The Fitter Master in the Courtyard: Surrounded by Dead Men

Now that we have system space, we don't even have to go through the trouble of moving things—at most, we have to make a trip ourselves, as easy as going out for a walk.

Yang Ping said seriously, "You must be very careful when using that place."

He absolutely could not allow the secret to be leaked.

"Don't worry, Comrade Yang, I will be careful."

Black Rat replied, "Even if someone does notice, it will never implicate you."

"That's not enough; we must ensure that no one knows."

Yang Ping was resolute.

Black Rat was ultimately working for his benefit, and he didn't want the other party to be put in danger because of it.

After a moment's thought, he had an idea: "There are dozens of people in the market who are completely obedient to you. I'll give you the list and have them assist you."

These undercover agents are absolutely reliable; there's no need to worry about them leaking even a single word—the secret of that space must be kept absolutely secure.

"it is good."

This time, Black Rat did not refuse.

Yang Ping picked up a pen, wrote down the names, and handed over the paper: "These are the people."

I'll come find you again tomorrow, and then we can share that space.

Seeing that everything was arranged, he got up to leave.

"Understood."

Black Rat scanned the list; it was full of familiar faces from the market stalls, and he recognized them all.

"There's one more thing,"

Black Rat suddenly called out to him, "What should we do with that girl?"

He was referring to Xu Banxia.

"Just make sure she doesn't get into any danger."

Yang Ping did not stop walking.

As for the rest, he didn't intend to interfere too much and let the girl do as she pleased.

"become."

Black Rat readily agreed.

Protecting Xu Banxia was a piece of cake for him—no one in the entire market dared to disrespect him.

With the addition of these dozen or so assassins, Yang Ping's forces became even more stable.

If anyone dares to come forward recklessly, don't blame him for being ruthless.

He didn't linger and went straight out of the courtyard.

Finding a secluded and deserted corner, Yang Ping had a thought. He took out the bicycle from his system space, mounted it, and rode towards the courtyard.

Upon reaching the vicinity of the outer wall, he glanced around to make sure no one was nearby, then quietly retrieved his bicycle and slipped inside.

The next day, Yang Ping went to work at the workshop as usual.

Now he is mainly responsible for the fine grinding of those unusual parts, and occasionally gives guidance to a few senior fitters.

Throughout the day, I had a lot of work to do, so it was quite fulfilling.

Seeing Lü Shuitian's leisurely appearance, he couldn't help but feel a little envious.

It seems I need to work harder and secure a managerial position as soon as possible. Then, I can simply instruct my subordinates when needed and relax.

"Director Lü, please collect another batch of materials for non-standard parts."

He handed over the finished, unusual part and said.

"Alright, Master Yang! I'll take it to you right away."

Lü Shuitian agreed readily and turned to fetch the materials.

This attentiveness was reserved solely for Yang Ping. If it were anyone else, he would have simply pointed and told them to take it themselves—sitting idly all day is tiring, and he wouldn't have the time or inclination to serve others.

"Here it is, Master Yang, the ingredients you requested."

Lü Shuitian handed over the materials.

Yang Ping nodded slightly, picked up the bundle of materials, and turned to leave.

Before long, Jia Dongxu also came over.

"Director Lü, I've come to collect the materials for the Level 5 parts."

"Level 5?"

Lu Shuitian raised an eyelid and said, "You, Jia Dongxu, are only a fourth-level fitter right now. What are you doing taking fifth-level materials? Just pick from the fourth-level materials. You know where to find them. Take them yourself."

"Director Lü, I'm already a Level 4 Special Grade worker, I should try working on Level 5 parts."

Jia Dongxu argued.

Lu Shuitian didn't say anything more, he just waved his hand.

He doesn't mind talented workers moving up the ranks, but if someone deliberately tries to cheat or waste materials, causing losses to the factory, then he shouldn't blame him for following the rules.

"Understood, Director."

A hint of displeasure flashed across Jia Dongxu's eyes, but he remained silent.

He had just witnessed Lü Shuitian hand the materials to Yang Ping, but when it was his turn, he was scolded, threatened with a pay cut, and had to find the parts himself in the warehouse—the differential treatment was too obvious.

No sooner had he left than Yi Zhonghai came looking for him.

"Director Lü, how can we entrust these unusual parts to that kid Yang Ping? He's at most a level seven fitter. What if he breaks them? Who will bear the factory's losses?"

Upon hearing that Yang Ping had taken the unusual parts, Yi Zhonghai felt a pang of anxiety.

This has always been the exclusive job of him, an eighth-level fitter, and only he in the entire workshop is allowed to do it—although the yield rate is pitifully low, this precisely highlights his irreplaceable nature.

"See for yourself."

Lu Shuitian was too lazy to argue with him, so he simply threw out Yang Ping's recent qualification record sheet and pushed over a few polished alien parts next to him.

"This... is impossible!"

Upon catching a glimpse of the numbers on the paper, Yi Zhonghai's expression immediately changed.

He had been a level eight fitter for five years and had never achieved such a high success rate. Yang Ping had only just been promoted to level eight, yet he could have an 80% success rate? It was simply unbelievable.

He grabbed the measuring tools and repeatedly measured those parts.

Once, twice, three times... with each test, his brow furrowed even more, but the results remained unchanged.

"Alright, Master Yi, go ahead and do your work. Don't waste time here."

Lu Shuitian put away the order form, his tone already showing impatience.

Lu Shuitian's expression had become somewhat perfunctory.

Now that Yang Ping is in charge, he no longer needs to be overly polite to Yi Zhonghai.

Yi Zhonghai's face turned ashen.

He originally thought that Yang Ping's growth would take some time, but unexpectedly, the other party not only quickly surpassed him, but also completely shook his foundation in the workshop with his outstanding skills.

"Director Lü, could you please get me a small wrench?"

Yang Ping approached and said.

"Okay, Master Yang, I'll go get it right away."

"These kinds of trivial matters can be handled by Zhao Qiancheng and his team; there's no need for you to come in person."

Lu Shuitian immediately stood up, a smile spreading across his face, and handed over a wrench.

Yang Ping took the tools and turned to leave.

Yi Zhonghai witnessed all of this, and his last glimmer of hope was extinguished.

The attentiveness that Lü Shuitian once showed him has now been transferred to someone else.

Having exhausted all other options, he could only leave dejectedly.

He lacked the courage to take on a batch of special parts for processing—he knew his own skill level was limited, and if he messed things up, he might lose his wages, which would be a real loss.

Yang Ping returned to her workstation and continued to focus intently on polishing the parts in her hands.

The shadow shifts.

Before we knew it, it was time to get off work.

Yang Ping took Gao Yue home as usual.

He then went to Lou Xiao'e's place for dinner, and casually mentioned that he was busy on his day off and needed to have dinner at the home of a high-ranking leader.

Lou Xiao'e was somewhat disappointed, but she had no choice but to agree.

After the meal, Yang Ping set off for Sequoia Jewelry Store to find Master Yan.

He had asked Lou Xiao'e earlier if she wanted to go with him, but she declined, fearing that Mr. Yan would give her another gift.

"Old Master Yan!"

Yang Ping walked to the entrance of the jewelry store and saw Yan Hancheng locking the door, so he quickly called out to him.

"Mr. Yang? What brings you here at this hour?"

Yan Hancheng turned around upon hearing the sound, his face showing surprise.

After a moment's hesitation, Yang Ping finally spoke: "There's something I'd like to talk to you about."

Yan Hancheng nodded and gestured to the side, "Let's talk inside the store."

The two entered the shop one after the other.

Yan Hancheng casually lowered the brass lock on the outer door, silencing the noise of the street.

They passed through the front hall and entered the quiet inner room.

"Have you made any progress in your internal energy cultivation lately?"

Yan Hancheng poured a cup of tea and pushed it over, his tone casual.

"Some progress has been made."

Yang Ping took the teacup, "Naturally, I'm still not as good as Master Yan."

That's a humble way of putting it.

In fact, he is only a step away from Yan Hancheng's level, and a breakthrough may be just around the corner.

However, since the purpose of this visit is to raise funds, it is not appropriate to discuss cultivation matters further.

He put down his teacup and said directly, "I'm bothering you today because I'd like to borrow 100,000 coins from Elder Yan."

This money is needed to enable space sharing within the system, so that we can trade with... people over there.

Later, you will be able to purchase items in the cultivation shop, including life-extending items.

"Extend lifespan?"

Yan Hancheng paused slightly in the hand holding the teapot.

He might not care much about other things, but "lifespan" was the only one he truly cared about.

These two words strike straight to the heart.

He is already 108 years old. If his cultivation does not make any further breakthroughs, he may not have much time left.

Now that there is a way to extend one's lifespan, he is determined not to miss it.

People are all greedy for time, let alone an old man like him, whose thirst for life has long been ingrained in his bones.

"Regarding money..."

Yan Hancheng pondered for a moment, then looked up and said, "I'll give you 100,000 coins to activate the sharing feature."

I'll add another 200,000 as a subsidy for you to purchase items to prolong your life.

"This money doesn't need to be returned; I just hope you can get things done as soon as possible."

Three hundred thousand!

Yang Ping's breath hitched.

Nowadays, an ordinary person's monthly salary is only thirty-three yuan, and five yuan can sustain a month's food. A pound of pork in the market only costs eight cents.

These price figures are enough to illustrate just how huge a sum of money 300,000 yuan is.

All I can say is that the jewelry business is all about real gold and silver.

"Do you have another 700,000 on hand?"

Yang Ping pondered for a moment before asking the question.

If you could just scrape together a million, why bother with system sharing and working hard to earn money? That's too much trouble; it's better to just stay home and relax.

"You little punk, do you really think I run a money exchange?"

Upon hearing this, Yan Hancheng flew into a rage and couldn't help but curse.

***

65. Yan Jiecheng's Blind Date

With the money in her pocket, Yang Ping left Sequoia Jewelry Store in a lighthearted mood.

He pedaled his bicycle and turned into the courtyard where Black Rat lived.

"Who should I look for?"

There were guards by the courtyard gate. When Yang Ping got out of the car, they immediately questioned him.

"I'm looking for Black Rat."

Yang Ping answered decisively.

The two men exchanged a glance, and one of them turned and walked into the courtyard, clearly to report the matter.

The remaining person remained silent, and Yang Ping waited quietly as well.

Not long after, Black Rat hurried out from inside to greet them.

"Comrade Yang!"

He shouted from afar, then turned and berated his two subordinates:

"From now on, no one is allowed to stop Comrade Yang from coming! Treat him as if he were me, understand?"

"Understood!"

Although the two were wondering to themselves—they had never met this Comrade Yang before and wondered why their boss respected him so much—they quickly agreed.

"Comrade Yang, please come in."

The black rat led the way from the side.

Yang Ping followed, leaving his bicycle at the door.

Since someone was watching over him, he wasn't worried.

The courtyard was unusually quiet, with hardly anyone moving around.

All was quiet; everyone was fast asleep and wouldn't start work until after midnight.

Black Rat quickly offered a low explanation.

Yang Ping listened and nodded slightly.

It's similar to the nocturnal jobs of later generations.

He followed the black rat around to a side room in the backyard.

"How much have you saved up over the years?"

Yang Ping sat down on the stool and asked casually.

Black Rat looked a little embarrassed and rubbed his hands together.

"I haven't saved much money. Most of my daily expenses are spent on the brothers. Right now, I only have about a thousand dollars left."

"Then so be it."

Yang Ping waved his hand.

He originally wanted to see how much Black Rat could move out; if the amount was considerable, it might be useful in an emergency.

A thousand dollars is hardly of any use; if it were ten thousand dollars, it might be worth considering.

"Please wait a moment, I will grant you sharing permissions for the system space."