Courtyard House: A Carefree Life Begins with a Lottery of Wish Power

Lin Zhuo quickly disassembled the table legs, stored the tabletop in his space, and moved the broken furniture to his front door.

Lin Zhuo pulled over a wooden stump, picked up an axe, and started chopping wood with a series of sharp, cracking sounds.

By this time, it was already dawn.

The three women, who had been living in fear all morning, finally saw the "thief's" true face.

The three women breathed a sigh of relief. "Isn't this Lin Zhuo, the young man from the Lin family? He's not a thief."

Yan Bugui pushed up his thick glasses, looked carefully, and finally saw Lin Zhuo's appearance clearly.

"What's wrong with this kid? He starts chopping wood before dawn."

The three women frowned and said, "Old Yan, it doesn't look like you're chopping firewood to me, it looks more like you're chopping furniture."

Yan Bugui squinted his small eyes and looked carefully, then said with a pained expression:

"Is this kid out of his mind? He's actually chopping up furniture to burn as firewood."

"Such a waste, it's truly a sin."

The three aunties chimed in:

"Absolutely! What a waste!"

The old man's small eyes darted around, and he said, "Let's go, let's get out of here quickly."

The three women asked with a puzzled look:

"He's not a thief, why should we go out?"

The third uncle said excitedly:

"Of course, we'll trade our firewood for his furniture."

As he spoke, the third uncle pushed open the door and walked into the courtyard.

Lin Zhuo, who was splitting the table leg, saw the door of the Third Uncle's house across the street open, and the Third Uncle came out with his hands clasped together.

"Hey, Lin Zhuo, you're up and working so early in the morning."

Lin Zhuo greeted them and continued chopping wood with his head down.

When the third uncle arrived at Lin Zhuo's door, he saw that although the chairs and stools were a bit old, they could be used perfectly well with a little tidying up.

It's such a waste to just chop up firewood and burn it like that.

The third uncle said with a smile:

"Lin Zhuo, I think these chairs and benches are still usable. Since you don't need them, why don't you give them to me? I'll trade you some firewood I've chopped at home. How about that?"

Lin Zhuo was secretly pleased to hear what the Third Uncle said, but a troubled look appeared on his face.

"Uncle, is this appropriate? These are all junk items; they'll just take up space if you take them back."

Upon seeing Lin Zhuo's expression, Yan Bugui quickly said:

"What's wrong with that? Look, you save your effort, and I can take these back and reuse them. It's a win-win situation."

Lin Zhuo shook his head and said:

"Uncle, I really don't need this pile of junk, but I don't think it's suitable for you. I'm afraid you might change your mind later."

With that, Lin Zhuo swung his axe, ready to continue chopping wood.

The third uncle quickly stopped him, his face beaming with smiles:

"Don't worry, I'm the third oldest man in our compound, I always keep my word."

As she spoke, she picked up the two chairs and two stools she had already chosen and headed towards her home, afraid that Lin Zhuo might change his mind. She said as she walked:

"I'll bring the firewood over in a bit."

Lin Zhuo smiled slightly. Since the Third Uncle was so eager to change, he was happy to save himself the trouble.

Before long, Yan Bugui had his two sons move the firewood to Lin Zhuo's doorstep.

Yan Bugui said, "Lin Zhuo, look, there's more than enough."

Lin Zhuo glanced at it; the quantity was indeed considerable. He then said to Yan Bugui:

"I trust you enough, so thank you very much, Uncle. You've saved me a lot of trouble."

As he spoke, Lin Zhuo sat down again and began chopping up a broken chair.

Just as the old man was about to chat for a few more minutes before heading back, Jia Dongxu walked out of the central courtyard, yawning.

Good morning, Uncle San.

After greeting the third uncle, Jia Dongxu wanted to hurry to the public toilet.

But when he saw the Lin family's door open and Lin Zhuo sitting at the door, his heart tightened.

Since the Lin family finished their funeral arrangements for Old Lin, no one from the Lin family has come over. Why did this kid suddenly show up?

He must have seen the things he put in his own house.

Jia Dongxu had fully regained his senses by this time. Upon closer inspection, he realized that the chair Lin Zhuo was chopping with an axe was none other than his own.

Jia Dongxu's anger flared up instantly, and he quickly stepped forward and said:

"Lin Zhuo, stop right there! Whose property are you chopping up?"

Lin Zhuo was secretly delighted and smiled almost imperceptibly. Jia Dongxu's sudden excitement meant that the real culprit who picked and changed the locks had come forward.

Lin Zhuo stopped what he was doing, looked at Jia Dongxu, and said in surprise:

"Of course it's my own house, there's quite a lot inside."

Lin Zhuo smiled and said:

"What, you want to trade firewood too? No problem, just come and trade whichever one you like."

Jia Dongxu looked at the furniture that Lin Zhuo had chopped into firewood, his heart aching with pain.

His eyes widened in anger, and he roared:

"Lin Zhuo, don't play dumb with me. All the furniture you chopped up belongs to my family. You should calculate how much compensation you should make."

Yan Bugui listened to the conversation between Lin Zhuo and Jia Dongxu and felt it was somewhat incoherent, but he instinctively sensed that something was going on.

He chuckled and was about to slip away when he said, "Um, Dongxu, Lin Zhuo, you two keep chatting, I'm going back now."

Yan Bugui turned around, about to leave, when Jia Dongxu grabbed the Third Uncle and said:

"Uncle, you can't leave. You're in charge of the front yard. You have to judge this matter."

Yan Bugui inwardly groaned; Jia Dongxu had said so much, it really wouldn't be appropriate for him to leave now.

He could only send the two children home first, and then he had to stay behind with a heavy heart.

The residents of the hutongs are never short of warm-hearted people, and they are even more fond of watching the excitement.

Jia Dongxu had barely said a couple of words when a number of neighbors gathered around.

Seeing so many onlookers, the third uncle was determined to get to the bottom of this today.

He had no choice but to clear his throat and say seriously:

"Dongxu, it's early in the morning, don't be in such a hurry. Explain things clearly, and as the third uncle, I will definitely handle it impartially."

When Jia Dongxu heard what the Third Uncle said and saw so many people watching, he became quite excited.

"Fellow neighbors, please be the judge. My perfectly good tables, chairs, and benches were chopped up and burned as firewood by Lin Zhuo."

"Is this how you do things? You have to pay compensation, you absolutely have to pay compensation!"

At this point, Jia Dongxu suddenly remembered something, barged into Lin Zhuo's room, and Yan Bugui and several onlookers followed him in.

Upon seeing the pile of tattered clothes beside the stove, Jia Dongxu angrily said:

"Uncle, look, Lin Zhuo burned all our clothes and bedding. You have to stand up for us!"

Several neighbors also began to whisper among themselves.

"That tattered cotton-padded jacket does belong to the Jia family; I've seen it before."

"Yes, I've seen that chair at their house before."

All eyes were now on Yan Bugui.

Yan Bugui had no choice but to speak, so he forced a light cough, turned to Lin Zhuo, and said:

"Lin Zhuo, tell everyone what exactly happened."

Lin Zhuo glanced at Jia Dongxu, then calmly asked Yan Bugui:

"Uncle, I'd like to ask you something first."