Courtyard House: The Road to an Industrial Power

Inside the Lin family's house, the aroma of meat wafted out through the doors and windows, the scent of oil mixed with the aroma of scallions and ginger, permeating the air of the courtyard.

Lin Jianjun put the twenty yuan reward from the factory in his pocket, then took out five yuan and handed it to Zhao Xiulan: "Keep this money, buy some cloth to make Dongzi a new dress, and use the rest to supplement the family income."

He then turned and patted Lin Weidong's head. "Dongzi has done a great job. We'll eat as much meat as we want today, and let my son have a taste too!"

Zhao Xiulan smiled as she took the money, her eyes and brows beaming with joy: "I've been telling you to buy some cloth for ages, but you always said there was no rush. Now you'll have to make Dongzi a decent cotton-padded coat."

Lin Weidong sat on a small stool in the yard, watching his mother's busy figure, feeling a sense of pride. Suddenly, the system's mechanical voice sounded:

[The host helped his father complete the pulley modification, boosting industrial production efficiency. A reward of twenty yuan has been added to the system inventory. Note: The system inventory only stores system reward items; once retrieved, they cannot be returned.]

His eyes lit up, and in a flash, two crisp new ten-dollar bills appeared in his palm. His fingertips glided over the thick paper, and Lin Weidong quickly stuffed the money into his pocket, thinking to himself, "I can't let my parents know where this money came from."

Just then, dragging footsteps came from the courtyard gate. Jia Zhangshi peeked in, sniffing the air, "Oh, what delicious food is Jianjun's family making? It smells so good I can't sit still in the house!"

She walked straight to the kitchen door and saw Zhao Xiulan stewing meat. The pork belly in the pot was bubbling away, and her eyes widened instantly, her mouth almost watering: "Xiulan, your family is really generous! So much meat, enough for our family to eat for several days!"

Zhao Xiulan frowned, knowing that Jia Zhangshi was there to freeload, and said bluntly, "This is a reward from the factory for Jianjun. The children haven't had meat in a long time, so we're treating them to a better meal."

"You don't need this much to improve our meals! Look at my Dongxu, he does heavy labor at the factory every day, and he never gets any meat to supplement his diet. Sister, could you give me a pound? I'll have Dongxu work for your family later!"

Just as Zhao Xiulan was about to refuse, she heard Sha Zhu's voice coming from the courtyard gate: "Jia Zhangshi, have you no shame? The Lin family earned their meat as a reward through their own merit, why should we share it with you?"

Sha Zhu had just finished get off work at the cafeteria, still carrying a lunchbox. His younger sister, He Yushui, was following behind him on her way home from school. Jia Zhangshi was taken aback and, embarrassed and angry, retorted, "Sha Zhu, what's it to you? I'm talking to Xiulan!"

"I can't stand your opportunistic attitude!" Sha Zhu retorted, his neck stiff. "Brother Jianjun worked hard for days to modify the pulleys; he deserves this meat, and you still have the nerve to ask for it?"

Zhao Xiulan quickly smoothed things over: "Zhuzi, Yushui, come inside and sit down."

Lin Weidong looked at Sha Zhu and felt a surge of goodwill. In the original owner's memories, although Sha Zhu was honest and simple, and often taken advantage of, he wasn't a bad person and frequently helped the elderly and children in the orphanage. The fact that he stood up for the Lin family today showed he was someone worth befriending. He then looked at He Yushui beside him and called out with a smile, "Sister Yushui, come sit down! My mom stewed a lot of meat, let's eat together!"

He Yushui, a quiet girl, blushed slightly upon hearing this and said shyly, "Weidong, isn't this a bit inappropriate?"

"What's wrong with that!" Lin Weidong pulled her wrist and led her into the house.

When Jia Zhangshi saw that the Lin family not only refused to share the meat but also offered to let Sha Zhu and his sister stay for a meal, she was so angry that her face turned green. Just as she was about to throw a tantrum, she heard Lin Weidong say slowly, "Aunt Jia, my father earned this meat through his skills, it didn't just fall from the sky. Some people don't work hard themselves but just think about taking advantage of others, that's not good."

His words were pointed, and his gaze swept towards the direction of the courtyard gate, where several figures flashed by. It was clear that Yi Zhonghai, Liu Haizhong, and others were listening intently.

No sooner had the words left her mouth than the deaf old woman, leaning on her cane, shakily walked in, muttering, "It smells so good, so good! Who's stewing meat? Let this old woman have a taste!"

She walked straight to the table and tried to sit down without any hesitation: "Jianjun, you're a filial son. You know this old woman has no teeth, so stew it until it's very soft so I can have some nourishment."

When Jia Zhangshi saw the deaf old lady arrive, she immediately perked up and chimed in, "That's right, that's right! The deaf old lady is getting on in years, she should get some nourishment. Xiulan, quickly serve the deaf old lady a bowl!"

Lin Weidong sneered, looking up at the deaf old woman with his small face: "Grandma Deaf, doesn't the neighborhood committee give you subsidies every day? Why don't you buy meat for yourself? I heard you received five catties of eggs last month, so why are you coming to our house asking for meat?"

The old deaf woman's smile froze. She hadn't expected the child to be so disrespectful. She straightened her face and said, "You child, how can you talk like that? I have no children, what's wrong with me eating a piece of your meat?"

"Just because you don't have children doesn't mean you can take advantage of others! My mom said that you have to act with a conscience and not be a scoundrel just because you're old. Besides, the meat in our house is for my dad to nourish his body. He's worked so hard at the factory, we can't just let others eat it."

Madam Jia grew impatient: "How can you be so inconsiderate, child? Respecting the elderly and caring for the young is a matter of etiquette. You have so much meat, what's wrong with sharing some with us?"

"Rules aren't for you to use to take advantage!" Lin Weidong retorted without backing down. "Aunt Jia, Brother Dongxu earns a decent wage at the factory, so why doesn't he buy meat for himself? Instead, he comes to rob us!"

Just then, Yi Zhonghai and Liu Haizhong walked in, clearly drawn by the aroma of meat. Yi Zhonghai said earnestly, "Dongzi, you can't say that. Neighbors should help each other. Your family is well-off and has meat to eat, so sharing some with Aunt Jia and the deaf old lady is also a good deed."

Liu Haizhong chimed in, adding fuel to the fire: "That's right, Jianjun, you're a responsible person, how can you let the children talk like that? Quickly give them some meat, don't let people say there's discord in our compound."

Lin Weidong looked at the two men, inwardly sneering. It was the same old tactic of moral blackmail. Before Lin Jianjun could speak, he interjected, "You two make it sound so nice. Uncle Yi, you're a senior fitter, the highest paid, and you don't have any children to support, so why don't you share the meat with everyone? Uncle Liu, you're always trying to curry favor with the boss, and you're not short of money, so why don't you buy some meat for the deaf old lady yourself?"

Yi Zhonghai's face turned pale and then red, pointing at Lin Weidong, unable to speak for a long time: "You...you child, you are truly stubborn!"

Liu Haizhong, enraged, retorted, "Lin Jianjun, is this how you raise children? They don't understand any manners!"

Lin Jianjun then realized what was happening, straightened his back, and said, "Uncle Yi, Uncle Liu, Dongzi is right. This meat was earned through our own hard work, and we can give it to whoever wants it. We appreciate neighborly help, but we can't be forced to suffer losses."

Zhao Xiulan chimed in, "That's right, from now on, we won't need you gentlemen to worry about our family's affairs."

Seeing that things were not going well, Jia Zhangshi tried to act shamelessly again by slapping her thigh and crying, but Lin Weidong preemptively said, "Aunt Jia, if you keep crying, I'll go to the neighborhood office to find Uncle Li and ask him if it's allowed to practice feudal superstition now."

Jia Zhangshi's sobs caught in her throat, her face flushing red and then turning pale. Seeing that no one was helping her and she hadn't gained anything, Jia Zhangshi could only glare fiercely at Lin Weidong, muttering "stingy guy" under her breath, before slinking away.

Yi Zhonghai and Liu Haizhong exchanged a glance, feeling both embarrassed and angry, but too ashamed to stay any longer. They could only snort coldly and turn away. The deaf old woman, leaning on her cane, followed awkwardly behind.