qin, that's not what I meant. The main thing is, the supplies you can get for a hundred yuan are much more than what you're saying!"

"This is enough. It wouldn't be convenient for me to bring any more into the village, would it?"

Qin's father took a deep look at his daughter beside him and suddenly smiled.

"From now on, I'll find you these timbers, and you won't need to give me too much food. It's just... if you have connections in Beiping, could you help Jingru find a job as well?"

These words startled the three people at the table.

Bai Ling gave him a deep look but didn't offer any opinion.

Zhou Feng hesitated slightly. Although he was not short of money, when it came to connections, it seemed that only Brother Li could be considered a real source of influence.

However, if the goal is simply to find Qin Jingru a job, it doesn't seem to be too difficult.

Qin Jingru was overjoyed and couldn't contain her excitement!

If I could stay in the city to work, I could not only live well and earn money, but I could also see Brother Zhou Feng all the time!

Although she knew that she was not as good as Bai Ling, she still held a sliver of hope in her heart!

Seeing Zhou Feng's hesitant expression, Qin's father was secretly delighted.

If Zhou Feng didn't have that ability, he should have refused directly instead of hesitating!

He quickly added, "If you can help us with this, I can't guarantee anything else, but I'll definitely search every single household in our commune for you!"

"Alright, Uncle Qin, we'll do as you say this time: forty catties of grain, twenty catties of meat, and I'll keep the rest of the money. If Comrade Qin Jingru really does come to work in Beiping in the future, I'll give this money to her!"

"Oh! Thank you, thank you so much!"

A hint of excitement appeared in Qin's father's eyes. He pulled Qin Jingru up to bow to Zhou Feng, but the latter quickly helped them up.

This was just a small favor, and I even took advantage of them quite a bit, so I can't accept this gift anymore!

Bai Ling remained silent, her gaze constantly shifting between Zhou Feng and Qin Jingru.

This time, Qin Jingru did not avoid her gaze, but instead met her eyes.

If Brother Zhou Feng can really arrange a job for her in Beiping, then she will be a city dweller too!

We're all city folks, who's worse than whom?

The naive girl thought there was no difference between city dwellers, but little did she know that the gap between city dwellers was even greater than the gap between ordinary city dwellers and rural people.

Zhou Feng and Bai Ling ate the meal quite easily, while the Qin father and daughter were both satisfied and uneasy.

After the meal, Qin Jingru also took the initiative to clean up. Despite her young age, she was quite efficient at housework, even better than Bai Ling.

After chatting for a while, the carriage that was supposed to pick them up arrived at the entrance of the courtyard. Qin's father waved his hand and refused Zhou Feng's help, then carried the several sacks containing supplies onto the carriage by himself.

When this leader was unloading the truck, he would give each neighbor 50 cents to help him carry the goods in order to save effort. How could he dare to let this person do it?

After seeing them to the door, Zhou Feng deliberately raised his voice: "Uncle Qin, if you see anyone else around here who has this kind of wood, feel free to get it for me. I'm sticking with you!"

These words were not spoken to Qin's father, but to the driver of the carriage.

When they return, everyone will surely know that Qin's father traded wood for grain and meat.

Who knows if someone might have ulterior motives? If the carriage driver knows his home address, it will cause a lot of trouble.

Now we're declaring that we only recognize Qin's father, so we can let him handle things at home and then send everything over all at once—it'll be so convenient.

After seeing the father and daughter off, Zhou Feng returned home and closed the door. As soon as he turned around, he saw Bai Ling leaning against the cabinet door with her arms crossed, looking at him with a half-smile.

"Alright, Comrade Zhou Feng, you've seen that father and daughter off? I didn't expect you were still in contact with that country girl!"

"Of course!"

Zhou Feng sat imposingly in his chair, pointed to the wood over there, and said, "Guess how much this 'broken wood' is worth?"

Bai Ling fiddled with her feet for a moment, then shook her head.

"This pile of broken wood is probably worth over three hundred thousand US dollars more than the pile of paintings and calligraphy you sent over!"

???

Bai Ling's eyes widened instantly as she looked at Zhou Feng, who nodded seriously at her: "See? This father and daughter from the countryside are worth more than what your Special Operations Division has collected."

"I'll say it again: if you want to cooperate, then you need to have the right attitude. If Director Sun still thinks he can play me for a fool, then let's see who the fool really is."

"The Special Operations Division shouldn't be able to control everything in China, right? I certainly have more than just this one organization I can cooperate with, right?"

After pursing her lips and remaining silent for a long while, Bai Ling said softly, "I know that Director Sun went too far this time. I have already conveyed your attitude to him. Don't worry, if his attitude doesn't change, I will contact a higher-level leader for you."