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

"Sis, with Dazhuang around, we're not afraid of him anymore. If he comes again, we'll let Dazhuang beat him up again."

"Alright, you guys go tidy up the house, I want to be alone for a while!"

The two men brought in the charcoal brazier first, and Niu Dazhuang also lit the kang (heated brick bed). The east and west rooms were separated by a central hall.

In the west wing, the two initially held back, but gradually Ye Chunmei became completely uninhibited...

Ye Chunlan, who hadn't slept soundly in the east room to begin with, was even more unable to sleep now, and she secretly grumbled to herself.

"You brat, can't you tone it down a bit? Why are you yelling so loudly..."

Since the two of them started practicing esoteric Buddhist techniques in the second half of the trip, Ye Chunmei has adapted to it several times and is now completely used to it.

The next morning, Ye Chunmei was not only unaffected, but also felt full of energy and had never felt so comfortable.

Ye Chunlan, on the other hand, stared at a black circle again.

"Meizi, lend me your rickshaw for a few days," Niu Dazhuang said while eating breakfast.

Before Ye Chunmei could even speak, Ye Chunlan said, "Last time Chunmei didn't buy you any clothes, right? I see you already have some to wear, so why don't we have Chunmei buy you a rickshaw? That way it will be easier for you to travel between the two places."

"Hehe, how could I possibly accept that!"

"There's nothing to be embarrassed about. If you want to buy it, just go ahead and buy it. I heard that you'll need coupons to buy these big items in the future," Ye Chunlan urged.

"Then let's go buy it this Sunday," Ye Chunmei quickly agreed.

"I don't have time this Sunday. I expect to hear back about my job in the next couple of days. I also need to go back to my hometown to register my household registration at my workplace."

Ye Chunmei quickly said, "Buying a rickshaw isn't like buying clothes; you have to try it on yourself before my sister and I can buy it."

"Thank you, Sister Chunlan."

"I paid for it, okay? Why thank me, Second Sister?" Ye Chunmei pouted, still unhappy.

"Come on, do you even have that much money? It was Chunlan who paid for it!"

"Alright, you two are acting like children. You don't appreciate our good relationship at night, but you bicker over the smallest things during the day."

After breakfast, Niu Dazhuang hummed a tune and rode his bicycle back to the courtyard house.

The three little ones are still waiting for him to assign them tasks.

"Let's go, I'll teach you a skill to make a living." Upon seeing the three little ones, Niu Dazhuang didn't waste any words and led them out.

The group of four arrived at the gate of the cardboard box factory in Dongcheng District.

"See that big door over there? The three of you take turns keeping watch. This 'stepping on the plate' is a skill; you can't get spotted, and you can't lose sight of the person..."

Niu Dazhuang began to teach by example. Around noon, after Sun Yibo appeared, Niu Dazhuang pointed him out from a distance. To ensure the three could see Sun Yibo's face clearly, they walked towards him, only to brush past each other briefly.

You have to remember the other person's face. If you stare at them for a long time, you can even recognize them just by looking at their back or their walking posture...

After explaining everything here, Niu Dazhuang led the three men to Sun Yibo's house.

They were also given homework, told to draw the terrain of this area from memory when they got home that night...

After giving his instructions, the four of them ate lunch, and then Niu Dazhuang left each of them one yuan.

Niu Dazhuang went to the street office that manages Nanluoguxiang and found the person in charge. Deputy Director Zhao was a middle-aged woman in her forties with short, ear-length hair.

After knocking on the door and seeing who it was, Niu Dazhuang got straight to the point: "Director Zhao, I'm from No. 95, Nanluoguxiang."

Deputy Director Zhao put down the newspaper and looked at Niu Dazhuang: "I know everyone in your compound, but you look unfamiliar."

"Director Zhao, I am Niu Youliang's nephew from the backyard. I've only been living here for less than half a month."

"Oh, I see. Is something the matter?"

"I want to rent the east wing of the west courtyard of our compound."

"Oh! You're serious?"

"I'm definitely serious."

Director Zhao put down his newspaper and said sternly, "Have you thought this through?"

"I know someone died in the east wing of the courtyard. Now it's the new China, and although I'm not a Party member, I'm an atheist."

"That's right! In which room of this old house hasn't someone died? If there were really any weird stuff, the Japanese devils would have been driven back to their hometowns long ago."

"I know about the east wing of the courtyard you mentioned," she said, starting to flip through the account book. Pointing to a line, she said, "Look, the two west wing rooms you mentioned are 30 square meters. The rent is 25 cents per square meter per month, so that's 7.5 yuan for 30 square meters. If you have no objections, go to the finance department to pay!"

Niu Dazhuang thought to himself, "No wonder people in the compound would rather squeeze in than rent a room. The rent is expensive enough. For the average worker, nearly a third of their salary goes to rent. If there are several people in the family who don't work, it's no wonder they'd be willing to rent a room."

When Deputy Director Zhao saw that Niu Dazhuang was in a daze, he assumed that Niu Dazhuang thought it was too expensive.

"Young man, all public rental housing in the city is of the same standard. If you have a employer, they can subsidize you."

"Oh, I see. Then I'll pay for two months first."

Well, after paying two months' rent, Niu Dazhuang has completely become a proletarian.

We can't just stop selling the large yellow croakers from the space. Director Zhao took Niu Dazhuang to the courtyard house.

Upon entering the west courtyard, Director Zhao called out, "Old Qi's family, Old Zhang's family, Old Ye's family, come out for a moment."

Representatives from all three families have come out.

"East wing..." Director Zhao turned his head and asked, "What's your name again?"

"Niu Dazhuang".

"Oh right, the east wing room, Comrade Niu Dazhuang rented it. You have to move everything out of the room by tomorrow, or it will be confiscated."

Niu Dazhuang asked, "Director Zhao, can I get someone to clean this up?"

"Of course you can, as long as you don't destroy it, you can do whatever you want. Did you hear me?"

"Director Zhao, the things inside are all susceptible to getting wet. Where are we supposed to put them?" Aunt Qi complained.

"I won't close it. Anyway, I'll bring people over to inspect tomorrow, and I'll take everything out of the house. That's it."

Niu Dazhuang quickly saw the person off, and once they were outside the gate, he gave a fawning thumbs-up: "Director Zhao, you're awesome!"

"Sigh! The groundwork is tough. Some comrades, if you give them a friendly look, they'll take advantage of you. That's all for now, I'll come back tomorrow." With that, he left.

Niu Dazhuang turned around and went back, but when he reached the middle courtyard, Aunt Qi stopped him.

"Dazhuang, haven't you heard about what happened in the east wing?"

"I've heard about it. I've even slept in graveyards and houses where people have died."

"Dazhuang, you're still young. Why don't you wait for your uncle to come back and discuss it with him?"

"This is the result of my discussion with my uncle."

"That won't do. Even if it's a rental, we should be the ones renting it out first! Why should it be your turn?"