People's lives gradually returned to normal, and the disaster left only temporary buildings in the courtyard houses.

They turned a perfectly nice, originally exquisite three-courtyard house into a filthy, chaotic, maze-like tenement.

This trend was started by Yan Bugui.

He tossed his bangs around his head, and the two of them were the first to set up temporary shelters in the yard. When the other residents saw this, they began to follow suit.

Even Xu Damao, after returning from his hometown at the end of August, couldn't wait to build two more rooms, significantly expanding the area of ​​his home.

In the entire courtyard, only the three households—Fatty, Shazhu, and Yi Zhonghai—did not have any temporary structures built.

The reason they don't match is that Yi Zhonghai has no children; Sha Zhu is all alone; and Fatty's family is small, that's all.

Hongxing Factory has also resumed orderly production.

Sha Zhu also came to see Fatty several times, implying that he wanted Fatty to return to the cafeteria, but Fatty refused each time.

Even though the fat man didn't go back, his cooking skills didn't suffer. Isn't it more comfortable to go out and earn extra money every now and then than to cook large batches of food in the cafeteria every day?

He worked in the workshop for three days and rested for two, while also keeping an eye on Shen Xuemei to prevent those who dared to bully her.

As a result, Shen Xuemei thought that the fat man had a crush on him, and she took the opportunity to stammeringly explain to him, "Fatty, you're a good person..."

It left him completely confused. Why did he suddenly get friend-zoned for no reason?

Shen Xuemei, as if afraid of angering him, carefully explained, "But...but I've already made mistakes, and I don't want...I don't want that man to betray me again. Life may be tough and difficult, but I'll grit my teeth and persevere."

After saying that, he lowered his head even further, not even glancing at the fat man.

"So you think I'm like Li Huaide, lusting after your body?"

Shen Xuemei looked up, gave him a meaningful look, and then blushed as she said, "Otherwise, why are you so nice to me? Well, Sister Liu Lan told me about your relationship, but I don't want to..."

Seeing that the fat man remained silent, Shen Xuemei cried, "Just once, otherwise I... I..."

The fat man slapped her on the head speechlessly: "What do you mean 'you'? I have no feelings for you, understand? I only helped you because I saw that you were having a hard time. Besides, Liu Lan and I, our situation is a bit complicated."

After carefully probing, Shen Xuemei finally realized that the fat man wasn't really interested in her.

While feeling fortunate, I also felt a little sad about my aging appearance.

What the fat man didn't expect was that just as things calmed down on Shen Xuemei's side, Liu Lan ran into trouble again.

Aunt Pang came to the workshop to find Fatty in a mysterious manner. Once they were in a secluded spot, she made a startling statement: "You and Liu Lan broke up?"

The fat man looked completely innocent, rolled his eyes, and whistled awkwardly...

The plump aunt raised her hand and slapped her: "I told you not to control your lower body! Don't try to fool me, we're talking serious stuff!"

The fat man scratched his head: "There's nothing between us." Then he quickly added: "We're fine."

Isn't that great? After the disaster, the fat man immediately thought of Liu Lan, who was like a lifesaver when he was most helpless.

Liu Lan still can't figure out how the fat man found her, and in the end she can only deceive herself by attributing it to "telepathy".

Later, after the tough times passed and everyone went back to their own homes, he turned into a "juicing machine" and almost squeezed the fat man dry.

Hearing that the two were alright, Aunt Pang became even more worried: "Sigh, there's something I still have to tell you. Liu Lan has been taking lunch out every day lately, but she hasn't brought it back home..."

The fat man was stunned: "How did you know?"

"I'm not blind. What could possibly go unnoticed in this cafeteria?"

The fat man flattered her, "Of course! Who is my aunt? Her eyes are sharper than radar! Otherwise, why would I have booked you as my head chef so early on!"

"..."

In the afternoon, the fat man stormed into Liu Lan's house in a fit of rage, pinned her against the wall, and questioned her: "I heard you've been bringing lunchboxes out a lot lately?"

Liu Lan admitted it without hesitation.

The fat man asked again, "Haven't you taken it home yet?"

Liu Lan retorted, "No, so what!"

The fat man got angry: "So, you want to cheat on me!"

Liu Lan chuckled: "Who told you to ignore me all the time? I've found someone else outside!"

So that's how it is. The fat man let go of Liu Lan, sat on the bed, and took out a cigarette.

Liu Lan obediently lit his cigarette, took off her shoes, climbed up to him, and leaned against his chest, asking, "Why aren't you asking me about my lover anymore?"

The fat man reached out and gave her a hard slap on the butt; it felt so good!

Liu Lan's eyes were watery: "I gave the lunchbox to Shen Xuemei, are you relieved now?"

The fat man exclaimed in surprise, "You two... no wonder, you've been through thick and thin together after all."

Liu Lan was a little jealous: "Tell me the truth, are you in love with her?"

The fat man was extremely frustrated: "No."

Liu Lan snorted: "Don't I know you? You're all talk and no action. If you really want to, I'll go talk to her..."

Then the fat man stubbed out his cigarette: "So, it was you, you vixen, who took matters into your own hands! No wonder Shen Xuemei acts like she's seen a pervert whenever she sees me! I'll expose you today!"

"..."

Oh, and there's one more person who's been out of Fatty's sight for a long time.

That was Yu Li's younger sister, his sister-in-law Yu Haitang.

She lived in the shed for almost two months, but she never came once.

The fat man originally thought she had taken a liking to Sha Zhu again and wanted to remarry, but when the time came, he found out that it wasn't like that at all.

Now that life has calmed down, she's started running into the yard again.

At Fatty's house, Yu Haitang was happily eating a bowl of beef noodles: "Brother-in-law, how come your family's life is getting better and better? I haven't seen you doing any side jobs outside!"

"Having a side hustle" is a popular term these days.

The authorities are barely able to contain them, and more and more people like Bang Geng, who can't find anything to do, are wandering the streets all day long.

If we don't come up with a solution, what will we eat? What will we drink?

Bang Geng eventually returned to his original path, and reluctantly started learning how to project movies from Xu Damao.

Qin Jingru, that silly girl, is so delusional, dreaming that Banggeng will be her son and take care of her and Xu Damao in their old age.

Go ahead and dream on.

When Xu Damao was drinking with Fatty, he said, "That little bastard Banggeng has been holding a grudge and has been wanting to get revenge on me. It's about that incident back then..."

The fat man asked in bewilderment, "Then why did you make him learn how to project movies?"

Xu Damao downed another glass: "Because he's stupid, like Sha Zhu, a bit dim-witted and easy to use. He's fine as long as you pay him. To be honest, brother, I've always been wary of him, and I've never mentioned giving him a permanent position. He better not have any ulterior motives, or I can fire him with a single word!"