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

Lin Yurou suddenly interjected, "With this money, we finally won't go hungry anymore. Grandpa, thank you so much!"

Li Weidong frowned: "Why are you thanking him?"

A thought suddenly flashed through his mind, and his face darkened: "Something's not right. Why would the factory let you bring the money back?"

"Something's not right. I need to go to the factory myself tomorrow to find out."

Today is Sunday.

Yan Bugui's tiny, beady eyes darted around, his mouth tightly shut. He felt a little uneasy—if this kid saw through his little scheme, things would get complicated.

Judging from Li Weidong's appearance, he's not someone who can be easily fooled.

"I figured you'd be back on Sunday, so I made a special trip yesterday afternoon to collect your pension. I only did that because of my goodwill; otherwise, if you had waited until Monday, you probably wouldn't have a single coin left..."

Yi Zhonghai forced a smile, a smile that looked incredibly awkward. His filthy thoughts were completely hidden, while his expression was one of righteous indignation.

"Weidong, we've watched you grow up since you were little. As your elders and the head of our compound, we all care about you."

Liu Zhonghai, with his large pregnant belly, spoke in a very official tone:

"Hmm? Why don't you show any gratitude at all? You seem to distrust us?"

Li Weidong's face was so cold it could drip ice, and he gently shook his head:

"Engineer Liu, you're not my elder. My surname is Li, yours is Liu, we're just neighbors living in the same compound. How we get along is another matter, don't bring up the elder thing with me!"

"As for the top leader, you're so embarrassing to admit it. The three of you are just mediators; you have absolutely no right to command anyone!"

"If you're willing to mediate, then come; if not, you can go directly to the neighborhood committee or the police."

Li Weidong watched the plot of "Full House of Love" three times and knew it by heart. These three despicable beasts would swarm at anyone who gave them the slightest opening, using any means necessary to subdue them and make them obey their orders.

Li Weidong is now going to expose their true colors in public!

Liu Haizhong immediately exploded. He was obsessed with becoming an official, to the point of madness. Now, all he had left was the title of a guard in the compound, and he was still just a second uncle!

When Li Weidong actually called him a useless piece of trash, Liu Zhonghai felt a rush of blood to his head.

"Li Weidong, what nonsense are you spouting? I'm your second uncle..."

Liu Zhonghai roared.

"I'm your second uncle! Liu Zhonghai, if you dare to take advantage of me again, I'll slap you across the face!"

Li Weidong slammed his hand on the table.

He comes from the modern world and is a free spirit at heart; he can't let others put him in a box!

Seeing Li Weidong, who was a head taller than him and looked like a cheetah ready to pounce, Liu Zhonghai immediately cowered. His cowardly nature, that of a bully who preys on the weak, kicked in right away.

Seeing Liu Zhonghai's mouth agape, unable to speak, Yan Bugui's beady eyes darted around:

"Weidong, we're all educated people, let's talk this out. It seems you have a problem with all three of us, so just say what you're thinking!"

Yi Zhonghai's face turned a frighteningly pale. He couldn't stand young people disrespecting their elders. This was completely different from the principles he had been promoting in the courtyard for years.

"Weidong, have you forgotten how to respect the elderly and care for the young after all these years of studying? We are your elders who watched you grow up..."

Yi Zhonghai suppressed his temper and spoke.

"Yi Zhonghai, whose elder are you? Elder? Your surname is Yi, mine is Li, how did you become my elder? We're all comrades, how did you become my elder?"

Li Weidong showed no politeness whatsoever.

Back when he was binge-watching the show, Li Weidong wanted to beat those bastards up. Now that they're eyeing his profits, he certainly won't hold back. Li Weidong has quickly integrated into this era and recognized his own identity!

"Only those who are related to me by blood or whom I genuinely acknowledge are qualified to be my elders."

"You three, get out of here now!"

The three old men were so angry their faces turned a deep purplish-red. Liu Haizhong slammed his fist on the table and roared, "Hold a general meeting! We'll have a full-scale meeting tonight to thoroughly criticize Li Weidong's corrupt practices—"

"Fuck your grandpa."

Li Weidong sneered, "Take care of your own family's mess first."

"Walk!"

Yi Zhonghai pulled Liu Haizhong outside.

Yan Bugui threw down the words: "Li Weidong, go to the Intermediate People's Court tonight when you hear the gong."

Then he followed them out the door.

As he left, his eyes were still fixed on the large chicken leg and braised eggs on the table. He took a deep breath of the aroma, gulped, and clearly swallowed.

"Pah, a bunch of beasts."

Li Weidong spat, muttering, "Yi Buqun, you hypocrite, trying to scheme against me?"

Lin Yurou pulled Xiao Xi to huddle in the corner, completely terrified. She couldn't understand why Li Weidong would go against these three old men.

Xiao Xi, on the other hand, was carefree and leaned against Lin Yurou, focusing on gnawing on the chicken leg in her hand.

"You...you'll be resented by them if you do this."

Lin Yurou furrowed her beautiful eyebrows.

"So what?"

Li Weidong didn't care. "It's better to let them hold a grudge than to be schemed against and killed by them."

He glanced at Lin Yurou from head to toe: "Just call me brother, like Xiaoxi does."

Lin Yurou was tall, about 1.68 meters. She looked thin, but her breasts were really eye-catching. It was as if all the fat on her body had gone there.

A hint of surprise flashed in her eyes, and she hesitated for a moment before speaking: "Then I'll call you... Brother Dong."

As she spoke, her face flushed again. She recalled her stepfather's dying words—that she marry Li Weidong.

"Brother, I can't eat anymore."

Xiao Xi made a face and held up the chicken leg that was still half full. "My tummy is too small. I want to eat eggs too."

A little girl who is just over three years old certainly cannot swallow a whole chicken leg weighing a pound.

"I'll provide as much as you want from now on, I guarantee you'll get tired of it."

Li Weidong squatted down and pinched Xiaoxi's cheek. "Come on, eat two hawthorns first, or your stomach will hurt later."

He opened his palm, revealing four bright red hawthorns. These were taken from the system's inventory.

"Guoguo!"

Xiao Xi cried out excitedly in her childish voice. She grabbed one and held it to Li Weidong's mouth first, "Brother, eat first. What kind of fruit is this? I've never seen it before."

"I have some more here. You and your sister can each have two. They're good for digestion. Don't eat too many, they'll make your teeth sensitive."

Li Weidong gave another one to Xiaoxi, and handed the remaining two to Lin Yurou.

When I touched Lin Yurou's hand, it felt soft and smooth, but her palm was hard and covered in calluses.

Xiao Xi popped a hawthorn into her mouth and took a bite. The next second, her whole face scrunched up, her shoulders hunched, and her little head shook.

"It's so sour...it's so sour!"

With her mouth full of saliva, she finally managed to mutter this sentence after a long while.

"You little glutton."

Li Weidong stood up and rubbed Xiaoxi's head.

Xiao Xi knew perfectly well that her brother truly cared for her. Unlike her previous wild assumptions, her brother would never chase them away, much less abandon them.

She tilted her head back, her round eyes fixed on Li Weidong, and said in a childish voice, "Brother, you're so nice, I like you so much!"

Those eyes were filled with trust, without the slightest concealment. Li Weidong's nose tingled with emotion, and he smiled, saying, "I like you too. After you've eaten the hawthorn, go take a nap. I'll make you something delicious tonight."

"Okay! Thanks, bro!"

Xiao Xi responded and took a small bite of the hawthorn in her hand. After the sourness subsided, a sweet taste filled her mouth, along with a fragrant aroma, which she quite liked.

Lin Yurou lowered her head, her voice muffled: "Yesterday I went to borrow money from an old man, but he said he didn't have any. He also said that things at the factory hadn't been settled yet, so there was no point in me going there."

She had already gnawed the chicken leg clean and was now biting into the bone, sucking out the last bit of marrow. Back then, nothing could be wasted; everything edible had to go into your stomach.

Li Weidong knew immediately upon seeing the chicken bones that the chicken the system had given him was from a later era, and its bones were very soft.

He tossed the chicken bone he was holding onto the table: "That old bastard was deliberately trying to starve you two to death. He just didn't expect that I would come back after traveling day and night for several days without much sleep."

Lin Yurou quickly poured him a bowl of water and handed it to him: "Brother Dong, have some water. An old man and a deaf old woman said that as long as I'm willing to marry Sha Zhu, they'll give me money and let me work in the factory. I don't have to wait until I'm eighteen."

Li Weidong understood immediately after a moment's thought, and sneered, "Ha, so that's what they're planning. What did you say to them?"

"Of course I won't agree! I'm waiting for you to come back. How could I marry idiot Zhu!"

Lin Yurou's face was tense, and her tone was full of stubbornness.

"Yes, be more careful in the future. There aren't many good people in this yard."

Li Weidong said coldly, "From now on, with me here, you don't need to worry about anything."

"Okay, I'll listen to you from now on."

Lin Yurou's voice softened.

"I'm going to take a nap. After you finish eating, take Xiaoxi to rest too."

After Li Weidong finished speaking, he walked out.

He was thinking about the system; he still had a newbie gift pack he hadn't opened yet.

"Brother Dong, I've tidied up the main house for you."

Lin Yurou quickly added, "I'll take Xiaoxi with me, so you can sleep peacefully."

She knew that Li Weidong must be extremely tired after traveling for so long.

Li Weidong pushed open the door to the main house, a room that used to be where his father lived. Their house was in the backyard, with two side rooms to the west, plus this main house. The main house was much wider and taller than the side rooms.

The backyard originally had three main rooms. To get to the side rooms, one had to pass through the side door of the main room's main hall. But after the rooms were divided among the families, the layout was completely changed.

Li Weidong's family sealed off the side door of the main hall and opened another door at the other end of the side room, with the stove placed directly on the corridor at the entrance.

The remaining two rooms in the main house were for the deaf old lady. The east and west wings each had four rooms, crammed together with four families, including Xu Damao and Liu Haizhong. The rear wing had eight rooms, housing three families. The east wing had only one room; the rest served as a passageway and were also inhabited.

Li Weidong lay in bed, his whole body aching terribly.

"System, come out and let's talk. How exactly do you use this thing?"

He muttered something casually.

As soon as he finished speaking, a light screen popped up in front of him, just like an ordinary display screen, covered with words.