“This big rooster is so fat, it must weigh at least five catties!”
Qin Huairu took the lunchbox from Sha Zhu’s hand and, seeing the chicken Cao Yuan was carrying, immediately cast an envious glance at him.
She felt a sense of imbalance; how could that Cao Yuan fellow be so lucky, inheriting a thousand yuan and getting that easy, high-paying job from his uncle, while she worked herself to the bone for a whole month just to earn thirty-three yuan?
Not to mention, Cao Yuan's family had meat every few days, while their Jia family relied entirely on He Yuzhu bringing back some leftovers to make do.
He Yuzhu also had a glint in his eye when he saw the fat chicken in Cao Yuan’s hand.
Although he earned thirty-five yuan and five mao every month, constantly helping Qin Huairu’s family meant his own finances were quite tight.
However, Qin Huairu’s envious look towards Cao Yuan made He Yuzhu feel uneasy, and he sourly jabbed, “What good is eating so well? He’s an Eunuch Cao!”
“What ability does Cao Yuan have? If it weren’t for his uncle, he wouldn’t even have a hot meal, let alone meat!”
Qin Huairu also muttered to herself when she heard He Yuzhu’s words.
“That’s true, it’s a pity he’s an Eunuch Cao!”
Sha Zhu’s words were sour, but his voice was kept low.
He looked at Cao Yuan’s large build and still felt a little intimidated.
But how could he know that Cao Yuan heard every word?
With the Great Might Heavenly Dragon Divine Skill having been initiated, Cao Yuan’s body had grown stronger, and his hearing had improved.
However, knowing now that his Eunuch Cao status could be remedied, he was naturally in a good mood and didn’t want to bother with Sha Zhu.
“Cao Yuan, eating chicken today?”
Before he even stepped into the Courtyard, Cao Yuan heard a strong, resonant voice. He looked up and saw a face smiling like it was crying.
It was First Master Yi Zhonghai.
To save trouble, the neighborhood office had selected three masters in the Courtyard to help resolve neighborhood disputes, and Yi Zhonghai was one of them.
“Mm.”
Cao Yuan responded faintly, his gaze cold.
He had never had a good impression of Yi Zhonghai.
This fellow, seemingly enthusiastic on the surface, was actually full of malice.
He was outwardly polite, but ever since Cao Yuan inherited his uncle Cao Min’s legacy, he had been scheming against him.
Yi Zhonghai had no children, and as he grew older, he naturally had to consider his old age care.
Compared to Sha Zhu, Cao Yuan was clearly a more suitable supporter for him.
He had several thousand yuan in inheritance and a good job, earning fifty-two yuan a month.
Most importantly, he was also an Eunuch Cao.
He was simply the perfect candidate!
Yi Zhonghai had tried several times to adopt Cao Yuan as his godson, but each time he got close, Cao Yuan subtly pushed him away.
Want him to take care of him in his old age? No way!
It was normal to worry about old age care without descendants.
But Cao Yuan would never stoop to scheming against others for old age care.
If anything happened, he would not only not help Yi Zhonghai but would also cause him trouble.
Previously, when Jia Zhangshi wanted to seize his uncle’s inheritance, Yi Zhonghai actually sided with the Jia family, allowing the inheritance to fall into their hands.
How could Cao Yuan show him any good face?
He could temporarily keep this matter to himself, but that didn’t mean he had forgotten it!
Yi Zhonghai looked at Cao Yuan’s indifferent demeanor and began to ponder.
“This kid is really difficult, much harder to deal with than Sha Zhu.”
Cao Yuan paid no attention to what Yi Zhonghai was thinking.
“Oh, Second Uncle!”
Cao Yuan immediately saw the chubby Liu Haizhong.
He was currently stern-faced, with one hand behind his back and the other holding a teacup, nose in the air, pretending to survey the Courtyard.
As soon as Cao Yuan saw Liu Haizhong’s behavior, he understood.
This old fellow was putting on his official airs again.
Liu Haizhong was a fitter, not even a sixth-grade one, and was one rank below Yi Zhonghai. He wasn’t particularly capable but loved to play the official.
However, today, Liu Haizhong uncharacteristically forced a smile and came forward to greet him.
“Cao Yuan, after dinner, do you have time to come to my house for a bit? Shall we play a game of chess?”
He glanced at the fat chicken Cao Yuan was carrying, a hint of envy flashing in his eyes.
His enthusiasm today actually had other intentions.
Liu Haizhong was a complete official-obsessive, single-mindedly wanting to climb the ranks, even if it meant breaking his head to get an official position.
Recently, he had been trying to get close to the middle-level cadres at the Hongxing Steel Rolling Plant, but who paid him any attention during work?
After work, everyone was cultured, drinking tea and playing chess, so how could an uncultured person like him fit in?
He could only stare enviously.
So, he knew that Cao Yuan was the most educated person in the Courtyard and decided to ask Cao Yuan to teach him chess.
“Alright, Second Uncle, I’ll definitely go when I have time!”
Cao Yuan agreed with a smile.
He didn’t have a good impression of this Second Uncle.
Although this old man loved to be an official, he was incompetent and never accomplished anything significant in his life.
He believed in “no pain, no gain” but was particularly doting on his eldest son, Liu Guangqi, while constantly beating and scolding his second son, Liu Guangtian, and third son, Liu Guangfu.
At home, he, Second Aunt, and his eldest son would eat the best parts first, and the rest would be given to the other two sons.
If Liu Guangtian or Liu Guangfu were disobedient, he would give them a severe beating.
Ultimately, this led to unloving parents and unfilial children, ending in tragedy.
In the original novel, this couple should have enjoyed their old age, but instead, they were neglected and ignored.
Cao Yuan knew that Liu Haizhong was being so polite now because he had taken an interest in him.
Normally, he didn’t pay Cao Yuan any mind at all.
In his opinion, Cao Yuan had no real ability apart from being somewhat educated.
If it weren’t for the inheritance and good job left by his uncle, he wouldn’t be living this kind of life now.
Not to mention, he was also a born Eunuch Cao!
Ultimately, he was still doing quite well now.
As he got older, he would only become more miserable.
Unlike himself, all three sons, raised with a strict hand since childhood, were quite successful.
Especially his eldest son, Liu Guangqi, who was now a minor leader at another factory.
This made Liu Haizhong extremely proud, and he couldn’t wait to show off to everyone he met!
Jia Zhangshi had been secretly watching all of this from outside her window.
Seeing Cao Yuan carrying a plump big rooster and chatting happily with First Master Yi Zhonghai and Second Uncle Liu Haizhong for a long time, Jia Zhangshi’s anger flared up instantly!
She immediately gritted her teeth and started to curse.
“It’s not even a holiday, why is he eating chicken! This scoundrel, eating so well! Doesn’t he worry about choking to death?!”
“Eating so well, and he doesn’t even know to share a little with us! He inherited so much, and he doesn’t even know to give us a little! He’s simply an ungrateful wretch!”
Ever since she failed to get the Cao Min family’s inheritance, Jia Zhangshi didn’t know how many times she had cursed Cao Yuan to die in her heart!
Jia Dongxu’s legs were crippled, and he lay in bed, unable to see what was happening outside.
But as soon as he heard his mother say that, he immediately joined in the jeering.
“This kind of person, he should be a born Eunuch Cao! Hahahaha!”
“No descendants, this is heaven punishing him!”
While cursing Cao Yuan, Jia Dongxu actually laughed so hard that tears came out.
Ever since he became paralyzed, Jia Dongxu’s mind had slowly become twisted.
He became suspicious and prone to jealousy.
He constantly, for no reason, suspected Qin Huairu of having affairs with other men behind his back!
Especially Sha Zhu!
However, regarding Cao Yuan, Jia Dongxu wasn’t intimidated at all.
In fact, because Cao Yuan was an Eunuch Cao, it gave him a sense of superiority.
Although he was paralyzed, he still had three children: Bang梗, Huaihua, and Xiao Dang.
He was considered to have both sons and daughters!
And while Cao Yuan was physically healthy, he was impotent in that regard!
He simply couldn’t compare to himself!
At this time, Cao Yuan had already initiated the Great Might Heavenly Dragon Divine Skill, and his hearing was much better.
He was originally in a good mood and didn’t want to bother with this mother and son.
But as soon as he heard Jia Dongxu curse him to have no descendants, Cao Yuan couldn’t suppress his anger anymore.
He had just found a way to recover, and Jia Dongxu was cursing him to have no descendants behind his back?
Immediately, Cao Yuan channeled all of his Tianlong True Energy into two fingers.
An invisible surge of energy.
Whoosh! It shot out from between his fingers, heading straight for Jia Dongxu lying on the bed.
“Oh my god!”
“Slow down! It hurts… it hurts so much!”
Jia Dongxu suddenly felt as if he had been violently pushed by something.
He completely lost his balance and fell to the ground!
The pain made him scream uncontrollably!
Hearing Jia Dongxu’s miserable cries, Cao Yuan finally walked on towards his own house, satisfied.
As he approached his doorstep, Third Master Yan Fugui was already waiting there, pretending to stretch and exercise.
As soon as Cao Yuan returned, someone enthusiastically came up to him and said, “You’re finally back! Oh, you bought a big rooster today, how thoughtful!”
“You go ahead and get busy, I’ll go call Yu Li to help you.”
At this moment, seeing Yan Fugui standing at the door, rubbing his hands and shivering from the cold, Cao Yuan felt both helpless and amused.
Ah, this old man Yan Fugui, just to scheme for those little things, stood outside for a long time in the dead of winter, looking like a punching bag.
Would you say he was clever or foolish?
Cao Yuan simply responded casually, pushed open the door, and entered the house.
At that time, no one had the habit of locking their doors. If a family locked their door, they would instead be gossiped about by the neighbors, accused of not trusting everyone.
Over the years, only Sha Zhu’s family, due to their soft-heartedness, occasionally had Bang梗, desperate from hunger, steal some food. No one had ever lost anything valuable.
So, not locking doors became an unwritten rule in their Courtyard, and Cao Yuan followed suit without giving it much thought.
Entering his home, he put down his things, added some coal to the stove, and poured himself a cup of hot water to drink.
After drinking, he felt the urge to go to the toilet, so he walked towards the outhouse outside.
At that time, there wasn’t even a private bathroom in the Courtyard. The front, middle, and back Courtyards shared one outhouse, and everyone had to go there.
Cao Yuan mused that it was really inconvenient not to have a toilet at home.
He had barely taken a few steps out the door when he saw Xu Damao from next door also coming out.
Seeing Cao Yuan heading towards the outhouse, he quickly followed, patted Cao Yuan’s shoulder, and said with a beaming smile, “Brother, going to the toilet?” “Come on, let’s go together!” In fact, Xu Damao wasn’t in a hurry at all then; he just followed because he saw Cao Yuan going.
He just wanted to go to the toilet with Cao Yuan.
Cao Yuan saw through his act immediately.
As a neighbor, he knew that Xu Damao was a film projectionist, seemingly very glamorous on the surface.
But ever since Lou Xiao'e couldn’t get pregnant, Xu Damao’s mind had become twisted. He found everyone displeasing, but he was exceptionally good to Cao Yuan.
However, this “goodness” was all fake.
Why? Because Xu Damao knew that Cao Yuan was naturally infertile.
He couldn’t have children himself, but he never thought he had a problem, always believing it was Lou Xiao'e’s fault.
He envied everyone, but with Cao Yuan, he could find a strange sense of superiority.