Courtyard houses: Those who are capable are rewarded, and many children bring many blessings.

"I heard you. I'm busy enough as it is now, I don't have the energy to expand the team!"

"Hmm, that's more like it. The Mentougou branch is already under construction and should be completed by next spring at the latest. Then Hongyan will be transferred there as the deputy general manager, which is my role. What are your thoughts?"

"I'll just keep driving my big truck!"

"When you first joined the company, Hongyan wanted you to join the union, but you refused. Now you've been here for over a year, haven't you had enough of your crazy antics yet?"

"I remember you gave me orders not to use your connections to cause trouble at work, so why are you doing this now...?"

"I'm just kidding, I'm just planning out the way for you. You can't just stay in the same place forever, I'm just giving you advice."

In June, the Municipal Transportation Bureau organized a training course for outstanding grassroots employees. It was a full-time, six-month program. Opportunities like this for full-time training are rare, so you'd better book this!

"I don't have such big ambitions. I just want to live a simple life with my wife and kids in a warm bed. Why is that so difficult?"

"You're still complaining? So many people are fighting tooth and nail for this spot!"

"You're still just an ordinary person. What were you doing all this time, getting involved with so many women? If you didn't have some power, could you have kept them all?"

One sentence left Niu Dazhuang speechless.

Beautiful women are a scarce resource in any era. If you don't have the ability, you're called a femme fatale; if you do have the ability, you can have a happy marriage and win the heart of a beauty!

Niu Dazhuang thought about it and agreed. He wasn't particularly interested in getting promoted, but he was definitely interested in becoming the head of the security department.

Although the overall situation cannot be ignored, with subordinates, protecting one's family is not a big problem.

With that in mind, Niu Dazhuang agreed.

Seeing that Niu Dazhuang nodded in agreement, Su Wan considered the matter settled.

"Dazhuang, we're one now. Your well-being means my well-being, you can't deny that, can you?"

"Sister Wan, just tell me what's wrong. I'm not stupid; I know you're doing this for my own good!"

"I'm not jealous. If I were, I wouldn't be with Su Ting..."

"I know, is it about Bai Hongyan again?"

"You know perfectly well that even though it was my idea, it's not a long-term solution."

"What can I do? I can't just dump him!"

"Sigh! You're destined to be someone who never amounted to anything. Never mind, I won't bring this up again."

Fate is cruel; Yu Li ended up living in the courtyard house as Su Wan's cousin.

The moment Yan Jiecheng saw Yu Li, his heart fluttered inexplicably. It felt as if he had lost a hundred yuan.

"Sister Su, who is this?"

"My cousin is coming to stay at my house for a while." Su Wan was very efficient; she had already called Su Ting's workplace well in advance.

That's why Su Ting waited for Li at the gate after getting off work.

Although Su Wan didn't say it explicitly on the phone, she guessed a bit. It was perfectly normal for a scoundrel like Niu Dazhuang to mess around with a few women outside. The key was her older sister Su Wan's attitude.

The eldest sister, Su Wan, always handled things methodically. Since she had brought Yu Li to live in her home, there must be a reason. So she didn't ask any further questions.

He took Yu Li to the west annex of the central courtyard. He even poured Yu Li a cup of hot water.

This made Yu Li a little embarrassed: "I'll call you Sister Ting, I'm sorry for troubling your family!"

"No trouble at all. My family is small, so it's better to have more people around. Now that you're all back, did my sister say when she'll be back?"

"She should be here soon. She's the leader, and she'll be wrapping things up. She should be arriving soon."

"Oh, then how about a bowl of noodles with soybean paste today?"

Yu Li put down her teacup and stood up: "Is there anything I can do for you?"

"No, you should just stay put."

While Su Ting was kneading the dough, Xiao Qinling returned with his schoolbag on his back and threw it onto the kang (a heated brick bed) in the inner room.

"Mom, can I live at school after summer vacation?"

"We have such a big house, isn't it enough for you? Why waste money like that!"

Qinling pouted, "Many of my classmates live on campus. I want to live on campus too, so I won't have to travel back and forth all the time."

"A bunch of kids living at school, and you guys are just asking for trouble!"

"We have dormitory supervisors."

"That won't do! Didn't you see any guests coming? You didn't even say hello."

Qin Ling then looked at Yu Li.

"Hello, sister!" After greeting her, she went out to play with the other children.

"Sister Ting is a really good teacher."

"Hey! She's such a wolf in sheep's clothing. I'm so nice to her, but she's all over Dazhuang too. I'm even jealous."

Neither of them knew that they were both Da Zhuang's women.

"Really? Dazhuang is quite popular with girls."

"Yu Li, where did you say she went? Qin Ling is only eleven years old after the New Year (by Chinese reckoning). Her relationship with Da Zhuang is more like that of a father and daughter!"

"I misspoke."

After kneading the dough, let it rest in a basin, then cover it with a sheet of dried glutinous rice flour.

Su Ting used a fire hook to carry the fire ring outside and started making the sauce...

Yu Li also came out and helped start the fire.

Once everything was ready, we waited for Su Wan to come back so we could cook noodles.

After Niu Dazhuang drove the truck back to his workplace, the two of them each rode a bicycle back to the courtyard house.

Whether man or woman, they can act. When Su Ting saw Niu Dazhuang, her eyes lit up. She still pretended to be a normal neighbor and exchanged a few symbolic polite words. Niu Dazhuang then pushed his bicycle back to the backyard.

Everything has returned to normal.

A week later, Niu Dazhuang became one of the dozen or so outstanding employees in the company.

With Su Wan's nomination and Bai Hongyan's full support, Niu Dazhuang secured one of the seven spots for full-time study.

June was almost here, and with Aunt Zhao's help, Niu Dazhuang finally found a suitable small detached house and settled Yu Li in.

This small courtyard is not far from Yuan'en Temple, where Qin Huairu and her sister live. Their courtyard is to the west of the main gate of Yuan'en Temple. The courtyard rented for Yu Li is to the east of the back gate of Yuan'en Temple.

Although they were staying at Su Wan's house, both Su Ting and Su Wan were very polite to them, but Su Ting was still feeling uncomfortable as a guest in someone else's home. If Su Wan had been living with Bai Hongyan instead, she probably would have felt much better, since the two had often fought the Japanese together and become close friends. Su Ting even slept in the same room with Bai Hongyan for more than half a year.

Yu Li didn't have much to move, just a set of bedding and two changes of clothes.

All the pots, pans, and utensils were bought for her by Niu Dazhuang.

Niu Dazhuang was always generous to his women, treating them the same as Qin Huairu and the others. They used the same large earthenware jars for storing grain, filled with fine grains. He also took out some meat from his spatial storage, smoked it, and placed it in a basket hanging in the kitchen.

Looking at the kitchen full of food, Yu Li felt much more at ease. These days, only food can give you a sense of security.

Hugging Dazhuang's neck, she gave him a sweet kiss: "This food must have cost you a lot of money!"