Chapter 56: Old Zhou, How Could You Be So Foolish!

Huang Suqin bought some clothes and returned home, only to find that the dishes had been washed, and the house had been cleaned inside and out. The two brothers weren’t wandering around; they just sat on the doorstep, waiting for her to return.

They were so obedient—how could she not like them?

Besides, they were her elder sister’s sons, her own blood relatives.

“Auntie, I think I just saw the benefactor who helped Yutou and me,” Shengli said as soon as he saw his aunt return, immediately running up to her.

“Didn’t I tell you not to go outside?”

“Auntie! My brother and I didn’t go anywhere. Big Brother said the benefactor is in this courtyard,” Shengyi quickly explained, afraid his brother would be misunderstood.

Huang Suqin was stunned.

In this courtyard?

Among those who owned bicycles here, apart from her family, there was only Yimin. The three elder men in the courtyard all walked to work.

“The front courtyard?” Huang Suqin asked tentatively.

She had just seen Yimin return; his bicycle was parked outside his house.

Shengli nodded repeatedly. “I remember his bicycle—it’s that one.”

“Alright! You two come with me to thank him.” Saying that, Huang Suqin put down the newly bought clothes, held Shengyi’s hand with one hand, carried the few taros with the other, and led Shengli along as they headed to the middle courtyard.

“Yimin, are you home?” Standing outside Zhou Yimin’s house in the middle courtyard, Huang Suqin called out.

The door opened, and Zhou Yimin stuck his head out, looking at the three of them in confusion. At first, he didn’t recognize the two children—after all, they had bathed and changed into clean clothes, making them look quite different.

“Aunt Huang, what’s the matter? Come in and sit.”

Before he could react, the two children knelt down and bowed to him.

“Hey, hey! What’s going on?” Zhou Yimin was a little flustered.

Huang Suqin quickly explained the situation and repeatedly expressed her gratitude to Zhou Yimin. If it weren’t for him, her two nephews might not have made it back—after all, they had fainted from hunger and wouldn’t have had the strength to get here on their own.

Only then did Zhou Yimin understand, smiling as he said, “This is just fate, isn’t it? Take the taros back. Once a gift is given, there’s no reason to take it back.”

After saying that, Zhou Yimin went back inside, took out a handful of candies, and gave them to the two children.

“Here, take these. From now on, just call me Brother Zhou.”

The children didn’t dare accept them.

Seeing that Zhou Yimin was being so kind to her two nephews, Huang Suqin felt happy and said, “Since your Brother Zhou gave them to you, take them! Yimin, come over to my place for dinner tonight.”

Zhou Yimin apologized, “Aunt Huang, how about another day? Tonight, Dapeng is treating us to a meal.”

Huang Suqin smacked her forehead, suddenly remembering that. Everyone in the courtyard knew that Luo Dapeng had gotten an empty room in the front yard and was hosting a meal to celebrate.

“Alright, another day then.”

She then took her nephews back to the back courtyard, taking the taros with her as well—otherwise, people might think she was looking down on them.

She appreciated the sentiment.

That evening, workers started returning home from work one after another.

The smell of meat already wafted from Dapeng’s house, and a group of children hovered outside. Who could blame them? In these times, people could barely get enough to eat, let alone have the luxury of good food.

Once they caught a whiff of that aroma, of course they would gather around like little puppies.

Dapeng didn’t disappoint them—he brought out a plate of stir-fried meat and placed a piece into each child’s mouth.

Zhou Yimin had given him five pounds of meat, so there was plenty to go around, allowing him to share.

“Hey! You brat, where’s your ‘Brother Dapeng’?”

“Brother Dapeng, I called you already!” the child said, feeling wronged.

“Oh? Did you? That was too soft. Say it again.”

“If I call louder, can I have another piece?”

“All of you, shout together—‘Brother Dapeng is so handsome! Brother Dapeng is amazing!’—and I’ll give you all another piece.”

The plate still had plenty of meat, since he had cut it into small pieces.

Hearing that there was more food to be had, the little ones immediately played along, shouting at the top of their lungs. Their voices were so loud that the entire courtyard—and probably even the neighboring ones—could hear.

Not far away, Zhou Yimin and Li Youde were speechless. Did it have to be this childish?

As Zhou Yimin walked over, the children immediately abandoned Luo Dapeng and swarmed toward him, calling him “Brother Yimin.” One little kid even called him “Uncle Yimin” in a sweet, babyish voice.

“Hey, hey! Where are you all going? Get back here!” Luo Dapeng was hopping mad.

Li Youde rolled his eyes. “Give it up. Look at your plate—do you still have any meat left?”

“These little rascals!”

Did they just go where the food was? So now that his meat was gone, he couldn’t get them to listen to him anymore?

Zhou Yimin took out a pack of coconut candies. “Guoqing, you hand these out. Make sure everyone in the courtyard gets some, including Aunt Huang’s new nephews, Shengli and Shengyi. Can you do that?”

Little Guoqing immediately felt like he had been given an important task. He straightened up, puffed out his chest, and declared loudly, “I can do it!”

Even though he didn’t get an extra candy, he felt very proud.

“Go on then.”

Luo Dapeng leaned over. “Hey, is that coconut candy? Give me one.”

Guoqing hesitated—after all, Brother Yimin had said these were for the children only.

Brother Dapeng, you’re putting me in a tough spot here!

“Take your plate inside and stop embarrassing yourself. You’re a grown man,” Li Youde said, unable to stand watching any longer.

Luo Dapeng glared at Guoqing, as if to say, “You little brat, have you already forgotten who gave you meat earlier?”

After a while, the three elders from the courtyard—First Grandpa, Second Grandpa, and Third Grandpa—arrived.

In addition, each household in the front yard had sent a representative. Along with Dapeng’s father, his brothers, and Zhou Yimin and Li Youde, two Eight Immortals tables were completely filled.

On the table were a plate of steamed dried fish, a plate of stir-fried mushrooms with chicken, and a big pot of braised cabbage with pork.

Though there weren’t many dishes, the portions were generous, especially the braised cabbage with pork, which people could freely dig into.

The liquor served was Lotus White, a well-known Beijing baijiu with a long history. It was said that during the Ming and Qing dynasties, the brewing technique for Lotus White was a closely guarded imperial secret.

Everyone tactfully avoided mentioning how Dapeng had acquired his new house.

The three elders in particular couldn’t stop praising Zhou Yimin, talking about how capable he was. Naturally, everyone else chimed in with agreement.

After all, Zhou Yimin had only been working for a short time, yet he had already achieved so much. That was undeniable—he had even been featured in the newspaper, something most people couldn’t even dream of.

Even though they weren’t the ones in the paper, just living in the same courtyard as him gave them a sense of pride.

“I think Yimin has a good chance of winning this year’s ‘Outstanding Individual’ award,” said Third Grandpa, Yang Zhenhua.

First Grandpa asked, “Yimin, what did your supervisors say?”

Zhou Yimin shook his head. “I haven’t heard anything from Section Chief Wang, Department Head Zheng, or Director Ding. It doesn’t really matter. I’m still young—it’s better not to stand out too much. Just let things happen naturally.”

In truth, Zhou Yimin didn’t want to win the award too soon. Standing out too much wasn’t always a good thing.

The elders admired his level-headedness.

At the same time, they couldn’t help but sigh, thinking of Old Zhou—Zhou Yimin’s father.

Old Zhou, how could you be so foolish?

Was it really worth it to leave for a widow? Such an outstanding son, and he just walked away without any warning.

What was he thinking?

If he wanted a companion, why couldn’t he have married someone properly?

Although no one really knew what Old Zhou did for a living—he was a bit of a mystery—they knew he earned well and must have saved a lot.