Courtyard Houses: Longevity Since the War of Resistance

Banggeng sat on the ground, his eyes vacant. The thought of the endless work ahead completely broke down his defenses.

He tried to control himself, but he couldn't control himself anymore and burst into tears.

She burst into tears, sobbing uncontrollably, her face a mess of tears and snot. Between sobs, she pointed at Jia Zhangshi, crying, "It's not my fault, it was Grandma! Grandma made me take it! She said the door wasn't locked, so why not take it? I said no, but she insisted."

Upon hearing that her grandson had implicated her, Jia Zhangshi's triangular eyes widened, and she immediately jumped up, pointing at the stick and cursing, "What utter nonsense! When did I tell you to get the meat?"

He turned and started throwing a tantrum at everyone in the courtyard, slapping his thighs with both hands, "Everyone, be the judge! What does a kid this young know? He just ran into someone's house and played for a while. This meat might have just fallen into my grandson's arms by itself! Yes! It just fell in by accident! How can you say he stole it?"

Li Feng watched her flailing about, spewing nonsense, and didn't even bother to speak to her. He simply raised his voice, drowning out Jia Zhangshi's wailing, and announced to everyone, "Listen up! Bang Geng stole something, caught red-handed, the facts are clear! However, considering his young age and that he was instigated, he's considered an accomplice! But the punishment will be heavier. In addition to the extra labor hours, he must improve his schoolwork within a month. I will personally go to the teacher to ask, and if he doesn't meet the requirements..." Li Feng stared intently at Bang Geng, "Then he'll be sweeping the yard for the rest of his life!"

Turning to Jia Zhangshi, he said, "As for you, Jia Zhangshi! You instigated the child to steal, and then you made a scene, acted unreasonably, and threw a tantrum. You are the ringleader! From today onwards, you are in charge of cleaning the yard and the public toilet at the alley entrance. That's all you're responsible for until everyone feels it's clean!"

"What?! Clean the toilets?!" Upon hearing this, Jia Zhangshi jumped up high like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.

"Li Shan, you bastard! You son of a bitch! You'll die a horrible death! Old Jia! Dongxu! Open your eyes and take this scoundrel away! Take him away!"

The people in the theater were already used to her charade, but they couldn't do anything about it. After all, Jia Zhangshi's mouth was a deadly weapon, and it even carried the added weight of a nuclear bomb and the old man's favoritism. But Li Feng wasn't buying it at all and stepped forward.

"Jia Zhangshi! You're engaging in feudal superstition. I think you'd like to spend a few days in the police station."

As soon as he finished speaking, Li Feng raised his hand and delivered a resounding slap to Jia Zhangshi's old face. Jia Zhangshi saw stars from the slap, and when she met Li Feng's gaze, she trembled all over in fear, as if she was about to hold in her poop.

It wasn't just a guess, it was real. The next moment, Jia Zhangshi had diarrhea, and the stench filled the entire courtyard. Everyone in the courtyard saw that Jia Zhangshi had soiled her pants, and they covered their noses while secretly laughing.

"How old is Jia Zhangshi? Why can't she hold it in?"

Jia Zhangshi, clutching her buttocks, went to the toilet. Li Feng ignored her. Jia Zhangshi's bowel movement wouldn't stop for a day; after all, it was a skill from the system. (Skill: Bowel Movement Master. Skill Effect: Whoever you point at will defecate, whoever you touch will defecate, whoever you glare at will defecate, and it lasts all day.)

He grabbed Banggeng and lifted him up from the ground, staring into his eyes: "Did you understand what I said? You can't slack off in either work or study!" Banggeng nodded repeatedly in fright, not even daring to cry anymore.

After dealing with the grandfather and grandson, Li Feng turned around and went back into the house. He took out the half-pig and, in front of everyone in the yard, picked up a knife and chopped it into pieces of varying sizes.

He first delivered a large piece of meat, marbled with fat and lean, to the Song family in the backyard, then cut a strip for the Ma family in the front yard who had many children. He didn't leave out any of the poor families in the yard. Finally, he took a piece of meat and walked to the door of Yan Bugui's house.

"Uncle," Li Feng handed over the meat, "thank you for speaking up earlier. My family is large, so I'll take this meat back and add it to our dishes."

Yan Bugui pushed up his glasses, his face beaming with smiles, but he said politely, "Oh, Section Chief Li, how can I accept this? It's all my duty." He didn't slow down at all and quickly took the meat from the plate.

As for the families of Yi Zhonghai, Liu Haizhong, Sha Zhu, Xu Damao, and the Jia family, Li Feng didn't even glance at them, nor did he give them a single piece of meat. These families either didn't need the meat, or he simply didn't like them.

When Qin Huairu returned from her hunting trip, she was given some millet by Lala's little hand. As soon as she entered the courtyard, she sensed something was off. She noticed the long-lost aroma of meat wafting from several stoves, but her own house was cold and empty. She pulled aside a neighbor who was cooking and whispered, "Sister-in-law, did they distribute meat in this yard? Why isn't mine?"

The neighbor scoffed and gestured towards Li Feng's house, saying, "What meat? That was bought by Section Chief Li himself! Why isn't your family included? Go ask your mother-in-law and your son. Bang Geng went to steal Section Chief Li's meat again and got caught red-handed. Your mother-in-law is so scared she's still having diarrhea in the toilet."

Upon hearing this, Qin Huairu felt a wave of dizziness wash over her, her body swayed, and she almost lost her balance. Filled with anger and shame, she bit her lip, lowered her head, and quickly hurried back to her home, not daring to ask Li Feng any further questions.

That evening, Li Feng prepared a plate of peanuts, a plate of sliced ​​pig's head meat, stir-fried eggs, and stewed cabbage and pork with vermicelli. He also warmed a pot of wine and invited Uncle Yan Bugui, the third uncle, to his room.

Yan Bugui narrowed his eyes as he looked at the food and wine on the table.

Li Feng poured Yan Bugui a full glass of wine, then poured one for himself. "Uncle, you are a cultured man and a teacher. I've invited you here today because I have something important to discuss with you."

"Section Chief Li, you're too kind. Please let me know if you need anything." Yan Bugui quickly picked up his wine glass and took a sip, pondering the purpose of this meal.

"That's how it is," Li Feng said, picking up a piece of pig's head meat with his chopsticks. "There are quite a few teenagers in our compound, like Banggeng, Xiaodang, your daughter Jiedi, and that girl from Old Wang's house in the front yard, etc. I've noticed that these kids aren't doing very well academically, and they run around the yard like crazy after school, with no one supervising their studies."

Yan Bugui nodded: "That makes sense, but every family has its own problems. Adults are busy working and earning money, so they don't have time to take care of their children's studies."

"That's why I thought of you." Li Feng put down his chopsticks and looked at Yan Bugui. "Uncle, you are a proper teacher, knowledgeable and good at teaching. I was thinking if you could take some time each day to tutor the children in the orphanage? It doesn't have to be much, just one or two hours a day will do."

Yan Bugui's heart skipped a beat; this was a great opportunity to make some extra money, but he didn't show it on his face. He simply pushed up his glasses and said, "Well, tutoring children is a good thing, but what about me?"

Li Feng understood his intentions perfectly well and interrupted him directly: "Third Uncle, I can't let you work for nothing. How about this, I'll give you 15 yuan a month as tuition. I'll pay for it privately, but there's one thing we can't let anyone in the courtyard know, just the two of us."

"Fifteen yuan?" Yan Bugui quickly did the math in his mind. This was more than he earned as a substitute teacher, and it was a stable income. His face immediately lit up with a smile: "Oh, Section Chief Li, what are you saying? Tutoring the children is the right thing to do, why are you talking about money?"

"What's due must be given," Li Feng waved his hand and continued, "Not only that, we also need to establish a rule. From now on, every month, or every semester, if any of these tutored students show significant improvement in their exam scores—for example, moving up five places in the class ranking, or improving a single subject's score by ten points—I'll give you a separate reward. One dollar for each improvement! What do you think?"

"There's another reward?!" Yan Bugui couldn't sit still any longer; his eyes lit up.

How much does he earn in a month?

The tutoring fees plus the labor costs, plus the possible bonuses, would be a considerable income! Moreover, teaching children is his forte, so this is practically a windfall.

"Section Chief Li! You're really something!" Yan Bugui was so excited he was almost incoherent. "You're doing this for the children in our compound, it's such a great thing! If I, Yan Bugui, were to refuse, I would be so ungrateful! Don't worry, I'll take care of it! I will do my best to raise these little rascals, no, I mean, I will raise these children to be decent people!"

Looking at Li Feng, he felt a genuine admiration for this young man for the first time. Li Feng was ruthless and merciless in dealing with Bang Geng.

But then, for the sake of the children in the courtyard, he was willing to pay out of his own pocket, thinking so far ahead.

This level of vision and thoughtfulness is something those two old men in the courtyard can't compare to.

"Section Chief Li, to be honest," Yan Bugui said with emotion, raising his glass, "I really didn't expect you to be so considerate of the children."

Li Feng also raised his glass and clinked it with his, a faint smile on his face. Looking at the children chasing and playing in the courtyard outside the window, he said softly, "Third Uncle, children are always the future of the country. It's much better for us to put in some effort and spend a little money now to guide them onto the right path and teach them skills than to try to correct them later when they've gone astray."

Yan Bugui nodded repeatedly, his own little scheme being stirred by Li Feng's words.

Under the dim light, the two drank warm wine and discussed the specific arrangements for the tutoring sessions in detail: when to start, where to hold the classes, and which children to invite. Li Feng took a sip of wine at the end and said meaningfully.

"Hopefully, this can make up for some of the regrets."