Chapter 88: Throwing Coal Balls

After seeing his family off, Xiao Weiguo returned to the house. For a moment, he found himself with nothing to do. In this era, there was no such thing as a mobile phone to pass the time; once a person had nothing to occupy themselves, boredom became overwhelming.

Thinking ahead to dinner, he decided to light the coal stove and cook something at home. Xiao Weiguo stepped outside to fetch a few coal briquettes. As he picked them up, something seemed off—the briquettes beneath the window looked fewer than before.

He double-checked; indeed, two stacks were missing. Each stack held eight briquettes, meaning sixteen coal briquettes had vanished.

Ever since he gained access to the space, Xiao Weiguo’s memory had sharpened. Although he’d only glanced at his coal pile a few times, he remembered exactly how many there were.

He pondered the situation. It seemed that, having been away for so long, the tenants in the courtyard had helped themselves to his coal.

How to resolve this was a question. If there were women in the house, he could simply curse loudly in the courtyard. But men generally wouldn’t stoop to such behavior. That was why the previous mistress of the house had been so fierce—without assertiveness, the family's interests would inevitably be eroded, and increasingly so.

Just like now: if Xiao Weiguo discovered the theft and did nothing, people would only become bolder, taking advantage of him again and again.

His first thought went to the Elder, but the Elder was not yet off work. He’d have to wait until the Elder, Liu Qingchang, returned, then raise the issue with him.

Resolving to do just that, Xiao Weiguo carried on with his own affairs. He took an intact coal briquette to Aunt Tian Guixiang’s house in the central courtyard, exchanging it for one half-burned, to light his own stove.

He asked Aunt Tian when Elder Liu Qingchang would typically come home. Tian Guixiang, busy helping her son and daughter-in-law care for two grandchildren, was almost always at home.

In truth, Xiao Weiguo was closest with Aunt Tian and Elder Liu in the courtyard. The new neighbor in the rear—a female worker from Sichuan-Chongqing—he’d only met once, and had little interaction with the others.

Clearly, if he wanted to settle in this courtyard, he’d have to invest some effort in neighborly relations.

Carrying the half-burned coal briquette with tongs, he returned home, placed the borrowed piece at the bottom of the stove, then stacked the intact briquettes on top, half-opening the draft. Soon, he’d be able to cook.

Truth be told, Xiao Weiguo felt uneasy. Someone had stolen from him—he couldn’t just pretend nothing had happened.

He was determined to make the culprit pay.

As he waited for the stove to heat up, Xiao Weiguo manipulated his space with his thoughts; everything in the space was growing well.

All he had to do was wait.

He used to worry about selling the resources from the space, but the discovery of the grass hut warehouse on the mountain relieved that concern.

The warehouse seemed unusually large—as if it could hold an endless amount of goods.

This meant he could store everything, then during the three-year period, gradually release the goods. He could sell them at high prices for greater profit, and use them to rescue those starving.

His main task now was to establish himself in the city, to fully integrate into life in the capital.

While pondering this, Xiao Weiguo noticed Elder Liu Qingchang had returned to the rear courtyard and gone inside. He quickly tidied up and headed to the Elder’s house.

Elder Liu had two rooms in the rear courtyard—he and his wife, along with their younger son, lived in one, while their eldest son and his family lived in the other.

Xiao Weiguo knocked: “Elder, are you home? I’m Xiao Weiguo.”

The Elder opened the door, puzzled, and invited Xiao Weiguo inside. “It’s Weiguo, is it? Have you eaten yet? Your Aunt just finished cooking—why not join us?”

Xiao Weiguo closed the door, wondering how to begin. People from later generations were often thin-skinned—reporting such a trivial matter to an elder made him feel a little embarrassed.

But having come this far, he spoke: “Elder, as you know, I’ve been away for over ten days. Today, I found sixteen coal briquettes missing from my pile. What should I do?”

“Missing briquettes? Are you sure, Weiguo? These people—always up to such tasteless things. Where’s the model for courtyard living now?” The Elder was indignant.

“Here’s what we’ll do: after dinner, we’ll hold a meeting for the entire courtyard. We must root out the thief!”

“Weiguo, go notify all the households. Or perhaps you don’t know all the residents yet?”

He called into the house, “Erli, come here a moment.”

A young man, about eighteen or nineteen, emerged, looking puzzled. Elder Liu pointed at him: “This is my second son, Liu Erli. Weiguo, let Erli accompany you as you notify all the courtyard residents—tell them there will be a meeting at six-thirty.”

“I’ll go to the front and central courtyards myself to inform your Second and Third Aunties of the situation.”

It seemed Liu Erli was experienced in such matters; he promptly took Xiao Weiguo around, skipping only the homes Elder Liu would notify himself. Together, they visited every household.

Xiao Weiguo used the opportunity to gain a rough understanding of the courtyard’s residents.

This courtyard was managed by three elders—Elder Liu in the rear, and Second and Third Aunties in the central and front courtyards. It was a matriarchal setup.

“Erli, that household we just visited has eight people living in one room,” Xiao Weiguo remarked as they made their rounds.

Erli replied, “That’s nothing—the courtyard even has ten people in a single room. Even my family: I live with my parents in one room, which feels cramped. My brother’s family of five lives next door. My eldest sister married out, but her family of six lives together, too.”

“Everyone’s short on housing these days. Having a place to live is a blessing; without a house, many are sent back to the countryside.”

Indeed, Xiao Weiguo was seeing things through the lens of later times, when housing was abundant and the average living space per person exceeded forty square meters.

The two finished notifying the entire courtyard. For those not at home, they informed neighbors to pass along the message.

When asked why the meeting was being held, they simply said the reason would be revealed at the meeting—lest the coal thief learn in advance and take action.

They discovered some households didn’t care much for Elder Liu’s orders, treating Erli and Xiao Weiguo rudely. The courtyard was not as harmonious as imagined.

While waiting for the meeting, Xiao Weiguo had no appetite to cook or eat. He took from his space a piece of cooked beef and a dish of peanuts, paired with white steamed buns, and made do with a meal.

At six-thirty sharp, at least one person from each household gathered in the rear courtyard’s open space, curious about what Elder Liu had in store.