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

Lin Yurou rolled her eyes at her.

Xiao Xi quickly stuffed the goose leg into her mouth and took a big bite.

Li Weidong waved his hand with a smile: "It's alright, goose meat is nutritious, I'm full now. I'll eat a couple more hawthorns later to help with digestion."

After the meal, Li Weidong didn't linger. He went out and borrowed a flatbed truck from the street office, found a secluded spot, and stacked the sawn boards and timbers one by one on it.

Li Weidong glanced at the neatly stacked red pine logs in the space, all given away for free by the sign-in system. He had barely had a thought when the system had already arranged everything efficiently, even attaching the invoice from the lumber mill.

The whole cart was full of good materials. Luckily, he had ten times the strength of an average person, otherwise it would have taken forever to haul them by donkey cart alone.

When they reached the main road, they ran into two porters pushing a cart to deliver goods—in this area, they were called "hub-bosses."

Li Weidong quickly called out to the people and paid them to lend a hand.

Several people worked together to move all the wood into the newly tidied house. They can take it whenever they need it.

"Dong-ge, wash your face first!"

Lin Yurou came over carrying a basin of hot water and a towel.

It's around 2 PM now, Xiao Xi must be taking a nap. I haven't seen He Yushui either, she's probably resting with her.

"I'm not washing anymore, I'm going to make the furniture myself."

Li Weidong carried out two long benches and placed them on the ground to serve as a carpentry workbench.

His first task was to make a bed. The one he was sleeping on now was too old and the material was no good. The batch of solid wood he had was thick and sturdy; it wouldn't break even after another hundred years.

Lin Yurou handed him tools and assisted him, and saw that Li Weidong was incredibly efficient. Without even touching the ink line or ruler, he used only a saw, plane, and chisel to quickly and efficiently produce all the parts.

When they first started working, not many people gathered around. But once the workpieces were piled up on the ground, more and more people came to watch.

"Hey, Chief Engineer Li's skills are really good!"

Old Zhao stroked his chin and clicked his tongue, "With this level of skill, they could get an eighth-grade worker at the woodworking factory!"

Yan Bugui and Yang Yuhua stared wide-eyed.

Yan Bugui had just returned from fishing when he heard that Li Weidong was making furniture. He didn't believe it at all—how could Li Weidong do everything? He quickly put down his bucket and dragged his wife over to see.

The fishing today was alright—of course, not as good as Li Weidong's. Four big crucian carp weighed over three pounds each, and I sold them already. I have about a dozen small whitebait left; I plan to make soup with them tonight, since nobody buys those.

Watching Li Weidong work so skillfully, almost like dancing, Yan Bugui understood: this guy's skills were truly top-notch.

Li Weidong moved the parts into the main room at the east end, intending to assemble them inside. If he assembled them outside and then carried them in, the door wouldn't be able to fit through.

The bed he made was two meters wide and two meters long, and it also came with two bedside tables.

Lin Yurou was helping out on the side when, for some reason, her face suddenly turned as red as a bright red cloth.

The style of this bed might seem a bit outdated by today's standards, but it's incredibly fashionable these days.

Old Zhao and Yan Bugui peered through the window. As the bed slowly took shape, Yan Bugui's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

"Wow, beds can be made like this?"

He smacked his lips, unable to close them for a long time.

The bed in Yan Bugui's room was a secondhand one he bought when he got married, just because it was big. Now one of the bed legs is wobbly.

Once a person gets old, even if they occasionally want to be intimate with their spouse, they have to be on tenterhooks, fearing that the bed might collapse.

He kept thinking to himself: If only Li Weidong could make him a new bed, that would be wonderful. Unfortunately, he knew there was absolutely no chance of that happening.

Time flew by, and it was around five o'clock in the afternoon. Li Weidong had finished making the writing desk and six chairs. Xiao Xi, Huaihua, and Xiao Dang, the three girls, were having a great time picking up wood shavings nearby.

The neighbors who were watching had changed, including Yi Zhonghai and Liu Haizhong.

Yan Jiefang and Liu Guangtian stayed by Li Weidong's side the whole time, assisting him.

"Li Weidong, are you getting rid of this old bed?"

Yan Bugui's eyes suddenly lit up.

Li Weidong's original bed was moved out because Lao Qian was bringing people to clean up the three rooms tomorrow, so they needed to make room.

Yan Bugui glanced at it and thought that Li Weidong's bed was really sturdy. Not to mention two people, even if Liu Haizhong and a fat man like Jia Zhangshi were to have sex together, it would definitely be able to hold up.

"What, you want it?"

Li Weidong curled his lip. "Don't even think about it. I'll dismantle it for timber, or even chop it up for firewood, rather than give it to you."

"I'm not taking it for free!"

Yan Bugui quickly stepped forward, "My bed has a frame, and it's made of much more wood than yours. I'll trade that for yours, okay?"

"With an air of superiority?"

Li Weidong stopped what he was doing and looked up at him.

"Yes, yes, the carvings on it are so beautiful!"

Yan Bugui said repeatedly.

"Okay, bring it over here so I can take a look."

Li Weidong nodded.

Yan Bugui looked a little embarrassed: "We can't lift it out, we have to dismantle it. It's been so many years... Yan Jiefang, Yan Jiekuang, you two go help Yan Jiecheng dismantle that big bed."

"Alright, I'll go see it myself."

Li Weidong picked up the hammer and chisel and followed Yan Bugui forward.

Yi Zhonghai stood in the courtyard, staring at an eight-immortal table for a long time, muttering to himself, "This craftsmanship requires at least an eighth-grade level."

This table was just made by Li Weidong.

Liu Haizhong also looked puzzled: "That's right, how come this guy can do everything? He doesn't even have a job, but he can live a life of luxury just by doing carpentry."

"All I can say is that the Li family's ancestral graves are emitting auspicious smoke."

"Alright, stop looking. There's going to be a meeting later, probably because of all the things that have happened in our compound. The three of us are going to get a scolding."

Yi Zhonghai sighed.

Liu Haizhong muttered, "What can I do? Won't this affect my future career as a cadre?"

He firmly believed that he would become a cadre sooner or later.

As soon as Li Weidong entered Yan Bugui's house, he saw the bed. It was a canopy bed, and a Ming Dynasty style one at that. He recognized it immediately, and it was made of rosewood.

For him, recognizing wood is a fundamental skill.

The bed frames on the north side are indeed far inferior to those on the south side. The designs on the north side are much simpler.

Li Weidong dismantled the bed completely in no time.

"Lift slowly, these pieces of wood look alright, a few more pieces than my bed."

He nodded.

Yan Bugui's eyes darted around, and he came up with another idea: "Alright, you don't need that eight-immortal table anyway, so why don't you..."

"Don't be ridiculous. My bed is perfectly fine; why would I trade it for your lame one?"

Li Weidong said in a calm tone, "If you feel you've been taken advantage of, then let's just forget about it."

"No, no, no! Change it, change it!"

Yan Bugui quickly waved his hand.

Li Weidong snorted. He didn't care about the eight-immortal table at all, but he just didn't want Yan Bugui to get the better deal.

The two sides quickly exchanged items. Li Weidong moved the bed into the east wing and reassembled it. The broken leg was nothing to him; he repaired it neatly in a few moments. Yan Bugui's eyes nearly popped out of his head.

"It's fixed now... or should we...?"

"roll."

Li Weidong only threw out one word.

Yan Bugui's face was long and he turned to leave, feeling increasingly angry as if he had suffered a great loss.

"Xiaorou, clean this bed tomorrow. You'll be moving in tomorrow. Oh, and bring the bamboo bed with you too."

Just as Li Weidong was about to continue working, a hoarse voice suddenly came from the middle courtyard.

"A general meeting is starting! Everyone come out!"

Xiao Xi rushed over and hugged his leg: "Brother, let's go see what's going on!"

"Let's go, there's definitely going to be a show today."

Li Weidong grinned.

"You guys go ahead, Yu Shui and I will stay home and cook."

Lin Yurou said, "It's time to eat now that the meeting is over."

Li Weidong, carrying a stool and holding Xiaoxi's hand, had just stepped out of the gate when he bumped into a couple in their fifties who were hurrying towards the backyard.

He paused for a moment, then immediately remembered—Xu Damao's parents, Xu Fugui and Tian Guifen.

When he left for university, the couple still lived here. Later, after their son got married, they moved to the suburbs, leaving the house to Xu Damao alone.

Now that I've received a letter from Xu Damao, I'm rushing back.

Xu Damao was about to leave for a meeting when he saw his parents arrive. His face remained tense: "Alright, stop asking. I'll make things clear. Sha Zhu injured me, so I can't have children anymore. He had to pay me 5,500 yuan in compensation."

341

"I need to get this illness treated first."

Xu Fugui's face was as long as a donkey's, his bald head completely devoid of hair. His eyebrows were like two brooms, and his mouth turned up like a catfish's, making him look even more grotesque than Xu Damao.

"Yes, yes, we should find Yi Zhonghai and demand an explanation."

Xu Fugui yelled, "Damn it, if it weren't for him backing you up, would Sha Zhu have beaten you up like this?"

"Exactly, Yi Zhonghai has to pay too!"

Tian Guifen yelled along from the side. She was as thin as a bamboo pole, and her face was full of suffering. Xu Damao was about the same size as her.

"Let's go listen to what kind of nonsense Yi Zhonghai has to spout."

Xu Fugui glanced up and saw Li Weidong, then paused for a moment. "Oh, isn't this the young man from the Li family? He doesn't even greet me as Uncle Xu..."

"dad!"

Xu Damao quickly grabbed him, "This is Chief Engineer Li from our factory, and also the head of the medical department. Don't talk nonsense!"

Xu Fugui had previously worked at a steel rolling mill, as a movie projectionist. After teaching Xu Damao, he managed to transfer to the cinema. Xu Damao then took over his job.

Li Weidong glanced at Xu Fugui, knowing full well that he wasn't a good person either. Of all these beasts, Xu Fugui was the worst. He had a lot of arguments with Li Weidong's father in the past.

Xu Fugui used all sorts of underhanded tricks back then. If Li Weidong's family hadn't been martyrs' relatives, he might have been kicked out of the compound long ago.

That old bastard is still eyeing the Li family's house. The entire family of three is utterly despicable.

Li Weidong snorted coldly and turned to walk towards the central courtyard.

"What are you doing? One sentence from him and I'm in deep trouble!"

Xu Damao snapped at Xu Fugui, "He can deal with us like crushing an ant!"

"Besides, he's a miracle doctor; he can cure my illness!"

"Never mind that for now, let's go see what kind of meeting it is."

Li Weidong led Xiao Xi to the central courtyard and found a secluded corner to sit down. Yan Jiefang and Liu Guangtian followed with stools, sitting on either side of him like bodyguards.

A small table was set up under the old locust tree, with Yan Bugui and Liu Hai sitting on either side. Yi Zhonghai sat directly opposite them, the three of them putting on quite an air of importance.