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

His plan was crystal clear: first, expose Xu Damao as a castrated rooster, then use him to deal with Sha Zhu. Yi Zhonghai and the deaf old woman, eager to get him out of trouble, would have no choice but to pay up. Next, pull Lou Xiao'e out of Xu Damao's abyss, then give him a glimmer of hope for recovery, but at an exorbitant price. Xu Damao would definitely reconcile with Sha Zhu, but where would the money come from? Only from the deaf old woman. As long as they could seize on the fact that the deaf old woman had money, they could strip her of her status as a recipient of government assistance. Without that protection, let's see how she throws a tantrum.

Thinking of this, Li Weidong couldn't help but smile.

At this moment, Yi Zhonghai, with a beaming smile, greeted him, "Chief Engineer Li, going to work so early? You're really diligent!"

This old man is incredibly shameless. He knows perfectly well that Li Weidong doesn't like him, but he still pretends to get close to him. He knows in his heart that Li Weidong doesn't buy it at all, but he still has to put on a show.

"Hehe, Yi Zhonghai, your skills are quite impressive."

Li Weidong, with a cold face, simply pushed the cart over.

The deaf old woman muttered curses behind his back: "You little beast, you have no respect for the elderly or the young, you'll die a violent death sooner or later!"

Yi Zhonghai gritted his teeth and said in a very low voice, "Let's settle Zhu Zi's matter first, and then we can deal with him when we have time."

Li Weidong walked to the hanging flower gate and silently said in his mind, "System, sign in."

A cold, mechanical female voice sounded in my mind: "Check-in successful. Host has obtained the following resources."

"A thousand catties of chicken eggs! A thousand catties of salted duck eggs!"

"One thousand catties of mung beans, one thousand catties of red beans."

"One thousand catties of soybeans, one thousand catties of black beans!"

"One thousand catties of broad beans, one thousand catties of peas!"

Li Weidong's mind went blank as he listened to the string of numbers. The system was at it again today, arguing with the beans. But then again, having these things wasn't bad at all.

He rode his bicycle and stopped in front of a large courtyard. The courtyard was quite large, with several smaller courtyards inside, each containing a two-story building.

There was a guard post at the main gate, with soldiers standing both inside and outside.

"Please make this call and tell them that Li Weidong is looking for someone."

Li Weidong said something to the soldier on guard duty.

After he finished the call, the soldier waved him inside.

Following the address on the note, Li Weidong found a small courtyard.

The courtyard wall only reached waist height, so you could see everything inside clearly from the outside.

Old Li was squatting in the yard tending to his vegetable patch when he looked up and saw Li Weidong. He smiled and said, "What brings you here so early in the morning? Want to grab something to eat?"

Li Weidong waved his hand: "I've already eaten. I have something to tell you. I came over before you went to work. It's just a few words; it's hard to explain over the phone."

"The assassination attempt?"

Old Li frowned. "I've had people investigating this as soon as possible."

"No, it's about Lou Hongyi."

Li Weidong also squatted down by the edge of the field, and the two of them squatted there. He reached out and picked a tomato, and the old man Li winced with heartache.

There were four or five tomato plants in the field, but they didn't bear much fruit because of the heat; only two or three ripe ones remained.

"Lou Hongyi? I remember him. Your steel rolling mill used to belong to him."

Old Man Li said.

"I plan to send him to Hong Kong; he has connections there."

Li Weidong munched on a tomato as he spoke, "I asked him to go over there and get me something. I have an idea; I need to get in touch with the outside world and obtain some top-notch research materials."

"And those things the country urgently needs, Boss Lou can also get them. As long as there's someone here who can take them on."

Old Li paused for a moment, then smiled in a somewhat enigmatic way: "Alright, don't worry about it. I'll arrange for him to leave as soon as possible."

"Boss Lou is all ready and can leave tomorrow."

Li Weidong spoke seriously.

After he finished speaking, he took another bite of the tomato in his hand.

"Okay, I'll have someone contact him later."

Old Li nodded.

"Okay, your tomatoes taste really good."

Li Weidong finished eating the one in his hand and reached for another.

"roll!"

Old Li slapped his hand away. "There are only two or three left, and you're already addicted. There are plenty of green peppers and eggplants over there; go waste those."

"You stingy person."

Li Weidong stood up and clapped his hands: "Let's go, I'll bring you a hundred next time."

"Don't forget to go fishing on Sunday, set off early."

Old Li instructed, "Meet at the same spot as usual."

Two guards in the distance watched the father and son bickering, their faces full of disbelief.

Li Weidong pedaled his old bicycle home. By the time he arrived at the yard, it was almost eight o'clock; everyone who was supposed to go to work had already left.

They happened to run into Yan Bugui, who was strolling outside with a fishing rod in his hand.

The guy shrank back and slipped past along the wall. Li Weidong sneered, thinking to himself: "You bastard Yan, wait until school starts and I'll make sure you pack your bags and get out of here, go home and eat your own food!"

As soon as I entered the courtyard, the aroma wafted into my nose. He Yushui was stewing an old goose.

Li Weidong had previously instructed Lin Yurou and He Yushui to stew the goose first, otherwise it would definitely spoil by evening.

Upon reaching the central courtyard, I saw Jia Zhangshi and Banggeng, mother and daughter, standing at the entrance, sniffing incessantly.

When Jia Zhangshi saw Li Weidong return, a sinister look appeared on her face, which was full of fat. She turned around and limped into the house.

Bang Geng's eyes were mostly white with little black, exuding an indescribable fierceness. He glared at Li Weidong and followed him inside.

"Damn it, that little brat! He doesn't even bother to bring us a bowl of good food!"

Madam Jia Zhang slumped in the chair like a lump of mud, muttering, "They didn't even know how to be filial to their old age. No wonder their parents died young!"

"Damn it, he's eating well but doesn't even think about me."

Bang Geng was feeling terrible. "That bastard Sha Zhu said he'd make me something delicious, but he poured it all in himself."

"My dear grandson, go and visit that short-lived bastard's house. Take anything of value you find."

Jia Zhangshi gave her grandson some advice.

"No, they always have people at their house."

Banggeng gritted his teeth, "If no one's around, I'll empty their house!"

"That's right, that bastard's family has never stopped having people."

Madam Jia was very disappointed. "Forget it, let's just sit at the door. At least there's some breeze there."

"We don't even know where those two good-for-nothings have gone."

Li Weidong pushed his cart towards the backyard. In the corridor, a deaf old woman stared at him, her eyes so venomous they could kill. Li Weidong simply sneered.

"That's strange. Bang Geng's white eyes are much more than his black eyes. His eyes don't look like Jia Dongxu, Yi Zhonghai, or Qin Huairu."

Li Weidong had some doubts.

He initially guessed that Bang Geng was Yi Zhonghai's son, but looking at those eyes, he suspected there was something fishy going on.

As soon as they arrived at the door, Xiaoxi rushed out.

Little Xi, her face beaming like a flower, called out to everyone she saw, "Brother, why are you only just getting back! We're all done! Look at my new dress, my sister made it!"

She spun around in place, her face full of smugness.

Lin Yurou and He Yushui had also finished getting ready. He Yushui pushed her bicycle over, and Li Weidong was strapping a child safety seat onto his own bike.

"Xiaorou, lock all the windows and lock the main door with a padlock."

As Li Weidong spoke, he lifted Xiaoxi onto the chair. Lin Yurou responded and turned to get back to work.

As they pushed the cart through the courtyard, Banggeng and Jia Zhangshi's eyes lit up. After Li Weidong and the others turned out of the courtyard, Jia Zhangshi said excitedly in a low voice:

"My dear grandson, it's your turn to show off your skills. I'll keep an eye on things here, so hurry up and go."

Banggeng crouched down and slipped into the backyard. When he saw that Li Weidong's door was locked tightly, his anger flared up.

He pushed at the window, but it was firmly shut; he couldn't squeeze through. Banggeng spat viciously, "Pah! Who are you trying to keep an eye on? You're a real piece of trash, a deadbeat!"

His words were exactly like those of his grandmother, Jia Zhangshi. But Banggeng hadn't even learned how to pry open a lock with a wire yet.

He sniffed, the aroma filling his throat, almost making him drool. That's when he noticed a blunder—the kitchen door wasn't locked.

Lin Yurou forgot about it.

Banggeng swaggered into the kitchen, where there was only some soy sauce, vinegar, and a pinch of salt. Looking for something to eat, all he found were a few scallions.

He smashed the soy sauce and vinegar bottles on the ground, shattering them to pieces. The salt shaker also broke with a crash, scattering white salt all over the ground.

"Not a single word!"

Banggeng said through gritted teeth. He reached for a copper ladle, intending to smash a hole in the bottom of the pot.

Lifting the lid, I saw that it was filled with old braising liquid, and a piece of pig's head was soaking in the broth.

This is what He Yushui did after cooking the goose. She threw the leftover pig's head meat into the braising liquid to soak, planning to take it out and eat it when she came back at noon, so it wouldn't spoil easily.

"There's food! There really is!"

Banggeng's eyes lit up. He scooped up the meat with a copper spoon, found a bowl, and carried it away.

As soon as I stepped out of the kitchen and down the steps, I saw a small coal stove in the corner with a clay pot on top of it, filled with water.

"screw you!"

Banggeng kicked over the coal stove. With a crash, the earthenware pot shattered, and the ceramic coal stove also broke into pieces on the ground.

Banggeng carried the plate of braised pig's head back home, feeling incredibly happy.

He had no idea that someone was hiding behind Liu Haizhong's window.

Liu Guangfu leaned against the windowsill, his eyes darting around. Watching Bang Geng's retreating figure, a thought suddenly popped into his head—this was a perfect opportunity to curry favor with Li Weidong.

Banggeng pushed open the door, and Jia Zhangshi immediately spotted the meat in his hand.

The old lady's eyes lit up. She glanced at the deaf old lady's tightly closed door across the way, grabbed the stick, and squeezed into the room.

"Here, take this one!"

Jia Zhangshi stretched out her dark, grimy hand, grabbed the meat, and tore it in half.

The edge of the piece with the stem was a bit chipped, only about a third of its original size. The meat was still steaming hot, so hot that he had to rub it between his hands.

"Grandma, your piece is bigger than mine, and it has more fat."

Banggeng was unhappy.

"Grandma is getting old, she needs to eat more oily food."

Jia Zhangshi opened her mouth and took a big bite, oil dripping down her chin. "What's wrong with a little less food for a child like you?"

"There's plenty of time ahead for you; you'll have plenty of good food to eat."

Banggeng gritted his teeth and took a big bite of meat. He cursed inwardly: "When I get more food, I'll eat it all up outside before I come back."

If we can't finish it, we'll just throw it away; we won't bring it back.

Li Weidong rode his bicycle and took Lin Yurou and He Yushui to the department store.

I bought some needles, thread and fabric, all for Lin Yurou to use for making clothes.

Xiao Xi sat on the front bar, a banana popsicle dangling from her mouth.

"Brother, this popsicle isn't as good as ice cream."

She licked her lips. "Can you buy me an ice cream?"

"We'll talk about it when we get back."

Li Weidong rubbed her head. "You can't eat too much cold food. We'll have goose when we get home later."

He also bought some fishing hooks and lines himself.

Looking at the time, it was almost eleven o'clock. Li Weidong told the two to go home.