Courtyard House: Starting as an engineer, crushing a yard full of poultry

“My dad, Yu Li, has a job now. Her household registration is in the city. And she even has her own house! Tsk tsk, after I marry her, we won’t have to squeeze into the house anymore.”

Yan Jiecheng paced back and forth, making Yan Bugui's eyes blurry.

"Yan Jiecheng, you better behave yourself and think it through. Yu Li has nothing to do with you," Yan Bugui said irritably.

Chapter Forty-Five: Jia Zhangshi's Summoning of the Soul (Thanks to everyone who voted and threw flowers! Thank you!!)

"I know why she looks down on me. It's definitely because she knows she has a job and can get an apartment in the city. So she looks down on me, who has no job," Yan Jiecheng said hastily.

"If that work is done well, there will definitely be no problem."

Yan Bugui hesitated for a moment, considering the comparison between expenses and income, and then said, "If you have a job, will you be able to handle Yu Li?"

"Of course! Look how handsome he is," Yan Jiecheng said with a smile. "Once he gets a job, how could he not win over Yu Li! And they'll be living in the same courtyard. There will be so many opportunities!"

"Yes, you're right. If you marry Yu Li, then both of you will be earning salaries. And Yu Li's house will definitely belong to our Yan family. This is a good deal," Yan Bugui said.

“I’ll go find Yi Zhonghai right now and give him a hundred yuan as a gift. But this money will be credited to you. You’ll have to pay it back with interest later.”

"Okay, okay. I agree, alright? From now on, Yu Li and I will work and earn money, paying you back this little bit won't be difficult," Yan Jiecheng said hastily.

Li Xiangdong and Li Huaide arrived at the central courtyard, chatting and laughing. Jia Zhangshi was wearing a headscarf, and even her eyebrows were scraggly, making her look incredibly ugly.

When Jia Zhangshi saw Li Huaide come over, she hurriedly rushed over.

"Director Li, let me tell you..." Jia Zhangshi spoke with great enthusiasm, causing Li Huaide to hurriedly take two steps back.

"What do you want? Let the people in your family who work at the steel mill speak!" Li Huaide frowned and said.

"Mother-in-law, come back quickly." Qin Huairu came out of the house.

"Go back? What are you talking about? How can we live like this with our whole family living in one house? Banggeng is almost grown up. Can he still live with us?" Jia Zhangshi roared.

"I've had my eye on those three rooms in the back for a while now, but surely I should get one today? Just give me one..."

Li Huaide laughed in anger: "Qin Huairu, keep your family in check. Don't let them cause you any trouble!"

Li Xiangdong shook his head and left with Li Huaide. Yu Li and Yu Dajiang followed behind.

"Mom, if you do this, aren't you afraid I'll lose my job? He's the factory manager!" Qin Huairu wanted to kill Jia Zhangshi.

"What? You blame me too? I did this for your son!" Madam Jia plopped down on the ground, slapping her thighs and wailing, "My God! Old Jia! Dongxu! You two come up and see..."

Yi Zhonghai was also standing at the door, wanting to say a few words to Director Li. But he didn't get the chance and had to watch Li Huaide leave through the hanging flower gate with a smile.

Hearing Jia Zhangshi still calling for the soul, Yi Zhonghai felt a surge of anger rising within him. He took a few steps to Jia Zhangshi, raised his hand, and slapped her twice across the face.

Two loud cracking sounds rang out, causing Jia Zhangshi's head to shake violently from side to side. The headscarf fell to the ground, revealing her head, which looked like a peeled duck egg.

After a moment of stunned silence, Jia Zhangshi struggled to get up from the ground, still cursing, "Yi Zhonghai, you old bastard, how dare you hit me! I'll..."

"Hitting you is too lenient. Do you want me to send you to live in the cowshed on the street?" Yi Zhonghai kicked Jia Zhangshi, who was trying to get up, to the ground. "Are you still trying to summon a spirit? Are you trying to throw away the advanced compound?"

Jia Zhangshi's lip was broken, and blood was flowing down her lip. She was stunned by what Yi Zhonghai said.

Yan Bugui happened to walk over and said to Jia Zhangshi with a gloomy face, "Jia Zhangshi, if you really lose the cash compound, you have to compensate everyone for their losses!"

"Old Yi beat you up for your own good. Otherwise, it would have been much better to just send you to the cowshed!"

Yi Zhonghai pulled out two large pens, and the nameless anger in his heart subsided considerably. He had just been ignored in the front yard. Yi Zhonghai felt he had been utterly insulted.

"Mrs. Jia, I'm doing this for your own good. Remember this: never summon a spirit, no matter the time!" Yi Zhonghai roared. "Do you understand?"

Jia Zhangshi nodded blankly: "I remember, I remember."

"Go back! You were just about to throw a tantrum at Director Li. Are you afraid Huai Ru will be too comfortable at the factory?" Yi Zhonghai said angrily. "If you make Huai Ru lose her job, will your whole family go to hell?"

Dragon 71

Fly 72

Deer 9

Small 11

say 9

"You're a real pig! You're throwing a tantrum without even looking at who you're talking to!"

Seeing that things had gone too far, Yan Bugui immediately pulled Yi Zhonghai aside and said, "Old Yi, let it go. Just teach him a lesson. If he does it again, call for reinforcements."

Jia Zhangshi was so frightened that she nodded repeatedly and was pulled home by Qin Huairu.

Yan Bugui arrived at Yi Zhonghai's house, but before he could even mention Yan Jiecheng's job, Yi Zhonghai frowned and said, "Sigh, before, only Li Xiangdong was a troublemaker who wouldn't submit to our management. Now, I guess there's another one. That Yu Dajiang has gotten close to Director Li, he's definitely going to..."

“These are all things for the future. Actually, resolving Yu Dajiang’s issue is quite simple. Just bring him in, right?” Yan Bugui said. “In the back courtyard, we can just bring in another Fourth Uncle.”

"Yes, yes." Yi Zhonghai suddenly felt enlightened: "You scholars really have a lot of ideas."

"I came here today about Jiecheng's job," Yan Bugui said. "Yan Jiecheng is unemployed, and all his blind dates have left him. Now I'm thinking..."

"Old Yan, it's not that I don't want to help you, it's just that I'm powerless to do so right now." Yi Zhonghai shook his head and said, "Let's talk about it after the New Year. I'll retake the Level 8 exam after the New Year..."

"No, I have a hundred yuan here. Take it and use it to smooth things over," Yan Bugui said. "That should be fine, right?"

"Old Yan, you're willing to spend money?" Yi Zhonghai said in surprise, "That's rare, I'll go take a look tomorrow."

“How can you do this without spending money? Yan Jiecheng has his eye on Yu Li. Yu Li has a job, a house, and a city residency permit. If he wants to marry her, Jiecheng needs to at least have a job,” Yan Bugui said.

"You're quite the schemer, aren't you?" Yi Zhonghai shook his head.

Li Xiangdong, along with Factory Director Li, Yu Dajiang, Yu Li, and the truck driver, had a meal of stir-fried mutton. Afterwards, Yu Li and the others left. Li Xiangdong then covered his face and headed straight for the black market.

Today he was carrying five watches and five lighters. He had only walked a few steps inside the market when he saw Wang Laosan hurrying towards him.

"Sir, I've finally waited for you!" Wang Laosan said excitedly, "How about we go over there and talk?"

Li Xiangdong paused for a moment, then nodded and followed Wang Laosan into a secluded grove of trees.

Chapter 46 Yan Bugui's Wishful Thinking (Seeking flowers and votes!)

"Sir, do you still have that kind of watch from last time?"

Wang Laosan said hurriedly.

Last time, Wang Laosan sold the three watches for 500 yuan each. That made him almost 200 yuan per watch.

Moreover, those who bought the watch all came back to ask for more.

Wang Laosan had been searching in the market for several days, and today he finally saw Li Xiangdong appear. Fortunately, Li Xiangdong was still dressed the same way as last time. Otherwise, finding Li Xiangdong would have been really difficult.

"You want more? They sell very well, right?"

Li Xiangdong asked.

"Yes, all three sold. All three customers came back to me, saying they wanted more of these things," Wang Laosan said hurriedly.

After a moment's thought, Li Xiangdong said, "There are only five watches left, which I brought from the south. They're all here now."

Li Xiangdong didn't want to sell more, but he was afraid that buying too much would attract the attention of relevant departments. The technology in this watch is too advanced.

Of course, it's a problem with the movement. This kind of movement is simple and effective, and it appeared in the 1980s. If the relevant departments take notice, then Li Xiangdong will definitely be exposed.

That would put you in serious trouble. At the very least, if the relevant authorities can't find the source of the technology, they'll conveniently label you as a smuggler.

"Five dollars, I'll take them all."

Wang Laosan was prepared and now took out five small yellow croakers and handed them to Li Xiangdong.

Li Xiangdong took out five small boxes from the yellow canvas bag. Wang Laosan was extremely excited when he received the boxes.

These five watches represent a thousand yuan he earned.

"Thanks," Wang Laosan said. "If you find anything good in the future, come find me, Wang Laosan..."

"I have a lighter here, take a look!" Li Xiangdong pulled out a lighter and handed it to Wang Laosan, saying, "The outer shell of this thing is made of silver. The inside is stainless steel!"

"It is inlaid with two one-carat diamonds."

Wang Laosan stared at the lighter with a shocked expression; the diamonds on it glittered brilliantly under the flashlight.

"If you don't believe me, you can pry this thing off and scratch the glass to see for yourself," Li Xiangdong said casually.

"Tsk tsk, I can't bear to part with that," Wang Laosan shook his head and said, "I trust you. How much?"

"One large yellow croaker!" Li Xiangdong said, "One lighter and one large yellow croaker."

"That's so expensive...it even has diamonds. I'm out of cash right now. Please wait a moment, I'll be right back in twenty minutes." Old Wang said through gritted teeth.

"I have five more large yellow croakers, and you have so many..."

“Yes, I have six lighters. You can pay for one of them,” Li Xiangdong said. “Just give me three thousand one hundred yuan.”

"Okay, I'll be right back."

Wang Laosan ran away in a hurry.

About twenty minutes later, Wang Laosan returned and completed the transaction with Li Xiangdong. Just as the two were about to part ways and leave, three more people came in from outside.

"Wang Laosan, you're always hogging the good stuff! You don't even tell me to share!"

The leader was a man with a scarred face who looked very fierce.