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

On the other side, Jia Zhangshi and Bang Geng lay sprawled on a tattered reed mat, looking like two puddles of mud. Qin Huairu took out the coal briquettes and placed them in the corridor to cook porridge.

I have to wait for the assessment today, so I can't go back to my rural hometown. I can only go and pick up my cousin Qin Jingru tomorrow.

"Wow, so much meat!"

Sha Zhu couldn't help but shout.

The deaf old woman's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. She swallowed hard and kept muttering, "How unfilial! How unfilial! So much meat, and you didn't even think to send some to this old woman to try."

Just moments ago, Jia Zhangshi and Bang Geng were lying there like two large fleshy worms, but upon hearing the word "flesh,"...

The two of them scrambled to their feet and instantly transformed back into human form.

"Wow, so much meat!"

Banggeng shouted at the top of his lungs. He had lived for ten years and had never seen so much meat before. Even when he went to the market with adults, the meat stalls never had this much meat.

"Mom! I want to eat meat! Lots and lots of meat!"

Banggeng rushed towards Qin Huairu and shouted.

Jia Zhangshi stared at the meat on the tricycle, her eyes glazing over with a green light.

"MCA, you didn't even greet your master when you saw him?"

Sha Zhu glared at Ma Hua, his face showing displeasure.

"Master He, you still want to be my master?"

Ma Hua said in a flat tone, "I've been with you for almost four years, and I've never missed a single holiday greeting. But Master He, what have you ever taught me?"

"I taught you..."

Sha Zhu was taken aback, only then realizing that he hadn't really taught Ma Hua anything.

"You don't even remember, do you? I worked for you for four years for nothing, serving you hand and foot for four years."

Ma Hua's voice was flat, "He Yuzhu, what do you take me for?"

"MCA, Zhu Zi is testing you..."

Yi Zhonghai interjected.

Ma Hua pushed his bicycle, with Li Weidong following beside him, and the two walked towards the backyard.

"Master Yi, this has nothing to do with you, right? Everyone in the factory knows what kind of person you are."

Ma Hua sneered, "Master He, it's settled then. Consider all those things I gave you before as a lesson I learned, a chance to see who you really are."

"I've only been learning from Master Nan for a few days, but he's taught me far more real skills than you have."

Before Ma Hua could finish speaking, Jia Zhangshi sneakily moved to the side of the car, and a fat hand quietly reached out, trying to steal a piece of meat when no one was looking.

Li Weidong didn't even turn his head, his tone indifferent: "Jia Zhangshi, try touching flesh with your claws. I'll call the police right now. What, trying to rob me?"

Jia Zhangshi, with her thick skin, chuckled and said, "You have so much meat, you definitely can't finish it all. We'll help you share the burden; we're neighbors, it's just a small matter..."

"MCA, let's go."

Li Weidong completely ignored her and walked away.

Ma Hua quickly pushed the cart and followed, and the two of them went into the backyard together.

Yi Zhonghai stood there, his face as black as the bottom of a pot. He never imagined that even a junior apprentice like Ma Hua would dare to talk back to him to his face. Now he finally understood that his reputation in the factory was completely ruined.

"You little bastard, I'll fucking kill you!"

Yi Zhonghai roared inwardly, his mind consumed by thoughts of how to kill Li Weidong. His current predicament was entirely thanks to that bastard! But he also knew that now was not the time to act. He could only wait for the storm to pass and see what tricks the deaf old woman could pull.

Sha Zhu muttered and cursed from the side, "That Li Weidong is a real scoundrel. What's wrong with sharing some meat with Sister Qin's family? He's so stingy, he's obviously spineless."

He deliberately raised his voice to please Qin Huairu.

Qin Huairu winked at him, but secretly she thought to herself, "What an idiot."

Madam Jia glared at Qin Huairu, her face fierce: "Qin Huairu, hurry up and get some meat! Can't you see your son is craving it?"

"I can't get it; the hostages have already been spent."

Qin Huairu shook her head.

"Have you lost your mind?"

Jia Zhangshi yelled, "Why don't you go borrow some from Li Weidong? Can't you see the pile of meat in his truck? Hurry up and go, what are you dawdling for?"

Qin Huairu gave her a cold glance: "Go by yourself if you want to."

Madam Jia was taken aback. She then realized that Qin Huairu was completely different since she started working. Before, she could scold or hit her as she pleased, and Qin Huairu wouldn't dare utter a sound. Now, however, she dared to talk back to her?

"Oh my God! My daughter-in-law is so disrespectful! How dare she talk to me like that!"

Jia Zhangshi plopped down on the ground, slapping her thighs and yelling at the top of her lungs, "Old Jia! Dongxu! Open your eyes and look!"

Qin Huairu said unhurriedly, "Mother-in-law, do you think the seven days in the cowshed provided by the neighborhood committee was too short? Do you want them to extend it for a few more days?"

Jia Zhangshi immediately wilted.

She had completely forgotten about it, but Qin Huairu just had to bring it up again, making her so angry that her heart felt heavy.

"Huai Ru, she's still your mother-in-law, you have to be filial to her."

Yi Zhonghai finally couldn't hold back any longer.

"Filial piety? How was I ever filial? Are you all blind?"

Qin Huairu's temper flared. "Am I starving her or thirsty for her? Besides, she's my ex-mother-in-law. Legally, I have nothing to do with her. I'm already being more than generous by supporting her. If she causes any more trouble, don't blame me for being ruthless!"

Yi Zhonghai was speechless.

"This...this is so heartless! People should have a conscience."

"Yi Zhonghai, what utter nonsense are you spouting!"

Qin Huairu retorted directly, "Conscience? Does Jia Zhangshi have any conscience? I work myself to the bone, and she doesn't even do a single chore!"

"All you do is eat and sleep all day, and you've raised your son to be like that. What more do you want from me?"

"Put away your old feudal ideas; nowadays, we're all about overthrowing these outdated rules!"

Sha Zhu's eyes widened.

Has Qin Huairu lost her temper? She even dares to criticize Yi Zhonghai.

Yi Zhonghai's face turned green; he simply couldn't believe his ears.

"You...you dare talk to me like that?"

Who do you think you are?

Qin Huairu was furious. "I'm just saying this, so what?"

"I'm not going to get involved in your family's affairs anymore!"

Yi Zhonghai, his face ashen, flung his hand away.

"Did I beg you to intervene? If you're going to intervene, then intervene in Jia Zhangshi's affairs!"

Qin Huairu's voice rose even louder, "She raised Banggeng to be just like her, all he knows is eating, he can't do anything else!"

"How lazy are you?"

Qin Huairu is currently a level one worker and will definitely be promoted to level two by the end of the year. She's very confident. Plus, the factory's women's organization has given her a lot of training, so her thinking changes very quickly. Things she used to consider ironclad rules now seem utterly ridiculous.

Jia Zhangshi was stunned.

She just wanted to eat some meat, but Qin Huairu immediately turned hostile and even scolded Yi Zhonghai.

The way people in the courtyard looked at Qin Huairu changed.

This woman is really strong; she can hold the Jia family together.

"This is all the food. Take it or leave it."

Qin Huairu said coldly, "Want some meat? Buy it yourself!"

"You...you're unfilial! I'm going to sue you! I'm going to..."

Jia Zhangshi wanted to argue, but when she met Qin Huairu's cold gaze, she swallowed all her words.

Yi Zhonghai slunk back to his front door.

Sha Zhu grinned and leaned closer, "Has this woman gone mad? She wasn't like this before, what's wrong with her now..."

Sister Qin spent the morning at the Women's Federation for training. Sha Zhu, holding a teacup, leaned against the door frame and said with a smile, "Our Sister Qin is really impressive now, she speaks with such confidence."

Yi Zhonghai frowned, his tone filled with dissatisfaction: "What kind of people has the Women's Federation turned into? They've completely ruined the rules passed down from our ancestors."

Sha Zhu's face tightened, and he quickly lowered his voice: "Uncle, you can't say things like that carelessly. If someone hears you, they'll drag you out for a public denunciation. It's just the few of us here; if it were outside, something would have happened long ago."

The deaf old woman sat in her chair and grunted twice: "This little brat thinks she can turn the world upside down? How dare she talk to Zhonghai like that? I'll have to teach her a lesson."

Yi Zhonghai glared at her: "Old lady, don't get involved, lest you cause trouble."

Sha Zhu quickly stopped her, saying, "Grandma, please calm down. Sister Qin has had a hard time, and it's good that she can vent her anger now."

But in his heart he was cursing: "It would be better if the old man died soon, leaving me all that gold and silver treasures. I can marry a young virgin and take good care of Sister Qin. How wonderful that life would be."

He suddenly remembered that Sister Qin said she would introduce him to someone, but he wondered how it went.

-

Xiao Xi stood in front of the tricycle, her eyes shining, pointing at the meat on the cart and shouting, "Brother, is all of this ours?"

Li Weidong patted the handlebars, his face beaming with pride: "They're all ours! I shot that wild boar dead with a single shot!"

All the neighbors in the backyard came out, and Liu Haizhong led Liu Guangqi to stand at a distance and watch. Xu Damao sat in his wheelchair, his eyes almost popping out of their sockets, while his mother still clutched the kitchen knife in her hand.

Liu Guangtian and Yan Jiefang were squatting by the door cooking when they were stunned.

The meat was piled up like a small mountain, making one's mouth water just looking at it.

"Jiefang and Guangtian, you two come here, each of you take a piece of salted meat back with you."

Li Weidong greeted them.

Each piece of salted meat weighed over two pounds, and the two of them didn't refuse, each taking one. While his girlfriend helped with the cooking, the two of them helped Li Weidong hang the meat under the wooden beams at the top of the corridor.

In no time, the corridor was filled with chunks of meat, which made people feel at ease.

Liu Guangqi stared at the meat, his mouth practically watering: "Dad, can we have a piece too?"

Liu Haizhong waved his hand: "I'm the team leader, I can't afford to lose face. We'll have something good to eat tonight, I bought some silkworm pupae, I'll stir-fry them to go with the drinks."

Li Weidong took a pair of pliers and cut off the ends of the screws that had been soaking for a day.

Xiao Xi leaned closer and asked, "Brother, what are you doing with this?"

"This stuff is edible. I'll cook you a nice dish later."

Li Weidong spoke while his hands kept moving.

Yan Jiefang carried the salted meat back to his doorstep, and Ding Xiaojuan smiled and said, "Take this meat back to your house later."

Before Yan Jiefang could finish speaking, he looked up and saw Yan Bugui leading Yan Jiecheng coming from behind.

Yan Bugui's intentions were obvious—he wanted to freeload a meal. Yan Jiecheng followed behind, also eyeing the delicious food, and had no intention of going back empty-handed.

"Jiefang, you didn't handle this properly. Why didn't you think of your own family first when you had leftovers?"

Yan Bugui stared at the piece of salted meat in Yan Jiefang's hand, his saliva almost dripping down his face.

"Exactly, exactly! Do you even remember your last name?"

Yan Jiecheng joined in the commotion, his face full of displeasure.

If we take that piece of meat home, slice a few pieces and stir-fry it with winter melon—it'll be absolutely delicious. Taking the rest to Yu Li's house will surely make us look generous.