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

While eating hot pot, Li Xiangdong opened the door a crack, about a foot wide.

"Second Brother! Second Brother, it's me, Dahu!"

The man in his forties spoke to Da Jiang with an ingratiating expression.

"Yu Dahu, I dare not accept your title of 'Second Brother.' Tell me, what do you want to borrow this time?" Yu Dajiang stood up and walked to the door, speaking calmly.

"Brother... Brother!" Yu Dahu hurriedly called out to his brother, "I had no choice. I had no food to give back to you. Otherwise, our family would have starved to death!"

"Then our family should have starved to death?" Yu Dajiang said calmly.

"No, no, let's not talk about things from so long ago. We're here today to congratulate your family. Is this Chief Engineer Li?" Yu Dahu's gaze turned to Li Xiangdong inside.

"Trying to take advantage again? Heh heh, there's no such thing as a free lunch here." Yu Dajiang said, "This isn't my home either, I'm just a guest in someone else's house. Yu Dahu, get out of here."

"From now on, we'll still be strangers. I have nothing to say to you." — Nai

Chapter Seventy-Six: Unmasking Yi Zhonghai (Seeking flowers and votes!)

"Second Brother, Second Brother, I was wrong before!" Yu Dahu hurriedly said, "I've come to apologize to you! I'm now returning the grain you lent me back then in cash!"

"Pah! Are you even speaking human language?" Yu Dajiang said angrily. "I was waiting for that grain to save my life. Back then, a hundred catties of grain meant several lives."

"Now that I have enough food, how about you pay me back?"

"Get out! You're such a grown man, don't you have any shame?"

Yu Dahu's face darkened as he was being scolded, but he still had to stand there and endure Yu Dajiang's spittle.

"Brother, it was my fault!" Yu Dahu forced a smile and said, "I apologize to you..."

"No need, you can leave." Yu Dajiang calmed down a lot after venting his anger: "From now on, let's pretend we don't know each other."

"Second brother, second brother, you're making me sad. This must be my nephew-in-law, right? He's quite the handsome young man," Yu Dahu said to Li Xiangdong with a fawning expression.

"What do you need from Brother Dong?" Yu Li is such a clever person.

“Yu Li, you know I work as a repairman at the textile factory,” Yu Dahu said hurriedly. “Our factory’s opening machine is malfunctioning, and working with it broken down results in very low output…”

“What does this have to do with us?” Yu Li shook her head.

“Isn’t my niece’s husband an eighth-level engineer? We’d like to invite him over for a visit,” Yu Dahu said with a fawning smile.

"This is official business. Just have the textile city send a letter to our steel rolling mill," Li Xingdong said calmly. "Let's get going!"

"Well...we sent you a letter from our textile factory. People from various factories have come, but the problem remains unresolved. You have unique expertise in machinery; otherwise, you wouldn't have been able to design the machine tool," Yu Dahu said urgently.

“Our factory sent a letter, but your steel rolling mill said you were unavailable. We even sent the deputy head of the technical department over, but the problem remained unresolved.”

"An An, that's none of my business," Li Xiangdong said indifferently.

Once Yu Bin heard that he had said enough, he came up and closed the door.

"Sigh, let's go." Yu Dahu sighed.

"What kind of hot pot are they having? It smells so good. It smells like beef," said Jiang Yufen, Yu Dahu's wife, sniffing.

"Whatever it is, that bastard didn't even invite us in to sit down," Yu Dajiang said angrily. "We were counting on this opportunity for a promotion and a raise... who knew... that bastard!"

Yu Dahu told his superiors that he had a good relationship with Li Xiangdong and could bring Li Xiangdong back. The head of the equipment department immediately approved: "As long as you bring Chief Engineer Li in, I'll report to the factory manager and have you give the head of the machine repair team a ten-yuan raise!"

I was originally thinking of going to the trouble of inviting Li Xiangdong over. But who knew he wouldn't even give him that chance.

As the three talked, they arrived at the central courtyard, where the aroma of braised pork filled the air. Their stomachs growled even hungrier.

Yu Dahu's initial plan was to come to Yu Dajiang, exchange some money, and that would be the end of it. Yu Dajiang would then have to treat him to a nice meal.

When Yu Haitang came here, she even had a meal of pork and chive dumplings. Seeing all the delicious food and good wine on Li Xiangdong's table earlier, Yu Dahu thought he was in for a treat tonight. But he didn't even go inside.

"Haitang, why didn't you say a word just now? What did we bring you here for? We just wanted you to say a few nice words to Yu Li to ease the tension or something," Yu Dahu said.

"What else can I say? Look at their expressions. If I say anything, it will only make Sister Li hate me." Yu Haitang said shrewdly, "I also need to get along well with Yu Li so that I can ask her for help with work in the future."

“Sister Li has a rural household registration, and Chief Engineer Li was able to find her a job. So it’s even less of a problem for me, who has an urban household registration.”

“That’s true. If we can help you find a job, we’ll feel much more at ease,” Jiang Yufen said.

Just then, He Yushui came out carrying a bucket and went to the pool to fetch water.

There are several large vats next to the pool, filled with water. The faucet is frozen. We'll have to use firewood to heat it up tomorrow morning.

"Oh, Haitang. Are you here to see Sister Li?" He Yushui said.

"Okay, then Mom and Dad, I won't leave tonight. I'll stay here in Yushui." Yu Haitang said to Yu Dahu, "It's so cold, I don't want to go anywhere else."

"Great! I made braised pork, Haitang. It weighs two jin (1 kg), so the two of us can have a full meal tonight," He Yushui said excitedly.

During this time, Yu Haitang helped He Yushui a lot. Sometimes when He Yushui was hungry, Yu Haitang would share her food with her.

After exchanging pleasantries with Yu Dajiang and his wife, He Yushui led Yu Haitang into their small house.

He Yushui lived in a side room, which was almost twenty square meters. Upon entering, one could see some pots, pans, and other utensils, as well as a coal stove. There were some coal briquettes in the corner. There were also two small vats, which were obviously used to store grain.

After He Yushui and Sha Zhu figured things out, she gradually accumulated these necessities for daily life, like a mouse moving house. Looking at these things, He Yushui felt a sense of security.

The house was divided into sections. This area is about ten square meters. Inside, there's another ten square meters or so, which is the bedroom. There's a door with a curtain hanging over it.

On the coal stove, a small earthenware pot kept lifting its lid, releasing fragrant aromas. The aroma of the braised pork seemed to be infused with the richness of oil.

"Haitang hasn't had dinner yet, has she? I still have four steamed buns and a pot of braised pork." He Yushui said proudly, "The pork is just cooked."

"You're buying meat to eat? Are you trying to ruin your life?" Yu Haitang frowned.

"This was a gift. Chief Engineer Li delivered meat to every household in the courtyard," He Yushui said sweetly. "He went hunting and brought back a huge wild boar."

"Oh, I see. No wonder the yard smells so good with meat." Yu Haitang said with envy, "Sister Li is so lucky to have found such a man."

"I wonder what kind of man I'll be able to find in the future!"

He Yushui laughed: "Haitang, how old are you? You're already thinking about these things?"

"I'm already sixteen. In another year or two, I'll be able to get married." Yu Haitang said very seriously, "After graduating from junior high school next year, Yushui, do you still want to continue to high school?"

“Otherwise what? I want to study,” He Yushui said.

"You should start working sooner rather than later. What good is it that you went to high school? You still have to go out and work." Yu Haitang said, "You still have to go out and work."

“You’ll get a job once you finish high school,” He Yushui said. “Otherwise, how am I supposed to find a job? If I study, I can get ten yuan a month from Shazhu. If I don’t study, I’ll have to earn money myself. I’m a girl, so if I do odd jobs…”

"Ask Sister Li for help!" Yu Haitang said. "You can also go directly to Chief Engineer Li. He's standing up for you because he sympathizes with you. Wouldn't it be better if you found a job sooner?"

"This...we'll talk about it later." He Yushui shook her head, picked up the earthenware pot from the stove, placed it on the table, and then put a pot of water on the coal stove.

The two girls had just sat down and were about to pick up their chopsticks when they heard a knock on the door.

"Who is this?" He Yushui put down her chopsticks and opened the door, only to find Sha Zhu standing there with an embarrassed look on his face.

"What are you going to do?" He Yushui asked coldly.

"Hey, Rainwater, you made braised pork with potatoes, huh? Give me a bowl, I want to have a couple of drinks," Sha Zhu said with a sly grin.

"You have a 30-pound pig's head, and you still want to ask me for meat?" He Yushui said coldly, "Get out of here!"

"I didn't give the pig's head to Sister Qin because I saw she was having a hard time," Sha Zhu said sheepishly.

"Heh, you need to eat even if you do good deeds?" He Yushui said sarcastically. "I've always wondered, there are people in this courtyard who are worse off than them, so why haven't I seen you help them out?"

"And their family is having a hard time? Let's not talk about anything else. Just tonight, they had a pound of meat! And you gave them the whole pig's head, leaving nothing for yourself. It's ridiculous!"

"You pathetic Sha Zhu, Qin Huairu is nothing but a whore, nothing but a whore!"

"Heh heh, you paid so much for sex, but you didn't even get a fraction of it. You're really stupid!"

"If you want to eat meat, you can always go to Yi Zhonghai's house to eat, since he cares about you."

After shouting angrily, He Yushui slammed the door shut.

Sha Zhu was trembling with anger, thinking of kicking the door open and teaching He Yushui a lesson. But when he thought of Li Xiangdong in the backyard, Sha Zhu immediately shrank back.

"Zhu Zi, come over here for a couple of drinks." Yi Zhonghai appeared at his doorstep and called Sha Zhu over.

He Yushui had originally intended to sit down and eat, but the more she thought about it, the angrier she became. She immediately slammed her hand on the table and stormed out.

"Qin Huairu and Yi Zhonghai, you two despicable scoundrels! Trying to fool that fool like that is blatant fraud! I'm going to the neighborhood committee tomorrow and making this clear. Let's see how you two scoundrels explain yourselves to the committee!" He Yushui screamed in the courtyard.

"Yi Zhonghai, you old fool, you want that idiot to take care of you in your old age. But why are you ripping him off like this? And you big idiot, you're getting involved with a widow, how do you think you'll ever find a wife?"

"Just wait and you'll end up like that old man who has no descendants, a minor one who has no descendants."

Yu Haitang was dumbfounded; she hadn't expected He Yushui to be so fierce.

I'll beat you to death!

Sha Zhu went crazy and rushed over to slap He Yushui.

"You dare to touch her, Sha Zhu? He Yushui is your sister, but that's no excuse for you to hit her," Li Xiangdong said quietly.

Hearing the commotion in the front yard, the people in the backyard all ran over to see what was going on. Yu Li pulled Li Xiangdong over with her. She had a good impression of He Yushui and didn't want her to suffer.

"So she was right to curse Ran?" Sha Zhu roared in fury. But he really didn't dare to make a move.

"What did He Yushui say wrong? You're just a complete fool, manipulated by the hypocrite Yi Zhonghai and the vampire Qin Huairu!" Li Xiangdong said calmly.

"What else could you be but a complete idiot?"

"As for Yi Zhonghai being a hypocrite, hehe, he earns ninety-nine yuan a month, but instead of helping the Jia family, he tricks you, who earns only thirty-odd yuan a month, into helping them."