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

"That house was clearly allocated to the deaf old woman by the neighborhood committee, but Yi Zhonghai used it as a woodshed!"

As soon as these words were spoken, many people in the courtyard began to bring up old grievances.

"Yes, yes, I remember the deaf old lady used to live in that woodshed."

"I thought that house was for the families of martyrs."

"It's definitely for the families of martyrs, but those families aren't the deaf old lady!"

……

Hearing the murmurs, Yi Zhonghai took a deep breath: "Zhuzi, clear out the woodshed and let the old lady move there."

Madam Jia Zhang became furious: "Yi Zhonghai, how can you be so cowardly? Why are you letting that boy have the house? As the old saying goes, 'Living in one place for too long will lead to ruin!'"

"Since they haven't come to claim it for so long, it should belong to us!"

Madam Jia was drooling; in her heart, those two rooms already belonged to the Jia family.

Li Weidong's eyes turned cold: "Jia Zhangshi, are you out of your mind? If you want to cause trouble, fine, I'll kick Qin Huairu out of the steel mill one of these days and send your whole family back to the countryside to eat mud."

Qin Huairu was about to speak, but upon hearing this, she immediately swallowed her words. The two widows both fell silent.

Li Weidong glanced around, but no one in the courtyard made a sound.

Lou Xiao'e was about to turn around and go home when her lips moved as if she wanted to say something, but she swallowed it back in the end.

Just then, Liu Guangfu's heart-wrenching cries suddenly came from Liu Haizhong's room, followed by Liu Haizhong's furious roar.

"Tsk, what a fucking bastard."

Li Weidong cursed and turned to walk home.

Lin Yurou stood on the steps at the door with Xiaoxi in her hand, while He Yushui leaned against the wall, munching on a tomato, and watched coldly as Shazhu and Yi Zhonghai went into the deaf old woman's room together.

Yi Zhonghai knew that if this matter really escalated to the neighborhood committee, being criticized and denounced would be the least of his worries. The worst part was that the deaf old woman, relying on his support and using her status as a recipient of the Five Guarantees (a government welfare program for the elderly and disabled), had been running rampant in the courtyard for so many years.

If we dig deeper and uncover the truth about the deaf old woman, then the sky will fall.

He knew that there was no time to clean up the woodshed before moving. If it wasn't completely moved by four o'clock, Li Weidong would definitely not give up.

For now, we can only move the deaf old lady's belongings to the central courtyard and then slowly clear out the woodshed.

It was called a woodshed, but it was actually just a small side room, about twenty square meters. The Jia Zhang family squeezed into a room of the same size, but there was also a sloping shed of about ten square meters built against the wall.

"Be gentle! Lift that box carefully!"

The deaf old woman stood to the side, gesturing wildly.

Sha Zhu was seething with anger. He had been acting as the deaf old woman's grandson for so long, and hadn't gotten a single benefit from it. He didn't even want that side room.

Li Weidong stopped at his front door, reached out and ruffled Xiao Xi's hair, then raised his voice and said, "Hey, I have something else to tell you."

"That deaf old woman's house isn't hers either. Once she leaves, the neighborhood committee will take it back. She has no right to give the house to anyone."

Upon hearing this, Sha Zhu realized that he wouldn't even get that side room, and he lost all interest in working.

"You little brat, you're trying to drive this old woman to her death!"

The deaf old woman mumbled something under her breath, her eyes bloodshot, staring fiercely at Li Weidong as if she wanted to devour him alive.

"Deaf old lady, you don't need to glare at me. This isn't over."

Li Weidong snorted coldly, "You've occupied my house for ten whole years. You think you can just let it go like that?"

"I want you and Yi Zhonghai to pay off their debts."

"My dad has a good temper and doesn't like to cause trouble. But I'm different from him."

Yi Zhonghai didn't say a word, and together with Sha Zhu, they carried out a large table.

"Uncle, why don't you get a few people to help? How long are we going to finish this?"

Sha Zhu's tone was full of frustration.

"Pillar, look at the situation now, who would lend a hand?"

Yi Zhonghai said angrily, "People's hearts have turned to rot! In the past, would I even need to ask for help? Everyone would have come to help long ago."

"Everyone's only thinking about themselves these days, who cares about whether others live or die?"

Li Weidong curled his lip and sneered, "Yi Zhonghai, don't try to make yourself look good. You're criticizing others, so tell me, who have you ever helped?"

"The Jia family, Sha Zhu, the deaf old woman—these don't count. Add Liu Haizhong and Yan Bugui, and you're all just a bunch of people banding together to take advantage, aren't you?"

"You keep tricking others into risking their lives, and in the end, all the fame and gratitude will fall on your head."

"I feel disgusted just thinking about what you did."

Yi Zhonghai was so angry he almost ground his teeth to powder. The neighbors who had been watching the commotion fell silent. Upon closer examination, they realized that what Li Weidong said made perfect sense.

Qin Huairu came over and helped pack up the clothes and bedding.

"The old lady can't fit all her things in her room."

Yi Zhonghai spoke up, "Let's put some of the furniture in the room with the pillar, since that room is quite empty anyway."

Sha Zhu's room was already shabby, with a broken wardrobe, a trunk, a bed, two crooked stools, and a table with four legs of different lengths.

By 4 p.m., the two houses had been completely moved out.

Li Weidong went to the supply and marketing cooperative, bought a large lock, and locked the door shut.

The deaf old woman still had a lot of odds and ends piled up in the yard. People who had nothing better to do in the yard all stood there watching the spectacle.

Li Weidong moved a stool, placed it at the main entrance, stepped on it, and nailed four wooden signs to the top of the door.

The words on the sign were exactly the same: "Family of a Martyr, Glorious Family"

Yi Zhonghai stared at the four signs, feeling as if four tombstones were smashing down on him.

Before the Li family hung this sign, he could pretend it didn't exist. But now that the sign is on the wall, no matter how cunning or roundabout he is, he can't get around it—his tail is pinned down by a stone, and he can't move it even if he wants to.

Yi Zhonghai knew in his heart that if Li Yuankui had put up the sign earlier, he and the deaf old woman would never have dared to forcibly occupy the house.

Although Li Yuankui is a martyr's family member, he has never publicly displayed this status before, because he did not want to use it to intimidate others.

But now, Li Weidong has put up all the signs, making it clear that he wants to use this identity to speak for himself.

Yi Zhonghai and Sha Zhu worked until 5 p.m. before they finally got everything settled.

No one in the backyard offered help; everyone was afraid of incurring Li Weidong's wrath. Most people in the courtyard worked at the steel mill, out of Li Weidong's sight of the central courtyard, but with just a casual remark from him, no one could expect to receive any favors.

The deaf old woman, Yi Zhonghai, and Sha Zhu squeezed into the small room.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

The deaf old woman pounded the ground with her cane, cursing through gritted teeth, "That little beast! He robbed my big house! Why doesn't he just die!"

"Hmph, they even put up a sign."

Sha Zhu gritted his teeth and said fiercely, "I'll pry it off tonight and throw it in the latrine!"

"Pillar, you're asking for it!"

Yi Zhonghai sternly stopped him, "Do you believe that if you do that, you'll be eating peanuts tomorrow? Behave yourself, don't be reckless!"

"Zhu Zi, don't be foolish. How much are those two dilapidated houses worth?"

The deaf old woman straightened her back, her tone tinged with pride: "Grandma has saved up a lot of money, so you can rest assured."

Sha Zhu had originally decided to keep his distance from the old woman, but upon hearing this, his eyes lit up: "Grandma, you really have money?"

The deaf old woman looked at him with a kind expression, lowering her voice slightly: "Don't pry into this matter. I have gold bars and silver dollars, but I can't give them to you now."

"Why? If you give me something first, I won't be living in such a tight spot..."

Sha Zhu was calculating in his mind.

If he could squeeze some money out of the old lady, he could use it to curry favor with Qin Huairu. Touching her hand or putting his arm around her waist would be no big deal.

If I had more money, I might be able to get that young widow into bed someday.

He could go back and marry a young woman as his wife, keeping both his wife and mistresses at the same time—life couldn't be more wonderful.

The deaf old woman sighed: "Give it to you? If I give it to you, it'll all go into that young widow's pocket. You earn thirty-seven yuan and fifty cents a month, and after all these years of saving, how many coins are left?"

Sha Zhu opened his mouth, but was speechless.

Yi Zhonghai listened from the side, his face twitching slightly.

So all these years of helping the deaf old lady have resulted in me getting nothing in return?

"Stop with this and that."

The deaf old woman took out a silver dollar from her bosom and stuffed it into Sha Zhu's hand: "Go to the pigeon market tomorrow and exchange it for some money to buy some meat."

"Remember, don't give it all to that young widow. Otherwise, you'll have nothing left."

"My gold bars and silver dollars will only be handed over to you after you get married and have children."

Sha Zhu didn't listen at all. All he could think about was how he could show off this silver coin to Sister Qin, and maybe even touch her waist and rub her cheek.

He went out with a grin.

The deaf old woman turned to look at Yi Zhonghai and said in a calm tone, "Do you believe it or not? The moment Zhu Zi left, the money went straight into the young widow's hands."

Yi Zhonghai's eyes flickered: "Then you're giving it back to him?"

"If I don't offer something in return, Zhuzi might not even recognize his grandmother anymore."

The deaf old woman was very lucid. "He used to come here specifically for those two rooms..."

"You know all this, and you still spoil him like this? Why don't you just leave your old age and funeral arrangements to me?"

"I trust you and me."

The deaf old woman paused after speaking, then continued, "But no matter what Zhu Zi thinks, I treat him like my own grandson. My own!"

Yi Zhonghai sighed, "Alright. But we can't delay any longer regarding that little bastard!"

"I understand. After dinner, carry me out to meet someone."

A glint of ruthlessness flashed in the deaf old woman's eyes. "I didn't want to use this trick, but that little beast asked for it, so he has no one to blame but himself."

The next morning, Li Weidong was eating breakfast while talking to Lin Yurou.

Lin Yurou suddenly spoke up, "Brother Dong, I'll have someone clean those two rooms today."

Li Weidong nodded in agreement: "Yes, after laying the floor tiles, the walls also need to be repainted."

"Once I move in, I'll renovate this place. The three of you can move in. Those two side rooms will be converted into a kitchen and a toilet."

Lin Yurou thought for a moment, then frowned: "Brother Dong, this must have cost a lot of money, right?"

"You don't need to worry about the money."

Li Weidong patted his chest, his tone relaxed, "By the way, the east wing room is still empty. I'll see if I can take it over and turn it into a study."

The main house has two side rooms on each of its east and west sides, but the easternmost one is a passageway leading to the rear room.

"We should save money wherever we can, because we'll have many more expenses in the future."

Xiao Xi was still asleep when Li Weidong left. She had stayed up too late last night and wouldn't wake up anytime soon.

As he pushed his cart out the door, he silently said to himself: "System check-in."