Siheyuan: Why does your brother beat you up every day, Shazhu?

"Oh my God!" Yan Bugui gasped, his voice shrill.

"So big? This... this must weigh about thirty or forty kilograms, right?"

"Brother Weiguo! You are so awesome!" Yan Jiefang was the first to jump over, circling around He Weiguo and the fish in his hand, his eyes full of admiring little stars, his face flushed with excitement.

"My dad has been fishing his whole life, and all he's ever caught are tiny shrimps! I doubt he'll ever catch something as big as you in his next lifetime!"

Yan Jiecheng also came over, his face full of amazement: "Yes, Brother Weiguo, this fish of yours...is enough to eat for the whole winter, right?"

Yan Bugui's face turned red at his son's insincere words. He was about to lose his temper, but Yan Jiecheng's words reminded him - if you can't catch a big one, you can just eat it for free!

He immediately put on a smile, rubbed his hands and came closer:

"Oh my! Weiguo! Look at your fish... two of them are so big, your family won't be able to finish them all in a short time!"

"This fish won't keep well. If we salt it and make dried fish, it won't taste fresh anymore! What a waste of food!"

"How about... you treat everyone in the yard? Just celebrate your big catch and let everyone share in the joy? It'll be lively!"

After he finished speaking, Yan Jiecheng and Yan Jiefang also looked at He Weiguo eagerly, and the meaning was obvious - Big brother, we want to eat too!

He Weiguo looked at the pure envy in the eyes of the Yan brothers and thought of Zhou Zhenbang's words...

He simply ignored Yan Bugui and smiled at the two brothers Yan Jiecheng and Yan Jiefang:

"Jiecheng, Jiefang, where's the fish? Big brother, I haven't decided when to cook it yet."

"But don't worry, when I cook fish at home, I'll definitely invite you two along! What do you think?"

"Really?" Yan Jiefang jumped up in surprise:

"Thank you, Brother Weiguo! You are so kind, big brother!"

"Thank you, Brother Weiguo!" Yan Jiecheng also nodded happily.

Yan Bugui didn't expect He Weiguo to agree so readily. Although he only called his two sons and not him, it was still a pleasant surprise, and his face was full of smiles:

"Hey Weiguo, you're... too polite! Don't forget to invite me, your uncle, when the time comes! I'll also..."

He Weiguo interrupted him without hesitation and rolled his eyes at him:

"Teacher Yan, when did I say I was going to call you? You're overthinking it!"

After saying this, he no longer paid attention to Yan Bugui's old face which instantly fell, picked up the fish, and strode towards the central courtyard with his head held high.

Yan Bugui looked at He Weiguo's back and muttered to his son unwillingly:

"Jie Cheng! Jiefang! When you go to the He family, be smart!"

"When you see good meat, think of your dad!"

Yan Jiefang straightened his neck and said:

"Dad! Brother Weiguo invited us out of kindness! You just wanted to take advantage of us, and now you want us to take it back? How embarrassing!"

"Go by yourself if you want to. I don't have the face to do this!"

He Weiguo was very observant, and without stopping, he said, without even turning his head:

"Jiefang, tell your dad to stop worrying! As long as the children eat well, it's enough. Adults worrying about it is too tiring!"

……

He carried the fish along the way, as if he was holding two victory flags.

Everyone in the yard, whether they were aunties washing clothes and picking vegetables, or young and old men playing chess in the cool air, were all attracted to it.

"Wow! Boss He! Wow! Where did you get this fish? Did the Moat Dragon King move?"

A young man about the same age as Shazhu exclaimed.

"Oh my God! The eldest son of the He family! This is the first time I've seen such a big fish in my life! It must be a spirit, right?" An aunt widened her eyes.

"That's right! In the past two years, let alone fish this big, even the shadow of a bigger fish is rare!" another aunt echoed.

Several little kids were circling around his feet, their eyes wide open, pointing at the big fish and chattering excitedly:

"Wow! Big brother is so awesome!"

"Big fish! Big fish! Such a big fish!"

"I want to go fishing when I grow up! I want to catch fish bigger than my big brother!"

Listening to the exclamations, envy and praise from everyone around him, He Weiguo finally understood Zhou Zhenbang's obsession with driving around the city - this feeling of being noticed by everyone and surrounded by envy and praise is so damn cool!

That bit of vanity was satisfied to an unprecedented degree!

Thinking about what Zhou Zhenbang said when he left, and then looking at the neighbors in front of me with sincere envy, especially the children and young people!

He Weiguo stopped, cleared his throat, and said loudly to the neighbors around him:

"Aunts, brothers and sisters, and these little brothers and sisters!"

"We were so lucky today! We caught two big ones! There's more than enough for me and my three siblings to eat!"

"Well, I've been thinking about picking a day and having my brother Zhuzi clean up the mess and prepare a fish feast!"

"Please invite everyone to come to my house and have some fun! We live in the same courtyard, so we'll see each other all the time. Just think of it as... I, He Weiguo, have returned to bring some joy to the neighborhood!"

"When the time comes, I'll call everyone!"

As soon as he said this, the entire front and middle yards were in an uproar!

"Oh! Boss He! You're too polite! No, no, no!"

"Don't worry! When Auntie comes, she'll definitely bring two of her signature dishes!"

"Boss He, do you need help with cooking? I'll come and help you then!"

"My family brought two dishes too! Let's have some fun together!"

"I have wine at home! I'm going to contribute my father's stash of good wine!"

"Hey! Boss He, staple food is so precious these days! We'll bring our own dry food! It would be a great blessing to be able to taste your big fish!"

Chapter 45 My Big Brother Will Really Beat Me to Death

To be honest, He Weiguo was in a pretty good mood.

After traveling to this era, all the social relationships from the previous life were wiped out.

It is necessary to take root again in this unfamiliar environment and establish new interpersonal relationships.

Living in this courtyard, you are destined to deal with these neighbors and cannot avoid them.

There are indeed some people worse than beasts living in this yard - the Jia family and those masters, none of them are good people.

But we can't generalize.

These days, supplies are scarce and every family is living a tight life. It is inevitable to bicker about trivial matters, but most people are still kind-hearted at heart.

Thinking of this, He Weiguo felt more at ease.

He carried the fish and walked back to his house happily.

As soon as I entered the door, Shazhu and Yushui came to greet me.

When the brother and sister saw the two giant grass carps and the struggling small crucian carp in his hands, their eyes almost popped out!

"Big brother!"

The little face of Rainwater was full of worship:

"How did you catch such a big fish? I thought you and Brother Zhou were lucky to have a good catch today, but I didn't expect it to be this big!"

Sha Zhu also smacked his lips and circled around the fish:

"My dear brother! These two fish are huge!"

"I rarely see anything this big in the cafeteria! Where did you catch it?"

He Weiguo's smile remained unchanged:

"The moat outside the city almost made me starve to death today!"

He put the fish down and rubbed his sore arm.

When Sha Zhu heard that his elder brother was hungry, he immediately patted his chest and said:

"Brother, please sit down for a while! I'll cook for you right away!"

He Weiguo waved his hand:

"Don't bother. I ate a few buns on the way, so I'm not that hungry now."

He changed the subject and looked at Sha Zhu:

"Zhu Zi, can you take a day off tomorrow? I'm planning to invite my old battalion commander, Brother Zhou, to my house for dinner tomorrow night."

"I just happened to catch such a big fish, so I might as well call everyone in the yard, especially the younger generation and the children, to come and have some fun, just as a welcome party for me!"

"Zhu Zi, tomorrow's chef position is counting on you!"

When Sha Zhu heard this, he straightened his back and patted his chest loudly:

"Brother! Don't worry! I'll go to the factory to ask for leave tomorrow morning! Leave it to me!"

"I can't brag about anything else, but when it comes to cooking, I, your brother, am a professional!"

"I promise to make it beautiful for you, big brother, no problem!"

He Weiguo nodded with satisfaction. He was confident in Sha Zhu's cooking skills.

"Okay! Zhuzi, I'll have to trouble you tomorrow!"

"What's so hard!" Sha Zhu grinned:

"Just like what Big Brother said, our family hasn't been this lively for a long time!"

"We have to prepare it well tomorrow! These two big fish weigh 60 to 70 kilograms together! I'll also prepare some other side dishes, and I guarantee that our welcoming banquet will be lively and grand!"

Although Yu Shui didn't say anything, her little face was red with excitement and her eyes were shining.

This feeling...how can I describe it?

These days, if an ordinary family in the courtyard holds a wedding, it would be considered good if they can set up two tables, and the dishes are also simple.