Siheyuan: At the beginning, I can integrate everything!

Yan Bugui stood under the eaves of his own house.

The still-smelling ink of the Workers' Daily rustled in his thin, bony hands like fallen leaves in the autumn wind.

"Clatter".

It wasn't until the crisp sound of the lens falling to the ground that he was jolted awake from his extreme shock.

He hurriedly picked up his glasses, wiped them haphazardly on his sleeve, and put them back on.

He stared intently at the photograph in the newspaper again.

That's right.

It's that five-year-old kid who was in the yard yesterday, smiling as he accepted a box of Longjing tea from him!

That living ancestor who made him willingly become his "eyes and ears"!

"My dearest mother, my fourth maternal great-aunt..."

Yan Bugui swallowed hard, his Adam's apple bobbing violently.

He felt a surge of electricity rush from the soles of his feet to the top of his head, and his scalp tingled.

Lifting a 200-pound tank bearing with one hand?

How can you fix an imported machine tool that even Soviet experts couldn't solve in three minutes?

This is something no human being could do!

Yan Bugui took a deep breath, and the gloomy mood he had felt due to his failed scheme vanished instantly.

Instead, there was an indescribable ecstasy and joy.

fortunately!

Fortunately, I saw the opportunity quickly yesterday and decisively switched sides, giving away that box of Longjing tea that I had kept at the bottom of my trunk.

If you're still as blind as Liu Haizhong and Yi Zhonghai, and dare to provoke this powerful figure...

Yan Laoxi is probably all gone now, not even a bone fragment is left!

"My dear wife! My dear wife! Come out quickly!"

Yan Bugui was so excited that he shouted into the house in his hoarse voice.

"Something terrible has happened! A true miracle has appeared in our department!"

His shout was like a pebble thrown into a calm lake.

Not only did they call out the three aunties.

The neighbors in the front and middle yards who were washing up and making breakfast also peeked out.

"Old Yan, what's with all the wailing so early in the morning? Who's become a god?"

Aunt Li from across the street came over curiously, carrying a basin for washing vegetables.

"That's right, Uncle, our courtyard has been quite eerie these past few days. Please stop being so alarmed."

Yan Bugui was not annoyed.

He walked to the large jujube tree in the center of the front yard.

He held the newspaper high in his hand, as if displaying some rare treasure.

"Everyone come over here! Come over and listen!"

"This is the latest issue of the Workers' Daily! It's on the front page!"

Upon hearing that it was front-page news, the neighbors immediately gathered around.

In this era, newspapers are the most authoritative voice.

If something makes the front page headlines, it must be a major event that shakes the entire nation.

Yan Bugui cleared his throat, adjusted his glasses, and struck a pose befitting a teacher.

He used his distinctive, rhythmic teaching tone.

He began to read the contents of the newspaper aloud, even somewhat exaggeratedly.

"The Extraordinary Journey of a Five-and-a-Half-Year-Old Technological Backbone: A Special Consultant at the Red Star Factory!"

As soon as the title was read out, the onlookers were stunned.

"Five and a half years old? Specially appointed consultant? Who are they talking about?"

"We only have one five-and-a-half-year-old in our department..." someone muttered under their breath, but was immediately startled by their absurd thought.

Ignoring the doubts of the crowd, Yan Bugui continued to recite with great emotion.

"Yesterday, a miracle that shocked both China and the world occurred at the Hongxing Steel Rolling Mill!"

"Faced with the complete paralysis of Soviet-made core machine tools, and with Comrade Yuri, a senior Soviet expert, completely helpless!"

"Comrade Zhang Huaimin, a specially appointed advisor to our country, is only five and a half years old!"

"In just three minutes, using incredible technical methods, it was perfectly repaired and put into overclocking operation!"

"Soviet expert Yuri was immediately impressed, even kneeling down in gratitude to be recognized as his master, exclaiming that a Chinese prodigy had been born!"

boom!

Upon hearing the name "Zhang Huaimin".

The surrounding neighbors immediately erupted in uproar.

"Huai Min?! It really is that kid Huai Min?!"

"My God, even Soviet experts knelt before him? This...this is too outrageous!"

"I knew that kid was weird. Yesterday, Little Stone from Aunt Wang's house drank a bowl of his water and he was jumping around like crazy!"

Just as everyone was marveling at it.

Two somber footsteps echoed from the moon gate of the central courtyard.

Qin Huairu walked out carrying a broken wooden basin, her face gloomy.

She had originally come out to fetch water when she heard Yan Bugui loudly proclaiming Zhang Huaimin's "great achievements".

Jealousy and resentment gnawed at her heart like venomous snakes.

On what grounds?

The Jia family lost its husband, and their son was sent to a juvenile detention center, where they couldn't even get a meal.

That child prodigy, who had no descendants, made the front page of the newspaper and became a nationally renowned prodigy.

Following closely behind Qin Huairu was Yi Zhonghai, who was wearing an old cotton-padded jacket.

Since being demoted to a second-level worker, he seemed to have aged ten years, and his once straight back had become somewhat hunched.

But in his triangular eyes, there was still a glint of resentment and calculation.

He walked to the edge of the crowd and listened to Yan Bugui's almost frantic praise.

He gave a cold laugh.

"Old Yan, you're a teacher too, why are you joining in this nonsense?"

Yi Zhonghai gritted his teeth, his voice filled with a sour, rotten jealousy.

"This is clearly a publicity stunt by the steel rolling mill to cover up their responsibility for the machine tool damage, using a five-year-old child as a publicity stunt!"

"Lifting a 200-pound bearing with one hand? Repairing an imported machine tool in three minutes?"

"If someone said that, who would believe it except for those brainless people?"

Yi Zhonghai's words, though imbued with strong personal emotions.

But it also voiced the sentiments of some people.

After all, it's really against common sense for a five-year-old child to do these things.

The murmurs among the crowd gradually subsided.

Qin Huairu also seized the opportunity to fan the flames:

"Yeah, Huaimin is smart, but he's also too wicked. We'd better stay away from him to avoid getting into trouble like Bang Geng did."

She was trying to salvage some of the Jia family's reputation from the incident where Bang Geng was arrested.

however.

They underestimated Yan Bugui's current fanatical worship, or rather, extreme fear, of Zhang Huaimin.

Yan Bugui heard what Yi Zhonghai said.

They did not back down.

Instead, it jumped up suddenly, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.

"Old Yi! You don't know anything!"

Yan Bugui pointed at Yi Zhonghai's nose and started cursing.

This was the first time in his life that he dared to confront this former "old man" so defiantly in front of the entire hospital.

He walked quickly to Yi Zhonghai.

He slapped the copy of the Workers' Daily in his hand onto Yi Zhonghai's chest with a "smack".

"Open your old eyes and take a good look at the newspaper's signature and official seal!"

Yan Bugui's voice was sharp and agitated.

"This is clearly stamped with the official seal of Commander Lin Zhentian of the Red Star Military Region!"

"And there's also a special permit from the Ministry of Industry!"

"Do you think this is some cheap, low-quality newspaper printed by the steel mill itself?!"

Yan Bugui turned around and looked at the neighbors around him who were still somewhat skeptical.

He shouted in an almost roaring voice:

"This is the nation! This is the military region endorsing Zhang Huaimin!"

"She's not an orphan anymore! She's a genuine national treasure!"

"They are researchers whose work is classified as top-secret by the state!"

"If any of you dare to gossip behind their backs again, saying that they are evil or creating hype, then..."

Yan Bugui sneered, a ruthless glint in his eyes.

"Then just wait for the military region's special guards to come and invite you in for tea!"

These words were like a thunderclap from a clear sky.

A loud explosion resounded over the courtyard house.

Military region leader! Special approval from the Ministry of Industry! National treasure!

These weighty words, like towering mountains, pressed heavily on everyone's hearts.

The neighbors who were just echoing Yi Zhonghai.

They were so frightened that their faces turned pale, and they gasped in shock, taking several steps back.

The wooden basin in Qin Huairu's hand fell to the ground with a "clatter".

Her face was ashen, her legs were weak, and she almost collapsed to the ground.

She knew that her earlier jealousy and provocation were pathetic.

In the face of this absolute state apparatus, he was as ridiculous as a clown jumping around.

Yi Zhonghai's expression was even more fascinating.

Red for a while, white for a while, green for a while.

He stared at the striking black lettering and bright red stamp on the newspaper.

He felt a surge of blood rushing to his chest, and his throat seemed to taste the same sweet, metallic flavor he had when he vomited blood that day.

He gritted his teeth and clenched his fists so tightly that his nails dug into his flesh.

Yet he couldn't utter a single word in rebuttal.

Faced with absolute power and background, his shady seniority and moral blackmail are nothing.

It's like a joke.

Yi Zhonghai did not say another word.

He silently turned away, like a defeated old dog.

With a hunched back and unsteady steps, he retreated back to the house in the middle courtyard and slammed the door shut with a loud bang.

Yan Bugui felt incredibly pleased as he watched Yi Zhonghai's disheveled figure disappear into the distance.

He held the newspaper high and continued to proclaim Zhang Huaimin's "great achievements" to his dumbfounded neighbors.

And just then...

The entrance to the alleyway of Nanluoguxiang.

A fat figure wearing a tattered cotton-padded coat, with a dirty face and a bandage on his right hand.

He was limping and moving with difficulty toward the Red Star Courtyard.