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

"Old Yi, I'm not trying to be mean, but couldn't you have stopped me a little?"

"Director Zhao, you know what kind of temper Master Niu has. How could I dare? I've tried to stop him before, and what happened? He hit me on the head with his pipe and I got several bumps. He only listens to you." Yi Zhonghai understood human relationships, so he dropped the "deputy" from Deputy Director Zhao's name.

"That old ox is getting more and more outrageous. What started it all?"

"I heard from my husband that Niu Dazhuang wanted to rent the east wing of the courtyard..."

Yi Zhonghai repeated what he had heard.

"This isn't Old Niu's fault. A few old women bullied his child; it's no wonder Old Niu went crazy."

"Logically speaking, the Niu family is in the right, but they can't resort to violence against the people."

"Old Yi, your ideological awareness is quite high!" After hearing this, Deputy Director Zhao was too lazy to pay him any more attention.

Upon entering the courtyard, Aunt Zhang was crying and cursing as she recounted her family's misfortunes.

"Zhang Laowen, come here and have your wife tell everyone what happened."

When Aunt Zhang saw the neighborhood leaders arrive, she stopped crying: "Director Zhao, you have to stand up for my family! Look at my face, it's bleeding."

"Oh, Zhang Li! Did someone slap you, or did you knock your way in the face? Everyone saw it, so don't lie."

"That...that was also the little brat from the Niu family who tripped me up."

"Who saw it?"

"Everyone saw it."

"Name one who can testify for you."

Zhang Li turned her head to point at someone, but the neighbors who were watching the commotion quickly dispersed.

"They beat my son and my husband; everyone saw it."

"Why were they attacking your family? There must be a reason!"

"I just said..."

"Your family got beaten up because of your mouth, and you still have the nerve to throw a tantrum! Old Wen Zhang, you too, can't you even tell right from wrong! Alright, hurry back, I'll scold Old Niu."

"This... this is it? They beat the person for nothing?" Aunt Zhang still wanted to make amends.

"Why don't you fight back?"

"At the very least, you should apologize!"

"You, Zhang Li, should apologize to them first, and then they can apologize to you. Or you can go apologize to the Niu family now, and then I'll make them apologize to you."

Old Zhang pulled his wife along as they walked home, saying, "What a shameful thing."

After resolving the situation here, Deputy Director Zhao went to the backyard.

Niu Youliang was sitting comfortably on the kang (heated brick bed) smoking when he saw Deputy Director Zhao arrive. He quickly got off the kang, looking like a simple-minded young boy, and grinned broadly, saying, "Why did I disturb you?"

Seeing the old man's expression, Niu Dazhuang was also a little confused. These two must have a password that he didn't know.

He quickly stood up. "Director Zhao, please sit down. Let me get you a bowl of water!"

Director Zhao didn't stand on ceremony, sitting on the edge of the kang with one leg to the side: "Old Niu, why are you getting so handsy? You're getting more and more regressive as you get older."

"Isn't this Dazhuang just here? Let's set an example for him."

"I can't talk to you. You've lived half your life, how come you can't change?"

"Hehe, that's just how it is, there's no way to change it. Let's eat here tonight!"

"Oh! No, I have a whole family waiting for me at home. That's it, I'm leaving now."

Niu Youliang saw the person off at the gate until they were out of sight, and he was still reluctant to come back.

It was getting late after all that commotion. Niu Dazhuang hadn't even had dinner before getting into a rickshaw and heading to Dongwang Hutong.

It's already Thursday, and there's still no news about Niu Dazhuang's job. It's impossible not to be anxious.

With the three of them keeping an eye on Sun Yibo, it was a good opportunity for them to get some training, and Niu Dazhuang had nothing to do for a while.

Lying on the kang (a heated brick bed) at home, I used my mind to look at my personal space. I hadn't used it for so many days and had almost forgotten about it.

It's so damn empty! The space is about the size of a football field, with only the box that the old lama gave me sitting alone in the corner. The firewood and meat I chopped in the mountains during the winter are all kept at home.

I opened the box and counted the large yellow croakers; there were exactly eighteen of them. These were the only things I could sell for cash now, along with the gilded Buddha statue and the old books. But these were old things now, so they wouldn't be valuable for another thirty or forty years.

If you want to earn extra money, you can't do it without capital.

I washed my face, hopped on my bicycle, and headed to a nearby bank to inquire about prices.

Niu Dazhuang was still a little unaccustomed to it. Damn it, gold was now priced by weight, and even if it was priced by weight, one catty was equal to sixteen taels.

During the Republic of China era, a small yellow croaker weighed one tael and cost only 130 yuan, while a large yellow croaker weighed ten taels and cost 1300 yuan.

After leaving the bank, Niu Dazhuang rode his bicycle to the tavern.

Private transactions are definitely more profitable than selling to a bank. In this day and age, where is information most readily available? Taverns, of course.

After these few days of inventory, the tavern has officially opened. Although it earns less than before, Xu Huizhen no longer needs to personally oversee it.

We bypassed the tavern and went straight to the backyard.

Inside the room, Xu Huizhen and Chen Xueru were whispering to each other.

"Huizhen, it's quite boring to suddenly have so much free time."

"I think it's good, I can spend more time looking after the kids. And don't keep coming over here. I'll send you a message when that bad boy comes."

Chen Xueru said plaintively, "I think he's too scared to come. You've frightened him. Do you still want to marry that crooked-necked Cai Quanwu?"

"I used to think about marrying an honest, simple man. I've been observing him for years; he's good to Jingli and a reliable person. But ever since… that night, those feelings have faded, and I don't know what to do. Don't just talk about me, what about you? Have you taken a fancy to your company's manager?"

"I only mentioned it briefly. It's not that I'm interested in him, it's that he's interested in me. With looks and figure like yours, isn't it normal for him to be interested in me?"

"What was it called again?"

"Liao Yucheng is quite strong and capable, both in literature and martial arts. He's much better than Hou Kui's father."

"What, you've already tried it?" Xu Huizhen teased.

"Get lost! It's only been a few days. Do you think I'm that unreserved? On the contrary, you've only known him for a few days and you've already dragged him into bed."

"I've known Dazhuang for quite a while. I remember the first time I met him, he had just walked into this house."

He wasn't like this before; he was a very honest kid and didn't talk much.

"Hehe...you're like an old cow eating young grass."

"I'm not that much older than him, okay?"

"Being a year older is still being older."

Just then, Niu Dazhuang stood in the yard and called out, "Is Sister Huizhen home?"

Upon hearing the voice, Xu Huizhen put on a coat and prepared to get off the kang (heated brick bed). "The person you've been waiting for has arrived."

"Hehe, I'll have to take a good look this time." With that, the two of them got off the kang (a heated brick bed) together to greet the person.