Courtyard House: I Have Countless Bodyguards

The moment Liu Jianguo had this thought, his wariness of Yi Zhonghai deepened even further.

Looking at He Yushui's tear-streaked face, Liu Jianguo felt a mix of emotions.

Perhaps out of a touch of pity, or perhaps because seeing He Yushui, who was the same age as him after time travel, stirred up memories and a touch of sadness for his younger sister from his previous life, who also liked to follow him around.

He paused for a moment, then said in a seemingly casual but actually thoughtful tone, "Here's what we'll do, Rain. From now on, when you're free after school, come over and help me clean the house, wipe the tables, and sweep the floor. I won't let you work for free; I'll provide you with lunch, I promise you'll have a full meal. How about that?"

He said this to give He Yushui a legitimate reason to come for dinner, to protect the little girl's self-esteem, and also to avoid gossip arising from "doing good deeds for no reason".

In fact, Qin Huairu regularly cleans his room, so there's no need for a child to help.

On a deeper level, this is called "equivalent exchange." I, Liu Jianguo, give the children in the compound a meal because the children have helped me with chores.

This would not only help He Yushui, but also shut up the gossipy women and people with ulterior motives (such as Yi Zhonghai) in the hospital, preventing them from saying that she was "buying people's hearts" or had some ulterior motive.

Upon hearing that there would be food and she could help, He Yushui thought she was truly useful. She immediately stopped crying, wiped her tears with her sleeve, and nodded vigorously, "Yes! Thank you, Uncle! I'll definitely do my best! I'll start sweeping right now!"

She was about to go find a broom when she said that. She was really afraid of going hungry and afraid that this hard-won opportunity would slip away.

Liu Jianguo found her anxious appearance somewhat amusing and quickly stopped her:

"No rush! Let's start counting from tomorrow."

He pointed towards the kitchen: "There are steamed buns and pickled vegetables in the kitchen cabinet. If I'm not back tomorrow at noon, you can heat them up and eat them yourself."

He paused, took an ordinary door key off his keychain, and handed it to He Yushui: "Take this key, it'll make it easier for you to come in and do your work."

Watching He Yushui carefully put the key into her pocket and leave the east courtyard with profuse thanks, Liu Jianguo gently closed the door, leaned against the door panel, and rubbed his temples.

He wasn't at ease. To be honest, if it weren't for the scene of He Yushui drinking cold water that had touched him, and if it hadn't reminded him of his sister from his past life, he really wouldn't have wanted to get involved in all this messy and troublesome stuff in the courtyard.

There are too many pitiful children like He Yushui in this era. Liu Jianguo can't take care of them all, nor does he have the saintly heart to care for them.

His primary goal is to leverage the system and the prophet to gain a foothold and climb the ranks in this era.

"Everyone should sweep the snow from their own doorstep and not worry about the frost on someone else's roof." Taking care of yourself is better than anything else. Today's incident was purely accidental.

After seeing off He Yushui, who was full of gratitude, the courtyard gradually became noisy.

The men in each household received the New Year's gifts from the factory. Although the quantities varied, they were all happy to see meat and oil.

What's even more gratifying is that the factory made an exception this year by giving employees three days early for the New Year holiday, allowing them ample time to buy New Year's goods and clean their homes. In the courtyard, women were busy washing and cleaning bedding and wiping doors and windows.

The children chased and played, waiting for their parents to take them to the temple fair, while the men gathered in twos and threes to discuss where to buy meat and firecrackers.

The festive atmosphere of the New Year suddenly intensifies with this rare leisure and anticipation.

Amidst this lively atmosphere, however, discordant notes were present.

From the direction of the Intermediate Court, He Yuzhu's signature, somewhat arrogant cursing could be faintly heard, interspersed with Xu Damao's exasperated yet cowardly explanations and groans.

It's obvious that "Silly Zhu" is picking a fight with "Xu Damao" again.

Liu Jianguo listened for a while at the entrance of the east courtyard, and chuckled to himself:

It seems that the character Xu Damao was bullied by Sha Zhu since childhood in the TV series is indeed true. This is probably part of the "New Year's customs" of this courtyard house.

Just as Dazheng was thinking this, a burst of laughter and chatter came from the front yard.

The famously quick-witted matchmaker in the courtyard led a young woman, about twenty years old, dressed in a brand-new Lenin suit with two long braids, into the central courtyard with a cheerful expression. She lifted the curtain and entered the Jia family's residence.

A curious neighbor peeked in, and the matchmaker's voice could be faintly heard: "Sister-in-law, look! This is Zhao Xiaohong, the girl I told you about. She works at the No. 3 State-Owned Cotton Mill, a proper working-class woman! Her family is well-off..."

Jia Dongxu was sitting on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), head drooping, somewhat unwilling to be forced into a blind date by his mother. But as soon as Zhao Xiaohong entered the door, he looked up and his eyes widened instantly.

The girl was pretty and had a full figure; she looked like she could bear children, perfectly matching the aesthetic ideal of a worker his age for a wife.

He immediately put on a smile, and while Zhao Xiaohong was out of the public restroom, he quickly and secretly tugged at his mother Jia Zhangshi's sleeve, nodded vigorously, and the meaning couldn't be clearer: it's her!

The matchmaker, being a shrewd woman, immediately understood the situation upon seeing this. A broad smile spread across her face as she leaned closer to Jia Zhangshi and whispered:

"Sister-in-law, you've met the girl yourself; she's one in a hundred. But these conditions... are indeed a bit high. She's married into the family with a secure job, and she's asking for this much—" She held up three fingers, "Thirty yuan as a bride price! Besides, she also needs to provide the 'three turns and one sound' (bicycle, sewing machine, watch, and radio)!"

"Thirty? And she wants three turns and a radio?! Why doesn't she just rob someone?!"

Upon hearing this, Jia Zhangshi's voice immediately rose eight octaves, and her face fell. "With these conditions, it's better to marry a young, unmarried woman from the countryside, who can even provide a dowry."

"Mom! How can people from the countryside compare to workers in the state-owned cotton mills?"

This time, Jia Dongxu was truly desperate. Of all the blind dates he'd been on, this was the one he found most appealing. For the first time, he stubbornly argued with his mother: "I want her! Even if it costs more, so be it!"

Madam Jia was taken aback by her son's unusually firm attitude. Seeing his determination to marry no one but her, and considering that the other woman was a regular employee in the city, she quickly started calculating in her mind.

After all, it's her son who earns money in the factory. If he's determined to stay away, and she tries to stop him, it will only make things worse if the mother and son drift apart later.

After much hesitation, Jia Zhangshi gritted her teeth, stamped her foot, and forced a smile as she said to the matchmaker:

"Alright! As long as the young lady has no objections, our Jia family agrees to these conditions!"

What she was thinking was: although the financial burden was heavy, marrying a working daughter-in-law would mean a dual-income family! In this courtyard, besides experienced workers like Yi Zhonghai and Liu Haizhong, there was also Director Liu, an official in the back courtyard, with a high salary. How many families in the courtyard had dual incomes these days? Two salaries a month—how prosperous would that be! This "investment" was worthwhile!