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

"Then forget about later, just get it done for me all at once." Xu Damao pulled out a small yellow croaker from his pocket.

“Okay, we’ll announce it the day after tomorrow,” Li Huaide readily agreed.

Li Xiangdong, along with Factory Director Fan and Secretary Lin, had drunk quite a bit. After seeing them off, he returned and saw Liu Haizhong sticking his head out to look at something.

But as soon as he saw Li Xiangdong return, Liu Haizhong quickly shrank back.

"That bastard is watching me from here." Li Xiangdong frowned and said, "No, I have to teach him a lesson."

"Last time I was prepared to give him a taste of lightning, but this time, if I don't give him lightning, I'll give him a jolt of electricity."

Li Xiangdong saw that Liu Haizhong was pressing the door hanger to close the door.

A large nail had pierced through the door hinges. The nail head was bent in two and pressed tightly against the door panel. Liu Haizhong's hand was resting on the metal component.

Li Xiangdong seized the opportunity and flicked his finger, sending an arc of electricity striking the gantry crane.

By this time, Liu Haizhong had already closed the door. He felt a tingling sensation in his hand. Then, as if propelled by a force, he was violently pushed and fell to the ground.

When Liu Haizhong's large body crashed to the ground, it felt like the whole room was shaking.

"Dad, what's wrong with you?" Liu Guangqi hurriedly came over and pulled up Liu Haizhong's hair.

"I...I fucking...there was electricity on the door crane. My whole body is numb," Liu Haizhong said, trembling.

"There's electricity? That's impossible! There are no power lines around here." Liu Guangqi reached out and touched the doorknob: "See, there's nothing wrong with it."

"This is fucking bizarre!" Liu Haizhong was still numb, his mouth, eyes, and nose twitching from time to time, as if he were making a face.

"Should we go to the hospital?" Zhang Cuihua asked, "Old man, what's wrong with you..."

"Why go to the hospital? I'm not feeling well anymore. It's almost the New Year, I can't go to the hospital." Liu Haizhong shook his head.

When Liu Haizhong woke up the next morning, the numbness had completely disappeared. He didn't dwell on what had happened the day before and hurried off to work.

Liu Haizhong arrived at the factory and applied for the assessment. He was very confident in his skills. After this assessment, the next one would be the promotion assessment during the Spring Festival. Liu Haizhong was certain he could pass the exam and become an eighth-level blacksmith.

The examiners were Deputy Section Chief Zhang and two Level 8 forging workers.

"Liu Haizhong, forge a sphere. You have fifty minutes," Deputy Section Chief Zhang said. "The sphere should be twenty centimeters in diameter."

Liu Haizhong casually tossed an iron rod into the furnace to heat it. Then, he used tongs to pick up the red-hot iron rod and placed it under a pneumatic hammer to forge it. He hammered and turned it at the same time.

Soon a sphere appeared. But this was a rough blank, and it still needed to be slowly hammered by hand to meet the precision requirements.

Liu Haizhong threw the shovel back into the furnace, and after it heated up red-hot, he took it out. He placed it on the anvil and began to hammer it.

It was only then that Liu Haizhong realized something was wrong. The hammer wasn't as easy to handle as before; it seemed like something was blocking his way.

"Damn it, that electric shock really affected me. I hope it didn't affect my accuracy," Liu Haizhong thought to himself.

After Liu Haizhong finished his haircut, he walked to the side somewhat nervously. Deputy Section Chief Zhang and two level-eight workers came forward to take his measurements. All three shook their heads.

Liu Haizhong's heart sank; he knew things were going badly.

"Liu Haizhong, your precision is substandard in many areas. Therefore... you failed the assessment." Deputy Section Chief Zhang shook his head and said, "You can only be demoted to level six!"

"But your craftsmanship is still quite good. I don't know why the precision isn't enough."

Liu Haizhong said dejectedly, "I got an electric shock last night, and this hand..."

Liu Haizhong looked annoyed.

"It's alright, it's alright. There will be an upgrade assessment after the New Year. Just go and take the exam and come back," Deputy Section Chief Zhang said reassuringly.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm going to get promoted twice during the New Year!" Liu Haizhong said through gritted teeth.

Li Xiangdong had nothing to do here, so after lunch he drove home. His excuse was readily available: drawing at home was the same as here.

When Li Xiangdong returned to the compound, it was one o'clock in the afternoon. Yu Li was already waiting there. The two of them took the woolen cloth and went out to find someone to make clothes for them.

Both of them made clothes; Li Xiangdong made Zhongshan Zhuang style clothes, while Yu Li made a double-breasted Lenin suit.

Two other people each made a trench coat to eat.

When the two of them returned to the courtyard house, it was around four o'clock. Just then, He Yushui and Yu Haitang returned as well.

The two women were carrying large and small bags, which looked like New Year's goods that He Yushui had bought.

"Have you saved the rainwater money?" Li Xiangdong asked casually.

"I've saved it, thank you Chief Engineer Li." He Yushui thanked him with a look of gratitude.

Yu Haitang became obsessed with Yu Li, even though neither Li Xiangdong nor Yu Li gave her parents any face. But Yu Haitang seemed to have no recollection of that.

"Sister Li, you two are so loving. I hope my future relationship with my partner will be like yours," Yu Haitang said with longing.

"You're so young, why are you thinking so much?" Yu Li rolled her eyes at Yu Haitang.

Chapter Seventy-Nine: Yu Haitang's Thoughts (Seeking flowers, votes, and full subscription!)

“Sister Li, I’m not young anymore. If this were in the countryside, I would be getting married and raising children by now.”

Yu Haitang twisted her body, as if in a show of defiance, to indicate that she was not young anymore.

He then continued.

"However, as you know, Sister Li, if I really marry a rural person and just stay home to be a wife and mother, the children's education level won't be very high. After all, I went to school for a few years, and I still hope that my children can receive a good education in the future."

When Yu Li heard what Yu Haitang said, she understood what her cousin was thinking.

All they want is to live in the city and get a city residency permit, but city residency permits aren't that easy to obtain.

I was able to get a city household registration thanks to Dong Ge.

If it weren't for Dong Ge, it wouldn't have been possible to change his identity so easily.

"You haven't even finished your studies yet, and you're already thinking about the future. Focus on your studies first. If you finish high school, finding a job in the city won't be difficult. Then, you can easily change your household registration from rural to urban, and your child's education will definitely be guaranteed!"

Yu Li didn't want Li Xiangdong to continue worrying about her family's affairs, especially since this was just her cousin.

It's a family that even my parents dislike, so I can't possibly trouble Dong Ge with this kind of thing again.

Yu Li knew very well that Dong Ge must have pulled strings behind the scenes to get her this job.

Doing this once or twice is harmless, but if you do it often...

If someone with ulterior motives were to seize upon this information, Dong Ge's future prospects would become increasingly limited.

Yu Li is a very sensible person, so she used this excuse to try to shirk Yu Haitang's intentions.

Just as Yu Haitang was about to speak, Li Xiangdong waved his hand.

"Haitang, living in the city isn't so easy. If you want to live in the city and have a city household registration, it's not exactly difficult, but it's not exactly simple either."

"Just like your sister-in-law said, if you can study hard and learn a skill in the future, and if the steel rolling mill needs your skills, I can put in a good word for you."

With just a few words, Li Xiangdong completely thwarted Yu Haitang's idea.

"Yes, Haitang, let's continue studying together. Let's finish high school together and find a job."

He Yushui wasn't thinking that much, so she didn't understand Yu Haitang's implied meaning and was just offering kind advice.

"I was just mentioning it casually. Of course, I can't keep bothering my brother-in-law. In that case, let's go eat first. I'm hungry now."

Yu Haitang abruptly changed the subject, cleverly avoiding the topic and not continuing the conversation.

Yu Haitang knew in her heart that continuing the conversation would inevitably lead to nothing.

On the contrary, it might cause your brother-in-law to have some bad thoughts, which would definitely have a negative impact on your future development.

This matter definitely needs a long-term plan, no matter what.

Yu Haitang was determined to live in the city and obtain a city household registration.

"Chief Engineer Li, Sister Li, I am very grateful for your family's help in this matter. I don't know how to repay you. Why don't you come to my house for a meal? I will cook a few of my signature dishes as a way of thanking you both for your help."

He Yushui smiled sheepishly, his face radiating sincerity.

"We're all from the same neighborhood, so there's no need to be so polite. Besides, you don't have much to do with them. This is just a small favor on my part. There's no need for a meal. If you'd like to come to my house for dinner, you're welcome anytime. Your sister-in-law and I have some things to take care of, so we'll go ahead and not bother you any longer."

Li Xiangdong didn't dislike He Yushui from the bottom of his heart; he was just very dissatisfied with the beasts in the courtyard.

As for why he didn't accept He Yushui's invitation, Li Xiangdong naturally had his own reasons.

"Brother-in-law, sister, can I come to your house for dinner today?"

Yu Haitang acted as if nothing had happened and shamelessly continued speaking.

"It's probably not convenient today. Your brother-in-law and I have already eaten out, and there's not much leftover food at home. Besides, you've been in the city for quite some time now. It's time to go back and help with the farm work. If you stay in the city any longer, you'll only be eating, drinking, and having fun. You might as well focus on your studies."

Yu Li made up a random excuse and flatly rejected Yu Haitang's request.

Yu Li was unaware of what her cousin was planning. Her cousin had been ambitious since childhood.

Once you've made up your mind, you have to do it. And now, she's about to get married to Dong Ge.

At times like these, it's best to minimize contact with these relatives, especially with a cousin like Yu Haitang who carries a heavy heart.

"If you think about it, it's not too long before school starts. Haitang, since you don't have anywhere to eat, why don't you eat at my house today? There's still some meat at home, we can cook something simple and have a full meal."

He Yushui extended an invitation.

"I'm so sorry to trouble you every day, Rain Water. Well then, I'll have a meal at your house today, and I'll go back to the countryside tomorrow to do some farming. We'll see each other at school when school starts again."

Yu Haitang's eyes darted around, as if she had thought of something, and she stopped bothering Li Xiangdong and Yu Li.

Instead, they went back to He Yushui's room.