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

Lin Zhuo feigned surprise and said:

"A thousand? Second Uncle, you really want to give me a thousand?"

"+2 from Liu Hai's wishes."

Liu Haizhong quickly waved his hand, denying it:

"Not a thousand, but a hundred."

Lin Zhuo felt contempt. Although he wouldn't agree even for a thousand, at least it showed some sincerity.

One hundred yuan? You're kidding me.

They really think they're some ignorant country bumpkin.

Farmers were indeed very poor in those days.

A young and strong man like Lin Zhuo can earn 10 work points a day if he works hard.

The amount of money per work point was not fixed and varied greatly from place to place, mainly because it was linked to the income of the entire commune.

Lin Zhuo's hometown is considered to be in relatively good condition, but even in a good year, a full-time laborer can't earn more than 100 yuan.

More than half of this income comes from grain, so ordinary farming families usually have very little cash.

Those who are naive and inexperienced might actually be tempted by 100 yuan.

But Lin Zhuo knew that this amount of money was far from enough to secure a permanent position at the steel rolling mill.

Starting as an apprentice in the factory, you can earn 20 yuan a month, not including other benefits.

100 yuan is less than half a year's salary.

In the era before Lin Zhuo transmigrated, it was a small, third-tier county town. To get a permanent position in a state-owned enterprise with a monthly salary of three or four thousand yuan, it wouldn't be unusual to spend ten years' worth of wages.

Lin Zhuo looked troubled and said:

"Second Uncle, it's not that I'm trying to embarrass you, it's just that I'm in a difficult position too."

"You are aware of my family's situation."

"Except for my father, who is a worker, everyone else has a rural household registration."

"Now that my dad, the pillar of our family, is gone, my grandma and my sister will all be counting on me."

"Uncle, everyone knows you have connections, I'll give you 200."

"If you can get my sister and brother-in-law a permanent job in the city, whether it's a state-owned or collective enterprise, I'll give you 200 yuan."

Upon hearing this, Liu Haizhong became anxious and said:

"Kobayashi, you really don't know the current situation."

"Don't even mention you rural kids, even city kids and factory workers' children can't find jobs."

"Don't even mention 200, even if you gave me 400, I wouldn't have anywhere to find it for you."

Lin Zhuo smiled as he listened to Liu Haizhong's words, raised his wine cup and clinked it against Liu Haizhong's, then drank it all in one gulp.

"Second Uncle, you see, you yourself said that even if I'm willing to pay 400, I might not be able to find a good job, so please don't make things difficult for me."

"Thank you for your hospitality. It's getting late, I should go back and rest now."

As he spoke, Lin Zhuo stood up.

Liu Haizhong wanted to slap himself twice, because he had gotten himself into Lin Zhuo's mess.

"No, Xiaolin, we can talk about the money later," Liu Haizhong quickly said, trying to persuade him to stay.

"Second Uncle, I won't beat around the bush. You can ask around about the job. I really need this job." After saying that, Lin Zhuo ignored Liu Haizhong's attempts to stop him and left Liu Haizhong's house.

"+5 from Liu Hai's wishes."

Liu Haizhong watched Lin Zhuo's departing figure, feeling both anxious and angry. In the end, he could only slam the door shut.

Auntie Er also came out from the inner room at this moment. She had heard the conversation clearly and couldn't help but complain:

"Old Liu, what are you talking about? You can't find a job even if you pay 400 yuan. Isn't that obviously letting Lin Zhuo see through your scheme?"

Liu Haizhong sat there with a regretful expression, raising his hand and gently slapping his mouth.

"You know, I was just saying things in the heat of the moment, and this kid led me astray."

The second aunt glanced at the leftover food on the table and cursed:

"What a waste of all this food and wine, it's all been eaten by this little brat."

Liu Haizhong was also heartbroken, but he consoled himself by saying:

"Alright, it was something we were just going to try our luck with anyway."

The second aunt invited her two sons into the house and sat down at the table to eat the leftovers.

"Old Liu, I told you this morning when I got back, but you didn't believe me. Lin Zhuo is a cunning little devil."

"In our courtyard house, when have you ever seen this old man and Jia Zhangshi suffer a loss?"

"But this morning, both the old man and that shrew Jia Zhangshi were subdued by this kid."

"The Jia family's belongings were burned for nothing, and they even had to pay 10 yuan in compensation."

"You didn't see the old man's face; it was even uglier than pig liver."

Upon hearing this, Liu Haizhong felt much better.

"So even Yi Zhonghai has his day now. It seems I was right not to go out this morning. Let Lao Yi and Lao Yan run into a brick wall."

As Liu Guangtian stuffed a cornbread into his mouth, he asked indistinctly:

"Dad, how's my job application going? Did that country bumpkin agree to it?"

Upon hearing Liu Guangtian's words, Liu Haizhong became furious and slapped Liu Guangtian on the head.

"Agree to my ass. All you know is eating, you good-for-nothing."

"If you had just studied hard and gone to a vocational school, you wouldn't be having so much trouble finding a job."

Liu Guangtian, enraged by the beating, retorted:

"Lin Zhuo didn't go to vocational school either, but he still got a job at a steel rolling mill."

Liu Haizhong glared and pointed at Liu Guangtian's nose, cursing:

"He went to work in the factory because his dad died. What, you little bastard, you wish your dad were dead too?"

As he spoke, Liu Haizhong was about to pick up a feather duster and hit someone again.

Startled, Liu Guangtian quickly ran into the inner room and hid.

The second aunt quickly stopped her, whispering:

"Alright, Lao Liu, the kids are all grown up now, stop hitting them so easily."

"When you have time, go to the neighborhood committee and the street office to ask around and see if there are any job openings. Didn't you just say that you can talk to them?"

Liu Haizhong knew his own limitations. He was just bragging in front of Lin Zhuo. How much influence could a team leader in a steel mill have?

But he didn't want to lose face in front of his wife and children.

I could only give a vague reply.

Lin Zhuo is so disrespectful to me. I hope he doesn't end up working for me in the factory, or he'll be in big trouble.

"+3 from Liu Hai's wishes."

"+2 from Liu Hai's wishes."

"+2 from Auntie Er's wish power."

"+3 from Liu Guangtian's wish power."

"+2 from Liu Guangfu's wish power."

When Lin Zhuo returned home, he heard several system notification sounds in a row, and he was overjoyed.

It seems that acquiring this power of will is related to causing discomfort.

Although we didn't have a public falling out over dinner tonight, we still managed to offend Liu Haizhong.

Offending him has brought discontent to the entire Liu family.

This also explains why Aunt Er, Liu Guangtian, and Liu Guangfu, who had not communicated with him, also contributed their vows.

This system is awesome.

With so many beasts in the Siheyuan (traditional courtyard house), it would be a bit much to ask for a "helping others" system.

But if it's a system that insults and annoys people, then that would be exactly what we want.

Lin Zhuo originally intended to live his own quiet life and avoid contact with these beasts, but now it seems that's no longer an option.

I need to get closer to them in the future, otherwise how will I get any benefits?

For example, tonight was really great.

He ate a meal with Liu Haizhong and also managed to get some freebies—killing two birds with one stone.

Lin Zhuo added coal to the stove and sealed it up, so that the stove would keep burning all night.

Then I put a pot of water on the stove so that I would have hot water to wash up the next morning.

Over the next few days, Lin Zhuo took a bunch of documents, including his household registration book and a letter of introduction from the steel rolling mill, to go out and complete the formalities.

I had to go to the neighborhood office, the police station, and the grain station several times before I finally got all the paperwork done.

The household registration booklet with a kraft paper cover contains information such as one's name, age, and address.

There was also a resident grain supply certificate, commonly known as a grain ration book. It showed the individual's ration, 38 jin of grain per month.

From this moment on, Lin Zhuo was a true city dweller.

City dwellers could then eat rationed food and no longer needed to work from dawn till dusk to earn work points.

Lin Zhuo couldn't help but feel a little emotional, as changing one's agricultural status to urban status is the lifelong dream of many farmers.

Lin Zhuo still remembers that when the policy was relaxed in the late 80s, a rural-to-urban household registration quota could be sold for several thousand yuan.

Back then, the average worker's salary was less than a hundred yuan.

After completing the formalities, Lin Zhuo also sent a message home to reassure his family.

The day of the factory exam finally arrived.