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

I've done this kind of thing countless times before.

Jin Yumei had just stepped out of her room when she heard a pig-like scream coming from Liu Haizhong's house. Needless to say, Liu Haizhong was lecturing Liu Guangtian and Liu Guangfu again.

Jin Yumei shook her head, took the bowl, and went to Xu Damao's door, where she knocked.

"Who is it? Coming over during mealtime?" Xu Damao complained as he opened the door, only to see Jin Yumei standing there with a bowl in her hand: "What's going on, old lady?"

Xu Damao was asking a question he already knew the answer to.

“The old lady wants some meat, so please fill a bowl for her.” Jin Yumei handed over the bowl as a matter of course.

"Wait a minute, just because she wants to eat meat, I have to give it to her? Why should I? Does my money grow on trees?" Xu Damao said disdainfully, "What does it have to do with her if I buy meat for my wife?"

Jin Yumei was surprised to see Xu Damao's nonchalant expression.

"Xu Damao, what's wrong with you? The old lady is the matriarch of the whole courtyard, we should all be filial to her!" Jin Yumei said sternly, "You are being incredibly disrespectful..."

"Shut up! We don't have an ancestor like that in our family!" Xu Damao yelled. "My surname is Xu, and I have nothing to do with her. We're just neighbors in the same courtyard. In fact, we have a really bad relationship. Why should I give her my precious meat?"

"When Sha Zhu hit me, Yi Zhonghai and that old bastard both pinned me down. They wouldn't let me make a scene. They wouldn't even pay my damn medical bills! Thinking about it now, they were such idiots!"

"You little brat, how dare you speak to your ancestor like that! I'll smash all your windows!" The deaf old woman was so angry that she trembled and couldn't get out of the house, holding her cane.

"Fine, go ahead and smash it! See if I don't report it to the neighborhood committee and the police station!" Xu Damao shouted angrily. "Trying to scare me! Come on!"

The deaf old woman was stunned; she hadn't expected Xu Damao to be so resilient.

"You little brat..." the deaf old woman stammered.

"You old bastard!" Xu Damao said without hesitation, "Anyone can curse!"

At this point, a large crowd had gathered to watch the spectacle, and now they seemed to be reliving the experience.

"That's right, why is the deaf old woman our ancestor?"

"Yes, I finally gritted my teeth and bought some meat for my child to have a taste of meat, but the deaf old lady took more than half of it!"

"Yes, so what if they're the five-guarantee households and families of martyrs!"

"She's definitely not a martyr's family member. How could a martyr's family member be like this?"

……

Yi Zhonghai also came over, his face ashen, and said, "Disperse, disperse. Everyone disperse."

"Whatever the issue, we'll resolve it at a meeting tonight."

The deaf old woman went home dejectedly, feeling she had to show some authority tonight. Otherwise, how could she act as the matriarch in the compound?

Yan Bugui returned only then, his body ice-cold. But he looked excited; the fish in the bucket weren't big, but there were so many of them.

"It's freezing! What a great catch today. If it weren't so dark, I would have fished for another two hours." Yan Bugui said proudly, "We've found a spot for crucian carp. Look, they're all big crucian carp, each weighing three or four ounces."

Just as he was feeling smug, an older woman named Jin Yumei came over.

"Uncle Yi invites you over for a couple of drinks," Jin Yumei said. "There are some things we need to discuss."

"Okay, okay. I'll be right there."

Yan Bugui jumped up as soon as he heard that. If there was free wine, why hesitate?

Jin Yumei and Yan Bugui had just come out when they ran into Sha Zhu, who was returning.

Sha Zhu was carrying a heavy net bag. Inside were four lunchboxes.

"Oh ho, what's this old lady doing here..." Sha Zhu said with a grin.

"Your eldest uncle is inviting your third uncle out for a couple of drinks. He was just talking about you." Jin Yumei said with a smile, "Hurry up and go over. The old lady wants to eat meat. Take a box of it to her."

"Sure, sure, I'll deliver it right away." Sha Zhu agreed: "I have a box of braised pork here, and the remaining three boxes are all good dishes. Come on, let's go have a couple of drinks."

Just as Sha Zhu finished speaking, he saw Qin Huairu coming to greet him. This made Sha Zhu very embarrassed; it goes without saying what Qin Huairu was there for.

"Zhu Zi, don't be embarrassed. Let the child skip a meal." Qin Huairu's big eyes were full of tears, making Sha Zhu feel weak in the knees.

Jin Yumei was displeased, just as the group entered the central courtyard without stopping. She then stopped lowering her voice.

"What do you mean, Qin Huairu, that the child missed a meal? Does your family not have any food?" Jin Yumei said angrily. "The reason we're inviting people for drinks right now is because of your family's problems!"

"Bang Geng and Jia Zhangshi just ate a whole pot of chicken soup!"

Chapter 57 Xu Damao Plans to Extort Money (Seeking Flowers, Votes, and Subscriptions!)

Qin Huairu was taken aback: "What happened?"

"Why don't you bring Xiao Dang with you?" Jin Yumei said helplessly.

Jin Yumei actually disliked Qin Huairu very much. She knew what kind of person Qin Huairu was. But Yi Zhonghai's plan couldn't be without Qin Huairu.

On the eight-immortal table in Yi Zhonghai's home, there was braised cabbage with tofu. There was also a dish of peanuts, a dish of salted duck eggs, and a dish of steamed sausages, which made up four dishes.

There are still a few lunch boxes that Sha Zhu brought.

“Zhu Zi, go and carry your grandma over.” Yi Zhonghai said to Sha Zhu, “I wanted to eat meat earlier, so I went to Xu Damao’s house to ask for a bowl, but not only did I not get any, he also mocked me.”

Sha Zhu immediately flew into a rage, his dark, shiny old face contorted with rage: "Damn it, this Xu Damao, he's got a problem if I don't discipline him for three days! I'm going to go give him a good beating..."

"Zhu Zi, behave yourself! Do you think this is the past?" Yi Zhonghai hurriedly grabbed Sha Zhu and said, "If you hit him, you'll be sent in immediately."

"He dares..." Sha Zhu said without much conviction. He knew Xu Damao really did dare.

"Quickly carry the old lady over here," Yi Zhonghai said, waving his hand.

"Grandma's the same. She's a martyr's family member, yet she's afraid of that bastard Li Xiangdong." Sha Zhu muttered, "I need to have a good talk with Grandma. We can't let that kid get away with this..."

Sha Zhu didn't mention the deaf old woman making shoes for the Red Army soldiers anymore. He knew it was impossible.

"Zhu Zi, don't mention 'family of martyrs' anymore. Otherwise, it will cause the old lady a lot of trouble," Yi Zhonghai reminded her bitterly.

Yi Zhonghai inwardly groaned, realizing he had been deceived by the deaf old woman. He had only elevated her to the status of a matriarch of the courtyard house out of consideration for her status as a martyr's family member, making her his trump card.

Even a deaf old woman needs to be pampered; this is a perfect match, a case of two scoundrels colluding for evil.

Yi Zhonghai never imagined that the deaf old woman's story was all a lie. Luckily, the deaf old woman was a recipient of the Five Guarantees (a government-provided social welfare program for the elderly and disabled), otherwise, Yi Zhonghai would have abandoned her long ago.

Sha Zhu was stunned for a moment, but he immediately understood. The deaf old woman's status as a martyr's relative was also fake; if this got out, they would be in trouble.

But Sha Zhu still didn't quite understand: "Wait, don't officials come to deliver gifts during holidays?"

"I just inquired about it yesterday, and it turns out that all the 'Five Guarantees' households receive them. It's a way for the government to show its care for elderly people living alone," Yi Zhonghai said dejectedly.

"That old lady is quite cunning," Sha Zhu shook his head.

Soon, Sha Zhu carried the deaf old woman over on his back.

Sha Zhu and the others sat down, while Jin Yumei and Qin Huairu ate at a small table to the side with Xiao Dang. Only the deaf old lady sat at the octagonal table.

"Before we eat, let's talk about Huai Ru's family," Yi Zhonghai said. "Jia Zhangshi sent Bang Geng to steal things from Li Xiangdong's house. There's no escaping this."

"The main purpose of the meeting later is to criticize Jia Zhangshi and Banggeng, and to compensate Li Xiangdong. It will cost a total of twenty yuan."

Upon hearing this, Sha Zhu exclaimed in surprise, "Twenty yuan? That's a chicken made of gold!"

“If you steal, you have to pay a three-fold fine and settle it privately. Otherwise, the police will have to handle it. Otherwise, you'll have a criminal record, and that'll be the end of your life,” Yan Bugui said.

As Yan Bugui spoke, he looked at the dishes and swallowed hard.

"This...where did I get twenty yuan?" Qin Huairu's tears welled up quickly, and she said pitifully, wiping away her tears.

"Sister Qin, don't worry, I'll pay for it." Sha Zhu hurriedly said, "That Li Xiangdong is really something, just a greedy kid. Can't he even compensate me with a chicken?"

"And then there's Xu Damao's disrespect for the deaf old lady. We must suppress his arrogance," Yi Zhonghai said. "Otherwise, what will this compound become?"

“Yes, otherwise none of the three of us old men would have paid any attention to us,” Liu Haizhong said indignantly. “It all started with that Li Xiangdong.”

"Pah! He's just a technical section chief. What can he do to us!"

"Heh heh, they demoted me. I'll still pass the exam after the New Year. What can he do to me?" Yi Zhonghai said calmly, "He only has an administrative rank, but no administrative position."

"Let's not talk about that anymore, let's put him aside for now. We must teach Xu Damao a lesson tonight... or rather, give him a good talking-to."

"If they don't listen to our instructions, Zhu Zi, teach them a lesson. Just be careful not to hurt them. Even if we call the police, we'll all say it was a fight, and you two will just be reprimanded."

“Okay, no problem.” Sha Zhu said with a ferocious expression.

As for how to deal with Xu Damao at the conference, there's no need for discussion. We just need to cooperate; it's a familiar business.

"Then let's drink!" Yan Bugui said impatiently, picking up his glass.

Xu Damao wasn't stupid. The moment he saw Yi Zhonghai's family hosting a dinner, he knew something was wrong; these people wanted to get rid of him. His eyes darted around, and he immediately ran to find Li Xiangdong.

After finishing their meal, Li Xiangdong and Yu Li exchanged saliva again. Yu Li, having been taught by Li Xiangdong, now knew to breathe through her nose and what her tongue should do at this time.

Yu Li seemed to be enjoying it immensely.

Seeing that it was getting late, Yu Li reluctantly asked Li Xiangdong to take her back to the factory. If she didn't leave soon, Li Xiangdong would eat her alive.

“Alright, let’s go on 307 then.” Li Xiangdong took a deep breath and said, “We can’t leave any evidence for those beasts.”

Li Xiangdong was certain that if he let Yu Li stay overnight, someone would report him. Yan Jiecheng was definitely keeping a close eye on this area.

In this day and age, even unmarried couples can't be together. You can't be together without a marriage certificate. If you get caught, you just have to accept your bad luck.

As soon as I opened the door, I saw Xu Damao walking over.

"Hello, Section Chief Li!" Xu Damao bowed and scraped.

"What's wrong?" Li Xiangdong said, "Speak quickly."