An extraordinary life journey through old Beijing courtyard houses

Once wages are raised, employees will feel more secure and motivated, and the company's situation will be much better, right?

Rose readily agreed: a 5% increase in salary; and a 5% to 10% increase in bonus, depending on the circumstances.

Jiang Baobin couldn't help but give her a thumbs up, praising her for her great courage...

When Jiang Baobin got home from get off work, he was met with a scene he could never have imagined—

He Yuzhu was rubbing coal with a shovel, while Jiang Daya squatted on the ground, helping him to make coal briquettes.

It's unclear whether He Yuzhu came on his own initiative or the girl brought him here, but the two chatted and laughed, and their cooperation was quite seamless.

Jiang Baobin couldn't help but frown. As the male lead of "Full of Love", Sha Zhu'er is a highly controversial character.

My younger sister is the most beautiful girl in Nanluoguxiang, while Sha Zhu'er is a complete scoundrel no matter how you look at him!

Jiang Baobin couldn't say anything to their faces, so he changed his clothes and joined in.

But in his heart he thought bitterly: I'm going to settle accounts with the coal yard owner later!

That fool clearly messed things up; he didn't notify the coal delivery driver, so the coal dust ended up being delivered to his own house.

In this situation, we have no choice but to break the coal into briquettes. Are we supposed to just reload them onto trucks and haul them away?

With his addition as a fresh force, the speed more than doubled.

Jiang Baobin asked He Yuzhu to replace Jiang Daya so that she could cook.

He Yuzhu is a rascal; he's always joking around with everyone.

Jiang Baobin had a real knack for dealing with him—

If you like wrestling, I'll talk to you about wrestling; if you like martial arts, I'll talk to you about martial arts. In short, I'll praise it.

He was just a teenager and liked to act impulsively.

Jiang Baobin hadn't even had a chance to make a name for himself yet, but He Yuzhu had already considered him a close friend.

After finishing his work, Jiang Baobin personally cooked a pot of stir-fried green pepper and potato slices.

It's not that his cooking skills are particularly good, it's just that he dares to use a lot of oil.

It was the kind of feeling that made Jiang Daya stomp her feet in heartache, frantically snatch the oil bottle, and then want to kick him a couple more times to vent her anger.

It's easy to imagine how much oil he poured.

Jiang Baobin didn't think there was anything wrong with it; he always cooked like this.

But in Jiang Daya's eyes, it was utterly outrageous—

The dish that my third brother cooks is enough to make ten, no, twenty dishes for myself!

However, dishes cooked this way are naturally oily and fragrant.

Add to that a steamed bun made of half wheat flour and half cornmeal, and it's absolutely tempting!

He carried the two plates of food from the west courtyard to the east courtyard, and he was stared at every time.

Envious and eager, Yan Bugui immediately rushed up to Jiang Baobin: "Binzi, what's going on?"

Jiang Baobin replied with a smile, "Didn't Zhu Zi help my family make coal briquettes all day? I have to thank him."

Yan Bugui stamped his foot in regret: "Hey! You should have said so earlier!"

"My eldest child didn't go to school today, and his mother is free too, so they can both help you."

Jiang Baobin had laid so much groundwork just to hear this.

Jiang Baobin immediately became dissatisfied: "Mr. Yan, to be honest, I dare not use your family members anymore."

Yan Bugui immediately became anxious: "Hey! What do you mean by that?"

Jiang Baobin scoffed, "That matter we talked about last time, Aunt Yan still hasn't taken care of it for me, has she?"

"The number of people talking badly about me outside hasn't decreased; in fact, it's increased. How can this be allowed?"

"Oh no! Really? My wife is really putting in a lot of effort."

"Then you should ask around. If I, Aunt Yan, really did help, would I even hear those kinds of things?"

"I even prepared a thank-you gift, what a pity..."

Jiang Baobin deliberately stopped talking, then shook his head and went to the He family's house.

He said it in front of everyone enjoying the cool air.

They even displayed the oily vegetables and four plump steamed buns to tempt them.

Seeing Jiang Baobin enter the He family felt like losing a hundred million!

Yan Bugui lost all interest in enjoying the cool air and stormed back into the house.

Yan Bugui's wife followed closely behind: "Old Yan, what did Jiang Laosan mean just now?"

Yan Bugui said irritably, "What do you mean? He's putting on a show of defiance."

Yan Bugui's wife said discontentedly, "According to him, all my previous hard work was for nothing?"

Yan Bugui, with his small, squinty eyes, asked her:

"Tell me, how did these rumors even reach that kid's ears?"

"You bunch of people can't even handle the eldest daughter-in-law of the Jiang family?"

Yan Bugui's wife scoffed, "Who can compare to her? Holding a child, she spends all day 'sightseeing and playing'."

"I have to keep busy both at home and outside, taking care of the elderly and then the young. I'm not done until I'm lying down."

"How can you be like her, gossiping about everyone and everything!"

Yan Bugui was quite objective: "Look, this shows that the three young men of the Jiang family have their reasons for being unreasonable."

"You certainly have shortcomings in your work, but you still expect favors from others? Isn't that just asking for trouble?"

Yan Bugui's wife rolled her eyes: "You make it sound so easy. It's her leg; what can we do about it?"

Yan Bugui: "Tsk, stop complaining and try to find a solution when you're having trouble."

"What can we do?"

"For example, you can use the time you spend shopping for groceries to expand the reach of your message."

"You can't control her legs, but nobody can control yours either, can they?"

"Go out and spread the word, spread rumors about what the eldest daughter-in-law of the Jiang family has done."

"She forced her brother-in-law to become homeless, and now she thinks she's right?"

"When her disgraceful deeds become known to everyone."

"She herself felt bored, so she stopped talking badly about the third brother everywhere."

"I'll go ask the third brother for a reward then, and I won't rest until he pays a price!"

Yan Bugui's wife scratched her head a little: "How much effort will this take?"

"There's no such thing as a free lunch. You've seen it for yourself anyway."

"Such a big plate of vegetables, plus four steamed buns made from mixed flour."

"If you want him to bring it to our house on his own initiative, you have to put in the effort; there's no other way."

Yan Bugui's wife sighed helplessly, "Alright then, we'll discuss it properly tomorrow."

"Forget about tomorrow, go and talk to those old women now."

"Now that Jiang Laosan is working for foreigners, he's making a lot of money."

"But at this rate, he might become penniless again someday."

"Even if you manage to get things done, where will he get the money to thank you? Wouldn't that be a huge loss for him?"

Yan Bugui's wife thought it made a lot of sense, and quickly urged her husband to go.

After causing a ruckus in the front yard, Jiang Baobin ran to the back yard.

The deaf old lady's mouth has been so bland these past few days.

There was nothing they could do; the homeowner had emptied the house to the point of poverty that even food was a problem.

How could we afford to feed her meat?

The deaf old lady felt restless and craved meat after not eating it for several days.