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

Li Weidong said with a serious expression, "Let me see what's going on!"

He looked at it for a moment and laughed: "The fish was jumping around just now, how come it died as soon as I picked it up? See, you're just scaring yourself."

"The hook went in so deep it burrowed into the fish's brain. No wonder it died. Tsk tsk, what a coincidence that Old Yan had to run into this."

Li Weidong secretly tampered with the hook, and sure enough, it got firmly stuck in the fish's brain.

Several fishermen gathered around to take a look, and it was indeed true.

"Tsk tsk, I hope that kid isn't scared out of his wits?"

The old man gave a wry smile. "Young man, you know him well, take these things back for him..."

"No, I won't. We don't get along. Besides, if I were to deliver these things to him, I'd scare him half to death!"

Li Weidong waved his hand, "The fish won't keep, you guys take them and eat them. Just give the fishing gear to Lao Yan when you run into him another day."

Li Weidong cleaned up the tail and rode his bicycle back home.

When we arrived at the gate of the compound, we immediately saw Yan Bugui standing there, pushing his cart and trying to get in, but he couldn't get in after several attempts.

Yan Bugui's face was as white as paper, he was trembling all over, and his clothes were covered in mud. Li Weidong could tell at a glance that this guy must have fallen several times on the way.

"Dad, what happened to you?"

Yan Jiecheng ran over and steadied the bicycle. Looking at Yan Bugui, who was slumped on the ground, he said, "Your bike is ruined. What about the fish you caught? I was hoping you'd catch a big one so I could apologize to Yu Li."

Yan Bugui didn't say a word, but rushed inside trembling all over, looking like he wanted to disappear into the quilt.

Just as I crossed the corridor, I bumped into Yi Zhonghai.

"Old Yan, you're getting on in years, why are you still so impetuous, acting like a young punk?"

As Yi Zhonghai spoke, his eyes swept over Li Weidong, who was pushing the cart in.

This remark clearly implied that Li Weidong was young, and no one could find fault with it.

Yan Jiecheng, with his sharp eyes, immediately spotted the large-headed fish weighing about thirty pounds in Li Weidong's bucket. The fish was submerged headfirst in the water, looking particularly conspicuous.

"Li Weidong, why don't you give me this fish?"

Yan Jiecheng's eyes were red. "I'll take it to Yu Li to apologize. You should know that you were partly responsible for how things turned out between us."

"Get lost."

Li Weidong didn't want to say another word to this thing.

Yi Zhonghai stepped forward, putting on airs: "Chief Engineer Li, you've caught so many fish, so cut up the big one. You do bear some responsibility for what happened between him and Yu Li."

Yan Bugui stood trembling to the side. Seeing that there were many people, he didn't want to leave and just wanted to stay in a place with people.

"Yi Zhonghai, now that the rain has stopped, do you think you can jump around again?"

Li Weidong sneered, "If you want to do someone a favor, use your own things. You bastard who uses other people's things to do favors and bask in their own good reputation are truly disgusting."

"Yan Jiecheng and Yu Li broke up, what does that have to do with me? Get out of my way!"

Li Weidong pushed the cart and left.

He felt much better after arguing with the old man.

These beasts want to ruin Li Weidong's family, so why should he be polite?

Damn it, killing them all at once would be too easy. We need to fry them slowly in oil, one by one, to let them taste what it means to wish they were dead.

Li Weidong secretly made plans in his mind.

Yi Zhonghai's face turned pale with anger. He watched Li Weidong walk away before taking a deep breath and turning to Yan Bugui, asking, "Old Yan, what did you run into that scared you so much?"

"Dead fish mouths! Dead fish mouths in broad daylight!"

Yan Bugui was trembling all over, and his voice was distorted.

"This...this matter..."

Yi Zhonghai also shuddered. "Something seems off in the yard. I was sitting peacefully on the fence when suddenly an invisible force pushed me on the forehead."

Li Weidong casually added, "Then an old man came and planted a whole bunch of winter melons on the ground. Jia Zhangshi also complained that there was some evil force that kicked her hard behind the knee, which is why her leg was broken like that."

Yan Bugui's voice trembled with fear: "Then... what should we do?"

Yi Zhonghai said calmly, "After Jia Zhangshi's leg gets a little better, she said she wants to find someone to take a look. Her family is so poor, yet she still insists on making a fuss. Once she runs out of money, we'll quietly give her some more help."

Yan Bugui understood immediately: "Okay, let's do it this way. If we get caught by the people on the street, we won't take the blame for promoting feudal superstition."

As he spoke, he returned to a familiar place, surrounded by acquaintances, and finally felt at ease.

As Li Weidong walked into the courtyard, he heard a pig-like scream coming from the Jia family's house.

"Qin Huairu! I only have three painkillers left! Go and buy me a bottle right away!"

"Mother-in-law, you really can't eat too much of this. The doctor said so."

Qin Huairu's voice was tinged with helplessness, "I'll open it for you again tomorrow."

"Hmph! You're so unhappy about me buying medicine? This bottle was bought by my son! My poor son—"

Jia Zhangshi screamed all over the house.

Li Weidong didn't stop walking, thinking to himself: No wonder this old woman could endure the leg pain; it turns out she was relying on painkillers.

He had just arrived at his doorstep, and before he could even park his car properly, Xiao Xi ran over.

"Brother! Are there any big fish?"

The little girl stood on tiptoe, but couldn't reach the opening of the bamboo basket at all.

Liu Guangtian and Yan Jiefang quickly came over and hurriedly carried the bucket downstairs. Yan Jiefang had been helping Liu Guangtian with the work while Liu Guangtian was weaving bamboo ware in front of his house.

"Xiao Xi, do you think this fish is big enough?"

Li Weidong asked with a smile.

"Mmm! It's huge! I want to eat this one!"

Xiao Xi raised her little face with pride, as if she was doing the fish a favor by eating this big fathead fish.

He Yushui and Lin Yurou also came out: "Brother Dong, you caught so many again today?"

"Keep the big one, we'll stew it for lunch, and keep the small one in the water tank."

Li Weidong turned to He Yushui and said, "We'll see how you cook at noon."

"Okay, I've got this covered!"

He Yushui beamed, "This fish is even longer than Xiaoxi's, we definitely can't finish it."

The deaf old woman stood at her doorstep, staring longingly at the large fish, which was even longer than Xiao Xi, her mouth watering. She knew in her heart that the braised pork at Yi Zhonghai's house at noon could not compare to this pot of fish.

Liu Hai was shouting at the top of his lungs:

"Director Yang, Secretary Zhang, Deputy Director Li, what a perfect time for you all to come! Chief Engineer Li just got back from fishing."

Before he finished speaking, he came over like a lapdog, wagging his tail and leading the three leaders over.

Director Yang and his colleagues were carrying a large rooster, five pounds of pork belly, and four bottles of Wuliangye liquor.

Judging from this, I'll definitely be having lunch at Li Weidong's house.

Yi Zhonghai and Sha Zhu were following behind them.

Even the most clueless fool like Sha Zhu knows he has to curry favor with the factory manager.

Upon seeing the three arrive, Li Weidong quickly greeted them:

"Oh, what an honor to have three leaders like you! Please come in and have a seat!"

He then turned and shouted into the courtyard:

"Yan Jiecheng and Liu Guangtian, you two lend a hand. Assign them tasks during the rainy season; let them do all the killing of fish and slaughtering of chickens."

Yan Jiecheng and Liu Guangtian were overjoyed, knowing this was their chance to shine.

Liu Haizhong and Yi Zhonghai stood outside, watching eagerly as Li Weidong led the three leaders into the main room, completely ignoring them.

Sha Zhu grinned and chuckled:

"Wait! Li Weidong, I'll treat you to lunch. My sister's cooking skills are still far from good enough."

Li Weidong snorted coldly:

"No need. I'm afraid that by the time half the dishes are served, the other half will have already gone to the young widow's house."

Factory Director Yang and Secretary Zhang exchanged a glance, both understanding: the rumors were true, Li Weidong didn't get along with the people in the institute.

Li Huaide, however, had a different perspective.

"Young widow? You mean that woman Qin Huairu? Tsk tsk, she's got a really hot body. If only I could get my hands on her... wait, is Sha Zhu eyeing that woman too?"

Thoughts raced through Li Huaide's mind.

He was determined to teach Sha Zhu a lesson. He wasn't going to let this fool have his eye on his prey.

Sha Zhu's face turned red and white from being rebuked, and he turned away in anger.

Director Yang glanced around and saw that not only Yi Zhonghai and Liu Haizhong were standing in the yard, but Yan Bugui had also come over.

"Chief Engineer Li, shall we communicate in writing?"

Factory Director Yang asked in a low voice.

"Okay, I'll go get the pen."

Li Weidong got up and went into the bedroom.

When he came out, he was not only carrying a few sheets of paper and three pencils, but also a large bag of things.

"Xiaorou, give these foods to Yushui. Let her, the little cook, decide how to prepare them."

Li Weidong said with a smile.

Lin Yurou went out with a big smile on her face, carrying the bag.

Although hosting a dinner party costs a lot of money, all the attendees are big shots from the factory, which paves a solid foundation for Dong Ge's future.

Yi Zhonghai glanced around and saw that everyone in the main room was scribbling on paper without speaking, clearly discussing something that couldn't be told to outsiders. He waved his hand and shouted to the onlookers, "Come on, everyone, go home and cook."

With that upright demeanor on his face, he wanted to show Director Yang that he, Yi Zhonghai, could still hold his own in this courtyard.

Factory Director Yang wrote a few lines on a piece of paper, saying that he wanted to get three retired aircraft engines, and then asked Li Weidong if he could handle it.

Li Weidong didn't write anything, but immediately said, "Well, it depends. I haven't seen the actual product, so I don't know how bad it is. I can't guarantee anything."

"Okay, we'll let you know."

Secretary Zhang nodded in satisfaction when he saw that the man had left room for maneuver in his words.

As soon as Yi Zhonghai entered his house, he grabbed an enamel cup from the table and smashed it on the ground. Porcelain shards shattered everywhere.

Na Yumei smiled bitterly: "What's the use of getting angry? What can you do to him given his current position?"

She understood why Yi Zhonghai was so angry.

Sha Zhu chimed in, "Auntie, you don't know, that little bastard Li Weidong is a real scoundrel. This old man is a level eight worker, and he won't even give him a second glance. What's wrong with letting him go in and sit with the factory director and secretary?"

An elderly deaf woman came in from outside and chimed in, "Zhonghai is just an ordinary worker. It was just the cadres chatting together. Plus, that little brat holds a grudge…sigh!"

Sha Zhu was frustrated: "Grandma, we have to think of a way!"

Ever since Li Weidong showed his face, Sha Zhu has lost his nerve in the courtyard. He doesn't dare to hit people anymore; without Yi Zhonghai to back him up, who knows if the person he beat up will call the police? Sha Zhu doesn't want to end up in jail eating cornbread and working at a sewing machine.

"A way? Killing him would come at too high a price."

The deaf old woman's face was gloomy: "He's quite famous now. If something happens to him, the higher-ups will definitely investigate to the end. The only thing we can do is get rid of him—ruin his reputation and force his whole family out of this compound."