Courtyard Houses: Starting with the principle of hard work paying off

Chapter 16 Getting Hit Hard

【Strength +1】

As the lunch rush passed, Li Hongbing's need to use the kitchen utensils gradually decreased. Just as his hands began to feel heavy, a system notification popped into his mind.

Tsk!
As the heaviness in his hands gradually disappeared, and his previously tired body quickly recovered, Li Hongbing couldn't help but smile.

This feeling was already familiar to Li Hongbing.

Each improvement in physical attributes is accompanied by a recovery of status.

I have to say, this job of scrambling for spoons is really a good one.

Not only can you watch famous chefs cook up close and quickly gain experience, but you can also build strength and improve your physical attributes.

Get it in one fell swoop!
When the last table of guests finished eating at noon, Li Hongbing was almost simultaneously liberated and couldn't help but open the system panel.

[Host: Li Hongbing]

【Age: 16】

Strength: 53, Agility: 58, Constitution: 57, Intelligence: 86 (Standard adult value is 60)

skill:
[Running: lv0 (8/100)]

[Cooking Skill: lv1 (32/500)]

Driving: lv1 (411/500)

Swimming: lv2 (967/2000)

【Eight Pieces of Brocade: Level 2 (1837/2000)】

……

In just half a day, Li Hongbing's cooking experience points increased slightly, and his strength attribute also increased a little.

It doesn't seem like much.

But success in anything is built up gradually, from small to large, from few to many.

At night.

After serving the last table of dishes in the kitchen, Li Hongbing finished his work and went home with the chefs.

The apprentice dormitory was a large communal room with some people snoring and others having smelly feet. Li Hongbing couldn't get used to it and had to go back to the courtyard house.

Upon arriving at Qianmen, Li Hongbing quickly waited for the No. 2 trolleybus.

At this time, the rush hour was clearly over, so it wasn't crowded.

only……

The tram broke down halfway there.

Li Hongbing felt somewhat helpless.

This kind of situation is common on trams or buses at this time.

Due to aging vehicles and energy shortages, some vehicles even rely on coal or charcoal for power, leading to the common saying that they "go one or two miles, then break down four or five times."

Its only advantage is its low ticket price, which is several times cheaper than rickshaws, making it the preferred choice for many citizens.

Amid the passengers' complaints, Li Hongbing got off the bus.

For the remaining half of the journey, I can only wait for the next tram or walk back myself.

With this delay, Li Hongbing naturally returned to the courtyard house much later than usual.

"Hongbing, where did you come from?"

As soon as Li Hongbing arrived at the entrance of the courtyard house, he noticed Sha Zhu guarding the place and asked him a strange question.

"Just finished work, of course it's Fengzeyuan, what's wrong?"

Li Hongbing was somewhat confused.

He is now an apprentice at Fengzeyuan, a fact known to everyone in the courtyard, including Shazhu.

At this time of day, if he doesn't come back from Fengzeyuan, where else could he come from?
Sha Zhu looked Li Hongbing up and down, and asked suspiciously, "Why are you back later than usual today?"

"Hey! Sha Zhu, we're all apprentices. Do we have a set time to leave work every day? Do we get back at any time as we please? Doesn't it all depend on how many customers we have that night?" Li Hongbing glanced at Sha Zhu with annoyance.

"Then why are you sweating so much? It's not even hot today!"

Seemingly unaware that Li Hongbing was getting impatient, Sha Zhu continued.

"The tram broke down halfway, so I ran back. Is that okay?"

Li Hongbing originally planned to wait for the next tram, but thinking about the running skill he had just unlocked yesterday, he wanted to max out his experience points and get another upgrade reward as soon as possible, so he ran back instead.

At first, Li Hongbing didn't think much of it, but as Sha Zhu kept asking some meaningless and boring questions, he began to realize that something was wrong.

Li Hongbing's gaze fell on Sha Zhu, and he asked directly, "Sha Zhu, is something wrong?"

"Something happened."

Sha Zhu nodded and explained, "Uncle Yi and Jia Dongxu were put in sacks and beaten up badly today. They were bruised and swollen, and looked terrible."

"Hiss, this is truly satisfying... This is too terrible, who dares to be so bold?"

Upon hearing that Yi Zhonghai and his apprentice Jia Dongxu had been ambushed, Li Hongbing was initially inclined to gloat, but he quickly realized what was happening and glared at Sha Zhu with hostility: "Sha Zhu, you don't suspect that I did it, do you?"

The questions that Sha Zhu asked earlier, taken individually, are not problematic, but when considered in the context of Yi Zhonghai and Jia Dongxu being beaten, the targeting becomes very obvious.

“Hongbing, I didn’t doubt you. It’s Jia Dongxu who doubts you!”

Faced with Li Hongbing's questioning, Sha Zhu quickly waved his hand to distance himself from the situation and said, "I believe you. Based on my understanding of you, I don't think you would do such a thing."

"Thank you so much, Sha Zhu."

It was rare to see Sha Zhu so clear-headed; this time, he didn't side with Yi Zhonghai, which eased Li Hongbing's expression.

Although Sha Zhu is now starting to be influenced by Yi Zhonghai, he is still relatively inexperienced, and He Daqing has only been on the run for a year, so his poisoning is not as deep as it used to be.

only.

Perhaps spurred by He Daqing's escape, Sha Zhu, who was originally just a bit stubborn, began to become reckless and even his mouth became much more venomous than before.

Over the course of that year, the number of times Xu Damao was beaten nearly doubled.

Actually, it's also Xu Damao's fault. He knew he couldn't beat Sha Zhu, but he always liked to provoke and provoke him, especially by bringing up He Daqing's escape to tease Sha Zhu.

The problem is that Xu Damao never learns his lesson after being beaten, and he even enjoys it.

A typical foodie and fun-loving person.

Li Hongbing speculated that the root cause of Xu Damao's infertility began during this period.

They've been rivals since childhood. Xu Damao not only reopens old wounds but also rubs salt into them. It's no wonder that Sha Zhu would seize the opportunity to strike hard.

However, none of this has anything to do with Li Hongbing.

No matter how reckless Sha Zhu was, he had never acted arrogantly in front of the siblings because of the help he had received in the past.

Based on this alone, Li Hongbing didn't have any ill feelings towards the current Sha Zhu.

Last night during the meeting, although Sha Zhu came over and said some inappropriate things to him, and even advised him to apologize to Yi Zhonghai, Li Hongbing was not angry.

Because Li Hongbing knew that Sha Zhu's starting point was for his own good, but he was influenced by Yi Zhonghai, and his thinking and logic were distorted.

Including now.

I was also worried that Li Hongbing would get involved in this matter, so I waited for him here.

Originally, Li Hongbing did not intend to get involved in the matter between Sha Zhu and Yi Zhonghai, but judging from Sha Zhu's current situation and behavior, it was not impossible to lend a hand.

Without Sha Zhu as a backup plan, Yi Zhonghai's escape route is cut off.

More importantly.

Without Sha Zhu, the war god of the courtyard, it's like losing an arm for Yi Zhonghai. Without the deterrent force, he can no longer cause trouble in the courtyard.

Just as Li Hongbing was thinking about these things, he saw Sha Zhu's face light up with a bright smile like a chrysanthemum, and he said something that almost made Li Hongbing vomit blood.

"You're too weak. You can't even beat Jia Dongxu, let alone an old man like me. So it definitely wasn't you who did it!"

"..."

(End of this chapter)