Courtyard House: The Road to an Industrial Power

Back in the courtyard, Yi Zhonghai, clutching his still throbbing face, limped to the deaf old woman's door. After hesitating for a long time, he gently knocked on the door knocker.

The door creaked open, and the deaf old woman sat on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), twirling her prayer beads in her hand, without even lifting her eyelids: "Come in, judging from your appearance, you've suffered a great setback."

Yi Zhonghai walked into the house with his head down and recounted how he had been severely beaten by Zhang Guilan's brother.

Finally, with tears welling in her eyes, she said, "It's all that little bastard's fault from the Lin family!"

"Grandma, I can't swallow this! That brat Lin Weidong is deliberately going against me. If I don't teach him a lesson, I'll never be able to hold my head up in the yard or the factory again!"

The deaf old woman slowly opened her eyes: "You have to swallow it whether you like it or not! What's your situation now? Demotion, fines, ruined reputation, the neighbors' spittle could drown you. To confront them head-on now is just courting death!"

She paused, then tapped the kang table: "Listen to me, lie low for a while. Do your job well at the factory, slowly rebuild your reputation in the courtyard, and don't cause any more trouble. Once things have calmed down, there will be plenty of opportunities to get back at you."

"Lying dormant?"

Yi Zhonghai clenched his fists, his knuckles turning white. "I can't wait! Lin Weidong is riding high right now; if I wait any longer, his position will become even more secure! I can't just let this go!"

The deaf old woman looked at his eyes filled with resentment and shook her head: "If you want to court death, I can't stop you. But remember, don't drag me into it."

Yi Zhonghai left the deaf old woman's house without saying a word, his face grim.

He already had a wicked idea in mind; if he couldn't fight openly, he would resort to underhanded tactics.

The next evening, after finishing his overtime work, Lin Weidong walked home along a quiet alley.

Just as he turned a corner, three burly men wielding wooden sticks suddenly rushed out of the shadows and, without saying a word, smashed them down on his head.

"Kid, you take money and do the dirty work! This day next year will be your death anniversary!" the burly man in the lead shouted viciously.

Lin Weidong's eyes sharpened, and instead of retreating, he advanced.

Over the years, thanks to the system's added points, his physique has long surpassed that of ordinary people, with his strength, speed, and reaction speed reaching terrifying levels.

Facing the oncoming wooden stick, he dodged to the side, his right hand flashing out like lightning, grabbing the burly man's wrist and twisting it sharply. With a crack, the burly man's arm was dislocated, and he fell to the ground with a scream.

Seeing this, the other two burly men rushed forward with bloodshot eyes. Lin Weidong raised his leg and swept it horizontally, kicking one of them in the abdomen, causing him to curl up in a ball clutching his stomach.

He snatched the stick from the other man and struck him on the knee; the sound of bones breaking was clearly audible.

Within half a minute, the three burly men were sprawled on the ground, wailing and crying for their parents. Lin Weidong looked down at them and said coldly, "Who sent you?"

The burly men dared not hide anything any longer and stammered, "It was...it was Yi Zhonghai! He gave us fifty yuan to cripple your leg!"

Lin Weidong sneered, "It really was him."

He ignored them, crushed their hands and feet, and went straight home.

The next morning, Lin Weidong walked into the steel rolling mill office and the first thing he did was to have someone call Yi Zhonghai to him.

"Master Yi, we have a lot of old machine tool renovation work to do in the workshop lately. These are the drawings and specifications assigned to you."

Lin Weidong pushed a thick stack of blueprints in front of him, his tone calm, "Complete within three days."

Looking at the mountain of blueprints, Yi Zhonghai's expression instantly changed: "Chief Engineer Lin, this is simply impossible to complete! Let alone three days, even ten days would be a struggle!"

"Can't finish?"

"That's perfect. I've already worked with the factory management to push for the implementation of new regulations. Workshop technicians must complete their assigned tasks on time. Those who fail to do so for an extended period will not only have their performance bonuses deducted but will also be fined proportionally. If they fail to meet the standards for three consecutive months, they will be directly transferred to their posts and relegated to cleaning toilets in the logistics department."

He paused, a cold smile curving his lips. "Master Yi, you're an eighth-level fitter, your skills are top-notch, you shouldn't disappoint me, right?"

Yi Zhonghai was so angry that he was trembling all over, but he couldn't say a word.

He knew that Lin Weidong was deliberately making things difficult for him, retaliating against him for hiring someone to do something underhanded. But the new regulations were approved by the factory management, so he had no recourse.

Returning to the workshop dejected and disheveled, Yi Zhonghai felt increasingly frustrated.

They went back to the courtyard house without even having lunch and found the deaf old lady.

After listening to his tearful account, the deaf old woman angrily slammed her cane on the ground: "That Lin Weidong! So young, yet so vicious! Fine, I'll stand up for you!"

"Once this matter is resolved, I will take good care of you from now on!"

That afternoon, the deaf old woman, leaning on her cane, walked shakily into Director Yang's office.

"Director Yang, that brat Lin Weidong is deliberately making things difficult for Xiao Yi. Are you going to do anything about it?"

Factory Director Yang frowned. He knew why the old man had come: "Madam, this is the factory's work arrangement. We're following the new rules, so I can't interfere."

"Is it inconvenient to get involved?"

The deaf old woman sneered, her voice suddenly dropping to a low sneer, "Have you forgotten when you were young, stealing factory documents to exchange for money? If I hadn't covered it up for you back then, would you be sitting in this factory manager's position now?"

Upon hearing this, Director Yang's face turned pale instantly. That was his biggest weakness in his life, held in the hands of the deaf old woman, and he had been coerced by her for many years.

"Grandma, don't talk nonsense." Director Yang's voice trembled slightly.

"Am I talking nonsense?"

The deaf old woman slammed her hand on the table. "I still have the guarantee you wrote back then! If you don't take responsibility for this, I'll hand it over to my superiors and let you experience the taste of utter disgrace!"

Factory Director Yang's face turned ashen. After a long silence, he finally lowered his head and said, "I understand. I will talk to Lin Weidong."

The deaf old woman left satisfied.

In the evening, Director Yang called Lin Weidong to his office.

"Dongzi, loosen your grip a little on Yi Zhonghai's matter."

Factory Director Yang handed Lin Weidong a cigarette, his tone tinged with helplessness, "He's getting old. Although his skills are excellent, his physical strength can't keep up. Ten machine tools in three days is really too much to ask of him."

Lin Weidong looked at him, his eyes filled with disappointment: "Director Yang, the new regulations were passed by the entire factory; they're not personal attacks. Yi Zhonghai failing to complete his task is his problem, why should I back down? Besides, he hired someone to sabotage me; I haven't settled that score with him yet!"

"plot?"

Factory Director Yang was taken aback for a moment, then waved his hand, "That's all a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding! Yi Zhonghai didn't do it on purpose, he was just confused for a moment."

"Confused?"

Lin Weidong sneered, "Sending someone to break my legs is foolish? Director Yang, have you forgotten that he also sabotaged military production equipment before? You're still protecting someone like that?"