Courtyard House: Starting as a mediocre engineer

Seeing that He Yuzhu's marriage was finally settled, Zhuang Zhongchen felt more relaxed. While watching the festivities with a group of women, he asked with a smile, "Where's Uncle Qing? Wasn't he informed on his son's big day?"

He Yushui seemed a little embarrassed: "Uh... I said he wasn't available. He sent some money home."

"That's fine too. At least Zhuzi has finally made it. He's the first family in our yard to have a bicycle!"

But the second aunt standing nearby said with a hint of sourness, "It's not that bad, is it? Now Sha Zhu's family has one more freeloader. What about Yu Shui's dowry?"

"That should be a long way off, right? Rainwater won't graduate for several more years."

"Yeah, there are still two years left. It's okay, anyway, my sister-in-law's food rations will be transferred to our family, so we'll definitely have enough food coupons at home."

Hearing this, Zhuang Zhongchen suddenly remembered something: "By the way, I heard some rumors outside, though I can't guarantee they're absolutely accurate! Apparently, the whole country is enjoying good weather and a bumper harvest in the autumn."

"Wow! Really? Thank goodness, the hard times are finally over."

"No, why don't you understand what I mean?"

"What do you mean?" The women around her looked completely bewildered.

Xu Damao chuckled and boasted, "Don't you understand what I mean? Didn't Chenzi tell you? Don't keep any more food coupons at home, they'll drop in price soon."

"what?"

Zhuang Zhongchen smiled and said, "Once I'm outside the courtyard gate, I won't acknowledge what I just said!"

"Oh, oh oh!"

Zhuang Zhongchen was certainly willing to share such a good deed that came easily. Although being a close neighbor meant he couldn't actually get any information about the old lady on the system, he could at least gain some good reputation.

However, to be fair, Xu Damao's mind was the quickest; he grasped things almost instantly. No wonder he did quite well in the original story, second only to Li Huaide, the Unyielding Golden Spear.

Just then, as He Yuzhu and Wu Xiaoya were about to bow to each other, a short, dark-skinned, stocky young man suddenly burst in. He rushed to Wu Xiaoya and grabbed her arm, crying, "Xiaoya, I can't live without you! How can I live without you! Waaah—! Waaah—!"

(⊙_⊙)(⊙_⊙)(⊙_⊙)……

Amidst the wailing and sobbing, Zhuang Zhongchen seemed to be hallucinating, his mind filled with the image of that fat, crosstalk performer, and it seemed as if his demonic voice was everywhere.

"boom--!"

Like cold water poured into a pot of oil, the entire courtyard instantly boiled over...

……

Several hours later, this "spectacular" wedding finally came to an end. Everyone had certainly gotten a juicy tidbit of gossip.

That burly, dark-skinned kid was definitely beaten up and then taken straight to the police station. His friends and family, united in their anger, beat him until his face was covered in bruises. Their enthusiasm was so great that Zhuang Zhongchen couldn't even squeeze in; he didn't even get a chance to kick him.

Honestly, that's not how things are done at all. Whatever the reason, this guy is just asking for a beating.

As for the relationship between that guy and Wu Xiaoya? I heard they used to... have feelings for each other! But Wu Xiaoya tearfully denied it, swearing that the two had no relationship.

Anyway, the truth is no longer important; it's just a Rashomon-like situation.

However, one thing is certain: that guy comes from a very poor family, and he himself is an unemployed youth, not to mention any exorbitant dowry. If the two of them were to marry, they wouldn't even be able to meet their basic living needs.

In real life, regardless of wealth or poverty, a man should at least be able to support himself. Otherwise, he will harm both himself and others.

Even if you manage to fool someone with a romantic mind, how will they live afterwards? They won't even be able to support their family. Not everyone will take advantage of a young person's poverty. For the vast majority, poverty brings endless sorrow to couples.

Without a doubt, Wu Xiaoya wasn't blinded by love. At least He Yuzhu's conditions weren't bad, and she was quite satisfied with him.

Therefore, amidst Wu Xiaoya's weeping and wailing, He Yuzhu ultimately... naturally chose to forgive her!

In this kind of mess, it's best for outsiders not to say much. It's just a matter of closing their eyes, and the old and young men can continue drinking their wedding wine...

Anyway, it won't affect Sha Zhu's wedding night, so who cares!

However, unexpectedly, perhaps it was a case of "new year, new beginnings." Just after New Year's Day, Zhuang Zhongchen encountered another fire.

Inside the workshop, a group of people were gathered around a burnt-out production line. Fortunately, production was underway when the fire broke out, and all personnel evacuated in time, preventing any casualties. However, the production line was almost completely destroyed.

Here's a little-known fact: in this era, national property is extremely important. Therefore, in many cases, people fight fires with all their might, resulting in numerous firefighting heroes. This is because the loss of national property is far more serious than personal casualties.

Unfortunately, this situation is indeed tragic. But this is the price to pay for falling behind. Because every piece of machinery and equipment is extremely valuable.

At that moment, a group of people were investigating the cause of the fire. However, they were all very experienced with ordinary fires. Before long, they all reached the same conclusion: "An electrical short circuit. The source is right here."

Generally speaking, the fire department is responsible for fire prevention, fire protection facilities, fire fighting, and fire cause analysis. Once the cause is determined, the fire department is basically no longer involved.

Then it will be handed over to other departments. Arson or dereliction of duty will be handed over to the public security bureau; safety accidents will be handed over to the labor bureau (safety supervision bureau).

Without a doubt, since it was an electrical short circuit, Zhuang Zhongchen would be the one to take over. Meanwhile, the other departments could clock out and go home.

However, at that moment, Zhuang Zhongchen suddenly froze. He carefully examined the area several times with his flashlight, and then hurriedly called out, "Old Qi, please wait a moment."

"Hmm?" Old Qi walked over with a puzzled look on his face.

Zhuang Zhongchen whispered, "See this? Someone has modified the electrical circuitry."

"What?" Old Qi's eyes lit up. "Are you sure?"

"I need to see the original drawings. I need to double-check them. But there shouldn't be any mistakes."

"Damn it! This is a huge problem."

With human involvement involved, who can guarantee it wasn't intentional? If it was deliberate sabotage, it would become a criminal case. For the police, this would mean working around the clock again.

As expected, after reviewing the original blueprints, it was confirmed that the equipment's circuitry had been modified. Lao Qi and a group of police officers quickly mobilized and apprehended all those involved.

But when asked why, everyone was stunned.

"Boss, I'm innocent! This is a technological innovation that can improve work efficiency by more than 20%. We have indeed passed the acceptance test and even reported the good news to our superiors. If you don't believe me, we have several other pieces of equipment here..."

"Holy crap! You guys still have more?!"