Siheyuan: The Whole Courtyard Smells of Food, and the Brutes Beg Me

Reborn in the famine years, the whole compound expects me to starve to death so they can divide up my room. Instead, I awaken the ability to read minds. Qin Huairu’s schemes, Yi Zhonghai’s hypocrisy: I hear every word!

I pedal a handcart collecting scrap, eat meat once every three days, and let the aroma of food fill the whole compound.

The beasts’ eyes turn green with hunger as they come begging. I sneer: “Borrow grain? Sure. First get on your knees and cough up the sweet potatoes you stole from me last year!”