I Have a Lake as I Walk Through the Courtyard

Sha Zhu's story surprised Yu Shui. She realized that all her years of persuasion were less effective than his ten minutes of talk. Yu Shui was very interested in the psychological suggestion that Lin Feng mentioned.

"You care about your reputation now? Didn't you say you had nothing to hide if you were upright?" Rain teased her brother, annoyed.

"I didn't think of that before, little sister. But it concerns your brother's wife, we can't take this lightly!"

Rain felt a little tired looking at her brother. "Your reputation is already ruined outside."

"What the hell? Who spread this rumor?" Sha Zhu slammed his fist on the table in a fit of rage.

"It's not exactly spreading rumors! You used to bring back lunchboxes and give them all to Qin Huairu, never even letting me, your own sister, get a bite. People outside are saying you're an idiot! I told you that before, but you didn't care!"

"What should we do then?" Sha Zhu rubbed his hands anxiously. "What respectable family would marry their daughter to a fool?"

The rain seemed to know her brother's Achilles' heel. "These rumors don't matter; they'll fade with time, as long as you stop sending lunchboxes. After all, Jia Dongxu used to be around! But if you keep sending them..."

"What will happen?"

Seeing Sha Zhu's anxious expression, Yu Shui felt a surge of satisfaction, like she'd just eaten ice cream. "The rumors outside will say you're not only stupid, but you're also lusting after that widow! You should know these things spread like wildfire! Who knows how far they'll end up!"

Sha Zhu slumped back into his chair. "You mean we can't deliver these lunchboxes anymore?"

"My brother! What kind of world is this? In the countryside, two pounds of cornmeal can buy a wife. You're giving away that lunchbox with meat for free? What else is that but stupidity? If you give it to a widow, what are you after if not lusting after her body? Do you really think she believes you're a Good Samaritan?"

"I can't send any more, I can't send any more! I don't want to be a bachelor forever!" Sha Zhu was so frightened that his face turned completely pale. No wonder no one had introduced him to any potential spouses all these years! So that's the root of the problem!

Lin Feng looked at his door and felt that it would disappear in a few more days. The house was also dilapidated. He could put the stove in the house without a chimney and not get poisoned.

"We still need to make money! Otherwise, what's the point of celebrating the New Year?" Lin Feng was pondering this when there was another knock on the door.

"Hey! What's all the commotion today? Did you come in a group?"

When Lin Feng opened the door, he saw a girl as thin as a firewood stick standing there. Lin Feng instinctively asked, "Yu Shui, what brings you here?"

"No matter what, we're still classmates!"

Lin Feng thought about it carefully, and it really was true! The original owner and Yu Shui were not only classmates, but also deskmates! What a tragic fate!

"You're graduating from vocational school soon, right? You've finally made it through!"

Hearing this, Yu Shui smiled and walked straight into Lin Feng's house. "I had almost given up hope for this courtyard, but I never expected... Thank you for what you told my brother!"

"Heh, just something I said offhand! That Yi Zhonghai even dared to scheme against me, he's blind as a bat! I'm not your brother!"

Rainwater listened to Lin Feng's words, his eyes gleaming with admiration. "You weren't this smart before! What happened that made you see through it all at once?"

Hearing this, Lin Feng coughed awkwardly. "Don't be too happy about your brother! It won't be long before things go back to normal! You only have six months left before graduation; you should leave when it's time to leave!"

"Now that he understands everything, do you think he can go back to the way things were before?"

"Even heroes can't resist the charms of a beautiful woman! Not to mention Yi Zhonghai and the old lady, these people won't let your brother off the hook! The allure of a beautiful woman isn't so easy to break through! Just you wait and see."

"Sigh! I've done my best and left the rest to fate! Some things I've said too much might even turn my brother against me! This is my destiny!"

Rainy Day was in low spirits. She thanked Lin Feng and watched her classmate's back. Lin Feng's lips twitched, but he ultimately remained silent.

Standing up, Lin Feng looked at the jar of peanut butter that the rain had brought him, opened the lid, and took a taste! "Truly worthy of a chef with a family tradition; even his casual dishes are masterpieces!"

That night, Lin Feng covered himself up completely, leaving only his two eyes visible. Hearing a noise at the door, he went out with a few neighbors.

Everyone understood each other without saying hello, and walked silently toward the black market, their footsteps making the journey eerily quiet.

Upon seeing the black market in the distance, Yi Fang took out a bamboo basket from his spatial storage, filled it with eels and a few turtles, and carried the basket to the entrance.

"Buy or sell?"

"Sell!"

"One cent!"

Damn, it's expensive! Lin Feng reluctantly paid the money, carried the basket on his back and walked into the black market. After looking around, he realized that the entire black market was actually a hutong (alleyway) with courtyards, and the roads were all connected and guarded at the intersections.

After strolling around, Lin Feng chose a spot, placed the bamboo basket on the ground, and used the dim light coming from the courtyard to make sure the customers could see the goods inside.

"In the dead of winter, there are still eels." A customer was quickly drawn over, his eyes shining as he looked at the eels struggling against the weather.

"How much is it?"

Without saying a word, he pointed to the sign next to him, and the customer's pupils contracted upon seeing it. "Could you make it cheaper? This is a really good item; it would be a shame to miss it, but the price is painful for me."

Lin Feng remained silent, his meaning clear: take it or leave it! Doing business in a buyer's market is simply fantastic.

"Young man, I'll take them all. Can you give me a discounted price?"

Lin Feng looked up and saw the man opposite him dressed in a very elegant Zhongshan suit. "Comrade, what's the weather like these days? This price is very fair!"

That's true! But 1.5 yuan per pound really hurt his wallet, and turtles were even selling for 2 yuan per pound!

"Young man, how about this? Eels usually cost no more than 1 yuan per jin, and turtles are only 1.5 yuan. It's normal for prices to be higher in the dead of winter. Can you sell them to me at this price and I'll cover the difference with a receipt?"

What kind of tickets do you have?

The middle-aged man in the Zhongshan suit smiled slightly as he listened. "Grain coupons!"

"Deal!" Lin Feng smoked two cigarettes, borrowed a scale from next door, and used the dim light to declare, "The eels are top-quality, 23 jin each; the five turtles together weigh 13.5 jin, so we'll just call it 13 jin!"

"The weight is correct, young man, you're honest!" The middle-aged man paid the money readily and gave him the extra food coupons. Lin Feng wasn't stingy either, and even gave him two bamboo baskets as a gift.

Just as Lin Feng was about to leave, the middle-aged man called out to him. "Young man, I'm a purchasing agent from the cotton mill. If you need any more of this kind of high-quality goods in the future, you can come to the factory and find me directly. My surname is Zheng!"

The rule in the black market is generally not to reveal one's identity, but this purchase was urgent. After listening, Lin Feng nodded, clutched the money and food coupons he had just received, and quickly left the black market.