Courtyard House: Is Xu Damao a childless man? Let me help.

Bang Geng was startled when he saw Sha Zhu as soon as he ran out the door, and quickly hid the bag in his hand behind his back.

This guy was caught red-handed. If it were anyone else, they would probably have arrested Bang-gei on the spot, but it's Sha-zhu!

Seeing this, Qin Huairu was also startled and quickly tried to explain, "Bang Geng! Why did you come out of your silly uncle's room? Did you take something again? Give it back to your silly uncle!"

Qin Huairu changed "steal" to "take" with just one sentence, which was already quite clever, but what was even more unexpected was Sha Zhu's reaction.

"Sister Qin, it's alright. This child taking my things means he's close to me! Otherwise, why don't I see him taking other people's things?"

"It's alright, that bag probably just contains some peanuts. You can take them and eat them!"

Qin Huairu pretended to be embarrassed and declined for a moment after hearing this, but the final result is self-evident.

After taking the peanuts that Banggeng had stolen and the two lunchboxes that Shazhu had gotten from him home, and then steaming the cornbread, Qin Huairu suddenly remembered what Ye Jianchuan had said last night.

Although we've gotten quite a bit of stuff from Sha Zhu today, in this day and age, who would complain about having too much food?

So after Qin Huairu started steaming the cornbread, she greeted Jia Zhangshi and then went straight to Ye Jianchuan's house in the backyard.

At that moment, Ye Jianchuan had just finished dinner and hadn't even had time to wash the dishes when Qin Huairu suddenly pushed the door open and came in.

However, as soon as she entered, Qin Huairu was choked by the stench. "Cough cough... Oh! Jianchuan, why does your room smell so pungent?"

Did you stir-fry chili peppers at home? These are so spicy, is it even edible?

Ye Jianchuan pointed to the bowl on the table and said, "I brought back some meat and stir-fried it with chili peppers."

I didn't expect today's chili pepper to be so spicy, so the flavor was a bit overpowering.

"You can actually eat such spicy chili peppers?"

Ye Jianchuan smiled and shrugged, then said, "Sister Qin, do you know why I'm called Ye Jianchuan? If we were to follow the older generation's naming conventions, I should be called Jianguo or Jiangjun, right?"

This is because my family was originally from Sichuan. My father came out with the Sichuan Army who fought against the Japanese, so when I was born, he thought of giving me this name.

"Tell me, my dad's from Sichuan, how could he cook anything without chili peppers? I've been eating with him for so many years, a little bit of chili is nothing to me."

Hearing Ye Jianchuan's explanation, Qin Huairu was a little surprised, but soon her attention was drawn to something else.

"Hey? Jianchuan, your room looks different. It looks much more spacious than before."

"Oh, this? The house is still the same house, and the furniture is still the same furniture. I just rearranged the positions of these things a little."

It looks spacious, but that's just a visual effect. However, because the layout in some areas has been changed, the utilization rate of some spaces has indeed improved considerably.

Well, after Ye Jianchuan said so much, Qin Huairu basically didn't understand a lot of the words. What visual effects and space utilization were just like gibberish to her.

Seeing Qin Huairu's bewildered expression yet her feigned understanding as she nodded, Ye Jianchuan realized he had said too much.

So he quickly turned and walked to the cupboard, then pretended to rummage through it, and took out a bag.

"By the way, Sister Qin, this is what I promised you yesterday, but as you know, I only earn twelve yuan and fifty cents a month."

Besides, I'm not very good at managing money and tend to spend it extravagantly, so I can't give you anything better. Here's ten pounds of cornmeal; you can make do with that for now and take it home to eat.

Chapter Thirteen: Hiring a Widow as a Part-Time Worker

The ten pounds of cornmeal were naturally the system reward from yesterday. Ye Jianchuan really couldn't get used to cornmeal, so he ultimately decided to give it to Qin Huairu.

Anyway, this action can be considered as helping their family out, and who knows, the system might give them something else in the future?

Qin Huairu actually disliked cornmeal a bit. Although her family claimed to be struggling financially, they actually ate much better than most people.

After all, he could eat the lunchboxes that Sha Zhu brought back almost every day, and every few days, the lunchboxes would even contain some meat.

Her quality of life was already better than that of most people in the compound, so Qin Huairu didn't really care much for cornmeal or similar foods.

However, Qin Huairu wasn't stupid; she naturally wouldn't say such things directly. So, she gratefully accepted the cornmeal.

"Then thank you, Jianchuan. With so much cornmeal, our family should be able to eat it for a while."

Not having received any real benefits, Qin Huairu was a little unhappy, but her eyes quickly fell on the plate of stir-fried pork with chili peppers on the table.

Although Ye Jianchuan had already eaten most of the meat, he had cooked half a pound of meat today, which was definitely not enough for one person.

So you can still see some scattered pieces of meat in the plate.

Qin Huairu's eyes lit up, and she quickly stepped forward to pick up the plate, saying, "Jianchuan, I feel a little embarrassed to take so much food from you."

"I see you've finished eating. Shall I wash the dishes for you?"

After saying that, she picked up the plate and Ye Jianchuan's empty bowl and walked out.

Ye Jianchuan didn't stop her. He knew that Qin Huairu said she was helping him wash the dishes, but she actually wanted the plate of stir-fried pork with chili peppers that he had left.

However... this plate of stir-fried pork with chili peppers isn't for everyone! Even I, a native Sichuanese, find it too spicy. What would happen to someone like Jia Zhangshi's braised pork? It would be so spicy it would burn their mouth!

They might be able to hold back while eating, but when it comes to going to the toilet, that's when they'll really have to suffer.

Less than three minutes after Qin Huairu returned to her room with the washed plates and bowls.

After placing the plates and bowls on the cupboard, Qin Huairu greeted Ye Jianchuan again and prepared to go back. After all, she had been busy for so long and hadn't eaten herself yet.

But just as she was about to leave, Ye Jianchuan called out to her again, "Sister Qin, how about this? You know me, I'm really not very good at cleaning houses or doing laundry."

Why don't you come over and help me with the laundry and tidy up my room when you have time in the future?

However, I won't let you help for nothing. Although I can't guarantee you a specific amount, I promise you won't lose out. What do you think?

Qin Huairu was naturally very willing when she heard this, as washing clothes and tidying up the house didn't require much effort.

As for reputation, there's even less to worry about. I used to help Sha Zhu with his laundry and tidying up every few days. I'm about the same age as Sha Zhu. There would be even more people gossiping in this situation, but I didn't care, did I?

Since Ye Jianchuan is ten years younger than him, there will be even fewer people gossiping about him, so this deal is definitely worthwhile!

So Qin Huairu agreed without hesitation, and Ye Jianchuan took out two one-yuan coins and a 10-jin grain coupon from his pocket.

"Sister Qin, consider this your payment for this month. Is that enough?"

Qin Huairu's eyes widened in surprise. Two yuan was not a lot of money, but the ten jin of grain coupons were extremely precious.

If you wanted to buy a ten-jin national grain coupon in the pigeon market, you probably wouldn't even be able to get it for two yuan!

Based on this calculation, Ye Jianchuan's offer is roughly five yuan a month for wages!

All I have to do is come over from time to time to clean the room and do laundry, right? This money comes too easily!

Qin Huairu readily agreed to this easy deal.

"Okay, okay, I'll take this job. Don't worry, even if I can't clean my own house properly, I'll make sure to clean yours first!"

Qin Huairu felt that she had gotten a great deal by doing this job, but in Ye Jianchuan's opinion, he was actually the one who benefited.

After all, Ye Jianchuan, who had lived in the future, knew that in the future, if you wanted to hire a part-time worker to help wash dishes, clean rooms, and do laundry, you would have to pay tens or even hundreds of yuan per hour.

Even if you only let them come for five or six hours a month, that's still at least five or six hundred yuan.

In comparison, spending four or five yuan a month to "outsource" all these miscellaneous things is actually quite cheap in this era.

Of course, the most important point is that by giving things to Qin Huairu, I am still considered to be helping a neighbor in need. Wouldn't the system give me some rewards then?

Besides, with such an excuse, wouldn't Qin Huairu come to my house every few days?

Doesn't this just give myself the opportunity to continue sowing discord?

Although Qin Huairu isn't exactly innocent, she's quite attractive. If she puts in the effort, there will be plenty of opportunities to win her over in the future.

As for character? Please, you're not here for a blind date, why would you care about character? Do you ask about a girlfriend's income and family background before you go out with her?

Chapter Fourteen: In ancient times, two peaches killed three warriors; now, two candies sow discord among three children.

Since Qin Huairu had already agreed, Ye Jianchuan didn't stand on ceremony and immediately dug out the clothes he had changed out of in the last few days.

"Then I'll have to trouble you, Sister Qin. After you finish washing the clothes, you can take these few milk candies back for your child."

I ran into your kids at the door today. Xiao Dang and Xiao Huaihua said they didn't get any candy from yesterday.

Ye Jianchuan didn't mention that he had given the two girls candy today but not Bang Geng. Instead, he simply mentioned that the two girls wanted candy.

He then grabbed three milk candies, but Ye Jianchuan casually peeled off the wrapper of one of them and handed it to Qin Huairu.

Qin Huairu was stunned for a moment, then remembered the scene of Ye Jianchuan feeding her candy yesterday. Her face turned slightly red, and she quickly took the candy and put it in her mouth.

Then, Ye Jianchuan handed over the remaining two candies.

However, Ye Jianchuan also knew that these two milk candies would ultimately end up in the same way as yesterday's candies, ending up in Banggeng and Jia Zhangshi's mouths.

Xiao Dang and Xiao Huaihua will definitely be very unhappy if they don't get any candy. I not only caused Qin Huairu and Jia Zhangshi to fall apart.

If given the chance, Xiao Dang and Xiao Huaihua, those two little girls, could still be somewhat saved.

As for Bang Geng and Jia Zhangshi, forget about them. These two guys disgusted me for dozens of episodes in the TV series, and I have absolutely no good feelings towards them.

If I can manage to convince Qin Huairu to separate from Jia Zhangshi and live her own life with Xiao Dang and Xiao Huaihua, then I'll have even more opportunities to make my move. And all of this will require the two little maids to lend a hand!

Qin Huairu was unaware that she had walked into another trap set by Ye Jianchuan. She happily took Ye Jianchuan's dirty clothes and went back, calling out for her milk candy.

Ye Jianchuan couldn't wait and immediately started checking the system messages.

Sure enough, whether it was the initial ten pounds of cornmeal, or the later two yuan and ten pounds of grain coupons, he received quite a few rewards.

"Ding, the host has helped a neighbor in need and received a random reward: ten catties of cornmeal and three mao in cash."

"Ding! The host has provided a way for a neighbor struggling financially to earn extra money, and has received a random reward: one 'Great Unity' note."

Ye Jianchuan was taken aback when he saw the two completely different rewards, but then he understood. It was clear that the rewards given by the system were actually determined by the value of the things he had 'helped'.

The reward of ten pounds of cornmeal was still ten pounds of cornmeal; Ye Jianchuan only received an extra three cents from the system.

However, the following hint was quite good; it not only changed the wording but also directly gave me a large sum of money.

I've already received over twenty yuan in rewards from the system yesterday and today. If this continues, I should be able to start thinking about buying a car soon.

With nothing else to do at home, Ye Jianchuan leaned back in his recliner for a while before standing up and starting to practice his fitness exercises.

After practicing for about twenty minutes, Ye Jianchuan was already covered in sweat, and Qin Huairu just happened to push the door open and come in.

Upon entering the room and seeing Ye Jianchuan shirtless and covered in sweat, Qin Huairu was startled. She exclaimed "Ah!" and turned her head away.

"Jianchuan, why aren't you wearing any clothes?"