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

"Yi Zhonghai, stop talking nonsense. You should know what kind of person I am."

"What do you suggest we do about this? If you don't satisfy me, you'd better watch your step from now on. Don't blame me for being ruthless." When Xu's father returned home and saw the horrible state of Xu Damao's body, he was furious. He Yuzhu was still a child, so he had no choice but to go to Yi Zhonghai.

Seeing that Xu's father had already said this, Yi Zhonghai realized that she couldn't fool him anymore; she knew Xu's father quite well.

"How about this? I'll give you 2 yuan for your medical expenses, what do you think?" Yi Zhonghai didn't say anything else and directly offered to pay up.

"No way, 2 yuan. I'll give you 2 yuan, how about I beat you up? What are you dreaming about here?" Xu's father glared fiercely at Yi Zhonghai and He Yuzhu.

Unexpectedly, at this moment, the future matriarch of the courtyard house, the deaf old lady, appeared.

"Xiao Xu, we've been neighbors for many years, we're all acquaintances."

"Let bygones be bygones. After all, Xu Damao was in the wrong first. How about this, I'll give you 3 yuan. What do you think? Just do me a favor." The old lady stared at Xu's father without blinking, her eyes full of threat.

Mr. Xu sighed helplessly and agreed: "Alright, I'll let you off this time for the sake of the old lady."

Finally, at Yi Zhonghai's prompting, He Yuzhu reluctantly handed 3 yuan to Xu's mother.

With no excitement to be had, the neighbors dispersed.

Li Jianguo quickly and secretly listened to the Xu family's movements, hoping to overhear some secrets.

"Old Xu, I never expected the old lady to actually show up. It's really infuriating," Xu's mother said helplessly.

"Hmph, what are these two widows up to? Everyone in the courtyard knows that. The old lady is even more ruthless and no good either."

"Two families have no descendants left, so we'd better avoid letting our porcelain jars touch those earthenware pots." Xu's father scolded Xu Damao again before packing up and going to bed.

Li Jianguo was also helpless. After listening for a long time without hearing anything, he had no choice but to wash up and go to sleep.

The next day, after receiving his assignment from the steel mill, Li Jianguo spent the morning playing around, and then went to eat Peking duck at Quanjude for lunch.

To be honest, it was really delicious. While eating, I overheard other customers chatting. Apparently, Quanjude was about to start a public-private partnership. I didn't expect it to happen so quickly.

Was the joint public-private ownership to begin in early 1952? I wonder when the steel rolling mill would start.

Nothing major has happened in the yard lately, it's just that Sha Zhu beats up this person and beats up that person.

His path to finding a partner was difficult for a while. The matchmaker his mother had asked him to meet another woman, but Li Jianguo still didn't like her. He continued looking for someone, but without any luck. He went back to his hometown twice, but still couldn't find anyone suitable.

He visited Chen Xueru at the silk shop three or four times, and even went upstairs to chat with her and have a few cups of tea. Their relationship became more and more familiar, but he never had the chance to make her his girlfriend, since she still had to look after the shop.

Two months passed, and Li Jianguo returned to the courtyard. The neighbors started chattering about it, because the worker level exam was about to begin.

Li Jianguo thought to himself, "Is it already this fast? Shouldn't the worker-level exam be held after the public-private partnership?"

Li Jianguo then found Xu Damao, "Damao, want to have a drink at my place this morning?"

Xu Damao's eyes lit up immediately when he heard about drinking.

Li Jianguo took Xu Damao home with him. He simply fried some peanuts and took out the fried chicken pieces that he had saved from last night.

"Brother Jianguo, your family's food is pretty good." Xu Damao was also happy to see chicken.

"I haven't been eating much oily food lately, so I'm treating myself to something nicer," Li Jianguo explained simply.

After having a couple of drinks, Li Jianguo finally spoke up. "Da Mao, why does the yard look so messy? They said there's going to be a worker assessment, but I haven't heard anything about it. Are they starting site assessments so soon? The steel rolling mill hasn't been a public-private partnership yet."

"Hey, you're talking about this. I actually know a little about it. In fact, this system has been in place in state-owned factory for over a year."

After the Russians started cooperating with us, they brought their system over and have been implementing it in Northeast China. It seems like it started last year, and the public steel mills in Beijing started to implement the 8-level worker system.

This year, private factories started implementing this system at the front-line worker level, and the workers themselves took the lead in coordinating it.

"From now on, wages and technical skills will be based on the 8-level worker system. Yi Zhonghai and Liu Haizhong are going to make a fortune." Xu Damao was very jealous.

"Oh, I see. I went to Quanjude a couple of days ago and heard that they seem to have started a public-private partnership. How come there's no sign of that happening at our steel rolling mill?"

"It's all because Lou Bancheng is so stingy."

I heard from my dad that the government has talked to him, but he's still reluctant to give up these factories and just said he'll think about it.

I don't think he can escape this calamity, after all, some companies are already actively responding to the public-private partnership." Xu Damao told him everything he knew.

Li Jianguo immediately understood: Lou Bancheng was indecisive and couldn't see the situation clearly. What kind of "red capitalist" was he? It seemed he wasn't a good guy either.

It's no wonder that those capitalists who didn't actively respond were persecuted during the Cultural Revolution.

"I feel the same way. The Russians are providing such strong aid right now. Lou Bancheng is still hesitant and timid. You see, I feel he can't withstand the pressure. The steel rolling mill is a key state-owned enterprise; they can't let it continue operating."

"Yes, Brother Jianguo, I think what you said makes a lot of sense. You don't know, many of these state-owned factories now have Russians providing technical guidance. A lot of the machinery was also imported at low prices. If our steel rolling mill becomes a joint public-private enterprise, it will be expanded."

"Hey, Da Mao, are projectionists and our purchasing staff included in the 8-level worker system?" Li Jianguo really didn't know anything about this.

"Sigh, Brother Jianguo, you're overthinking it. The Level 8 worker system is for skilled workers. Our position is more like an auxiliary one. Administrative positions aren't even included in it," Xu Damao sighed.

"Well, it seems my hopes for a raise are dashed too," Li Jianguo chuckled.

"Brother Jianguo, don't be disappointed. I heard that although it's not included in the 8-level worker system, there are still high, medium, and low grades. Apparently, the salaries for administrative positions will also be different."

However, their wages are generally lower than those of factory workers. They easily earn three or four hundred thousand yuan a month, while frontline workers' wages are still quite high; it's said that even a level 8 worker earns over a million yuan." Xu Damao looked on with envy.

Sigh, Li Jianguo thought to himself, it seems that Yi Zhonghai will rise up again. He was a little late in making his move. The internal energy he left in Yi Zhonghai's body will not take effect for more than a year. He guessed that this time he would be able to get Yi Zhonghai a senior technician certificate.