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

Sha Zhu gritted his teeth, his face flushed red: "I'm just going to admit it like that?"

"What's the rush? Grandma has a way to deal with him."

The deaf old woman gritted her teeth, her eyes filled with a sinister glint.

Sha Zhu raised his hand and made a turtle gesture: "Fine, I won't fight him. He still has to go to work and eat. If I let him eat his fill, I'll be this damn thing."

He was the head chef in the cafeteria, and in that place, his word was law. Even the cafeteria manager's opinion carried more weight than his.

Yi Zhonghai's expression was not good. He whispered a warning: "Zhu Zi, be careful. That kid is being watched by the factory leaders now. Those electric fans are really something."

Sha Zhu's eyes darted around, and a thought popped into his head: "Do you think he's a spy? Sent by Baldy's side, infiltrated here..."

"Stop talking nonsense!"

Yi Zhonghai was startled and quickly interrupted, "If this gets out, you'll either get shot or spend a few years in jail."

"How is that impossible?"

Sha Zhu retorted, "He's an expert in everything—electrician, fitter, he knows engineering stuff, and he can even fight. Where else in the normal world do you find someone with so many skills? I'm going to report him!"

As for the doctor and such, Sha Zhu didn't care at all.

"Shut up."

Yi Zhonghai became anxious: "They spent four years seriously studying. Southern universities can easily find out that."

He took a breath and said, "That kid skipped grades in elementary school; his mind is different from ours. Yan Laosan once said, 'The world of geniuses is incomprehensible to ordinary people.'"

"He's a master's student; learning something shouldn't be difficult for him, right?"

The deaf old woman spoke in a gloomy tone: "Isn't he the head of the medical department? Arrange a patient for him, let this kid show off. First, ruin his reputation."

"Yes, Grandma's idea is brilliant!"

Sha Zhu's eyes lit up. "I know what to do."

"I asked MCA to handle it... but no, that guy is unreliable."

"We need to get Fatty to do this."

Ma Hua and Fatty were both apprentices of Silly Chu.

"Alright, Pillar, you can rest now."

The deaf old woman said, "Where's your lunchbox? Eat some yourself. Grandma's craving your cooking, save one for me too..."

"Hey, Sister Qin took it."

Sha Zhu grinned, "Tomorrow, I'll give it to you tomorrow!"

"that** !"

The deaf old woman was so angry that she stood up and left, regardless of what Sha Zhu ate for dinner.

"Zhu Zi, I'll have your aunt bring your food over later. Just rest and recover."

Yi Zhonghai shook his head.

Watching them walk away, Sha Zhu spat behind their backs.

"Two old hags, thinking I'll take care of them in their old age. If it weren't for the house and money you two have, would I even bother with you?"

The next morning at seven o'clock, Li Weidong got up. He washed his face and planned to go to the factory for a walk; he needed to keep an eye on the progress at the operating room.

"Dong-ge, where are you going?"

Lin Yurou poked her head out from the kitchen.

"Let's go to the factory and take a look."

Li Weidong put down the towel. "I'll come back later to buy some daily necessities. Is breakfast ready?"

"Hmm, rice porridge with flatbread. I just bought eggplant and peppers and started stir-frying them."

Lin Yurou said.

These two vegetables are incredibly cheap this season; you can stir-fry a whole plate for just two cents.

"Brother Dong, I used the lard from the braising liquid to stir-fry it, it smells amazing!"

He Yushui placed a large plate of food on the table.

"Brother, look, isn't my dress pretty?"

Xiao Xi jumped out of the bedroom, her hair a mess like a bird's nest, and twirled in front of Li Weidong.

"It looks good, it looks good. Go brush your teeth and wash your face, your brother has to go to work."

Li Weidong smiled and said, "I might not be back for lunch. There are leftovers and potatoes, and canned beef and pork in the cupboard. You can make your own food."

As he spoke, he took a pancake, rolled up some green peppers and eggplant, and took a bite.

"Brother, I want to eat a peach."

Xiao Xi rubbed her eyes.

"No, let's save it for later."

Lin Yurou pulled Xiaoxi over to braid her hair.

"I have two watermelons in my house, I'll put them in the well water to chill them."

Li Weidong said, "I cut it open and ate it at noon."

"Watermelon! I'm going to see the watermelon!"

Xiao Xi had only combed half of her hair when she dashed into Li Weidong's room.

Li Weidong smiled and shook his head. He finished his pancake and porridge in a few bites, then slung his canvas bag over his shoulder and pushed his bicycle out the door.

When he arrived at the Intermediate People's Court, he realized he hadn't signed in yet.

"System, check-in!"

Li Weidong silently recited it in his heart.

A system notification sounded.

"Check-in complete, supplies distributed."

"Ten towels and ten bars of soap."

"Ten tubes of ointment, ten toothbrushes."

"Ten catties of Tieguanyin tea and ten catties of high-grade jasmine flowers."

"Ten catties of Boletus luridus and ten catties of king oyster mushrooms."

"One hundred catties of cornmeal and one hundred catties of dried sweet potatoes."

"One box of sanitary napkins and ten boxes of toilet paper."

"Ten enamel basins and ten copper basins."

"Twenty pairs of plastic sandals and twenty pairs of slippers, choose any color and size."

"One eight-stone ox horn bow and one thousand arrows."

Li Weidong was completely stunned.

That's it?

What happened to the lavish sign-in event? Is this all there is to it?

He couldn't help but exclaim in his mind, "System, is this what you call being arrogant?"

The system's emotionless female voice rang out: "The supplies are randomly generated, so it's already pretty good."

"Fine, fine, you win. It just so happens that the cooking basin and the washbasin at home are due for replacement anyway."

He thought for a moment, "Could it be that the system is giving me whatever I'm lacking?"

Li Weidong was quite disappointed and helpless.

But then I thought, the skills I already possess are more than enough to live a comfortable life. The things the system gave me are at most an extra bonus.

This batch of cornmeal is ground very finely, almost like wheat flour, and even the corn husks have been removed completely, so it won't hurt your throat when you eat it.

"Once things are reformed and opened up, won't we be able to do whatever we want?"

When Li Weidong passed by the Jia family's house, Jia Zhangshi was squatting at the door with her hair disheveled, clutching a slightly sour-smelling cornbread in her hand.

She spat at Li Weidong's retreating figure.

"Pah! You have money but don't even help our family. No wonder your parents died young! Eating so much good food, you'll choke to death sooner or later!"

Sha Zhu came out of the house carrying several empty lunch boxes, ready to go to work.

Seeing Jia Zhangshi's appearance, he cursed inwardly.

"Damn it, if it weren't for Sister Qin, who the hell would feed you?"

Sha Zhu works as a chef in the canteen, so arriving a little late in the morning isn't a big deal. Unlike Yi Zhonghai and the others, who have to be at the factory before eight o'clock.

When Li Weidong arrived at the factory by bicycle, it was already past eight o'clock.

He went directly to Deputy Factory Director Li.

As soon as Li Huaide saw him, he said with a smile, "Section Chief Li, you came to take a look today? The operating room has been cleaned up, and the instruments and medicines will arrive tomorrow morning."

He then warmly greeted him, "Section Chief Li's work ethic is truly admirable. Come, have a taste of my tea."

Li Weidong sat down and watched Li Huaide fiddling with the tea leaves. He said, "Director Li, don't bother. I came here this time hoping to get a few things. By the way, I have some good tea here."

He took a paper bag out of his canvas bag.

Actually, it was taken from the system repository.

As soon as Li Huaide took the paper bag, he smelled the odor.

A fragrance of tea mixed with floral scents wafted straight into his mind.

"Wow, this is some good stuff, top-quality jasmine tea."

Li Huaide smiled, opened the bag, glanced at it, and without refusing, put it in his hand. It's just a pound of tea, nothing serious.

"Director Li, this is my engineer's qualification certificate. I just got it yesterday."

Li Weidong handed over the red booklet.

Li Huaide quickly put the tea leaves aside, took them with both hands, and his smile immediately faded, replaced by a more serious expression.

"I know, I know. It was all over the factory yesterday that you passed the Level 7 engineer exam!"

When Li Huaide said this, his voice rose a half tone, "I was just thinking of arranging a celebration for you."

"No, no, no, I'll go to the workshop to make some small gadgets first."

Li Weidong waved his hand, "We'll settle the bill for the materials later."

"What are you settling accounts for!"

Li Huaide waved his hand dismissively, "The factory will provide whatever you need. But you'll have to test it yourself after it's made. You'll be the first to handle it; how will you know where the problems are if you don't try it?"

As he spoke, he walked forward, saying, "Come on, I'll take you to Workshop One. We've cleared out all the machine positions for you."

"We've also assigned you two level-five fitters as assistants. They usually do their own thing, but once you're there, they'll be completely at your beck and call."

As soon as the two arrived at the entrance of Workshop 1, they ran into Director Yang and Secretary Zhang.

"Congratulations, Section Chief Li!"

Director Yang and Secretary Zhang were all smiles, their mouths practically agape.

"A Level 7 Engineer—that's not something just anyone can achieve!"

"Director Yang, Secretary Zhang, please take a look at this."

Li Huaide proudly handed over the red booklet, "Section Chief Li's certificate."

The day Li Weidong reported for duty, he sought out Li Huaide, and the two usually got along well. Today, when Li Weidong arrived, the first person he looked for was still Li Huaide. Plus, since they shared the same surname, Li Huaide had long considered Li Weidong one of his own.

"Hmm, not bad, really not bad."

Secretary Zhang took the notebook and flipped through it. "Then the position of head of the technical section must go to Section Chief Li."

They had just started work and many workers in the workshop were assigning tasks when they heard this, and they all gathered around, their eyes filled with envy.

Among the crowd, Yi Zhonghai's face was ashen.

Jia Dongxu's eyes were almost bleeding from staring.

"Damn it, he has money and still tries to steal my sewing machine, he's a piece of trash!"

Jia Dongxu cursed a thousand times in his heart.

Li Weidong quickly shook his head, "I have limited energy, so I won't take on the role of head of the technical department. Just be my consultant; you can come to me if you have any questions."

"After all, I studied medicine, and my main job is to be a doctor and save lives."

Factory Director Yang, Li Huaide, and Secretary Zhang exchanged glances and nodded.

"I don't care if my position stays the same, but my salary has to be increased."

Factory Director Yang made the decision: "A level seven engineer earns an extra forty yuan a month. Let's add another hundred for the consultant position?"

"No, no, no, just add forty dollars, that's enough."

Li Weidong quickly waved his hand.

"Tsk, Section Chief Li's awareness is truly admirable."

Secretary Zhang said with a smile, "Okay, we'll do as Section Chief Li says."

Jia Dongxu stood to the side, feeling a tightness in his chest as he listened.

They said they didn't want the 100 yuan, and that was that.

This is money that comes in every month!

As soon as Li Weidong finished speaking, Jia Dongxu became agitated.

"Damn it, don't give it to me!"

He kept muttering to himself, "I only make twenty-seven yuan and fifty cents a month. If you gave me a hundred yuan, wouldn't I be flying to the sky?"

Yi Zhonghai felt like he was being scratched by a cat.