I painted an aircraft carrier on the courtyard house for Dongda University.

Hearing He Yuzhu's knock, Zhou Weiguo shuddered in fright, quickly straightened his clothes, and walked out as if nothing had happened. Natasha, on the other hand, ran quickly to the jeep, checked her appearance in the rearview mirror, and after making sure everything was alright, licked her lips and stood by the car, looking at the gate.

Zhou Weiguo shouted, "Zhu Zi, get the key from under the door and open it!"

When the gate opened, Zhou Weiguo saw the scene outside and immediately wanted to give He Yuzhu a beating.

Qin Huairu, Yan Fugui, the second aunt, and even the first aunt all stood in the middle courtyard, peeking out and looking around.

When everyone saw the door open, they hurried forward, their faces full of confusion.

Yan Fugui spoke first: "For the country, what's going on? Wasn't that an abandoned courtyard over there? How come there are suddenly so many houses?"

Zhou Weiguo glared at He Yuzhu, then explained helplessly, "This east wing is a plot of land allocated to me by the higher authorities, and I built the house myself. I'll be living here from now on; it's inconvenient to always be crammed together with Zhuzi."

Upon hearing this, Qin Huairu's eyes lit up instantly. A whole yard of new houses! This week, Weiguo had kept a low profile, accomplishing such a big feat without a trace. She glanced at Natasha standing beside the jeep, lowered her head, and a ruthless glint flashed in her eyes.

Yan Fugui squinted his eyes and said excitedly, "Weiguo, you probably don't need Lao Yi's old house anymore, right? Could you lend us a room? A house that's been empty for too long is prone to collapse; it needs people around!" Aunt Er first gave Yan Fugui a disdainful look, then chimed in, "Yes, yes, Weiguo, could you rent us two rooms? Guangqi is so grown up, and he still doesn't have his own room. We, as his parents, feel really bad about it."

Zhou Weiguo's face darkened, and his tone turned icy: "I have no intention of renting or lending out the house. Please leave." With that, he ushered He Yuzhu and his bicycle into the yard, locked the gate, and then slapped He Yuzhu across the face: "He Yuzhu! Have you lost your mind? Nobody knew for over a month, but I'm telling you, the whole yard will know in no time!"

He Yuzhu said, looking aggrieved, "Uncle, we've been allocated such a large plot of land, shouldn't we let them know and be envious?" Zhou Weiguo wanted to make a move, but Natasha stopped him, saying, "Alright, alright, stop hitting him. It's not a big deal; they'll find out sooner or later anyway."

Zhou Weiguo calmed down a bit and ordered, "Go and organize everything you bought. Don't delay our meal, or you'll be in trouble!" He Yuzhu quickly ran off.

Not long after, He Yushui returned. She knocked on the gate and excitedly looked around as soon as she entered: "Wow, Uncle! Your yard is so beautiful and so big!" Zhou Weiguo smiled and tapped her head: "Want to move in?" He Yushui glanced at Natasha, squinted, and laughed: "No way! Moving in would disturb your and Aunt's good time, hehe!"

Zhou Weiguo then asked He Yuzhu, who was standing to the side, "Zhuzi, do you want to live in this courtyard?" He Yuzhu quickly shook his head, thinking to himself: If I live here, won't I become a servant? I'd rather die than live here!

Seeing this, Zhou Weiguo stopped trying to persuade him. He suddenly thought that he might as well have Master Li tidy up Sha Zhu's house as well. So, he ran to the other two courtyards and found Master Li in the north courtyard.

The two arrived at courtyard number 95. Zhou Weiguo pointed to the main house, east wing, and east side room in the central courtyard and said, "Master Li, what do you think is the best way to repair and reinforce these rooms? By the way, if possible, I'd like to add a bathroom."

After more than half an hour of discussion, the two also took into account the possibility that He Daqing might come back to stay.

The final plan was to alternately repair the main house, side rooms, and east wing, with repairs and reinforcement of the floors, walls, and roof. However, due to problems with the sewage pipes, the construction of the toilet could not be carried out for the time being and had to be postponed.

Meanwhile, Jia Dongxu was slacking off at work when the police suddenly came to the factory to inform him that the verdict for Jia Zhangshi was out.

He rushed to the police station, where Jia Zhangshi was already so thin that she was unrecognizable from before.

Upon seeing Jia Dongxu, Jia Zhangshi burst into tears, wailing and crying out, "Dongxu, please save your mother! They won't give me food, I'm starving to death! They even said they'd send me to a farm in the western suburbs for labor reform. Dongxu, how am I supposed to live? Dongxu, I beg you, please think of something and save me!"

Looking at his mother's haggard appearance, Jia Dongxu felt a pang of sorrow and said helplessly, "Mom, there's nothing I can do. My master is now afraid of Zhou Weiguo and even gave him the house. Factory Director Yang has also been demoted. Just bear with it for now; a year will pass quickly."

Seeing that the police officers were some distance away, Jia Zhangshi lowered her voice and said, "Dongxu, Zhou Weiguo is too ruthless. You can't give in so easily! Mom will have to rely on you in the future!"

Jia Dongxu replied softly, "Mom, don't worry, I know what I'm doing. Give me some time, and I'll definitely find a way to bring down Zhou Weiguo and avenge you!"

Madam Jia gestured for Jia Dongxu to come closer and whispered in his ear for a long time. However, the more Jia Dongxu listened, the uglier his expression became. But at the end, a mixture of joy and confusion appeared on his face.

After finishing her sentence, Jia Zhangshi finally smiled and said, "Our Dongxu always knows how to care for his mother. By the way, Dongxu, you'll have to bring your own food to the farm. I haven't had dumplings in ages, and I'd like to have some meat dumplings. I'm leaving tomorrow, could you ask Huairu to make me a batch, and also bring some flour?"

Half an hour later, Jia Dongxu returned to the Jia family home from the police station with a gloomy expression. He said to Qin Huairu, who was cooking, "Our mother has been sentenced to a year of labor reform. Make her some meat dumplings later, and we'll take them to her so she can eat her fill before she leaves. Also, bring her some flour; Mom has become so thin."

Qin Huairu looked bitter and said aggrievedly, "Dongxu, where would we get flour? Let alone meat for dumplings. You forgot, you haven't given me my allowance this month."

Jia Dongxu rummaged in his pocket for a long time, only managing to pull out a few small bills. He sat down on the edge of the bed, dejected.

At this moment, Qin Huairu suddenly said, "Dongxu, do you know? The neighborhood committee allocated that piece of wasteland in the east courtyard to Zhou Weiguo, and nobody even knew. He actually built a house there, and it looks like he's planning to move there."

"What?" Jia Dongxu stood up abruptly, looking out the window at Sha Zhu's house with hatred in his eyes, his gaze filled with envy and jealousy.

At this moment, he remembered the idea suggested by Jia Zhangshi and turned to look at Qin Huairu.

Qin Huairu felt uncomfortable under his gaze and asked, "Dongxu, just say what you want to say. Staring at me like that is kind of scary."

Jia Dongxu turned around, locked the door, drew the curtain, and walked up to Qin Huairu.

Seeing this, Qin Huairu looked troubled: "Dongxu, it's broad daylight, isn't this inappropriate?"

P.S.: Please urge me to update more and give me good reviews. Thank you!