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

The two little girls looked over at the sound. Huaihua ran over without saying a word, and Xiaodang hesitated for a moment before following her.

"Try this, it's called banana! My brother bought it!"

Xiao Xi raised her face, full of pride. As she spoke, she didn't forget to tug at the little skirt on her shoulder—Lin Yurou was afraid that she wouldn't be able to wear it next year, so she made it a bit too big. These days, that's how it is when making clothes for children; it's better to be a little big than a little small.

"It's delicious!"

Huaihua took a bite of the banana, her eyes lit up, and she turned to Xiaodang, saying, "Sister, you should try it too, it's really delicious."

The three little girls didn't care about the mess around them and focused on sharing and eating the banana. Bang Geng stood to the side, his eyes practically spitting fire, but with Li Weidong next to him, he didn't dare utter a sound.

Li Weidong watched as Jia Zhangshi was being lectured by a capable and efficient woman in her forties.

"Jia Zhangshi, how dare you do this?"

The woman's voice was cold: "Go to the cowshed and undergo labor reform!"

"I'm not going! I'm not going!"

Mrs. Jia was trembling all over. "I have to have surgery tomorrow..."

"Trying to escape punishment?"

The woman's face darkened.

Director Wang said sternly, "Ms. Jia really hurt her leg; she just came back from the hospital this morning."

Na Yumei stepped forward and nodded: "Director Wang is right, the fall was indeed quite severe."

"Fine, once your leg heals, I'll still parade you through the streets and make you do manual labor!"

Director Wang was not polite at all.

In those days, the neighborhood director's word was law.

Jia Zhangshi trembled twice, then suddenly shouted, "Yi Zhonghai made me do it!"

Yan Bugui, who was standing next to him, was startled.

If they investigate further, I'll be exposed too.

Director Wang frowned: "Yi Zhonghai? Impossible!"

Na Yumei was so angry she wanted to slap herself—she had just spoken up for her, and this woman had betrayed Yi Zhonghai the moment she turned her back on her.

"Really, it's really true!"

Jia Zhangshi quickly confessed, "He gave me eight yuan this morning and asked me to find someone to do it. I thought I had done this kind of work in the countryside before, so I decided to keep the money."

Director Wang's face darkened: "Fine. I'll come over at five tonight and see what's going on in your compound."

She turned to Yan Bugui and said, "You should inform everyone that there will be a hospital-wide meeting tonight."

Yan Bugui shrank his neck, his face contorted in pain. He knew this was going to be bad; if his identity was exposed, the school would be finished.

Li Weidong, with his sharp ears, overheard Xiaoxi talking to Banggeng.

"Hey, here's a banana peel for you!"

Xiao Xi handed the peel over, saying, "We don't eat the peel, you can have it."

Xiao Dang and Huaihua stared intently at the banana peel. In their minds, apple and pear peels were sweet, so banana peels must be delicious too.

He took the stick and stuffed it into his mouth.

He had been smelling that sweet aroma for a while, and his mouth was practically watering from the taste. He had been itching to try it for ages.

After chewing a couple of times, the skewer's eyes nearly popped out of its head. It opened its mouth and spat out the skin, spitting out saliva incessantly.

"Ptooey! It tastes so bitter! What kind of crap did you give me?!"

Banggeng glared angrily at Xiaoxi.

Li Weidong had been staring at Xiao Xi, and only when he saw the smug smile on her face did he realize that this girl was actually quite cunning.

"Xiao Xi, let's go home."

Li Weidong patted her head.

At this moment, Director Wang saw him, paused for a moment, and walked over.

"Are you Li Weidong?"

Director Wang was very polite.

"Director Wang, you're too kind. I am Li Weidong."

Li Weidong responded with a smile.

You're welcome, you're welcome.

Director Wang's face was full of smiles. "You have a master's degree in medicine and are a level seven engineer."

"You are the pride of our neighborhood. I heard from Chief Zhang that you also worked on an engine; the police station is really looking forward to it."

After exchanging a few polite words, Li Weidong suddenly remembered something: "Director Wang, I'm planning to renovate the house, I was wondering if you have any..."

"Okay, no problem, I'll bring it to you tonight."

Director Wang nodded without saying a word.

After exchanging a few more pleasantries, Director Wang turned and left.

"Let's all disperse, everyone!"

Yan Bugui's face turned pale, and his voice trembled.

Jia Zhangshi struggled to her feet, spat fiercely, and yelled at Yu Mei, "Auntie, if Yi Zhonghai doesn't settle this for me today, I'm not done with him!"

"You still expect him to smooth things over for you? You've dragged him down with you, how can he possibly get you out of this mess?"

Na Yumei gritted her teeth and said, "Just you wait, you'll be sent to a labor camp!"

Yan Bugui returned to the front yard and plopped down in the passageway by the gate. It was a bit drafty there, so it was cooler—he couldn't bear to spend money on an electric fan.

Before I could even settle into my seat, an old man came over.

"Old Yan, why haven't you gone fishing these past few days?"

The old man asked.

"Old Huang, you saw what happened that day. Do you think I'd dare go to the riverbank again?"

Yan Bugui grimaced, "Damn it..."

The word "ghost" was on the tip of his tongue, but he didn't dare to utter it.

"How can you, a teacher, believe in this stuff?"

Old Huang said, "Here are your fishing rod, bucket, and stool. I noticed you hadn't made a move for several days, so I knew you were quite frightened. I came over to tell you the truth."

Yan Bugui went fishing every single day during the summer vacation without fail.

"truth?"

Yan Bugui immediately tensed up.

"Yeah, you were just lucky that day. The hook just happened to get caught in the fish's brain, and if you tugged at it a couple of times, the fish would have died."

Old Huang said with a smile.

"No, I clearly saw the hook on the fish's mouth."

Yan Bugui began to have doubts.

"Come on, you were so scared you almost peed your pants, how could you possibly see anything clearly?"

Old Huang laughed even harder. "I took that fish home and braised it; it tasted really good. Do you think I'll have any problems eating it?"

"That's true, I was probably really scared at the time."

Yan Bugui let out a long breath, his mind starting to work again. "Wait a minute, what's with you eating my fish? I can forgive the small fish, but you have to give me at least one yuan for that big one."

"Yan Bugui, are you even human? I'm asking you, are you even human?"

Old Huang was so angry that he threw his things down and turned to leave.

"Is this how a human being behaves? They ate my fish and didn't even say thank you."

Yan Bugui picked up his fishing rod and bucket, wondering if he should go fishing again in the afternoon.

But the thought of throwing away three yuan for nothing this morning and getting into all this trouble made me feel incredibly frustrated.

My desire to fish vanished instantly.

When Li Weidong returned to the house, the noodles were already served and placed on the table. The aroma wafted into his nose, making his mouth water just by smelling it.

The soup base is made by simmering bean sprouts and salted pork, and a generous amount of lard is also added.

There was also a dish of pickled mustard greens and a salted duck egg that was cut open and oozing oil on the table.

After finishing a large bowl of fish noodles, Li Weidong wiped his mouth and said, "This stuff is substantial and filling."

Xiao Xi lifted her head from the bowl, her face covered in soup, and grinned as she called out, "Goodbye, brother! Come home early tonight!"

"Okay, bring back a bunch of meat tonight."

Li Weidong walked out with a smile.

When they arrived at the front yard, Yan Bugui was packing up his fishing rods. Seeing Li Weidong carrying his gear out, he muttered, "This kid fishes every day, can he really earn four hundred a month?"

Thinking about his meager monthly salary of 27.5 yuan, Yan Bugui felt incredibly bitter. Fortunately, he could supplement his income by fishing; otherwise, how would he support his large family?

"Fortunately, Jiefang now has a stable income, so not only do I not have to support him, but I can also squeeze some money out of him."

Yan Bugui secretly made his own plans.

Li Weidong returned to the factory around 1 p.m. and gathered the apprentices and first-level workers for a lesson. He also called over the fifth-level, sixth-level, and seventh-level workers and told them that everyone was a mentor to the apprentices and that he had to train them to become first-level workers as soon as possible, and then promote them to second-level workers.

"Don't be afraid that teaching your apprentice will cause you to starve."

Li Weidong's voice was loud and clear: "This is working for the country, not the old-fashioned barbering and blacksmithing business, where you only have a small place to stay and a limited number of customers, hence that kind of talk."

"The country is short of talent and needs to build a new China. You senior technicians not only need to do your jobs well, but more importantly, you need to cultivate talent for the country."

As soon as he finished speaking, applause rang out at the workshop entrance, and someone shouted "Bravo!"

"Good, good! You're absolutely right!"

Old Li led a group of people in, with Factory Director Yang and Secretary Zhang following behind, along with two men in military uniforms.

"Uncle Li, what brings you here?"

Li Weidong greeted him with a smile.

"You've got pretty good sense, kid. Not bad, not bad."

Old Li smiled broadly, "I've brought you what you wanted."

"Who are these two...?"

Li Weidong looked at the two soldiers.

"The military representative from the arsenal."

Old Li explained, "I heard you were going to get your hands on that stuff, so I came to check it out."

"You brought the materials? I'll get started right away."

Li Weidong's eyes lit up.

"Xiao Yang, do you have a place here where you can keep things private?"

Old Li turned his head and asked.

"No, we don't have that."

Factory Director Yang said somewhat embarrassedly, "However, I can arrange for the people in this workshop to go off duty and come back to make up for it in the evening."

"Okay, let's do it that way."

Old Li nodded. "Since Wei Dong is conducting research, he needs a place where he can keep it confidential."

"I understand, I understand."

Factory Director Yang quickly replied, "I'll take care of it right away."

Before long, everyone in the workshop had left, leaving only Old Man Li, two soldiers, and three guards. Secretary Zhang and Factory Director Yang didn't leave either.

Li Huaide had already slipped away. He knew perfectly well that there were some things he shouldn't have inquired about. Besides, his current task of arranging research sites for Li Weidong was a genuine achievement.

"Everything you requested is ready. Now you can get started."

Old Li looked serious. "Can it be done this afternoon?"

"No problem, it'll be quick."

Li Weidong was full of confidence, "It'll only take two hours at most, but we can't get the ammunition, we don't have any pyrotechnics. I have the blueprints for the bullets!"

1.9

Li Weidong pulled a blueprint out of his canvas bag.

"I'm going to the arsenal to have them produce a batch."

A soldier took the blueprints and turned to leave.

Li Weidong started machining the parts. Old Man Li and the others sat beside him watching.

In just an hour and a half, Li Weidong had cut the metal materials into various parts.

"If we really want to mass-produce them, many parts can be made using stamping."

Li Weidong explained as he assembled the parts. Some of the smaller components, like springs, were made by Li Weidong on the spot.

Winding springs is a basic skill for fitters.

Before long, a large firearm was placed in front of everyone.

"Is this a cannon? The caliber is so big... No, it's a gun."

Factory Director Yang was a little confused.