Chapter 13 The Broken Courtyard

Cui Yongan took a sip of wine, frowned and swallowed it. The scar on his forehead looked fierce.

"Were you asking about that courtyard?"

Chen Shiyi thought that this person was not someone who would go back on his word.

“How can I move in?”

The man in white asked doubtfully.

"Which yard?"

"The one next to it."

The man in white shirt said "oh" and turned to speak to Chen Shiyi.

"That yard is ownerless and has been abandoned for at least five or six years. No one lives there. The reason no one lives there is that it would cost a lot of money to repair it, and most people here don't have money."

The big brother with the loud voice also continued.

"Another reason is that the people who died in that yard were particularly unjust, and there are ghosts."

Chen Shiyi blinked his dark eyes.

"Only those who have evil thoughts in their hearts are afraid of ghosts. I am not afraid."

Perhaps some of them had drunk a little bit of wine, and when they heard Chen Shiyi say this, they all burst into laughter.

"If you're not afraid, just go and clean it up. Besides, Lao Cui is here, so no one dares to cause trouble."

"Are you bandits?"

Chen Shiyi was a outspoken person. When he realized that he had said something wrong, he quickly covered his mouth.

The man in white shirt found the girl very interesting.

"Have you ever seen a bandit? Do you know what a bandit looks like?"

Chen Shiyi shook his head.

"We are not bandits. We are more powerful than bandits. We specialize in catching bandits."

As soon as the man in white shirt finished speaking, several people burst into laughter again.

The loud-voiced brother continued.

"Brother Cui, it would be much more spacious if you cleaned up your place a little bit. So, it is better to have a woman at home to take care of you. I will show you some later."

Cui Yongan curled his lips, waved to Chen Shiyi and let her go.

On the way out, Chen Shiyi finally calmed down.

She decided to talk to Wen Zhiheng about the yard matters tonight and bring him here to take a look and see if it would work.

She went up the mountain to collect two bundles of firewood, found some tea bags, and delivered one bundle to the kind farmer that morning. Then she returned to her residence with the remaining firewood.

It was already late, and when I went back, Wen Zhiheng and Wen Zhiyuan had already returned.

Wen Zhiheng stood up and took the firewood from Chen Shiyi's back.

"I was just talking about you, come on, everyone is waiting for you to eat."

Three yellow steamed buns, big and hard, and a few vegetable cakes left over from the morning, along with water and tea bags.

This is food for everyone.

Those three steamed buns were probably what the Wen brothers saved from their mouths.

Chen Shiyi looked at Wen Zhiheng's hands. Before, their slender, white hands holding an ink-colored pen should have been the most pleasing to the eye.

Now, it is covered with bloodstains.

They work hard and have to save food to feed their families.

A life of glory and wealth, but one day he fell into the quagmire.

There was such a huge gap between them that they must be physically and mentally exhausted at this moment.

Everyone finished eating in silence, and Chen Shiyi took advantage of Wen Zhiheng's inactivity to pull his sleeve.

"Master, I'll take you somewhere."

The night is getting darker, there are no stars shining overhead, and it will rain tomorrow.

Wen Zhiheng and Chen Shiyi, holding torches, slowly groped their way along the path.

"Eleven, where are you taking me?"

"Master, we are almost there."

His warm palm tightly grasped Chen Shiyi's arm.

"Be careful, or you might fall."

They supported each other and finally reached the abandoned yard.

Wen Zhiheng asked in confusion.

"You brought me here to see this courtyard?"

Chen Shiyi nodded in response.

Wen Zhiheng was silent for a while and then spoke.

"Eleven, I don't have money now, so I can't afford to live in a yard like this. When I have time to rest, I'll go to the mountains and collect some valuable prey, and then I can live here in exchange, okay?"

Chen Shiyi hurriedly explained.

"Master, I have inquired about this. We can move into this house without a title deed. A family not far away also lives in the same way. He said that there are too many empty houses here and there is no need for rent."

Wen Zhiheng asked doubtfully.

“Are there so many empty houses around?”

"Well, there are few people here. Most of them are exiles like us. Some left, some died, and the rest have no money. Even if they want to live in a house like this, it will cost a lot to repair it."

Wen Zhiheng smiled bitterly.

“So, we still can’t afford to live here.”

"Master, I took a quick look today. There is a room in this yard that is covered with tiles. It is quite solid. After some renovation, it can be turned into a clean house. We can slowly repair the others later."

Wen Zhiheng seemed a little loose.

"It was already very late when we came back from the mine, and it was almost dark."

Chen Shiyi smiled.

"Master, don't worry. I have helped other people repair their houses before. I can do it."

The torches flickered in the wind in the dark night. Wen Zhiheng's eyes shone darkly for a long time, and he let out a slight sigh.

He reached out and ruffled Eleven's messy hair.

"These things should be done by men. You are a woman and do not need to take on the responsibilities of the family."

"I'm fine, you don't have to worry. In fact, I feel that the place we live in now is not very good. Not only do we have to pay rent, but there are rats and ants everywhere, and it's easy to get sick. Moreover, it's too close to the main road, and there are a lot of people coming and going. The young lady is beautiful, and I'm afraid someone will have bad intentions."

"Also, there is a large open space next to this yard, where we can grow food and vegetables and be self-sufficient in the future."

Wen Zhiheng was deeply moved when he heard this.

"Thank you, Eleven. It's been a long journey for me."

The next day, they still had no breakfast.

Wen Zhiheng got up early and walked around, not knowing where to get food.

The sky was getting brighter and brighter, so he finally gave up and went to work with Wen Zhiyuan.

Mother Wen comforted.

"Just go there peacefully and don't break the rules there. We can't even afford medicine if we get punished. We can find food on our own. We won't starve to death."

Chen Shiyi also ran to the abandoned yard early.

The door to the yard was too old. When I pushed it open slightly, it creaked and almost broke.

The yard was full of weeds, some of which were taller than she was. At the end of the weeds was a main house with two side rooms, side by side. On the left was a small woodshed, and on the right, with a chimney on the top, was a kitchen.

The house is big, but really shabby.

Half of the main room's roof had collapsed, and the roof of one of the side rooms was completely empty, leaving only another side room still passable.

Chen Shiyi just took a quick glance and thought that he should get something to eat first so that he would have the strength to work.

Since they arrived in Fangling, the sky has never been clear, and the dark clouds have been pressing down on people, making them feel even more depressed.

The sky was filled with star showers and mist, and the stream not far away was filled with mist and rising water vapor.

Chen Shiyi suddenly thought, there should be fish in such a wide stream, right?

She pulled a bunch of weeds from the yard, tied them into knots, and then made a simple fishing net.

Eleven sighed while doing it.

The hardships I suffered in the past have now become a skill for making a living. I don’t know whether I should be relieved or sad.