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

"You little brat, you just wait. Tonight is your death night."

Yi Zhonghai gritted his teeth and thought to himself, "Once you're dead, all those things will still be mine!"

He knew Li Weidong would be working overtime tonight. Secretary Zhang had just told Factory Director Yang that a batch of goods would arrive at nine o'clock tonight, and Li Weidong would have to stay here and keep an eye on it.

"Damn it, I'm going to kill you tonight!"

Yi Zhonghai was so angry he almost ground his teeth to powder. He turned around and hurried home. He had to hurry back to talk to the deaf old lady and tell her that Li Weidong would be home late tonight.

Yi Zhonghai arrived home just in time for lunch. Yu Mei was surprised to see him return at this hour: "Husband, why are you back at this time?"

"Make me a bowl of noodles."

Yi Zhonghai plopped down in a chair. "I wasn't feeling well, so I took half a day off."

"Okay, I'll make you plain white noodles."

Yu Mei responded and quickly went to the next room to get busy.

"Zhonghai, are you injured?"

The deaf old woman put down the cornbread in her hand. It was as hard as a rock. She didn't have many teeth left and couldn't bite it at all. She usually had to break it into pieces and soak it in water before she could swallow it.

The deaf old woman squinted and noticed the few drops of blood on Yi Zhonghai's chest, which no one else had noticed.

"That little brat was so angry he vomited blood."

Yi Zhonghai gritted his teeth and said, "But it's fine, he'll be back after nine o'clock tonight, just in time to take care of business."

"Then he can forget about living!"

The deaf old woman grinned sinisterly, "Go and give Scorpion a heads-up, do as I say..."

She lowered her voice and whispered a few words in Yi Zhonghai's ear.

Li Weidong got lunch at the cafeteria: a plate of stir-fried tofu with green peppers and four steamed buns. Back in his office at the medical clinic, he opened a can of sardines, warmed it on the stove, and when he lifted the lid, a delicious aroma filled the air.

The infirmary had a coal stove used for sterilizing needles and syringes. Back then, there were no disposable syringes; they were all reused. You would wash them, put them in a steamer for a while, and that was it.

Because there's a stove, getting water is convenient; you don't have to go to the boiler room to get it—who knows if the water there wasn't boiled properly, or if it's been boiled countless times.

Li Weidong had just finished eating and cleaned up when Factory Director Yang came in with two soldiers. The two men, holding pens and notebooks, asked him a lot of questions about hand grenades.

"Advisor Li, when will you have time to visit the arsenal?"

The man, in his forties, looked sincere. "I'll explain that to the workers on the spot..."

"Okay, I'll list out the questions one by one and then write down the answers."

Li Weidong said, "Come over tomorrow afternoon and take the booklet I wrote back with you."

"Okay, that's a good idea."

Researcher Zhang was filled with gratitude.

"Many of the materials used in that thing were substandard, so I could only make do with what I had, resulting in a significant performance degradation."

Li Weidong said, "Once the materials are available, we can further improve the quality of hand grenades."

"We will definitely put in the effort. Once we fully understand your design concept, we will make improvements based on the existing resources."

Researcher Zhang said, "Actually, Engineer Li, you should come to our design department. If you did..."

"Researcher Zhang, I'm still here, and you're already poaching people?"

Factory Director Yang was displeased. "Our steel rolling mill has helped you so much, and you still want to steal my reputation?"

"Director Yang, you can't say that. Wherever you work, you're contributing to the country."

Researcher Zhang didn't take it seriously.

"But our factory needs Chief Engineer Li more. Besides, what he needs can be designed here as well."

Factory Director Yang's face darkened. "Get out of here. I was hoping you could stay for a meal."

"Well, this meal is ruined."

Researcher Zhang sighed, shook his head, and muttered, "Old Yang, oh Old Yang..."

"Engineer Li, you can call it a day now and go back to your dorm to write your reports. You must be here by 9 PM tonight."

Factory Director Yang's tone was firm: "Or you'll have to stay up all night to finish the manuscript."

Li Weidong grinned, said hello, and headed out. He figured he might as well go back and check on how the renovations at his house were going.

Pushing open the gate to the courtyard, Li Weidong felt something was off—Yan Bugui, who usually sat there guarding the gate, was gone. Then he thought, "He's probably gone to the river with his fishing rod."

As he walked into the courtyard, the scene before him was familiar. Qin Huairu was squatting by the pool, washing clothes, crumpling a blue cloth jacket in her hands. Unlike usual, it was only two in the afternoon, not the time to wait for Sha Zhu to return with his lunchbox.

"Engineer Li is back!"

Qin Huairu raised her head, her pretty face full of smiles, her eyes sparkling as she stared intently at Li Weidong.

"Um."

Li Weidong nodded, his tone indifferent, "Try to read more books when you have time. At least be able to understand simple blueprints, otherwise your chances of being promoted to level four worker are slim."

Qin Huairu's eyes widened, and her face lit up instantly: "I can get promoted to level four worker? I'll definitely study hard! I'll study with Banggeng tonight!"

Li Weidong grunted in response, then turned to see Yi Zhonghai sitting on his doorstep. He raised an eyebrow at the old man, his gaze defiant.

Yi Zhonghai closed his eyes, refusing to look at Li Weidong. He was afraid he would get so angry he'd die if he looked any longer.

He knew perfectly well that Li Weidong was challenging him—clearly telling him that his plans were doomed to fail.

Once Qin Huairu's promotion is completed, Yi Zhonghai will lose control of this woman.

"I'm not angry. I won't stoop to the level of a short-lived person."

Yi Zhonghai silently thought to himself, "Tonight, this little brat will get shot. Once he's down, this place will still have to listen to me."

"No matter how good you are at fighting, can you stop a bullet?"

Qin Huairu was secretly delighted. She hadn't yet learned the tricks of manipulating people, and of course she was happy to earn her own living.

"Qin Huairu! What are you dawdling for? I'm starving! Hurry up and get me something to eat!"

From inside came Jia Zhangshi's howls, like a pig being slaughtered, her voice shrill and piercing.

Jia Zhangshi underwent surgery at the hospital. To save some money, she was discharged early and went home to recuperate.

The doctor explained it to her very clearly—if she had surgery, she would be able to walk slowly but not completely. If she only received conservative treatment without surgery, she would have to use crutches for the rest of her life.

Jia Zhangshi was furious. The surgery was done, but her appetite had returned, and she was getting hungry incredibly fast.

Li Weidong pushed open his door, and Xiao Xi was fast asleep. Lin Yurou was a little surprised to see him return, wondering why he was off work at this hour.

She was operating the sewing machine, busy with something in her hands.

"Dong-ge, you're back early today?"

Lin Yurou brought over a basin of water containing cold water and a towel.

"I came back to take care of some things, and I need to make another trip tonight."

Li Weidong wiped his face. "Have you checked out the renovations over there? How's it going?"

The window in the east wing was originally turned into a door, but it has now been turned back into a window. A new door has been opened on the side of the main room, leading directly to it.

"Chief Engineer Li, are you satisfied with what you see?"

With a broad smile, Old Qian asked cautiously, "The walls will be finished tonight, and the floor tiles can be laid tomorrow."

"Very efficient, well done!"

Li Weidong nodded in satisfaction.

"That's the food you gave me at lunchtime!"

Old Qian smacked his lips gratefully, "Rice porridge with mixed flour flatbread, plus a pot of stewed pork offal, tsk tsk, the taste is absolutely amazing!"

"Okay, after it's finished tomorrow, let it air out for two days, then we'll move in. After that, you can go and tidy up those three rooms over there."

Li Weidong gave a brief explanation.

Just as I finished speaking, I saw Xiaoxi rubbing her eyes and walking over in a daze.

"Brother! Brother! I can hear your voice!"

The little guy ran over, hugged Li Weidong's leg, and reached for the canvas bag on his shoulder. "Brother, what yummy treats did you bring?"

"I brought you a cantaloupe!"

Li Weidong smiled and took the bag off his shoulder. "Take this to your sister to wash it clean and peel the skin. I have to go draw."

Old Qian was still standing there when he happened to see Li Weidong raise his hand to take his bag, and a corner of his clothes was lifted up, revealing the holster at his waist.

The dark gun handle peeked out from its holster, startling Old Qian so much that his eyelids twitched.

"Brother, I want to eat watermelon."

Xiao Xi struggled to carry the canvas bag. "Doesn't the cantaloupe smell especially good?"

This child definitely hasn't tasted cantaloupe this year. Even if he ate it last year, he's probably long forgotten about it.

"You, all you ever think about is food."

Lin Yurou walked over quickly and took the canvas bag. "When your sister Yushui comes back, she said she'll bring you popsicles."

"Where did the rain go?"

Li Weidong asked casually.

"My classmates invited me out to play."

Lin Yurou answered softly.

Yu Shui, that girl, has had a tough life. She has an unreliable father and an irresponsible brother. Li Weidong sighed with a wry smile.

Lin Yurou hesitated for a moment, then said, "Brother Dong, aren't you being too good to her? Although I also think it's good to treat her like a younger sister, but... but..."

Seeing her hesitant manner, Li Weidong immediately understood what she was thinking.

"Xiaorou, are you jealous?"

He lowered his voice and chuckled, "Yushui has always treated me like her own brother since we were little, even closer than her own brother. After I left, she continued to take care of Xiaoxi, so in my heart, she's like my own little sister."

Lin Yurou's cheeks flushed instantly, and she quickly retorted, "Who's jealous! I... I'll go cook."

She turned and walked out, muttering to herself: "A biological brother? Dream on, more like a lover."

He had a lot on his mind, but couldn't utter a single word.

Seeing that her older siblings had finished chatting, Xiao Xi took a bright yellow melon out of her canvas bag and rinsed it under the tap with both hands. Just as she was about to take a bite, Lin Yurou, who had returned, took it and peeled it for her.

In the bedroom, Li Weidong sat at his writing desk, uncapped his pen, opened his notebook, and wrote down his design ideas for the durian shape and several key technical points. He also drew a few diagrams next to it.

Lin Yurou walked in carrying a small bowl and said softly, "Brother Dong, try this melon. It doesn't smell very fragrant, but it tastes really sweet, so sweet it makes your throat feel cloying."

Li Weidong put down his pen, took the pen, and glanced at it: "This is a honeydew melon."

Lin Yurou continued, "For lunch, I stewed small intestines, pig lungs, and pancreas together, added some potatoes, and also baked some flatbread made from a mixture of wheat and pork. Is that alright with the workers?"

Li Weidong stood up, reached out and pinched her cheek: "You know how to manage a household well."

Lin Yurou's face flushed, her body went limp, and she almost lost her balance. Luckily, he caught her with his other hand around her waist.

"Brother and sister, what are you doing?"