A middle-aged man in his forties or fifties came out of the yard on the left. He had a rosy complexion, medium build, and a strong physique, which was quite striking in today’s streets and alleys where people were generally sallow and thin, with clothes covered in patches. Zhou Xiaozheng guessed this must be the male owner working at the Meat Union Factory next door; it seemed he had been secretly supplementing himself well. Seeing Zhou Xiaozheng outside, he walked towards him with a smile, calling out from afar, "Comrade, did you buy this yard? When is your family moving over?" Zhou Xiaozheng looked at the person approaching, extended his hand for a shake, and said, "I’ve been so busy these days, once we’re settled, we’ll move in. Are you the neighbor next door? What’s your surname?" The other man shook Zhou Xiaozheng’s hand vigorously and loudly, "No need for formality, my surname is Wang, Wang Dasheng, like in Victory. I live on your left. I saw you’ve been busy for two days, should be almost done, right? If you need help, just holler, we’ll hear you. They say distant relatives aren’t as good as close neighbors, don’t be shy." "Thank you so much. We’ve finished tidying up. My surname is Zhou, Zhou Xiaozheng. The one walking back and forth with me in military uniform is my wife, and this yard is for my daughter and son-in-law with their newborn. Given our status, we can’t stay here long-term, so please take care of them." Wang Dasheng waved nonchalantly, "Don’t worry, if there’s anything, just let your daughter and son-in-law call us. The security in this area is great, all decent folks live around here. There’s even the Public Security Bureau and the Armed Forces Department up front; no one dares to make trouble—you don’t even lose anything with the yard gates open." Zhou Xiaozheng nodded in agreement, "That’s true, I bought the house because the environment seemed nice. My son-in-law’s two elder sisters also live nearby." "I know; people outside say that Zhang Guoqing, brother-in-law of Chen Xiaobin, lives in this yard, and that Chen Xiaobin’s brother-in-law recently bought the big yard in front of his house. This county is so small; mention someone, and everybody knows. Brother Zhou, care to come in for a sit?" Zhou Xiaozheng smiled and pointed to his doorstep, saying, "I’m still waiting for someone to come by. I’ll visit your home another time. Feel free to stop by ours." "Alright, then I’ll head in first, call out if you need anything," Wang Dasheng said, nodding with a smile and went back inside. Zhou Xiaozheng squinted. This Wang Dasheng from the Meat Union Factory seemed eager to know them, aware of their background. He wondered about the family on the right; their gate seemed constantly locked, with no one home usually. He glanced over at Wang Dasheng and his own surroundings on both sides; quite a distance away, you couldn’t hear if you shouted unless you used a loudspeaker. Wang Dasheng’s yard entrance had quite a stack of firewood, with snow on top not cleared away. Looking at his right neighbor’s yard, it was neat and tidy at the entrance, probably with firewood stored inside. The three yards were about the same size. It’s rumored that the Wang Dasheng family is just a couple with four kids. They shouldn’t lack for space, yet the firewood was stored outside. Practically none of the yards in this area had anything stored outside; all clean and tidy. God knows where his wife works as Zhou Xiaozheng shook his head privately. Googlᴇ search 𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭·𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘦·𝘯𝘦𝘵 Zhao Dashan noticed Zhou Xiaozheng pacing the doorway from a far. He rushed forward with a jar of liquor and his son, shouting loudly a little distance away, "Brother Zheng, what are you doing out here in the freezing cold? Waiting for me? This is my second son Zhao Hongbing, and his twin brother is Zhao Hongjun. Old second, say hello to your Uncle Zhou." Zhao Hongbing earnestly greeted Zhou Xiaozheng, "Uncle Zhou, I’m the old second, Zhao Hongbing. My parents often talked about you since I was a kid. Nice to meet you. That guy Xiao Wu is quite lucky..." Zhao Dashan quickly kicked his leg, "Alright, we’ll talk inside." "Dad, that’s not the way. You can’t just interrupt people. Haha... alright, don’t glare at me. If you do, I’ll tattle to mom about you," he said, before dashing inside with giggles. Zhao Dashan chuckled and scolded a bit, then said to Zhou Xiaozheng, "Brother Zheng, you see that? Just no proper conduct." "He’s a fine lad. Your family must be lively, and that’s great. Lively personality, big heart. Everything set for tomorrow?" Zhou Xiaozheng could imagine the boisterousness of their home. Zhao Dashan followed him inside, "All ready. Did something make you decide to head out of town today, Brother Zheng? Anything you need me to handle, just let me know." "No, it just suddenly occurred to me that Province K’s HX County isn’t far from us; there’s no big mountain, lots of land, and few people. They probably aren’t short on grain, so I drove over to see if any fine grain was available. By chance, I encountered someone who was heading over to the fisheries, and tagged along as they were a driver for Province K’s Fishery Company—locals, so I followed them to the fishery." Zhao Dashan looked at him reproachfully, "Brother, you should have called me. I’m short on grain too—did you get any fine grain?" Zhou Xiaozheng gave him a stern look, "What’s with the long face, come on. I bought some, followed the person directly to the captain’s house. In that village, any fine grain outside of grain quotas isn’t kept for themselves; they typically supply the nearby villages of the fisheries. It’s not really available for purchase otherwise, but I heard there’s some form of agreement across the villages for them, so the prices weren’t too high—grade one rice is still new grain, going for 1.6 jiao. If you want to go, better act quickly, otherwise the fishing villages or the drivers heading to the fishery will snatch it up themselves." "How about we head out the day after we get back from the mountains? I plan to give my parents some fine grain for their annual gifts along with some coarse grain. My brothers’ kids need a lot, and I hardly have enough grain tickets. Back in the summer, I bought aged rice at the Black Market for 0.8, and they didn’t let me haggle, so I just left immediately. Goodness, even pork is cheaper, at 0.78." Zhou Xiaozheng stopped in surprise, seriously saying, "Then indeed, you should quickly look there. I only went to one village, but there should be some in adjacent ones to sell. We could directly arrange with the captain, have him introduce us, otherwise, without connections, there’s no chance. I thought the Black Market would only be about double price. This time, I even bought unshelled paddy rice and wheat—saving the fine grain for slow consumption." Zhao Dashan chuckled and nodded, "I’ll prepare the truck. You drive with sis-in-law, and we’ll head to the fishing villages together." "Alright, we can also go there for the tide. We won’t take much; just the gist so local fishermen won’t mind. Borrow a larger truck this time; my car couldn’t handle it, even had to strap vermicelli on the roof." Zhao Dashan was overjoyed, secretly snickering. Even before entering the kitchen, the siblings’ playful squabble could be heard inside. As they entered, Zhao Dashan spotted the spread on the table, "Wow, all seafood—it’s a feast." Zhou Xiaozheng looked at his wife, "Are things ready?" "About twenty minutes left, you go and have some drinks first. We’ll eat once Xiao Wu comes back with the red wine." Zhao Dashan quickly waved his hand, "We’ll all eat together once Xiao Wu arrives. Brother Zheng and I will sit in the living room for now."