My happy life in a courtyard house with triplets.

Chapter 233: Encountering the Yu Sisters While Fishing

Zhang Lei felt he had caught enough fish, so he got up, packed up his fishing rod, looked down at the bucket full of fish, then looked up at Yu Li and Yu Haitang beside him. He picked out a fish of medium size from the bucket, threaded a straw rope through its mouth, and handed it to the lively Yu Haitang, saying with a smile, "This fish is for you."

The two sisters stared at his actions in astonishment. Yu Haitang looked up at Zhang Lei, her face filled with disbelief: "You're really willing to give me the fish?"

"Can't you see this bucket is almost overflowing?" Zhang Lei said with a smile, pointing to the bucket. "Maybe when I'm riding my bike later, a fish will flip over and jump out. If you take this one, you'll be helping me out."

Yu Haitang still looked incredulous. Just as Yu Li was about to refuse, she reached out and took the fish from Zhang Lei's hand, her eyes crinkling with a smile: "Thank you, brother!"

"You're welcome." Zhang Lei smiled, picked up the bucket, and was about to leave.

Yu Li looked embarrassed and asked softly, "Comrade, may I ask your name?"

"My name is Zhang Lei, and I'm a purchasing agent at Hongxing Steel Rolling Mill," Zhang Lei replied, looking at her.

Upon learning his name, Yu Li was even more grateful: "Comrade Zhang Lei, thank you. My name is Yu Li."

"Hello, Comrade Yu Li." Zhang Lei smiled, pointed to the bucket full of fish, stepped onto his bicycle, and said, "I'll be going now. See you again sometime."

Yu Li smiled and nodded: "Goodbye."

Yu Haitang then called out loudly and generously, "Goodbye, Brother Zhang Lei! Thank you for the fish!"

Zhang Lei smiled and waved at her lively demeanor before riding away on his bicycle. On the way, he weighed the bucket in his hand, thought for a moment, and then simply stored the bucket and fish together in his personal storage space. He didn't have many resources left in his space, and his plans to exchange supplies on the black market and elsewhere had all fallen through. Zhang Lei couldn't help but complain about the unreliability of the system. He had promised to provide supplies to the factory, but now he had to find a new way. He also regretted making such a bold promise; who knew what Li Huaide would say next?

But then Zhang Lei breathed a sigh of relief. He figured he could deal with whatever came his way. Since he hadn't signed a written agreement with Li Huaide, he could always find another solution. He couldn't let himself be driven to despair. Soon, he put the worry out of his mind.

As luck would have it, Zhang Lei had just arrived at the courtyard gate when he bumped into He Daqing, who was beaming with joy. Looking at He Daqing, he asked with a smile, "Uncle He, what good thing happened that makes you so happy?"

"Zhang Lei, where have you been?" He Daqing asked with a smile.

"I went fishing at Houhai for a while," Zhang Lei replied.

He Daqing glanced at his empty basket, but didn't ask any further questions. He just smiled and said, "Fishing is good, fishing is good, it cultivates one's character."

Zhang Lei didn't immediately understand what he meant, and then pointed to what he was holding: "Uncle He, what are you holding? It looks quite precious."

Upon hearing this, He Daqing laughed even more heartily, waving the paper in his hand: "This is the housing allocation certificate the factory issued to me!"

"A housing allocation certificate?" Zhang Lei looked surprised. "Uncle He, didn't you already own a house?"

"That house was transferred to Zhuzi and Yushui's names a long time ago. I don't own a single house now." He Daqing waved his hand. "But after I married Qin Huairu, the original house wasn't enough, so I got a certificate from the factory leaders, thinking of getting another house."

"So you're moving out?" Zhang Lei asked, puzzled.

"No need, no need," He Daqing quickly shook his head. "I've already spoken with Director Wang of the neighborhood office, and we'll exchange the allocated house for one of our courtyard houses."

Zhang Lei was even more puzzled: "Uncle He, aren't you going to take the long way around? Our compound isn't close to the textile factory where you work."

"Hey, it's nothing. Running back and forth is good exercise." He Daqing laughed heartily.

"Then you'll need to get a bicycle. A new one won't do, but a used one will do. It'll be more convenient to get around," Zhang Lei advised.

"You're right," He Daqing nodded. "It's just that I've been too busy lately and haven't had time to think about it. Once I've settled the house matter, I'll get one."

Zhang Lei leaned closer and asked in a low voice, "Uncle He, has the apartment the factory allocated to you been decided on, and where it is?"

He Daqing looked around and lowered his voice, "I'm telling you, but you absolutely mustn't tell anyone else."

"Don't worry, I'm very tight-lipped," Zhang Lei quickly assured him.

He Daqing then whispered in his ear, "It's those two empty rooms in the courtyard, the one with the deaf old lady."

"Those two rooms where the deaf old lady lived?" Zhang Lei asked, his face full of surprise. "Uncle He, she just passed away. Aren't you afraid to live in those rooms?"

"What's there to be afraid of?" He Daqing waved his hand, looking quite nonchalant. "I came from the old society, and I've seen far more dead people than this. Besides, in Beijing, where hasn't someone died? There's nothing to be afraid of."

"Uncle He is truly generous," Zhang Lei praised with a smile.

"You little rascal, stop making fun of your Uncle He." He Daqing patted his shoulder with a smile.

The two chatted as they walked, and soon arrived at the central courtyard. Zhang Lei greeted He Daqing and then went into the east wing, while He Daqing took the housing allocation certificate and went home excitedly.

As soon as he opened the door, He Daqing saw Qin Huairu busy cleaning the room and quickly stepped forward to stop her: "Huairu, stop working and take a break."

"Da Qing, I'm not tired. This little bit of work is nothing," Qin Huairu said with a smile as she straightened up.

Seeing how diligent she was, He Daqing smiled and waved, "Alright, you've almost finished. Come here, let me show you our family's housing certificate."

Upon hearing that the housing allocation certificate had been issued, Qin Huairu's face lit up with joy, and she quickly walked over: "Really? Let me see it!"

"Of course it's true." He Daqing handed her the paper. "We'll go to the neighborhood office to find Director Wang later and finalize the two rooms for the deaf old lady. Then we'll have a spacious house to live in."

Qin Huairu looked at the housing allocation certificate in her hand, beaming with joy and nodding repeatedly.

On the other side, as soon as Zhang Lei entered the east courtyard, he took out four fish from his personal space. The largest one weighed about five pounds, and the other three weighed about two pounds each. Looking at the lifeless fish, Zhang Lei felt a little annoyed. He had only put them in his space for convenience and had forgotten that fish would die from lack of oxygen once inside. However, he thought it didn't matter, as the fish had just died and were still fresh.

He carried the fish into the house, and Ye Shuqin saw them immediately, her face full of amazement: "Honey, did you catch all of these?"

"Of course, isn't that amazing?" Zhang Lei smiled and waved the fish in his hand.

Ye Shuqin happily reached out to take it, only to find it was dead when she touched its body. She exclaimed in surprise, "Husband, how did all these fish die?"

"Hey, I was so busy filling the buckets that I forgot to fill them with water. We were all suffocating from all the bumpy ride," Zhang Lei casually made up an excuse.