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

As soon as the two entered, they saw the Liu brothers, Liu Guangtian and Liu Guangfu, grabbing peanuts from a plate.

Liu Haizhong was instantly enraged. He grabbed a feather duster and started hitting the two brothers, cursing as he did so.

"You two little brats, you've gone too far! I haven't even touched my chopsticks yet, and you've already started eating! Don't you have any manners?!"

The two brothers were beaten so badly that they ran away from home in a flash.

Liu Haizhong smiled somewhat awkwardly at Lin Zhuo and said:

"Kobayashi, please excuse my poor manners."

"Kids these days are getting more and more unruly."

"The old saying is still true: 'Spare the rod and spoil the child.'"

Liu Haizhong gestured for Lin Zhuo to sit down, and then his second aunt brought over a plate of stir-fried cabbage with vinegar. After saying hello, she went into the inner room.

Speaking of Liu Haizhong's second son, Liu Guangtian, he is about the same age as Lin Zhuo, and when guests come to the house, he can't even sit at the table.

This is a common situation in this era; when guests come to a house, women and children do not sit at the table.

It can't be entirely attributed to feudal customs; more so to the scarcity of resources. There was only so much good wine and food, and even if it were all served, it wouldn't be enough to eat.

On the table were a plate of peanuts, a plate of pickled shredded vegetables, a plate of stir-fried cabbage with vinegar, a bowl of stewed radish, a few cornbread buns, and a pot of wine.

At this time of year in the north during winter, there aren't many other vegetables available; the main ones are radishes and cabbage.

Liu Haizhong picked up the wine pot and poured a cup for Lin Zhuo and himself.

Liu Haizhong pointed to the wine cup and said:

"This is wine I specially bought at the Zhengyangmen Tavern. It's pure wine, absolutely top-quality."

"And this pickled vegetable is also a secret recipe of this tavern; no other place can taste it like this."

Zhengyang Gate? A small tavern?

Upon hearing this, Lin Zhuo's heart stirred. It seemed that in addition to "Full House of Love," the worlds of other TV series had also been incorporated.

I'll have to go check it out when I have time.

After taking a few bites of food, Liu Haizhong raised his glass and said...

"Come on, let's have a drink, you and me."

Lin Zhuo took a sip, and a delicate fragrance filled his mouth; it was indeed authentic grain liquor.

His bangs were rambling and didn't get to the point.

Lin Zhuo didn't care and started chatting with Liu Haizhong.

After two cups of wine, sweat beaded on Liu Haizhong's forehead, his face flushed, and he asked seemingly casually:

"Xiao Lin, I heard you went to the factory to complete some paperwork today?"

Upon hearing Liu Haizhong's words, Lin Zhuo thought to himself, "Here it comes."

While eating peanuts, he nodded and said "Mmm".

Liu Haizhong smiled broadly and said:

"Xiao Lin, your second uncle wants to discuss something with you."

Lin Zhuo put down his chopsticks and looked at Liu Haizhong, waiting for him to continue. He was also a little curious as to why Liu Haizhong, with whom he had little interaction, was making such a big fuss about inviting him to dinner.

Liu Haizhong rubbed his hands together, a worried look on his face, and sighed:

"Xiao Lin, we've been neighbors for a long time. You probably know my family situation. Although my eldest son has moved out, I still have two other sons."

"Xiao Lin, you saw it just now, my good-for-nothing second son. He's already graduated from high school, but he's still not a decent person."

"If it weren't for my strict control, I don't know what would have become of us."

Lin Zhuo casually echoed his sentiments.

To be honest, Liu Haizhong's parenting has been quite unsuccessful; he's raised a son who's become an ingrate, even worse than Yan Bugui.

"Guangtian graduated from high school this year and is still idle at home. If a young man like him is always idle at home, he won't even be able to find a wife in the future."

"The girls in Beijing are all very picky; they either want to be cadres or they want to be part of the general public."

"Those in large collectives are second-class citizens; if it's a nice girl from a neighborhood or factory, they won't even consider her."

"And if I don't find a good job, I won't be allocated a house, and if I get married, I'll have to squeeze in with my husband and me."

"My life is tough."

Liu Haizhong seemed to be moved by his own words, his eyes even getting a little wet.

Lin Zhuo was somewhat skeptical of Liu Haizhong's words.

Difficult? Who isn't struggling these days?

"You took over Lao Lin's job, right? I wanted to talk to you about whether you could give your factory job spot to Guangtian."

Should the spot be given to Liu Guangtian?

Lin Zhuo was almost speechless with surprise, and was somewhat amused by the way the bangs were styled.

I knew before that there were shameless beasts in this courtyard, but I never thought they were this shameless.

Lin Zhuo picked up a few peanuts, slowly rubbed off the skins, and threw them into his mouth. He had an innocent smile on his face and wasn't in a hurry to speak. He wanted to properly appreciate the ugly state of his bangs.

Seeing that Lin Zhuo didn't directly refuse, Liu Haizhong was overjoyed and quickly continued:

"Xiaolin, don't worry, as long as you agree, I will never let you suffer any losses."

"I'm the second oldest man in our compound, and I have connections with the neighborhood committee. Give me your factory job spot, and I'll talk to the neighborhood committee and get you a job in one of their companies."

Lin Zhuo frowned and said:

"Uncle, I'm just a country bumpkin, I don't know much, so please don't try to fool me. I know a little about the neighborhood committee and the other places there, they're all scrap yards, breakfast shops, small factories and stuff like that, nothing like our state-owned steel rolling mill."

"As you just said, good girls from neighborhood factories aren't even considered, and I don't have a boyfriend yet either."

Liu Haizhong was slightly speechless, then quickly said:

"You're different. Your family is all in the countryside. You can find a partner there and choose whoever you want."

Liu Haizhong smiled, narrowing his eyes, and continued to persuade him:

"Xiao Lin, there's no such thing as a job being high or low, noble or base; it's just a matter of different roles."

"Look, you're the only boy in your family. You have two big houses all by yourself. You can easily find a job and find a good wife in the future."

"It's not necessary to work in a steel rolling mill."

"We're a perfect match, father and son. Let me tell you, don't underestimate these small organizations like neighborhood committees. The smaller they are, the easier it is for talented people like you to stand out."

"If you do a good job, you might become a street-level cadre someday."

Lin Zhuo thought to himself:

"This second uncle is quite good at making empty promises."

"The neighborhood committee's business is so good, why doesn't he let his own son go there?"

These days, there's a hierarchy of disdain for all kinds of jobs, but it's different from what we see in later generations.

The general public and military officers are in the first tier, government officials can only be in the second tier, and collectives are in the third tier.

The term "ownership by all the people" refers to state-owned enterprises.

Collectives are further divided into large collectives and small collectives. For example, enterprises run by neighborhood committees belong to small collectives, which are at the bottom of the hierarchy of contempt.

Most employees in small groups are only slightly better off than temporary workers and farmers, and their welfare benefits are far inferior to those of large state-owned enterprises like steel rolling mills.

Large state-owned enterprises were essentially small, self-contained societies, complete with daycare centers, kindergartens, schools, hospitals, bathhouses, and newspapers. Later, some even had their own television stations.

In this era, the title of "iron rice bowl" for state-owned enterprises was truly a reality.

Lin Zhuo inwardly despised his second uncle, but his face remained impassive as he smiled and said:

"Second Uncle, please don't flatter me. What kind of talent am I? I'm just a country bumpkin who doesn't know anything, and I'm just hoping to get this stable job."

"Guangtian and Guangfu were educated so well by you, they could have succeeded anywhere."

"+1 from Liu Hai's wishes."

Lin Zhuo was pleasantly surprised when he heard the system notification; today's trip was definitely worthwhile.

Liu Haizhong gritted his teeth, held up one finger, and said:

"Xiao Lin, I definitely won't let you do this for nothing. As long as you agree, I'll give you this amount."