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

Jia Zhangshi sat on her doorstep, her eyes wide like saucers. Li Weidong walked past her, and she muttered, "That little beast eats so much good food, how come he doesn't choke to death?"

"They have money but don't know how to help our family. They'll get struck by lightning sooner or later."

When Li Weidong returned to the house, Lin Yurou, He Yushui, and Lou Xiao'e had already cleaned up the dishes. Lou Xiao'e's fair face flushed again when she saw Li Weidong.

"Xiaorou, Yushui, I'm going back now."

Lou Xiao'e left in a hurry after she finished speaking, without even turning her head back.

Li Weidong entered the main room and saw Lin Yurou carrying a wooden box out of the inner room.

"Brother Dong, here's the house deed and your stamp album."

Lin Yurou said, "I'm leaving everything to you."

Li Weidong grinned: "I have some good stuff hidden in my old stamp album. Xiaorou, come and take a look."

Lin Yurou's cheeks were flushed. He Yushui had already taken Xiaoxi to take a nap. Lin Yurou had drunk a few sips of red wine at noon, and her head was a little heavy. She followed Li Weidong into the bedroom.

"This is a stamp album that Yan Jiefang gave me. It contains three Large Dragon stamps."

Li Weidong proudly turned to a page, "Fifty or sixty years from now, this set will be worth tens of millions."

He turned to another page: "This blue military mail, by then it will be worth at least several million."

Lin Yurou's drunkenness vanished instantly: "Is it really that valuable?"

"Of course."

Li Weidong said with a smile, "Things that seem insignificant now will become treasures in a few decades."

Lin Yurou's face flushed red, and she muttered softly, "Then you should keep it safe for now, and leave it for our child later..."

Before she could finish speaking, her face burned even more intensely.

But Li Weidong paid no attention to her at all, his eyes fixed on the words on the property deed, his brows furrowed.

"That's strange. Those two main rooms on the east side are also ours. Why is the deaf old lady living in them?"

Lin Yurou was taken aback, took the property deed and looked at it: "I haven't even looked at this thing."

A scene suddenly flashed through Li Weidong's mind.

That happened ten years ago, when he was only ten years old.

An elderly deaf woman, holding a sign indicating she was a recipient of government assistance, came to his door demanding to borrow his house. His father, easily swayed, agreed after being persuaded by Yi Zhonghai and the elderly deaf woman's coordinated efforts.

This loan lasted for ten years.

If he hadn't found the property deed today, he would have almost completely forgotten about it.

Li Weidong sneered, "That's really something. My dad was kind-hearted back then and didn't want to cause trouble, so he gave the house away. Now it's my turn to take it back."

He pointed to the west: "Those two side rooms, one will be used as a kitchen, and the other will be converted into a toilet. We won't have to go to the public toilet anymore."

After saying that, he pushed open the door and went out.

They happened to run into Yi Zhonghai helping the deaf old lady back.

Yi Zhonghai wore a smile, putting on a show of respecting the elderly and caring for the young. He knew perfectly well that as long as he upheld the banner of respecting the elderly in this courtyard, he, the head of the household without heirs, could live a comfortable life.

"stop!"

Li Weidong stood in front of the two.

In the courtyard, Liu Haizhong lay under a tree fanning himself, while Liu Guangqi, covered in sweat, wove a safety chair.

The deaf old woman stared at him, "What do you want to do?"

"What for? To collect the house."

Li Weidong raised his voice, "Deaf old lady, I'm officially informing you that you need to move out of those two rooms in my house. Otherwise, don't blame me for being impolite and calling the police."

"Bullshit! That's my house, Li Weidong's house!"

The deaf old woman panicked, her voice becoming shrill.

"Your house, Li Weidong's house?"

Li Weidong pulled out the property deed, patted it in his hand, and said, "When I was ten years old, you and Yi Zhonghai teamed up to force my father to lend out the house. It's all written clearly in black and white."

He gave the two of them a cold look: "You've got some nerve, daring to bully me."

"It's 2 PM now. You have two hours. Get it all moved by 4 PM, or you'll be in big trouble."

"You all know what kind of temper I have."

The deaf old woman froze, her lips trembling: "Move? Where do you want me to move?"

Where you move to is none of my business.

Li Weidong said with a cold face.

He paused, then added, "By the way, the woodshed in Yi Zhonghai's house was originally the one you were assigned to live in."

After hearing this, Yi Zhonghai felt a chill run down his spine.

"This... your father said himself that the house was for the old lady."

"Yi Zhonghai, if you keep talking nonsense, I'll beat you to death."

Li Weidong's eyes were filled with murderous intent. "If you dare to talk nonsense without any evidence, I'll send you straight to jail."

Yi Zhonghai swallowed.

He felt things were completely out of control.

"The old lady is so old, what good will it do her to stay here? How much longer can she stay?"

Yi Zhonghai took a deep breath, softening his tone as much as possible, "We must respect the elderly and be filial..."

"Yi Zhonghai, you're talking nonsense."

Li Weidong's voice was as cold as ice shards.

"How dare you speak like that? Don't you, an educated person, have any sense of propriety?"

Yi Zhonghai was furious, his face turning bright red.

"You won't listen when I try to reason with you."

Li Weidong sneered, "You say you want to be filial to your elders? Fine, you have two rooms, just give one to the deaf old lady and that's it."

"Since you don't have any kids, it's a waste for the two of you to live in such a big house."

Yi Zhonghai choked for a moment.

Who wouldn't want a bigger house? That's not something we'd compromise on.

"I'm not leaving, what can you do about it?"

The deaf old woman exploded.

She had always considered those two rooms as her own, and had even planned how to give them to Zhu Zi in the future. She never expected that this brat would dare to try and take them.

"Not leaving?"

Li Weidong said in a nonchalant tone, "The police station isn't far from here, you can find a street office. Let's see how long you can stay here."

"I...I'll just smash my head against your head and die right in front of you!"

The deaf old woman trembled all over.

At this point, almost everyone in the courtyard gathered around.

Liu Haizhong, fanning himself with a tattered banana leaf fan and sporting a large pregnant belly, said, "Then let's hold a hospital-wide meeting and resolve this matter."

He liked to hold department-wide meetings.

Only then did he feel like an official and be able to display his official authority.

"Isn't this just a college-wide meeting?"

Yan Bugui squinted his beady eyes. "Everyone's here."

"It's different; this is a formal hospital-wide meeting."

With a domineering air, Liu Guangtian said, "Liu Guangtian, go move the table. Liu Guangfu, bang the gong and let everyone know."

"Liu Haizhong, you're really too ambitious for your position," Li Weidong said, his tone sarcastic. "You're just an ordinary worker, maybe a mediator at best, and you really think you're someone important?"

If you want to get involved in everything, you should at least ask if the other person is willing to let you.

Meetings? What else can you do besides meetings? Instead of wasting time on that, why not figure out how to improve your skills? Wouldn't it be better to become a Level 8 skilled worker?

Liu Haizhong's face turned red with anger, but when he thought that Li Weidong was not someone he could mess with, he could only suppress his anger and turn around and walk back dejectedly.

Liu Guangfu, get your ass in here!

Liu Haizhong's shout startled Liu Guangfu, making him tremble all over.

Before, when his older brother Liu Guangtian was home, the two brothers would get beaten together. Now that Liu Guangtian can earn money and is more assertive, he's the only one left to take the beatings. The punches that used to be shared now all fall on him alone.

Qin Huairu couldn't sit still any longer. In her eyes, this house was hers. Sha Zhu's house belonged to her, Qin Huairu. It would be perfect for Bang Geng to use when he got married in the future—what a wonderful thing!

"Brother Weidong, you're wrong about that." Qin Huairu stepped forward. "The old lady has lived here for over ten years. Haven't you heard the saying, 'Long-term occupation becomes property'? This house has long belonged to the old lady."

"Yes, yes, yes!" Sha Zhu chimed in, "This house belongs to my grandma! Even if the King of Heaven himself came, he'd have to acknowledge it! My grandma is a recipient of the Five Guarantees (a government welfare program for the elderly and disabled), and she's also a martyr's family member. She even made shoe soles for our most beloved people back in the day!"

Upon hearing this, the deaf old lady and Yi Zhonghai's faces darkened, and they cursed inwardly that Sha Zhu was brainless and had come out to cause trouble.

"Heh, then let's talk about the three identities of this deaf old lady." Li Weidong sneered. "First of all, the idea of ​​making shoe soles for the most lovable person is just unreliable."

"How is it unreliable?" Sha Zhu was taken aback.

"If you're ugly, you should study more." Li Weidong's tone was as cold as ice. The deaf old lady herself had said that she had never left Beijing in her life. So where was she going to sew shoe soles for the most beloved people? Beijing was peacefully liberated; the army had never even entered the city.

Could it be that the old lady finished sewing the shoe soles and then mailed them one by one?

As soon as Li Weidong said this, the courtyard burst into laughter.

Besides, even if they've made shoe soles, so what? Lots of people have made shoe soles for our troops! Li Weidong sneered, "Go to the old revolutionary base areas and see, which household hasn't made shoe soles? It's commonplace, how can you call that a merit? Look at how the people in those old revolutionary base areas supported the army..."

Yi Zhonghai's face paled, and he quickly interrupted: "Alright, alright, we know about this. We're talking about the house now, and the old lady is already so old..."

Yi Zhonghai, don't give me that crap. I'm talking about the city gate tower, and you're trying to pull a fast one! Li Weidong isn't giving him any face at all. How many people have been fooled by your rhetoric before? You're really good at this, why don't you become an official?

You… Yi Zhonghai felt as if he had been stripped naked in public, and he couldn’t say a word.

The deaf old woman's matter isn't over yet. Li Weidong turned to stare at her: "Speak up, are you a martyr's family member or not?"

The deaf old woman's face was wrinkled like old tree bark, and she looked completely bewildered: "Huh? What did you say? I can't hear you."

"Hey, you really know how to pick your ears. You can't hear a single word you don't want to hear."

Li Weidong sneered, "You're not a martyr's family member at all, now you don't dare admit it, do you?"

"Being a family member of a martyr is not an excuse for you to act arrogantly!"

Sha Zhu couldn't hold back any longer: "If she's not a martyr's family member, why is the neighborhood committee still giving her the 'Five Guarantees' benefits?"

Li Weidong laughed angrily: "Who told you that being a 'Five Guarantees Household' is an honorary title? It's a government program to support people who are unable to work, have no children, and have no property. The government supports her so she'll follow the rules, not so she can use that status to act like a queen in the compound!"

"The old ancestor of the compound? Who bestowed that title? Was it that local tyrant Yi Zhonghai again?"

Yi Zhonghai felt a chill run down his spine and turned to look at Yan Bugui, hoping he would step in and smooth things over. Yan Bugui immediately shrank back and stood aside, pretending to be mute—he wouldn't do anything that didn't benefit him.

"Speechless now, old lady? Hurry up and move it. At four o'clock sharp, I'll go straight to the police station to report the case."

Li Weidong spoke in a nonchalant tone.

"Where do you want her to move to?"

Sha Zhu got angry.

"Let her move into her own house."

Li Weidong said, "I remember it very clearly. Before the deaf old woman extorted our house at Yi Zhonghai's instigation, she lived in Yi Zhonghai's woodshed."