Courtyard House: Starting as an engineer, crushing a yard full of poultry

"If someone is materialistic and disdains the poor, then this one is unacceptable."

Jia Zhangshi, who was listening nearby, laughed: "Old Yan, what are you saying about him... poor or rich? Of course, a girl's family will consider the man's situation."

"Given your family's situation, anyone who isn't an idiot can't agree to this. Marry into your family to pay rent and food expenses? Why would anyone want to marry into that family?"

"Nowhere to pay rent and food expenses?"

"What business is it of yours what Jia Zhangshi is with you?" Yan Bugui said angrily.

Normally, Yan Bugui wouldn't provoke Jia Zhangshi, but now he's embroiled in a lot of lawsuits. Jia Zhangshi has even tried to stir things up, so how could Yan Bugui not say a few words to her?

"Alright, it's none of my business." Madam Jia turned and walked towards the screen door; food was the most important thing right now.

Li Xiangdong, Xu Damao, and Lou Xiao'e were drinking in the main room. The three of them sat around a small table, on the side of the table where no one was. A coal stove sat on top, and the beef hotpot was boiling vigorously. The aroma wafted out, making Jia Zhangshi and Bang Geng both swallow hard.

Chapter Nineteen: Electrocuting Madam Jia (Seeking flowers and votes!)

Because Lou Xiao'e was a little further away from the coal stove, Xu Damao scooped some food from the hot pot, put it in a small bowl, and handed it to Lou Xiao'e.

On the small table, there was a large earthenware pot. Inside was braised bighead carp, and there were several side dishes on the side.

Just as they were enjoying their meal, they saw Jia Zhangshi standing at the door with a stick in her hand. She even seemed about to take a step closer.

"Stop! Who let you in?" Li Xiangdong said coldly.

As soon as she saw Li Xiangdong approaching, Jia Zhangshi shuddered. Her face felt hot again.

But seeing all the delicious food on the table, Jia Zhangshi mustered up her courage and said, "Li Xiangdong, the dishes you made smell so good! My grandson Banggeng is drooling. Give him some..."

As she spoke, Jia Zhangshi raised the large bowl in her hand.

"Get lost! What does your grandson's gluttony have to do with me?" Li Xiangdong said disdainfully, "I've never seen anything like it before. In this day and age, there are still people coming to my door asking for meat."

"Get as far away as you can right now."

Jia Zhangshi was stunned for a moment, then immediately sat down on the ground: "Old Jia, come quickly and see! Someone is bullying orphans and widows, you must take him away right away..."

"Tsk tsk, engaging in feudal superstition so openly. I just don't know how they got their hands on that 'advanced compound' plaque!" Li Xiangdong said with a sigh.

At the main gate of the courtyard house, there is a plaque that reads "Advanced Courtyard".

"Jia Zhangshi, shut up! If you lose this advanced compound, can you still live here?" Yan Bugui shouted sternly.

Yan Bugui stood at the screen door, not going in. If he lost this advanced compound, his five yuan, a pound of peanuts, and a pound of sunflower seeds at the end of the year would be gone. It was like tearing out his very heart!

"No, I didn't!"

Jia Zhangshi panicked. She had a rural household registration and was an adult. If they wanted to send her away, it would be very easy. They could easily send her back to the countryside to live the life of a farmer, toiling in the fields.

How could a lazy and gluttonous woman like Jia Zhangshi possibly lead such a life?

While they were talking, Banggeng, like a big rat, darted into Li Xiangdong's house. He reached out and grabbed a large chicken leg.

That was the roast chicken that Xu Damao brought, chopped up and placed on a plate as a side dish with drinks.

Bang Geng's eyes were fixed on the giant chicken leg, and he watched as his fingers were about to touch it. A ferocious smile appeared on Bang Geng's face.

Suddenly, his collar tightened, and then his feet left the ground. His fingers drifted further and further away from the giant chicken leg.

"That bastard? Put down your old man's stick..."

Eight-year-old Bang Geng spews feces the moment he opens his mouth.

"Crack!"

Li Xiangdong grabbed the stick by the collar, turned it around to face him, and slapped him twice across the face.

"Ouch!"

The stick-like thing screamed in pain.

Jia Zhangshi wanted to rush forward, but a single glance from Li Xiangdong terrified her. Forget about the stick, she turned and ran out of the screen door.

Standing outside, in front of Yan Bugui's house, Jia Zhangshi finally felt a little safer, only then remembering that her beloved grandson was still being held by Li Xiangdong.

Li Xiangdong carried the stick to the outside of the screen door and threw it to the ground.

Banggeng howled, and there were five finger marks on each side of his chubby white face. These marks had turned bluish-purple and were particularly noticeable on Banggeng's face.

Even so, Jia Zhangshi did not dare to step forward. She held onto a clothesline wire with one hand to stop in front of her.

"Li Xiangdong, you actually hit a child! Today I'm going to... Ouch!"

Jia Zhangshi screamed.

The clothesline wire was about five meters long and about 1.5 meters above the ground. Li Xiangdong's hand brushed against it unintentionally.

With a "crack!" sparks flew from Jia Zhangshi's hand holding the wire. She collapsed to the ground with a thud, foaming at the mouth and lying stiffly upright. Her hair was now an afro.

"Mom, Mom! What's wrong with you?" Jia Dongxu happened to come over and shook Jia Zhangshi, calling out in a panic.

Jia Dongxu was a mama's boy. When he saw his mother lying on the ground without moving, he immediately panicked, as if his support had suddenly disappeared.

"He got an electric shock. Try pinching his philtrum to see if he wakes up. Otherwise, you'll have to take him to the hospital," Li Xiangdong said calmly.

“Dad slapped me, you should slap him back.”

Bang Geng came over and pulled Jia Dongxu along. As for Jia Zhangshi, who was lying on the ground like a dead fat pig, she was not even on Bang Geng's radar.

Bang Geng is still thinking about how he can get big chicken legs and beef.

"Get out of the way, didn't you see I'm saving your grandma!" Jia Dongxu hurriedly pinched Jia Zhangshi's philtrum, using so much force that his thumb nail dug into Jia Zhangshi's flesh.

"Ow!"

Jia Zhangshi woke up with a loud cry.

Li Xiangdong nodded to himself, knowing the immense power of the electric current he had released.

"I only used one-third of my strength," Li Xiangdong thought to himself. "If I had used my full strength, I could definitely have sent this old hag away."

"Mom, how did you get electrocuted?" Jia Dongxu breathed a sigh of relief.

"Old Man Yan, this is Old Man Yan's clothesline! Pay up, pay up right now! I won't let this go without a hundred yuan!" Jia Zhangshi howled like a sow facing a butcher's knife.

"And that little beast... Li Xiangdong hit the scab, he has to pay compensation. Fifty yuan!"

Yi Zhonghai, Sha Zhu, and Qin Huairu arrived.

"Get the hell out of here! If you disturb my meal again, I'll send this little thief to the police station." Li Xiangdong said sternly, "So small, yet he can come to my door and rob me."

"I think going to a juvenile detention center would be a good option for you."

Yi Zhonghai stepped forward: "Li Xiangdong is just a kid, why are you arguing with him?"

"Yi Zhonghai, you're talking nonsense! What do you mean by 'a little kid'!" Li Xiangdong shouted angrily, "A child this young doesn't know any better, yet he can barge into my house and steal food? If I don't let him take it, he spews filth from his mouth?"

"Go out and try robbing someone! If we don't break your legs, the Jia family will be considered lucky. What, Yi Zhonghai, do you want me to call the police?"

"Go to hell, you all. You've ruined a lunch."

After Li Xiangdong finished speaking, he turned around and went back to the living room.

Yi Zhonghai had barely uttered two words when Li Xiangdong launched into a tirade of abuse, leaving Yi Zhonghai's head spinning!

"Old Yan is so stingy, he owes us money! One hundred yuan!" Jia Zhangshi yelled.

"Get lost! Where would we get electricity from our clothesline? Even if we did, I didn't hire you. You think you can extort money from me? No way!" Yan Bugui shouted.

"No way! If you don't give me a hundred yuan today, I'm not getting up from here!" Jia Zhangshi rolled on the ground, determined to squeeze every last drop of blood out of the Yan family.

Chapter Twenty: Jia Dongxu Logs Off as Promised (Give me some flowers and votes, my friends!)

"If you don't want to get up, then don't get up," Yan Bugui said angrily. He wasn't going to try and extort money from him, a real miser. "You think you can blackmail me? No way!"

"How about we go to the police station and talk to them..."

Yi Zhonghai was having a headache over Li Xiangdong when he heard Yan Bugui say he was going to the police station. He was furious and said, "Old Yan, how can you talk like that? Matters within the compound should be handled within the compound."

"Why bother the police for no reason?"

Yan Bugui gave Yi Zhonghai a cold look. Those words were just to fool the residents. Now that they were going to harm Yan Bugui's interests, they were utter nonsense.

"Fine, Lao Yi, you handle it," Yan Bugui said coldly.

“Sister-in-law, this isn’t Old Yan’s fault. Do you see the wire? There aren’t any electrical wires around here, right?” Yi Zhonghai said, “Stop arguing, you’re not in the right!”

"Dongxu took your sister-in-law back with him."

"Fine, I won't hold Yan the stingy one's actions against him. But that little beast... Li Xiangdong hit him with a stick, this isn't over!" Jia Zhangshi roared, "Pay up, one hundred yuan!"

"Forget about it, Bang Geng needs to keep a close eye on his mouth." Yi Zhonghai shook his head and turned to leave.

Yi Zhonghai has learned his lesson and no longer relies on lofty principles. He will absolutely not cause trouble for Li Xiangdong, otherwise he'll just be offering himself up for Li Xiangdong to slap him across the face.

Seeing that Yi Zhonghai had left, Jia Zhangshi knew that going over there would only make things worse. So, she could only reluctantly pull Banggeng back home.

Li Xiangdong returned and continued having dinner with Xu Damao.

"Section Chief Li, you should have sent them in just now."

Xu Damao's eyes flickered.

“It’s a trivial matter. They’ll be out in no time.” Li Xiangdong shook his head and said, “It’s not worth it. We should teach them a lesson they won’t forget.”

"And I have many ways to deal with them."