Courtyard House: A Prosperous and Joyful Life

Radio casings can be found at recycling centers. These days, recycling centers are treasure troves that accept everything: duck feathers, chicken feathers, toothpaste tubes, worn-out rubber shoes, tattered clothes—they take it all.

Therefore, the radio casing must contain this information, and you can buy it for a little money.

Besides the outer casing, you also need to prepare some tools: screwdriver, solder, multimeter, sandpaper, paint, size D dry batteries... These are all necessities.

Before leaving, Wang Jun carefully put the electronic components back into the system space.

These things were given to us by the system; their origin is unknown. We absolutely cannot show them off. If someone discovers them and reports them, we'll be in big trouble.

These days, details determine success or failure; you can't afford to be careless in the slightest.

Wang Jun left the house and closed the door behind him.

Everyone in the courtyard knew that his family was dirt poor; even mice wouldn't bother with them, so he never locked the door when he went out. Locking the door would only arouse suspicion, which was a thoughtful detail.

As I walked to the gate, I bumped into Banggeng and Huaihua returning from outside.

The opening of "Full House of Love" is set in the 1960s, and now it's the 1980s. The little kids from back then have all grown up.

Wang Jun glanced at Huaihua, who was eighteen or nineteen years old, as beautiful as a flower, with a pretty face and a good figure. She was even more beautiful than Qin Huairu when she was young and had three children.

Banggeng also spotted Wang Jun, who was wearing a shiny leather jacket and black leather shoes, clutching a bottle of liquor and carrying a fish, his tail wagging proudly. With Shazhu's help, he had gotten a job introduction letter to work as a driver for important people. This job was both prestigious and lucrative, and he could occasionally bring back cigarettes, alcohol, fish, and meat.

Therefore, Banggeng considered himself superior and looked down on Wang Jun, an unemployed "idle man." He glanced at Wang Jun, overflowing with superiority: "Wang Jun, where are you going? Not going out to beg again, are you?"

Wang Jun glared at him: "None of your business!"

Bang Geng, relying on driving for a big shot and having Sha Zhu backing him up, was someone no one in the courtyard dared to offend. But Wang Jun wasn't afraid at all. If the kid was well-behaved, he wouldn't bother with him; if he was unruly, he had plenty of ways to deal with him. Wang Jun didn't even want to say another word to someone like Bang Geng, so he would just turn around and walk away after his retort.

Bang Geng watched his retreating figure, gritting his teeth in anger. Ever since he became a driver, everyone in the courtyard had treated him politely, even the old men were all friendly towards him. Who would have thought that Wang Jun, the poorest and most miserable of them all, would dare to talk back? He was truly out of control! He yelled at the retreating figure, "Wang Jun, you poor bastard! You'll never eat four dishes in your entire life, no job, no money, a bachelor who can't find a wife!"

Outside the gate, Wang Jun heard everything clearly, his eyes turning cold. The entire Qin Huairu family—Qin Huairu, Jia Zhangshi, and Bang Geng—none of them had sound values: Qin Huairu was sucking the blood of Sha Zhu, Jia Zhangshi was wicked with age, and Bang Geng was an ingrate even as a child. Now that they're grown up, not only have they not changed, but they've become arrogant and their words have become increasingly offensive.

"That guy's mouth is awful," Wang Jun thought to himself. "I need to teach him a lesson."

He remembered the little bad luck charm he got when he received the newbie gift pack, and decided to give it to Bang Geng.

"Use the Little Bad Luck Charm! Target, Sticky Meatball! Go!"

Inside the courtyard, Banggeng and Huaihua were walking and chatting when suddenly Banggeng slipped and fell flat on his face. He knocked out a front tooth, smashed the wine in his hand, and sent the fish flying several meters away!

Huaihua rushed over to pull him up, "Brother, are you alright? How could you be so careless walking? You even managed to trip and fall!"

Banggeng looked completely bewildered: "This is unbelievable! How can you fall on flat ground?"

As the two were talking, a big yellow dog came running over, attracted by the smell. It spotted the fish on the ground, its eyes lit up, and it grabbed it and ran off.

"You damn dog!" Banggeng got angry, grabbed a stick, and chased after the dog, hitting it. The big yellow dog was hit by the stick, its fur stood on end, it dropped the fish, turned around and bit it, took a bite out of Banggeng's leg, and ran away with the fish in its mouth.

"Holy crap! I got bitten! It hurts!" Banggeng cried out in pain, clutching his leg as blood streamed down it.

Huaihua was stunned. In the blink of an eye, Banggeng first knocked out his front tooth, then smashed the wine bottle, then got bitten by a dog, and finally even had his fish taken away. He had all the bad things happen to him. He was so unlucky!

Wang Jun left the alley and walked onto the main street. On both sides were dilapidated gray houses, and cars were scattered here and there, only buses and Liberation trucks. There were quite a few bicycles, though. In the 1980s, workers preferred to ride bicycles to work because it was convenient.

He walked slowly, noticing many small vendors along the street: selling pea flour cakes, bread, candied hawthorn skewers, and fermented mung bean juice. It seemed everyone was trying their hand at business; assembling radios to sell should be no problem.

Following the street, Wang Jun arrived at the scrap metal recycling station. It was quite crowded, with people rummaging through the piles of scrap metal, searching for anything. These days, everything is scarce, and people often come here to try their luck.

He asked a staff member, "Comrade, do you have a radio casing?" The staff member pointed to a corner and said, "Go look over there yourself."

In the corner, there was a small mountain of discarded appliance casings, but few people bothered to look through them. If you didn't know how to repair them, the casings were useless; besides, ordinary people didn't have many appliances and didn't need these. Wang Jun searched for a long time and found more than twenty, six of which were usable: one was a Shanghai brand, three were Hongdeng brands, and two were Chunlei brands, all well-known brands of that era.

He then rummaged through the electrical scrap and found a dozen or so electronic components, a handful of solder, and a Star brand MF10 analog multimeter made by the Shanghai No. 4 Electricity Meter Factory—a pleasant surprise! After checking, he found that only the capacitor was broken; replacing it would make it work. A new meter would cost more than ten yuan, so he saved some money.

He laid out his belongings for the staff to calculate the cost, and the staff member used an abacus to say, "It's eight dollars and thirty-five cents in total."

Wang Jun frowned. Eight yuan could buy ten jin of pork, equivalent to a week's wages for a mid- to high-level worker. But the scrap yard was state-owned, so there was no way to bargain; he had no choice but to pay up.

Carrying a burlap sack full of things, Wang Jun went to the secondhand market again. Everything there was useful: old tables and chairs, old books, old shoes and clothes, and it was cheap and didn't require coupons. He bought sandpaper, paint, size D batteries, and a set of repair tools, spending a little over seven yuan.

In total, he spent sixteen yuan today. But he knew he could earn that money back quickly.

Wang Jun carried a snakeskin bag on his back and tried to stuff it into the system space in a secluded spot, but the bag was too big to fit, so he had to continue carrying it.

Back in the courtyard house, it was bustling with activity. Uncles Yi Zhonghai, Liu Haizhong, and Yan Bugui, along with a dozen or so neighbors, were gathered together, discussing the matter. Wang Jun leaned closer to listen and learned that Bang Geng had tripped, knocked out a tooth, been bitten by a dog, and had also lost his wine and fish.

A smug smile crept across his lips. He knew perfectly well that the little bad luck charm had worked. "You're being rude, aren't you? I'll knock your teeth out and see if you're still so arrogant!"

Just then, Yi Zhonghai spotted Wang Jun and his gaze was immediately drawn to the large snakeskin bag on Wang Jun's back!

Yi Zhonghai stared at the snakeskin bag on Wang Jun's back, his brow furrowing. "Wang Jun, what's in that bag? Tell me honestly, did you steal it?"

Wang Jun sneered inwardly. This Yi Zhonghai appeared respectable on the surface, but was actually utterly selfish, and loved to use moral blackmail and take advantage of his age. When his predecessor was unemployed and without parental protection, he had been bossed around and used for free by Yi Zhonghai countless times. A child without a mother is like a blade of grass, easily trampled on by anyone. His predecessor used to be terrified of him, but the current Wang Jun wouldn't fall for that. He retorted directly, "Uncle Yi, I bought all of these from the scrap yard. Don't throw accusations around! Be careful what you say, or you'll suffer the consequences."

Yi Zhonghai was instantly enraged. How dare this kid talk back! He suppressed his anger and maintained his "elderly authority": "Wang Jun, what kind of attitude is this!"

"I was just speaking normally! You immediately accused me of stealing, and you won't even let me explain?" Wang Jun chuckled.

"You have no job and no money, where did you get these things? I suspect you stole them!" Yi Zhonghai questioned, pointing at the bag.

"You need evidence to back up your claims! Don't spout nonsense without proof. I even suspect you're having an affair with that widow!" Wang Jun raised an eyebrow.

"Holy crap!" The courtyard instantly erupted in chaos. There was only one widow in the courtyard, Qin Huairu. Wang Jun was blatantly accusing Yi Zhonghai of having an affair with her!

Although Yi Zhonghai's face remained tense, his eyes had turned sinister. He valued his reputation above all else, and this had dealt a severe blow to his prestige. A decade or so ago, he would have already held a hospital-wide meeting to criticize and denounce him, but with the ideological liberation of the 1980s, that approach was no longer effective. He could only suppress his anger: "Wang Jun, you are talking nonsense, disrespecting your elders, and have no manners!"

"You've never given me food or clothing, never taken care of me, what kind of elder are you? All you do is bully orphans by taking advantage of your age!" Wang Jun retorted.

The neighbors were both surprised and delighted. Yi Zhonghai did indeed like to put on airs and lecture people, but no one dared to say anything. Now that Wang Jun had brought it up, everyone secretly rejoiced: "Wang Jun really dares to speak his mind!" "Old Man Yi always likes to act like he's old and powerful, serves him right!" Some even muttered, "Will Sha Zhu beat him up when he gets back? Xu Damao has been beaten up by Sha Zhu so many times!"

Yi Zhonghai was so angry he almost had a high blood pressure attack, and he could barely speak. Wang Jun, fearing he might really hurt him, quickly put down the bag: "Everyone, look carefully, these are receipts from the scrap yard and the secondhand shop. The items were all purchased!"

The crowd gathered around to take a look, and sure enough, it was a legitimate receipt. Immediately, a buzz of discussion arose: "Grandpa Yi just accused him of stealing; now he's embarrassed." "Wang Jun, produce the evidence; Grandpa Yi's face must be burning with shame now!"

Yi Zhonghai moved closer, listening to the discussion, his blood pressure soared, and his head buzzed. Just then, a neighbor asked, "Wang Jun, why are you buying a radio casing?"

"Assembling radios." Wang Jun simply admitted it. He couldn't hide it in the courtyard, so he might as well say it directly to avoid being mistaken for a "spy."

"Assemble a radio? Impossible!" Everyone was stunned. In those days, radios were high-tech gadgets. Who would believe he could tinker with them?

"A radio is high-tech, can you even make one?" "You've never even touched a radio before and you want to assemble one?" The three old men, Yi Zhonghai, Liu Haizhong, and Yan Bugui, shook their heads, clearly not believing them.

Wang Jun, too lazy to argue, said, "Whether it works or not, we'll soon find out. I'm getting ready to get started." He turned to go inside, but a neighbor stopped him just as he was about to close the door: "Wait, Wang Jun, we want to see!" Another person chimed in, "Yes, let us see!"

Although no one believed that Wang Jun could actually tinker with a radio, they couldn't resist the fact that there were so few entertainment options these days, and they all wanted to come and see what was going on.

Wang Jun said helplessly, "Alright, alright, you can watch if you want! But you can only stand at the door, don't come inside, I'm afraid you'll steal my skills."

Upon hearing that they could watch, everyone was overjoyed: "Great!" "We promise we'll only stay at the entrance and won't go inside!"

Wang Jun pulled six radio casings out of his burlap sack and laid them on the ground. These casings were old, worn, and covered in scratches; they were quite ugly. His first step was to refurbish them, repeatedly sanding them until the surface was smooth, then repainting them, instantly making them look brand new. If he wanted an even better result, he could sand them several more times and spray paint them multiple times.

Wang Jun worked quickly and efficiently, finishing the renovation in no time. The black paint was so shiny you could see your reflection in it, it looked brand new. The neighbors who had gathered at the door were amazed: "Impressive!" "I never knew Wang Jun had this skill!" "It's a beautiful renovation!"

After refurbishing three in a row, the paint on the first casing was dry. Next, Wang Jun repaired the multimeter, then picked up the solder to start soldering the circuit. This step required knowledge of electronic repair; without some basic knowledge, one wouldn't even know where to begin.

Seeing his focused welding, the people at the door started whispering again: "Is Wang Jun soldering wires?" "Looks like it!" "Just messing around, right? How could he possibly understand such complex wiring?" "Just looking at this circuit diagram makes my head spin; I don't believe he can solder it well." "Looks like he's just putting on an act!" "I don't think so. He's quite skilled; he's not just messing around." "Yeah, fast and steady, he's got skill!" "Stop arguing, we'll see soon enough!"

A dozen minutes later, the circuitry was soldered, and Wang Jun began assembly. Using both hands, he carefully packed the components into the casing, then installed the two speakers. And just like that, a seven-tube, two-band semiconductor radio appeared before everyone's eyes!

The people at the door stared wide-eyed, their mouths agape: My God, he actually managed to pull it off! And the casing looks absolutely gorgeous!

Wang Jun inserted the dry cell batteries, pressed the power button, the indicator light lit up, and a hissing sound came from the speaker. He adjusted the frequency, and soon a loud song rang out: "Hurrying the horses to the front lines, over there come young soldiers ready to die..." It was "Dingjun Mountain"!

"It's ringing! It's ringing!" "My God, it really rings!" "Success!" "It really makes a sound!" "The sound is so bright, it's great to listen to!" "Amazing!" Everyone exclaimed in surprise, completely shocked. Seeing a bunch of parts transformed into a high-tech radio was a huge shock!

"Wang Jun, can I touch it?" a neighbor asked, coming over.

"I want to touch it too!" "Count me in!" Everyone shouted.

Wang Jun had no choice but to bring the radio to the doorway: "The paint isn't completely dry yet, so be careful when you touch it!"

"I know!" "Just a light touch!" "It definitely won't break!" Everyone gathered around, carefully touching the smooth casing, praising it. Wang Jun seized the opportunity to introduce it: "This is a seven-tube, two-band semiconductor radio, it can receive FM and AM. Don't let the old casing fool you, it's fully functional, the two speakers have fantastic sound quality, it'll last for ten or eight years without any problems!"

"Amazing!" "Wang Jun is really skilled!" "With this skill, he'll never have to worry about food again, he's guaranteed to make a fortune, buying cars and watches will be a piece of cake!"

Just then, a middle-aged man touched the radio, liking it more and more as he looked at it: "Wang Jun, is this radio for sale?"

Wang Jun was overjoyed; someone wanted it right after he finished assembling it! He nodded, "Selling it for 50 yuan, no receipt needed. Three-month warranty, I'll repair any non-human-caused damage."

These days, you need ration coupons to buy anything, including radios.

Wang Jun's radio was incredibly generous; he only asked for money, not a receipt. What's even more remarkable is that it comes with a three-month warranty. You see, these days there's no such thing as a "three guarantees" policy. If something breaks, you're out of luck; there's no repair or refund.

The middle-aged man (whom the neighbors all called Old Zhou) rubbed his hands together and said, "Wang Jun, wait for me a moment, I'll go back and get the money right away."

"Okay." Wang Jun nodded.

A short while later, Old Zhou returned clutching five "big unity" bills, handed over the money to pick him up at the airport, and happily carried them away.

The neighbors all looked on with envy.

"This radio is great, Old Zhou got a bargain!"

"That's right, it's cheap and doesn't require coupons. I saw a red light at the supply and marketing cooperative this morning, it cost over ninety yuan, and you still needed a coupon!"

"My family's Worker-Peasant-Soldier motorcycle cost 85 yuan back then, and we even got a fare included."

"It's a pity I already have one, otherwise I would buy one too."

Households without radios started to get excited. One older woman approached him: "Wang Jun, I want another one, are you still selling them?"

"Selling, fifty yuan a unit, no receipt needed. If you want one, bring the money tomorrow, cash on delivery," Wang Jun said. Nowadays, there are more people doing small business, and assembling radios no longer needs to be done secretly; they just sell to anyone who wants one.

He added, "Radio parts are expensive. Even if I sell it for fifty dollars, I won't make much profit, just a little bit of hard-earned money." In reality, the cost of the casing, paint, and sandpaper was less than three dollars, so he made a net profit of forty-seven dollars per unit. He said "not much profit" to prevent people from being envious and causing trouble. These days, there are always some people who can't stand seeing others make money.

After everyone left, Wang Jun closed the shop and continued working. He had six casings; one was sold, leaving five. From noon until night, he assembled all five radios, lined up in a row, indicator lights on—a spectacular sight, exuding a trendy "high-tech" vibe. He tested them one by one; all functions were working perfectly. He'd leave them out overnight, and they'd be ready to sell the next day.

The entire courtyard was buzzing with talk about Wang Jun. He'd clashed with Yi Zhonghai at noon and then personally assembled a transistor radio—that was big news. These days, even buying a piece of pork can attract a lot of commentary, let alone something this significant.

"I never expected Wang Jun to dare talk back to Uncle Yi. Hey, he's got a temper!"

"When did he become so eloquent? Grandpa Yi was speechless after being roasted. I'm impressed."

"His expression when he's arguing with someone is so calm, impressive!"

"He's not only good with words, but also with his hands! I saw him assemble a radio today; a whole bunch of parts, and in no time, it was all set up. Amazing!"

"Really? Wang Jun can even assemble radios?"

"Absolutely true! There were more than a dozen people watching at noon. They packed it up and sold it to Uncle Zhou for fifty yuan! Now they've got guts. No wonder they even dare to talk back to Grandpa Yi."

"I saw it too. Let me tell you, Wang Jun is really capable now. My wife is thinking of introducing her third aunt's daughter to him."

Yi Zhonghai stood by the window inside the room, listening to the discussions outside, his face gloomy. He had been rebuked by Wang Jun today, which had damaged his prestige and made him the subject of gossip. He felt extremely aggrieved.

The Yan family in the front yard naturally heard the commotion as well. Yan Bugui sat drinking tea, his small eyes gleaming with shrewdness. Of the three old men in the courtyard, he was the most calculating. He even charged his son for watching TV, and he had to haggle over every penny.

Aunt San overheard the discussion: "I heard Wang Jun confronted Yi Zhonghai and even installed a radio. Is that true?"

"Really." Yan Bugui took a sip of tea.

Aunt San exclaimed in surprise, "Wang Jun is really bold! He even dares to talk back to Yi Zhonghai?"

Yan Bugui gloated, "This kid's got a sharp tongue. Old Yi was so badly roasted by him that he couldn't even speak properly." He and Yi Zhonghai were on good terms, and seeing Old Yi get the short end of the stick, he not only didn't help but also enjoyed watching the show.

Aunt San then asked, "Everyone says Wang Jun can assemble radios, is that true?"

Yan Bugui nodded. At first, he didn't believe it either, but he went to Uncle Zhou's house to see for himself. Wang Junzhuang's radio was playing, and the sound quality from both speakers was amazing, so he had no choice but to believe it.

"I don't know where this kid learned his skill, but he really pulled it off. He sold it to the Zhou family for fifty yuan. I reckon he made at least ten yuan off this trip."

"He didn't know that the cost was only three yuan, and the actual profit per unit was forty-seven yuan."