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

The deaf old woman, leaning on her cane, walked angrily toward the central courtyard, muttering to herself, repeating the same few phrases over and over again—"Unfilial! Unfilial!"

The elderly woman didn't need much sleep, but she had a good appetite. She was starving early this morning, and the aroma of instant noodles was too much for her to resist.

When they arrived at the courthouse, Yu Mei was busy making breakfast: corn porridge, steamed buns, and a dish of pickled vegetables. The deaf old woman peeked in and her face immediately fell.

"Why do you eat this every day?"

The deaf old woman said irritably.

"Grandma, there's meat for lunch. Old Yi has already gone to buy groceries."

Na Yumei smiled apologetically.

The deaf old woman finally smiled slightly: "That's alright. Let my eldest grandson cook; he's a good cook. I'll go check if he's up yet..."

"Don't call him, Zhu Zi worked overtime all night last night."

Na Yumei quickly stopped her.

"Alright, alright, let him tidy up my room when he wakes up. My two big rooms are almost too cramped to move around in."

The deaf old woman spoke with a hint of pride.

Those two rooms were her greatest source of confidence. The deaf old woman had become quite shrewd; she knew perfectly well that Sha Zhu was kind to her, partly because of those two rooms. However, she genuinely treated Sha Zhu like her own grandson.

Li Weidong was pushing his bicycle past the central courtyard when he overheard the deaf old woman's words. Something suddenly flashed through his mind. It was the original owner's past memories; he needed to go through them carefully.

Just then, Jia Zhangshi came out of the house. Her hair was disheveled, and she smelled foul.

As soon as she saw Li Weidong, she spat and muttered, "Bad luck, damn bad luck!"

Li Weidong knew exactly what she meant—she felt unlucky to have bumped into him so early in the morning.

Li Weidong sneered, too lazy to argue with her. Judging from the way Jia Zhangshi walked with a limp, her leg was probably beyond repair.

"Sister-in-law, why haven't you gone to get your leg checked out yet?"

Na Yumei asked a question out of curiosity.

"I'll go take a look, are you going to pay me?"

Jia Zhangshi pouted, "Qin Huairu will be on the day shift tomorrow. I'll go to the clinic as a family member. It won't cost much."

Li Weidong then realized that this was Jia Zhangshi's plan.

He shook his head, too lazy to listen anymore, and simply pushed his cart away.

As soon as I arrived at the gate, I saw Yan Bugui riding his old, dilapidated bicycle with a fishing rod and a bucket tied to the back seat. He looked like he was going fishing too.

When Yan Bugui saw Li Weidong's brand-new Phoenix 28-inch motorcycle, his eyes almost popped out of their sockets. His eyes were filled with jealousy, envy, and hatred.

Li Weidong rode away on his bicycle. Yan Bugui looked down at his worn-out, patina-covered bike and couldn't help but sigh.

His car made noises everywhere except for the bell.

Li Weidong had just arrived at the Shichahai beach, set up his equipment, and was preparing to scatter bait into the water.

Suddenly someone called his name from behind.

"Hey kid, we've run into each other again!"

He turned his head and saw that it was the old man who had helped him scoop fish last time.

Li Weidong grinned: "Old man, what a coincidence!"

He picked up a five-meter-long fishing rod and handed it to him: "We agreed last time, so I brought you this rod."

The old man was wearing a yellowed white vest with several large holes, clearly an old garment he had worn for a long time. He wore a pair of baggy shorts and open-toed canvas shoes.

You could find a lot of people dressed like that anywhere in Beijing.

But the scars from knife and gunshot wounds on his body are quite rare.

The old man took the pole and examined it from all angles: "Goodness, it's really bamboo, not bad. But I prefer the eight-meter one you have."

"A five-meter one is just right for you, but an eight-meter one is too much for you."

Li Weidong said with a smile.

The old man squinted and sized him up for a while: "Young man, you've been nice to me, are you trying to curry favor with me? You have good eyesight, you can tell I'm not an ordinary old man."

Li Weidong shook his head: "Why would I fawn over you if I didn't even ask your last name?"

He paused, then his voice deepened: "I came here because of your scars."

"There are four plaques hanging at the door of my house that mark us as 'Families of Honor,' all belonging to the families of martyrs."

When Li Weidong said this, his tone was heavy and his face was tense.

The old man was stunned.

After a long pause, he let out a sigh of relief: "You're a sensible young man. I was just joking, don't take it to heart."

"I know."

Li Weidong forced a smile.

He transmigrated to this great era, took over this body, and also picked up some of his predecessor's temperament.

His predecessor was an old angry young man, full of passion.

The old man, while tying the fishing line, asked, "My surname is Li. What's your name? Where do you work?"

"We were one family five hundred years ago."

Li Weidong threw two fist-sized clumps of material into the water. "I work at the Hongxing Steel Rolling Mill."

"That's right, steel is the backbone of a nation."

The old man nodded. "You can just call me Uncle Li. By the way, Little Li, I was watching your bait-gathering..."

"This is the bait for groundbaiting, and this is the groundbait."

Li Weidong gave him some, saying, "Go over there, the spot five meters ahead is pretty good."

He pointed out a place to the old man.

He could tell last time that the old man was both a terrible angler and a gambler.

"Okay, okay, I'll learn how to fish from you later."

Old Li chuckled and agreed.

"Wei Dong, can I have some too?"

Yan Bugui suddenly appeared, staring intently at the bait and groundbait in Lao Li's hand, his eyes practically popping out of his head.

Ever since Yan Bugui watched Li Weidong fish, he had been wondering why that kid could catch so many fish. After thinking it over, he figured the problem must be with the bait.

"It's all used up."

Li Weidong casually tossed out a comment.

"Your feed is almost gone, can you share some with me?"

Yan Bugui's skin is as thick as the bottom of a pot.

Li Weidong completely ignored him and turned to teach Old Man Li how to cast his line.

"Uncle Li, just pull it up every minute, whether there's any movement or not, and then re-bait it. Just pinch it like this."

As he spoke, he baited both hooks and gently pinched them with his fingers.

Old Li was beaming with excitement as he followed along, mimicking the techniques quite well. It was the first time he had ever seen this kind of fishing, and he found it all very novel.

Just five minutes later, Li Weidong's float suddenly plunged downwards. With a flick of his wrist, he lifted the fishing rod and, without hesitation, cast a fish onto the water.

A large crucian carp, weighing eight ounces, splashed into the bucket.

Yan Bugui stood there staring blankly, his mouth practically watering.

These days, there's no such thing as a "engineered crucian carp" (a type of large, flat fish weighing eight ounces). A fish like that could sell for a dollar at the market!

Of course, those small ones are worthless; you can buy a pound or two for a dime.

"I won too! A big one, a really big one!"

Old Li shouted at the top of his lungs.

His face turned bright red, and the fishing rod in his hand bent like a bow. The guard rushed over to help, and eventually even the driver joined in the fun.

After a lot of effort, the group finally managed to drag a large bluefish weighing about 20 pounds ashore, which took almost 20 minutes in total.

In the meantime, Li Weidong brought up two more pomfret, each weighing more than two pounds.

This stuff tastes best when steamed at home.

"Little Li, you've really got some skills."

Old Li gave a thumbs-up and praised.

"The main reason is that the groundbait and bait are good enough."

Li Weidong replied with a smile, "This is a very technical job."

"Technological marvels? Technology is great, technology is great! Our current technology is still far behind!"

Old Li sighed, "Look, once you use technology in fishing, the results are immediately different."

Li Weidong was speechless—this old man didn't understand the joke at all. But thinking about it, it made sense; these days, besides someone like him who had transmigrated, who else could understand this term?

The two continued casting their lines. Yan Bugui, watching from the side, had eyes that turned red. He gritted his teeth, ran to a spot five meters away from Li Weidong, threw in two handfuls of corn, and then baited the hook with earthworms and started fishing.

Before long, his face turned green.

All I caught were small whitebait and tiny crucian carp, those cheap little fish.

Li Weidong, on the other hand, seemed to have a cheat code, pulling up five or six carp in a row, the smallest weighing two jin and the largest weighing four or five jin. Finally, he even pulled up a bighead carp weighing about thirty jin.

"Uncle Li, take your time fishing. The sun's up, it's getting a bit hot, I'll head back now."

Li Weidong greeted Old Li.

"I'm leaving too, hehe, my haul wasn't bad! I'll have to show it off when I get back."

Old Li chuckled, "We've just run out of bait."

Old Li later pulled five or six fish ashore, each weighing around one or two pounds.

Li Weidong was squatting there packing up his gear when Yan Bugui darted over and snatched up Li Weidong's spot. The fishermen watching the spectacle crowded around, each hoping to get a good spot. But even Li Weidong's spot was taken.

Old Li had someone help him find a seat, so he got in the car and left. Li Weidong still had to pack his things himself. Just as he finished, he heard a commotion erupt at Yan Bugui's place.

"Big! It's definitely a big one!"

Yan Bugui shouted at the top of his lungs.

A bystander glanced at it and estimated that the fish head protruding from the water weighed only about two pounds. An experienced fishkeeper could tell at a glance.

Li Weidong's heart stirred, and with a flick of his finger, a cactus thorn flew out. It pierced through the fish's mouth, directly into its brain, and stirred it around inside, turning the fish brain into a mess in no time.

Li Weidong was six or seven steps away from the fish, and doing this kind of work was as easy as playing a game for him.

Yan Bugui suddenly felt the fish stop struggling, but it was still alive. He reached out and lifted the fish onto the shore, only to find it stiff and completely dead.

"Damn, that's a dead fish!"

An old man shouted. The crowd of onlookers all scattered.

"Wow, Lao Yan, how did you develop that skill?"

Li Weidong pushed his bicycle with a smile on his face, a smile full of mockery.

Yan Bugui stood there, stunned, clutching the dead fish in his hand. Li Weidong's words jolted him awake, and he let out a howl.

He tossed the fish back into the river, abandoning the fishing rod, and sped back on his old bicycle.

Li Weidong glanced at the stool and bucket on the ground, shook his head, and bent down to pick up the fishing rod.

"Young man, there are some things you should avoid talking about."

An old man kindly offered a word of advice.

"Sir, what era are we living in? Why do you still believe in this?"