Courtyard House: The Road to an Industrial Power

Just then, the deaf old woman who had been sitting to the side suddenly closed her eyes, her body went limp, and she slumped into her chair, muttering, "Oh dear, I'm having a heart attack, please save me."

Everyone was startled and quickly gathered around. Yi Zhonghai was the first to react, shouting, "Quickly, take the old lady back to her house!"

"Grandma, how are you?"

Lin Weidong looked at the deaf old woman and sneered inwardly. He had long seen through her trick; she was just trying to play dead and disrupt the conference.

"That concludes today's meeting. Everyone, please disperse. Honey, please take good care of the deaf old lady tonight," Yi Zhonghai said quickly.

Since Qin Huairu and He Yuzhu got married, He Yuzhu has drifted further and further away from Yi Zhonghai, the deaf old lady, and others. Under normal circumstances, He Yuzhu would definitely come up and check on things like today.

However, after Qin Huairu shared her thoughts with Sha Zhu, Sha Zhu's attitude towards the deaf old woman and Yi Zhonghai changed.

Although Yi Zhonghai sensed it, he didn't pay much attention to it because his current choice for retirement was Jia Dongxu.

The neighbors dispersed, all discussing what had just happened.

Xu Damao stood in the corner, watching all this, secretly pleased with himself. He couldn't wait for more trouble to break out in the courtyard, preferably involving the Lin family as well, making their lives miserable.

When Lin Weidong returned home, Zhao Xiulan patted his head and said, "Dongzi, you're right today. Yi Zhonghai is just too hypocritical. But you should be more careful with your words in the future and avoid direct confrontations with him, lest he cause trouble for our family."

Lin Weidong nodded: "Mom, I understand. He's trying to scheme against us, but it won't be that easy."

Time flies, and three years have passed in the blink of an eye.

Lin Weidong is no longer the seven-year-old child who skipped grades. Now he is 1.75 meters tall, with a handsome face. With the brainpower boosted by the system and his unremitting efforts, he has skipped grades all the way and is now a senior high school student with only a few months left before the college entrance examination.

Wearing a faded blue school uniform, he traveled between school and home every day, exuding a maturity and sharpness beyond his years, becoming a recognized "legendary prodigy" in the courtyard and even the entire street.

For the past three years, Xu Damao's life has been relatively smooth. However, his parents, who have always been single, are extremely anxious and eventually asked someone to find him a wife in the countryside named Li Xiulian.

Li Xiulian was pretty, with fair skin, and worked quickly, but she was a bit weak-willed.

Although Xu Damao was not entirely satisfied with the marriage, given his limited circumstances, marrying such a wife fulfilled his parents' wishes.

The wedding was simple, with people from the courtyard coming to join in the festivities on a symbolic basis. Sha Zhu even teased, "Xu Damao, you'd better treat her well and not act recklessly like before."

The Jia family then encountered a tremendous change.

Six months ago, Jia Dongxu was working in the forging workshop of a steel rolling mill when a machine malfunctioned due to aging, and he was hit on the spine by a heavy object, leaving him paralyzed in bed ever since.

The factory gave them a 500 yuan compensation payment, which settled the matter. With the family's breadwinner gone, Jia Zhangshi cried her heart out. Fortunately, Zhang Guilan was still quite strong, and the factory had a replacement position, so she took over Jia Dongxu's job in the forging workshop. Although the work was tiring, she could earn more than 30 yuan a month, which was enough to support the family.

What brought Jia Zhangshi some comfort was that Zhang Guilan gave birth to a son.

Perhaps it was a coincidence, but Madam Jia insisted on naming her child "Banggeng," hoping he would grow up healthy and bring honor to the Jia family. However, Banggeng grew up spoiled by Madam Jia and picked up many bad habits at a young age. By the age of three, he had learned to swear, spitting and swearing at anyone he didn't like, making him a complete little rascal. All the children in the courtyard were afraid of him.

In stark contrast to the Jia family's decline, the Lin family is thriving.

With the help of the top and bottom blowing converter blueprints provided by Lin Weidong, Lin Jianjun made great contributions to the technological transformation of steel smelting in the factory. He was promoted to engineer and his salary increased to 128 yuan.

She became a core member of the steel rolling mill's technical department and was highly valued by the factory director. Zhao Xiulan also excelled in her position as deputy director of the subdistrict office, handling matters fairly and earning high prestige.

The Lin family's prosperity made Yi Zhonghai increasingly resentful.

He had been looking for a reliable person to support him in his old age, but the Jia family he had previously cultivated had now collapsed, and Jia Dongxu was paralyzed in bed, making him unreliable. After much deliberation, Yi Zhonghai turned his attention to Sha Zhu.

Sha Zhu has been living a good life these past few years. His salary as a level six cook is stable, Qin Huairu is thrifty and hardworking, and the two have a daughter. Their family is harmonious. Most importantly, Sha Zhu is honest and easy to manipulate. As long as he is well-liked, he can definitely be relied upon for old age.

So, Yi Zhonghai started visiting Sha Zhu's house frequently. One day he would bring a bunch of vegetables, the next day a few eggs, always calling him "Zhu Zi" (a nickname), showing concern for his well-being, and occasionally mentioning his own difficulties of having no children, implying that Sha Zhu should take care of him in the future.

Although Sha Zhu was honest and simple, he could see through Yi Zhonghai's intentions and was somewhat unwilling. However, he couldn't resist Yi Zhonghai and the deaf old woman's daily persuasion that "a close neighbor is worse than a distant relative. Uncle Yi is getting old, it's only right to take care of him."

That evening, Lin Weidong was walking home from school when he bumped into Yi Zhonghai carrying a bag of apples toward Sha Zhu's house. Yi Zhonghai saw Lin Weidong and forced a smile: "Dongzi, you're home from school? I heard you're taking the college entrance exam soon. You'd better study hard and try to get into a good university."

Lin Weidong nodded slightly without saying anything.

He sneered inwardly, "Yi Zhonghai is treating Sha Zhu as his next retirement tool. Unfortunately, although Sha Zhu is honest, he's not stupid. It won't be easy to get him to willingly retire."

In the courtyard, Jia Zhangshi was holding Banggeng, sunbathing at the door. When she saw Lin Weidong, her eyes were filled with jealousy, and she muttered, "What's so smug about him? Our Banggeng is going to be an official someday!"

Banggeng chimed in, "You rascal! What makes you so arrogant!"

Lin Weidong glanced at them but ignored them.

Seeing this, Jia Zhangshi said to Banggeng, "When you become a high-ranking official, go to the steel mill and become the factory director to drive that bastard Lin Jianjun out of the steel mill."

"Yes! Get him out! Lin Jianjun is a bad seed!" Bang Geng said, raising his hand.

Upon entering the courtyard, He Yushui frowned upon seeing this. Jia Zhangshi also cursed He Yushui, saying, "You little brat, you're a money-loser."