My happy life in a courtyard house with triplets.

Chapter 111: Zhang Lei's smugness

While Zhang Lei and Ye Shuqin were talking, they suddenly looked up at the same time and found that a number of people had been standing at the door of the room.

Zhang Lei paused for a moment, then immediately stood up, looked at the neighbors in the courtyard, and greeted them with a smile, "Aunties, ladies, what brings you all here...?"

Before he could finish speaking, an older woman stepped out from the crowd, her face filled with barely concealed curiosity, and asked, "Zhang Lei, who are those people who came just now? They look quite wealthy, and they even drove over in a car. That's a rare sight."

The second aunt also joined in, sizing Zhang Lei up and down while peeking into the house, her tone full of gossip: "Yeah, yeah, Zhang Lei, look at their clothes, the material is obviously high-class, they're definitely not ordinary people from around here. What's your relationship with them? Are they some important figures you used to know?"

The neighbors chimed in, asking questions all at once, their eyes filled with curiosity and envy, and the house suddenly became lively.

Zhang Lei looked at the people at the gate of the courtyard. Although they were all talking to him, his eyes couldn't help but dart towards the table inside the house.

Zhang Lei was amused by their envious looks and felt a surge of pride. He quickly smiled and said, "Everyone, please come inside, find some benches to sit down, have a drink of water, and I'll answer your questions one by one."

At this moment, the third woman stepped out from the crowd, her eyes fixed on the items on the table. She asked in surprise, "Zhang Lei, are all these for you? So many nice things!"

Zhang Lei nodded with a smile, deliberately raising his voice to say, "Yes, Auntie, these are all good stuff. The wine on this table is Moutai and Wuliangye, both top-quality liquors, much more expensive than the cheap stuff Uncle drinks, and it's not diluted with water."

Hearing Zhang Lei's teasing, the third aunt blushed and said reproachfully, "Zhang Lei, what kind of blunt truth are you spouting?"

Just then, another neighbor stared at the fabric on the table, looked at Zhang Lei hesitantly, and asked cautiously, "Zhang Lei, this fabric... can I touch it?"

Zhang Lei nodded and said generously, "Yes, this is top-quality silk."

Upon hearing that they could touch it, everyone rushed over, reaching out to feel the silky smooth texture. After touching it, they looked at their rough palms, their faces showing a hint of embarrassment.

At this moment, someone couldn't help but exclaim, "Such fine material! If it were made into clothes, how beautiful they would look!"

Zhang Lei replied with a smile, "This kind of fabric is usually used to make cheongsams. In the past, it was a material specially made for the daughters and ladies of high-ranking officials and noble families."

Upon hearing this, the crowd erupted in uproar. Although they couldn't pinpoint the exact price, the mere mention of something that only the most powerful figures of the past could afford made their gazes toward the fabric burn with even more intense longing and envy.

At this moment, Ye Shuqin, who was standing next to Zhang Lei, looked at the pastries in the center of the table and said curiously, "Honey, why are these pastries so strange?"

Zhang Lei looked at the pastries on the table and explained with a smile, "Honey, the one on the left is called ryeba, which is a Russian pastry. It's basically a type of bread that can be stored for quite a while; the one on the right is a French pastry called macaron."

Although the macarons on the table didn't have as many varieties as in later generations, they already had the basic shape of macarons.

After hearing this, Ye Shuqin's eyes sparkled, and she looked at Zhang Lei with admiration, saying, "Honey, you know so much."

Zhang Lei secretly rejoiced, for these were all things he had eaten and seen in his previous life, and that's how he learned their names and origins.

The crowd gathered around the table, looking at the rare pastries. Some people wanted to reach out and touch them, but then they all pulled back, afraid that Zhang Lei might accidentally break them.

Just then, the sharp-eyed Auntie Er suddenly noticed the red envelope on the red cloth table. Her eyes lit up immediately, and she raised her voice, saying, "Oh, Zhang Lei, they even prepared a red envelope for you!"

At this moment, Zhang Lei picked up the red envelope and opened it in front of everyone.

To everyone's surprise, Zhang Lei was stunned when he opened it, clearly taken aback by the thickness inside.

He originally thought that even if Lou Bancheng was being polite, giving him a hundred yuan would be enough. Who knew that there was a thick wad of banknotes in the red envelope, and after counting them, he found that there were a full five hundred yuan!

The onlookers were stunned when they saw the thick stack of money; their mouths dropped open and their eyes widened. The room fell silent instantly.

Just as everyone was in shock, Ye Shuqin suddenly noticed two more tickets falling out of the red envelope. She quickly picked them up and held them in her hand, saying with some confusion, "Honey, look at this."

Zhang Lei leaned closer to take a look and found that it was a sewing ticket and a watch ticket.

Zhang Lei said with a smile, "Honey, you'll have chores to do at home from now on."

Ye Shuqin paused for a moment, then asked curiously, "What kind of work is this?"

Zhang Lei pointed to the two tickets and patiently explained, "These are sewing machine tickets. We can use them sometime to buy a sewing machine for home. It will be much more convenient for you to do your sewing and mending."

Ye Shuqin looked at another ticket and asked curiously, "Master, what kind of ticket is this?"

Zhang Lei looked at it and said with a smile, "This is a watch ticket, and it's a ticket for a specific Shanghai brand watch."

Hearing Zhang Lei's words, Ye Shuqin was somewhat surprised and couldn't help but say, "Buying these two things must cost a lot of money, right?"

Zhang Lei nodded and said, "Wife, now I know why there was so much money in the red envelope. This is the money we need to buy a sewing machine and a watch."

Ye Shuqin was still somewhat doubtful and said softly, "Is that so?"

Zhang Lei pretended to be dissatisfied and said, "Hey, why does Lao Lou do all this fancy stuff? It would be so much better if he just bought the sewing machine and watch and delivered them to our home."

Hearing Zhang Lei's Versailles-like words, everyone couldn't help but show expressions of envy, jealousy, and resentment.

After everyone had seen enough, an older woman couldn't help but ask, looking at Zhang Lei, "Zhang Lei, what's your relationship with those people who came?"

Zhang Lei smiled and said, "It's nothing. You know Lou Bancheng, right? He used to be the boss of Hongxing Steel Rolling Mill."

Everyone was startled, since most of the residents of the courtyard house were families of steel mill workers. One of them quickly said, "Was that Lou Bancheng who just came?"

Zhang Lei nodded and said, "Yes. Well, I happened to save his daughter, and she came to thank me. You know, I'm so lucky. I just went out and saved someone, and the person I saved was Lou Bancheng's daughter. You know, I didn't even give her my address, and she just delivered the things to me and said she'd give me six more jobs. I don't know whether I should accept it or not."