Courtyard House: A Veteran Returns Home and Becomes a Father

Su Mo led Master Lei back to Nantongluo Lane. Before they even reached the entrance of No. 95 Courtyard, they saw a thin figure sitting on a small stool by the door, holding a large enamel mug, his eyes darting around.

It was none other than the third uncle in the courtyard, Yan Bugui.

Yan Bugui had already seen Su Mo. He felt that the young man was unfamiliar, but when he saw him holding the key and walking straight towards No. 95 courtyard, he immediately felt like he was being scratched by a cat.

Seeing Su Mo's pale face and slightly thin figure, Yan Bugui immediately made a decision. This was probably some sickly person who had gotten lucky and been allocated such a good courtyard.

This kind of person is the easiest to handle!

He immediately stood up, carrying an enamel mug, and went to greet them with a familiar smile on his face.

"Hey, comrade, you don't look familiar. Are you moving into courtyard number 95?" Yan Bugui stopped Su Mo, glancing at Master Lei. "Looks like you're going to build a house? Let me tell you, I'm the third-in-command here, the one in charge. You have to let me know before you start talking about anything in this courtyard."

He deliberately emphasized the words "Third Uncle" and "Manager," trying to give Su-Mo a hard time.

Su Mo sneered inwardly, but kept a straight face: "Hello, sir, my name is Su Mo. This is the courtyard that the organization assigned to me. I've invited the craftsman to come and take a look at it today, in preparation for repairs."

"Building a house is a good idea!" Yan Bugui's eyes lit up, and he immediately changed the subject, rubbing his hands together and saying with a shrewd look, "Building a house will definitely require a lot of wood, right? If there are any scraps or old pieces of wood, don't burn them as firewood, it's such a waste. Just tell me, and I'll help you dispose of them, so you don't take up space."

Good grief, they've got their eye on it.

Su Mo looked at his scheming face, but she wasn't angry. Instead, she leaned forward, lowered her voice, and wore a strange smile.

"Sir, you're right, there will definitely be waste material. But..."

Su Mo changed the subject, her voice even lower, "How can you guarantee that you can distinguish which is scrap and which isn't?"

This seemingly random question caught Yan Bugui off guard.

"What do you mean?"

Su Mo smiled without saying a word.

He slowly took out a dark, heavy object from his cloth bag.

It wasn't that big black gun, but a hand grenade.

Of course, it was a training round with the fuse removed, but its weight and appearance were enough to fool people.

He held the grenade in his hand and tossed it around like an apple, then handed it to Yan Bugui, his smile unwavering.

"Sir, look. I have some souvenirs I brought back from the army, and sometimes I can't tell which ones make a sound and which ones don't. What if I mistake the ones that make a sound for scrap metal and put them with the wood... then who's responsible if they explode?"

Yan Bugui stared at the black lump in front of him, his mind went blank with a "buzz".

It's not that he's unsophisticated, but this thing... he's only ever seen this thing in movies!

Just then, Su Mo's smiling face slowly overlapped with the face of a boy from five years ago in front of him.

That boy, with the same ambiguous smile, dared to shove the cold muzzle of a gun into his arms because of a few steamed buns!

It's...it's him!

That scoundrel is back!

"You...you...you're that brat from the Su family!"

Yan Bugui's voice trembled violently, and the color drained from his face instantly. The enamel mug in his hand fell to the ground with a clatter, spilling hot water all over his shoes.

A chill ran from the soles of my feet straight up to the top of my head!

The memories from five years ago are so vivid—the icy touch, the undisguised murderous intent…

Five years have passed, and this kid has not only not changed, but has become even more ruthless!

They immediately started playing with grenades!

"ah!!!"

Yan Bugui let out a scream that sounded inhuman. He didn't even bother to pick up the jar on the ground. He turned around and rushed into the yard, tumbling and crawling as if he had seen a ghost.

"Murder! Su Mo is going to kill someone!"

His disheveled appearance stunned Master Lei, who then looked at Su Mo with a mixture of curiosity and awe.

Su Mo bent down, picked up the enamel mug from the ground, weighed it in his hand, and a cold smile curled at the corner of his mouth.

Reasoning with these beasts is useless.

We have to use the only language they understand.

He put the grenade back into his bag and gestured "please" to Master Lei, as if nothing had happened.

"Master Lei, please excuse the poor thing. Let's go inside."

Master Lei snapped out of his daze, looked at Su Mo, nodded, and didn't ask any more questions.

He knew that his employer was definitely not a kind person.

He took out his key and opened the long-sealed gate to the east courtyard.

A damp, rotten smell wafted over.

Previously, the east wing was the garden of this courtyard house, but it was bought by a traitor who built several rooms on it.

But now the yard is overgrown with weeds, large patches of plaster have fallen off the walls, several roof tiles are missing, and the window paper is tattered and rattles in the wind.

However, the courtyard is not small, and its length is the same as this three-section siheyuan (traditional courtyard house), only a little narrower.

There are three main rooms in total, and two side rooms on each side. (Don't worry about the realism; this makes it seem larger.)

The entire courtyard exuded an air of abandonment and decay.

Master Lei didn't seem to mind. He walked around the yard with his hands behind his back, knocking on the walls here and looking at the beams there, his expression growing increasingly serious.

"These houses have serious problems." He pointed to the beam of the main house. "This main beam has been hollowed out by termites and must be replaced. And this wall, the foundation has subsided and there are already cracks, it also needs to be torn down and rebuilt."

He quickly pointed out several fatal problems that laymen would never notice.

"Master Lei, do you think these houses can be saved?" Su Mo asked.

"Of course it can be saved." Master Lei stroked his beard, his eyes gleaming with confidence. "As long as the materials are sufficient and the wages are paid in time, I can make sure your yard lasts another hundred years!"

"Then I'll leave it all to you," Su Mo said sincerely. "I don't have any big requirements for the renovation, I just want to tidy up the house. I want to get my daughter a sunny room that's warm and doesn't let in drafts in winter. I also want to get a place to take a shower, and the kitchen needs to be cleaned up too."

"A place to take a bath?" Master Lei was taken aback.

These days, ordinary families don't bathe at home; they all go to public bathhouses.

"Yes, my wife is a clean person," Su Mo explained casually. "Could you see if we could partition off a small room in the left or right wing and install pipes? We could also install a toilet there, so we don't have to go out to use the restroom."

(They should all have a public toilet outside the courtyard. Don't ask me how I know. Back in the 90s, when Faye Wong and Dou Wei were together, even Faye Wong had to empty her chamber pot herself in the public toilet. Let alone now, which is only in the 50s.)

Although the request was novel, it was not difficult for Master Lei.

"Okay, I understand." Master Lei nodded. "I'll go back and draw up some blueprints for you, and also make a materials list. You can buy the materials according to the list, and once everything is ready, I'll bring the people over to start work. Alternatively, I can prepare the materials, and you can pay for them later, but the total cost, including labor and materials, might be over five hundred."

Money is definitely not a problem; I received about four thousand yuan in resettlement compensation. (After all, I served in the army for ten years; please don't criticize me for the sake of the story.)

"Money is not a problem, materials..." Su Mo's eyes lit up, and he had an idea.

Damn it, wouldn't it be perfect to use all those fine Phoebe zhennan and rosewood pieces in my own space?

"Master Lei, to be honest, I have a distant relative who's in the timber business. I can get a batch of good timber and deliver it directly to you. You can buy the rest, is that alright?"

"Oh? What kind of wood?" Master Lei asked, intrigued.

"You'll see when the time comes; I guarantee it's good stuff." Su Mo smiled mysteriously.

Master Lei didn't ask any further questions, assuming that he had some connections.

Su Mo decided not to take advantage of the military and decided to pay for it himself. He took out two hundred yuan from his pocket and stuffed it into Master Lei's hand.

"Master Lei, here's the deposit. Please take it. I'll leave the blueprints and materials list to you. I can only provide the lumber; the rest will have to be provided by you. I'll settle the rest later when it costs money. I don't have time to prepare meals for you, so just add them in later."

Two hundred yuan was no small sum in those days; it was equivalent to almost half a year's wages for an average worker.

Master Lei declined for a moment, but seeing Su Mo's firm attitude, he accepted it.

He could tell that the young man in front of him genuinely wanted to settle down in this family.

Master Lei put the money into his inner pocket and said to Su Mo, "How about this, boss, you and I will clear the weeds in the yard today. Tomorrow I'll find someone to prepare the materials and we'll start working. Is that alright?"

"Okay, no problem." Su Mo readily agreed and then prepared to get started.

Just then, a middle-aged woman who looked like a fat pig appeared at the gate of the courtyard.