Chapter 10: East Courtyard

"Lao Yi, I have something to take care of tomorrow, could you help me ask for leave?"

"Oh? What is it?" Yi Zhonghai knew that Lao Jia wouldn't ask for leave unless it was something important.

"Uh, you'll know in a while, don't forget."

"Oh, alright." Even if you beat Yi Zhonghai to death, he would never have guessed that Zhang Xiaohua was pregnant.

That night, Lao Jia and his wife didn't sleep very well; the two of them seemed to have endless things to talk about, and they didn't drift off into a hazy sleep until the second half of the night.

Zhang Ping'an got up early to stretch and exercise, took care of his morning routine, and upon returning, saw that his third sister and brother-in-law hadn't gotten up yet, so he started making breakfast.

"Ping'an, why are you up so early?" Lao Jia heard the commotion in the kitchen.

"Brother-in-law, it's already seven o'clock."

"Oh, oh, I was too happy yesterday, I only slept in the second half of the night."

"Brother-in-law, go back to sleep for a bit, breakfast will take a while."

"Alright, I'll doze off for a bit." He didn't have to go to work today anyway, so he might as well take a nap.

Zhang Ping'an only boiled some sweet potato porridge, chopped some salted vegetables, and ran out to buy ten large steamed buns and four deep-fried dough sticks.

"Yo, Ping'an, the food is so good early in the morning."

"Teacher Yan, I was injured a while ago and I'm still growing, so I have to nourish myself well."

"Ah, yes, yes, yes, you should nourish yourself." If it weren't for seeing him carry a hundred pounds of fish with ease, I, Yan Bugui, would have believed him.

"Dongxu, you eat first, so you can go to school after you finish."

"Alright, Uncle."

After everyone in the courtyard had left for work, Zhang Ping'an called for Lao Jia and the others to get up.

"Third Sister, Brother-in-law, get up and eat."

"Oh, oh, alright," Lao Jia responded groggily.

By the time the two finished eating, it was already nearly nine o'clock.

"Ping'an, I'm going out with your brother-in-law to take care of some business."

"Oh, alright."

After Lao Jia and the others went out, Zhang Ping'an went to the East Courtyard to take a look; the area was truly not small, estimated to be about two mu of land, though it was full of pits and bumps everywhere, and there was a dried-up pond.

Zhang Ping'an actually saw green sprouts emerging from the bottom of the pond; he guessed it was lotus roots sprouting, so Zhang Ping'an used his space to probe downwards.

"Holy crap!" Four or five meters beneath the pond, there were densely packed, thirty or forty crates lying there. Zhang Ping'an was afraid that if he took them out, the pond would sink and someone would discover something was wrong, so he didn't dare to move them rashly, planning to wait until he had taken over the courtyard before deciding.

He just didn't know if the Deaf Old Lady knew the secret at the bottom of this pond, but he would know once his father came to ask about the price and whether or not to sell it.

By nearly eleven o'clock, Zhang Xiaohua and Lao Jia finally returned; seeing the joy on their faces, he knew it was confirmed.

"Brother-in-law, I plan to go back this afternoon to tell my father this good news."

"Alright, I'll go back with you."

"No need, I can go back by myself, someone still needs to look after Third Sister at home."

"I'm fine, there are neighbors all around."

"Then Brother-in-law, you go to work, I'll be fine going back alone."

"Alright then." Lao Jia hesitated for a moment and agreed; he had to work hard and earn money from now on, as he would soon have a child to raise.

After Zhang Ping'an finished his meal and tidied up a bit, he prepared to return to his hometown, Zhang Family Village. Passing by a fabric store, he bought four bolts of cloth and found a deserted spot to put them into his space.

Just like that, he swayed all the way home, and by the time he reached the village entrance, the sky had darkened, and only then did Zhang Ping'an take out the bolts of cloth.

"Ping'an?" the retired uncle at the village entrance, Zhang Laiyuan, called out uncertainly.

"It's me, Uncle."

"Good lad, you've grown so tall, truly, one who survives a great disaster is bound to have good fortune later."

"Hehe, Uncle, I bought some cloth, I'll have my mother tear some off later to make clothes for Auntie and Er Ya."

"No need, no need, we have clothes to wear at home."

"I don't care about that, I bought plenty, I'll have my mother send it over tomorrow, I'm going back first."

"Mm, go on, go on."

"Father, Mother, Grandfather, Grandmother, Fourth Sister, I'm back."

"Little Brother, are you better?"

"Stinky brat, you finally know to come home, come over here and let Grandmother see you."

"Fourth Sister, here's some dried sweet potato for you to eat. Grandmother, I'm fine now."

"Good, good, good, my precious grandson has grown up and grown taller too."

"Grandmother, I bought quite a bit of cloth, I'll have Mother make two sets of clothes for you and Grandfather later."

"Your grandfather and I both have clothes to wear, don't waste it, let Da Ni make a few more sets for my precious grandson to change into."

"Father, Ping'an has plenty of clothes, I'll find time to make two sets for you and Mother later."

"Good, good, good, my eldest grandson is filial, and Da Ni is good too."

In the evening, the family had a good meal, and the four bolts of cloth were also mostly divided up.

"The children of your Second Uncle and Third Uncle's families will get one set each, and we must also send some to your eldest sister and second sister's families, your Fourth Sister will also get a set, and two sets for Father and Mother."

"Father, there's also Uncle Laiyuan's family, have Mother send enough fabric to make two sets of clothes tomorrow."

"Alright."

"Mother, this way there will still be more than half a bolt of cloth left, you two should make two sets for yourselves as well."

"Good, good, good."

The family of four spent their post-dinner digestion time measuring and cutting cloth.

"By the way, Father, Mother, my Third Sister is pregnant."

"Really?"

"Yes, San Jie Fu took San Jie to the Hospital to confirm it."

"Good, good, good. Your eldest sister and second sister both have three children, but San Jie's family has always had only one. Now it's great; at the very least, there will be two."

"Yes, and Dad, I want to buy the East Courtyard of San Jie's Siheyuan."

"What do you mean? Why would you want to buy a ruin?" Zhang Laohan had been there twice and knew about that plot of land.

"That plot is quite large. I want to buy it, renovate it, and build a single-courtyard house so you, Mom, Si Jie, and Grandpa and Grandma can all go live in the city."

"San Jie will give birth in over half a year, and Dongxu will be able to find a wife soon too. Their house definitely won't be big enough, and besides, I plan to go to school after the summer vacation."

"Alright then, how much money will it take? We don't have much money at home, but we do have some Small Yellow Fish."

"No, no, the money I've saved over these two months is enough; it won't even be used up building the house."

"Ping'an, is selling fish that profitable?"

"It's alright. It's mainly because I can find schools of fish and catch a lot every day."

"My son Ping'an is just so smart."

"That's settled then. Tomorrow we'll go visit your eldest sister and second sister, and the day after, we'll go to the city to see San Jie and buy the land while we're at it."

"Okay."

The night passed without incident.

In the morning, Zhang Ping'an still got up after five o'clock to exercise. He had already practiced half of the movements, and every stretch brought a sense of comfort.

"Ping'an, why are you up so early?" His mother, Dong Dani, had just returned from feeding the pigs.

"Mom, I'm used to it. For the past two months, I've been getting up early to fish almost every day."

"You, you're never restless no matter where you are."

"Hehe."

Dong Dani put the porridge on to simmer, then took some cloth to send to the homes of the second uncle and third uncle. Seeing this, Zhang Ping'an also took the cloth he had prepared yesterday to give to Uncle Zhang Laiyuan.

"Uncle, here."

"You brat."

"Fine, I'll accept it." Zhang Laiyuan went into the house and brought out a deer leg to hand to Zhang Ping'an.

"Uncle, I don't want it."

"Stop talking nonsense, take it. You're at the age where you're growing."

"Alright then, thank you, Uncle."

"Alright, go back and eat."

"Yes, okay." This trip was actually profitable; I'll just have to pay him back later.

"Ping'an, how come you went to your uncle's house and came back carrying a deer leg?"

"Uncle gave it to me to nourish my body."

"Heh, that's fresh. Do you even need to nourish your body?"

"Well, I said I didn't need it, but Uncle insisted on giving it to me. It'll be perfect to take to San Jie for nourishment."

"That works too."

"Let's go eat. After we finish, we'll go visit your eldest sister and second sister."

"Okay."

After the meal, the family of four pushed a wheelbarrow loaded with two bags of flour weighing about fifteen jin each, two air-dried wild rabbits and two wild chickens he had hunted previously, as well as about ten jin of smoked pork and two salted fish.

Fortunately, the eldest sister and second sister were married into the same village. Although it wasn't close, it was manageable. Half an hour later, they reached the entrance of Li Family Village.

"Yo, Zhang Laohan, here to see your two daughters again? Is this young man your son? He's quite sturdy."

"That's right. Li Laotou, why aren't you with your son in the city today? How come you're willing to come back?"