Siheyuan: I will never tolerate gambling and drugs!

West Wing, Xu Lin's House

Tan sat at the dining table with a flushed face, and Xu Lin also had a strange expression. Neither of them had any appetite for the lunch they had worked so hard to prepare.

Lou Xiao'e and He Yushui were enjoying their meal immensely. Tan's culinary skills were, of course, impeccable.

"Mom, what's wrong? Are you feeling unwell? You haven't been eating much." Lou Xiao'e asked Tan Shi with concern.

Upon hearing this, Xu Lin also looked over with a strange expression. Madam Tan was startled, glared at Xu Lin with shame and anger, then turned to Xiao'e to comfort her.

"It's nothing, Mom just hasn't cooked in a while and the fumes are making her choke. Plus, it's a bit hot, so she doesn't have much of an appetite. You go ahead and eat, don't worry about me."

Lou Xiao'e didn't think there was anything wrong with what she heard, so she continued to eat happily with He Yushui.

Xu Lin was currently seething with anger. Although he had successfully provoked the Tan family, every action has its consequences. Now he was also experiencing a backlash. After thinking for a while, he came up with an idea.

"Xiao'e, after you finish eating, you and Yushui pack your things. I'll take your mother to the neighborhood committee to see Director Wang and get your household registration and school enrollment sorted out."

Finally, I need to ask Master Hou to renovate your backyard house. He might be back a little late. Be good at home, okay?

Lou Xiao'e and He Yushui nodded after hearing this, and patted their chests as if to assure them that there would be no problem. Madam Tan glanced at Xu Lin, knowing he was full of schemes, and that sending the two children away was definitely not a good thing.

So they were both nervous and excited; this meal had been taking forever for Tan and Xu Lin…

Finally, after the two little ones finished eating, they ran together to the side room in the rain to pack their things. Tan Shi and Xu Lin stared intently at each other.

Xu Lin scooped Tan up in his arms and carried her to the small courtyard where a makeshift bed had been placed that morning. Tan let out a soft moan as she was lifted, then nestled her head against Xu Lin's chest without resistance, like a submissive little bird.

"Those two won't come, will they..." Madam Tan asked softly, nestled shyly in Xu Lin's arms in the back room.

"It's okay, I've closed the door. They can't get into the yard. Just keep your voice down so they don't realize there's someone inside."

The window of this room is outside the courtyard and they can't see it. We can just climb out of the window and no one will know.

"But……"

"No buts, let's get down to business," Xu Lin said, giving Tan Shi no further chance to hesitate.

……

More than 60 minutes later

"You rascal, like a tiger ready to devour someone. Such a refined and gentle person, how come... you don't even know how to be considerate..." Mrs. Tan pinched Xu Lin in frustration, but she couldn't muster any strength; it was like a mere tickle.

"Hehe, it takes two to tango. You didn't blame me when you were shouting the work chants," Xu Lin said with a mischievous grin, his hands busy.

"You! I'll bite you to death!" With that, Madam Tan grabbed Xu Lin's large hand, which had been constantly moving, and bit it. However, to her surprise, the slight pain immediately roused Xu Lin.

"Wait, what are you doing! I... um..."

After a while, Madam Tan learned her lesson and remained silent, only gazing tenderly at Xu Lin with slightly narrowed eyes.

Looking at Tan Shi's flushed face, her eyes seemed to hold a pool of autumn water, Xu Lin couldn't help but kiss her red lips.

Suddenly, Mrs. Tan opened her eyes wide and sat up.

"I can't take it anymore, I give up. Please, I beg for mercy, I really can't take it anymore."

Even if it were made of iron, it would be useless against a blacksmith like you!

Upon hearing Tan's words, Xu Lin's confidence soared, his male vanity being infinitely satisfied. He then got up, took a cigarette from his pocket, and lit it.

After taking a drag, he slowly exhaled smoke, stared into Tan's eyes, and asked with a wicked grin, "So, what do you suggest we do now?"

Madam Tan glanced at Xu Lin, said nothing more, and simply brushed the stray hairs that were falling across her forehead behind her ears...

After a while

"This can beautify your skin? You're not kidding me, are you?"

"Don't worry, definitely! You have to trust science, trust the doctors, trust me!" Xu Lin replied earnestly, using his usual platitudes.

After resting for a while, Xu Lin climbed out of the window first. After confirming that no one was around, he gave Tan a safety signal and then carried her out of the window.

After leaving the courtyard, the two walked side by side toward the neighborhood office.

After a considerable amount of work, they finally got Lou Xiao'e's household registration and school enrollment sorted out. Then, using the letter of introduction from Lou Bancheng, they helped Tan get a position as a women's representative in the neighborhood office.

The salary was low, only 20 yuan a month. But for Ms. Tan, it was a new beginning, a new life. Overjoyed, she immediately donated all her jewelry and bracelets to the neighborhood committee for poverty alleviation, proving that she had completely abandoned hedonism.

Director Wang was also very pleased with Tan's actions. However, he still left her a bracelet as a reminder that "hedonism is undesirable, but the people's property is also supreme."

Finally, he solemnly shook hands with Madam Tan, welcoming her to sincerely serve the people. Madam Tan also breathed a sigh of relief at that moment.

On the way back, she kept looking at her work ID with delight, glancing at the ID and then at the man who had brought her a new life, like a little girl who had received a toy from her parents.

Xu Lin saw this and was happy for Madam Tan. Suddenly, he thought that if he made some unreasonable demands now, he probably wouldn't be refused... In the end, he held back and didn't speak. There's plenty of time, why rush?

After dropping Tan off at home, Xu Lin consulted with Master Hou about how to renovate the three rooms in Tan's backyard.

After some discussion, they decided to decorate the interior according to Xu Lin's style, then enclose the open space between the front door and the backyard in Liu Haizhong's house with a wall, and convert the window of the westernmost room into an entrance door, thus creating a detached house.

Since the house already had a complete set of furniture, there was no need to build a new set; all that was needed was to build a stove and a cabinet in the kitchen.

In the end, a fair price was given. After all, Xu Lin had brought them over, so the Tan family didn't haggle and readily paid all the fees to Master Hou in advance.

Knowing Xu Lin's personality, Master Hou didn't refuse Tan's offer. After receiving the money, he immediately got his people to start working.

Xu Lin immediately reassured Master Hou, telling him not to rush and to take his time, emphasizing that his health and safety were the most important things to prioritize. Master Hou was so moved by Xu Lin's words that he was willing to work overtime and promised to complete the task on time and to a high standard within three days!

Xu Lin was speechless and felt depressed when he found out.

Madam Tan knew what Xu Lin was thinking. Seeing Xu Lin's discomfiture, and remembering how she had bullied her at noon, she suddenly felt that someone had stood up for her, and secretly smiled...

The residents of the courtyard all knew that Madam Tan had moved to the backyard. Initially, because Madam Tan had previously been the concubine of the capitalist Lou Bancheng, no one dared to greet her, fearing it would have repercussions.

However, when I inquired at the neighborhood committee, I heard from Director Wang that the Tan family had completely severed ties with the capitalist Lou Bancheng, and even their daughter had changed her surname to her mother's and become a women's representative in the neighborhood.

The people in the courtyard started to get restless again. After all, the Tan family had dealings with many people in the courtyard.

Needless to say, Xu Damao's family in the backyard, before today, Xu Wude and his wife Qian were still servants of the Lou family.

Yan Bugui had previously worked as an accountant at the Lou family's restaurant because he was literate. The head chef at that time was Tan's father, who often took Tan to the restaurant.

It was around that time that He Daqing learned a few dishes of Tan family cuisine from Tan's father. Liu Haizhong and Yi Zhonghai, on the other hand, only visited Lou Bancheng and his concubine, Tan, a few years after they became full-time employees at the steel rolling mill.

Therefore, in terms of personal connections and influence, the Tan family undoubtedly had the best relationships with everyone in the courtyard. This is why, in the original story, the Tan family agreed to marry Lou Xiao'e to Xu Damao. It's just that they never expected these beasts to be so inhuman.

After learning about Tan's situation, Yi Zhonghai sent Sha Zhu, Xu Damao, and Jia Dongxu to inform the residents of the courtyard that a general meeting would be held that evening.

When Sha Zhu ran to Xu Lin's house to deliver the news, Xu Lin and the others were eating dinner prepared by Lou Xiao'e and He Yushui.

"Brother Xu, are you eating? An old man said there's going to be a company-wide meeting tonight, and he asked me to let you and Aunt Tan know."

Upon hearing this, Madam Tan looked up at Sha Zhu by the door. He was greasy-looking and seemed to be about her age, yet he called her "Aunt Tan," which made Madam Tan feel a little uncomfortable. However, she didn't say anything more.

After all, she had heard from Yu Shui that her brother was only 17 years old, two years younger than Xu Lin, and almost ten years younger than her in terms of age. So calling him "aunt" wasn't wrong. However, the lecherous look in Sha Zhu's eyes made her very uncomfortable, so she didn't intend to pay any attention to him.

Xu Lin, seeing Tan's expression, knew what she was thinking and directly continued the conversation.

"Okay, Zhuzi, your Aunt Tan and I will go over after we finish eating. You go and inform the others first."

Sha Zhu was staring blankly at the pretty young woman, Tan Shi, when he heard Xu Lin's words and snapped out of his daze.

"Okay, you guys eat first. I'll go tell the others." But just as he turned around and saw his sister, He Yushui, still on the table, he immediately asked, "By the way, Yushui, when I woke up this afternoon, I saw you had put everything away? What happened?"

He Yushui swallowed the cornbread in her mouth and replied.

"Xiao'e and Aunt Tan just moved in, and the house in the backyard hasn't been repaired yet. I've been staying at Brother Xu's house with Xiao'e and Aunt Tan for the past few days."

Upon hearing that the Tan mother and daughter were staying at Xu Lin's house, Sha Zhu instinctively asked, "Can so many of you sleep in one place?"

He Yushui was also angry when she heard her brother ask such an inopportune question: "Of course there's room. Brother Xu gave us the two rooms upstairs, and he made himself a bed in the back room."

You're so nosy. Go do your thing and go run errands for that old man. We'll be there after we finish eating.

After understanding what he had said, Sha Zhu realized that his question was inappropriate. He scratched his head awkwardly, chuckled, and slunk away.

Xu Lin thought for a moment and sighed.

"Looks like these people are up to something again..." After sighing, he didn't explain further, but simply urged everyone to eat quickly.

Mrs. Tan looked puzzled but didn't ask any further questions. She continued eating. Xiao Yushui and Lou Xiao'e were overjoyed, assuming that Xu Lin and Mrs. Tan really liked the food they had made.

What they didn't know was that after working almost on an empty stomach all morning, the two of them were truly hungry...