Courtyard House: In this life, I have a new home!

Li Weidong felt as if his head had been hit with a hammer, his lungs were burning with pain, and his throat was filled with the taste of blood.

"Wait a minute, didn't the kitchen explode? I'm definitely dead... Was I saved?"

He barely opened his eyes, but instead of the expected white walls, he saw old wooden beams overhead.

"You're awake? Have some water."

The sound was very soft, and Li Weidong turned his head to look.

A thin girl, who looked no more than sixteen or seventeen, stood by the bed, holding a chipped bowl in her hand, nervously scrutinizing him. A child was also hiding at her feet.

It was a little girl of three or four years old, with bright black eyes, looking timidly at Li Weidong, her eyes filled with both pleading and fear.

"Fairy Sister? That's the one I saw when I was sixteen or seventeen..."

A jumble of chaotic images suddenly flooded his mind, causing Li Weidong to gasp in pain. Once he recovered, he understood what was happening.

He traveled back in time from 2020.

The body's biological father passed away half a month ago.

The original owner of this body disliked his stepmother and ran away to his uncle's house in the south, where he spent four years studying. He only returned after hearing that his father had passed away. His stepmother had also died six months prior, but he hadn't taken it seriously at the time. Upon returning and seeing his father's portrait, he remembered how good his father had been to him, and he vomited blood and died. Then he took over this body.

"Is it really true that sacrificing one's parents to the heavens grants boundless power? But what about the system? Where are the standard features for transmigrators?"

Li Weidong muttered to himself. He used to read so many online novels, he never thought it would actually happen to him.

Are you alright?

The girl's voice trembled, "I have no money... I can't afford a doctor..."

"It's nothing. Are you Lin Yurou?"

Li Weidong recognized her. He had seen this girl once four years ago; back then, she was just a little girl with blond hair.

"Um."

Lin Yurou's face was yellowish, but the tips of her ears were red.

"Brother! It's me, Xiaoxi! Please don't send us away, okay? My sister and I rarely eat!"

The little girl's voice was so sweet and innocent that Li Weidong's nose started to sting with emotion as soon as she spoke.

This is the daughter born to the father and stepmother.

Both girls were as thin as sticks, clearly starving. Their father was a level four fitter, and their stepmother had been ill for almost two years; how good could their lives be?

Besides, it is now 1962, and those three years of great disasters have just passed.

"bite--"

"Ding!"

After a crisp notification sound, a cold, electronic female voice exploded in Li Weidong's mind.

"The generous daily check-in system has been successfully linked... The newbie gift pack has been distributed. I haven't checked in today yet..."

"Sign! Sign now!"

Li Weidong mentally roared angrily, while secretly breathing a sigh of relief. Regardless of what this thing could produce, at least he wasn't a lone wolf who had transmigrated; at least he had someone to rely on.

"It's 1962 now, we've just survived the three-year Great Leap Forward! If it weren't for the system's safety net, we really wouldn't be able to get by with all those monsters and demons in our family."

In his past life, he watched "Full House of Love" three times over, each time getting so angry his blood pressure spiked. Those weirdos would be unbearable for anyone.

The hypocrite Yi Zhonghai spouts nothing but benevolence and morality; Liu Haizhong is quick to resort to violence and education; Yan Bugui rattles off the abacus beads with a clattering sound; and then there's Jia Zhangshi, whose breakdancing sounds like a summoning of spirits.

The deaf old lady pretends to be deaf and dumb all day long and locks the door at the drop of a hat; Qin Huairu's acting skills are first-rate, a pure and innocent beauty; Bang Geng is a reincarnation of a master thief; He Yuzhu is the number one thief in the world, and the title of "God of War of the Courtyard" is well-deserved.

Just as Li Weidong was pondering these trivial matters, the electronic female voice rang out again.

"Sign-in successful. You have received a whole white pig and 100 catties of various pastries."

"One hundred catties of rice, one hundred catties of wheat flour!"

"One hundred catties of seasonings, one hundred catties of fresh fruit!"

"One hundred catties of chicken and duck eggs, and one hundred catties of braised dishes!"

"One hundred catties of milk candy, one hundred catties of pure milk!"

"A whole slaughtered cow and a hundred chickens!"

"One hundred cases of canned food, and one hundred cases of instant noodles in all flavors!"

"One hundred catties of lard, one hundred catties of soybean oil."

"All supplies are in the system space, and the host can retrieve them for use at any time."

"Time stands still in this space; it won't break no matter how long it's left there."

Li Weidong was completely stunned. He went through the original owner's memories and immediately understood how terrifying these supplies were.

Right now, rice and noodles are only eight cents a pound—and you need ration coupons to buy them. Pork is fifty cents a pound; money alone isn't enough, you need meat coupons. Eggs are about five cents each.

"This system is indeed incredibly powerful, but... why is it all food?"

Li Weidong was still muttering to himself when he suddenly heard a gurgling sound. Turning his head, he saw that it was the two little girls' stomachs rumbling.

Are you hungry?

He asked it casually.

"Brother, my sister and I will just have some water. We'll go dig for wild vegetables later."

Xiao Xi nervously clutched her stomach, her voice timid, "Wait here, we'll go find some food for you."

She remembered her grandmother saying that when her brother came back, the first thing he would do was kick them, those two good-for-nothings, out of the house. She ate wild vegetables last night, and she ate wild vegetables again this morning.

Li Weidong swayed as he stood up. He looked like an eighteen-year-old, having not suffered much hardship in the south. He was 1.85 meters tall and very strong. He had fainted and fallen to the ground; the two young girls couldn't lift him at all.

"Don't bother with water, I brought food back in my bag!"

He spoke as he walked out. When the original owner returned, he was carrying two bags, which he could use as cover to first take some items out of the system's inventory.

His own stomach was also acting up, rumbling louder than the two girls'.

Xiao Xi put her finger in her mouth, her eyes darting around, and asked softly, "Is it a cornbread? I'll only eat half."

Lin Yurou bit her lip, her voice hoarse: "I can work, I can earn money... If it really doesn't work out, I'll leave, but Xiaoxi is your own sister, can't you keep her here?"

She knew perfectly well that she had nothing to do with Li Weidong. Her stepfather had told her to marry Li Weidong before he died, but why would he even look at her? He was educated, tall, and handsome.

In this world, some women are as worthless as weeds. They fall wherever the wind blows. The lucky ones grow in the fields, while the unlucky ones can only grow in the cracks of rocks.

Li Weidong frowned: "Who said they were kicking you out? This has always been your home. Father didn't leave you anything?"

Lin Yurou replied in a low voice, "We left some food, but we finished it all a long time ago. We ate wild vegetables last night."

"Sit down and eat."

Li Weidong took out three lotus leaf packets from his bag. Inside were braised chicken drumsticks, glistening with oil, and their aroma immediately filled the air.

Xiao Xi's eyes lit up: "A big, big chicken leg! Brother, is this for us?"

Lin Yurou swallowed hard, her face revealing her craving.

"Yes, eat up."

Li Weidong sat down. "Xiao Xi, eat as much as you want."

Xiao Xi grabbed a chicken leg and held it to Li Weidong's mouth, saying, "Brother, you eat first!"

The way he looked, he wouldn't stop until he took a bite.

Li Weidong laughed and took a bite: "It's delicious, Xiaoxi, hurry up and eat."

"Awoo—"

Xiao Xi opened her mouth and took a bite.

Lin Yurou pulled her along, saying, "Xiaoxi, let's share one, and the rest can go to your brother..."

"No need, I have money and tickets."

Li Weidong waved his hand, "You guys eat quickly, or I'll get angry."

He then took out a lotus leaf package containing ten braised eggs.

Lin Yurou then lowered her head and began to nibble on the chicken leg.

Three people suddenly entered through the door. The one in the lead was a man in his fifties, short and stout, with a square face and a short, crew cut, who looked rather upright.

"Has Weidong eaten?"

The man with the short, buzz cut spoke.

"Yi Gong? Is something the matter?"

Li Weidong raised his head.

"Hey kid, haven't seen you in four or five years, and you've gotten distant with this old man?"

Yi Zhonghai touched his buzz cut and walked in with a smile.

As Li Weidong spoke, his gaze fell on the table.

Xiao Xi, head tucked in like a kitten, was struggling with the large chicken leg in her hand, her mouth glistening with oil. Lin Yurou had just stood up, and hadn't even had a chance to call out "Grandpa" yet...

He was then pulled back to his chair by Li Weidong.

"Eat your food first. What are you standing there for if you're this hungry?"

His tone was calm, yet it carried an undeniable air of authority.

"Also, next time you enter someone else's house—even if the door is open, you should ask the host for permission first."

No sooner had he finished speaking than a chubby man erupted in uproar.

"Hey! How dare you talk to your elders like that?"

This was a tall, stocky fat man with a middle parting and glasses perched on his nose. He looked like an educated person, but the twitching of his fleshy face made him look exactly like a butcher.

This is Second Uncle, Liu Haizhong. At this moment, he is staring wide-eyed at Li Weidong.

Standing next to him was a man as thin as a bamboo pole, wearing glasses on his nose. One of his legs was broken and bandaged. He had an air of "I'm the most cultured person" on his face.

Emoji.

This is the third uncle, Yan Bugui.

His eyes were glued to the chicken leg and braised egg on the table, and he was practically drooling.

"You're all adults, don't you know how to knock before coming in?"

Li Weidong suddenly stood up.

His mind was replaying the story of "Full House of Love," which he had watched countless times in his previous life. Every time he saw those three old geezers, he wanted to rush in and slap them a few times. Now that they were actually standing in front of him, what was the point of being polite?

If you're polite to them, they'll climb up the social ladder by stepping on your face.

Yi Zhonghai's face instantly turned as black as the bottom of a pot. He took a deep breath and lowered his voice: "Fine, kid, you've got guts. The factory wants me to bring back your dad's pension. Your dad was recognized as a martyr, so the pension is 1,000 yuan. Plus 200 yuan from the police, that's 1,200 yuan in total."

He pulled a thick wad of black dollars from his canvas satchel and handed it over.

Li Weidong reached out and took it, then casually squeezed it.

"That's all? I'll go to the factory myself and ask tomorrow."

His voice was neither warm nor cold.

Yi Zhonghai's face was so black it looked like ink could drip from it.

"I haven't finished speaking yet. There are still 100 jin of grain coupons, 10 jin of meat coupons, 10 jin of oil coupons, plus 300 jin of coal briquette coupons."

Seeing Yi Zhonghai pull out a handful of tickets from his bag, Li Weidong's lips curled into a smug smile.

These days, money alone is useless; everything requires coupons. You need meat coupons to buy meat, cloth coupons to buy cloth, and grain coupons to buy according to rations. Of course, you also need to have grain coupons on hand.

Almost everything requires a ticket.

If you have money but no tickets, sometimes you can only sneak around to places like the pigeon market to exchange them. And the price there is hard to say.