I Have a Lake as I Walk Through the Courtyard

The old farmer looked up after hearing the question and said, "You want to plant soybeans? These can be grown, but you have to be selective about the seeds. These are this year's new soybeans!"

Lin Feng looked at the soybeans, asked a few more questions, and then readily bought 20 jin of soybeans. He figured he could pick out enough seeds for an acre of land! After paying, he carried a small cloth bag and wandered around for a bit more, buying some dried goods before leaving the pigeon market.

Looking at his watch, it was almost 7 o'clock. By then, it was already bright outside, and there were hardly any people left in Pigeon City. Lin Feng, who was supposed to start work at 8 o'clock, hurriedly returned to the yard, put his bicycle away, rested for a while, and then walked towards his small shop as usual.

Lin Feng's workday was uneventful. After get off work, he thought about yesterday's events and suddenly, nearly two pounds of eel appeared in his hand! Although his cooking skills were not bad, eating alone is never as enjoyable as eating with others. Besides, with Yang Laowu to back him up, Lin Feng wasn't worried about running into trouble at all.

After wandering around outside for a while, he leisurely carried the eel back to the courtyard at 5:30. Just as Lin Feng had expected, as soon as he entered the courtyard, the Third Uncle started asking him all sorts of questions!

"Wow, this is great stuff! Where did you buy it?"

"Don't you even know what time it is! Do you think you can even buy it? I caught this myself."

"Are you kidding me? You've only been off work for a short time!"

Lin Feng gave the third uncle a meaningful look. "People are different!"

Lin Feng's response time was barely enough to make it, and even if it was a very tight squeeze, Lin Feng's main point was "believe it or not! I believe it anyway!"

Sure enough, when Lin Feng mentioned the Nan Yi family, Yang Laowu was also there. After all, the weather in the capital in September is hot, and even dried meat cannot be preserved for long.

Nan Yi glanced at the things in Lin Feng's hands, and his smile bloomed like a lotus flower in June. "What day is it today? This food...tsk tsk tsk!"

Old Yang Wu also came over. "Hey, this is good stuff!"

"Of course! You can't buy that even with money! You're in luck today! Please have a seat in the living room!"

Soon, an enticing aroma wafted from the kitchen, and Lin Feng and Yang Laowu, sitting in the living room, couldn't help but swallow hard.

"Master Yang, what kind of meat did you bring over? It smells so good!"

Old Yang chuckled. "Venom sent from our hometown! Have you tried it?"

Lin Feng suddenly realized that it was the king of lean meat! He was in for a treat. He had never eaten this in his two lifetimes! It was such a good deal to be able to eat this with just two pounds of eel, and he didn't even have to cook it himself!

"Master Yang, I've really gotten you a great deal! I have a bottle of good wine at home, just wait a moment!"

"Hey, young man, you're a generous fellow! I'll be waiting for your good wine."

The front yard smelled of wine and meat. Except for the Third Uncle's family, almost every household in the yard had their doors tightly shut. Any disobedient children would be disciplined after a good beating with a stick.

"Eating meat every day! Eating meat every day! This is capitalism, this is extravagance, this is undermining unity, this must be criticized..." Liu Haizhong was so angry that his face turned red, and he kept cursing in his house!

The two Liu brothers, heads down, glanced furtively at their father and whispered to their younger brother, "Dad's skills have improved!"

Liu Guangfu nodded affirmatively. "The vocabulary is much richer than before."

"What are you two little brats whispering about?" Liu Haizhong was furious when he saw his two sons. The two brothers turned pale instantly and looked at the closed door, knowing they couldn't escape even if they wanted to.

Xu Damao looked at the table full of delicious food and clicked his tongue helplessly. "Even living in the backyard doesn't save you; this aroma is just too overpowering!"

Lin Xiujuan licked her chopsticks helplessly. "Honey, our meals aren't bad at all, we have vegetables and meat! It's just that my cooking skills are no match for other people's. Why don't you cook some for us and mooch a few meals over tomorrow?"

Xu Damao sighed and put down his chopsticks. "Nan Yi's cooking is so much better than Sha Zhu's. We don't have anything else of comparable quality at home!"

"Boss! That's Uncle Yang. If you can get on his good side, you won't suffer at the factory. Tomorrow, bring that old hen from the yard over! Add some vegetables to their meal, and you can have a meal too! Build a good relationship!"

"How can that be? That's for your health!"

"Given our family's circumstances, losing one chicken is no big deal. What's more important than anything is if you can get a promotion!"

Xu Damao sat down next to Lin Xiujuan, somewhat touched. "Wife, you're still the best to me!"

"Hey, what are you eating..."

"It won't take long...it'll be done in a minute! This room is too quiet, let's try our best..."

Banggeng stared blankly at the table full of cornbread and pickled vegetables, while Jia Zhangshi angrily slammed a cornbread onto the table. "Others eat and drink well every day, what kind of mother are you? You can't even get a single meal off the table?"

Qin Huairu silently ate her cornbread, while Xiao Dang and Huaihua turned pale with fright! Xin Huairu sighed, hugged Huaihua in her arms, and slowly fed her the cornbread with some noodle soup.

"Didn't you hear what I said?" Seeing Qin Huairu's attitude, Madam Jia was furious. "Do you even have the demeanor of a mother?"

"Enough!" Unable to bear it any longer, Qin Huairu stood up angrily. This time, she didn't shed tears as she looked at her son and mother-in-law.

"Are you two ever going to stop? You start causing trouble every time we eat. I work hard all day and then have to come home and wait on you two. Eat what you want! If you want something better, go ask for it yourself. The bowls are in the kitchen!"

Jia Zhangshi was stunned for a long time by Qin Huairu's first outburst of anger, and then her old face turned ferocious.

"Are you trying to rebel? What, you think you're all grown up now? Don't forget your job belongs to my son. Without a job, you're nothing! Just wait to go back to the countryside!"

"Don't try to fool me! As long as I don't remarry, you can't take my job back. What, you want to take my job back and force me to remarry? I, Qin Huairu, am not unwanted!"

"Oh, oh, oh! You've really grown wings now, huh? You don't even respect me, your mother-in-law, do you? If you dare do this, I'll cause trouble at your factory, I'll go to the neighborhood committee, and you won't have an easy time either!"

The two suddenly became tense, and Banggeng hurriedly led his two younger sisters into the inner room, peeking out a small head to look worriedly at his mother and grandmother.

"The government is now encouraging widows to remarry. It's true I come from the countryside, and I've been dutifully taking care of you all these years. If you insist on doing this, then you've forced me into it!"

"So you've been planning to remarry all along. Let me tell you, as long as I'm alive, you'll never get your wish! And your son, he's a member of the Jia family, you can't take him with you."

"I never had this idea, but if you insist on forcing me down this path, it's not impossible! I can give you back our son and our job. I, Qin Huairu, can still have children. I just don't know if you'll still have the strength to go to work. Old Man Yang isn't Yi Zhonghai!"

"you..."