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

They have caught up with the development speed of developed countries that took hundreds of years in just a few decades.

It's not just about catching up.

In many fields, they have even achieved a leapfrog development, completely surpassing others.

And now, he has arrived.

He is confident that he can shorten this time even further.

For thousands of years, they have stood at the top of the world.

I just took a nap.

Sooner or later, it will return to its rightful place.

After finishing writing the letter, Li Jianguo let out a long sigh of relief.

He folded the letter and put it in an envelope.

I looked up and gazed at the night view outside the window.

The moon hung on the treetops, its cool light casting a dim glow over the courtyard.

His heart surged with even greater emotion.

-

Beijing.

An office.

Old Zhou picked up the letter from the table.

Upon seeing the sender's name, he smiled for the first time in days.

"That kid's letter finally arrived."

He muttered to himself, his tone filled with anticipation.

"I wonder what he'll say."

He opened the letter and read it carefully.

Read it word by word.

When Zhou Lao saw Li Jianguo's criteria for choosing a spouse, he couldn't help but laugh and curse:

"By this kid's standards, I don't think he'll ever find a girlfriend. Only he would say something like that to shut me up."

He put down the letter and shook his head.

"Forget it, forget it. It's just that I, this old man, have been meddling. Since he has such lofty ambitions, let him go find one himself. I want to see what kind of wife he ends up marrying. If she's not as good as he claims, I'll use that as a way to shut him up."

Old Zhou was talking to himself, and then he started laughing.

This is a junior he values ​​highly.

He was genuinely happy that he had such an ambition.

Keep reading.

When Zhou Lao saw Li Jianguo's passionate words, his expression gradually became serious.

He stared at the letter, motionless.

After reading the last word, he put down the letter.

He reached out and touched the cigarette pack on the table.

He took out a cigarette.

ignite.

His eyes were somewhat unfocused amidst the swirling smoke.

"This world ultimately belongs to the young."

He muttered to himself.

With such energetic and ambitious young people, how can our country not prosper? How can it not develop?

He took a drag of his cigarette and slowly exhaled.

"What we old guys have to do is protect and support them."

He gazed out the window, his eyes distant.

"I truly hope... that before I die, I can see a country that is renewed and thriving with the rising sun."

He stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray.

He glanced at the letter on the table again.

"People like this deserve our full support."

He even forgot about the troubles he had been having at work these past few days.

He rarely showed a good mood.

When the secretary came in, she was somewhat surprised to see him like this.

"Old Zhou, why are you so happy today? Is there some good news?"

The secretary was puzzled—there seemed to be nothing to be happy about lately, but a lot of troubles, and the work had become much more difficult.

Old Zhou raised his head and looked at him.

"I am happy. For this country, for the young people of this country. Seeing them makes me happy!"

The secretary looked at him with a puzzled expression.

But I still took the cigarette from his hand.

"The doctor said you can't smoke because of your health. You shouldn't smoke anymore."

"I'm happy today!"

Old Zhou smiled.

You could tell he was genuinely happy.

He wasn't even angry when his cigarettes were taken away.

Normally, if his cigarettes were confiscated, he would at least grumble a bit.

The secretary turned to leave.

Old Zhou called him over.

"Pass the instructions down. Increase support for young people who make outstanding contributions to science and technology. Remember this: the world always belongs to the young!"

The secretary carefully noted down Mr. Zhou's words and hurriedly left to assign tasks.

But he was still wondering to himself—why did Old Zhou suddenly become interested in these young engineers today?

However, he couldn't fathom his leader's thoughts.

Just focus on doing your job well.

-

the other side.

After finishing writing the letter, Li Jianguo completely relaxed.

He quickly washed up and lay down on the bed.

I closed my eyes and fell asleep quickly.

He has a lot to do.

Getting enough sleep is essential to maintaining energy levels and getting more done.

Now that he's here, he won't just sit around doing nothing.

Wake up early the next morning.

As usual, he started cooking.

Today, he is going to bake a cake.

Without the right tools, it's a bit troublesome to do.

He found an enamel basin and cracked a few eggs into it.

Stir vigorously with chopsticks.

If your arm gets sore, switch to the other arm.

The egg mixture gradually became fluffy, with fine bubbles forming.

He added flour, sugar, and a little milk that he had managed to get his hands on.

Mix well.

Then pour it into an oiled lunchbox.

Cover it and steam it in a pot.

The fire should not be too big or too small.

He squatted by the stove, watching the flames lick the bottom of the pot.

Time passed by, second by second.

The moment the cake came out of the oven, a delicate aroma of wheat mixed with the scent of milk instantly filled the entire courtyard.

The fragrance filled everyone's noses.

The person who was eating a cornbread stopped eating.

The person who was eating porridge looked up.

While worrying about what to eat for breakfast, I couldn't help but swallow hard.

"Director Li, what delicious food have you made so early in the morning?"

The residents of the courtyard smelled the odor and couldn't help but murmur among themselves.

"I haven't had a proper breakfast or dinner for days. Does he even want me to live?"

"What delicious food does he cook? Honey, you should learn from him."

"If you're so capable, why don't you go and learn it yourself?"

This breakfast almost caused a conflict between several couples.

Li Jianguo was completely unaware of this.

He's enjoying his meal.

The cake was soft and sweet.

It melts at the entrance.

Although this breakfast took a while to prepare, it was incredibly satisfying to eat.

He drank water and ate the cake bite by bite.

"Let's make something a bit more complicated tomorrow. We need to have braised pork tonight... or how about hot pot?"

While eating breakfast, he was already thinking about dinner.

He's probably the only one in the whole country who has this kind of free time.

Other families are already considered lucky if they can eat three full meals a day.

For ordinary families, it's rare to eat meat even once a month.

Today is an era in which the whole country is developing heavy industry, while agricultural development is slow and the supply of materials is scarce.

Feeding hundreds of millions of people is already a huge challenge, especially in terms of supplies.

But these things have little to do with Li Jianguo.

Not to mention that he has a system that replenishes his supplies every day.

His fixed monthly salary and various receipts are enough for him to eat meat, eggs, and dairy products as he pleases every day.

His current salary is definitely considered high nationwide.

His salary alone is enough to support seven or eight people.

Moreover, he only needs to support himself.

-

the other side.

The deaf old lady also returned from the hospital.

She was pushed back by Yi Zhonghai on a handcart.

The bumpy ride made her grimace.

She would like to stay a few more days.

Unfortunately, I don't have that much money.

After confirming that the wound had not worsened, the hospital agreed to discharge her so she could recuperate at home.

The deaf old woman had just woken up.

She was awakened by the fragrance outside.

The moment I opened my eyes, my stomach started growling with hunger.

The fragrance wafted straight into my nose.

She swallowed.

A sour feeling rose in my throat.

"You little beast, you eat so well every day, but you never send me anything."

She gritted her teeth and cursed under her breath.

"His stomach is so small, how come he doesn't eat all that delicious food every day? He'll die!"

He was consumed by jealousy.

He speaks through clenched teeth.

She stared intently at Li Jianguo's room through the window.

She wished that everything in that room belonged to her.

Every day, as she ate the coarse grains that were hard to swallow, while watching Li Jianguo eat refined rice and flour, meat, eggs and milk all the time, her jealousy and resentment reached their peak.

That feeling was worse than starvation.

"Old lady, what are you cursing about now?"

Yi Zhonghai came in from outside.

He was holding a bowl in his hand.

The bowl contains cornmeal porridge.

It was a bright yellow color, so rare that you could see your reflection in it.

This is something that is most commonly found in every household nowadays.

Compared to wheat flour, whole grains like cornmeal are cheaper.

The cornmeal in this porridge wasn't ground very finely; the particles were quite large, and it took a long time to cook it thoroughly.

For people living in the countryside, this kind of porridge is already a pretty good breakfast.

But for the deaf old woman who watched Li Jianguo eat and drink well every day...

Eating this porridge and smelling its aroma is pure torture.

"That little bastard Li Jianguo lives a life of luxury, while people like you and me can't even afford it. Why should we?"

The deaf old woman took the bowl, but didn't drink it right away.

She stared at the porridge in the bowl, her eyes filled with malice.

Yi Zhonghai had the same expression.

He sat on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed) and remained silent for a moment.

"Let him eat. He won't be able to enjoy this good life for much longer."

"No way! I can't stand it now!"

The deaf old woman gritted her teeth in anger.

"I've become like this all because of him! If he had issued a letter of forgiveness earlier, how could I have ended up like this?"

The deaf old woman gets furious whenever this is mentioned.

It's just a letter of understanding.

It's just a matter of writing a few words.

Li Jianguo made excuses and refused to agree.

They all went to beg him, but this guy is still acting all high and mighty.

Why would she be angry if it weren't for this?

How could I have lost my footing and fallen?

How could she have been injured by that good-for-nothing Jia Zhangshi?

"But what can you do to him now?"

Looking at the deaf old woman's insanely jealous expression, Yi Zhonghai shook his head helplessly.

Their only hope now is that spy.

Apart from that, they themselves could not cause any harm to Li Jianguo at all.

Under such extremely distorted mental conditions, the deaf old woman finished a bowl of porridge while cursing and swearing.

She is injured and very weak.

There wasn't even anything to nourish the body.

After finishing her porridge, she handed the bowl to Yi Zhonghai.

Yi Zhonghai took the bowl and prepared to leave.

Time to get ready and head to work.

Just then, the deaf old woman's expression suddenly changed.

Her expression froze.

His body stiffened.

Yi Zhonghai was startled when he saw her sudden change in expression.

"Grandma, what's wrong?"

I thought something serious had happened.

After all, the deaf old lady's health is very poor now.

Before being discharged from the hospital, the doctor repeatedly instructed me to take good care of myself.

If you get infected by accident, it could be fatal.

The deaf old woman opened her mouth.

His face turned bright red.

She simply couldn't bring herself to say "incontinence" to a man who wasn't much younger than her.

That feeling of shame was worse than having a broken leg.

"go……"

Her voice was trembling violently.

"Go and fetch Jia Zhangshi for me."

Despite feeling extremely uncomfortable, she asked Yi Zhonghai to find the culprit.

Yi Zhonghai had actually wanted to go find Jia Zhangshi for a long time.

Regardless of the circumstances, it was she who broke the deaf old woman's leg.

Even if you don't spend money, you should at least put in the effort.

"Okay, you wait here. I'll go find it."

Yi Zhonghai agreed and came out of the deaf old woman's house.

We walked through the courtyard and arrived at the Jia family's gate.

I knocked on the door.

A rustling sound came from inside.

The door opened.