noffsinger Chapter 59, Fourth Brother of the Courtyard
Chapter 59, Fourth Brother of the Courtyard
The Li family in Beijing lived a fairly comfortable life.
Ms. Guo Lanhua was in a good mood when she received the light purple silk scarf from her son.
She posed in front of the full-length mirror Lao Guan bought for her and discovered that the scarf was suitable for draping, wrapping, tying on a bag, or tying her hair.
The eldest son has a surprisingly good eye.
As for the letter that came with the silk scarf, which said that the second son, Li Yuanfeng, would soon marry into the family, Guo Lanhua didn't take it too seriously.
On the contrary, I think it's good that the child is like this; he's so young and he's already finding his own way.
I'll send him some of my most treasured possessions later, which will be a way of fulfilling this bond between mother and son.
As for the youngest, Li Yuanshu, he is working hard to skip grades at school, hoping to graduate as soon as possible and find a job. If he can't find one, he will go back to the village to earn work points.
Perhaps Li Yuanping went too far with the supplements; the child looks mature beyond his years, and his facial features perfectly avoid the best features of his parents.
However, Li Yuanshu felt that he should support the family in the future and make things easier for his older brother. A mature appearance would be better.
I must say, this child really thinks far ahead.
He's only just graduated from elementary school...
My cousin Li Yuanhe took over his father's job. After finishing work at noon, he took leave and went to the city to deliver two chickens to Chef Zhang's family, as well as some vegetables and eggs to his younger cousins' families.
When Li Yuanshu saw his tall cousin arrive, he pulled him along to collect coal.
After my second brother went to the countryside and my third sister started working, my eldest brother wouldn't let him go anymore, fearing he wouldn't be able to compete with others and would get beaten up.
Sigh, my brother really underestimates him.
If you can't beat him, can't you at least run away?
Li Yuanping privately remarked to Tongzi that these kids really couldn't stay still.
The system added after listening.
"I just don't like working in the fields."
"It's alright, they've already earned their living without having to work in the fields..."
Isn't it?
Jiang Qingqing came to visit a few days ago and chattered away about her parents' plans, saying they were going to arrange jobs for the two of them, but Li Yuanfeng's job would probably be temporary.
This would also prevent the Jiang family from looking bad later.
Li Yuanfeng served tea and water, and even brought out his elder brother's melon seeds, peanuts, and fried dough twists.
My older brother bought some green tea flavored sunflower seeds from somewhere, and they're so addictive!
He planned to pack some to take back to the village to eat.
……
Another day of great success.
Li Yuanping rode his bicycle through the streets and alleys, heading towards Niuma Hutong.
He pretended to be a regular at the black market at home, but it was actually Xiao Yi who frequented the black market.
Puppets can also evolve slowly. Li Yuanping loved to buy things and hoard them. After he replaced her with a more advanced energy core, Xiao Yi became even more extravagant.
When Li Yuanping didn't give any special instructions, she would wander around with an invisibility talisman. In those days, it was not easy to hoard supplies in China, so she followed Li Yuanping's example and did good deeds.
She anonymously reports migrant workers who are smuggling antiques abroad; she takes the boat away when someone tries to smuggle them out of the country; she uses her position as a "sleeve team member" to poison people by giving them paralyzing drugs; she goes to places experiencing drought to pray for rain…
If this were a human, their legs would probably break from running.
There are two types of paralysis medicine: one that takes effect in a week and the other that takes effect immediately. Li Yuanping brewed them while resting in the system space. Xiao Yi also learned how to make them, but the result looked even darker.
Fortunately, Xiao Yi was only bad at brewing medicine; his cooking was quite normal.
*
Niu Ma Hutong (Ox and Horse Alley).
Li Yuanping, who could already be considered a bachelor, rode his bicycle past Zhang Feng, a widow who had failed in her blind date, once again.
I don't know which matchmaker she offended, but rumors are circulating that Zhang Feng wants to find someone according to Ms. Guo's current standards.
It's truly unexpected that even though Ms. Guo has left the alley, her legend still lingers there.
After failing at blind dates repeatedly, Zhang Feng wondered if all the good men in Beijing had died, since she couldn't find a single one.
Her best years were wasted on this bunch of ugly and unattractive people.
Thinking of the old man she saw that morning, who was as old as her own mother, she felt a lump in her throat.
Fortunately, he quickly changed his mind and said that the person he was going to meet was his own mother, Chang Xiaohua.
The old man didn't know whether he believed it or not.
She still needs to talk to her mother later, showing no remorse for having wronged someone.
In Zhang Feng's view, her own mother was so adept at navigating social situations that she could easily handle a few blind dates.
When he looked up again and saw Li Yuanping riding by on his bicycle, he felt unlucky and started muttering to himself.
"How come his family always has such good luck in finding wives? Li Yuanfeng is only good-looking, yet he can still find a good marriage in the countryside."
"Li Yuanmeng is lucky again; she got a good job before even graduating."
"Look at the eldest son of the Li family, so useless. He doesn't even know how to save some money to lend to the neighbors. All he does is eat all day long."
"Why do all these good things happen to the Li family?"
Zhang Feng probably smelled the aroma of meat in the lunchbox...
The three widows in her family were all very frugal, and they relied entirely on He Xinrou for meat. To the surprise of everyone in the courtyard, He Xinrou never remarried.
He Xinrou looks gentle and weak, and her appearance is quite popular with men. However, she is also careful to keep her distance and only "makes friends" with single men or widows.
While recounting the hardships of being a widow, she also said that she would only consider marriage after raising Xiaobao to adulthood.
Anyway, she's said everything, good or bad.
After finishing his own story, he made sure to listen to these grown men complain that even seven days a week wasn't enough for everyone to share.
They would talk in the courtyard or the main room, with a plate of snacks or peanuts and red dates placed beside them. Zhang Bao would sleep on their kang (heated brick bed) instead of going to school, and he could take a bowl of meat home with him when he left.
Li Yuanping had a hunch that Zhang Bao would eventually learn the skills of this widow's family.
It's rare that Yuanfeng, Yuanmeng, and Yuanshu are all home for dinner today. He bought a plate of braised pork ribs, ten red bean buns, and some salted duck eggs, radishes, and three tubes of noodles from the state-run restaurant...
Yuanfeng at home has already prepared egg pancakes, roasted sweet potatoes, and steamed potatoes, just waiting for my older brother to come home so we can eat.
After Li Yuanping arranged for someone to give her a gift, Yuanmeng's temporary job was successfully promoted to a permanent position. She was even assigned a tiny single room in a bungalow to live in by herself. The benefits were quite good, and Li Yuanmeng herself was very satisfied.
Overjoyed, she shared with her girlfriends the "blind date avoidance guide" she had heard from her older brother.
This includes, but is not limited to, women who are overly attached to their mothers, women who borrow money before marriage, women who constantly complain about being poor, women who suddenly become filial after marriage, women with many daughters and one son pursuing their son, and women who are required to hand over their entire salary to their in-laws after marriage…
Xia Yun was completely confused and felt like she needed to grow a brain.
……
Li Yuanfeng and Jiang Qingqing returned to the city, which made the other educated youth in the village extremely envious.
Li, the educated youth, was from Lijia Village, while Jiang, the educated youth, came from a family with some influence in the city. Even if someone wanted to ruin their plans, they would have to consider whether they could bear the consequences.
Old Li was also very happy for his grandson. He had finally realized that living off a woman was a skill.
With Yuanping taking care of the younger ones, Li Guo should be secretly laughing in the afterlife; now all three members of his family have jobs.
Everyone in the village is envious when it comes to it; even if they want to say something sarcastic, they have to keep it to themselves and go home to say it.
After all, Yuanping and Yuanfeng often helped people exchange goods in the city, so they dared not say anything that might anger the crowd.