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

"Mom, I'm hungry."

Xiao Dang said weakly.

"Look, you still have the energy to talk, don't you? You and your mother are the same, both of you are a waste of money. You have no skills and all you want to do is eat and drink. I think you don't need to go to school anymore. When you get a little older, you can go out and work."

Jia Zhangshi reprimanded her fiercely.

Seeing how Jia Zhangshi treated her daughter, Qin Huairu could no longer contain her anger.

Bang Geng hasn't said a word yet, he must be hiding something from me.

It's certain that the deaf old lady and her mother-in-law, Jia Zhangshi, made some shady deal in private.

He could tolerate it, since Yi Zhonghai had already explained things to him.

The stalk will recover after a while.

But now there's no rice left to cook, and the children are drinking only water.

You could count the number of grains of rice at the bottom of the pot so clearly.

Despite the family's current dire situation, Jia Zhangshi is still unwilling to spend even a penny to feed her children a proper meal.

They only cared about eating and drinking well, and didn't even want to care about the rice bowl anymore.

“Mrs. Jia, let me tell you, since I came back last time, you haven’t explained to me clearly what happened to my son Banggeng. If you don’t give me an explanation, I will say it right here in the courtyard. If no one cares, I will report it to the authorities.”

Having no other choice, Qin Huairu had to resort to her trump card: sticks.

When Jia Zhangshi heard this, she was shocked, as she had already reached an agreement with the deaf old lady.

Having already received the money, he naturally couldn't let the story of the "stick joke" get out.

Otherwise, if they extort 1000 yuan, they'll likely spend at least half a year in jail.

He was still penniless after he came out.

What use is the agreement you reached then?

"Alright, alright, I can't stand you, you good-for-nothing. All you do all day is ask me for money. Here's ten yuan. Don't bring up the stick incident again. The child just ate something wrong. Is it really necessary to make such a fuss?"

Dissatisfied, Jia Zhangshi threw ten yuan on the ground.

Qin Huairu picked up the ten yuan with a wronged expression and put it in her pocket.

I'm planning to go out and buy some things tomorrow so the kids can have a good meal.

Bang Geng remained silent, though he had gained quite a bit of weight in the past two days.

His face was chubby, and his mouth was always glistening with oil.

……

Late at night.

An uninvited guest arrived at the small house where the deaf old lady lived.

“Sakura, five days have passed. You have accomplished nothing in these five days and have even done some foolish things. Time is running out for the organization.”

The man in black appeared silently and spoke in a low voice.

“What can I do? Li Xiangdong hasn’t shown up at the courtyard for five days. My plan last time was a bit careless and failed. Today, Li Xiangdong has returned. I plan to carry out the next step of the plan in the next day or two. Please give me more time.”

The deaf old lady said in a helpless whisper.

"Remember, your patience is limited. If you don't get what we want by the day after tomorrow, you know the consequences very well."

After the man in black finished speaking, he left the courtyard quietly.

No one knows how the man in black got into the courtyard house.

And how did they leave unharmed?

The deaf old lady felt utterly helpless. For the past five days, apart from Yi Zhonghai, she had been telling herself every day that Li Xiangdong's whereabouts were unknown.

There has been no further news.

Having failed in her last attempt to poison the Yu family, the deaf old woman dared not try again.

If they fail again, and Li Xiangdong is exposed before he even returns, then it would be a huge loss.

I only heard that Li Xiangdong came back tonight. Even if we want to carry out the plan, we have to wait until tomorrow.

The deaf old lady hadn't expected that the organization would become so impatient tonight.

If the organization shows signs of impatience, it means that the deadline for your task is fast approaching.

If you fail to complete the task by the deadline, the only consequence will be death, and a very terrible one at that.

This was the organization's final ultimatum; his time was running out.

“Li Xiangdong, Li Xiangdong, I could have stayed in this courtyard house peacefully for a few more years and made some money, but you ruined my life all by yourself. Don’t blame me for being ruthless.”

We've reached a dead end.

Even if we have to use guns the day after tomorrow, we have to force out what the organization wants to know.

Otherwise, death will be the only outcome; there will be no other way to go.

……

In a courtyard somewhere.

"Boss, I've already delivered the message to Sakura."

The man in black said coldly.

"That stupid cherry blossom, with so much money, can't even handle such a small matter. According to the latest intelligence provided by the informant, engineer Li Xiangdong has already produced equipment that allows their soldiers to operate at night."

"It seems to be very effective, but it's very disadvantageous for us now. In the previous night operation, we had the advantage of timing, location, and manpower, but now that they have advanced weapons, we will encounter many obstacles if we try to move again."

The enemy intelligence chief said fiercely.

“Boss, if you think Sakura is unreliable, I can go and kill that engineer named Li Xiangdong. It’s just me dying, but if it can help the organization operate better, then my death will be meaningful.”

The man in black spoke with a furious tone.

“Foolish Yamamoto, you’ve been with me for so many years, don’t you know what kind of person I am? Killing Li Xiangdong now is the worst-case scenario. If we can capture Li Xiangdong and take him back to Japan.”

"Just think about how much he can accomplish and how much help he can provide to our island nation, serving our island nation?"

According to the latest instructions from higher command, the enemy intelligence chief has made some subtle changes to the mission.

Chapter 114 Serious Suspicion of the Deaf Old Lady

The next day.

After a good night's sleep, Li Xiangdong felt refreshed. He had indeed been quite physically and mentally exhausted from working overtime at the steel rolling mill recently.

The factory approved three days of paid leave, so I can have a good rest.

Li Xiangdong called Yu Li to finish her breakfast.

"Dong-ge, you don't need to come with me to the steel mill. You finally have a break, so just stay home and rest. If you don't want to cook lunch, just go to your parents' place. Mom's home, she can cook."

Yu Li said gently.

"Alright, since you put it that way, then I won't see you off. The weather is nice today, so I'll take my three younger brothers out for some fun. It's been so long since I've taken them out for a proper stroll."

Li Xiangdong said indulgently.

"Don't spoil your three younger brothers. They are still young and you can't let them rely on you all the time. It won't do them any good for their growth."

Yu Li instructed.

"Don't worry, I'm very careful about this. You can go to work now, but don't be late. I'll take my three younger brothers out for lunch, and we can see if Mom wants to come along too."

Li Xiangdong watched Yu Li leave the courtyard house, then turned and went to Yu Dajiang's house.

"Mom, the weather's nice today. I'm taking my three younger brothers out to play, it'll cost 400 yuan a day. Would you like to come along and have some fun with us?"

Li Xiangdong inquired.

"I won't go. I'll hurry up and get the sheets and blankets ready for your wedding. You can take the three kids out to play, but be careful."

Huang Guihua said with a smile.

Seeing that Huang Guihua was unwilling to go out, Li Xiangdong did not continue to invite her.

Instead, she turned around and led her three younger brothers out of the room.

Just then, Li Xiangdong saw Banggeng squatting silently in the yard, which made him a little suspicious.

Banggeng is usually very talkative, and he cries and makes a fuss all the time.

I had a drink when I got home yesterday, so I didn't really notice anything.

This morning, Banggeng was playing alone in the yard, not saying a word.

He was completely different from his usual self; he was like a completely different person.

Li Xiangdong didn't say anything inside the courtyard house, but instead led his three younger brothers out of the courtyard.

They only asked after they had gotten a little distance from the courtyard house.

“Yu Wen, why is Bang Geng behaving so differently than before? What happened to me in the yard during this time? Usually when he sees you guys, doesn’t he throw a tantrum and start acting crazy?”

Li Xiangdong inquired.