Courtyard House: Starting as a mediocre engineer

"Wow! Sister Qin, are you going to work at the steel rolling mill?"

"Yes. The factory has already sent someone to inform me that I need to report to the factory headquarters tomorrow."

"What about your health?"

"I'm not some delicate young lady, this is the third one already! Besides, the factory takes good care of me, letting me sit in the safety department office. There's not much to do usually."

"Wow! You work in an office? How lucky you are!"

"Where? Hehehe. Thanks to a benefactor, this old man has a lot of influence. He knows someone at the labor bureau and put in a good word for me."

"I see. We still have to rely on the old man!"

"No, no. Chenzi was also a great help."

"Uncle, don't be so modest. I was just helping out. Without your prestigious level eight craftsman title, who would I be? Actually, Uncle has always kept Dongxu's matter in mind. He's such a kind-hearted person, always doing good deeds anonymously."

"Exactly! Well done, old man!"

"Sir, we truly admire you!"

"..."

Amidst the praise, the elderly man, Yi Zhonghai, appeared as a detached and aloof sage. Yet, the smile on his lips could easily have carried 100 AK47s. Behind him, an elderly woman was beaming from ear to ear.

As for what happened afterward, it was all handed over to Yi Zhonghai.

Qin Huairu got a job in the safety department of the steel rolling mill, and she was able to get her full salary, which significantly increased her income.

Yi Zhonghai, along with Qin Huairu, personally visited Engineer Cheng's home and presented him with a generous gift to express their gratitude in person.

To be fair, although Yi Zhonghai... could be considered a paragon of morality, he was not greedy for money.

The idea that He Daqing embezzled the living expenses intended for He Yuzhu and He Yushui is clearly a fabrication and is utterly impossible. Otherwise, if He Daqing had moved into a courtyard house in his later years, this whole affair would have been exposed, and the two old men would have fought on the spot.

Another issue was the deaf old lady's house. According to the policy for the elderly living alone, Yi Zhonghai was responsible for the deaf old lady's care, so that house should definitely be left to him. It was registered with the local street committee, and the deaf old lady couldn't back out. But in the end, Yi Zhonghai didn't take it and, according to the deaf old lady's last wish, gave it directly to He Yuzhu.

Even if houses aren't worth much these days, they're still worth several hundred dollars, right?

Therefore, the few dozen yuan for the generous gift was irrelevant; in fact, Yi Zhonghai voluntarily covered it all. What he wanted was the prestige—the highest honor in Beijing!

"Hey, tell me, if this old man puts in a good word, would Guangqi's wife really be able to stay in the capital?"

"Uh..." Yi Zhonghai reacted quickly. He feigned profundity and said, "That's all in the past. There's no point in saying anything now. Sigh—!"

Seeing Yi Zhonghai becoming increasingly smug, Liu Haizhong and his second aunt looked dejected and returned home with gloomy expressions...

Regardless of whether he succeeds or not, Yi Zhonghai's boasting was definitely a success. He'll have even more authority as an old man in the courtyard house from now on!

At this moment, Zhuang Zhongchen and Qin Huairu secretly exchanged a glance; the two of them had already conveyed a thousand words. If they weren't in public, Bai Lianhua would have been unable to contain herself and would have been so happy that she wanted to throw herself into his arms and act coquettishly.

Even though I know it was all Zhuang Zhongchen's doing, I still have to praise Yi Zhonghai highly. I just enjoy quietly watching this old man show off...

Just in the last few days, Zhuang Zhongchen completed the translation of the paper on standard circuit boards and sent it to a domestic journal.

It's been raining heavily around Beijing, but nothing major has happened at work or at home.

The students in the culinary class had already been assigned jobs. They collectively approached Zhuang Zhongchen to express their gratitude, and Zhuang Zhongchen happily accepted their kindness but politely declined their gifts…

In those days, regulations weren't as strict. Eating and drinking were fine, and exchanging gifts was allowed. But accepting cash or other valuables was prohibited.

However, to avoid suspicion, Zhuang Zhongchen would definitely not accept gifts from his classmates.

Another option is to purchase new information. Since I have over ten shopping vouchers now, spending five won't be a problem.

[General Information: Good News for Anglers]

Around 23:10 PM this Thursday, a large number of fish will be crossing the Yue Wang Temple section of the river due to the collapse of nearby fishponds caused by heavy rain.

Note 1: The fish caught belong to the individual.

Note 2: Tasks can be randomly selected using intelligence. Settlement is based on task completion.

Note 3: If the task settlement is negative, existing shopping coupons will be deducted.

Fine! This is another inexplicable task, and those 5 shopping vouchers are basically free again.

Should we dig the opening in the fishpond even bigger? If we get caught, wouldn't that just be a welcome death sentence?

Are we supposed to be prophets and go to the fishponds in advance to give notice? Wouldn't that just be welcoming a slice of the fishpond? Besides, we don't even know which fishpond will be destroyed.

Therefore, this choice is essentially no choice at all; it's just pretending not to know. The only advantage is catching fish. But seeing that you're only a fishing novice? Catching fish? It'd be more reliable to catch a straw sandal, wouldn't it?

……

And so, Thursday arrived.

In the darkness, Zhuang Zhongchen and Mi Cuicui lingered tenderly for a long time, with faint, soft moans emanating from the room...

"Chenzi, Xiaoxue is often left at my mother-in-law's house. I'm thinking of giving them 5 yuan a month from now on."

"Of course. I'll give you the money. Don't be so frugal; you're eating such poor food, just pickled vegetables and radishes every day."

"Where? At least I have you. You're much better off than my colleagues; at least I can get enough to eat."

Alright! These conditions are really low enough. Zhuang Zhongchen was too lazy to waste words with this silly girl.

However, in those days, men would eat the best food at home, followed by the elderly and children, while women would voluntarily eat the worst food, sometimes just enough to fill their stomachs.

Unlike later on, when even families with poor financial conditions could still ensure they had enough to eat and wear, and the better off families would prioritize caring for their children, especially their daughters. Who would have thought that raising children in such a privileged environment would end up with a father who was a nefarious creature?

Therefore, upon hearing this, Zhuang Zhongchen felt somewhat guilty. He really should give his woman more nutrition.

Thinking of this, Zhuang Zhongchen thought of catching fish again!

To be honest, Zhuang Zhongchen had already prepared to give up. It was nighttime, and it was pouring rain outside. He didn't have a bicycle, and now there were no buses running.

Furthermore, the Yue Fei Temple is located just outside the city, on the very canal where the imperial family used to travel by dragon boat to the Summer Palace. It's very inconvenient in the dark. Is it really worth it just for a few fish? Wouldn't that be asking for trouble?

But things are different now. In order to get Mi Cuicui a sip of fish soup, I'll go and try my luck!

"Cui Cui, I'll be going now."

"Huh? You're not staying overnight?"

"I just remembered I have something to do tomorrow morning."

"Okay. Be careful then."