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

Li Weidong picked up his watch and saw it was 11:30. The knocking was still going on, showing no sign of stopping.

He went into the living room, and Lin Yurou came out as well. Her usual long braid was loose, hanging down to her waist. She was wearing an old floral shirt, pitifully short and with several holes, which she was wearing as pajamas. Below, she wore shorts that were almost like capri pants.

The clothes clung tightly to her body.

Li Weidong glanced at her a few more times, and Lin Yurou blushed instantly, only then realizing that this outfit was acceptable in the bedroom.

"Dong-ge, please open the door first. I'm going to change my clothes."

She blushed and ran back to her bedroom.

Li Weidong didn't care; he was just wearing a vest, shorts, and slippers. No one would care if he went out dressed like that; there were plenty of shirtless people on the street.

As soon as the door opened, Qin Huairu stood there.

Why are you banging on the door in the middle of the night?

Li Weidong frowned.

"Chief Engineer Li, help! Please save Bang Geng!"

Qin Huairu shouted at the top of her lungs and knelt down with a thud. Sha Zhu also ran over right after her.

"Help! Bang Geng! He's rolling around in bed in agony!"

Qin Huairu's tears streamed down her face uncontrollably, and she trembled with anxiety. Sha Zhu forcefully pulled her up from the ground.

"Wait, tell me first, what did he eat for dinner?"

Li Weidong asked, "I told you, Banggeng and Jia Zhangshi need to eat light food these days, preferably liquid food, to soothe their stomachs."

"We ate snails for dinner... I ate a whole plate of snails with my mother-in-law."

Qin Huairu's voice trembled, "I don't know what happened..."

"What's the use of finding him? He has no medicine and can't treat patients. Get him to the hospital right away!"

Sha Zhu shouted anxiously.

He tried to pull Qin Huairu away, but she broke free and insisted on staying to beg Li Weidong.

"Silly Zhu, let go of me!"

Qin Huairu was furious with Sha Zhu. The situation was dire, and this guy was still being jealous. He seemed honest on the outside, but he was a real scoundrel.

Sha Zhu sheepishly released his grip, muttering, "Sister Qin, we need to get her to the hospital right away..."

"The snails they ate were definitely not cooked properly. Those things are inherently cold and hard to digest, and if they weren't cooked through, well, their already imbalanced digestive systems couldn't handle it."

Li Weidong said, "Now we just need to find a way to make them vomit it up."

Sha Zhu paused for a moment, then said, "You're not going to make them drink that stuff again, are you?"

"No need, soapy water will do. Go quickly."

Li Weidong waved his hand, "After they finish vomiting, they're only allowed to drink some rice porridge. That's all they can eat for three days. Otherwise..."

"Thank you, thank you Chief Engineer Li!"

Qin Huairu thanked her and then hurriedly ran away.

Li Weidong shook his head and closed the door. Turning around, he saw Lin Yurou peeking halfway out of the bedroom doorway and whispering, "Brother Dong, are you alright? Go to sleep."

"Hmm, I just remembered something."

Li Weidong asked, "What size radio should we buy for our home?"

"A radio? Those things are expensive."

Lin Yurou shook her head, "Don't buy it..."

"I'll do it myself."

Li Weidong said, "Just tell me how big you want it."

"Well... a bigger one would be more impressive, preferably something that looks like a large item and can be placed on the living room floor."

Lin Yurou tossed her long hair. But when she saw Li Weidong staring intently at her body, and remembering that He Yushui was also awake, she quickly turned around and shrank back into the bedroom.

Li Weidong shook his head and went back to his room. He checked the time; it was already past midnight. He casually said, "System, I need to sign in."

"Sign-in successful. You have received the rice cooker manufacturing blueprints."

Li Weidong sighed. This thing doesn't need blueprints from the system; he could build it himself. The key issue is, it probably won't have a market in China—these days, ordinary people aren't willing to spend that kind of money.

"It looks like the steel rolling mill will have to open another new workshop."

Li Weidong was making plans in his mind.

He had already figured out how to sell the rice cooker and to whom.

Of course, they sold it to the Japanese. The Japanese made a lot of money serving as logistics for their godfather, the Soviet Union, in the war in Korea. Their lives had already improved considerably.

Qin Huairu thought to herself that she should first inform Uncle Li about this matter.

When she returned home, Banggeng and Jia Zhangshi were rolling on the ground clutching their stomachs, making so much noise that people from the courtyard came out to see what was happening.

"Zhu Zi, drag them both outside. I'll go make some soapy water."

Qin Huairu called out, "Make them vomit in the swill bucket later."

Back then, the swill buckets were filled with dishwater, with very little oil, but they still had to be saved to feed the pigs.

Sha Zhu dragged the stick into the yard and threw him a broken basin. Jia Zhangshi was in an even worse state; she was dragged outside the gate like a dead pig, screaming as loudly as if a pig was being slaughtered during the New Year.

"Qin Huairu, are you crazy? It hurts so much! Get me to the hospital right now!"

Jia Zhangshi shouted at the top of her lungs.

"Drink some soapy water, and you'll be fine once you spit it out."

Qin Huairu said in a very calm tone, "For the next three days, you can only drink thin porridge, otherwise your stomach will suffer."

She knew in her heart that Bang Geng wouldn't be in any serious trouble, so she calmed down.

Soapy water was much easier to swallow than that stuff. After Jia Zhangshi and Bang Geng swallowed it, they almost vomited up their bile. In the end, the two of them collapsed on the ground, panting heavily, with bubbles constantly coming out of their mouths.

"With all this noise, can't anyone get any sleep? Everyone has to go to work tomorrow."

Yi Zhonghai slowly emerged at this moment, his voice as cold as ice shards.

If he had stood up and spoken just now, probably no one would have paid any attention to him.

"Hey, old man, that's not right. The skewer's already in this state, and you're still fussing about this?"

Sha Zhu looked at him with an expression of utter astonishment, "This isn't like you at all!"

"Go back to sleep quickly, you have work to do tomorrow."

Yi Zhonghai's face was as black as the bottom of a pot.

The next morning, Li Weidong pushed his bicycle out of the hospital gate and bumped into Cui Dake.

Cui Dake was on his way to work, the finger marks on his face already turning purplish-blue, easily recognizable. Li Weidong had really gone all out with those two slaps last night.

Li Weidong glanced at him, snorted coldly, and got into his car and drove away.

Cui Dake knew in his heart that his days ahead were probably going to be tough.

"Damn, I really regret it. If only I had stayed at the branch factory and worked at the electric fan factory, I would have been living a much better life."

Cui Dake cursed inwardly, "Want to be transferred back? That's difficult."

When Li Weidong arrived at the factory, he first went to check out the security department. Jin Da and Jin Er were squatting there eating breakfast.

Before he could even enter the room and say two words, Deputy Section Chief Jiang rushed over.

"Chief Engineer Li, Factory Director Yang requests your presence."

Li Weidong was a little surprised. It was not even eight o'clock yet. What did Director Yang want to see him about?

Pushing open the door to the factory director's office, I saw Secretary Zhang and Liu Hai sitting inside.

"Chief Engineer Li, please sit down. I have something to tell you."

Factory Director Yang said with a serious expression, "It's about that deaf old lady."

"You found out? You acted quickly."

Li Weidong raised his eyebrows.

Director Yang said that the two puppet soldiers who were on guard at the execution ground back then have been found. These two men fled to Beijing before liberation and settled there, but were later captured and imprisoned for reformation.

"We're now preparing to take them to identify people."

"We also need to bring Kim Jong-il and Kim Dae-il along. They should wait at the entrance of the courtyard for the military and police to arrive."

"So we all have to go?"

Li Weidong asked.

"Yes, let's go take a look together."

Secretary Zhang gritted his teeth and cursed, "How the hell did this old hag get into our residential compound and make the whole compound treat her like royalty?"

"You should ask Yi Zhonghai about this."

Li Weidong chuckled, "His relationship with Yi Zhonghai is unusual, and there's also that silly Zhu who keeps calling the deaf old lady 'Grandma' all day long."

"Have the security department take these two into custody."

Li Huaide said to Factory Director Yang.

"I'll call the security department right away."

As he spoke, Director Yang went to get the phone.

"Then I'll go back first."

Li Weidong said, "I'm worried about my three younger sisters. If the deaf old lady really is a spy, then I'm in danger."

After saying that, Li Weidong pushed his bicycle and hurried home.

He knew perfectly well that if the deaf old woman were truly a spy, she would be extremely vigilant.

If someone is watching the compound right now, that old woman will definitely sense it. If she wants to drag someone down with her, she might just target Lin Yurou and the others.

Even if Lin Yurou had a gun, she might not be able to defend herself against this old guy.

Li Weidong rode his bicycle back to the courtyard house and walked quickly towards the backyard.

He recognized the two people at the gate immediately as the ones who were watching the deaf old woman.

He didn't have a gun on his belt, but he had two large needles for sewing burlap sacks on his belt. Those things were about the thickness of the spokes of a 28-inch bicycle.

There are more than a dozen large needles, each about the length of a finger, in the system space.

The needle is diamond-shaped and very sharp.

When Li Weidong rushed into the backyard, he saw the deaf old woman already in the middle of the yard, holding the cane in her hand.

"What are you doing in the backyard?"

Li Weidong stared at her and asked.

The deaf old woman looked as if she were being stared at by a wild beast; her old face, as thin as a walnut shell, was filled with tension and viciousness.

"Where I go is none of your business!"

The deaf old woman said fiercely.

"elder brother!"

Xiao Xi ran out of the main room, her face full of surprise.

"Go back inside! Go inside!"

Li Weidong shouted sharply, "Hurry!"

As he spoke, he moved his bicycle horizontally, blocking the deaf old woman's path.

The two were only two meters apart.

Li Weidong knew in his heart that as long as the old woman dared to make a move, he could shove that big needle into her throat immediately.

Upon hearing Li Weidong's shout, Lin Yurou rushed out of the house, picked up the terrified Xiao Xi, and handed her to He Yushui.

She could tell from Li Weidong's tense expression that the deaf old woman was definitely a dangerous person.

"Close the door, rain, don't come out."

Lin Yurou whispered her instructions.

As soon as she finished speaking, she deftly drew her weapon, circled behind Li Weidong in a few steps, and pointed the gun directly at the deaf old woman. Her stance was clear—if the old woman made the slightest movement, she would pull the trigger without hesitation.

Xu Damao sat in his wheelchair, his eyes wide open like copper bells, his mouth agape enough to fit a fist.

The deaf old woman's face fell completely. She knew in her heart that she had completely lost this round. Unable to continue pretending, she turned around, pretended not to hear, and slunk away.

"Xiaorou, you go back first and take good care of Xiaoxi."

Li Weidong said.

Here, take the gun.

Lin Yurou handed the tool over.

"No need. Keep it. If anyone gets close, open fire without hesitation."

Li Weidong's voice was cold.

The deaf old woman's steps faltered, but she quickened her pace and rushed towards the central courtyard.