I Have a Lake as I Walk Through the Courtyard

The newspaper staff waited for a long time before finally seeing the steel mill worker leaving get off work. He was riding a bicycle, and they thought he must be more conscientious.

"Hello comrade, I'm from the newspaper! This is my work ID."

Xu Damao was taken aback. "From the newspaper?"

"Yes! You work at the steel rolling mill, right? I'm here to find out about He Yuzhu!"

"Then you've come to the right person! Let's not just say 'Come with me' at the door, buddy, I'll find you a good spot, we can eat and chat!"

The newspaper staff were overjoyed to see this attitude; indeed, the awareness of riding a bicycle was truly high.

Sha Zhu hung his head, looking like a wilted eggplant. On the way back to the courtyard house, Yi Zhonghai kept encouraging him from the side.

"With your skills, you don't need to worry. Once this storm passes, the bosses will definitely be begging you to go back to the canteen! While you're in the workshop, I'll assign you some easy tasks; just hang in there for now!"

"Which bastard wrote this whistleblower letter? This is the second time! Why are they still targeting me?!"

"Sigh! Your advantages are indeed enviable. Consider this a lesson learned; remember to be more low-key in the future!"

"Uncle, who do you think it could be? I reckon it's Xu Damao!"

Yi Zhonghai pondered for a moment. "Not necessarily! That kid Lin Feng could be one too."

"No way! That kid doesn't even work at the steel rolling mill! I reckon he's more likely a worker there!"

"Let's stop guessing! You'd better keep a low profile for now. Even if you find this person, don't retaliate! Otherwise, reporting them again will only make things worse!"

Sha Zhu slammed his fist into his leg. "Don't let me catch that kid! I still need to deliver lunch to Sister Qin later, what am I going to do without a lunchbox!"

Yi Zhonghai sighed helplessly. "Since it's still early, I'll go to the market with you!"

When the alarm clock rang at night, Lin Feng got up immediately, pushed his bicycle out of the courtyard, looked around, and walked towards the city gate tower.

Although it was a bit far, he had almost wiped out the black market there. It was pitch black, and after riding his bicycle for half an hour, Lin Feng finally arrived.

Strictly speaking, this can't be considered a black market; it's more like a pigeon market. The main products traded here are agricultural and sideline products. Lin Feng came here for two reasons: first, to check out the market prices, and second, to buy some livestock, as he has too much food in his storage space! It would be a waste to just leave it untouched.

The pigeon market was much more open than the black market. There were no guards or sentries; it was almost entirely organized by local farmers. Lin Feng strolled around like he was at a vegetable market and soon discovered quite a few good things.

"Sir, are you selling these piglets?"

"Nonsense, why would we put it here if we weren't selling it?"

"Uncle, these are piglets! How can you bear to part with them?"

"You're obviously a city kid. People don't even have enough to eat in winter, how could you feed this beast! If you're not going to buy anything, then get out of here and stop causing trouble!"

Lin Feng, after being scolded, wasn't annoyed, and just smiled sheepishly. "Old man, have a smoke. This piglet looks so small and thin to me, will it survive?"

The old man took the cigarette and softened his tone towards Lin Feng. "This litter originally had seven piglets, but only five are left. The sow's milk production is low, but don't worry, since I'm selling them, they've definitely been weaned!"

"I'll take it no matter the price!"

The old man, seeing Lin Feng's earnest demeanor, didn't think he was faking it. "I won't weigh it, 10 yuan a head, or you can use coupons if you don't have enough money!"

Lin Feng paid the money, and the old man took it and counted it over and over again before carefully putting it in the pocket inside his clothes. The old man was not happy at all after receiving the money. Looking at the piglet, his eyes were filled with reluctance, and in the end, he sighed helplessly.

"Sir, do you need to castrate these pigs when you raise them?"

"Raise this pig for a few days until it's strong enough, then castrate it quickly. After that period, it's best not to castrate it; use it as a breeding pig!"

Lin Feng looked at the piglets, which were so thin they were practically skin and bones. "Can they even survive like this? Forget it. Uncle, how do you tell the sex of these?"

Seeing that Lin Feng was asking detailed questions, the old man was not impatient and explained some of the most basic knowledge to Lin Feng!

"It's a pity there aren't enough; you can't breed piglets from just one sow!"

"You still have money?"

"Yes, at this price you could buy six or seven."

"Then come with me!"

Lin Feng carried the pigsty on a shoulder pole, with five piglets sitting in baskets on either side. He followed the old man for a short while and, sure enough, saw another piglet seller. After negotiating a price, Lin Feng bought 12 piglets! For these piglets, Lin Feng almost emptied his savings, even spending a lot of money on tickets!

Once outside Pigeon City, Lin Feng lost interest in seeing anything else. After tossing the piglet into his spatial storage, he went straight back to the courtyard house.

The 12 piglets became restless as soon as they were moved to a new environment. With the help of the spiritual spring water and food, the 12 piglets gradually calmed down!

These little guys were too thin, and Lin Feng was afraid of overfeeding them, so he strictly controlled their food intake! After working for a while, he built a simple pigpen. Lin Feng checked his watch and realized he still had two hours before work, so he simply set an alarm and took a nap by the lake.

Lin Feng started work early and was the first to leave the courtyard. It was still dark and there was no one on the road. He didn't get the dozen or so fish out until he reached the entrance of the purchasing station, where he tied them to his bicycle in a sack.

Old Master Zhao should have been fast asleep by now, but today he seemed to have caught a whiff of something and ran out of the security room without even getting dressed properly.

"You actually managed to get it!" The fish had a strong fishy smell, which Old Master Zhao could smell as soon as he got close.

"Grandpa, I didn't expect you to actually get up! I'm going back to sleep for a while; there's no rush!"

"No need, old man. I'm getting old and don't need to sleep that much anymore. In a few more years, I can sleep every day! Let me weigh these fish for you. Remember to make fish soup this morning!"

"What about Station Chief Chen?"

"It'll be fine to bring two, let the big ones taste the fishy flavor!"

"That's how we achieve it!"

The familiar smell of fish soup woke up the employees at the purchasing station from their drowsiness and instantly energized them. They ate in the canteen chatting and laughing. When Chen Liansheng arrived and saw the nine whole fish, he couldn't stop smiling!

"You're really something, kid. Come on over and get weighed!"

"It was weighed by Old Master Zhao himself!"

"That's fine then. I'll need this fish. Go to the finance department and collect your money!"

Lin Feng received over 50 yuan for the 110-plus kilograms of fish. He counted his total assets and found he had less than 60 yuan. Holding the bill, he sighed deeply, thinking, "I'm so damn poor!"

Meanwhile, Factory Director Yang rushed back to his office from the workshop. As soon as he answered the phone, he was berated. After understanding what had happened, he was dumbfounded and hurriedly called his secretary to get the newspaper. Sure enough! The story of their factory's "Silly Zhu" had been published!

"Meeting! Call them in right now!" Factory Director Yang gripped the newspaper tightly, glaring at his secretary as he issued the order through gritted teeth. "Which bastard is it?!"