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

Sha Zhu and Yi Zhonghai, standing not far away, heard everything clearly, their teeth practically grinding to powder. Anyone could see that Li Weidong was backing Yan Jiefang, just because Yan had just criticized them.

Yan Jiefang was pushed out to be used as a pawn.

The two were furious and turned to leave, gritting their teeth.

"No need, this is enough! We still have green peppers and potatoes at home, so we can just stir-fry a vegetable dish."

Yan Jiefang quickly said.

Li Weidong said calmly, "Stop crowding around, go back and cook."

With just one sentence, the onlookers dispersed. Everyone knew that no one could afford to offend Li Weidong; who didn't work at the steel rolling mill?

Yan Bugui's eyes lit up: "Jiefang, give me this canned beef. Your brother is going on a blind date tomorrow, so it'll be good to have some extra food. As his younger brother, you should do your part."

Yan Jiefang sneered, "I should contribute? What has he, as my older brother, done for me? Tonight is the first time I've brought my girlfriend home for dinner!"

As he spoke, he glanced at Yan Jiecheng standing beside him. This man had come with Yan Bugui, watching the spectacle with a grin the whole time, without uttering a single word.

"this……"

Yan Bugui was speechless.

"Also, Yan Jiekuang needs to move back home. It's not convenient for me here."

Yan Jiefang said calmly, "You all know why."

"That won't do! I'm trying to find a girlfriend, how can I squeeze in with Jie Kuang?"

Yan Jiecheng became anxious.

"That's Dad's house, why can't you let Jiekuang live there?"

Yan Jiefang raised his chin. "But this apartment is mine! Mine!"

"We've already separated from the family! You still want to mess with me? Dream on!"

Yan Bugui was in a real bind; this was a very troublesome matter.

"Boss, Jie Kuang will stay with you for a couple of days. I'll rent a place later."

Yan Bugui sighed, "But you'll have to pay half the rent."

Yan Jiecheng gritted his teeth: "Then let's rent a smaller one. I just do odd jobs, I can't earn much money."

"That little shack that old Zhang built in the front yard only costs two yuan a month!"

Yan Bugui said smugly, "I already made arrangements with him."

Old Zhang lived in a small house on the east side of the main gate, with a small courtyard outside and a small hut of about seven or eight square meters in the courtyard.

"One dollar it is."

Yan Jiecheng grinned and said, "Once Yan Jiekuang makes money, he'll have to pay me back this debt."

"Okay, I've got it."

Yan Bugui waved his hand, "Jiefang, don't you have any bar in your house? I still have a bottle of local liquor hidden away. Let's have a couple of drinks tonight, the three of us."

"Okay, okay, I'll go get the wine right away!"

Yan Jiecheng's eyes lit up; just thinking about the beef, pork, and fish that night made his mouth water.

"Wait, who said they were treating you to a meal?"

Yan Jiefang sneered, "Dad, keep that watered-down earthen cellar for yourself."

"You...you unfilial son..."

Yan Bugui was so angry his face turned green. He had been planning to have a nice meal tonight, but now that was all ruined.

"Stop yelling. I don't eat or drink your food anymore, and I even give you five yuan a month for retirement. That's more than enough for you."

Yan Jiefang said, "Look at Yan Jiecheng, he's even older than me. What has he ever given you? He's just sponging off your parents."

"You should have paid for this meal today, but I didn't ask you to pay a cent, so you should be grateful. Trying to get a free meal? No way."

"Yan Jiecheng, let's go!"

Yan Bugui was so angry that he grabbed Yan Jiecheng and started to walk out.

Just then, Li Weidong called out from the side, "Jiefang, I have some beer here, take two bottles over."

Yan Bugui felt incredibly frustrated, watching Li Weidong use his son Yan Jiefang to oppose him, but he was completely helpless.

Yan Bugui led Yan Jiecheng to the central courtyard, where they ran into the deaf old woman blocking Shazhu and insisting that he step over the brazier.

"Grandma, what kind of nonsense are you spouting... this is feudal superstition!"

Sha Zhu was a little reluctant.

"Zhu Zi, the old lady is doing this for your own good. Whether this thing is right or wrong is another matter, but it won't do any harm, so just go along with her and make the old lady happy."

Yi Zhonghai chimed in, "We're all made of flesh and blood, not those heartless beasts. We know what it means to respect the elderly."

Sha Zhu's lips twitched, but he still stepped over the brazier and went into his room.

"Zhu Zi, you must be suffering in there?"

The deaf old woman looked distressed. "Xu Damao, who caused your trouble, has finally gotten his comeuppance. His leg was broken, and he's still in the hospital."

"Really? That's great! I have to go to the hospital to see him tomorrow."

Sha Zhu immediately perked up.

"Zhu Zi, hurry up and start the fire to cook. The old lady specially bought fish and meat to welcome you home." Yi Zhonghai patted him on the shoulder, "The old lady loves your cooking; your aunt's cooking isn't up to par."

"Just you wait and see." Sha Zhu grinned, turned to look at the deaf old lady and Yi Zhonghai, his voice trembling: "Thank you, Grandma, thank you, Uncle. If it weren't for you two, my life would have been ruined."

"We're family, why are we speaking two different languages?" Yi Zhonghai said sincerely.

As soon as Sha Zhu stepped out of the house, he saw Qin Huairu leading Bang Geng back. He rushed over in three steps, almost tripping.

Sister Qin, are you alright? How's Bang Geng? Sha Zhu looked guilty. I was only away from home for two days, how did so many things happen?

"Zhu Zi, you're out too? Then I'm relieved." Qin Huairu's eyes reddened, and tears welled up in them. Sha Zhu felt a pang of heartache at the sight.

Don't worry, Sister Qin, I'll take care of things from now on!

Sha Zhu spoke with absolute certainty.

"Mom, why are you wasting your time arguing with this idiot at home?" Banggeng impatiently tugged at his mother's sleeve. "Hurry up and go home and stew some meat for me. I've been starving inside for the past two days."

"Zhu Zi, I'll head back now." Qin Huairu gave Sha Zhu a wink before leaving.

She knew perfectly well that she couldn't let this sucker, Sha Zhu, get away.

Sha Zhu watched Qin Huairu sway as she entered the room and couldn't help but chuckle foolishly.

"Oh, that silly Zhuzi!" The deaf old woman sighed, her teeth itching with hatred for Qin Huairu. "Zhonghai, hurry up and find Zhuzi a wife, or something bad will happen."

A hint of disdain flashed in Yi Zhonghai's eyes, but he spoke respectfully: "Alright, I'll take care of it. I'm having a banquet the day after tomorrow, so have someone bring the girl over. It won't be awkward when they meet."

"You're the most reliable person here. You have a clear goal now, right?" The deaf old lady nodded in satisfaction. "That's for the best, it couldn't be better."

Suddenly, a delicious aroma of beef wafted over.

This…this is beef! That little brat! The deaf old lady's mouth watered. She knew without a doubt that Li Weidong's family was stewing beef again.

In those days, cattle were the main source of labor, and apart from those that died of old age or disease, no one dared to kill cattle for meat.

"Grandma, I really can't do anything about this. We can try to find a way to get pork, but beef..." Yi Zhonghai shook his head. "How about I try to get some lamb?"

At this moment, Banggeng darted out of the house and sniffed like a dog.

"My dear grandson, don't smell it, that's beef." Jia Zhangshi, with a large bruise on her forehead, limped out.

You're no good! You made me get some good food, and you ate it all by yourself! Bang Gengchong glared fiercely at Jia Zhangshi, and you even got me sent to juvenile detention!

"Bang Geng, come here." Yi Zhonghai stared at the boy with shining eyes—this was his own flesh and blood.

Banggeng walked up to Yi Zhonghai and respectfully greeted him, "Grandpa Yi, did you need something?"

Looking at the child, Yi Zhonghai felt a surge of "fatherly instinct."

Four words. But he didn't realize that the reason the hamster was so polite to him was simply because he kept feeding him.

"Here, take these three White Rabbit candies and eat them."

Yi Zhonghai smiled broadly, "From now on, you have to be obedient, understand?"

"Understand."

Banggeng took the candy, turned around, and went back into the house.

Jia Zhangshi was huddled under the corridor when she saw the candy wrapper, and her mouth was practically watering.

"Give Grandma a piece of this. Her leg is broken, so she needs to eat something good to recover."

She held out her hand.

"No."

Banggeng shoved Jia Zhangshi aside and went inside.

Qin Huairu was stewing braised pork by the stove. Banggeng stood guard beside her, watching closely, afraid that someone would steal a bite—this meat was all bought for him.

Jia Zhangshi almost fell over, and seeing Bang Geng's appearance, she felt a chill run down her spine.

"No, Bang Geng is my support for the rest of my life. I can't let him have any complaints about me, and I can't let him hold a grudge against me."

Li Weidong brought out his carpentry tools and lumber, starting to figure out what kind of furniture he wanted to make. Before he could even finish thinking about it, the food was already on the table.

A large plate of braised beef head meat was stewed until very tender, a dish of smashed cucumber, a few scallions served with freshly made flatbread, and rice porridge in the pot.

Xiao Xi pulled the scallion out of the pancake with a look of disgust: "I don't eat scallions, they taste awful, I'll just eat the meat!"

"You've got a good eye for food. Why weren't you picky when we were eating wild vegetables?"

Lin Yurou stuffed the scallion into her pancake.

Li Weidong waved his hand with a smile: "It's alright, if the child doesn't like scallions, then he doesn't have to eat them. Xiaoxi, eat more cucumbers, you need to have a balanced diet."

He didn't put any rice porridge in front of him. He held a beer bottle in one hand and a flatbread wrapped with beef in the other, taking a sip of beer and a bite of flatbread, eating with great enjoyment.

Liu Haizhong's family moved the table outside, and the four of them were eating.

On the table were a plate of scrambled eggs, a plate of braised eggplant, and a plate of deep-fried cicadas—caught by Liu Guangfu. However, there weren't many cicadas today, only about a dozen. Liu Haizhong and Liu Guangqi took the lion's share, while Liu Guangfu only got two.

"That guy is eating really well, eating meat every day. There must be something wrong with him, especially beef!"

Liu Guangqi bit his chopsticks, his face full of displeasure.

"What's the problem?"

Liu Haizhong picked up a piece of food and said, "He bought it with his own money. If you earned four hundred yuan a month, I'd get you dragon meat if you wanted."

Liu Haizhong felt that as a leading cadre, he had to maintain the dignity of cadres and could not make up stories about people.

"Wasn't that meat also bought from **?"

Liu Guangqi lowered his voice, "Should we report it?"

Liu Haizhong glared at him: "Are you out of your mind? You dare to expose something like this? Who hasn't been to that kind of place? The red-light district is right there, why doesn't the police shut it down?"

"That means we'll turn a blind eye, unless you go too far. Buying a snack is no big deal!"

Liu Guangqi gulped down a mouthful of wine, then crunched on a fried cicada, his mouth full of crumbs. Neither father nor son noticed the venomous glint in Liu Guangfu's eyes.

Yan Jiefang brought out a small table from the house; it was a secondhand item given to him by Li Weidong.

On the table sat a plate of braised carp and a dish of shredded potatoes with green peppers. A few steamed buns were something they'd taken from the factory. Two bottles of beer were already opened, and Yan Jiefang and Xiao Juan sat down at the table to eat.

"Damn it... how am I supposed to live like this?"

Liu Guangqi clenched his fist.