I make a living solving crimes.

After arranging matters in the back room, they returned to the house. It was already past lunch time. The three little ones rubbed their bellies and looked at Chang Da and Chang Wei pitifully.

"I, I'm going to cook."

Chang Wei grabbed Chang Da, walked back to the north room and took out five buckets of instant noodles from the backpack.

I haven't dared to take this thing out for several days. Now, relying on my "reputation" in the courtyard, probably no one dares to break in.

Chang Long led the little girl and ran over noisily, staring at Chang Wei's hand with her big eyes.

The system is very considerate. Except for the five big characters "Braised Beef Noodles" on the red packaging, all other words have been erased. The production date cannot be seen, and Chang Wei doesn't know whether it has expired or not.

"Brother, what is this?"

Chang Long is illiterate and can only scribble on Chang Tian's textbook all day long.

“Braised beef noodles.”

"beef noodles?"

Chang Long jumped up and down with the little girl.

"Keep your voice down, don't make any noise."

"Brother, please cook quickly. Xiaoman is hungry."

The rich and spicy smell created by heavy use of oil and salt filled the room. The little girl's saliva instantly flowed down. Chang Tian and Chang Long were already crying with greed, while Chang Da sniffed modestly and kept silent.

Chang Wei also had a good appetite.

The plastic forks were not convenient to use, so he replaced them with chopsticks. Seeing that the noodles had softened, he called them over to eat.

Unlike in later generations where parents have to chase after children to feed them, the three-year-old girl already knows what it feels like to be hungry. She eats consciously and actively. Even though she is not very experienced in using chopsticks, she still eats very vigorously.

Chang Long was also digging around in the bowl, looking up and asking blankly: "Brother, where's the beef?"

"It's clearly on the picture. There are so many of them, and they're this big."

"how could I know?"

Chang Long pouted unhappily. How could there be no beef in the braised beef noodles?

Big Brother liar.

Chang Tian was very satisfied. He was happy to have something to eat. He took a sip of the noodle soup. The spicy taste stimulated his appetite and he couldn't help swallowing his saliva.

"Brother, this noodle is really delicious."

"Yeah, but you can't eat too much of this."

"I understand, brother. It would be great if you could give me food once a week, no, once a month."

"Uh......"

Chang Wei felt a little sorry for this silly brother, so he put the green military cap on his head, took out a fountain pen and said, "I'll buy you some ink tomorrow."

Chang Tian held the pen in both hands, took a quick and strong breath and said, "Brother, is this for me?"

"Well, take it and use it."

Huafu fountain pen, an old brand that is older than Hero.

In fact, there is a fountain pen at home, but it was left by his father. Chang Wei himself was reluctant to use it, and has kept it in the cabinet in the south room as a treasure. Today, he stole this one from a thief.

After eating instant noodles, Chang Wei found an opportunity to put a few paper bowls back into the space.

After entering the north room, he lay lazily on the bed, feeling drowsy. The little girl came over, kicking her legs and climbing onto the bed skillfully with her body tilted. She stayed beside him without saying a word, pretending to accompany Chang Wei to sleep.

Chang Wei put his hand into her armpits to trouble her. The little girl giggled with joy, then climbed up and sat on Chang Wei's chest.

Chang Da walked in, patted the little girl's butt and sat down on the edge of the bed.

"Brother, I discussed with mother last night that once the back house in the outer courtyard is repaired, it will be given to you to live in. It will also be convenient for you to get married in the future."

"Sis, do you want to listen to what you are saying again?"

"I am a widow living in a house..."

"Don't mention that word. If you mention it again, I'll get mad and go out of town to dig Boss Bai out and burn him to death."

Chang Wei was really angry. He sat up angrily and glared at Chang Da.

The little girl next to him shared the same hatred and sat cross-legged next to Chang Wei, with her hands on her hips and a pouty face.

Chang Da didn't know whether to laugh or cry. She knocked on Chang Wei and said after a long silence, "I didn't mean to bring it up. There are always gossips around widows. I live in three rooms, so there are even more people who are jealous."

Chang Wei said nothing. This kind of thing would be the same not only now but also in sixty or seventy years.

Although it is a three-room back house, it has its own door and yard, which is not available to most people. I wonder how many evil spirits would covet it.

"Let's talk about the house later. We can discuss it when mom comes home. Besides, I'm going to live in school when school starts."

Chang Wei ignored her, hugged the little girl in his arms, turned over and lay down again, and the uncle and nephew played and laughed together.

It was a hot July day, and Chang Wei was sweating all over when he came back from selling fish.

There was a "cluck, cluck" sound coming from the backpack, and the mothers and grandmothers blocking the hanging flower gate poked their heads out and asked, "Chang Wei, is there a chicken in the backpack?"

Chang Wei stopped to take a breath, took out a little rooster from his backpack and said, "I happened to see it, so I bought one."

"how much is it?"

"Three dollars and eighty cents."

The women rolled their eyes. This chicken looked like it weighed less than three pounds, but for three dollars and eighty cents, this prodigal boy was really willing to spend that much.

Chang Longzhen was catching ants in the yard with the little girl. When she heard Chang Wei's voice, her eyes immediately focused on the little rooster. She rushed over and asked, "Brother, shall we have chicken tonight?"

"Ah."

After saying that, Chang Wei threw the little rooster in front of her. The two little girls were so scared that they screamed. But they were afraid that the little rooster would run away, so they hesitated whether to pounce on it and catch it.

Chang Wei laughed loudly, picked up the little rooster with its feet tied, and walked and jumped home with the little girl.

In the room opposite, Yan Bugui sat back at his desk from the window with a little anxiety. The aroma of chicken stewed with mushrooms seemed to be floating in the air. The children of the Yan family leaned against the window glass and looked at the flapping rooster with red eyes.

The third aunt took the stool back to the house, threw the soles of the shoes she had knitted back into the dustpan, glanced at Yan Bugui and said to her children, "Don't worry about it. That little rooster weighs less than three catties and it costs four yuan. You can buy 40 catties of corn flour."

Yan Bugui nodded in agreement and said, "You won't be poor if you don't have enough food and clothes, but if you don't plan well, you will be poor. Even though Chang Wei is so happy now, the whole family will be hungry in three days."

The eldest son Yan Jiecheng muttered: "Dad, Chang Wei's money is all earned from selling fish."

Yan Bugui frowned. He had seen Chang Wei fishing, and he used his fishing rod. He was really amazing.

"Can this guy really catch fish every day?"

"Anyway, he would go out early in the morning with his fishing rod. Everyone in the alley knew that he sold fish at the recycling station every day. He would sell 30 to 40 kilograms of fish at a time. I heard that he even delivered fish to the street office, and the street office also gave him money."

Yan Jiecheng lost his appetite when he saw the third aunt take out cornmeal from the cupboard. He had had enough of the food without oil or water. "Dad, take a day off the day after tomorrow. I'll go fishing with you."

"Humph, fishing is a skill, you can't catch shit."

"Tsk, I asked Chang Wei, your method doesn't work at all. Chang Wei uses five kilograms of cornmeal to make a nest every day when he goes fishing, and he always catches big fish weighing five or six kilograms."

Yan Bugui pondered for a moment and shook his head. If he used five kilograms of cornmeal to make the bait and failed to catch any fish, how much would he lose?

"Dad, why don't you lend me your fishing rod and I can go fishing by myself."

"Chang Wei asked me to borrow his fishing rod for half a day for 50 cents. You don't need 50 cents, 30 cents will do."

Yan Jiecheng felt his pocket, hesitated for a moment and said, "Then the money from selling the fish I catch will be mine."

Yan Bugui sat on the chair and calculated the money in a dilemma. Was the three cents rent a loss or not?