Siheyuan: I will never tolerate gambling and drugs!

While Xu Lin was checking the system, the residents of the courtyard returned. They learned, either directly or indirectly, from Yan Bugui that the three large rooms in the west wing of the front yard had been given to the new factory doctor from the steel rolling mill.

East wing of the Intermediate Court, Yi Zhonghai's home

"Uncle, why were these three rooms given to some random young man? My son Dongxu is getting married in two years, we can't let the young couple squeeze in with an old woman like me..."

An old woman with triangular eyes and a fierce glint in her eye peered through the window towards Xu Lin's house in the front yard, pursing her lips and complaining incessantly to an old man named Yi Zhonghai.

With his cheek muscles twitching and spittle flying everywhere, this man was none other than Jia Zhangshi, the "necromancer" residing in the central courtyard.

"Yes, this kind of division by neighborhood committee isn't in the best interests of the people. There are so many young people in our compound. We can't expect them to get married and live outside the compound after they start working. It would be too much trouble for the younger generation to take care of us when we get old. This definitely won't work in the long run."

The small-headed, round-bellied second uncle, Liu Haizhong, and the lean third uncle, Yan Bugui, exchanged a glance before glancing at the first uncle, Yi Zhonghai, sitting inside, and muttering in a sinister, official tone...

Thinking to myself, both Yan Bugui and I have children. If Yi Zhonghai hadn't intervened this time, it would have been too obvious for the two of them to stand on their own, and they would definitely have been gossiped about behind their backs by the people in the compound.

An old man sitting inside frowned upon hearing this. He could tell that Liu Haizhong and Yan Bugui hoped he would step in this time, since his childless status made him the most suitable person to do so.

Ever since the three men became the stewards, they gradually began to regard the courtyard as their own territory.

The west wing of the front yard wasn't unoccupied; the previous residents simply refused to listen to the three old men, and after repeated complaints and biased treatment, they...

Adding to the problem was the pretentious and condescending attitude of the old man in charge of the courtyard. Unable to tolerate it any longer, I applied to the neighborhood committee for a transfer. Afterwards, the three old men secretly discussed the west wing and the remaining houses in the courtyard.

The house is reserved for their children's weddings. The third uncle's two sons will each take the front yard, the second uncle's three sons will each take the back yard, and the empty house in the middle yard will be left to Jia Dongxu of the Jia family, who is Yi Zhonghai's caregiver. This way, it will be more secure for his care in his old age.

"I met with the new Xu Lin this afternoon. He's very easy to talk to and knows how to behave. My husband saw that he was brought by Director Wang, who said he was the new factory doctor at the steel rolling mill. He didn't say anything else."

Yan Bugui took a sip of the hot water in his cup, implying that the kid wasn't anything special.

After listening, Yi Zhonghai nodded. "I'll go talk to them and see what they think."

After saying that, he walked towards the door. The other three followed behind him.

Xu Lin was having a great time tinkering with the system and playing the trick of retrieving objects from a distance.

There was a knocking sound at the door. Xu Lin, not noticing the knocking, was startled. Realizing someone was knocking, he quickly got up to ask:

"Who is it? It's so late, stop knocking, I'll be right there." Xu Lin got up impatiently, put on his shoes, walked to the door, unbolted it, and opened the door.

"Holy crap, where did this pig's head come from?!"

When the door was opened, Jia Zhangshi, with her opportunistic and greedy nature, squeezed her head forward to see what good things were inside, as she was still behind Yi Zhonghai and it was getting dark.

So when Xu Lin opened the door, he saw a head next to Yi Zhonghai and thought it was a pig's head. He blurted it out without thinking.

The four were stunned by his words, not understanding why Xu Lin had said that. It wasn't until Yi Zhonghai turned and saw Jia Zhangshi's expression that he realized it was quite a vivid description.

The other two old men realized they were referring to Jia Zhangshi, so they bit their lip to suppress their laughter, though they were still quite pleased to see the old hag being scolded.

Enraged, Jia Zhangshi shouted, "You blind wretch! Your eyesight is terrible, and you can't even speak properly? Where's your pig's head?"

Upon hearing this, Xu Lin retorted directly: "You're always shoving every accusation at me. Calling me a pig-head didn't specifically target you, so why are you looking for trouble? You're just asking to be the pig-head and then insulting others. Everyone, leave, I need to rest." He then made a move to close the door.

Cough cough...

Yi Zhonghai quickly coughed twice to stop Jia Zhangshi and prevent the situation from escalating, then reached out to stop Xu Lin and identified himself.

"You must be the new guy, Xiao Xu. I'm Yi Zhonghai, an old man in this courtyard, living in the east wing of the central courtyard. This is Aunt Jia, an old resident in the west wing opposite mine. She's raised her son alone for many years, it hasn't been easy for her. She has a bit of a temper, so please be understanding and don't take it to heart."

Here's the thing: Uncle Liu Haizhong and I, who live in the backyard, just got back from get off work. We heard that new residents had moved in, so we, along with Aunt Jia and Uncle San from across the hall, came over to say hello and introduce ourselves.

Yi Zhonghai's face wore a perfectly deceitful smile.

"Yes, yes, that's just how Jia Zhangshi has always been. Young Xu, you should be more tolerant."

Yan Bugui chimed in, but Liu Haizhong hesitated to speak, as it was their first time meeting.

Seeing the four people's hostile expressions, Xu Lin guessed they were just a bunch of wolves in sheep's clothing. Knowing they were up to no good, he pretended to be clueless.

"Oh, I see. Hello, gentlemen, I'm Xu Lin. I just moved into this courtyard today. If you need anything in the future, just let me know, and I'll definitely help within my ability!"

Hearing that Xu Lin was on the right track, Yi Zhonghai and the others felt relieved. Taking advantage of this, Yi Zhonghai also adopted a more assertive tone in his speech.

"If you put it that way, Little Xu, then this old man does have something to discuss with you."

Upon hearing this, Xu Lin thought to himself, "This guy's really pushing his luck." He couldn't help but sneer inwardly, wanting to see what kind of trouble he was up to.

"Then come in and talk, don't just stand at the door." Xu Lin said, stepping aside to invite everyone into the house.

The four men entered the room and looked around. There was only a table and a chair. Nothing else. They couldn't help but laugh inwardly. He seemed to be a poor, powerless, orphaned boy. Easy enough to handle.

After the four entered the room, Xu Lin sat down imposingly in the only chair. Without even offering to pour water, he ignored Jia Zhangshi's fierce, triangular eyes and spoke directly.

"What do you three gentlemen want to discuss? Please speak frankly. I live alone, and this is a newly assigned job, so I don't have the money to buy furniture or anything. I'm sorry you're all watching."

The four people saw that Xu Lin sat down in the chair without any intention of offering himself up, so they didn't say anything more. After all, his family background was what it was, and besides, they had just said they wanted to discuss something with him.

Xu Lin sat in his chair, habitually crossing his legs, a smile playing on his lips as he looked at the three old men and Jia Zhangshi standing before him, resembling a tenant farmer paying respects to a landlord.

It was a bit funny, and the four people who entered the room also felt a little awkward, but they couldn't show it. Yi Zhonghai pondered for a moment, then said with a helpless expression.

"That's right, Uncle San's family has five people. His two sons and youngest daughter are growing up, and their current house is simply not big enough for them."

Look at these three rooms, you can't possibly live in them all by yourself. Could you partition one of them and rent it out to Uncle San in an emergency?

"Once their eldest son gets a job, gets married, and gets his own apartment, he'll move out. He won't be living here for free. How about I give you three yuan a month for rent?"

Yan Bugui, feigning generosity, took over the conversation.

"Don't worry, if other people raise their rent later, Uncle San won't hesitate to raise yours too."

"We also need to rent a room. My son Dongxu is getting married in two years, and it's not suitable for an old woman like me to live with him. So, rent a room to me and I'll pay you the same rent."

Seeing that Yi Zhonghai and Yan Bugui did not mention the Jia family, Jia Zhangshi quickly spoke up to add to the discussion.

Yi Zhonghai and Yan Bugui frowned upon hearing Jia Zhangshi's words. "You two are already trying to interfere while living in three rooms, which is one thing, but at least wait for their consent before adding anything. Bringing things up now will only make things difficult."

Madam Jia didn't care about any of that. "If I don't have it, neither do you. You think you can just leave me to find your own way out? No way!"

Xu Lin laughed in anger after hearing this. "Fine, fine. It has to be your Beastly Academy. You really can't find another one with this shamelessness..."