The Beginning of a Courtyard House: Sixty Years of Internal Strength

"Mom, look how handsome I am! Finding a pretty girl won't be difficult at all. She might just fall for me at first sight, and she might not even care about my background," Li Jianguo quickly said.

"Alright, I'll tell the matchmaker later and ask her to introduce you to someone else." Li's mother nodded in agreement.

"Okay, Mom, I'm leaving now. I have things to do this afternoon." Li Jianguo dashed out the door.

He went straight to Zhengyangmen to pick up the clothes he had ordered.

As soon as Chen Xueru entered the silk shop, her eyes lit up when she saw Li Jianguo; she immediately recognized him.

"Young man, I thought you didn't want your clothes anymore. It's been so long, why haven't you taken them back?" He had left a deep impression on her last time because of his outstanding appearance, but she didn't expect him to be even more handsome this time.

"Oh, boss lady, how could I possibly refuse? I was just held up by something." Li Jianguo's heart was pounding as he looked at the alluring Chen Xueru.

"Come on, try it on." With that, Chenxi Shell Shop took out the clothes that had been made for him from the counter.

Li Jianguo tried on his clothes in the locker room. Unexpectedly, Chen Xueru came in and helped him change.

Chen Xueru's small hands groped around, inhaling the scent of her perfume. Li Jianguo became excited and even had a slight reaction, which Chen Xueru immediately noticed.

She gently patted Li Jianguo's arm and then went out.

After Chen Xueru left, Li Jianguo breathed a sigh of relief, changed his clothes, and came out.

After looking in the mirror and changing into his new clothes, the young man looked even more energetic.

Chen Xueru couldn't help but come over and help Li Jianguo straighten his clothes.

"Hmm, it fits perfectly." Chen Xueru looked at Li Jianguo with shining eyes, and couldn't help but sigh in her heart, "He's so handsome, like a movie star. His skin is even better than mine. I really don't know how he got such good looks."

Li Jianguo felt as if this woman wanted to devour him whole.

"Hmm, it fits quite well. I'll change out first; it's a bit cold to wear this in winter." Li Jianguo scratched his head sheepishly.

"Go change quickly, who knew you'd insist on ordering a summer outfit for winter." Chen Xueru laughed at his embarrassed expression.

"Some people say that buying a wife out of season is cheaper." Li Jianguo quickly went into the dressing room and changed his clothes.

"Your name is Li Jianguo? Where do you work?" Chen Xueru asked, looking at the information Li Jianguo left when ordering clothes.

As Li Jianguo finished paying the final payment, he said, "I work as a purchasing agent at a steel rolling mill."

"Your job is really good. Come visit sometime, I'll treat you to a drink," Chen Xueru invited with a smile.

"Okay, from now on I'll call you Sister Xue Ru. I'll come when I have time, but I'm afraid my brother-in-law will find out and beat me." Li Jianguo hinted that no one else could help.

"I don't live here, so don't worry. If you need anything in the future, just tell me, and I'll give you a discount when I make clothes for you," Chen Xueru explained, her heart pounding as she looked at the handsome young man.

She was having trouble getting along with her husband and had been looking for a new partner for a while, but her son was too young and she hadn't met anyone suitable before. Now she thought Li Jianguo was pretty good, mainly because he was handsome.

"Okay, Sister Xueru, I'll be going now. I'll come to see you often," Li Jianguo said as he walked away, thinking to himself.

Chen Xueru probably divorced her first husband around 54. I wonder if she can become a traitor like Cao Cao. Judging from her appearance, she still has a good chance.

After returning to his courtyard house, Li Jianguo heard a commotion in the middle courtyard. It seemed that something had happened again. Without even putting his belongings back home, Li Jianguo went straight to the middle courtyard to see what was going on.

Upon entering the Intermediate People's Court, I saw Chang Wei beating Lai Fu—no, it was Sha Zhu beating Xu Damao.

Xu Damao clutched his groin, lying on the ground howling. He Yuzhu sat on him and started punching him repeatedly, yelling, "I'll teach you to talk bad about me, I won't teach you to talk bad about Sister Qin, I won't teach you to slander Uncle Yi!"

Li Jianguo was speechless. So he's calling her Sister Qin now. No wonder you're such a silly guy.

For some reason, Xu Damao's parents were not there.

A short while later, Xu's mother returned, carrying a vegetable basket.

It turned out that Xu Damao's mother had gone to buy groceries. When she entered the Intermediate People's Court and saw her son being beaten, she rushed up to stop Sha Zhu.

When the silly pig saw that it was Xu Damao's mother, he felt embarrassed to continue hitting her and stepped aside.

"Da Mao, are you alright?" Xu's mother quickly helped Da Mao up.

Xu Damao stood up, one hand covering his face and the other his groin, wincing in pain.

When Li Jianguo saw He Yuzhu beat Xu Damao black and blue, he thought, "He truly deserves to be called the War God of the Courtyard."

"Shazhu, how dare you hit my Da Mao! I'm calling the police right now and having you arrested!" Xu's mother shouted angrily.

At this moment, Yi Zhonghai jumped out. "Da Mao's mother, this is just kids playing around. Calling the police is unnecessary. Look, Da Mao's injuries aren't serious. Besides, Da Mao started it. You can't blame Zhu Zi."

"Nonsense, how did I cause trouble? I just told you the truth, and look how badly you beat me. We have to call the police." Xu Damao became more self-righteous when he saw his parents arrive.

"Zhu Zi, what did Da Mao say? Tell us what happened, let everyone uphold justice, and let your Aunt Xu hear it too." Yi Zhonghai said with a sanctimonious air, "I'm the most impartial person."

He Yuzhu snorted before saying, "It's because Xu Damao said that there was something between me and Sister Qin that was unclear, and that I often gave her boxed lunches."

They even accused me of recognizing a thief as my father—isn't that an insult? I don't give them to them often; it's just that Sister Qin's family is poor, and I couldn't refuse, so I only gave them one sometimes.

"Da Mao's mother, look, Zhu Zi said it himself. This isn't Zhu Zi's fault. It was Da Mao who spread rumors. How old is Zhu Zi? How could he spread such rumors?" Yi Zhonghai looked at Xu's mother with a righteous expression and tried to persuade her.

"Yi Juehu, stop talking nonsense. What's wrong with me saying a few words about Da Mao? Look what you've done to our Da Mao."

"Fine, if you don't acknowledge it, we'll talk about it when his father comes back." Actually, Xu's mother didn't know what to do either. She said that calling the police was just to scare people.

Having come from a time of war, they naturally distrust the police. Back in the day, even if you were a victim and went to the police, you'd be arrested and interrogated four or five times before they'd release you.

Xu Damao's mother helped Xu Damao home. With no more excitement to see, everyone dispersed.

For dinner, Li Jianguo secretly used his mental power to stew a rooster in his spatial dimension.

At home, I just made a simple show of it: cornmeal porridge and steamed corn buns.

Then they closed the windows and doors and ate, but the aroma was still very strong in the room.

"Sigh, looks like I'll have to eat in the space next time." Unexpectedly, just as I finished washing up, there was another commotion in the central courtyard.

Li Jianguo quickly dressed and ran out; it turned out that Xu's father had returned.