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

Li Weidong could only offer a casual explanation: "I practiced it at school before."

You can't exactly say that you've reached the level of a grandmaster in martial arts, have perfect control over every muscle in your body, and have strong mental strength, which is why your marksmanship is so accurate, right?

Then Li Weidong taught Lin Yurou how to shoot, but the target was placed ten meters away.

Lin Yurou was quite serious. After firing ten shots, she was able to hit the target every time. Although her score wasn't great, when it came to shooting people, every shot hit the chest or stomach area, and one shot would solve the problem.

Lin Yurou shook her aching wrist, pouting and complaining, "My hand is almost useless!"

Li Weidong smiled and reassured him, "The results are already good enough. Let's go, let's go to the research lab and get something done."

The two entered the research lab, where a large piece of processed cowhide was displayed. Li Weidong quickly got to work, using steel fittings and the cowhide to quickly assemble a belt.

"Xiaorou, take off your rope and use this. Just clip the gun to your waist."

Li Weidong pointed to his belt, "Lift up your clothes a bit, I'll fix it for you."

Lin Yurou's face turned as red as fire, but she didn't say a word and obediently did as she was told.

Li Weidong helped her tighten her belt and adjusted the length of his canvas bag so she could sling it across her shoulder. This way, the bulge at her waist wouldn't be visible.

"Come on, I'll take you back. I need to go to the pharmaceutical company."

Li Weidong reached out and pinched her little cheek.

If he weren't at the factory, he would definitely linger there for a while before leaving.

Just as Lin Yurou and I stepped out of the research lab and onto the main road, we saw Cui Dake pushing a creaking cart with some workpieces piled on it.

When Cui Dake saw Lin Yurou, his eyes lit up. He was about to go over to her when he caught sight of Li Weidong, and he shrank back in fright and quickly ran away.

"This person is disgusting."

Lin Yurou frowned and said to Li Weidong.

"That's right, they even live in the same courtyard as us."

Li Weidong was also quite helpless. He couldn't very well actually have someone kick Cui Dake out for such a trivial matter.

As Cui Dake struggled to push the cart, he thought to himself, "Li Weidong definitely won't be home for lunch. I might as well take half a day off and buy Lin Yurou a dress!"

"Once I've won her over, I'll make it a fait accompli. When Li Weidong finds out, he'll have no choice but to accept his fate and let me have my way! Hehe, then he won't be able to cause me any trouble, and he'll even have to help me out, otherwise his sister won't have a good life."

The more Cui Dake thought about it, the happier he became. He grinned from ear to ear, unable to contain his joy.

Li Weidong dropped the two girls off at the gate of the compound before riding his bicycle to the pharmaceutical company. Things went smoothly; he retrieved the medicinal herbs and tied them to the back rack of his coat.

Then he went to the radio factory, where there was a storefront. They sold radios, but you still needed a ration coupon.

However, they also sell some parts for radio enthusiasts to assemble their own radios. The assembled radios are for personal use, but cannot be sold. Of course, there are many tricks involved, and plenty of ways to circumvent the rules.

These days, being able to assemble a radio is like being able to build a computer in the 1990s—it's incredibly impressive.

Many of the parts in the shop are defective, and the genuine parts are ridiculously expensive. Building your own radio isn't much cheaper than buying a ready-made one; at most, you'll save a ration coupon.

Defective products are much cheaper; assembling a tube radio would only cost around ten yuan.

But as for quality, it's all about luck. The sound it produces is like a lottery; how long it lasts depends on whether God is on your side.

Li Weidong picked out some parts and tools and paid nearly one hundred yuan.

The parts weren't expensive, only around fifty yuan, but it cost quite a bit to gather all the tools.

By the time they got back to the factory, it was already lunchtime. While getting food at the canteen, Li Weidong bumped into Shan Dahai and said with a smile, "Director Shan, let's sit next to each other."

He bought steamed buns and vegetables, and Shan Dahai also got his rice. Li Weidong took out a can of braised pork.

Dan Dahai asked with a smile, "Shouldn't we get rid of that guy? If we let him stay any longer, I'll be furious."

"What happened?"

Li Weidong pried open the can.

"He's turned a perfectly good team into a complete mess. He's always putting on airs, assigning tasks haphazardly, he's a real scoundrel. Today he actually asked me to give him a cadre-level position."

Dan Dahai got angrier and angrier as he spoke, "They even accept gifts and invitations. They give easy jobs to those who give gifts, but they torture those who don't."

"I was just about to talk to you about kicking him out. Letting him be powerful for a few days is enough."

Li Weidong said, "Since we've accepted the gift, let's make a big scene."

"By the way, I'd like to invite you, Director Wang, and Director Zhou to my house for a couple of drinks tonight."

Dan Dahai agreed without hesitation. How could he refuse such a good thing?

Li Weidong is a technical cadre, and getting close to him means you don't have to worry about taking sides.

As soon as I finished eating and stepped out of the cafeteria, I saw Yu Li waiting for me.

"Dong-ge, you're really busy. I've been looking for you several times."

Yu Li's tone was slightly coquettish.

Li Weidong slapped his forehead, remembering what he had promised her.

"I've been so busy these past few days."

He chuckled, "Tell the section chief to deliver 1,000 jin of pork and 100 chickens tomorrow night. Tell him to arrange the truck before he leaves work."

Yu Li blushed, gave him a charmingly disdainful look, tossed her long, thick black braid, and swayed away—many people around were watching.

Li Weidong returned to the infirmary office, laid out the radio parts and tools, and began to work.

He had assembled radios himself in an interest group when he was a child. Simplifying an old-fashioned radio was a piece of cake. Oh, and the radio factory's retail store even gave him a circuit diagram.

He thought the image was too verbose; simplifying a few things would suffice. After the changes, the radio effect would be significantly better than the original.

I assembled the two radios in two hours, and when I checked the time, it was already 2 PM. Now all that's left is the outer casing.

Li Weidong strolled over to the factory's carpentry workshop. It wasn't a big place, maybe two hundred square meters at most, and it was filled with wood, with five or six workers busy at work.

Everything in the factory that's related to wood comes from here. Big factories have the resources; they're too lazy to buy things from outside unless they absolutely have no other choice, otherwise they wouldn't bother setting up a woodworking workshop like this.

Li Weidong rummaged through the materials and casually pieced together two palm-sized wooden boxes. A few simple little flowers were carved on the shells, along with the words "Serve the People."

The words.

The foreman of the carpentry workshop leaned over for a look, somewhat surprised: "Chief Engineer Li, are you making a radio? Your carpentry skills are quite impressive! You've even used mortise and tenon joints on such a small thing, it fits perfectly, you really have some skill!"

He paused, then clicked his tongue: "What a pity...what a pity..."

Li Weidong was confused by his tone and asked, "Why is it a pity?"

"If you can make radios, why don't you make a big one? It would be a respectable piece of furniture to have at home."

The carpentry foreman sighed.

"Oh, I see."

Li Weidong then realized what was going on and nodded: "Let's practice with the small ones first, and then we'll tackle the big ones later."

The larger ones are even simpler: make the speakers bigger, make the casing bigger, stuff a few pieces of iron inside, make it a bit heavy, and that's how you get a sense of class.

Back in his office, Li Weidong began adjusting the radio reception. The parts had already been selected, and they were tested again before assembly. Some of the original defects in the parts actually canceled each other out after installation.

After adjusting the settings, they were stuffed into the wooden box and sealed, and the two radios were neatly placed on the table.

He was tuning the radio when several people stood at the door. Only Ding Qiunan walked in and stood by the table, bringing with her the faint fragrance of a clean-cut young woman.

"Section Chief Li, you even know this?"

Ding Qiunan's face was full of excitement, and her voice rose a beat: "This is a radio!"

"I just made it on a whim. If you like it, take one."

Li Weidong smiled and said, "Today is just a test."

Ding Qiunan glanced at his open drawer, which was crammed with parts, blushed slightly, and reached out to grab one.

Li Weidong didn't take it seriously, just then a burst of exciting music came from the radio.

"It's time to go home, everyone."

Li Weidong smiled and waved to the people at the door, "Don't shout it from here. When you have time, one for each of you."

"Thank you, Section Chief Li!"

"Section Chief Li, you really know everything!"

Li Weidong mingled amidst a chorus of praise, then pushed his cart toward the security department.

"This thing isn't cheap, why did you accept it?"

Professor Ding followed Ding Qiunan and asked in a low voice.

The father and daughter walked back together. Ding Qiunan fiddled with the radio as they walked, her fingers gently touching the outer casing.

"He gave it to me."

Ding Qiunan said indifferently, "I'll be his person sooner or later, so let him take it."

Professor Ding sighed, said nothing more, and looked a little distressed.

When Li Weidong arrived at the security department, he placed the radio in front of Jin Da and Jin Er.

Jin Da leaned over and looked at it several times, his face full of surprise: "Wow, this is the first time I've seen this model. The wooden shell isn't even painted."

The purplish-blue marks on his face had faded considerably, but the colors mixed together, making them look even more gaudy.

Jin Er, quick-witted, immediately guessed: "Chief Engineer Li must have done it himself!"

Now they've started calling him Chief Engineer Li too.

"Alright, your food and drinks will be here shortly."

Li Weidong said, "Enjoying opera while drinking, this is quite a life."

"Thank you so much. Don't worry, we'll take good care of the radio and return it to you as soon as it's ready."

Kim Dae quickly made a statement.

"It's yours."

Li Weidong casually tossed out a sentence.

Before the two of them could react, the person had already walked away.

As soon as Li Weidong arrived at the factory gate, he saw Liu Haizhong pushing a worn-out bicycle, his face looking ashen as if his father had died.

Liu Haizhong's head was buzzing, and he felt like someone was stabbing him repeatedly in the heart.

He was still replaying the scene of Shan Dahai looking for him that afternoon in his mind.

He bought this secondhand bicycle for eighty yuan at noon, without even asking for a receipt, and the ownership was transferred legitimately. He initially thought it was great.

As soon as I returned to the workshop, Shan Dahai rushed over in a great hurry.

Liu Haizhong quickly went up to him, his face full of anticipation: "Director Shan, has the staffing plan for the logistics department been finalized?"

"Dream on!"

Dan Dahai immediately berated him, "Someone like you wants to be a cadre? You've only been a group leader for a few days and you've already made a mess of your group."

His voice grew louder and louder: "And this is just a demotion? You dare to accept bribes and give favors? This is too lenient a punishment!"

Liu Haizhong was completely stunned: "No, I did a great job..."

"The boss has made the decision: you'll be cleaning the toilets for a week."