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

"Jianguo, who is this pretty young girl? I've never seen her before!"

Chen Xueru greeted them with a smile.

"This is my wife, Wang Yao. My grandma introduced her to me. What do you think? Isn't she beautiful?"

Chen Xueru looked her up and down several times.

Yao Yao lowered her head shyly, too embarrassed to speak.

"She's definitely a beauty in the making. Come here, let me make you some clothes."

"Sister Xue Ru, make her two winter outfits and two summer outfits, and also buy her two cheongsams."

Li Jianguo secretly winked at Chen Xueru.

Chen Xueru knew his hobby; he liked to wear cheongsams. She spat lightly and led Wang Yao into the fitting room.

After Chen Xueru personally measured her, she found her a new cotton-padded jacket to change into.

As the saying goes, clothes make the man, and Yao Yao looked even more beautiful after putting on her new clothes.

"Jianguo, I've already taken your measurements. You're in luck! Your sister has a great figure. These outfits will be ready within a week. Come and pick them up then."

Hearing Chen Xueru's praise, Yao Yao blushed even more and lowered her head shyly.

With Yao Yao there, Li Jianguo felt awkward chatting too intimately with Chen Xueru, so he simply said, "Sister Xueru, I'll take her with me now. I'll come find you again next time."

Li Jianguo glanced at the sky; it was getting late, and he was too lazy to go home and cook dinner.

He took Yao Yao directly to Quanjude.

"Brother Jianguo, let's go home and eat. This place looks expensive."

"Let's go, Yao Yao, it's alright. After all, we're getting married today, so we have to celebrate."

After entering, we found seats and ordered two roast ducks, a bottle of cabbage, and a bottle of Arctic Ocean soda.

Actually, when Li Jianguo first saw Beibingyang, he was quite surprised, not expecting that this soda brand had existed for so long.

Since he started practicing martial arts, his appetite has increased quite a bit. Yao Yao has never eaten before, so she'll probably eat a lot too, and we ordered two roast ducks.

The two had another big meal, and Yao Yao couldn't help but praise them.

"Brother Jianguo, this roast duck is so delicious! It's the first time I've ever eaten roast duck in my life."

"If you want to finish it, I'll bring you here again next time. It's not expensive."

"Let's forget about it. These don't look cheap. Jianguo, how much is it in total?"

"Don't worry, it won't cost more than 72,000 in total."

"Is it really that expensive, 72,000? This meal alone is enough to marry another me and still have some left over."

Yao Yao looked at the roast duck on the table in surprise.

"Alright, eat up, it's nothing."

While the two were eating, Li Jianguo was still wondering whether he should tell her about the space.

If I don't tell Yao Yao, acting all day long is quite tiring.

Li Jianguo was also not used to the cornbread of this era, and if he had to act it out even when he went to the toilet, it would be extremely uncomfortable.

After the two had eaten and drunk their fill, they carried the unfinished duck carcass home.

Li Jianguo was conflicted as he walked. He wanted to let her know, but he was also afraid that she wouldn't be able to keep the secret. Or rather, since it was only the first day they met, he really didn't trust her and didn't understand her personality.

If someone makes a stupid mistake and reports themselves, that would be a huge problem, plus there would be a 10-year period of turmoil. Who knows what will happen then?

No matter how I think about it, I'm still worried. He's really good now, but I doubt he can withstand machine gun fire.

He didn't want to suffer, so he could only make Yao Yao suffer. He even planted a life-and-death talisman on her body, which he could suppress with his internal energy every year. That way, she would never betray him.

Li Jianguo and Yaoyao arrived at the entrance of No. 95 Courtyard and ran into Yan Laokou.

Yan Bugui's eyes lit up when he saw the duck carcass in Li Jianguo's hand, and he quickly moved closer.

"Jianguo, when I came back, my wife told me you got married. Your wife is really beautiful."

Originally, the prettiest woman in our department was probably Jia Dongxu's wife, Qin Huairu, but the woman you married is much prettier than Qin Huairu.

Congratulations on your marriage! You two are a perfect match!

Old Yan kept showering people with compliments, as if they were free.

Li Jianguo was pleased to hear Yan Bugui's compliment and immediately handed him a duck carcass.

"Teacher Yan, please take this home and make soup with it. I think Yan Jiefang is too thin."

"Oh, thank you so much, Jianguo. Getting married is such a joyous occasion."

"When are you planning to hold a banquet? We should definitely celebrate properly in the courtyard."

Once Yan Bugui had the duck carcass in hand, his eyes lit up and he began to scheme again.

Li Jianguo's face darkened when he heard this. This guy is really greedy. He just gave me a duck carcass, and now he wants to eat at a banquet.

"Forget it, Teacher Yan, I'm a bit short on money lately, so let's not do it. After all, the country encourages thrift and frugality."

Li Jianguo quickly led Yao Yao back home.

The two sat down at the table. Li Jianguo poured two cups of tea and told Yao Yao to calm down her stomach, since she had eaten too much oily food.

Li Jianguo decided to lay his cards on the table and became serious as he looked at Yao Yao.

"Yaoyao, I have a secret to tell you."

When Wang Yao saw Li Jianguo's serious expression, she immediately became nervous as well.

"What's wrong, Brother Jianguo? Tell me."

"Yaoyao, this is very important. I haven't even told my parents because we're husband and wife. Now that I'm telling you, can you keep it a secret?"

Wang Yao became even more nervous. "Don't worry, Brother Jianguo, I absolutely won't say a word, even if you kill me."

"Okay, Yao Yao, here's what happened. When I was little, I met a Taoist priest surnamed Zhao. He practiced martial arts."

"We've inherited a martial art from a place called Baiyun Temple. You should understand the concept of martial arts, right?"

"I understand, I understand. I've heard about it before. It's like that martial arts champion or something. I watched operas when I was a kid, so I know what I'm talking about."

Yao Yao quickly nodded her little head.

"He's much more powerful than the martial arts champion, and he also gave me a small world where I can grow all sorts of things and raise animals. It's a private cultivation space."

"Brother Jianguo, what is a small world, what is space? I don't really understand."

Seeing her bewildered expression, Li Jianguo knew he couldn't explain it to her.

Li Jianguo checked everything again, then plugged the window again, and with a wave of his hand, he led her into the space.

Wang Yao was so startled by the sudden change in her surroundings that she sat down on the ground.

"Brother Jianguo, are you a god? You can change the world with a wave of your hand."

"Yaoyao, I'm not a god, I just practice martial arts. Let me demonstrate for you."

Li Jianguo then performed a set of the Heavenly Six Yang Palms, which he wasn't very familiar with. After all, this palm technique was the most powerful and straightforward; one strike could break a large tree and create a large crater in the ground.

Bai Hong's palm strike was too strange; she probably couldn't even understand it, so she didn't demonstrate it.

Yao Yao watched Li Jianguo's figure flying up and down, witnessing the immense power of each move. Her eyes didn't blink, and her mouth was slightly open in surprise.