Love letters are not allowed in the exorcism notebook!-Chapter 126: To Promise Everything and Deliver Little is a Kind of Wisdom

Nowadays, Wang Yunxiao and his group no longer cook in the canteen.

With several tens of kilos of food coupons and meat coupons in their pockets, who would still want to eat those things from the canteen?

It wasn’t suitable to always go to Chen Yan’s house either. With more than ten people crowding into her small storefront every day, the neighbors would inevitably gossip if it went on for too long.

Wang Yunxiao and his friends didn’t care about such things, but they also didn’t want to cause trouble for Old Man Chen.

After looking around, they finally settled on setting up their cooking spot in the Meng Family courtyard.

Even though Lv’er had left, the card market he had left behind was still there.

For the people of Tianmen, who lacked other forms of entertainment, the card market was like a hardy weed.

The wild fire can’t burn it all, and it springs back up as soon as the spring breeze blows.

Making money or not was different from whether it could exist or not.

The foundation for the card market’s existence was having a quiet and undisturbed place where everyone could relax and fully engage in the business of playing cards. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

In the past, it definitely wouldn’t have worked out; there had to be loafers maintaining the place and collecting protection money. You say you don’t need them? That wouldn’t be possible, as other loafers would come looking for trouble.

Everyone loved to play cards, but not everyone who enjoyed playing cards was a good person.

There were the cheaters with poor card ethics, the drunkards who loved to fight, and those who’d eaten their fill with nothing better to do coming to stir up trouble... all walks of life, with all types of people. Without someone backing the place, you wouldn’t even dare to breathe loudly, let alone play cards.

Now, Wang Yunxiao’s name was well-known within a ten-mile radius of the Nantong district. In the local streets and alleys, everyone knew him; he was a fearless hero without any obstructions.

Having no obstructions didn’t mean being unclothed.

To put it nicely, he was an open and honest person.

To put it less nicely, he didn’t follow rules or etiquette when doing things; he was overbearing and no one could restrain him once he lost his temper.

After the fight with the Du family brothers on the street, getting arrested, and then being released from the police station, the Du brothers disappeared. Some people guessed that he had a very powerful backer.

That was a laughable notion, since who in the underworld didn’t have some backing? Being able to avoid last year’s two rounds of "sweeping up the black and eradicating the evil," who didn’t have a strong enough background?

That’s why you can’t live in other people’s eyes.

The world is never short of nitpickers, no matter how well you do; even if you are a hoodlum, there will still be people talking about you behind your back. They’ll complain if your backing is too strong, accusing you of borrowing power and not being a true hero. Or they’ll complain if you have no backing, likening you to a pig trying to look like an elephant by sticking a leek on its nose.

Of course, these were all behind-the-scenes discussions.

Not one person dared to discuss Wang Yunxiao to his face.

Even the street near Qinghe Middle School, where Old Man Chen’s nut shop was located, and the area around the Meng Family courtyard, were regarded as Wang Yunxiao and his gang’s territory, with nobody daring to stir up trouble.

There were quite a few people carrying gifts, wanting to pay homage, but it was difficult to find them on normal days. Those who thought to block them at the school gate were scared away by the security uncle with the Wolf Fang Club.

The Meng Family courtyard was quiet and secluded enough. Madam Meng and her daughter were easy-going and amiable, as long as they were not disturbed during their rest at night, they did not mind anyone using the courtyard during the day.

Therefore, the card market remained. The neighborhood folks, young and old, would come here to play cards when they had free time during the day. If their homes had any fruit, rice, or flour, they would also bring some for Madam Meng and her daughter.

In the courtyard, among several side rooms, there were specific outhouses and a kitchen stove. Madam Meng and her daughter rarely ate at home and would have their meals at the church. Wang Yunxiao gave them a few kilos of food coupons and borrowed the kitchen, where Dumpling cooked a big pot of rice.

This big pot meal was called an iron pot stew in the Northeast region in later generations.

In restaurants, this dish was more refined and expensive, featuring either big geese or fish, or specialties like beef brisket, spare ribs, and free-range chicken...

In the past, people didn’t have those conditions.

A can of braised pork in the bottom of the pot was what we needed, with all that lard from the can lubricating the pan. As it came to a boil, we tossed in dried green beans, dried radish, cabbage, pumpkin, potatoes, and glass noodles, stirring everything together. With a little added water and some salt, we began to stew. Dough made from cornmeal paste lined the rim of the pot, and a layer of sorghum rice covered the vegetables.

This simple meal had instantly elevated our standard of living.

When Wang Yunxiao arrived, Dumpling had already prepared all the food, with generous portions served in large bowls for everyone—including Chen Yan and Little Gourd. Even the leftover bits stuck to the bottom of the pot weren’t wasted; just add some water and a dash of vinegar, and you’d have a pot of hot soup brewing.

Although cooking and tending the fire was exhausting, Dumpling was all smiles. To him, there was nothing more blissful in this world than cooking and eating.

Wang Yunxiao gave him a deep look.

If it were up to him to choose his own path, he probably wouldn’t take long to drop out of school, run off to some restaurant to apprentice, then slowly save up silver, and after becoming a master, he might even open his own restaurant... This was the most ordinary life trajectory for an ordinary person.

It did sound like a modest and certain kind of happiness.

Especially if he never saw his grandmother again.

While we were eating, Wang Yunxiao briefly told everyone about the situation at the police station.

When they heard the salary was actually twenty yuan per month, even Chen Yan’s eyes lit up.

Twenty yuan, think about it. The cost of tonight’s dinner, all in all, didn’t even amount to two yuan.

And that was enough to feed around ten people.

For an average family of three, if the breadwinner could earn twenty yuan a month, wouldn’t they be dining on fish and meat every meal?

What an immortal life that would be!

Wang Yunxiao glanced over the expressions on everyone’s faces and said seriously, "Don’t just think about the money. If someone is paying you twenty yuan, they definitely expect you to do twenty yuan’s worth of work. If we take this salary, we might often have to deal with dangerous demons, evil spirits, and other hazards. There could be a real danger to our lives—have you all forgotten what happened at Chen Yan’s house last time?"

Demons and evil spirits can’t be called human. They have lost their humanity, and it wouldn’t be surprising for them to commit any abhorrent and deranged act.

The incidents at school seemed at least controllable in comparison.

The Nantong District Police Department is responsible for the public safety of the entire district. Given such a large area, it’s hard to predict what we might encounter.

It could be green caterpillars, or it might be somersault clouds.

Reality never makes sense.

Youtiao wiped his mouth and said in a somber tone, "It’s not just about twenty yuan a month, it’s two hundred and forty for a year. We have fourteen people, so that’s two hundred and eighty a month. Over the course of a year, that adds up to three thousand three hundred sixty..."

He included Chen Yan in the count as well.

Chen Yan had no objections.

Three thousand three hundred sixty yuan, a staggering sum that could easily shatter the psychological defenses of everyone present.

Guozi slammed his bowl down on the table, "Damn right! Big brother, what are you hesitating for?"

Wang Yunxiao knew Guozi was right.

None of the men and women seated here felt their life was worth three thousand yuan.

Even those most fearful of death and cherishing life couldn’t find any excuse to convince themselves to refuse.

Youtiao sure knew how to crunch numbers.

He had wanted to say something more, but any words would seem hollow and powerless in the face of that number.

At such times, the human brain is no smarter than a monkey being tricked with the promise of more fruit.