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

Zhou Weiguo came out of the south courtyard and walked straight towards the main gate of the courtyard.

As soon as I stepped into the courtyard, I ran into Yan Fugui.

Yan Fugui, with his sharp eyes, spotted Zhou Weiguo immediately, and his face instantly lit up with a smile: "Brother Weiguo, you're back! You're off work really early today!"

Zhou Weiguo smiled and nodded, without exchanging many pleasantries, and prepared to enter the hospital.

Unexpectedly, Yan Fugui reached out to stop him, a fawning smile on his face: "Brother Weiguo, I happen to have something I'd like to ask you."

Zhou Weiguo stopped and looked at Yan Fugui with a puzzled expression.

Yan Fugui grinned so wide his mouth almost reached his ears, rubbing his hands together as he said, "Brother, I've been thinking of discussing something with you. You renovated Old Yi's house before, and it's been sitting empty for a while now. Houses like that, if left unattended, will eventually break down. My son Jiecheng is of marriageable age, but our place is just too cramped. I was thinking, could you rent that house to me? Don't worry, I won't lend it to you for free; you'll definitely pay the rent!"

Zhou Weiguo looked Yan Fugui up and down with a half-smile: "Third Uncle, how much are you planning to rent it out for? I spent over a hundred yuan just on repairs to those three rooms. They were originally meant for rainwater, but if the price is right, it's not impossible to rent them out."

Yan Fugui's eyes lit up, and he almost blurted out two yuan. But then he thought that business negotiations should be two-way, so he tentatively said, "Brother Weiguo, how about one yuan a month?"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Weiguo burst out laughing: "Third Uncle, you really know how to do math! I spent over a hundred yuan repairing the house, and even a small back room in the backyard costs two yuan. You want to rent three east wing rooms for just one yuan? Do you think this money is US dollars? You should rent the rooms by the gate instead; the neighborhood committee charges one yuan and fifty cents a room, first come, first served. But remember to repair them, otherwise they'll leak."

Upon hearing this, Yan Fugui knew that one yuan was definitely not enough, so he quickly stepped forward: "Then, Weiguo, two yuan, two yuan should be alright, right? You know my monthly salary is so low. If it weren't for my child's wedding, I definitely wouldn't be renting this place. We're all neighbors, please help me out?"

Hearing this, Zhou Weiguo laughed and said, "No wonder everyone calls you Old Man Yan the Stingy, you really are stingy. Let me tell you straight, don't even think about it if you don't pay at least 5 yuan a month. Otherwise, you could just build a shed in the yard and have your Yan Jiecheng get married and have his wedding night there; no one would ask you for rent then."

After saying that, Zhou Weiguo went into the courtyard without looking back.

Yan Fugui called out a few times from behind, but when Zhou Weiguo ignored him, a hint of annoyance flashed across his face.

But considering Zhou Weiguo's current status in the institute and factory, he could only sigh helplessly.

Just then, a voice came from outside the courtyard gate: "Excuse me, is this No. 95 Nanluoguxiang?"

Yan Fugui turned his head and saw a middle-aged woman around forty years old. He politely replied, "That's right, it's courtyard house number 95. Who are you looking for?"

The woman waved to him, gesturing for them to talk outside. Once they were standing still, she asked, "Excuse me, is there a resident named He Yuzhu in your courtyard?"

Upon hearing this, Yan Fugui's eyes immediately lit up: "Yes! He's the cook at the steel mill. Do you need to see him?"

The woman paused, her face full of confusion: "A cook? Wasn't he supposed to be a cadre?"

Yan Fugui explained with a smile, "He does have cadre status, but he works as a cook. What can you do when he's such a good cook!"

Yan Fugui originally wanted to take the opportunity to belittle He Yuzhu, but when he thought of the fate of his uncles, he broke out in a cold sweat and changed his words to be more objective.

Unexpectedly, the woman's face lit up with joy upon hearing this: "Excellent! A cadre's status, and such excellent cooking skills—this is perfect! By the way, I heard he has an uncle?"

Yan Fugui nodded: "Yes, his uncle is the head of the technical department at Hongxing Steel Rolling Mill."

The woman seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, then asked, "So, what's his character like? Are there any problems with him?"

Yan Fugui deliberately pretended to be hesitant to speak.

Seeing this, the woman immediately became nervous: "Comrade, if anything's wrong, you absolutely have to tell me! My daughter keeps urging me to let them come over. I'm not sure what to do, so I came here myself to inquire. Please tell me the truth!"

Yan Fugui sighed and said, "Zhu Zi is actually not bad, just a bit short-tempered. That's understandable; he grew up without a father to discipline him, and no one taught him manners. It's all his unreliable father's fault; he ran off to Baocheng with a widow, abandoning him and his sister. The two siblings have suffered a lot over the years. It wasn't until his uncle came to find them that things slowly started to improve."

The woman then asked, "How does he get along with his neighbors?"

Yan Fugui was secretly delighted, thinking to himself, "It's not that I'm deliberately saying bad things; you asked me yourself!"

So he gave a general account of the affairs between Zhou Weiguo, He Yuzhu, and the Jia, Liu, and Yi families, focusing on Zhou Weiguo's handling of these families.

They thought they would leave a bad impression on the woman, but to their surprise, she was overjoyed after hearing their story: "Great! These two seem capable. My daughter won't have to worry about being bullied by the neighbors after marrying them! Thank you so much!"

Watching the woman's departing figure, Yan Fugui stood frozen in place, his face filled with disbelief.

The woman rushed home; her husband was eating.

She quickly stepped forward: "Honey, I just got back from courtyard number 95. Lily was mostly right, but I feel like He Yuzhu and his uncle aren't very popular in the courtyard. The person I was talking to wanted to say bad things about them, but was afraid of being found out, so they were being secretive."

The husband put down his chopsticks and pondered for a moment: "That's normal. Both the father and son are cadres; they're bound to be popular in the neighborhood. It's inevitable that they'll attract envy. The neighbors want to find fault but don't dare to do it openly, which shows they still have influence in the neighborhood, so it's not a big problem. I asked around at the steel mill; He Yuzhu is just a bit impatient, but he's now in charge of the kitchen and is a legitimate cadre, not just a 'worker in place of a cadre.' As for his younger brother, I don't know much. In short, if this goes through, our family will be marrying above our station. My only worry is that Lili might suffer if she marries into that family."

The woman shook her head: "Who doesn't bicker in life? You had quite a temper back then too, but I married you and everything turned out fine, didn't we? His family only has one daughter, and they're all grown men, so I don't see anything to worry about."

The husband thought for a moment and nodded in agreement: "Alright, then let Haitang tell Yushui to invite them over for lunch this Sunday."