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

Xiao Xi stopped and stared at the person on the bed for a while. Then, she tiptoed, reached out her little hand, and gently touched Li Weidong's cheek. Only then did she turn around and tiptoe out.

After she closed the door, Li Weidong opened his eyes and looked at the closed door, a warm feeling of family affection welling up in his heart.

The next day, just as dawn broke, Li Weidong got up and relieved himself in the room using a wooden toilet.

Only after he finished did he realize—he had also relieved himself in this bucket yesterday, but he hadn't gone out to empty it at all. But when he used it just now, the bucket was spotless, with wood ash and coal ash at the bottom.

No need to guess, it must have been Lin Yurou who cleaned it up.

"Dong-ge, you're up so early? I'll go cook right away!"

Lin Yurou rushed out of her room, woken up by the noise of Li Weidong washing up. Last night, she had taken down the gauze mosquito net and turned on the electric fan, and slept very soundly—actually, it was also because she had tossed and turned in the first half of the night and hadn't slept well.

"No need to rush, I'll just grab a bite."

Li Weidong quickly waved his hand, "It's only 5:30, you should sleep a little longer."

He took out the braised egg and tore open the instant noodle packaging.

Lin Yurou nodded, turned around and went into Li Weidong's room, picked up the wooden toilet and hurriedly left.

"This can't go on."

Li Weidong muttered to himself, "We need to figure out how to make a toilet."

He had just finished his breakfast when he saw Xiaoxi rubbing her eyes and stumbling out of the bedroom.

"elder brother!"

As soon as Xiao Xi saw Li Weidong, her eyes lit up, and she ran over and hugged his leg.

"Why are you up so early?"

Li Weidong rubbed her head and said, "I'm going out to take care of some business. You stay home and listen to your sister."

"Yes, yes, I'll be good!"

Xiao Xi blinked her big, bright eyes and looked at him expectantly. "Brother, could you give me a few more of those sour fruits?"

"Don't eat too much, or your teeth will break and meat won't taste as good."

Li Weidong took out five or six hawthorns and handed them to her.

"Okay, Xiaoxi got it!"

When the little girl smiled, her eyes curved into crescent moons.

"Stop bothering your brother."

Lin Yurou walked in. "He's about to go out to take care of some important business."

Xiao Xi grabbed a handful of hawthorns and said crisply, "I know, I'm going to lie down for a while longer!"

Li Weidong pushed his bicycle out of the main room, ready to leave, when he suddenly remembered that he hadn't clocked in for the day.

He silently said to himself, "System, sign in."

A mechanical female voice then announced: "Check-in complete. You have received the following rewards: 20 bicycle tickets, 20 radio tickets, 20 watch tickets, and 20 sewing ticket tickets."

Li Weidong was stunned for a moment—why were they all tickets? But then he thought about it, and realized that these tickets were worth a lot of money.

"Dong-ge, is there anything you forgot to bring?"

Lin Yurou stood at the door, gazing at him expectantly.

"No, no, no, I'm leaving now. Oh, by the way, I might be back a little late at noon."

As Li Weidong spoke, his eyes unconsciously drifted towards Lin Yurou's chest, his mind flashing back to the soft touch he felt last night.

Lin Yurou blushed, but felt a little sweet inside.

"Then you guys eat first, don't wait for me."

Li Weidong touched his nose, realizing that his gaze was a bit off, and quickly pushed the cart out.

He pedaled his bicycle all the way to Tsinghua University, a journey that took almost forty minutes. When he arrived, he handed in his graduation certificate, registered, and after all that, he was just in time for the 8 o'clock exam.

Li Weidong didn't put in too much effort and passed the Level 7 Engineer exam. He received the certificate at 11:30 and then rode his bike back home.

No sooner had he left than a man in his fifties dialed the phone number of Hongxing Steel Rolling Mill in an office at Tsinghua University.

"Old Yang, congratulations! Li Weidong from your factory passed the Level 7 Engineer qualification exam."

The man smiled and said, "I'm sharing this good news with you right away, you have to treat me to a meal, right?"

"What? A Level 7 Engineer? Okay, okay, Lao Peng, a meal is nothing! When are you coming over? I'll have the kitchen prepare some hearty dishes for you!"

On the other end of the phone, Director Yang's voice was incredibly excited.

Li Weidong rode his bike back, looking at the old buildings along the street and the slogans painted on the walls, and felt quite moved.

"Damn it, I need to modify this piece of junk."

Other ways to eat.

Although he was a martial arts practitioner, he had been pedaling hard for almost an hour, and although he wasn't tired, he was covered in sweat. Remembering that he still had gasoline in the system's inventory, an idea popped into Li Weidong's mind.

Li Weidong turned into the alleyway and came out with a bundle of bamboo on his shoulder. A dozen or so bamboos were tied together, their tips dragging on the ground, making a rustling sound.

As soon as I entered the courtyard, I saw Yan Bugui squatting by the flower bed watering the plants. His eyes were fixed on me, bloodshot, like a wild dog eyeing its prey.

"Old man, look at all that bamboo he's gathered again."

Yang Yuhua's eyes also reddened, and her voice was tinged with bitterness.

"Bamboo doesn't require a ticket."

Yan Bugui stroked his chin, his eyes darting around, "But things made from bamboo require tickets."

He lowered his voice, "What do you think? How about I set him up with him? We can get closer to him, and our family can benefit from it in the future."

"Yes! Yes!"

Yang Yuhua perked up, "My eldest sister's eldest daughter..."

"Come on, that girl is only 1.5 meters tall, practically illiterate. Do you think Li Weidong would even look at her?"

Yan Bugui waved his hand, looking disgusted. "Pushing her over there is like slapping someone in the face. Look at her, she's beautiful, has a master's degree, is the head of the medical department, and is an eighth-level engineer."

Yang Yuhua chuckled awkwardly, "That's true. Old man, do you have someone in mind?"

"Two female teachers just joined our school."

Yan Bugui narrowed his eyes smugly, "I'll find a chance to talk to him about it later."

Li Weidong threw the bamboo on the ground, the clattering sound startling everyone inside. Xiao Xi was the first to rush out.

"Brother! Brother's back!"

The little guy pounced on him and hugged the leg of the car that Li Weidong had just propped up.

Lin Yurou followed behind, smiling as she said, "Brother Dong, we've been waiting for you to come back for dinner."

"Didn't I tell you not to wait?"

Li Weidong held Xiaoxi's hand, a smile playing on his lips.

"Nothing much happened at home, so I had breakfast late."

Lin Yurou smiled gently.

Li Weidong walked into the main room, where a pot of white rice, a bowl of tomato and egg drop soup, and a dish of dark, salty vegetables were laid out on the small table.

"Is this all we're having for lunch?"

He frowned. "Eating too much pickled vegetables is bad for your health. Don't eat them anymore. I'll go get two cans of braised pork."

Lin Yurou didn't say anything, nor did she ask where the canned food was.

Li Weidong went to the bedroom and found two tin cans of pork belly. These days, canned food was substantial, each can weighing a pound. He scalded them in boiling water, then opened the can, and the rich aroma of meat wafted into his nose.

In those years of scarcity, everyone's nose is incredibly sensitive. If that little bit of fragrance wafts out, everyone in the entire courtyard will probably smell it.

"Have a meal."

As soon as Li Weidong picked up the bowl, his ears caught the noise outside.

The deaf old woman leaned on her cane, tapping it against the bluestone slabs with a clattering sound.

The deaf old woman wailed at the top of her lungs, "How shameless! How utterly shameless! They're eating and drinking like mad, but they don't even bother to bring an old man like me a bowl of rice!"

I just brought her a bowl of vegetable soup and two cornbreads, and before she could even swallow them, the aroma of braised pork wafted over. She had just eaten pig's head meat last night, but this smell made her itch with desire; she almost wanted to climb over the wall. She raised her voice, ready to yell and force someone to bring her a bowl of meat as a token of her respect.

She called out for a long time, but no one paid any attention to her. The midday sun was scorching hot, making her feel extremely uncomfortable, so the old lady had no choice but to retreat back into the house in a huff.

"They really think they're royalty."

Li Weidong pursed his lips and placed a thick piece of fatty pork belly into Lin Yurou's bowl.

Lin Yurou picked up her chopsticks for the first time, and was currently eating white rice with the meat broth. Her face was flushed, and she felt a sweet warmth in her heart.

"Dong-ge, please eat more. I'm content as long as I can have some white rice."

He Yushui didn't stand on ceremony and only took two pieces. She chewed and nodded, "Delicious, really delicious. If you want to satisfy your cravings, you have to eat meat."

"By the way, Dong-ge, I exchanged the food rations for food coupons and gave them all to Rou-jie."

Li Weidong shook his head with a smile: "Do you think I'd be short of a bite? But it's good to bring it, so your brother won't have to give it away again."

"Tch, he's a complete idiot."

He Yushui looked disgusted.

"Brother Dong, I'll go buy some cornmeal to mix with wheat flour. That should make our meals better."

Lin Yurou said.

"No need to make a fuss. Our family only eats white rice and white flour."

Li Weidong waved his hand, "You need some cornmeal to make porridge. I'll get ten or eight pounds later, enough for a month."

"I'm going fishing this afternoon. You guys stay home and make some pancakes."

In his past life, Li Weidong was a chef. He had two hobbies: fishing and practicing kung fu.

The system's inventory contained bait and groundbait, and the fishing rod was readily available. He had been wanting to try it out for a while.

Xiao Xi buried her head in her rice, her face covered in grains. Upon hearing about fishing, she suddenly looked up, wiping her face, and exclaimed, "I want to eat fish! A really big one!"

"I'll definitely get it for you, I'll go now."

Li Weidong patted his chest confidently. He had made up his mind: if he couldn't catch anything, he would just buy some!

He shouldered his fishing rod, grabbed a small stool and a tin bucket, and headed to the riverbank.

"Dong-ge, be careful."

He Yushui gave a word of advice.

Li Weidong nodded. He was kind to He Yushui not only because she got along well with Lin Yurou and Xiao Xi, but also because of her memories from her past life.

He was only twelve or thirteen years old then, and He Yushui was only five or six. He Daqing hadn't run away with the widow yet, and they were living a comfortable life. When the man came home at night, he would always bring his daughter some snacks—peanuts, melon seeds, osmanthus cakes, lard candy, and the like.

No matter what good things He Yushui had in her hands, the first thing she did was break them in half and give them to Li Weidong. This habit never changed, and it didn't stop until the day He Daqing left.

Li Weidong still can't figure out what He Yushui is after.

"Weidong, want to go fishing?"

Yan Bugui, who was squatting by the door, spotted Li Weidong carrying a fishing rod and his eyes lit up. "Let's team up! When it comes to fishing, I'm an expert—"

Before he could finish speaking, Li Weidong had already walked past him without even turning his head.

Li Weidong pushed his cart out of the yard, got on the wheels, and headed towards Shichahai. Back then, people could fish freely in this area.

When he reached the water's edge, he chose a shady spot. He put down his small stool, took out an old-fashioned aluminum lunchbox from his canvas bag, which contained bait for groundbaiting and fishing.

He clicked his tongue: "This thing was formulated based on the technological recipes of later generations. If there are any fish in the water, they won't be able to escape today."

He tossed a handful of bait into the water before leisurely tying the fishing line and hook onto the eight-meter-long rod.

The fishing line and hooks were brand new; I bought them this morning.

Just as he finished tying the hook, he heard a noise behind him. Turning around, he saw Yan Bugui propping up his old, secondhand bicycle.