Siheyuan: I will never tolerate gambling and drugs!

Xu Lin hesitated for a moment, suppressing his anger. Then he thought, "Since you want to play, I'll play along." The instructor had said, "A good start prevents a hundred more!" After a moment's thought, he began to speak.

"It's just renting a place, isn't it? It's a small matter. I really can't fit all three rooms in by myself."

Upon hearing these words from Xu Lin, Yi Zhonghai and the others' eyes lit up, their eagerness evident on their faces, and they hurriedly spoke:

"We'll go back and make the arrangements, see how to plan it out. And we'll prepare the necessary paperwork..."

"Don't rush, gentlemen."

Xu Lin raised his hand, interrupting the speech, and smiled calmly at Yi Zhonghai and Liu Haizhu.

"Uncle, Uncle. Look, I'm a new resident, and on my very first day here, I've already solved such a huge problem as finding accommodation for my old neighbors in the courtyard. You two can't just stand by and watch, shouting all this..."

"This..." Liu Haizhong looked at Yi Zhonghai with a puzzled expression, while Jia Zhangshi and Yan Bugui also looked at the two of them expectantly.

Yi Zhonghai wasn't sure what Xu Lin wanted to say, so he decided to wait and see what Xu Lin wanted to say first. So he adopted a "I'll take care of everything, don't worry" attitude and started with the dirty trick of moral blackmail.

"Of course not. As a progressive young man who just arrived, Xiao Xu has upheld the virtues of respecting the elderly and caring for the young in this new society. He generously rents out his own house to help the residents in the same courtyard, and my second uncle and I certainly won't stand idly by."

However, your aunt is in poor health and needs to rest, and your second uncle's family is just as large as your third uncle's. Finding accommodation is also difficult, so if you're asking for help with renting out a place, neither of our families can really offer any assistance...

"Yes, Xiao Xu. Our courtyard has always been rated as an excellent courtyard house. A young person as outstanding as you should certainly uphold the virtues of respecting the elderly and caring for the young."

"Your uncle and I really can't help much with renting a place. Look, you're so young and you've already become a factory doctor; you're bound to have a bright future. Aside from the rent, which your uncle and I can't provide, just ask for anything else." Liu Haizhong quickly added slyly.

Upon hearing Liu Haizhong's words, Xu Lin knew that these guys had taken the bait.

"Don't worry, you two. I won't go back on my word. As you can see, this room is completely empty. Since the Third Uncle's family and the Jia family want to rent two rooms, this room will definitely need to be renovated and partitioned."

Otherwise, it would be inconvenient for a grown man like me to live with both of your families. How about this: Uncle and Uncle, each of your families will contribute 500 yuan as renovation funds, and the Jia family and Uncle's family will each provide two helpers.

I'll hire another contractor and two others to help, so five people can definitely renovate three rooms. If this 1000 yuan isn't enough, I'll figure out how to make up the difference myself.

With me leaving the house, my two uncles contributed money, and the Jia family and my third uncle's family contributed labor. Together, we solved the immediate problem. I believe the neighborhood committee will praise our courtyard for our mutual help, and this will surely secure our place as an outstanding courtyard house next year.

Three gentlemen, Aunt Jia. Is my request reasonable?

After hearing Xu Lin's words, the four people in the room had different expressions. Yi Zhonghai's face was gloomy, and he didn't know how to reply for a moment. Liu Haizhong's face turned red, Jia Zhangshi's triangular eyes widened, and only Yan Bugui had a smile on his lips, thinking that the plan was feasible.

The Jia family consists of only a mother and son. Jia Dongxu, a master of wall hanging, is still an apprentice and has to work, while Jia Zhangshi is lazy and doesn't want to do any work. Yan Bugui's two sons are both hardworking.

How could Yi Zhonghai and Liu Haizhong possibly be so foolish as to pay 1000 yuan? They'd rather just buy two houses in the neighboring yard. Although they couldn't buy or sell them now, they could give them away as gifts.

For a moment, the air in the room seemed to freeze, and the atmosphere was eerily quiet.

Jia Zhangshi couldn't hold back any longer and pointed at Xu Lin, cursing loudly.

"Why does it cost 1000 yuan to repair the house? If you had that 1000 yuan, you could just give it to both of us directly. Who would want to rent this shabby house from you? You little beast who killed your parents, you're clearly just making fun of us."

You little bastard, do you even have 100 yuan? You're asking for 1000! Grandpa, grandpa, this little brat just doesn't respect you and is deliberately making fun of you.

Just as Jia Zhangshi finished speaking to Yi Zhonghai and Liu Haizhong, she turned her face away, ready to continue her tirade.

Xu Lin stood up, took a step forward, and slapped Jia Zhangshi across the face as she turned her head.

Jia Zhangshi lost her balance and fell headfirst onto Yi Zhonghai.

How could you hit an old man!

"Second Uncle, go to the neighborhood office and call Director Wang over. Get rid of this scoundrel who wantonly beat up an elderly person!"

Yi Zhonghai initially thought this kid was a troublemaker and difficult to deal with. He was so tight-lipped, and Yi was just figuring out how to handle the situation when Jia Zhangshi jumped in and provoked Xu Lin, causing him to injure someone.

He quickly seized the opportunity to burst forth, suppressing his inner joy. With a serious expression, he made arrangements.

"Okay, sir. I'll go right away."

Liu Haizhong immediately ran off to find Director Wang of the Subdistrict Office. As soon as he arrived at the door, he saw Jia Dongxu and Sha Zhu smoking by the pool in the courtyard, looking in this direction.

"Dongxu, come quick and keep an eye on this new kid! Your mom got beaten up. I'm going to the neighborhood committee to find Director Wang to get justice!" Liu Haizhong yelled and ran out.

What?! That kid dared to hit my mom?!

After saying that, he threw down his cigarette butt and ran to the front yard, with Sha Zhu following behind. At this time, Jia Dongxu was 19 years old, and He Yuzhu, also known as Sha Zhu, was two years younger than Jia Dongxu, just 17 years old.

At this time, Jia Dongxu was still a temporary worker at the steel rolling mill. Because of his past friendship with Yi Zhonghai, Jia Dongxu was Yi Zhonghai's apprentice, learning to be a fitter.

Sha Zhu, because his father He Daqing ran off with the widow Bai, had gotten a temporary job as a canteen worker at the steel mill early on. Since neither of them had a father, and they were similar in age and had grown up together, Sha Zhu and Jia Dongxu were very close.

Hearing that Aunt Jia had been beaten, they naturally followed to see what was going on.

"Hmph! Yi Zhonghai, don't try to confuse the issue and twist the facts. You heard it yourself. I was trying to help her with her housing problem, and she still verbally abused me. My parents sacrificed their lives to fight in the Korean War. She dared to call me an animal, which means she insulted my parents. Slapping her would be too lenient."

You're so protective of her, finding her a place to live and standing up for her—is that Jia family's son your son?

Upon hearing that Xu Lin's parents had died in battle, Yi Zhonghai's heart sank. He stopped listening to what was behind him and realized, "This is bad." Jie Dao was definitely not on his side. He glanced at Yan Bugui behind him and glared at him, blaming the old man for not gathering enough intelligence.

He then winked at Yan Bugui, signaling him to go and pull Liu Haizhong back. Yan Bugui, being shrewd, immediately realized Xu Lin's unusual background—that his parents had died in battle—and hurriedly ran out to stop Liu Haizhong.

Jia Zhangshi, still recovering from her shock and with her ears ringing, hadn't heard a word Xu Lin and Yi Zhonghai said. Turning around and seeing Jia Dongxu rush in, she immediately sat down and started throwing a tantrum, instantly activating her "Necromancer" skills.

"You damned little beast, how dare you hit a widow like me! Old Jia, come up here right now and take this damned animal away! He's bullying me, a widow with no one to help me, bullying us orphans and widows! Life is unbearable, Old Jia..."

When Jia Dongxu entered the house, he saw his mother wailing on the floor, half her face marked with five bright red handprints. This instantly ignited the rage within him, fueled by his mama's boy nature: "You little brat, bullying my mom, you son of a bitch! I'll beat you to death today!"

Jia Dongxu stepped past Jia Zhangshi and angrily threw a punch at Xu Lin's face.

Before Yi Zhonghai could even speak to stop him, Xu Lin, who was also enjoying the famous scene of summoning Old Jia, looked up and saw Jia Dongxu's fist coming towards him. He sneered at the fool in his heart, then turned his head to dodge the fist, grabbed Jia's arm with one hand, and slammed Jia Dongxu heavily onto the table.

The already dilapidated table shattered into pieces in an instant. Jia Dongxu let out a muffled groan, instantly rendered unable to retaliate. Sha Zhu, who had just entered, froze upon seeing this scene. Looking up and meeting Xu Lin's expressionless gaze, he shuddered again and slowly retreated outside, not daring to get involved.

"Stop! Xu Lin, are you trying to kill someone?" Yi Zhonghai hadn't stopped Jia Dongxu earlier because he wanted Jia Dongxu to teach Xu Lin a lesson. After all, Xu Lin looked fair-skinned and thin, and shouldn't be a match for Jia Dongxu, a fitter. He just hadn't expected Xu Lin to be so capable. Seeing the situation turning against him, he immediately shouted a warning.

Upon hearing Yi Zhonghai's reprimand, Xu Lin turned his head and gave a sinister smile.

"Yi Zhonghai, don't try to stir up trouble in front of me. When this kid rushed in and tried to hit me, you didn't stop him. I defended myself and subdued the thug, and now you're defending him."

I think you arranged this person beforehand, just to force me to take action and then extort money from me together. But you old bastard, you've got some nerve. When Director Wang arrives, I'll see if he'll believe your twisted story."

Upon hearing Xu Lin's warning reply and seeing the threatening look in Xu Lin's eyes, Yi Zhonghai was momentarily speechless, his neck stiff.

When Jia Zhangshi saw her precious son being thrown to the ground, she hurriedly crawled over to check on Jia Dongxu's condition.

At this moment, Yan Bugui pulled Liu Haizhong back and saw Jia Dongxu lying on the ground and Jia Zhangshi wailing beside him. Shocked, a mocking smile appeared in his eyes. He thought, "This kid dared to hurt someone! Now everyone in the courtyard will side with the three masters. I'll definitely teach this newcomer a lesson!"

Thinking of this, she glanced at Liu Haizhong. Liu Haizhong immediately realized what was happening and started shouting...