Siheyuan: At the beginning, I can integrate everything!

The sound of the tricycle chain gradually faded into the distance, and Lou Xiao'e's figure disappeared around the corner of the alley.

A cold wind swept up a withered yellow cabbage leaf from the ground, swirling it as it flew past.

The front yard, the Yan family's house.

The room was dimly lit, with only a few slivers of pale winter sunlight filtering through the cracks in the window.

The honeycomb briquettes in the stove were almost completely burned, emitting a pungent smell of coal smoke.

Yan Bugui sat cross-legged on the kang (a heated brick bed), with a pair of worn-out gold-rimmed glasses perched on his nose.

Holding a worn-out abacus in his hand, he fiddled with it rapidly, making a "clattering" sound.

The old woman sat on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), sewing an old cotton-padded trousers covered with patches.

She rubbed the needle tip against her scalp and glanced up at her old man.

"Honey, what's all this commotion outside? What's Xu Damao up to now?"

The third woman lowered her voice and gestured with her chin toward the window.

Yan Bugui paused, the abacus beads stopped in place, and the crisp clinking sound abruptly ceased.

He reached out and adjusted his glasses, which had slipped down to the tip of his nose, a hint of apprehension flashing in his eyes.

"What else could have happened? Their own backyard is on fire."

Yan Bugui lowered his voice, as if afraid of disturbing something outside.

"Lou Xiao'e just left in a tricycle. Judging from her demeanor, the divorce is definitely happening."

The old woman nearly pierced her fingertip with the needle and gasped.

"Really getting a divorce? Xu Damao is capable?"

"Whether he does it or not, is it up to him?"

Yan Bugui sneered and tapped his thin fingers on the kang table, making a dull sound.

"You didn't see how pathetic he looked just now. His pants were ripped open at the crotch, and his red underwear was showing. The neighbors were laughing so hard they were doubled over."

"I think he's really in for a rude awakening this time."

Yan Bugui paused, his gaze shifting complexly towards the east wing.

"If you ask me, this matter is probably related to that little brat in front of us."

The third aunt followed his gaze and her heart skipped a beat. The needle pierced the fabric and she couldn't pull it out for a long time.

"You mean... Huaimin?"

She swallowed hard, her voice trembling slightly, "That can't be, he's only five years old..."

"What's wrong with being five years old?"

Yan Bugui suddenly raised his voice, then quickly covered his mouth guiltily and peeked out the window like a thief.

"What do you know! Is that kid an ordinary person? He's a celestial being, the God of Literature descended to earth!"

Yan Bugui slapped his thigh, his thin, bony cheek muscles twitching.

"You do the math, these past few days, who in our compound who crossed him has fared well?"

He counted them one by one on his fingers.

"That old hag from the Jia family fell into the swill bucket, and Banggeng is still groaning on the kang (heated brick bed) right now. She's knocked out her front teeth."

"Old Yi, a dignified eighth-grade worker, always acting all high and mighty, but look what happened? This kid made him cough up blood with just one sentence, and now he can't even lift his head in the yard."

"And that Liu Haizhong, who's obsessed with officialdom, went crazy in front of the leaders at the factory gate yesterday and was immediately reassigned to pick up steel slag."

Yan Bugui became increasingly alarmed as he spoke, a fine layer of cold sweat breaking out on his back, making him feel chilly.

"Take another look at Xu Damao. I think this kid secretly tripped him up today, making a fool of himself."

"This isn't a five-year-old child! This is clearly a living devil!"

The third aunt was terrified when she heard this, and the cotton-padded trousers she was holding fell onto the kang (a heated brick bed).

"Then... what do we do?"

She panicked and grabbed Yan Bugui's arm. "Old man, you took him fishing the other day and cheated him out of two cents on bait. He won't hold a grudge, will he?"

The mention of fishing made Yan Bugui's heart clench, and he felt a sharp pain in his chest.

That was a five-pound carp!

They just watched helplessly as it was given to blind Grandma Li.

"You don't know anything!"

Yan Bugui suppressed his heartache and waved his hand dismissively, feigning profoundness.

"This is called 'suffering a loss is a blessing'."

"I've figured it out now. Going against this kid is like an old man eating poison—you're asking for trouble."

His cloudy eyes darted around, revealing a shrewd and calculating glint in them.

"Not only should we not provoke him, we also have to flatter him and coax him!"

"Think about it, he can easily manipulate Lao Yi and Liu Haizhong, so he must have a lot of good stuff in his hands."

"If we cultivate a good relationship with him, we'll have no trouble getting benefits in the future, right?"

The three women stared blankly at their old man, somewhat unable to follow his train of thought.

"Suck up to him? How do you suck up to him?"

She pointed to her bare house, gave a bitter smile, and said, "With our family's circumstances, how can we possibly curry favor with others?"

Yan Bugui gritted his teeth, as if he had made a tremendous decision.

He climbed off the kang (a heated brick bed), slipped on his cloth shoes, and walked to the corner of the room to the camphor wood chest with its paint chipped off.

That's where he usually hides his treasures.

The three women watched as he opened the box and rummaged around at the bottom for a long time.

He pulled out a dusty tin tea box.

"Old man, have you gone mad!"

The three women's eyes widened in surprise, and they exclaimed, "That's Longjing tea! You didn't even bother to send it as a birthday gift to your school principal last year!"

This box of Longjing tea was a gift from a student's parent when Yan Bugui went to teach in the countryside two years ago.

He usually can't even bear to smell it, let alone drink it.

And now you're going to take it out and give it to a five-year-old?

"Women are all talk and no action!"

Yan Bugui's lips trembled with heartache, but he still gripped the tea box tightly.

"You can't catch a wolf without risking your cub."

"What's a little tea? As long as we can get on this kid's good side, our family will live a life of luxury every day!"

He tried to comfort himself while vigorously wiping the dust off the tin box with his sleeve.

"Alright, never mind that. I'm going to deal with this little brat."

Yan Bugui took a deep breath to calm his racing heart.

With a friendly smile on her face, she pushed open the door and took small, quick steps toward the east wing.

Outside the door of the east wing.

Zhang Huaimin was sitting on a small stool, flipping through a comic book he had redeemed from the system space.

The warm winter sun shone on his rosy little face, making him look especially adorable.

"Ahem... Huaimin, are you reading?"

Yan Bugui stood outside the threshold, not daring to go in directly. He hunched over and smiled like an old chrysanthemum.

Zhang Huaimin closed the comic book, looked up at him, and a hint of mockery flashed in his clear eyes.

"Uncle, is there something you need?"

He asked in a childish voice, but his gaze fell on the tea box that Yan Bugui was clutching tightly in his hand.

That old miser, did the sun rise in the west today?

Yan Bugui was delighted to see that Zhang Huaimin did not chase him away, and quickly stepped forward.

"Oh, it's your third uncle who's here to see you."

He bent slightly and handed over the tin box with both hands, his movements careful, as if he were holding a royal decree.

"Huaimin, Uncle San is usually very calculating, but there's a lot of people in his family, so there's nothing he can do about it."

"What happened the other day about fishing was my fault, Uncle. Don't take it to heart."

Yan Bugui's face was plastered with a fawning smile, and the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes were all squeezed together.

"This box of Longjing tea is my third uncle's most treasured possession; he usually can't bear to drink it."

"I brought this especially for you today. You...you can keep it to make tea and drink to cool down."

After saying that, his Adam's apple bobbed up and down, he swallowed hard, his eyes fixed on the box of tea, afraid that Zhang Huaimin wouldn't take it.

Zhang Huaimin chuckled inwardly.

This Yan Laoxi is truly a wise and shrewd man who knows when to seize opportunities.

Seeing the fates of the Jia family, Yi Zhonghai, and Liu Haizhong, they knew that a head-on confrontation would not end well, so they immediately changed their strategy and began to appease them.

Reverse freebies are a rare thing in the compound.

He didn't stand on ceremony and took the tea box with his chubby little hand.

"Thank you, Uncle San."

Zhang Huaimin smiled sweetly, revealing two small, white tiger teeth.

"This tea box is so pretty, I'll keep it to store sugar marbles."

Hearing this, Yan Bugui's heart bled.

Using a Longjing tea box to store marbles? What a spendthrift child!

But he dared not show the slightest dissatisfaction on his face; instead, he smiled even more brightly.

"Yes, yes, yes, it's good to fill it with marbles, or anything else you like."

He rubbed his hands together, moved closer, lowered his voice, and spoke with undisguised flattery.

"Huaimin, your third uncle was confused before and didn't realize you were a very capable person."

"Don't worry, from now on, no one in this courtyard will dare to bully you."

Yan Bugui patted his withered chest and solemnly guaranteed.

"Third Uncle will be the first to object! Although Third Uncle is poor, his words still carry some weight in the courtyard."

Zhang Huaimin played with the tin box, the crisp metallic clanging sound particularly clear in the quiet courtyard.

"From now on... I'll have to rely on Uncle San for help."

He blinked his big eyes and spoke in an innocent tone.

"Of course, of course."

Seeing that his goal had been achieved, Yan Bugui breathed a long sigh of relief, finally putting his mind at ease.

He turned around and walked back with light steps, feeling that even his back and legs no longer ached.

Zhang Huaimin watched Yan Bugui's retreating figure, a cold smile curling at the corner of his mouth.

He has completely mastered the intellectual aspect of this compound.

Having a informant to tip you off will save you a lot of trouble in the future.

He had just placed the tea box on the windowsill next to him.

Suddenly, a rapid electrical sound came from deep within my mind.

The sound was sharp and piercing, unlike any previous system notification.

Followed by.

A blood-red virtual panel suddenly popped up in front of me, flashing incessantly.

[Warning! Host has been detected to have completed the mid-term objective!]

[The Red Star Courtyard's influence has been reorganized to 80%!]

[Congratulations, host! You are about to unlock the 'Agile Monkey Movement Technique'...]

The cold, mechanical sound echoed in my mind.

Zhang Huaimin suddenly stood up, his pupils instantly contracting.