Courtyard House: Starting as a mediocre engineer

Seeing the young couple flirting, Wen Yongchang felt a wave of exhaustion. His daughter was so stubborn; it seemed she'd already been tricked by that scoundrel.

That said, today's events also deviated from my original plan. I had originally intended to put on airs with this blond guy, test him a bit, and satisfy my urge to be his father-in-law.

But to everyone's surprise, this blond-haired guy pulled out a royal flush. Was he not only a section-level cadre, but also a college graduate engineer?

Of course, deep down, the Wen family was very happy. If Wen Yumei married well, their family would have even more face!

Fortunately, Su Yueying continued to ask, "Chenzi, I heard you come from a poor family and there's hardly anyone left in your family, right?"

"Yes, Auntie. My parents have both passed away. They left me two rooms in a courtyard house in Nanluoguxiang. That's all. I used to owe a lot of medical bills, but I've been paying them off every month. I promise I'll pay them all off when I marry Meizi."

We should just tell the truth about these things; the Wen family can find out about it anyway.

But Wen Yumei was unhappy. She pouted and said coquettishly, "How annoying! Who agreed to marry you?"

Amidst the laughter, Wen Anguo asked, "Chenzi, what's going on at your workplace...?"

Zhuang Zhongchen smiled and nodded: "Not a good reputation, right? That's true. Right after graduating from the training program, I was promoted to section-level cadre, but I really didn't have much experience. So I'm still learning now."

"I see!"

"Otherwise, how could he have been promoted to section chief? At least he didn't make any major mistakes. However, he does have some shortcomings in terms of seniority and ability. Personally, I think it will be difficult for him to be promoted within 10 years; he'll probably just have to accumulate seniority!"

"That's already pretty good. You're so young to be a section chief; didn't you help Xiaomei get her job?"

Wen Yumei immediately put on a fierce face: "He's completely useless. This is what I mean by 'performing well.' Hmph."

"Yes! Meizi is absolutely right!"

"That's more like it."

"Hahaha!"

"..."

After this visit, Zhuang Zhongchen and Wen Yumei officially confirmed their relationship. Once Wen Yumei reaches marriageable age, the two can get married directly.

Then came the new son-in-law's welcoming banquet, for which the Wen family had prepared a sumptuous feast...

According to traditional customs, the son-in-law is also called the most honored guest, and must be treated with the utmost courtesy.

Interestingly, when the mother-in-law's family needs help carrying cabbages, coal briquettes, or gas cylinders, it's usually the son-in-law who goes to their parents' house to show filial piety. As for the son himself? Needless to say, he goes to his mother-in-law's house too!

But after all the work is done, the mother-in-law insists on treating everyone to a good meal and drinks. The money spent is less than what could have been used to hire a few laborers to carry heavy loads.

……

After returning home that evening, Zhuang Zhongchen boiled a kettle of water, made tea, soaked his feet, and also tried to sober up.

The blond guy was quite satisfied with his performance today. It was a close call, and he'd already booked a cute girl for his family.

However, considering the Wen family's living conditions, it does seem a bit cramped. Six people living in a three-bedroom apartment? And four of the children are practically adults?

As the eldest son, Wen Anguo will definitely stay to get married so he can take care of his parents in the future. Wen Anjun is on the collective payroll and doesn't enjoy the benefits of housing or dormitory allocation. Wen Anmin hasn't even graduated or started working yet; his future is still uncertain.

In this light, it seems that Wen Yumei is the easiest to resolve? Perhaps the Wen family is also hoping their daughter will get married soon...?

Never mind all that. Thinking of the new house, Zhuang Zhongchen thought of his own two side rooms. Should they be renovated? What if Wen Yumei is exceptionally fertile? Pshaw!

That said, it's not impossible. During that era, the prevailing belief was that many children meant many blessings. And contraception was practically nonexistent. While condoms were available, setting aside the material, would they need to be washed and reused repeatedly? Who would dare use that?

If I want a disposable umbrella, I'd have to buy it at a general store... wait?

Just as Zhuang Zhongchen was lost in thought, he suddenly realized that he had enough shopping vouchers, but since the intelligence center was upgraded, he hadn't purchased any special intelligence yet.

Spending 50 shopping vouchers...

[Special Information: The Streets Are On the Rise]

To live and work better, you need a good living environment.

With the increasing number of unemployed youth, the neighborhood faces serious employment and public security problems. As young people of the new era, we should all work together for one another. You need to complete the following tasks:

First, perform 20 good deeds in this neighborhood;

Secondly, to solve the employment problem for 50 unemployed youths in this subdistrict;

Third, assist in the arrest of five criminals in this neighborhood.

Note 1: Once all tasks are completed, the main quest for special intelligence will be finished, and the system will perform a task settlement. If not completed, the system will not unlock new special intelligence.

Note 2: The main quest has a 90-day time limit. Once the time limit is reached, the quest will be settled according to the completion rate. If the completion rate is too low, there will be certain penalties;

Note 3: You are free to explore this street. Activating side quests will grant additional rewards.

Note 4: As this is the first special intelligence mission, the difficulty has been lowered to Easy. It will revert to Normal difficulty later. Hard and Very Hard difficulties will be randomly generated. The higher the difficulty level, the richer the rewards, but the harder it is to complete and the heavier the penalties. Choose carefully!

At this moment, Zhuang Zhongchen couldn't help but frown slightly. He hadn't expected the special intelligence to turn out like this; it was like opening a new instance?

Seeing those three main tasks? In 90 days, completing 20 good deeds is barely achievable. But creating 50 jobs? That's a bit difficult. What can you possibly do about this mess that's causing headaches for the entire neighborhood?

If I had known it would turn out like this, I wouldn't have rushed to give the bamboo ware factory and the three-wheeled vehicles to the neighborhood. They could have provided at least a few jobs.

As for the five criminals? Where am I supposed to find them? And is it really necessary to risk my life for something so dangerous?

So this isn't just a small pit, it's a catastrophic sinkhole! Intelligence Center, give me back my grandma! I'm so angry!

However, regardless of whether the mission can be completed or not, the deterioration of the street's security situation is certainly real.

There's nothing more to say, boys just need to protect themselves!

So Zhuang Zhongchen quickly decided on the next phase.

I don't have enough skill points yet, so I need to translate more scientific papers to level up my combat and tracking skills.

You should also keep a handy weapon with you. What if you really encounter criminals? You can't just fight them empty-handed, can you?

In addition, there are three main quests. I'll complete as many as I can; I won't force myself.

Sharpening your axe won't delay your work. It's just 50 shopping vouchers, right? Only when you truly improve your skills and abilities will they truly be yours!