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

“Okay, no problem. See you at seven o’clock then.” Li Xiangdong nodded with a smile.

A flicker of surprise crossed Xu Damao's eyes; this was another opportunity to curry favor with Director Li. And this time, it was about currying favor with both Director Lis.

Xu Damao hurriedly rode his bicycle after Li Xiangdong's car.

Li Xiangdong also needs a car, but it won't arrive until tomorrow.

Only then did Yi Zhonghai have a chance to speak with Li Huaide. Yi Zhonghai also knew that it was useless to beg Director Yang, who was now too busy avoiding any appearance of impropriety.

Moreover, even if there's no need to avoid suspicion, Director Yang might not necessarily pay them any attention.

"Director Li, you see, Zhuzi isn't..." Yi Zhonghai felt he didn't even know where to begin when trying to say something nice about Sha Zhuzi: "Zhuzi's skills are quite good, could you..."

"Master Yi, don't say anything unnecessary." Li Huaide said seriously, "Sha Zhu has stolen more than once or twice. We must find out the truth."

Li Huaide dodged Yi Zhonghai's outstretched hand, which held a roll of money.

"Then I'll send him some blankets, is that alright?" Yi Zhonghai still wanted to give Li Huaide the money.

"No, I don't want to fall out with you. Yi Zhonghai, you need to know your place."

Li Huaide said solemnly. After speaking, Li Huaide got into his jeep and told the driver to drive away.

Yi Zhonghai was thoroughly disgusted by the car's embarrassment, his face as dark as iron.

But we still need to find a way to save Shaju; he's our go-to guy for retirement. He's the only one left, and if we don't put in the effort, he'll be useless.

"Good, let him know how much I've sacrificed for him. I'll have to keep a closer eye on that bastard from now on," Yi Zhonghai thought to himself.

Yi Zhonghai rushed to the security department and found Section Chief Wang.

"Section Chief Wang, I'm going to bring some food and bedding to Zhu Zi later. Could you do me a favor?" Yi Zhonghai handed over the large black ten-dollar bill in his hand.

Now they are in Section Chief Wang's office, just the two of them, so there's no need for them to hide anything.

“Sending bedding is absolutely out of the question. I can give Sha Zhu some more straw,” Section Chief Wang said. “You know why.”

Yi Zhonghai was well aware that Li Huaide wanted to deal with Sha Zhu. The decision to freeze him overnight was unchangeable.

"Then I'll go get him some food, is that alright?" Yi Zhonghai said.

"Then hurry up," Section Chief Wang said.

Yi Zhonghai had no choice but to go to a small restaurant outside the factory gate and get a large bowl of noodles. There were also some slices of meat in it.

Yi Zhonghai, carrying a small basin, arrived at Guan Shazhu's house and passed the noodles through the window. Shazhu took them, still looking completely bewildered.

"Uncle, I just finished eating in the kitchen! Give me these noodles..."

Yi Zhonghai wanted to beat Sha Zhu: "I paid twenty yuan just to deliver these noodles."

"Eat quickly, you have to finish the noodles no matter what. Otherwise you won't have a good night."

"Don't you think about it? Without a blanket, how can you sleep? And without food in your stomach, how can you feel comfortable?"

"Yeah, yeah. I just remembered." Sha Zhu finally realized: "Damn it, this is what Xu Damao did. I will definitely not let him get away with this when I get out."

"Wait until you get out before we talk. And even if you get out, do you think you can still work in the cafeteria?" Yi Zhonghai said angrily.

"Why not? Hehe, there are people cooking the big pot dishes in the kitchen. But I'm indispensable for entertaining guests." Sha Zhu said smugly, "At worst, I'll have to stay in the workshop for a few days, but they'll eventually send me back anyway."

"It's not like this is my first time in the workshop."

Yi Zhonghai thought about it and realized that made sense.

"Alright, I'm going back. Let's see if the old lady can do anything." Yi Zhonghai sighed and said, "This would have been a small matter in the past. But things are different now."

When Li Xiangdong returned home, he asked Yu Li to come home briefly before returning.

Just as Yu Li returned home, Li Xiangdong hurriedly took something out of the mysterious space.

A hot pot with two separate compartments was brought out. It was a copper basin with two copper plates separating the compartments. Some beef and lamb were also taken out and left to freeze, making it much easier to slice later. There was also some hot pot base, all unpackaged, of course.

Inside the mysterious villa's kitchen refrigerator, there were things like tripe, frozen tofu, duck blood, and dried bean curd. They also gathered some spinach and cabbage; that would make for a very lavish hot pot dinner. Of course, it couldn't compare to what we have in later generations.

Some sesame paste and chili sauce were also served.

Li Xiangdong tidied up an old table and dug a hole in the middle, just big enough to sit halfway on the copper basin.

"Alright, put the coal stove downstairs later." Li Xiangdong raised his eyebrows and said, "Xiao Li, add more coal to the coal stove in the room. When it's time to eat, just take some out and put it in the coal stove."

Yu Li came over and had already washed the spinach and cabbage. She was eating a tomato, her pretty face full of happiness.

"Okay, okay, I'll go right away."

Yu Li stuffed the half-eaten tomato into Li Xiangdong's mouth. Then, blushing, she went to do her work.

"Oh, and make sure to seal the furnace door tightly. Otherwise, it'll burn out completely," Li Xiangdong instructed. This way, not only will it char, but there won't be any coal smoke either.

Li Xiangdong had just finished setting up the table. Before he could even tidy it up, he saw Liu Guangqi bowing and scraping as he entered through the screen door.

"Chief Engineer Li is about to hold a hospital-wide meeting; please come," Liu Guangqi said.

"Okay, sure!" Li Xiangdong nodded, glancing at his watch; it was only about five o'clock. There was plenty of time.

Li Xiangdong placed the beef and mutton in the kitchen. The temperature here is about the same as outside. He can continue to freeze the meat solid. It will be much easier to cut it later.

The kitchen door was locked, and Yu Li had already locked the main door. The two walked hand in hand into the courtyard.

It was broad daylight by then, so there was no need to light gas lamps or anything like that. The meeting setup was complete. Most of the people had arrived. Yu Dajiang sat to the side, with his three sons standing behind him like bodyguards.

Yi Zhonghai sat behind the table, his gaze falling on Yu Dajiang's expression. A wave of bitterness washed over him. Yu Dajiang had three sons, while he, Yi Zhonghai, had none. Heaven was unfair!

Yi Zhonghai just returned by rickshaw and went straight to the deaf old woman. He told her about Sha Zhu's situation.

"That silly Zhu!"

The deaf old woman paced around the room like a millstone, saying, "She's been bewitched by that vixen, and now she's ruined herself!"

"The old lady was just kind-hearted; there was nothing I could do about it." Yi Zhonghai rolled his eyes and said, "Now let's think about how to save her."

“It’s impossible to go to Xiao Yang now,” the deaf old woman said. “Only that little beast can save Zhu Zi. We need to find a way to get him to step in.”

“This… this…” Yi Zhonghai frowned and said, “It’s impossible, isn’t it? How could he possibly step in to save Zhu Zi?”

"Hold a big meeting, get everyone in the courtyard involved to put pressure on him. Whether it works or not, it's worth a try," the deaf old woman said. "Don't let Zhu Zi help that young widow anymore."

"That's a vampire. Xiao Yi, find Zhu Zi a wife..."

Yi Zhonghai hurriedly said, "Okay, okay. It's time to find a wife for Zhu Zi. He's getting old."

"Yes, if he had a wife, how could such a thing have happened to Zhu Zi?" the deaf old woman said indignantly. "I told you about this a long time ago."

Yi Zhonghai secretly curled his lip, thinking to himself, "Finding a wife for Sha Zhu? How is that possible? He'll be a bachelor for life, without any descendants."

"Otherwise, what will I do about my retirement?"

"No, once Qin Huairu gets pregnant with my son, I'll make her marry Sha Zhu."

Of course, they couldn't directly talk about Sha Zhu's situation at the meeting. They had to praise Li Xiangdong first; after all, he was now the deputy factory director, which was different from before.

Now, seeing Li Xiangdong and Yu Li cracking sunflower seeds, Yi Zhonghai pretended not to see them.

"Everyone, please quiet down. Let's start the meeting now!" Yi Zhonghai said. "The first item on the agenda is to welcome Master Yu Dajiang and his family to the courtyard house."

“We live in the same compound, we're all one family. If anything happens to us…”

"Wait...wait." Xu Damao jumped out.

Just now, Xu Damao looked at Li Xiangdong and saw Li Xiangdong slowly nod. Xu Damao immediately understood that Li Xiangdong was asking him to do something.

"Xu Damao, what are you trying to do? We're introducing Comrade Lao Yu now..." Yi Zhonghai said warily. He felt things were about to get out of control again.

“I don’t need an introduction. We all work at the steel rolling mill. We’ll all know each other soon enough,” Yu Dajiang said loudly. “And Yi Zhonghai, what do you mean by this? You’re holding a big meeting just to introduce me. Did you even consult me? Are you just making decisions for me?”

"Yeah, Yi Zhonghai, who do you think you are? A feudal patriarch? Everyone has to listen to what you say?" Xu Damao said excitedly, "A courtyard house doesn't mean we're all family! Who the hell is family with you?"

"You want to turn back the clock of history and become a feudal patriarch? You've come to the wrong person. We're not going to fawn over your stinking feet!"

Hearing Xu Damao's arrogant words, Yi Zhonghai trembled with anger and couldn't utter a single word. Xu Damao's words struck a chord deep within Yi Zhonghai.

"Anything else? If not, let's call it a day." Li Xiangdong said indifferently, "In this freezing weather, who has the time to play house with the three of you?"

In Li Xiangdong's words, the all-staff meeting was just playing house.

"Regarding Chief Engineer Li's matter, please help out for our neighborly sake. Hopefully, he can be released tomorrow," Yi Zhonghai said.

Chapter Sixty-Nine: Jia Zhangshi Falls Victim (Seeking flowers, votes, and full subscription!)

"Yi Zhonghai, who are you? Think this through before you speak."

Li Xiangdong interrupted Yi Zhonghai, saying, "Do you think you can interfere in everything?"

"I...I..." Yi Zhonghai was speechless, unable to continue. Otherwise, Li Xiangdong would have accused him of something else entirely.

"Xiao Li is gone!" Li Xiangdong pulled Yu Li away.

It's 5:30 now. I should go back and get ready; Li Huaide will be here soon. Snowflakes have already started to fall.

"Wait, wait. Chief Engineer Li, you kicked the table and broke it. Shouldn't you pay for a replacement?" Yi Zhonghai took a breath, suppressing his anger.

“No problem. Just bring me the wood I chopped last time, and you can exchange it for a new eight-immortal table here,” Li Xiangdong said, raising his eyebrows.

Yi Zhonghai was determined to make Li Xiangdong pay for the table. He had already said it, and Li Xiangdong had agreed. However, Li Xiangdong's request was difficult to fulfill.

The pieces of the table have already been burned by Jin Yumei. There's no way we can get them out now.

“But those that were used as firewood have already been burned,” Yi Zhonghai said angrily.