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

The next day, around noon, Zhou Feng finally returned from this world with bags and packages.

The trunk of the Jeep that White Wolf parked at the alley entrance was completely full.

Bai Ling's family originally came from Shanghai, so Zhou Feng's global purchasing also tended to cater to the preferences of Shanghainese, namely the four gifts: tea, silk, pastries, and yellow wine.

For the tea, Zhou Feng selected pre-Qingming Longjing tea from Lion Peak Mountain, a genuine product from the core production area of ​​West Lake Longjing. The packaging was a blue and white porcelain jar, with a brocade box inside.

In this day and age, let alone ordinary people, even ministerial-level officials might not be able to afford it.

Silk was Zhou Ming's suggestion to him.

According to this young master, Shanghainese people have a far greater love for silk than people in other regions.

Although it is unknown which Shanghai leader Zhou Feng is going to give a gift to, since he is a highly educated person, he must care about appearances.

He specially arranged for a bolt of Suzhou-style embroidered silk fabric to be airlifted to him. It was the color of a sky after rain, embroidered with elegant orchid patterns, and one glance was enough to tell it was a fine piece. He also paired it with a silk scarf in the same color scheme.

Zhou Feng bought the same four pastries: almond shortbread, seaweed cake, mung bean cake, and osmanthus cake. They were neatly arranged in a tin box and wrapped in red paper.

Finally, there are two jars of aged Shaoxing rice wine. The outside of the jars is decorated with double happiness characters cut from red paper. These are not expensive and are not large, but they have a good meaning, since rice wine is also called daughter's wine.

In addition to these, Zhou Feng also bought apples, persimmons, and oranges on short notice.

In 1966, it was very difficult to find fruit that looked perfect.

Even though Bai Ling is considered a cadre within the system, she doesn't receive this kind of treatment.

In Zhou Feng's mind, gifting books would be the most appropriate thing for a highly educated family like Bai Ling's, but this era is too sensitive.

Whether it's old books like "Dream of the Red Chamber" or "Guanzi", or literary classics like "Teahouse", "Letters from Fu Lei to His Son", or "We Three", sending them to your future father-in-law's house is always a bit risky.

Even if we were to send it, we should wait until this gust of wind has passed.

After all, Bai Ling's parents were in Shanghai. Even if they had connections in Beiping, they wouldn't be able to help her if something happened to her.

After getting everything ready, White Wolf drove the jeep, taking Zhou Feng all the way to the east of the city.

Bai Ling lived in a newly built dormitory building for cadres outside Chaoyangmen.

The five-story red brick building, with two households per floor, is much more spacious than the old houses in the courtyard houses.

White Wolf parked the car downstairs, helped Zhou Feng carry the gifts, and went up to the third floor in one go.

Even though Zhou Feng had already traveled to three different worlds, this was his first time meeting his parents, and he was instinctively a little nervous.

I took a deep breath and knocked on the door, which opened quickly from the inside.

The person who opened the door was Bai Ling, wearing a navy blue Lenin suit, her hair tied in a ponytail. Upon seeing him, the corners of her mouth unconsciously turned up, and the joy in her eyes was almost impossible to hide.

"So you actually came?"

Although her expression was joyful, Bai Ling's tone still carried a hint of reproach.

The wedding is in two days, and Zhou Feng only came to visit her parents today. It's really quite impolite of him.

"Of course I have to come, otherwise what will my parents do if they don't give me my wife?"

Hearing Zhou Feng say such things at the door, Bai Ling blushed and glared at him fiercely: "My parents are at home, don't talk nonsense! Come in!"

As she spoke, she took the gift from Zhou Feng's hand and turned to go inside.

Zhou Feng turned around and took the things from Bai Lang's hands, telling him to go downstairs and wait in the car.

I came here to visit my parents-in-law, what's the point of bringing a bodyguard?

Are you trying to intimidate them?

The two walked through the entryway, where two people were sitting in the living room.

The man, in his fifties, with gray hair, wearing glasses and a neatly pressed gray Zhongshan suit, was sitting on the sofa reading a newspaper.

The woman was a little younger than him, her hair was neatly styled, and she was wearing a dark blue cheongsam with a thin cardigan over it. She was setting up the tea set on the coffee table.

At first glance, the two men exuded a refined air about Zhou Feng; they were neatly dressed and their demeanor was composed.

"Dad, Mom! This is Zhou Feng. He was on a mission and only returned to Beiping yesterday."

Bai Ling walked to the middle and formally introduced the two sides.

Zhou Feng cleared his throat discreetly, stood up straight, and bowed slightly: "Hello, Uncle and Aunt, I'm Zhou Feng. I'm so sorry, it should have been Bai Ling and me who went to visit you, but I didn't expect it to be delayed until now."

He was truly speaking from the heart.

Even if he didn't have time before, Bai Ling's parents came all the way from Shanghai to Beiping to attend the wedding, so as the prospective son-in-law, he should have visited them a few days earlier.

Bai Shoude put down his newspaper and looked him up and down.

For older generations like them, before paying attention to speech, it's more important to look at a person's temperament, or spirit.

Observe whether he stands or sits properly, whether his eyes are clear and bright, and whether he is timid.

Zhou Feng met his gaze without flinching or trying to ingratiate himself.

In terms of confidence and self-assurance, Zhou Feng can be considered second to none in any world.

A few seconds later, Bai Shoude nodded and said in Mandarin with a Shanghai accent, "Sit down, don't stand."

Fang Yun stood up at this moment, smiling and saying, "Xiao Zhou, right? Bai Ling mentioned you quite a bit in her letters before. Please sit down, I'll pour you some tea."

Her voice was very gentle, with the unique gentleness of a woman from Jiangnan, and her gaze towards Zhou Feng showed no hint of scrutiny.

Zhou Feng sat down on the sofa, and Bai Ling instinctively wanted to move closer to him, but after glancing at her parents out of the corner of her eye, she moved to the other side to maintain the distance.

This wasn't a room in a courtyard house, and she wouldn't dare overstep her bounds in front of her parents.

"Dad, Mom, Zhou Feng even brought you some things!"

As she spoke, Bai Ling ran to the door and carried over the four gifts that Zhou Feng had brought, one by one, and placed them on the coffee table.

Bai Shoude's gaze instantly fell on the blue and white porcelain jar. Zhou Feng casually opened the lid for him before handing it over.

"Pre-Qingming Longjing tea?"

Bai Shoude's brow twitched slightly, and he leaned closer to smell it: "This tea smells quite good..."

"Yes, I asked a friend to get this for me. I don't know much about tea, but please try it. If you like it, I'll have him bring me more next time."

Bai Shoude didn't say much, he just picked up the can of tea, smelled it again, and then put it down.

He didn't say anything, but his actions made it very clear.

Zhou Feng couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.