Traveling back to 1952, starting a comeback from a relief station

Yan Bugui glanced outside, lowered his voice, and analyzed with a shrewd expression:

"Regarding what happened this morning, this kid seems a bit tough, but he's actually quite straightforward and doesn't look like someone to mess with. Look at Yi Zhonghai and the Jia family, neither of them got the better end of the deal with him."

"He's our next-door neighbor."

"If they really set their sights on our family, then we'll be in trouble."

"So, it's always a good idea to get on his good side; you might even benefit from it in the future."

In the other courtyard, Wang Anping was directing the Yan brothers to gather up the scattered straw and move it to the front yard.

The two brothers were naturally unwilling to be ordered around to do the work.

They kept dawdling.

Wang Anping kicked Yan Jiecheng:

"Hurry up! If you're this lazy, how will you ever find a wife? Move faster!"

"If you dare to slack off again, I'll let your father beat you when we get back."

Have you seen Liu Guangtian and Liu Guangfu?

That's how it ends.

Liu Haizhong, living in the backyard, adhered to the belief that "spare the rod and spoil the child."

However, the stick was only used on the second and youngest sons; any slight displeasure would result in beatings and scoldings.

He cherished his eldest son, Liu Guangqi, as the one who would take care of him in his old age and see him off in his final days. He never scolded or beat him and always sided with him.

A biased personality.

It was already well-known in the courtyard house.

As it grew darker, most of the residents in the courtyard had gone home after get off work.

The commotion in the courtyard startled He Daqing. He lifted the curtain and came out, and immediately saw Wang Anping ordering the two Yan family boys around. He was taken aback.

Upon seeing He Daqing emerge, Wang Anping greeted him with a smile:

"Master He, are you off work?"

He Daqing nodded, looking somewhat taken aback at the straw that the two brothers had gathered up:

"You accepted it?"

Wang Anping smiled and said:

"Now that my doorway is empty, I can move the clothes there to dry."

"We're not going to do something so inconsiderate as to occupy someone else's space in the Intermediate Court."

Upon hearing this, He Daqing couldn't help but laugh:

"That makes sense!"

Many people in the courtyard came out to see what was going on, but the doors of Yi Zhonghai's and Jia's houses remained tightly closed, and no one showed up.

Sha Zhu also came out of the house, his eyes still showing some displeasure as he looked at Wang Anping.

Especially after hearing what he just said.

Unable to hold back, he retorted:

"How dare you call others lazy?"

"I think you're the laziest one. You don't lift a finger yourself, but instead make others do the work. You'll never be able to get a wife!"

Wang Anping knew this guy was a simpleton, so there was no need to argue with him.

He just smiled and said:

"What do you know?"

"You have to use all sorts of tactics to win over and please a wife."

"I'm different. My face is enough. You don't have that advantage, so you have to make up for it elsewhere."

Sha Zhu was speechless, and sullenly pouted.

He really couldn't refute that.

Because Wang Anping is indeed handsome.

There's no way around it, Wang Anping is indeed handsome, and with his tall and sturdy build, he's definitely a top prospect in the eyes of mothers-in-law these days.

This hardware is truly impressive.

The onlookers, who were watching the commotion, were speechless upon hearing this.

However, because Wang Anping had a conflict with the people in the courtyard as soon as he arrived, and had a direct conflict with Jia Dongxu in the morning, many people were a little suspicious of this young man.

His banter with Sha Zhu just now put many people at ease.

He Daqing did not stop the two from bickering.

He understood it too.

Wang Anping is a typical person who believes in "I won't offend others unless they offend me."

When dealing with this kind of person, you don't need to play any tricks. As long as you don't try to take advantage of him or scheme against him, you can live in peace.

At this moment, He Yushui also came running out, hopping and skipping.

Seeing Wang Anping standing under the eaves of her house, she called out in a clear, crisp voice:

"Brother Wang."

Her voice was sweeter than the two pieces of candy from last night.

Wang Anping smiled and ruffled the little girl's hair:

"Good girl!"

The brothers Yan Jiecheng and Yan Jiefang made two trips back and forth before finally moving all the straw from the middle yard to the front yard. As soon as they finished, without even saying goodbye to Wang Anping, they dashed home.

Wang Anping figured the noodles should be awake enough, so he walked towards his room.

What just happened made the others in the courtyard feel uneasy.

What is Yan Bugui up to?

Not only did he give Wang Anping a beautiful pot of red plum blossoms, but he also sent his own son to do chores for him. Could it be that he wanted to curry favor with this newcomer?

Back inside, Wang Anping first lifted the lid of the casserole to take a look; the meat was already stewed until tender and flavorful.

He moved the clay pot aside, placed the iron pot on the stove to boil water, then took out the rested dough, kneaded it until smooth and elastic, pinched it into small dough pieces, and put them in a basin to rest for a while.

Once the water in the pot is boiling, the dough has risen just right.

Wang Anping picked up a dough ball, pinched both ends, and gently pulled it. With a flick of his wrist, the originally thick dough ball was transformed into thin, even noodles—he was going to make a bowl of ramen.

Having upgraded his culinary skills to a master level and unlocked the recipes for various noodle dishes, Wang Anping wanted to try making ramen.

I happened to be interested in trying it out today, and to my surprise, it went exceptionally smoothly on my first try. I was so familiar with each step that it felt like I had practiced it a thousand times.

Wait until the noodles are boiling in the water for a few moments, then scoop them out and put them in a bowl.

Wang Anping opened the casserole again, scooped out a large spoonful of the reddish-brown, glistening braised pork, and poured it, along with the thick broth, over the noodles.

In the clear broth, the distinct strands of ramen noodles soak up the soup, topped with tender and fragrant braised pork, and garnished with a handful of bright green scallions.

Just looking at it makes my mouth water.

Wang Anping picked up his chopsticks and began to eat heartily. The rich aroma of meat mixed with the fragrance of noodles wafted out through the open door and permeated the entire courtyard.

Inside the Jia family's house.

Jia Dongxu took two bites of the cornbread, then disgustedly threw the remaining half on the table. He sniffed, smelling an enticing aroma of meat, and couldn't help but mutter:

"Who's stewing meat again? It smells so good!"

Jia Zhangshi picked up the cornbread her son had thrown down with a disgruntled expression, patted it off with a pained look, and rolled her eyes.

"Who else could it be?"

"That Wang Anping from the front yard, I guess."

"This guy eats lavish meals every day, he has absolutely no conscience!"

"These days, if someone cooks something delicious, they'll share some with their neighbors, just to maintain good neighborly relations."

"He's so selfish, always thinking about eating alone. He's so short-sighted!"

As Jia Zhangshi spoke, she became more and more enthusiastic, rambling on and on.

After muttering to herself for a while, she seemed to suddenly remember something, looked up at Jia Dongxu, lowered her voice, and spoke with a hint of confident greed:

"I heard from people in the compound that Wang Anping went to the steel rolling mill this afternoon and stayed there for the whole afternoon."

"I reckon he's going to collect that old man's pension."

"There should be quite a bit of money."