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

Yan Bugui felt a little uneasy, realizing he had gotten himself into trouble.

"Yes, yes, Weidong, please come and see what's wrong with my mother-in-law and Banggeng!"

Qin Huairu looked at Li Weidong with pleading eyes, as if grasping at a straw.

"What can you do? It's just that you ate some Boletus luridus and got poisoned."

Li Weidong curled his lip, looking indifferent: "I said at noon that if you don't know how to cook something, don't eat it blindly, or something bad will happen."

"You're a doctor, please save my son and mother-in-law!"

Qin Huairu's tears flowed uncontrollably, and she certainly didn't seem to be faking it.

"Take him to the hospital."

Li Weidong sneered, "The poisoning isn't too severe. They just need to go to the hospital for a stomach pump. If they don't want to go, they can just vomit it up themselves."

After saying that, he pushed the cart and headed home.

Qin Huairu turned to Yan Bugui and complained, "Third Uncle, look at him! He has absolutely no medical ethics!"

Lou Xiao'e stood to the side, her brows furrowed: "Sister Qin, you're not right. Li Weidong didn't charge you a single penny, he showed you the person, and the prescription was written."

"Huh? How did they see the person? What prescription did they give?"

Qin Huairu was stunned, completely bewildered. But when she spoke to Lou Xiao'e, her tone was quite polite. She knew Lou Xiao'e's family was wealthy and didn't care much about such trivial matters.

She would usually go to Lou Xiao'e and plead poverty, and she could borrow a few coins.

"Wei Dong said they got poisoned from eating mushrooms, but it's not serious, they just need to vomit it up."

Lou Xiao'e's voice wasn't loud, but her words conveyed a clear message: "What else do you want them to do?"

After saying that, Lou Xiao'e turned around and went back to the backyard.

Yan Bugui quickly said, "Dongxu's wife, let's get him to the hospital right away."

"I don't have any money. All my money is with Dongxu."

Qin Huairu looked at him; her eyes were watery and seemed to be able to bewitch him.

Yan Bugui lowered his head, not daring to look any longer, and cursed inwardly: What a vixen! No wonder that silly Zhu was so infatuated with her.

He cleared his throat: "Even without money, there are ways. Quickly feed them gold juice!"

"Golden juice? What's that?"

Qin Huairu was completely bewildered.

An older woman named Na Yumei chimed in, "It's just sewage. Hurry up, the longer you delay, the more toxic it will become, and by then it will be too late to get it to the hospital."

Her forehead wrinkles furrowed as she plotted something else—to take this opportunity to make Jia Zhangshi suffer. That woman always brought up the matter of having no heir to rub salt in her wounds.

Qin Huairu gritted her teeth, hesitated for a few seconds, and said, "It's fine, but I..."

Yan Bugui was unusually decisive: "Jiecheng, go get the rope. Tie her up; she's easy to deal with in her current state anyway."

"Dongxu's wife, go get some 'golden juice'. Make it thinner so it's easier to pour."

"Second Auntie, First Auntie, look at this great joke!"

Yan Jiecheng took down the clothesline, and he and Yan Bugui each grabbed one end, circling around Jia Zhangshi several times. In no time, they had tied her up like a pig waiting to be slaughtered.

Qin Huairu carried a broken basin and a tattered enamel mug, frowning as she went to the public restroom outside.

She returned shortly afterward, and a foul odor wafted over from afar.

Yan Bugui rolled his eyes – there were still a few white things floating in the basin.

Jia Zhangshi lay on the ground, grinning foolishly, looking like an old sow.

Qin Huairu wasn't stupid either. She found a broken funnel, stuffed it into Jia Zhangshi's open mouth, and then picked up an enamel mug and poured the sewage into it. Two mugs of sewage were poured down her throat.

Jia Zhangshi cooperated and swallowed the food in big gulps.

Those watching covered their mouths, utterly disgusted. Liu Haizhong's wife, Zhang Cuihua, fared even worse; she opened her mouth and vomited immediately.

Jia Zhangshi soon began to feel nauseous, and her body twitched.

Fortunately, Qin Huairu had some sense and quickly turned her over so she was face down. Otherwise, the vomit could have choked her to death.

Qin Huairu looked at the stick and stopped what she was doing. She really couldn't bring herself to hit this child.

"Hurry up, untie it, hold the stick down!"

Yan Bugui was so anxious that sweat beaded on his forehead.

If this matter escalates, Yan Bugui will be unable to clear his name no matter what. Li Weidong made his point very clear at noon, and the consequences were obvious. Yan Bugui didn't take it seriously, but if things really go wrong, he'll be in trouble too.

Not only would he get a scolding, but he'd also be heartbroken if he missed out on a pound of sunflower seeds as part of his year-end bonus!

Yan Jiecheng grabbed the still dazed Banggeng, and Qin Huairu hardened her heart and poured half a teacup of that thing into Banggeng's mouth.

Qin Huairu was especially careful, making sure those legged creatures didn't enter Bang Geng's stomach. Just now, Jia Zhangshi had swallowed quite a few fleshy buds alive.

After finishing, Yan Jiecheng quickly let go.

Bang Geng opened his mouth and started vomiting. Over there, Jia Zhangshi was almost vomiting up her gallbladder.

The area in front of the Jia family's house was in a mess.

Many onlookers were secretly pleased.

"Jia Zhangshi, you have a foul mouth, now you've eaten shit!"

"Serves you right! Serves you right!"

"That little bastard Banggeng, he steals from one house after another, he's no good, he'll get a bullet later!"

……

As soon as Li Weidong stepped into the courtyard, Xiao Xi rushed out of the house.

"Brother, why didn't you call me before you left?"

Xiao Xi stood before him, her eyes red-rimmed. "I woke up and you were gone. I missed you so much!"

"Xiao Xi, look what this is?"

Li Weidong propped up the bicycle and took out the pair of pink plastic sandals.

"Wow, these shoes are so beautiful! Are they for me?"

Xiao Xi immediately broke into a smile, her face still wet with tears, her smile resembling a flower glistening with dew.

"Of course it's for you. Take it inside, it's hot outside."

Li Weidong said.

Xiao Dang and Huaihua stood at the door, staring intently with envy.

When Lin Yurou and He Yushui hurriedly came out, Li Weidong had already unloaded the two bamboo baskets from the car and was carrying them into the house.

"There are some towels and soap in the canvas bag, take them in."

He placed the bamboo basket at the door and began taking things out.

"Brother, you bought so many pretty pots, can I have one?"

Xiao Xi leaned against him and acted coquettishly.

"Pick any one you like!"

Li Weidong said with a smile, "The three of you will share the washbasin and foot basin, and everyone else will have their own!"

Li Weidong was too embarrassed to say aloud that each person should have their own basin for washing their bottoms.

"I want the one with the fish!"

Xiao Xi picked up an enamel basin and smiled so hard her eyes curved into crescent moons.

He Yushui smiled and picked one out for herself, then picked out a washbasin and a foot basin.

"Brother Dong, how much will this cost? We'll need tickets too..."

Lin Yurou frowned, feeling a pang of heartache.

"I earn more, so I'll use these five copper basins for cooking."

Li Weidong said.

Lin Yurou's heart clenched; copper basins were incredibly precious in this era. Copper used to be used to mint coins.

When Lin Yurou placed the copper basin on the table, Li Weidong shook his head inwardly. Coming from a later era where resources could be bought freely, he simply couldn't accept these old ideas.

"Sister Rou, these are yours, mine are here."

Without saying a word, He Yushui put on the sandals. "I've wanted a pair for a long time, but my brother always says he doesn't have the money."

"Ha, he has plenty of money to buy shoes for other people's wives and children, but he won't give a penny to his own sister."

Li Weidong said coldly.

Before he could finish speaking, Liu Guangtian leaned over, a smile plastered on his face: "Brother Dong, I can't figure this out. Could you give me some pointers?"

He held a bamboo-cutting knife in his hand; the bamboo was cut from somewhere, the thickest of which was only about the size of an egg.

Li Weidong gestured a few times, and Liu Guangtian thanked him repeatedly before turning around and running back.

"Brother Dong, are you really going to teach him?"

Lin Yurou hesitated for a moment, "Why don't you teach me? I can earn some money at home."

"No, this work will hurt your hands and cause calluses."

Li Weidong quickly waved his hand.

He sat down on the threshold, and Lin Yurou stood beside him. Li Weidong's gaze involuntarily fell on her feet.

She changed into sandals, and her feet were as smooth as jade, with incredibly beautiful lines. In later years, she would definitely be worthy of being a foot model.

Lin Yurou blushed instantly when he stared at her. She felt both proud and eager to hide her feet.

"But I can't just stay home and eat and drink for free."

She put her hands behind her back, and as soon as she did that, her chest was exposed, and Li Weidong couldn't help but glance over again.

"If you go work at the steel rolling mill, who will take care of Xiao Xi?"

He abruptly looked away, "School starts in a few days."

"Brother, did you call me?"

Xiao Xi ran over and jumped into Li Weidong's arms.

"Xiaoxi, shall I take you to kindergarten?"

Li Weidong discussed it with her, saying, "Your sister also has to work, so if you go there, someone will be there to keep you company."

What is the purpose of a kindergarten?

Xiao Xi blinked her eyes.

"It's full of kids around your age. We drop them off in the morning and pick them up after get off work."

"But I want to be with my sister."

Xiao Xi shook her head, "I have Xiao Dang and Huaihua to keep me company at home."

"See? Xiaorou, let's leave it like this."

Li Weidong said, "Xiaoxi is still too young, I'm not comfortable sending her to kindergarten now. Let's talk about it next year. You can take over my dad's job then, and I'll arrange an easier one for you."

"You can't be idle this year. I'll teach you some things that you'll need when you start working."

He Yushui sighed: "Sister Rou, you don't need to worry. I'm graduating from junior high school soon, and I don't know what to do."

He Yushui stood there, stunned, her eyes reddening.

"He said he wouldn't let me continue my studies. I only have one more year until graduation. I'm sixteen; what can I do then?"

Li Weidong patted her on the shoulder.

"Rain, with Dong-ge here, you must continue your studies. If he won't pay, I will. Consider it a loan; you can pay me back when you start working."

No sooner had he finished speaking than the Intermediate People's Court erupted in uproar.

The noise and commotion grew louder and louder.

He Yushui frowned: "What's happened to the Jia family again? They're always causing trouble."

"Ignore them."

Li Weidong waved his hand, "Clean that carp, we'll make sweet and sour beef for dinner. We've also opened the canned beef, we'll stew it with potatoes."

Lin Yurou quickly stopped her: "The fish can be cooked, but keep the canned food!"

She pointed to the vegetable basket on the table.

"I just bought eggplant and green peppers; I'll just make stewed eggs with potatoes. I also bought 20 jin (10 kg) of cornmeal, which will be perfect for making flatbread."

Before he finished speaking, a group of people rushed into the backyard.

The one leading the group, Jia Zhangshi, looked like a wild boar, with triangular, bloodshot eyes, and was as crazy as if she had eaten a dead rat.

"Li Weidong! You owe us money! This isn't over until we get a thousand yuan!"

She started howling, her voice like a pig being slaughtered.

Li Weidong glanced at the crowd.