Chapter 12: Anxious

"Fine, since I'm idle anyway, but that plot of land is about two mu in size, so just give me five million."

"Old Lady, isn't this price a bit expensive?"

"Four point five million at the lowest; many of the bricks there are still usable."

"Fine, let's do as the old sister-in-law says." Zhang Laizhong counted out four point five million from his satchel and handed it to the Deaf Old Lady.

"Done." The Deaf Old Lady took the money, counted it again, and then handed the land deed to Zhang Laizhong; having received the deed, the two of them headed back.

"Dad, four point five million could buy the West Wing Room in the Front Courtyard; buying a vacant plot of land like this really isn't worth it."

"Enough, it's already bought. Try to get the house built before winter sets in. You're familiar with the city, so put some heart into building the house."

"Alright." With matters having reached this point, Lao Jia said no more.

"Dad, San Jie Fu, did you buy the side courtyard?"

"Mm, it's about the price you estimated, four point five million."

"San Jie Fu, hurry up and eat so you can go to work. Come back tonight and take me to find some craftsmen to get the house built quickly."

"Alright." Lao Jia wolfed down his food, wiped his mouth haphazardly, and prepared to ride his bike back.

"San Jie Fu, your canteen is filled for you." Zhang Ping'an had filled it with Space Water, which could also relieve some of the fatigue from Lao Jia's work.

"Oh, right, good, I almost forgot." After Lao Jia finished speaking, he hurriedly rode off on his bike.

"Ping'an, Xiaohua, we're heading back. Xiaohua, you especially, take care of yourself; it wasn't easy to conceive."

"Mm, I know, Mother."

"Alright, let's go back."

"Si Jie, once the house is built, I'll come back to pick you up. You must study the textbooks I gave you well."

"Alright, little brother, I know."

After seeing off his parents and Si Jie, Zhang Ping'an returned and ran into Yan Bugui, who was just about to head out with a bucket.

"Teacher Yan, you're off work quite early today."

"Cough, cough, it's Ping'an. I don't have any more classes, so I thought I'd catch some fish to provide a meat dish for the kids," Yan Bugui explained awkwardly.

He had a feeling like he'd been caught red-handed stealing; it was his first time doing this, after all, but he wouldn't feel awkward once he got used to it.

"It's not that, Teacher Yan, your family's savings are surely not lacking this little bit."

Yan Bugui's family savings were actually quite substantial at this time; fishing was purely his hobby, and though he was unskilled, he was addicted. It only evolved into supplementing the household income during the special three-year period later on.

"Hehe, Ping'an, want to come along?" Yan Bugui didn't refute him.

"Sure, let's fish for a while to supplement the household."

"......"

"Wait for me a moment, I'll be out right away."

"Good."

Along the way, the two chatted quite well.

"Teacher Yan, I want to enroll after the summer break; what procedures are needed?"

"How old are you this year? Do you have any foundation?"

"Cough, I'm fifteen this year. I haven't been to school, but I know all of Dongxu's primary school textbooks, and I can understand the middle school ones too."

"Oh? Really?"

"Naturally, it's true."

"Alright, your situation is rare; I'll ask around for you tomorrow."

"Great, later when we fish, I'll definitely share two with you for the kids to have some meat."

"......"

"Ping'an, I've discovered you're a sly one."

"Hahaha."

Soon, the two arrived at Shichahai, each found a fishing spot, and began to fish. Yan Bugui once again witnessed what it meant to have a continuous catch; he was now certain that it must be Zhang Ping'an who knew how to find the schools of fish.

Two and a half hours later, Zhang Ping'an's bucket was already full, and his sack was more than half full as well.

"Teacher Yan, I'm heading back. What about you?"

"Well, I'll fish a while longer."

"Alright, these are the two fish I promised you." Zhang Ping'an tossed two carp, each weighing about two jin, into Yan Bugui's bucket.

"Done, thank you, Ping'an." Having become familiar, Yan Bugui wasn't afraid of being teased.

Zhang Ping'an carried his bucket and the sack to the roadside market to set up a stall.

"Fresh fish, lively, jumping fresh fish!"

"I'll take them all."

"Why? Little brother, give me two."

"Yes, yes, I'll take two as well."

Before long, except for the two he kept for himself, everything else was sold out.

"Little brother, bring more next time; those who didn't get in line missed out."

"Sure." Another income of over two hundred thousand today; it felt great.

Returning to the Siheyuan, he ran into a beaming Yan Bugui; it looked like this old guy had picked up quite a few bargains again.

"Hehe, Ping'an, look, I caught two Bighead Carp weighing over four jin each. It's a pity a big one got away; look, my rod even broke." Yan Bugui looked regretful; in his view, the fish that got away was at least twenty jin or more.

"Not bad, Teacher Yan, when it comes to fishing, it still has to be you." Zhang Ping'an provided the perfect supportive comment.

"Cough, cough, it's just average. If that fish hadn't gotten away, I could have shown it to you." Yan Bugui felt a bit carried away.

"Yes, yes, it is a pity."

"Uncle Zhang, you old codgers went fishing again?" Shazhu didn't know when he had returned.

"Zhuzi, you've come at the right time, let me tell you..." Yan Bugui, with saliva flying, recounted to Shazhu why he had snapped his rod that afternoon.

"Pfft, after all that buildup, turns out you didn't catch anything. Since you didn't catch it, isn't it just however many pounds you say it is?"

"What kind of talk is that? What kind of talk is this?"

"Look, getting worked up again."

"Hmph! Can't make you understand." Yan Bugui flicked his sleeves and left.

Zhang Ping'an and Shazhu also returned to the Middle Courtyard; seeing them walk away, Yan Bugui secretly carried his fish and the broken fishing rod back to the entrance of the Siheyuan.

"Hey, you're asking about this rod? Yeah, I hooked a twenty-pound fish this afternoon but couldn't pull it up." Passersby looked at him with bewildered expressions.

"You're asking about these two fish? They aren't that heavy, just four or five pounds."

"......"

It wasn't until he had finished showing off to Yi Zhonghai and his group that he returned home, still feeling unsatisfied.

"I say, master of the house, you've been standing at the door for nearly an hour, aren't your legs tired?"

"Ahem, what one hour? I just got back."

"......"

Zhang Ping'an and Lao Jia went to He Daqing's house after finishing dinner.

"Daqing, you're a Chef with wide connections, do you know where the Na Family of Style-Lei lives?"

"Why, is Elder Brother looking to build a house?"

"It's me, Elder Brother He. My father came this morning and bought the East Courtyard. I'm thinking of rushing to build the house so it's finished before winter sets in."

"How much did you pay for that piece of junk land?"

"Four million five hundred thousand."

"The old gentleman is truly generous." He Daqing gave a thumbs up.

"Let's go, I'll take you there. Speaking of Style-Lei, he is a real master in our Sijiucheng. His ancestors even participated in the construction of the Forbidden City. Anyone who has him build a house gives him a thumbs up; you can't go wrong with him." He Daqing advertised.

Zhang Ping'an was a bit curious. He had read fanfiction about Siheyuan on Red Persimmon before, and they all mentioned Style-Lei. Now, at least he would be able to see the real person.

"Lao Lei, Lao Lei."

"Coming, coming. Daqing, it's you. These two look like new faces."

"I'm here to introduce some business to you."

Style-Lei looked like a very ordinary old man, but his eyes were very bright. Behind him was a man around thirty years old.

"Oh? Come, come, have a cigarette."

"This is my neighbor, Elder Brother Jia Youcai. His brother-in-law wants to build a house, specifically in the East Courtyard of our compound. You two can discuss the details yourselves."

"Good, let's go inside and talk."

Style-Lei lived in a two-section courtyard; I must say, it looked quite comfortable.

"How do you want to build it?"

"Uh, I'll build a large one-section courtyard first, and use the remaining land to build a wall around it so I can farm."

"......"

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing, fine. I'll come over tomorrow to measure the dimensions specifically, and then we'll make arrangements."

"Done, I'll listen to you."

"Have you gone through the procedures?"

"What procedures?"

"Reporting to the Military Control Commission. Forget it, I'll help you handle it while I'm at it tomorrow."

"Good, good, good. Then many thanks, Master Lei."

"You're too polite."