The Fitter Master in the Courtyard: Surrounded by Dead Men

This courtyard was originally prepared for her, so she can decide how to decorate it; he doesn't want to interfere.

"Then it's settled!"

Chen Xueru's brows relaxed, and she smiled.

She then went on to talk about her future business plans, explaining them clearly and logically.

Yang Ping listened quietly, nodding occasionally.

Seeing how thoughtful she was, I couldn't help but be a little surprised. No wonder she was able to manage such a large scene later on and became such a capable person in everyone's eyes.

The snow outside the window had stopped sometime ago.

Yang Ping stayed at the shop for a simple meal before getting up to take his leave.

The rest can be discussed at a later time.

Since he and Chen Xueru had already committed to each other, there was no need to rush.

Besides, even if I really wanted to... this shop is still a bit cramped, and making too much noise would inevitably attract attention, which is not appropriate.

Let's leave it all for later.

When I returned to the courtyard house, a thick layer of white had already accumulated under the eaves.

In the front yard, Yan Fugui was sweeping the path with a broom, while several neighbors were also busy with their own tasks.

Yang Ping nodded slightly in greeting, then went straight through the moon gate to the backyard.

Just as they rounded the screen wall, a cheerful greeting drifted over: "Brother Yang Ping, you're back!"

In the winter courtyard, snow covered the blue bricks.

Ma Xiaoling was sweeping the snow in front of Yang Ping's door.

Seeing him arrive, she straightened up and greeted him with a smile.

"Sister Xiaoling, just put it down, I can do it myself."

Yang Ping quickly stepped forward, her words revealing her apologies.

"It's alright, moving around will warm you up."

"I'm just sitting at home doing nothing anyway."

Ma Xiaoling didn't stop; the broom swept across the snow, making a soft rustling sound.

"Well... thank you so much."

Yang Ping felt a warm glow in her heart and thanked him, but suddenly felt a chill on the back of her neck.

He subconsciously turned around and saw Xu Damao holding a broom, sweeping snow not far away, his face long and his eyes full of indescribable frustration.

Yang Ping could only force a smile at him, a somewhat awkward one.

But in his heart he couldn't help but mutter: Da Mao, I didn't mean to embarrass you, you should just bear with it.

"Hey! Xu Damao, did the sun rise in the west today? So diligent!"

Suddenly, Sha Zhu's loud voice came from the side.

He always likes to loiter around these crucial moments, and casually add a few bland remarks.

Xu Damao snorted through his nose, without even raising his head, but swung the broom harder, sending snowflakes flying high.

"I said, if you're a man, you should act like a man, not like a woman..."

Sha Zhu was halfway through his sentence when he suddenly realized that the silence around him was unsettling.

His neck stiffened, and he slowly turned his head, meeting Ma Xiaoling's eyes that were quietly staring at him. His heart skipped a beat.

"Heh...hehe,"

He chuckled dryly, then quickly slurred, "I mean, Sister Xiaoling, you're so virtuous! Xu Damao is incredibly lucky to have married you!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he realized something was off, but seeing that Ma Xiaoling's face showed no anger, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

He was single, but he knew that there were some people he should never mess with.

Yang Ping, who was standing nearby, heard everything clearly. Seeing Xu Damao's face turn as black as the bottom of a pot, a sudden urge to laugh rose to her throat.

He pressed his lips tightly together, his shoulders trembling slightly, but he managed to hold back his laughter and didn't dare to actually laugh out loud.

As dusk settled, Yang Ping rode his bicycle back to the compound.

The wheels crunched over the unmelted snow, making a soft, rustling sound.

The work in the workshop wasn't too heavy today. He led Cao Dayu and Song Zixu to polish the parts of the battery-powered machinery. The two young men were quite skillful, and in just half a day, they had already reached the threshold of becoming first-level fitters.

He observed this and casually praised him, saying, "If you continue learning like this, it won't be long before you take on the role of a fitter."

The courtyard was quiet, except for two figures loitering in front of the west wing.

Xu Damao gripped the broom, idly sweeping the snow in front of the steps, while Ma Xiaoling stood by the door with her arms crossed, her face covered with a thin layer of frost.

As Yang Ping pushed the cart past, Xu Damao glanced up at him, his lips taut, but he quickly lowered his head again, only sweeping the broom even more frantically.

Yang Ping did not stop.

He naturally remembered what happened earlier that morning—his unintentional remark had seemed to have pierced a hole in Xu Damao's heart.

Why bother? He simply thought Ma Xiaoling was kind and praised her as "virtuous" without thinking.

Little did Xu Damao expect that these words would be interpreted as blatant mockery.

Thinking of Xu Damao's pale and ashen face at that time, Yang Ping couldn't help but smile.

It's funny.

The guy was clearly seething with anger, but he didn't dare utter a single word in rebuttal. He just swallowed his anger and didn't even dare to throw the broom a second time.

He stepped into his house, and behind him he could faintly hear Ma Xiaoling's hushed rebuke:

"Xu Damao, are you asking for a beating?"

Then came Xu Damao's mumbled words and the rustling sound of the broom scraping against the stone bricks.

Yang Ping gently closed the door.

The cold wind was kept out, and warmth gradually gathered inside the house.

He shook his head, a faint sense of amusement passing through his mind.

Some things are better left unsaid; it's better to understand them than to spell them out. Doesn't Xu Damao already know the score in his own heart?

As for Ma Xiaoling...

He brushed the snow off his sleeves and looked out the window at the deepening night.

Yes, she is indeed diligent and willing to help others.

He can always say those things.

Yang Ping's few words of praise made the two of them overjoyed, and they became even more diligent in their work.

Everything in the workshop remained the same, with no changes to the furnishings.

As Yang Ping pondered the events of the day, he walked back to the courtyard gate.

"Ring ring—ring ring—"

A crisp bicycle bell rang out urgently from the other end.

Yang Ping looked up and saw Yan Fugui getting off his bicycle, his face full of smiles.

He deliberately pushed the car forward half a step, showing the front wheels to Yang Ping:

"Look, the wheels were just replaced! They're almost new, and it only cost eleven dollars including installation. Isn't that a good deal?"

"Congratulations, Third Uncle."

Yang Ping examined the indeed brand-new wheel and nodded.

Right now, the wheels have become the most eye-catching part of the entire vehicle.

Upon hearing this, Yan Fugui laughed so hard his eyes disappeared.

"Oh no! Someone help! My Guangqi has disappeared!"

"Please help me, everyone! I need to find my child!"

A sudden shout erupted in the backyard.

Immediately afterwards, Liu Haizhong came running from the backyard like a wild boar breaking out of the fence, and in the blink of an eye he was at the front gate.

He spotted Yan Fugui at a glance and shouted urgently, "Old Yan! Lend me your car! I need to go find my son! I'll give you a dollar later!"

As he spoke, he reached out to grab the bicycle.

"Don't rush, don't rush! Old Liu, where do you want to go? I'll give you a ride. You just need to pay me one yuan for the fare!"

Yan Fugui quickly stopped him.

He was worried about leaving the rickshaw unattended, but he couldn't bear to part with that one dollar, so he decided to become the rickshaw driver himself.

"Okay, okay, okay! Hurry up!"

Liu Haizhong urged him repeatedly.

Liu Haizhong agreed and then sat on the back of the bicycle.

All I heard was a "cracking" sound.

With a cracking sound, he suddenly sank downwards—

Liu Haizhong's mind went blank: The ground collapsed! This is terrible!

But in the eyes of Yang Ping and Yan Fugui, it was a completely different story:

The way Liu Haifang just jumped up and then fell heavily back down had already exceeded the lifespan of the old car's rear rack.

The joint snapped open, and the frame and wheels were twisted and deformed under the pressure, as if even the steel itself had emitted a burst of energy in that instant.

Both of them were stunned for a moment.

"Ouch!"

Liu Haizhong jumped up in pain—a piece of metal from the broken frame had pierced his pants.

Yan Fugui finally came to his senses, his gaze falling on his unrecognizable bicycle, his face contorted with anguish that brought tears to his eyes.

I was so happy about the new wheels this morning, and now they're in such a terrible state. It's like the laughter had barely ended before the sorrow arrived.

"My car—"

He cried out, his voice so mournful that an uninformed person would probably think a close family member had passed away.

Yang Ping wasn't surprised.

When he first rode in Yan Fugui's car, he had a vague premonition: if a heavy person were to sit in the back seat, the cobbled-together frame would surely fall apart.

Unexpectedly, the person who came to test the weight was Liu Haizhong.

Judging by his build, he must weigh at least 180 pounds. With him sitting in mid-air like that, how could this old car, made up of various parts, possibly support him?

"this……"

Liu Haizhong was stunned. He looked down at the pile of steel that he had flattened, and for a moment he completely forgot about going out to look for his son.

"Honey, what happened?"

The three women rushed out of the house and asked repeatedly.

A bicycle lay alone on the ground, its front wheel still intact, and everyone was stunned.

"Oh my goodness, who did this? How did such a perfectly good car end up like this?"

"The frame is twisted like a pretzel, and the wheels are wobbly. How much force must that have taken? Could it have been run over by a car?"

"You never know. What if it was a wild boar from the mountains that ran out and caused the collision? You don't know, those wild animals in the countryside are very fierce; they can even bore holes in brick walls."

"To be honest, it's like a mad bull, charging at you with its head down."

"Uncle San is really unlucky. He just lost his wheel a few days ago, and now the whole car is falling apart."

People in the yard gathered around the pile of wreckage at the sound of the noise, speculating wildly about whether it had four wheels or four legs, but no one suspected that it had been deliberately damaged.

Upon hearing these words, Liu Haizhong's face turned pale and then red, wishing he could dig a hole and bury himself in it on the spot.

"puff--"

Yang Ping couldn't help but burst out laughing.

Indeed, I've only ever heard of bicycles getting damaged in crashes or collisions, never of someone sitting on one and breaking it apart. No matter the brand, this metal thing is always a sturdy object.

But then, in the middle of my bangs, I encountered this car—the parts were a hodgepodge of miscellaneous items pieced together from various places, and even the nuts on the opposite side were different sizes.

With his body, weighing over 180 pounds, suddenly slumping down, the perfectly good car instantly fell apart.

This luck is like bad luck itself opening the door to even worse luck—it's unlucky to the extreme.

"Old Liu, what do you think we should do about this?"

Yan Fugui stared at Liu Haizhong and asked.

"Oh no, oh no!"

Liu Haizhong slapped his thigh. "I need to go find my son first. We can discuss the compensation later tonight!"

He then remembered that his son was still missing. The car being broken was a minor issue, but losing his son would be a serious matter.

After saying that, he turned around and tried to squeeze out.

"Dad, what happened?"

Liu Guangqi's voice suddenly came from the crowd.

He had somehow ended up in the middle of the crowd, peering at the pile of parts on the ground with a puzzled look on his face.

Liu Guangqi had just turned the corner when he was frozen in place by an urgent shout.

"Guangqi! I've been looking for you everywhere, where have you been?"

Liu Haizhong rushed forward, his forehead still covered in fine beads of sweat, his chest heaving with rapid breathing.

He grabbed his son's arm as if afraid that what he was seeing was just a phantom.

Only when he truly touched that warm arm did the tense lines on his face suddenly relax, replaced by a great sense of relief at having something lost and then regained.

Just now, a terrible thought seized him—if Liu Guangqi were to disappear without a trace, the Liu family's proud hopes would be dashed, and his own long-cherished future would also be shattered.

"I didn't go anywhere, I just went to the supply and marketing cooperative and bought some meat."