Love in the Courtyard: Starting with Engineers

A brain storage facility where your brain can be stored to improve your intelligence a little each day. (PS: This is a fanfiction about a courtyard house; the timeline is not related to reality and is a purely parallel world.)

My head throbbed, feeling like it had been cleaved open by an axe and filled with lead, a heavy, downward throbbing sensation. At the same time, a buzzing sound filled my ears, mixed with the woman's soft sobs and the man's comforting words, all piercing into my ears at once.

Li Yu struggled to open his eyelids, and his vision remained blurry for a while before he could focus.

The first thing you see is a dusty roof beam, walls covered with old newspapers, and a pull-cord light switch covered with a thick layer of dust.

Beneath me was a painful wooden plank, which could be considered a bed, and the blanket covering me was a frozen black cloth.

Where is he? His last memory was of the earth-shattering explosion in the laboratory, the scorching heat engulfing everything. But now he's awake? Could it be time travel?

"Xiaoyu, you're finally awake!" A voice with a thick accent and some excitement rang out from the side, sounding relieved.

"Look at you, kid, why are you arguing with a child? You bumped your head and scared your old lady half to death."

Li Yu turned his stiff neck and looked at the person who spoke.

A middle-aged woman wearing a faded blue cotton blouse was looking at him with concern, while a man with a righteous face and slightly furrowed brows stood beside her.

An older woman? An older man? These titles act like a switch, suddenly opening the floodgates of memory.

A memory that didn't belong to him suddenly flooded his mind—a young man also named Li Yu, whose parents were both technicians at a steel rolling mill and died when a large workpiece fell on them while they were repairing a machine.

After graduating from vocational school, Li Yu became a technician in a factory and lived in the famous courtyard house at No. 95 Nanluoguxiang. Yesterday, it seems that Jia Jiabanggeng sneaked into his house and was caught by him. After saying a few words, Banggeng bumped into him, and Li Yu slipped and hit the back of his head on the threshold...

"Full House of Love"? That courtyard house full of villains and scheming beasts?

I, Li Yu, am, after all, the deputy chief engineer of a key military project in the 21st century. I am proficient in mechanics, materials, and chemical engineering, and in my spare time I also know a bit about ancient mechanisms and free fighting.

Because of his overly unconventional thinking and his "get revenge on the spot, or if he can't get it, he'll hold onto it forever" mentality, he's caused his superiors and colleagues no shortage of headaches. Fortunately, he's a decent person, otherwise he would have been dealt with a thousand times over by now.

He actually became this unlucky guy with the same name, who was also a coward?

Before the sense of absurdity had dissipated, a strong sense of frustration, anger, and resentment surged up from the depths of the body's remaining consciousness, making his temples throb.

Damn it, killed by a brat? This original owner of the body is really...

Just then, a cold, mechanical voice rang out from the depths of his mind: [Strong fluctuations in subjective consciousness detected... Meets binding conditions... Emotion collection system binding in progress...] Binding successful.

This system is dedicated to collecting various emotional energies generated around the host; the stronger the emotion, the higher its value. New player task: First Test of Skill.

Objective: Successfully collect any strong emotion intensity >100 within 24 hours. Reward: New player welcome pack. Penalty for failure: Consciousness erasure.

Li Yu's pupils contracted slightly. A system? Annihilation? A must-have cheat for transmigrators? Making these beasts' emotions fluctuate in this courtyard would be a piece of cake, wouldn't it?

Just then, the sobbing outside, which could have been kept quiet, suddenly became louder and clearer, with a tone of grievance that was full of twists and turns.

"My poor Banggeng, he was just starving and wanted to see if there was anything to eat in Uncle Li's house. He's just a little kid, what does he know? What if he gets seriously injured? How am I supposed to live...?"

Jia Zhangshi glared fiercely at Li Yu, who had just woken up in the room. "You bastard who killed your parents, why are you scaring my Bang Geng when you're fine? If he suffers any lasting health problems, I'll never forgive you."

Qin Huairu stepped forward, sobbing, "Brother Li Yu, please be magnanimous and don't hold it against my mother-in-law and Bang Geng. I know you've had a hard time, but my family is really struggling to make ends meet. Dongxu left a long time ago, and we're relying on my meager salary... Waaah..."

Here comes Qin Huairu. In the original owner's memories, this kind of scene would be staged every few days.

In the past, Li Yu was thin-skinned and often left helpless by crying. In the end, he would either borrow some money or some grain, or be morally blackmailed into giving some grain coupons.

Although it was called a loan, everyone in the courtyard knew that the Jia family never returned anything they borrowed.

As she spoke, Qin Huairu pulled Banggeng towards Li Yu's bedside, saying, "Banggeng, quickly apologize to your Uncle Li Yu!"

With his neck stiffened, Bang reluctantly mumbled, "I'm sorry."

Qin Huairu wiped away her tears again: "Look, the child knows he was wrong. Brother Li Yu, I feel bad that you fell like that, but... things are really difficult at home. How about I lend you some cornmeal and you can pay me back when you're better?"

Upon hearing this, Li Yu immediately flew into a rage: "Qin Huairu, have you no shame? What do you mean by 'the child knows he's wrong'? Look at him, does he look like he knows he's wrong?"

"And what do I care about your family's financial difficulties? What do you mean by 'lend me some cornbread as compensation'? You'd better wait until you're sent to juvenile detention."

Qin Huairu immediately became anxious, wiping away her tears as she said, "Li Yu, are you trying to force our family to our death?"

[Ding! Qin Huairu's hatred level detected: 50] Hmm?

"So easy to get 50." Just as Li Yu was still happy about the 50 emotion points, Yi Zhonghai next to him coughed.

"Li Yu, as a member of this compound, you can't be so disregardful of neighborly relations. Why do you keep sending cornbread to the juvenile detention center? We're all in the same compound, so let's all compromise. Even if Jiajia gives you five pounds of cornmeal, you shouldn't keep sending cornbread to the juvenile detention center."

The surrounding neighbors also chimed in.

"Yes, the old man is right. Neighbors should understand each other. Why call the police at the drop of a hat?"

Looking at the room full of so-called neighbors, Li Yu felt a surge of anger rising to his head.

"Okay, since the old man said so, then it shouldn't be a problem for me to sneak into someone's house and take something, right? And if someone tries to stop me, I can push them down without any problem, right?"

Yi Zhonghai's face turned red with embarrassment. This kid actually dared to refute him. As an old man in this compound and an eighth-grade worker in the steel mill, no one in this compound had ever dared to refute him before.

At this moment, Liu Haizhong took a sip of tea and slowly said:

"Li Yu, Old Yi, that's definitely not what you meant. If you're not satisfied with how Uncle Yi handled things, just tell Uncle Er. As the second uncle in the courtyard, I'm sure I'm fair and impartial."

[Ding! 100 points of hatred towards Yi Zhonghai have been collected. Quest complete, newbie gift pack sent.]

"Enough, Lao Liu!" Yi Zhonghai roared, looking at Li Yu at the same time, "Tell me what you want in order to let Bang Geng go."

Since the old man has put it that way, then I'll state my conditions.

"First, the Jia family has returned all the money and grain they borrowed from me in the past."

"Secondly, today a dog broke into my house to steal something. Although it didn't steal anything, it got injured and has to pay me 200 yuan for medical expenses."

[Ding! Received malicious sentiment values ​​of Jia Zhangshi: 20, 50, 120]

Who is this? They've got quite a temper.

Thump! The door was kicked open from the outside, and a fleshy ball rushed in before it even arrived.

"You little beast who died without a family line and brought misfortune to your parents, it's a blessing that my family lent you some things. It's a favor that we even came to your house. Don't be ungrateful and expect my family to return your things. You're dreaming."

No sooner had Jia Zhangshi finished speaking than Li Yu stepped forward and slapped her hard across the face.

"If you, Jia Zhangshi, continue to insult my parents, I'll drag you down with me even if I die here today!" Li Yu gasped for breath, glaring angrily at Jia Zhangshi.

Everyone present was terrified by Li Yu's reckless behavior. Jia Zhangshi covered her face with one hand, her eyes filled with fear as she looked at Li Yu.

Seeing this, Yi Zhonghai quickly said, "Since you're not satisfied, then let's hold a hospital-wide meeting tonight, and everyone will help you decide. What do you think?"

Li Yu thought to himself, "Good heavens, is a college-wide meeting about to start? Perfect, I'll take care of them all at once then."

"Alright, since that's what the old man said, let's discuss it at the hospital-wide meeting tonight. I need to rest now."

Everyone left as soon as they heard that, but then Grandma Zhang from the backyard suddenly came back and said with concern...

"Xiao Yu, don't argue with them. Know when to quit while you're ahead, or who knows what they might do to sabotage you."

Li Yu looked at the kind-faced old lady and said, "Okay, Grandma Zhang, I understand." "That's good. I'm sorry to trouble you. I'll go back now," Grandma Zhang said as she left.

In the original owner's memories, this Grandma Zhang had a son and two granddaughters. Years ago, her daughter-in-law was abducted and has not been found since. The whole family relied on her son to work odd jobs to support them.