Who Said I Had Good Stuff? Nonsense!

"Xiao Liang really did love reading, didn't he?"

"Yeah, he did go to middle school, after all."

"But why did he collect so many picture books? Was it to spare the children's feelings?"

"Probably. Xiao Liang was eighteen already, wasn't he? How could he still enjoy picture books?"

There weren't many new things happening these days, and everyone was actually pretty bored.

For the past few days, Liang Xin had become the courtyard's entertainment.

So whenever anything happened with him, everyone came out to watch the excitement!

And every one of them had a loud voice, too!

Liang Xin heard the neighbors' gossip as well. If his skin hadn't grown thicker and thicker from practice these past few days, he would have turned red from his face down to the roots of his neck.

What's wrong with me reading picture books!

Weren't picture books just storybooks!

Although they were mainly aimed at young children, some of them were meaningful classical stories!

They were just written in simpler language. Adults were actually quite suited to reading them too!

You could even learn some great truths from them!

Who said reading fiction couldn't teach you anything!

Hmph! Narrow-minded!

Hugging a huge stack of all kinds of picture books and textbooks, Liang Xin hurried back into his room.

No, I can't take it anymore. I can't stand the neighbors' stares.

If he stayed any longer, he'd be ready to crawl into a crack in the ground!

He tossed the books onto the kang and flipped through them at random.

He set aside the ones that seemed a little interesting.

He picked out five this way and put them in his own shabby little bag.

More precisely, it was a worn-out shoulder bag.

It was also the schoolbag this body of his had used since childhood.

But it was far too old and battered, with seven or eight patches on it!

He disliked it so much that he hadn't touched it once since being reborn.

But now it came in handy.

Otherwise, how tiring would it be to carry them in his hands?

More importantly, it would be far too embarrassing if people saw him holding a stack of picture books.

He could barely withstand the stares of a few neighboring households.

If it were everyone at his work unit staring instead, he didn't even dare imagine how terrible that would be!

Liang Xin picked up his schoolbag and got ready to go to work.

He was going back to his hometown for work today and wouldn't be back until tomorrow.

Five books should be enough to read.

Although they were all picture books with lots of illustrations and few words, so they were quick to read.

There were a whole five of them, after all!

Surely that would be enough!

Liang Xin had finished getting ready and was just about to leave for work when he heard someone at the door calling out to ask if Xiao Liang was home.

Of course he was home. Otherwise, who had just traded candy for the children's books?

All right, even when Liang Xin went to someone else's house and knew perfectly well they were home, he would still ask the same question to give them a heads-up.

That way, he wouldn't see anything he shouldn't.

What if he happened to catch a young couple who had suddenly decided the weather was nice today, couldn't restrain themselves, and were just about to explore the mysteries of life?

How awkward would that be?

Of course, if he caught an elderly couple suddenly going crazy instead, that would be even more awkward.

You could even call it terrifying.

"I'm here. Who is it?"

A woman walked in. It was his neighbor, Auntie Liu.

Liang Xin had just traded two pieces of candy for two of her child's picture books.

"Oh, it's Auntie Liu. Please, have a seat."

"I won't sit. I know it's almost time for you to go to work, so I won't keep you."

"I came this time..."

Auntie Liu hesitated, then continued, still a little embarrassed:

"Xiao Liang, I heard someone say you might be able to get your hands on some good stuff, like eggs and meat."

Liang Xin froze, shocked!

Who said that! How could they go around saying things like that!

What kind of times were these? Talking nonsense could get someone killed!

Oh, getting someone killed might be going too far, but a little bit of food really could affect someone's job!

"Xiao Liang, don't misunderstand. It wasn't Xiao Zhu and her husband who said it."

"It's just... ah, I'll be straight with you. Our courtyard is only so big. When one family cooks, the neighbors can smell it..."

"So everyone actually has a guess about what you've been eating these past two days!"

Liang Xin breathed a sigh of relief. So his goddess hadn't betrayed him. Good, good.

Still, Auntie Liu had quite a sharp nose!

It was one thing to smell the meat, but she could even smell the eggs?

"Xiao Liang, I won't beat around the bush. If you can get eggs and meat and things like that, could you spare me a little? Mm, I don't mind paying a higher price!"

"I was too embarrassed to ask at first, but the children at home really aren't getting enough nutrition, so..."

Liang Xin thought it over and decided it wasn't out of the question.

Given the attitude of everyone in the courtyard, especially that big brother's attitude when he beat his child just now.

He was willing to help these honest, kindhearted neighbors!

Secondly, he also wanted to make some money.

Although the level-five system gave him 2.4 yuan a day now.

With his wages from work added in, his monthly income had already reached ninety yuan!

For an ordinary person in this era, that was a high income they wouldn't even dare imagine.

But he was used to spending money with a free hand.

Even 2.4 yuan a day somehow seemed a little short!

Never mind anything else, how much did one or two packs of special-supply cigarettes a day cost?

He also ate one or two jin of meat a day. How much was that?

Could he eat nothing but meat, with no rice or vegetables, and not buy firewood, rice, oil, or salt?

Everything cost money!

Besides, he still wanted to own a small courtyard house!