Courtyard House: Starting with a 28-inch motorcycle

Listening from afar, Jia Dongxu felt a pang of jealousy. Turning away, he spat, "Idiot! That set of knives costs more than thirty yuan, and you just donated it? Did your brain get squeezed through a door?"

Upon hearing this, Qin Huairu did not agree for the first time. Instead, she frowned slightly—a hint of disdain rose in her heart.

The He family wasn't just confused; they simply didn't take that set of knives seriously. Whether they gave it away or donated it, they didn't even blink an eye. Unlike the Jia family, who would jump up and down and curse for half a day even if they donated an old tea mug that Jia Zhangshi had used—criticizing the street office for being inhumane and Liu Haizhong for siding with outsiders.

No one expected that donating some scrap metal would earn them such a grand praise from the neighborhood committee. The He family might not care, but the bright red certificate was incredibly important to the Yan family. When Yan Bugui saw it, he grinned from ear to ear, saying that his eldest son was finally going to get a job at the neighborhood committee.

He Yuzhu glanced at it, only slightly twitched the corner of his mouth, and then turned to let Lou Xiao'e happily take it and carefully stick it on the main wall of the living room.

These days, who doesn't have a few certificates hanging on their wall? Especially in a prominent spot right by the entrance. If an entire wall is covered in red paper with gold lettering, that's considered respectable and impressive. When neighbors come over, they immediately know the family's status and prestige.

Today, most of the honors displayed on the walls of the He family's house were earned by He Yuzhu. Lou Xiao'e also put in a lot of effort to fill up her own "wall of honor," so she simply divided the territory with He Yuzhu: the front wall was his, and the left and right walls were for her—when she got back the certificates in the future, she would put them up one by one without hesitation.

He Yuzhu readily agreed verbally, but inwardly he shook his head. An ordinary person would be lucky to earn two certificates of merit after a year of hard work; but he had so many certificates that they could be stacked up and used as a stool.

He had long since mastered the art of steelmaking. Once he reached the maximum level, a vast amount of professional knowledge flooded into his mind, and in the blink of an eye, he became a highly skilled engineer in the steelmaking industry, so proficient that even veteran steel mill workers would give him a thumbs up.

[Proficiency System]

[Host: He Yuzhu]

[Skills: All maxed out, Finance (Level 4: 317/400)]

[Vitality Acceleration Space (Adjustable): 3276.8 km]

He Yuzhu casually brought up the system interface and glanced at it. It had been almost half a year since he got married, and he had pushed all four core skills to their peak, and even the Life Acceleration Space had been quietly upgraded—this time with the addition of a new function: "receiving living beings".

Its area has increased dramatically, with its length, width and height all exceeding 3,000 kilometers. If he were not the only master, just managing such a vast territory would have taken a toll on his life.

But if you really want to manage it, even with the added space, the daily maintenance will keep him busy for a while.

"Receiving living beings...does that mean I really have to drag in living people to help look after them?"

He shook his head as soon as the thought crossed his mind. This system was indeed amazing, but it never revealed itself. It all depended on his own trial and error and his own understanding. Who knew how many more abilities were hidden in the shadows that even he himself hadn't yet grasped?

"Forget it, let's focus on writing down the method for recycling scrap steel first. But this is a huge undertaking; two machines alone won't even get us close..."

After briefly reviewing what he had learned, he immediately understood that scrap steel recycling was not a single technology, but a whole set of interconnected industrial systems.

If only substandard steel is accepted, recycling is not too difficult; but once miscellaneous waste materials are mixed in, an entire production line is needed—crushing, sorting, smelting, refining, and casting, each requiring supporting machinery.

He pondered for a moment, then picked up a pen and paper and began to write.

In the past six months, this cook who wields the ladle by the stove has written more words than he has flipped the wok and stir-fried food.

Lou's father wrote every few days, urging him to take some time to return to his hometown. Although he left behind a lot of ginseng and several rare medicinal herbs before leaving, the business of the Chinese medicine shop was too booming, and the inventory was running out. It could only last for three more months at most before he had to restock.

He Yuzhu had already made his plans. Two months later, he would submit an application to the Ministry of Foreign Trade to go to Hong Kong Island.

In the past two months, he first exposed the matter of scrap steel recycling and smelting.

To put it bluntly, this is a last-ditch "emergency solution." Right now, everyone's obsessed with steelmaking; even unrelated entities like neighborhood committees are spontaneously organizing scrap metal collection. The problem is, most people don't understand steelmaking at all—they just light a fire and start burning, build a furnace and start smelting, unaware that steel can't be made by brute force.

Without technology or equipment, outsiders who try to start a business will only produce brittle iron and soft steel. Forget about building machines or factories, they might even break on the spot if you try to nail a nail into it.

But if a professional recycling and smelting plant were built, how much waste could be saved? More than a million tons, at least hundreds of millions of yuan in losses would be recovered.

But to actually implement it, just writing the proposal would be enough to drive anyone crazy. After much deliberation, He Yuzhu decided to learn from the hybrid grain variety project—he would only provide the technology and blueprints, and he would not touch anything related to building the factory, hiring people, or handling the paperwork.

His own company on Hong Kong Island only had about a hundred employees, yet he was already exhausted; a steel plant would have at least a thousand employees, and just thinking about it made him want to turn around and leave.

He genuinely wanted to help the country, but no matter how broad one person's shoulders are, they can't bear the weight of an entire era. Ultimately, this task requires the collective effort of millions of people.

He Yuzhu walked out of the Bai family home with a smile, still wondering to himself: So Sister Bai can also show that shy and sweet side.

It was the weekend, so he first went to Li Huaide's father-in-law's house to cook. After finishing, he stopped by the Bai family's house to cook a meal for Bai Danyu and give her a massage on her shoulders and neck.

As a widow herself, He Yuzhu finally understood the true meaning of life today: Sister Bai is far superior to "Sister Qin" from her previous life.

Not only are her features more attractive and her demeanor more efficient, but more importantly, she always considers his needs, making him feel as secure as if he were walking on a thick cotton cushion.

Just now, after the massage, Sister Bai's face was flushed. She pushed his shoulders and led him out, but as soon as she closed the door, she quietly added through the crack in the door, "I'll bring you some good tea in a couple of days."

If Bai's father heard this, he would surely jump up and yell at her: "You daughter, you're like a leaky coat! I've saved up half my life's worth of good tea, no wonder it always mysteriously disappears by half!"

As soon as He Yuzhu stepped into the courtyard, he heard a commotion inside. He went in and saw Xu Damao and Yan Jiecheng shoving each other and hurling insults at each other. When they saw him return, they both shut up as if they had agreed beforehand.

It wasn't that she was truly afraid of him; she simply didn't want to lose face or belittle herself in front of him. Xu Damao snorted coldly and turned his face away, while Yan Jiecheng also stiffened his neck and turned his head away. He Yuzhu didn't even lift his eyelids and walked straight home.

As soon as I stepped into the middle courtyard, the commotion from the front yard drifted over again.

Lou Xiao'e had just entered the house, and upon seeing him return, she immediately served him tea and water. After he washed his hands and came inside, she handed him a towel and asked, "What are those two in the front yard arguing about again?"

"I heard it was all over a girl. I had only been inside for a short while and only caught a few snippets of what happened... Apparently, it was someone Xu Damao was looking for who had met Yan Jiecheng before. The guy was unhappy about it and immediately turned hostile, yelling at Xu Damao."

Lou Xiao'e brewed the tea and brought it to He Yuzhu's side, then said, "Yushui just left not long ago. He said he made an appointment with a classmate and should be back before dark."

"This kid has become unruly since high school. If he continues to run wild like this, he might not even be able to find a university."

He Yuzhu didn't bother with the absurd affair between Xu Damao and Yan Jiecheng at all, and changed the subject, turning his attention straight to He Yushui.

"Xiao'e, keep a close eye on Yushui. Don't let her good potential be wasted on laziness—if she fails the exam because of her playfulness, I'll really have to resort to family discipline."

"Okay, I'll have a good talk with her as soon as she walks in..."

Lou Xiao'e readily agreed. She had long considered the role of sister-in-law as her own, and she was also close to Yu Shui, so it was only natural for her to say a few heartfelt words.

At this moment, the noise in the front yard suddenly increased, making the windows of the central garden seem to buzz. He Yuzhu and Lou Xiao'e, sitting in the house, could hear it clearly.

"Should I try to talk to them? After all, I'm a mediator at the neighborhood committee. If word gets out that they're yelling at me like this, it won't be good for my job..."

Lou Xiao'e frowned slightly. After all, it was her responsibility to take on this task. If she didn't care, gossip would surely circulate about her later.

He Yuzhu looked up and asked, "Where's Liu Haizhong? Isn't he the one who loves to join in on this kind of fun? He was practically shouting at the top of his lungs today, why isn't this second uncle showing his face?"

"Second Uncle has probably gone out on some errands; there's still no sign of him. Normally, he'd come running out at the slightest smell of a spark."

Lou Xiao'e listened intently, and the sound grew increasingly piercing. Finally, she couldn't sit still any longer: "No, Yuzhu, I have to go and stop them..."

"Let's go together!"

He Yuzhu casually tossed aside the cabbage in his hand, snorted, and said, "Making a racket in the middle of the night, I'll see who dares to open their mouth later. Whoever does, I'll make them cover their mouth and squat against the wall, panting!"

Lou Xiao'e smiled and gently patted his arm: "Mediation isn't about using fists to intimidate people. Let me speak first."

"Alright, I'll stand by you and cheer you on—I guarantee they won't even dare to lift an eyelid!"

He Yuzhu followed and stepped out the door. Lou Xiao'e was all about gentle persuasion, while he was like a stabilizing force; no matter how resentful they were inside, they had to swallow their anger and put on a smile when they saw him.

As soon as Lou Xiao'e entered the front yard, she saw a crowd already forming a semi-circle. The two were almost nose to nose; Yan Jiecheng's eyes were red, and the veins on his forehead were throbbing. Without pausing, she interrupted in a clear voice: "Shut up! I'm a mediator from the neighborhood committee. If you have any problems, talk to me."

"Get out of my way! A capitalist's daughter like you dares to point fingers here..."

boom!

Before he could finish speaking, Yan Jiecheng was thrown into the air and crashed heavily into the brick wall. He curled up on the ground, gasping for breath, his hands pressed tightly against his lower abdomen, in so much pain that he could barely speak.