Courtyard House: My System - Artificial Human

"Of course! Sha Zhu has been a troublemaker since he was little, always getting into fights. He's got no manners! Unlike our Jie Cheng, who's been obedient since he was a kid. I've taught him to be very well-behaved!"

Lin Weidong recognized Yan Bugui's voice and gave a weak "heh" as a response.

I thought to myself, your son is obedient now, but he might not be in the future. With your parenting methods, he won't even have enough to eat if he doesn't listen!

At this moment, people in the courtyard were talking amongst themselves.

Someone was shining a flashlight and shouting that they wanted to take off Xu Damao's pants to see how serious his injuries were.

Xu Damao was unwilling. Regardless of whether they were genuinely worried or just wanted to see him make a fool of himself, he tightened his belt and resisted desperately.

Only one thought crossed my mind: Damn it! Who came up with this terrible idea? If I take my pants off today, how will I ever be able to face anyone tomorrow?

Men of Beijing, even if they lose their heads, they'll only have a big scar, but they can't lose face!

"It's okay, it's okay! I'm fine! You don't need to worry about me!"

He shouted loudly that he was fine and it didn't hurt at all!

Xu Damao himself didn't appreciate it; as a neighbor, a word of concern was enough. The people in the courtyard found it boring, so they dispersed in twos and threes to chat.

I imagine that even if someone kicks you while wearing a cotton-padded coat in winter, they won't get hurt much.

Lin Weidong was surprised to find that Yi Zhonghai, the Moral Celestial Venerable, had not made a move. Upon closer inspection, he discovered that Yi Zhonghai was standing at his doorstep watching the commotion, and seemed quite pleased with himself.

Lin Weidong, like everyone else, just watched the spectacle without getting involved, and then picked up his teacup and walked back.

After taking a few steps, he discovered that Yan Bugui was following him closely.

"Is there anything else, Teacher Yan?"

"Hey! It's nothing... Hey Kobayashi! Your tea smells pretty good, what kind is it?"

Lin Weidong was speechless for a moment.

I thought to myself, "No wonder even a manure truck has to taste the saltiness when it passes by! There are so many people in the yard watching the show, and you're the only one who's eyeing my teacup?"

"You've stumped me, Teacher Yan. I really don't know. Anyway, I put all the remaining points my brother had into it."

Lin Weidong left after speaking, leaving Yan Bugui, who had been silenced, with his mouth open but unable to speak.

He was certain it was excellent tea! His nose had never given him a second thought!

And there must be some left over. Who would be willing to drink such good tea all at once? That would be a waste!

Yan Bugui, with his sleeves tucked in, walked towards the front yard, glancing back every few steps, his nose twitching as if he could still smell the aroma of tea wafting in the air.

Back home, he didn't forget to share his tea-tasting secrets with his wife, smacking his lips as he spoke.

"Didn't you say this afternoon that Xiao Lin was quite polite to you? Maybe he really did finish drinking."

"Probably... I don't think Xiao Lin is stingy at all. He's much easier to get along with than his brother. After all, he comes from a cadre family; they live a good life."

"Once our son gets married and starts working, he'll definitely be successful. Who in this neighborhood is more educated than us? Why envy others?"

"That's true..." Yan Bugui chuckled again. He considered himself a cultured person and was full of confidence in educating his children.

Inside the courtyard house.

Lin Weidong carried a kerosene lamp, took out some glowing charcoal from the stove, and warmed it in the stove on the kang (heated brick bed) in the bedroom.

I spread out the quilt to test it, but the kang (heated brick bed) was ice cold.

Lin Weidong felt a chill in his heart. In the past, this work was always done by his "uncle," so how could it be his turn to do it?

Watching the commotion made us miss the chance to warm the kang (heated brick bed).

It is human nature to seek warmth in winter, and Lin Weidong did not want to tough it out by relying on his body.

The family is missing a wife who can warm the kang (a traditional heated brick bed)!

Recalling the warmth and beauty of his past life, Lin Weidong's thoughts wandered somewhat.

It would be best to bring in another clone to live in the courtyard, like an "uncle" to help him with his work, otherwise he can't sleep on a cold kang every day.

After a while, Lin Weidong, who had crawled into bed, checked the sign-in function.

Since his transmigration, studying the system has been one of his few forms of entertainment, and he does this every night.

Most of the time he was taking stock of the supply boxes and system space, but today he made a point of leaving a sign-in slot for his evening entertainment.

Lin Weidong confirmed his check-in, and a paper package suddenly appeared in his system space.

[Sign-in successful. Congratulations, host, you have received half a catty of Gao Mo Tea.]

Lin Weidong: ...

Just when Lin Weidong thought it was time, the system reacted again.

【首次签到额外奖励，恭喜宿主获得猪肉50斤、牛肉50斤、羊肉50斤、鸡鸭鹅各五只、鸡蛋一百个、细粮一百斤、粗粮一百斤、冬储蔬菜共200斤、豆类製品共50斤、油盐酱醋及调味品共50斤、中华香菸5条、大前门香菸10条、茅台酒5瓶、汾酒10瓶、六安瓜片一斤】

That's more like it! Giving someone only half a jin of Gao Mo (a type of Chinese liquor) makes him think he's some kind of powerful figure?

Lin Weidong sorted through the extra ingredients in the space and understood.

Although the supplies were plentiful, they weren't particularly valuable in the 1950s; they just seemed plentiful when suddenly put together.

Moreover, there are far fewer varieties, which is in line with the categories of this era.

It wasn't as ridiculously abundant as the supplies in the crates.

I slept until dawn.

Outside the courtyard, a lively atmosphere filled the air with the sounds of people chatting and laughing.

After lingering in bed for a while, Lin Weidong got up, dressed, and squatted on the snow in the yard to wash up before returning to the house to enjoy the breakfast sent over by his "uncle".

Compared to usual, there were two more servings of tofu pudding today, which were sweet and savory.

The most important task today is to get things done.

I heard my older brother explain the process during dinner yesterday; it's not simple.

The first step is for the older brother to take his personal information to his workplace so that they can issue a certificate to change the personal relationship into an organizational relationship.

Then, go to the organization in charge of personnel work to review your personal information, reserve your file, and wait for assignment.

Finally, the personnel department would issue a letter of introduction, allowing Lin Weidong to report to his work unit.

If Lin Weidong had to choose, he would rather stay home and live off his parents, especially since he rewarded 20 clones last night. He has almost nothing to worry about in the future.

But times have changed, and so have circumstances; this is a job he absolutely has to do!

Bored after dinner and with no phone calls to notify him, Lin Weidong, unable to go anywhere, strolled around the yard with a cigarette in his mouth.

After a closer look, I couldn't help but shake my head.

To put it nicely, it's an antique-style building with dougong brackets, but in reality, it's an old courtyard house. Some of the walls are cracked by the cold wind. There's no electricity or lights, and the windows are made of paper, just enough to keep out the wind and rain.

As for the furniture arrangement inside the house, Lin Weidong was curious but didn't touch it. His older brother and his wife hadn't tidied up yet, and he didn't want to annoy people by being clumsy.

……

"Ouch!"

"Damn it! Who's sprinkling water in front of my door? How could they be so inconsiderate?"

Suddenly, after a mournful wail, a curse rang out from the courtyard outside.

Lin Weidong, who was idly pacing around, suddenly brightened up and opened the door behind the wall while holding his teacup.

There were already many women and children standing in the courtyard, and everyone's eyes were focused on a woman who was nearly forty years old.

The woman was short and stocky, but fair-skinned and plump, looking several years younger than Jia Zhangshi in the TV series.

At that moment, she was sitting on the icicles by the door, crying and wailing.

Some kind-hearted women also stepped forward to help.

Yang Ruihua, Yan Bugui's wife, was one of them.

But she didn't get any credit for her help.

After getting up, Jia Zhangshi patted her bottom and looked at her as if she were an enemy, her muscular face twitching as she questioned her.

"Old Yan's family, you have to pay me back! Your old Yan splashed water here this morning, causing me to trip over it. At least... one yuan!"