The entire courtyard is full of villains

Several middle-aged women around them nodded in agreement, their expressions showing deep conviction.

After leaving the street office, Yi Zhonghai looked at the cloth coupons in his hand, thought for a moment, and then went to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy Hu Tiehua a red woolen coat—after all, she had followed him without asking for anything, so it wouldn't be right for him not to buy her something. After buying the coat, he looked at the sugar coupons in his hand and simply bought some fruit candies, of course, to save money, he bought the cheapest kind.

After buying everything and bringing it home, Yi Laonian, who couldn't read, pretended to look at the marriage certificate for a long time.

"Alright, now that you're married into the family, Tiehua, I won't say anything else. You and Zhonghai, hurry up and continue the Yi family line. That's all, nothing else, just this one thing."

Hu Tiehua nodded, blushing, "Understood, Uncle."

Yi Zhonghai smacked his lips and said, "Second Uncle, what do you think we should do about the wedding banquet?"

"What else can we do? We'll get it done tonight. When your Uncle Erhe comes back, I'll talk to him about it. After all, it's a joyous occasion for the Yi family, so it can't be too shabby!"

"Uncle," Yi Zhonghai quickly advised, "These days, supplies are scarce. Why don't we just make do with whatever we can find?"

"That won't do!" Old Man Yi waved his hand. "This matter must be done, and it must be done in a grand and spectacular way!"

Chapter 162 I am your elder

Zhang Erhe was also on tenterhooks today. Yi Zhonghai had handled this matter too carelessly. It had to be done quickly. If it was slow, and the deaf old woman or Yi Zhonghai themselves realized something and asked around, Hu Widow's terrible reputation in Panggezhuang would be impossible to hide.

As a result, as soon as he pushed his bicycle into the yard after get off work that evening, Yi Laonian was already waiting for him at the gate.

"Good brother, good brother!" Yi Laonian chimed in, "Er Gouzi and that woman got their marriage certificate!"

"Well done!" Zhang Erhe slapped the car seat.

“Good brother,” Yi Laonian said tentatively, “Yi Zhonghai offended you so much, and you still found him such a wonderful woman…”

"What's wrong, brother? You're interested too?"

"We wouldn't dare! Although Er Gouzi is dishonest, we Yi family members would never do something like this, which involves incest."

"Alright, brother, you've already paid me back, haven't you? I'll just tell you the truth," Zhang Erhe lowered his voice, "that woman is... pregnant."

"What?!" Old Man Yi's eyes widened, and he covered his mouth tightly. It took him a long time to react. "Really?"

"Otherwise, I wouldn't have looked for her."

"Aren't you afraid Er Gouzi will find out?"

"Found a hammer! You don't actually think Er Gouzi has been a good guy all these years, do you? Just because Tan Saihua isn't laying eggs, does that mean he hasn't been messing around outside? Let me tell you, Er Gouzi is shrewd. He must have tried other women and they weren't working out, otherwise why would he keep Tan Saihua, that barren hen, around all this time?"

"Good heavens... that Er Gouzi is really something..."

"Alright, good brother, no matter what, I, Lao Nian, am happy to do anything that can cause trouble for Er Gouzi."

"Alright! Brother, wait for me... just to talk about this?"

"No, no," Old Man Yi hurriedly said, "The main thing is that I want Er Gouzi to spend some money to put on a proper wedding banquet!"

"Hey! I thought it was something serious! This is easy to handle! Did Er Gouzi say that supplies are scarce and you can't buy anything?"

"Yes, yes, yes!"

"Alright, let's go! Aside from dragon liver and phoenix marrow, what can't we get? As long as Er Gouzi is willing to spend the money, then things will be easy!"

Zhang Erhe put down his bicycle, and the two of them walked into the Intermediate People's Court with their arms around each other's shoulders—after all, people are always full of energy when they're doing bad things.

Sure enough, when they arrived at the east wing, Yi Zhonghai was dumbfounded as soon as Zhang Erhe spoke—how could he have forgotten that Zhang Erhe was the head of the purchasing department, with extensive connections?

"Er Gouzi, look at you, really! You don't treat your uncle like family at all! Today is your and Tiehua's big day, if you don't have anything to put on the banquet, then your uncle should just quit his job as the head of the purchasing department, I'd be ashamed!"

Cornered, Yi Zhonghai's mind suddenly clicked. "Uncle, Uncle Erhe, I'm naturally happy that you've gone to so much trouble for me. But we've bought the food, but nobody knows how to cook! Only Sha Zhu in our compound has the skills, but he's locked up in the security office right now and won't be out for a while... Nobody knows how to cook a feast! How about... we buy a couple of pounds of meat, stir-fry a few dishes, and have a meal together?"

"Hey, I thought it was something serious!" Zhang Erhe patted Yi Zhonghai on the shoulder. "Leave this to me. I'll make sure to get the cooked dishes back for you in a bit."

"This..." Yi Zhonghai stammered, and Zhang Erhe gave Yi Laonian a wink. Yi Laonian immediately stood up: "Ergouzi, you said you couldn't buy anything, so I brought your good brother over; after bringing him over, you said there was no cook, and my good brother also said he would help you get the food and prepare the banquet—and you're still being so stingy? Our Yi family ancestors migrated to the Northeast, not the West, so why are you being so stingy?"

“I didn’t ask you to have a big celebration in the courtyard, I just wanted to invite the heads of each household over for a meal. Tiehua married into the family, she wasn’t sold. Are you being so stingy because you look down on your second uncle and aunt, or on Tiehua?”

Yi Zhonghai looked over; Widow Hu's head was bowed deeply. Yi Zhonghai gritted his teeth: "Fine, fine... Uncle, I'll pay, I'll pay!"

"That's settled then." Old Man Yi made the decision immediately. "Good brother, I'll trouble you again today. Er Gouzi, hurry up and get the money for your Uncle Erhe! Also, take some wedding candy and scatter it around the yard, invite people over—this wedding banquet tonight must be a grand and lively affair!"

Yi Zhonghai was extremely unwilling, but having been forced into this position, he had no choice but to swallow his pride and go inside to get thirty yuan. Zhang Erhe, seeing the meager amount in his hand, didn't even bother to take it. Old Man Yi stepped forward and slapped Yi Zhonghai: "Ergouzi, who are you trying to fool? Thirty yuan? You think you can afford two tables of food these days? Go back and get another two hundred for your Uncle Erhe!"

"Second Uncle, this money of mine..."

"You won't give it to me? If you don't give it to me, I'll smash my head against the pillar right now!" Old Man Yi jumped off the kang barefoot, about to smash his head against the pillar.

"Alright, alright... Second Uncle, here you go! Here you go!" Yi Zhonghai sighed, went inside and took out twenty more large ten-dollar bills, handing them to Zhang Erhe with reluctance: "Uncle Erhe, you must spend them sparingly..."

"Don't worry, nephew." Zhang Erhe smiled and took the money. "Uncle will definitely save it for you."

In the front yard, Old Man Yi, along with Yi Zhonghai and Hu Tiehua, began delivering wedding candies to each household. After a few pleasantries, they invited the head of the household to dinner that evening. Yi Zhonghai forced a smile, while Hu Tiehua was quite poised and generous. Many people politely accepted the candies, closed their doors, and suppressed laughter could be heard from inside.

Upon arriving at the Intermediate People's Court, Sha Zhu was still being held in the security office. Besides the Jia family, there were only two other minor, nameless families. When Yi Zhonghai spoke, those two families agreed. However, at the Jia family's residence, Jia Zhangshi caused trouble, insisting that her family had a good relationship with the Yi family and that two people must go, along with Bang Geng. Old Man Yi couldn't refuse, thinking that Jia Zhangshi was, after all, his good brother's cousin within five degrees of kinship, so he gave her face.

When they arrived at the backyard, Liu Haizhong looked at Yi Zhonghai's new bride, then glanced at his own haggard wife, and couldn't hide the jealousy in his eyes—why didn't his family have an elder like Yi Lao Nian, so they could get her a younger one? He really couldn't muster any passion when facing his wife's face that night. So when he heard Yi Zhonghai was inviting him to dinner, he just gave a sullen reply.

When they arrived at the deaf old lady's door, no matter how much Yi Zhonghai knocked, there was no response from inside. Yi Lao Nian's eyes darted around, and he called out into the door, "Old lady, today is Er Gouzi's big day. Since you're not here, I'll leave some wedding candy at the door so you can share in the joy. Maybe your husband will find true love in the future."

Just outside the deaf old woman's house was Xu Damao's house. As soon as Yi Zhonghai knocked on the door, Xu Damao opened it: "Oh, isn't this Master Yi from the Intermediate People's Court?"

A flash of annoyance crossed Yi Zhonghai's eyes—Even if I'm no longer the big boss, you can still call me Uncle Yi, why do you have to call me Master Yi? Fine, Xu Damao, I'll remember this.

Hu Tiehua looked at the man with the small mustache in front of him and felt that he had seen him somewhere before.

"You must be Da Mao?" Yi Laonian stepped forward. "Today is Er Gouzi's big day. If you don't mind, come over and have a drink later."

"Alright then, Uncle Lao Nian," Xu Damao said with a grin. Yi Zhonghai was furious—this bastard, you call him uncle, so does that mean you have to call me brother?

Returning home seething with anger, Yi Zhonghai was greeted by Zhang Erhe carrying several lunchboxes, who urged Yi's wife to set the table. The lunchboxes, once opened, emitted a fragrant aroma—braised pork knuckle, whole chicken, whole fish… several hearty dishes.

Yi Zhonghai stared in disbelief: "Uncle Erhe, what's wrong with you...?"

Before he could finish speaking, Zhang Erhe interrupted him: "Ergouzi, you don't need to worry about it. Uncle knows what you mean. Consider the money you don't have as a congratulatory gift from your uncle. After all, I am your elder."

Yi Zhonghai's heart ached – "I told you to spend that money sparingly! You bought so much… it'll all end up going to waste!"

P.S.: I've been in a terrible mood these past few days. This book was just starting to gain some traction when it got bombarded with reports. Longtime readers know that "Renyi Daode" and "Xiangan Yang Changzhang" have been banned several times, but they persevered. Especially "Yang Changzhang's" book, which saw its traffic plummet after being reported. Several of my other books also flopped. This one was finally starting to do well, and these trashy people pounced on it, using ridiculous reasons to report it. They even filled out the reviews haphazardly, but I have no way to appeal. I spent all day with customer service today, to no avail. I wrote seven or eight emails. How can people be so disgusting? Is the "Siheyuan" series just something you guys can monopolize?! I'm so pissed off!

Chapter 163 Pre-made Dishes, Mixed Wine

Looking at the table laden with dishes, Yi Laonian turned around and gave a heartfelt thumbs-up: "Good brother, this must have been freshly cooked at a fancy restaurant, right? Er Gouzi, hurry up and bow to your Uncle Erhe to thank him!"

"Hey, no need, I'm his elder after all," Zhang Erhe waved his hand.

But Yi Laonian insisted on making Yi Zhonghai bow. Zhang Erhe watched Yi Zhonghai, who was both distressed about the money and had to bow, and couldn't help but feel amused.

—This table is laden with dishes, all pre-made by him, and the wine is also mixed. Tonight, he has to make sure these "beasts" have a good drink.

They deserve to eat this.

Want some fresh stir-fry? Keep dreaming.

Sure enough, people from all families arrived one after another, and upon seeing the table full of delicious dishes, their throats tightened.

Yi Zhonghai really went all out for his wedding... To be honest, even young people don't have such a decent spread of food at their weddings!

"Please sit down, please sit down!" Old Man Yi said happily, inviting everyone to take their seats.

Zhang Erhe then brought out two neatly packaged cases of blended liquor and slammed them onto the table: "Tonight, we're not leaving until we're drunk! Anyone who doesn't enjoy the drink is disrespecting my good nephew."

Yi Zhonghai wore a bitter expression. "My dear Uncle Erhe, please don't make it so 'good'... These beasts don't deserve to eat good food and drink good wine!"

Xu Damao was the first to stand up: "Section Chief Zhang..."

"Da Mao, this is a family dinner today, call Uncle Erhe! Come on, let's drink until we drop tonight!" He then started to open the wine bottle.

Who in the courtyard had ever seen such "respectable" packaging? Xu Damao carefully picked up the bottle: "Uncle Erhe, this wine..."

“This is what the factory served to those people from the grain bureau a couple of days ago,” Zhang Erhe waved his hand, “The same kind of drink for the leaders.”

"This is really good wine!" Xu Damao said, holding up the bottle. "Everyone in the canteen is fighting over this bottle! They take it back to store bulk wine, and it tastes especially good!"

Zhang Erhe didn't take it seriously, but the group of beasts below did.

Liu Haizhong, in particular, had already started to calculate in his mind: This table of dishes was clearly from a high-end restaurant, much better than the factory's hospitality; and the wine they were drinking was the "leader's favorite"... If you think about it this way, wouldn't I, Liu Haizhong, be more of a leader than the leader tonight?

"Come on, everyone, let's drink and make it lively! Today is Er Gouzi's big day," Zhang Erhe called out. "Old Liu, Da Mao, you two, one at each table, be the drinking commanders and warm up the atmosphere!"

"Yes!" Liu Haizhong and Xu Damao responded in unison, raising their wine bottles with flushed faces.

Tonight's going to be a big deal—we have to drink our fill!

Yi Zhonghai was the first to be taken down. The old man was already feeling down, and with Liu Haizhong and Xu Damao deliberately targeting him, he barely managed to eat a few bites of the hot food before losing consciousness. Zhang Erhe gave Hu Tiehua a wink, and Hu Tiehua, though somewhat reluctant, got up to help Yi Zhonghai back to the next room after glancing at the plates of meat on the table.

Next to lie down was Xu Damao. That bastard brought over the "one big, three small" rule from the factory's drinking table. Zhang Erhe didn't say a word and chugged down three large cups right in front of him. When it was Xu Damao's turn, he looked at everyone in the yard, gritted his teeth, and also downed a full cup. As soon as he put down his cup, he just lay there motionless.

The biggest drinker was Liu Haizhong. This old geezer's alcohol tolerance was truly impressive; if Zhang Erhe hadn't secretly used his spatial ability to hold him back, he probably would have been completely drunk tonight. Fortunately, Zhang Erhe was a cheat code; he didn't touch a single bite of the specially prepared dishes—like braised pork belly—all night, only slowly munching on peanuts. The beasts around him were so engrossed in fighting over the meat that no one cared whether he ate any vegetables or not.

By the time Liu Haizhong finally collapsed drunk on the table, few of the guests were still sober. Yi Laonian had been dizzy and disoriented for a while and had to be helped to rest.

"Alright... that's enough for today." Zhang Erhe swayed as he gestured for everyone to help their families back home, then picked up Xu Damao and carried him back to his house. He then turned and told Yi Laonian's wife to clean up the mess tomorrow before pretending to stagger towards the front yard.

— He had no choice but to pretend. He got so many people drunk, and he was the only one still sober; wouldn't that be an obvious sign that something was amiss?

The next morning, Yi Zhonghai woke up with a splitting headache. He was about to get up when he found himself being held tightly by a woman's arm, and then he vaguely remembered that yesterday was his "joyful" day.

Hu Tiehua was awakened by his struggles. She quickly opened her eyes and said softly, "Zhonghai, you're awake?"

"Tiehua... how did I get back last night?"

"I helped you back."

"Ouch..." Yi Zhonghai rubbed his temples, completely puzzled. "What was wrong with me yesterday? I shouldn't be able to hold my liquor so well..."

"It's alright, Zhonghai." Hu Tiehua blushed and said softly, "Yesterday was our big day...you, you really wore me out."

"What? I bothered you?" Yi Zhonghai scratched the back of his head, having no recollection of it at all.

“Of course, look at my body—” Hu Tiehua threw off the blanket, revealing several bruises on the inside of her thighs, “These are all from what you did last night…”

"I... I did all of this?" Yi Zhonghai asked, still somewhat doubtful.

"Who else could it be but you?"

Yi Zhonghai was taken aback, then a surge of secret joy welled up inside him—at his age, to still have a woman say he was "amazing" was truly pleasing to hear.

Taking advantage of the situation, Hu Tiehua leaned closer and lowered her voice, saying, "Zhonghai, I had a dream last night... I dreamt of an old couple, smiling at me."

"An old man and woman? What do they look like?"