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

Yan Bugui and Yi Zhonghai, who were about to leave, stopped in their tracks, and Sha Zhu and Yan Jiecheng also pricked up their ears.

"I'll teach you now. This is a basic movement of Bajiquan—Stepping Forward and Supporting Punch."

Li Weidong struck a pose, "You'll practice 600 times a day, divided into three sessions: morning, noon, and night. Watch my movements carefully, and give it your all each time!"

"Huh? How long will it take to practice?"

Xu Damao was startled.

"How long? As long as you can still move, you have to keep training."

Li Weidong said, "Do you know what kung fu is? It's putting in hard work!"

Li Weidong snorted coldly, exerted force with his feet, took a step forward, and swung his right arm in a wide arc to smash out.

The air was compressed and exploded by the punch, producing a dull thud.

He didn't stop, and immediately took another half step forward, throwing a second punch. This punch landed solidly on the trunk of a nearby sycamore tree, which was only as thick as a teacup.

"Snap—Splash!"

After a sharp crack, the tree trunk broke in two at the spot where it had been punched, and the entire tree crashed to the ground.

The onlookers scattered in fright.

Yi Zhonghai's eyelids twitched, and he opened his mouth to accuse someone: "You're damaging public property—"

He choked on his words halfway through. He suddenly remembered that Li Weidong had planted the tree himself four years ago before he went south.

Sha Zhu stood to one side, his eyes practically bulging out of their sockets. If Li Weidong had hit him with that punch just now, he'd probably be lying on the floor by now, and the courtyard would be ready for a feast.

Li Weidong completely ignored Yi Zhonghai and turned to Xu Damao: "Did you understand? This is real skill. One punch takes twenty years of experience. Can you withstand it?"

Xu Damao waved his hands repeatedly, "No, no, I can't do this."

He admitted defeat readily and decisively. Wouldn't it have been better to go find the young widow instead of suffering like that?

"If you want to reap rewards, you have to invest capital."

Li Weidong casually waved his hand and said, "Alright, everyone can go home now."

He had originally planned to invite Xu Damao and Lou Xiao'e to have a meal, but seeing Xu Damao's pathetic state, he instantly felt that this man wasn't even qualified to be used as a pawn.

He Yushui, standing to the side, called out, "Brother Dong, the fish are all cleaned, what's next?"

Sha Zhu then noticed that his sister was also there.

"Rain, come home with me!"

Sha Zhu shouted at the top of his lungs.

He Yushui said in a nonchalant tone, "Silly brother, don't worry about me anymore. I won't bother with you either."

"You—you're going to drive me crazy! Just you wait!"

Sha Zhu was so angry that his face turned green, and he turned and left.

He originally wanted to go and pull He Yushui away, but when he met Li Weidong's cold gaze, he immediately chickened out.

Li Weidong said to He Yushui, "Yushui, let's make three dishes tonight: smoked fish, fish head with chopped chili peppers, and fish with pickled cabbage."

Sha Zhu paused, unable to move. He knew about smoked fish and chopped chili fish head, but what was pickled cabbage fish? He'd never even heard of it.

"Let's go, let's go. Hurry back and take some medicine, don't let it become a chronic condition."

Yi Zhonghai grabbed Sha Zhu and quickly left.

Just then, Xiao Xi ran over, looking up at him and saying, "Brother, you're so strong! You can even break a tree! I'm never afraid of sticks again!"

Lin Yurou went over and gathered up the broken branches, stacking them aside to dry and use as firewood.

Li Weidong squatted down and pinched Xiaoxi's cheek: "Xiaoxi, remember, we're good kids, we don't fight. You watch your brother do his work."

He planned to make a double bamboo bed before dinner for Lin Yurou and He Yushui to use.

Xiao Xi, Xiao Dang, and Huai Hua sat on the corridor railing, their short legs swinging back and forth, watching Li Weidong busy himself.

He Yushui tilted her head and asked, "Brother Dong, I can make smoked fish and chopped chili fish head. But what is sauerkraut fish? How do you make it? We don't have enough seasonings at home."

By the time dinner was served, the sun had already set behind the mountains. It was still light outside, and the courtyard wasn't too dark.

Li Weidong brought out a round bamboo table from the house; the legs could be folded up and tucked away, and it was quite well-made. He then dragged out a double bamboo bed and patted the surface: "Xiaorou, this is for you and Yushui. Put it down to sleep at night, and put it on the kang (heated brick bed) during the day so it won't take up much space."

Lin Yurou smiled and responded, then carried the bamboo bed into the inner room.

The deaf old woman sat on the threshold, her eyes fixed on the round table and bamboo bed. She kept muttering, "She has good things but doesn't share them with me, only thinking of herself. What kind of life is this? So unfilial."

The aroma of fish wafted on the wind. The spiciness of the chopped chili peppers, the sourness of the pickled cabbage, and the sweetness of the smoked fish mingled together and wafted straight into people's noses.

Everyone in the compound felt that their food was bland and tasteless during meals.

From the other end of the courthouse came Banggeng's cries and screams. It sounded quite loud, as if he was rolling around on the ground again.

"Alright, let's eat."

Li Weidong sat at the small round table, a hint of disdain on his face. "From now on, we'll eat well every day and let those people keep howling."

Three dishes were laid out on the table. Huaihua and Xiaodang sat next to Xiaoxi, each holding a bowl of white rice, waiting for the signal to start the meal.

Li Weidong picked up a piece of smoked fish and placed it on the edge of his bowl, saying, "You two eat this. Those two plates of fish are very spicy; rinse them with water if you want to eat them."

Before she could finish speaking, Xiaoxi had already picked up a piece of pickled fish and stuffed it into her mouth.

"Ah—spicy—"

Tears streamed down her face, but she kept chewing, unwilling to spit out the piece of fish.

Huaihua and Xiaodang exchanged a glance and obediently ate the smoked fish. The fish was very flavorful; they had never eaten such a delicious dish before.

Lin Yurou quickly scooped a piece of fish from the bowl of water next to her and handed it over: "Eat this, it's not spicy."

"It doesn't taste good, it's tasteless."

Xiao Xi wiped the sweat from her face, her eyes still fixed on the plate of pickled fish, looking unconvinced.

Li Weidong opened a bottle of Wuliangye liquor, poured himself a glass, and slowly drank it.

He Yushui asked curiously, "Brother Dong, is pickled fish a Sichuan dish? I've never heard of it before."

"A new dish that I figured out myself."

Li Weidong smiled and said, "You're the second person to know how to make this dish. I'll teach you a few more when I have time."

"Thank you, Brother Dong. I promise I won't tell anyone."

He Yushui's voice was very serious.

"what ever."

Li Weidong glanced at her and said, "You used to love hanging around the stove when you were little, so you have a good foundation and learn quickly."

Hearing the two of them chatting and laughing, Lin Yurou felt a little uneasy. She lowered her voice and said, "Dong-ge, I made you three white shirts and sewed three pairs of white pants. I plan to dye the pants again with blue dye so they'll be more resistant to dirt."

In those days, it wasn't unusual for families to dye their own fabrics; the red dye was called magenta.

Xiao Xi's face was flushed, and her forehead was covered in sweat. Even with two electric fans whirring, they couldn't cool her down. "My sister made me a little dress. It's so pretty! I'll take a bath later and wear it to show my brother."

Li Weidong chuckled and said, "Why dye it? I'll just wear white. I still have a pair of white Warrior shoes. I'll bring the blue cloth back tomorrow."

Xiao Dang and Huaihua were also sweltering in the heat, but their chopsticks never stopped, and they were sweating profusely as they ate the sauerkraut fish. Tears and sweat mingled and streamed down their faces, but their mouths never stopped moving.

Across the street, Liu Haizhong's family of five was also eating at a table outside. On the table was corn porridge with steamed buns, a small dish of pickled vegetables, and a plate of stir-fried eggplant with green peppers.

There was a plate of scrambled eggs in front of Liu Haizhong, but it was only a small portion.

He sipped the loose liquor slowly, his eyes constantly drifting towards Li Weidong's table. The aroma made him swallow hard, and even the scrambled eggs he usually considered precious no longer appealed to him.

Liu Guangtian looked at the chopped chili fish head and made a gurgling sound. While Liu Haizhong was tilting his head back to gulp down his wine, he secretly reached out with his chopsticks to pick up some scrambled eggs.

"Get the hell out of here!"

Liu Haizhong slapped Liu Guangtian's hand with chopsticks. Two red marks instantly swelled up, and Liu Guangtian jumped up and down in pain, clutching his hand.

Liu Guangqi glanced at it, shook his big head, and swaggered over to grab a piece of scrambled eggs from in front of Liu Haizhong and stuff it into his mouth.

A hint of hatred flashed in Liu Guangfu's eyes, but he didn't say anything, keeping his head down and munching on the cornbread in his hand.

Liu Guangtian sat back down, his cheeks puffed out, and he ate his cornbread with a wronged expression, but his eyes kept glancing at the plate of eggs.

"If you want to eat well, earn it yourself! You're eighteen already!"

Liu Haizhong gritted his teeth and cursed, "I'm already doing you a huge favor by giving you cornbread and pickled vegetables."

Liu Guangtian glanced at the smug Liu Guangqi and cursed inwardly, "You fat pig, have you ever earned a single penny? Damn it, you'll be relying on him to support you in your old age."

Liu Haizhong clearly favored his eldest son, as if there was a throne waiting for him to inherit.

Sha Zhu was helped back into the house by Yi Zhonghai. He rummaged through the cabinet, found a bottle of white medicine, poured some powder into his mouth, and then rinsed it down with cold water.

Yi Zhonghai's eyes flashed with hatred as he lowered his voice and said, "Zhuzi, be careful from now on. You can't afford to mess with that Li Weidong. He's not like Xu Damao, whom you can just beat up whenever you want."

Sha Zhu gritted his teeth: "I understand. I didn't expect that kid to be a trained fighter. I'll go find my master and have him deal with this little bastard."

Sha Zhu had practiced martial arts with someone for a few days, otherwise he wouldn't be so arrogant.

Just then, the deaf old lady pushed open the door and came in, leaning on her cane.

"My dear grandson, how was it?"

She sat down shakily. "I just vomited blood. That little beast was really ruthless."

Sha Zhu said with a hint of reproach, "Grandma, why didn't you come out earlier? You could have hit him on the head with your cane. Oh, and let's go smash his windows later."

Sha Zhu gritted his teeth, unable to suppress the anger in his chest: "I just can't swallow this."

The deaf old woman waved her hand, a shrewd glint in her cloudy eyes: "Silly Zhu, haven't you figured it out yet? I wouldn't dare mess with that brat. They have four signs hanging around their house..."

She paused, then said nothing more, only instructing, "Remember, don't fight him. Even if all ten of you were tied together, you wouldn't be enough for him to beat up."

Yi Zhonghai frowned, his face full of disbelief: "Really? Is he really that strange?"

"You guys don't know anything."

The deaf old woman squinted, as if recalling something: "He beat the pillar so hard it was stuck to the wall, like a painting. I saw it once thirty years ago, and someone said that's what 'beating someone like a painting' means."

She lowered her voice: "He killed more than a dozen people with his bare hands, one punch each, and they were all skilled in martial arts. Zhu Zi is nothing compared to them."

Yi Zhonghai's heart sank, as if remembering something: "Right, he broke the plane tree with one punch. If he had really hit the pillar in the chest..."

"Then the pillar confessed."

The deaf old woman chimed in, "He wouldn't dare. But in that situation just now, even if he broke Zhuzi's arms and legs, the police wouldn't be able to find fault with him."