Chapter 49: Master Gu’s Request

Returning to the courtyard, Zhou Yimin happened to see Dapeng coming out of his house carrying a basket full of steamed buns and eggs.

Dapeng noticed Zhou Yimin’s unsteady steps and weak appearance, then smirked teasingly, “Spent the whole night as a newlywed groom?”

Zhou Yimin retorted irritably, “Do you think I’m like you? Staying out all night? There was a child in the village who had a high fever in the middle of the night, so I took him to the city for treatment.

What are you up to, carrying so many steamed buns? Having a ‘final meal’ or something?”

“Pah, pah, pah! You’re the one having a final meal! Didn’t we finally get that house? My dad asked me to distribute buns and eggs to the families in the front yard. Oh, by the way, once I clean up, I’ll move in and set up two banquet tables. You should come too,” Dapeng explained.

Yimin was the biggest contributor to securing the house, so how could he not be invited?

Zhou Yimin sighed, thinking, The older, the wiser! Everything is covered.

“Alright! Just let me know when. Will there be any dishes? Need me to get some meat for you?” Zhou Yimin asked.

“Can you get pork? My mom was planning to buy two chickens from the market.”

Pork was hard to come by, and their family’s meat ration tickets were limited.

“I’ll see what I can do,” Zhou Yimin replied without making any promises.

“Want some? My mom just steamed these,” Dapeng offered, pushing the basket toward him.

Zhou Yimin shook his head. “I just had some buns and soy milk. I’m going back to catch up on sleep.”

“Alright, then go rest!”

He had just lain down for a short while when he heard knocking at the door.

“Boss! Boss…”

It was Master Gu.

Zhou Yimin opened the door, took out a cigarette, and handed one over. “Master Gu, what’s the matter?”

“The renovation over there is done. Do you think it’s time to…”

Zhou Yimin immediately understood and nodded. “Alright! Then I’ll trouble you all to help move my things over.”

He went over to check the newly renovated place—it was far better than before, especially the bathroom. Finally, he wouldn’t have to use the public toilet outside anymore.

They moved everything—his bed, cabinets, table, stools, and so on.

After the move, Master Gu looked hesitant, as if he had something to say. Zhou Yimin noticed and said, “Master Gu, just speak freely.”

“Boss, I heard you’re a procurement officer at the steel factory. I wanted to ask if you could spare some grain, and you can deduct it from the remaining labor payment.”

Master Gu had no choice—he was mainly asking on behalf of one of the workers whose family had completely run out of food. The others were struggling but still managing to get by.

They had long known about Zhou Yimin’s position as a procurement officer.

“Would you take taro?” Zhou Yimin asked.

Today, he had gotten 100 pounds of taro. He planned to keep a little for making braised taro pork but had no need for the rest.

Some people ate taro by simply boiling and peeling it, like they would with sweet potatoes. Zhou Yimin wasn’t fond of that—it was too dry and left a powdery texture in his mouth.

“Yes! Absolutely!”

At this point, who could be picky? As long as it was food, it was good.

To some extent, taro was even more filling than sweet potatoes.

“Alright, I’ll bring it over later.”

“Thank you, Boss! Really, thank you so much,” Master Gu said gratefully.

After stepping out, he passed the news to the others, and they worked even harder.

When Zhou Yimin woke up again, he saw little Dongdong from Grandma Xu’s house carefully wiping down his bicycle, making it spotless—even cleaning the mud off the tires.

The little guy had done this for him more than once before.

Zhou Yimin walked over, pulled an apple out of his shop inventory, and discreetly stuffed it into Dongdong’s arms. He patted the boy’s head gently. “Take it home and eat it.”

“Thanks, Brother Yimin!”

Dongdong held the apple close to his chest and ran back home to show his grandmother.

“Grandma, look! Brother Yimin gave me an apple!”

Last time, when the First Aunt had two apples, the kids in the courtyard had been drooling over them.

“You must never ask Brother Yimin for food, understand?” Grandma Xu assumed her grandson had begged for the apple and immediately started lecturing him.

Dongdong quickly explained that he hadn’t asked for it and recounted what had happened.

“Alright, as long as you didn’t ask. I’ll cut it up for you.”

Grandma Xu sliced a small piece for her grandson and saved the rest.

Meanwhile, Zhou Yimin carried two dried fish to Second Auntie’s house.

Second Auntie was busy cooking for Master Gu and the other workers.

“Second Auntie, busy? Can you chop up one of these fish and steam it with the sorghum rice? The other one is for you to try,” Zhou Yimin said, handing her the fish.

“Oh my! Such good dried fish. Thank you, Yimin! Want to join us for lunch?”

Second Auntie was delighted. Dried fish was still meat, after all.

And these fish were big—probably around eight pounds each when fresh.

Zhou Yimin waved her off. “No need, I’ve got plans with a friend.”

In reality, he had no such plans—he just didn’t want to eat sorghum rice with the others. Since traveling back in time, he had no intention of making himself suffer.

After seeing Zhou Yimin out, Second Auntie put the slightly heavier fish aside and chopped up the other one into chunks—enough to fill a whole plate—before steaming it with the sorghum rice.

By noon, when Master Gu and the others finished their work and washed up, they headed straight to Second Auntie’s place as usual.

The strong smell of dried fish had already reached their noses.

“You’re in for a treat today! Yimin gave you some dried fish,” Second Auntie said.

Master Gu and the others beamed with joy. “Boss is really too kind!”

To be fair, she portioned out the fish first, making sure everyone got a piece. The fish had a bit of a strong taste, but who cared? They even chewed the bones clean.

Everyone was so in sync that they even left behind three or four pieces.

“Second Auntie, don’t wash this bowl,” Master Gu and the others told her after eating.

There was still fish in the bowl—they planned to take it home for their kids. Each of them had brought their own bowls, and usually, after meals, Second Auntie would wash them for them.

Second Auntie nodded, fully understanding their thoughts.

“Alright!” She was happy to have less work to do.

If possible, even the workhorses in the production team would want a break.

That afternoon, Li Youde excitedly came looking for Zhou Yimin, holding a newspaper.

“Yimin, look! You made it into the newspaper!”

Zhou Yimin glanced at it—it was the Beijing Daily, and the article about him took up a decent-sized section, not just a small notice like a missing person ad.

It detailed his identity, followed by a Q&A segment, and ended with a grand conclusion, singing praises of his glorious deeds.

The entire article was overwhelmingly positive, and the concluding section even used a touch of exaggerated rhetoric.

Zhou Yimin thought to himself, Those three packs of Huazi cigarettes weren’t given in vain.

“I’m keeping this,” Zhou Yimin said, claiming the newspaper for himself.

He planned to take it back to the village for his grandfather to see.

The old man would definitely be proud.

Soon, word spread throughout the courtyard, and everyone came to congratulate him.

Sharing the same courtyard as a man who had made the news gave them a sense of pride. Now, when talking to people from other courtyards, they could hold their heads high.

Even Master Gu and his crew felt a surge of pride.