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

At this moment, Zhou Feng was still happily wiping the chair that Yan Bugui had just brought over with a rag, liking it more and more as he looked at it.

After wiping away the dust, the warm and lustrous patina underneath was revealed. This armchair is also a standard Ming Dynasty style, and it will definitely cost a lot of money if you take it back, at least a five-figure sum!

"Comrade Zhou Feng, are you home? This is Qin Huairu from the Intermediate People's Court. I need to speak with you about something!"

Just as he was admiring it, a soft voice came from outside the door, with a hint of probing.

Zhou Feng frowned slightly, put down the rag, and went to open the door.

Qin Huairu was standing at his door with two crooked stools in her arms. As soon as the door opened, she immediately put on a fawning smile and squeezed into the house.

"Sister Qin, what are you up to?"

Zhou Feng, however, did not make way for her. He held onto the door frame and blocked her from entering.

Those two women from the Jia family are no pushovers; they're too troublesome to mess with. Right now, he just wants to focus on making money.

Thirteenth Aunt was fragrant when she was young, but with money, there are so many things you can get in modern times!

Qin Huairu's smile immediately became somewhat forced: "Look at you, it's nothing."

"I saw Uncle San bringing furniture to your place, and I figured we had a couple of pieces that weren't needed, so I brought them over."

"Please move aside, I'll put it inside for you."

As she spoke, Qin Huairu deliberately lifted the stool she was carrying in both hands, intending to crawl back into the house.

She wasn't stupid; she knew exactly how much her stool was worth. Although she didn't know what kind of ulterior motives Uncle San and Zhou Feng had, it was definitely unrealistic to try to exchange these two stools for supplies.

Therefore, it's better to adopt a more humble attitude.

"No need, Sister Qin, you should keep these two precious children for yourself."

Zhou Feng glanced at it and rolled his eyes in exasperation.

What Qin Huairu brought over was just an ordinary stool that her family had made in the last few years; it was all worn out and tattered!

I don't know when they found out about this, it seems we should be more careful in the future.

"Huh? Why? I saw that you kept everything that Uncle San brought over, so why don't you want ours?"

Qin Huairu's smile froze instantly, her lips drooped down, and her voice was full of grievance as she looked at Zhou Feng with pleading eyes.

"They're all chairs, aren't they? Even if the ones he brought are a bit bigger, can't I just ask for less?"

Zhou Feng's heart skipped a beat. He didn't want to get involved with this widow, so he could only sigh impatiently.

"Sister Qin, let me be clear, I only asked Uncle San to find these things for me to have fun because I like them myself. I can only have them if I like them."

"And what do you want? Uncle San didn't ask me for anything!"

He had to completely distance himself from the barter system.

These days, even bartering food for goods is considered "illegally reselling goods rationed under the national plan," which can easily be classified as the infamous "speculation and profiteering," and that would cause serious problems!

This is, after all, a special era. Zhou Feng had done thorough research beforehand and was determined not to be caught out in this matter.

Yan Bugui would keep his mouth shut for the sake of his own benefit, but these ingrates in the Jia family are all greedy and treacherous; he can't trust them.

"Oh dear! I misspoke!"

Qin Huairu quickly changed her tune, and a smile returned to her face.

"I don't want anything, absolutely not! These two stools are a gift from your sister, please accept them, okay?"

She knew exactly what Zhou Feng was worried about, but as long as he accepted the two stools, she would have an excuse to "make connections" and maybe even squeeze some money out of him.

"It really won't work."

Zhou Feng's attitude was very firm: "I just like it. If you insist on putting this thing here, I won't use it."

"Then tell me, why don't you like these two of my items?"

Qin Huairu persisted, her voice trembling with tears, and her eyes reddening.

Zhou Feng was also in a bind. If this caused a scene at the entrance and attracted even more onlookers, it would be even more troublesome in the future!

He shook his head helplessly, turned around and went back into the house. He carefully carried out the armchair he had just wiped and gently placed it in front of Qin Huairu.

"Sister Qin, take a look for yourself."

Zhou Feng pointed to the armchair: "Look at this backrest, the openwork carving, the round kylin pattern, so lifelike. Look at these legs, made from a single piece of wood, that's craftsmanship!"

"Look at this patina, this color, that's what you call age! That's what I like!"

"Look at those two you're holding. Let's not even talk about the ones you made yourself; the wood's rotten, the paint's all gone, they're scratched everywhere, they'd creak and groan if you put them on the ground. Why would I want them?"

Zhou Feng was speechless at Qin Huairu's behavior, and his tone no longer showed any consideration for her, becoming quite blunt.

These words struck Qin Huairu like a thunderbolt. Looking at Zhou Feng's armchair, which gleamed in the sunlight, and then at her own shabby, dirty bag, she felt ashamed, as if her face was on fire.

I had painstakingly wiped the chair clean before leaving home, but compared to this, I looked so ridiculous, like a clown.

A huge sense of shame and grievance instantly welled up in Qin Huairu's heart.

This stark contrast made Qin Huairu feel as if her fate was like the stool she was holding now—smooth and shiny when it came out of the factory, but stained and scarred by her life experiences afterward.

As soon as she put her own thoughts into it, Qin Huairu's tears started rolling down her cheeks uncontrollably, and she began to sob softly.

"No, why are you crying? It's just about two stools..."

Zhou Feng was completely stunned. Seeing large tears rolling down Qin Huairu's face, he didn't know what to say.

What are you doing?

A voice came from behind Qin Huairu, and Yan Bugui came out of his house with some curiosity.

He initially thought Qin Huairu, who was standing at Zhou Feng's door with a chair, was also there to deliver furniture.

But after glancing at the condition of the stool with his small eyes, he roughly understood what was going on.

Those are just two pieces of junk. It must have been the Jia family who noticed him delivering things to Zhou Feng and came over to pull this stunt.

In the blink of an eye, Old Yan decided to step in and help Zhou Feng out of his predicament.

Even for the sake of the supplies he had earned from them, he couldn't let Qin Huairu get entangled with Zhou Feng.

What if the other party refuses to accept it? Wouldn't he suffer a huge loss?

For someone who considers it a loss if they don't pick up money when they go out, having money that they could easily earn right in front of them slip away is worse than killing them!

"No...it's nothing, Uncle. You're busy, I'll be going now!"

Qin Huairu responded somewhat hastily, picked up the two broken stools, and rushed back to the central courtyard without looking back.

If it were only Zhou Feng, she might have been able to feign pitifulness and appeal to his emotions.

But if Yan Bugui were also present, she still wouldn't be able to bring herself to do it.

Yan Bugui squinted, watching her figure disappear behind him, before pushing up his glasses that had slipped down to the bridge of his nose, leaning closer to Zhou Feng, and lowering his voice.

"Zhou Feng, it's getting late, shall we...go for a walk?"

Zhou Feng nodded in agreement, and the two of them left the courtyard in silence, one after the other.