Chapter 83: Should’ve Said So Earlier!

While the interview was still ongoing, the women in the courtyard were once again abuzz with gossip.

From the looks of it, Yimin was going to be in the newspaper again.

What ancestral grave emits green smoke? The whole thing’s on fire!

“Do you think Old Zhou would regret it if he knew?” one of the aunties couldn’t help but ask.

“Of course he’d regret it. What was he even thinking?”

“He lost his mind over a widow. Just plain foolish!”

“If I’d known, I would’ve introduced him to someone. My cousin might be a widow too, but she hasn’t had any children and she’s good-looking.”

“The one who’s already buried three husbands? Better not! I’m afraid Old Zhou doesn’t have the fortune to survive her.”

…

Once the interview was finished, Zhou Yimin asked, “Brother Fang, do you guys need any grain?”

“Who doesn’t?” Reporter Fang gave a bitter smile.

One of their other goals today was to see if they could buy some grain from Zhou Yimin.

As soon as he said that, the other two journalists perked up. Their families were also short on grain, and their daily rations were shrinking.

Other people might not know, but as media folks, they were definitely aware—grain production was declining all across the country. This shortage was going to continue for a while.

So naturally, they felt a sense of urgency and wanted to stock up in preparation for whatever might come.

“Perfect then. I just got my hands on some recently. You can just pay me the procurement price.”

“Yimin, thank you.” The other two also quickly chimed in with their thanks.

Zhou Yimin went into another room and brought out a sack of sorghum, half a sack of rice, and 30 jin of peanuts.

Today’s 1-yuan purchase from the Brain Store included 100 jin of sorghum and 100 jin of goose meat.

Yimin didn’t eat much sorghum himself, so he might as well sell it to Reporter Fang and the others.

“Whoa! That much?”

They had thought they’d be lucky to get twenty or thirty jin.

“This sack is sorghum. Is that okay?” Zhou Yimin asked.

Okay?

They shook their heads at lightning speed.

You kidding? In times like these, they didn’t have the luxury of being picky. Some villages didn’t even have wild greens to eat, let alone sorghum.

“Brother Fang, let us have the sorghum, please,” the other two quickly requested.

Reporter Fang sulked for a couple of seconds, then nodded. “Alright, fine.”

He actually preferred the sorghum himself—cheaper and less conspicuous. You could eat it openly. As for white rice, you had to lock your door before digging in, just so no one got jealous.

Zhou Yimin hadn’t expected sorghum to be the hot commodity.

In the end, the two men split the 100 jin of sorghum, Reporter Fang took the half sack of rice, and they each got 10 jin of peanuts.

Even though Yimin’s price was slightly higher than the Black Market’s, they were happy to pay it. In the black market, the prices were sky-high, and even then, you couldn’t always get what you wanted—if you were too slow, someone else would snatch it up.

Compared to that, this was incredibly fair.

“Yimin, we’ll head off now!” said Reporter Fang, quite satisfied.

“Take care, Brother Fang!”

Yimin walked them out of the courtyard. Instead of going home, he turned into the neighboring Courtyard No. 55 to check on Zhou Dazhong.

As soon as he stepped inside, he saw Director Li talking to the residents. Her words clearly hinted that no one should bully Dazhong just because he was the new guy—she was standing up for him.

How could she not see what was going on?

That vacant room had probably been eyed by these people for ages. Then, out of nowhere, it got assigned to an outsider. Of course, there’d be resentment. Some might even go so far as to ostracize him.

“Director Li, don’t worry. Once Little Zhou moves in, he’s one of us,” said one of the older men in the courtyard, nicknamed Grandpa Niu. He happened to be home today and felt he had to speak up.

Zhou Yimin walked over and said warmly, “Grandpa Niu, aunties, everyone—Dazhong is my nephew. Please take good care of him.”

Everyone was stunned. They hadn’t expected this connection.

Who didn’t know Zhou Yimin? He was practically the pride of the whole street. Even being neighbors with his courtyard gave them bragging rights.

“So he’s Yimin’s family? Well, that changes everything!” the aunties chimed in.

“Yeah! You should’ve said so earlier!”

“Little Zhou, we’ll help you clean up in a bit. We’re all one courtyard now. If you ever need anything, just come to us.”

…

Zhou Dazhong had been a bit nervous at first, but seeing his Sixteenth Uncle put him at ease immediately.

It was clear this courtyard gave his uncle a lot of respect. Even though Director Li’s presence kept things civil, Dazhong had worried things might get “interesting” after she left.

But now that Yimin had shown up and let everyone know their relationship, the attitude of the residents warmed considerably.

“Aunties, really, thank you. Once things settle down, Dazhong will host a meal to thank everyone,” Zhou Yimin said.

Upon hearing that, the residents became even more enthusiastic.

Well, the room was taken and there was no changing that—at least now they’d get a good meal out of it.

Director Li couldn’t help but laugh and sigh. She had to admit that Zhou Yimin really knew how to handle people.

She had just spent all that effort softening the ground for Dazhong, but after she left, who knew if the attitude would last? Now, with one sentence, Yimin had completely defused the situation.

“Interview over?” Director Li asked Yimin.

Yimin nodded. “Yeah, just a few questions. How long could it take?”

“What? Yimin, you’re gonna be in the paper again?” Grandpa Niu, the one Yimin had addressed earlier, widened his eyes in shock.

The rest of the courtyard looked at one another in disbelief.

Goodness!

How long had it even been since the last time? And now he was going to be in the papers again?

Director Li took the chance to hype him up. “You all don’t know, do you? Yimin invented a new solar stove. The steel factory’s expanding just to produce them. If anyone from your courtyard gets hired, you’ve got Yimin to thank for it.”

Boom. The whole courtyard erupted in chatter.

Yimin really was incredible. If only he were from their own courtyard…

They thought about their own children and instantly felt discouraged. How could one brain differ so much from another?

“Dazhong, tidy up. I’ll take you out for dinner later,” Yimin said.

“Okay!” Dazhong responded quickly.

He thought they were going to eat at the factory cafeteria.

He had no idea—Yimin barely ever ate there. He wasn’t fond of the food.

The room itself was just a single unit, but at around thirty square meters, it wasn’t small. Dazhong thought to himself that once he earned a good wage, he’d bring his mother and siblings to live with him in the city.

Right now, his biggest goal was to work hard.

“Aunt Li, come over to my place and sit for a while?” Yimin invited.

Aunt Li?

The courtyard residents heard this and mentally checked out.

Yeah… better not mess with this guy.

“Sure, I’ll come over and have a cup of water,” Director Li nodded and followed him back to the next courtyard.

As soon as they left, all the aunties and grannies in the courtyard immediately flocked to help Dazhong clean and tried to warm up to him. With Zhou Yimin backing him, this young man clearly had a bright future. Better to get on his good side now—it could only help later.

(End of Chapter)

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—“Big brother style” refers to the Soviet-style design and influence. In 1950s China, the USSR was called “Big Brother,” so the Moscow Restaurant was decorated to match Soviet aesthetics—formal, grand, and modern for that time.