The Fitter Master in the Courtyard: Surrounded by Dead Men

She knew perfectly well that her son was no match for Yang Ping when it came to finding a job.

Otherwise, why would anyone rush to work on their day off? That's how it is with temporary workers; if you miss one shift, your job is gone.

"Let's go, Guangfu."

She abruptly grabbed her youngest son's arm, turned him around, and dragged him into the house, her voice choked with anger, "From now on, you have to prove yourself, find a respectable job, and restore face for the Liu family!"

The curtain snapped shut.

It slammed down with a thud.

Yang Ping exhaled softly, a faint hint of mockery flashing in his eyes.

In a few years, not to mention high school students, even college students may not have a place to settle down and will have to go to the countryside.

With Liu Guangfu's limited abilities, what kind of good job could he possibly find? He'd be lucky to even get a temporary job.

During those years when the storm was brewing, Liu Haizhong earned merit by reporting the Lou family and became the head of the disciplinary team, also managing to get his two sons into the team as well.

But now that he's here, the Liu family's "luck" is...

It's likely that such a thing will never happen again.

Yang Ping knew very well that once the news of Liu Haizhong becoming the head of the disciplinary inspection team came out, his three rooms would become an obvious target.

An ordinary fitter occupying such a place of residence is bound to be harassed and bullied in the future.

He would never allow that to happen.

The deaf old lady in the backyard only brings out her "ancestor" when she craves meat.

They came to him to ask for the item, but they didn't have much contact with each other on a regular basis.

Xu Damao is not yet married, and his parents and younger sister still live in the same courtyard.

Apart from his younger sister Xu Yueling, who used to treat him relatively well, the rest of the Xu family were all arrogant and never took him seriously—but they never bullied him, so they could be considered to have some conscience in this courtyard.

As for the other households, they are now secretly under his control.

They always greeted him with smiles, and the children called out "Brother!" in their clear voices.

.

Yang Ping simply nodded and smiled, without saying anything more.

He strolled over to the middle courtyard.

The families wanted to go forward, but he stopped them with a look.

It's best to maintain the status quo; revealing signs too early will only arouse suspicion.

In front of the Jia family's gate, Jia Dongxu was playing with his son Banggeng, the two laughing together.

Upon seeing Yang Ping appear, Jia Dongxu immediately frowned, his nose in the air, displaying an arrogant demeanor.

Yang Ping ignored him and walked straight past.

It's 1960 now, so it's not surprising that Jia Dongxu is still alive and kicking.

According to his memory, this fellow had often colluded with Sha Zhu to humiliate the original owner of this body, and Jia Zhangshi would often make sarcastic remarks about him.

As for Yi Zhonghai, being an old man, perhaps feeling there was no real benefit to be gained, he did not personally make things difficult for such a minor character.

Yang Ping's gaze swept across the central courtyard and saw that the doors of Sha Zhu and Yi Zhonghai's houses were locked, presumably because they had gone out to run errands.

Only the clear sound of reading aloud could be heard coming from He Yushui's house, echoing softly in the courtyard.

Eighteen-year-old He Yushui is about to finish high school and is probably buried in books and exercises right now, working hard for the college entrance exams that are coming soon.

Yang Ping had never had any contact with this girl.

One toiled in the workshop all day, while the other buried himself in the classroom. When they occasionally met, they would only nod to each other and had no other interaction.

He didn't linger in the intermediate court and hurried through the courtyard.

"Yang Ping! I heard you got promoted to Level 2 Fitter, that's wonderful news!"

As soon as he stepped into the front yard, Yan Fugui greeted him with a beaming smile, his enthusiasm surpassing even that of his most loyal servants. An uninformed person might have thought that he himself had received a tremendous benefit.

"Uncle, you're too kind."

Yang Ping smiled and replied.

The Yan family had never made things difficult for him in the past, but they had never offered him any help either; the two families had always kept to themselves.

Yan Fugui's sudden enthusiasm is simply because he sees that Yan Fugui has been promoted and has hope for the future, and he wants to take advantage of the situation.

Yang Ping knew all too well the old man's meticulous and calculating nature.

However, since they greeted him with a smile, he couldn't very well be cold to them.

Since there's no conflict right now, he naturally doesn't want to get into any trouble with Yan Fugui.

"Yang Ping, where are you going?"

Yan Fugui rubbed his hands together and asked with a smile.

"I'm planning to cut some meat to improve my meals."

Yang Ping answered frankly.

"Sigh, even though I've been promoted to a higher level and my monthly salary is a bit more, I can't be so extravagant."

Yan Fugui adopted the demeanor of an elder and earnestly advised, "You have to save some money, because it will cost money to get married and start a family in the future."

We need to have a long-term vision and plan for the future.

"Don't worry, Uncle, the good days ahead are long."

Hearing his words, Yang Ping felt a strange warmth rise in her heart.

Before he transmigrated to this world, he had earned some money, but he had been alone since childhood, with no one to rely on.

Those faces that approached him were only after his savings; no one had ever genuinely cared about him.

The original owner of this body suffered endless cold looks and humiliation after her parents passed away.

Two lonely souls, in this respect, share a common plight.

Upon receiving Yan Fugui's words of advice, even though he knew they might not be entirely sincere, Yang Ping still felt a slight warmth in his chest.

The people in the courtyard were discussing something again.

As Yang Ping carried the pork and rice into the courtyard, he could hear a commotion coming from the room in the middle courtyard.

The doors and windows of the Yi family's house were open, and the plump figure in Liu Haizhong's hair blocked half of the light. Jia Dongxu was leaning against the door frame. As soon as he saw him, the corners of his mouth immediately turned up in a smirk, and his eyes gleamed with a light of anticipation for a show.

With just one glance, Yang Ping understood everything.

This group of people can't hold back anymore; they're going to cause trouble again.

He didn't stop walking, pretending not to see anything, and went straight to the backyard.

The bag of rice she was carrying swayed slightly with her steps.

Of the twenty-two households in this courtyard, apart from the seven that are united, the rest are all on his side.

Even if the Xu and Yan families haven't made their stance clear yet, they're already at a disadvantage in terms of sheer numbers.

Even if they want to cause trouble, they probably won't be able to make much of a splash.

"Brother Yang Ping!"

A crisp greeting came from the side.

Without turning around, a round face already appeared in Yang Ping's mind—Xu Damao's younger sister, Xu Yueling.

The girl was of average appearance, and you could see a resemblance to her brother in her features, but her personality was quite different from Xu Damao's. She always greeted people with a smile.

The man used to often bring her a few pieces of candy. Among all the households in the courtyard, only this little girl received his genuine care.

Yang Ping turned around, a smile on his face: "Yueling, you've come at the right time. There's still some candy in the house. Come with me and get some."

"Um."

Xu Yueling was quite generous; she agreed and followed, talking as she walked.

"My brother mentioned that you just passed the Level 2 Fitter exam. That's really impressive."

You're too kind.

A smile appeared on Yang Ping's face.

Xu Damao works in the propaganda department, so it's not surprising that he was promoted to a second-level worker, since there are only a few people living in the compound.

He turned and went inside to get the candy—it was bought by the original owner and hadn't been used much; it was originally intended for Xu Yueling.

Thanks!

Xu Yueling took the candy and walked briskly towards her home.

Xu Damao saw this scene from inside the house but did not say anything.

Although Yang Ping was handsome, he was always timid, so Xu Damao figured he wouldn't dare to make a move on his sister. Therefore, Xu Damao had no worries.

Yang Ping caught a glimpse of that long face peeking out from the door, but didn't look at it much, just kept her head down and went about her business.

The two of them don't even greet each other when they meet, let alone have any relationship, so there's no need for the two of them to go up to each other with a smile.

Before long, a strong aroma of meat wafted through the air.

Before he transmigrated here, his cooking skills were passable, and with the added comprehension boost from the system, he seems to be able to cook more easily now.

Of course, compared to a proper chef like Sha Zhu, his skills are still far from up to par.

I need to find out which of my henchmen does this kind of work sometime, retrieve their memories and use them, then I can take charge myself.

Yang Ping served the food and ate heartily by himself in the room.

Before long, two bowls of rice were gone, and most of the meat on the plate was also gone.

He was clearing away the dishes when someone suddenly shouted from outside.

"Yang Ping!"

Looking up, I saw a dark-skinned middle-aged man step in.

This is Ma Dachui from the Intermediate People's Court. He lives across the hall from Yi Zhonghai and works as a forger in the factory. He is also one of Yi Zhonghai's henchmen.

Uncle Hammer, is there something you need from me?

Even when facing his most loyal servant, Yang Ping maintained the proper etiquette.

In his eyes, Ma Dachui was not a cold tool, but a person with flesh and blood.

"Young Master,"

Ma Dachui cautiously scanned his surroundings, and only after confirming that no one was around did he lean close to Yang Ping's ear and whisper, "I just overheard Uncle Yi and the others... plotting how to divide up your house."

"Understood."

Yang Ping's expression remained unchanged; he simply nodded slightly.

It's no surprise that his three properties attracted the covetous eyes of others.

In this courtyard, he is all alone but owns a considerable amount of property. So far, those people have not openly robbed him, which is already considered to have left him some room to maneuver.

"From now on, you don't need to call me master."

He paused, then added, "Just call them by their names."

He didn't take their schemes to heart.

He has his own reasons for his confidence.

"Yes."

Ma Dachui obediently agreed.

Yang Ping waved his hand, and Ma Dachui left without saying another word.

The room fell silent again.

Yang Ping simply lay back on the bed, closed her eyes, and fell asleep.

Only by being well-rested can we better deal with those covetous "good neighbors".

.

In the next room, the deaf old lady was already restless, lured by the aroma of meat.

She craned her neck, hoping that Yang Ping would bring her a bowl as usual, but she waited and waited, until the aroma dissipated, but no one came.

A surge of anger rushed to her head, and she began to curse through gritted teeth in the room. Unexpectedly, she cursed so hard that she bit her tongue, and the pain made her wince. She couldn't even eat dinner.

It's a classic case of trying to steal a chicken but losing the rice instead.

……

The sun was setting in the west, and dusk was deepening.

Yang Ping woke up from a deep sleep, casually heated up the leftovers from lunch, and hastily filled his stomach.

Just as he put down his chopsticks, Liu Guangtian's voice rang out from outside the door:

"Yang Ping, the meeting is starting, a hospital-wide meeting."

"Coming right away."

Yang Ping responded and stood up slowly.

Yang Ping wasn't in a hurry. After tidying up briefly, she slowly carried the small stool toward the central courtyard.

A number of people had already gathered in the courtyard.

The three stewards sat upright at the square table, and the Jia family, Sha Zhu, and others also arrived and took their seats in the front row.

The remaining silent residents also arrived one after another, forming a semi-circle that surrounded the few households in the middle.

Yang Ping found this scene quite interesting.

If those few "smart people" were allowed...

I know that these people standing quietly are actually his men; I wonder what kind of expressions they have.

"Yang Ping, come sit in the front. This matter concerns you!"

Liu Haizhong spotted him at a glance and immediately waved.

"OK."

Yang Ping had already guessed their plan and was not surprised by this arrangement.

He sat down in the front row, leisurely waiting to watch the show.

Sitting to his side and behind him, Jia Dongxu and Sha Zhu had undisguised mockery on their faces, looking like they were waiting to see a show.

Madam Jia beamed with joy, as if a great joyous occasion was about to unfold in her household.

Yang Ping naturally noticed these expressions, but pretended not to see them.

He knew that the happier these people laughed now, the harder it would be to end the situation later.

"Everyone's here, let's officially begin!"

Liu Haizhong glanced around and announced loudly.

"Next, let's hear from one of the most respected elders in our compound!"

At this meeting, the main character is Yang Ping; whether others come or not is actually irrelevant.

"it is good."

Yi Zhonghai stood up immediately.

He cleared his throat and then spoke: