Courtyard House: Starting as an eighth-grade worker, with too many wives.

A bloody tooth lay there quietly.

There was a hole in my front tooth; when I licked it with my tongue, it felt cool.

I want to cry without tears.

But then I thought, anyway, teeth will fall out sooner or later, and they can grow back.

Let's take a look at the good stuff in the bundle—pork, chicken, lard, rice...

Suddenly I didn't feel so sad anymore.

cry?

Why are you crying?

With so much delicious food, crying is just not worth it.

He nimbly slung his bundle over his shoulder, pushed open the door, and slipped home.

Madam Jia had already lifted the curtain and was waiting.

Upon seeing him return, she yanked open the curtain and reached out with her other hand to grab the bundle.

"My dear grandson!"

The bundle was spread out on the table, and Jia Zhangshi's eyes narrowed into slits as she grinned from ear to ear.

"Meat, eggs, lard... oh my, and so much rice!"

She reached out and touched the ingredients, pressing her fingers on the pork and then scooping up a skein of rice to smell it.

"Very good!"

My mind is already starting to plan what to cook and how to eat it.

"Banggeng is truly a good grandson of yours, you did a great job." She hugged Banggeng tightly and kissed his dirty face twice. "He took all the valuable things."

Banggeng broke free from her embrace, still clutching a handful of pork cracklings in his hand.

They popped the pieces into their mouths one by one, chewing until saliva and snot streamed down their faces.

"Milk, pork cracklings smell so good!"

Jia Zhangshi also had a craving, so she grabbed a handful and ate it.

He chewed while muttering curses.

"What's the point of them cooking for themselves yesterday and not sharing with us?"

She chewed it hard, making a crunching sound.

"Now it's all in my mouth, isn't it?"

As she spoke, she remembered the humiliation she suffered yesterday, and she clenched her teeth even harder, wishing she could chew on Li Jianguo's flesh.

"These things were bought with the three hundred yuan we had at home." She looked at Banggeng. "It's only right that we take them back. Banggeng, do you understand?"

"Grandma, I've got it!"

Banggeng nodded vigorously as he ate.

"These were all bought with our family's money, so they should be eaten by our family. They should be taken back."

"Yes, that's right."

Jia Zhangshi grabbed another handful of pork cracklings.

"Grandma cooked for you all tonight. So much good food, we can't let that little beast have it."

As the grandmother and grandson were planning what to eat, back at the factory, Sha Zhu's plan to intimidate Li Jianguo failed.

Li Jianguo followed the factory director and experts into the canteen.

He sat at a table by himself.

Dishes were laid out on the table, but the group barely touched them, still discussing cooking techniques. Li Jianguo barely looked up, gesturing something on a piece of paper as he spoke.

Sha Zhu carried the dishes over and placed them on the table.

Li Jianguo didn't even lift his eyelids.

Li Jianguo didn't pay any attention to when they arrived or when they left.

Sha Zhu returned to the kitchen, seething with anger.

He wanted to teach them a lesson, but it turned out he was nothing in their eyes.

My face was black all noon.

Ma Hua, unaware of what was wrong with his master, cautiously approached him, intending to offer a few words of comfort.

"master--"

"roll!"

Sha Zhu yelled and slammed his apron on the cutting board.

The MCA members shrank back in fear and slunk away.

After finishing the meal, Director Yang took out a paper package from his pocket and handed it to Li Jianguo.

"Factory manager, what's this?"

"The subsidy the factory gave you."

Factory Director Yang shoved the paper package into his hand.

"I heard from the security guards that you walk to work in the morning?"

Li Jianguo was stunned for a moment.

I didn't expect that Director Yang would even notice this.

She smiled somewhat embarrassedly.

"I just arrived yesterday and haven't had time to buy a bicycle yet."

"This is my fault, I didn't think it through."

Factory Director Yang patted him on the shoulder with a strong pat.

"You're an expert in our factory, how can we let you walk to work?"

He pointed to the paper package.

"Here are bicycle tickets, watch tickets, and industrial tickets. See if this is enough."

Li Jianguo looked down at the stack of tickets.

It's a little hot to the touch.

These days, you can't just have money to buy things; you also need coupons. Without connections, you can't get coupons.

The steel rolling mill has an annual quota, but it's not easy for workers to get it. When someone gets married, relatives and friends contribute, and if they can scrape together enough for a bicycle ticket, that's considered a sign of status.

At that time, a bicycle was no less valuable than driving a BMW in later generations.

"Why are you being so polite with me?"

Factory Director Yang stuffed the ticket into his hand.

"Take it. Just let me know if you need anything else. I may not have many other great skills as the factory manager, but I can certainly take care of your worries."

Old Qi also tried to persuade him from the side.

"If you want to do something well, you must first have the right tools."

He put down his teacup and looked at Li Jianguo.

"Your time is precious. If a bicycle can save you time, then it's useful. Take it."

"Yes, yes, Mr. Qi is right."

Factory Director Yang nodded repeatedly.

"An expert like you has a very valuable time."

Li Jianguo then stopped being polite and accepted the ticket.

Xu Damao was eating at the next table, his eyes kept glancing this way.

Seeing Director Yang pull out a stack of bills and hand them to Li Jianguo, he was so envious his eyes almost popped out.

He went through a lot of trouble to buy a bicycle back then.

I had to ask around and pull strings, begging and pleading, and it was only with great difficulty that I finally managed to get a ticket.

Li Jianguo, on the other hand, is quite different.

The leader kept chasing after him to give him votes.

We're both human, even living in the same hospital, yet our treatment is so different.

After dinner, everyone knew that Li Jianguo had only arrived in Beijing yesterday, so they felt bad asking him to work overtime any further.

As soon as he got off work, Li Jianguo prepared to buy a bicycle.

Mr. Qi is right, there's no need to waste time on the road.

Yu Haitang and her colleagues were walking out when she saw Li Jianguo preparing to leave work alone, and she slowed down.

"Hey, Haitang, what are you looking at?"

Her colleague followed her gaze and immediately laughed.

"What's wrong? Has our Begonia fallen for worldly desires?"

Yu Haitang's face flushed red, and she reached out to punch her colleague.

"Are you kidding me? Don't talk nonsense!"

She turned her head, but couldn't help but keep glancing at that figure out of the corner of her eye.

As I looked at it, a hint of inferiority surfaced in my eyes.

"Who wouldn't like such an outstanding man?"

She sighed softly.

"Didn't you see in the canteen today? Director Yang gave him bicycle tickets and industrial tickets on his own initiative. Think about it, who else in our factory gets this kind of treatment? Everyone's so envious."

The colleague nodded.

"That's true. This man is too outstanding."

Qin Huairu listened silently from the side.

Their eyes followed Li Jianguo's retreating figure.

I remember how he dealt with those people in the courtyard, how he stood in the middle of the crowd, neither humble nor arrogant, leaving an old man speechless.

"He's really amazing..."

In the end, ripples stirred in my heart.

Li Jianguo went to the department store.

Salespeople at that time were not as customer-centric as they are in later generations.

He was too young, and nobody paid any attention to him when he went in.

I stood in front of the counter for a while, the sound of people cracking sunflower seeds filled the air, but no one came over.

"Hello there."

He knocked on the counter.

I'm going to buy a bicycle.

The saleswoman, who was eating sunflower seeds, finally looked up and glanced at him.

"Where did this young man come from?"

She looked Li Jianguo up and down, a disdainful smile creeping onto her lips.

"Don't joke around here. Do you know how expensive bicycles are?"

Li Jianguo never expected that when he came to buy a car, he would be doubted about his ability to afford it, and with such an attitude.

He frowned and stared coldly at the sales clerk.

"I said I'd buy a car."

Word by word.

"Stop talking nonsense, push the car over here so I can take a look."

The sales clerk was taken aback by that gaze, then became angry and impatiently waved her hand.

"Get lost! This thing is expensive, you think you can just look at it whenever you want? Can you afford to pay for it if you break it?"

If it weren't for the fact that this was the only bicycle shop in the whole city, Li Jianguo would have really turned around and left.

He pulled two bicycle tickets out of his pocket and slapped them on the counter.

It sold for another two hundred yuan.

"You're telling me, can I afford it or not?"

The sales clerk, with her sharp eyes, noticed a stack of other tickets in his pocket and was immediately taken aback.

"You...you young man, you stole it, didn't you?"

"I am an engineer at the steel rolling mill."

Li Jianguo stared at her coldly.

"Do you think I need to steal?"

The sales clerk opened her mouth, but couldn't say a word.

"Cash on delivery"

Li Jianguo pushed the tickets and money forward.

"Hurry up. I don't have time to waste here."

The sales clerk was stunned and dared not delay any longer, so she quickly went to push the cart.

Li Jianguo checked it carefully, confirmed that there was no problem, and then rode away.

Someone tried to trade his bicycle ticket with him halfway through the journey, but he refused.

Inside the courtyard, Banggeng's excitement wore off, and he began to feel pain.

My tooth fell out, and the bleeding in my mouth hasn't stopped yet.

A large, red, shiny bump appeared on his forehead, and it hurt so much that he cried out when touched.

After her initial excitement wore off, Jia Zhangshi began to feel sorry for her grandson.

"Ouch, why did you bump into something so badly?"

She muttered to herself as she wiped the blood from the stick.

"It's all Li Jianguo's fault! He doesn't even bother to clean the kitchen, and he tripped over my precious grandson."

She became increasingly angry as she spoke, her teeth grinding together.

"Wait, Grandma will get you justice. She'll make him pay!"

On his way back, Li Jianguo bought an old hen and some mushrooms, intending to make soup.

At this time of year, the hens are raised on insects and grass seeds, and their meat is especially delicious.

Just thinking about it makes his mouth water.

The bicycle bell rang.

Ring ring—

When Jia Zhangshi saw Li Jianguo return through the window, her eyes lit up.

Speak of the devil and he appears.

I was just thinking about how to make him pay me back when he came back.

The timing was perfect.

Before Li Jianguo could even park the car, Jia Zhangshi had already sped off.

The trip to buy a bicycle took some time, and by the time Li Jianguo returned to the compound, most of the people who were supposed to be off work had already come back.

Some are cooking, others are cleaning.

His brand-new bicycle caused a sensation as soon as he entered the courtyard.

Almost everyone ran out to see.

That feeling was like someone buying a BMW in the 1990s.

"Li Jianguo, you just got here and you've already bought a car?"

The old man looked on with envy, wishing that car were his own.

His family was the first in the entire compound to buy a bicycle, and he even bought it secondhand after being very frugal. It was a bit worn out, but at least it was a bicycle.

Not long after he became number one, a new car appeared in the yard.

He felt incredibly bitter.

"Um."

Li Jianguo parked his car and casually gave a reply.

"Walking to work takes too much time; having a car is much more convenient."

He didn't have any major conflicts with his third uncle, and he knew he was stingy, so he must be feeling a bit resentful and amused right now.

Xu Damao also strolled back.

He wasn't in a hurry to go home after get off work. On the way, he bought two ounces of sunflower seeds and peanuts and ate them as he walked.

Upon seeing Li Jianguo's bicycle, his eyes lit up, and he quickly went to greet him.

"Mr. Li, you bought the car so quickly?"

He circled the bicycle, praising it enthusiastically.

"Director Yang's vote came at just the right time. We won't have to walk tomorrow."

Xu Damao is a treacherous and cunning man, full of bad intentions, but it must be said that he can be quite eloquent when he's flattering people.

Li Jianguo rarely gave him a kind look.

"We really need to thank Director Yang for helping us resolve the ticket issue."

"That's what Director Yang should do."

Xu Damao spat out the sunflower seed shells, looking very serious.

"Your task is to lead our factory's development; you're handling big things. These small matters shouldn't concern you."

It feels good to be flattered.

Li Jianguo nodded slightly.

"Alright, I'll take your kind words."

He pointed to the chicken hanging on the handlebars.

"I just bought some chicken, wanna grab a drink tonight?"

Xu Damao glanced at the old hen and swallowed hard.

After thinking about it, he shook his head.

"No, no. Master Li, you must eat and drink well and contribute to the country. I'm just a free person, I won't bother you. Xiao'e has prepared the meal."

Li Jianguo readily accepted the offer.

"Alright, I won't force you anymore."

Sha Zhu stood at his own door, looking at Xu Damao's servile manner, and rolled his eyes to the sky.

"Look at you wagging your tail like that."

He shouted at the top of his lungs.

"Anyone who didn't know better would think you were begging."

"Silly Zhu!"

Xu Damao pouted in anger and turned away.

"Shut your stinking mouth. Calling you 'Silly Pillar' is no exaggeration—you're a complete idiot."

I'm too lazy to argue with him.

People without brains think they're something special when they get fooled.

Li Jianguo watched them bickering with amusement, glanced at Sha Zhu, and said nothing.

I locked the car and got ready to cook.

An old man watched for a long time, and when he saw Li Jianguo was about to leave, he couldn't help but speak up.

"Li Jianguo".

Li Jianguo paused and turned around.

"You lock your room every day, aren't you afraid your bicycle will be stolen if you leave it here?"

An old man stood with his hands behind his back, a concerned expression on his face, but his eyes held something else entirely.

Hey.