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

"Yaoyao, let me give you a brief introduction to our compound. There are no good people here."

"Oh, really? I noticed Xu Damao's gaze towards me earlier was off. You shouldn't have much contact with him in the future."

"Okay, I'll have less contact with him in the future."

Let's start with the front yard. Yan Bugui and his wife, whom we met at the gate, live in the west wing of the front yard. He is known in the neighborhood for being stingy.

He would stand guard at the door, begging from the neighbors for things, never complaining about even the smallest amount; he was known for being calculating.

He often taught his children, "You won't go poor from eating or dressing, but you will if you don't plan ahead."

"Oh, it's alright, I guess. A lot of people in our village live frugally too."

Yao Yao thought it was quite normal after hearing it; a poor family shouldn't be taken advantage of.

"Yan Bugui is different. He's the kind of person who, according to legend, would taste the saltiness of a dung cart whenever it passed by."

Do you know what bizarre things he's done? When the sesame oil seller came over, he pretended to want to buy some, filled the pot, and then smelled it.

I made up an excuse not to buy it, then poured it back, and used the little bit of sesame oil stuck to the bottom of the bottle.

He poured some water in as oil, and that's how he managed to make sure the stir-fry had any meat in it. He's that stingy.

After hearing this, Yao Yao's eyes widened even more, and she looked at Li Jianguo strangely.

"Brother Jianguo, that's really exaggerated. We usually just dip the chopsticks in the food a couple of times when we're cooking."

I never expected him to try to take advantage of someone in this way; even we country folk wouldn't do something like that.

"That's right, he has no bottom line when it comes to taking advantage of others. In the hospital, this is relatively mild."

The problem is even bigger when you get to the middle courtyard. It's full of monsters and ghosts, and the only water tap in the whole place is in the middle courtyard. You'd better be careful when you go to get water in the future.

An old man living in the east wing of the courtyard was a level 7 fitter at the steel rolling mill. He was over 40 years old and didn't even have any children. He took Jia Dongxu as his apprentice.

They're relying on Jia Dongxu in the west wing across the street for their retirement. Jia Dongxu, along with the main wife Sha Zhu and the old lady in the backyard and rear wing, are all part of the same group, a retirement gang.

"Brother Jianguo, Yi Zhonghai is relying on the Jia family for his old age. What does that have to do with the main wife, Sha Zhu? Why is he called Sha Zhu? Is he an idiot?"

"Shazhu is definitely a bit slow on the uptake. Yi Zhonghai hired him as a backup plan for retirement. He's a cook, so he can also bring leftovers to help Jia Dongxu's family."

"Ah, why is he giving the food to the Jia family? Doesn't his own family eat it? Don't his parents care?"

"His mother died long ago, and his father ran off with a widow. He has a younger sister."

You'd better watch out for this silly Zhu; he's a lecher, and being a womanizer is no good.

He kept staring at Jia Dongxu's wife, Qin Huairu; he liked her.

Qin Huairu was clever; with a little coaxing, Sha Zhu, blinded by lust, immediately handed over what he was holding to Qin Huairu.

"Oh, he likes someone else's wife, and Jia Dongxu doesn't care? Isn't he afraid of being cheated on?"

"Don't worry, with Jia Dongxu's mother watching over him, he won't be able to get cuckolded."

He just wanted his wife to sacrifice some of her looks so he could get some benefits.

Moreover, this Jia Dongxu isn't exactly a good person either. I reckon he's not genuinely looking out for Yi Zhonghai's retirement; he probably just wants to exploit his childless descendants.

Yi Zhonghai is also a very cunning person. Back then, in order to make Sha Zhu a backup, his father was probably tricked away by Yi Zhonghai.

They even stole the job and money his father had left to Sha Zhu.

"Brother Jianguo, you actually embezzled money and your job! Does that idiot Zhu know about it?"

"Of course Sha Zhu knew; I was the one who took him to call the police."

After He Daqing returned, he beat up Yi Zhonghai. It's true that the nickname "Silly Zhu" was well-chosen; he really is silly.

Yi Zhonghai made a few persuasive remarks, and Qin Huairu used her beauty to her advantage.

I've already forgiven Yi Zhonghai, and we spent the New Year together, along with the old lady from the backyard.

The old lady was said to be a descendant of the old regime, and she had no children. This courtyard house used to belong to her.

She's counting on Yi Zhonghai to support her in her old age, and she's in cahoots with him, so they started conning Sha Zhu together. So you have to be careful.

"Brother Jianguo, this is too complicated. Why are so many people watching this idiot? This Yi Zhonghai is too wicked."

Yao Yao looked like her worldview was completely shattered.

"And there's worse news. I overheard a secret: Qin Huairu's newborn child is Yi Zhonghai's."

"What! The child is Yi Zhonghai's. Isn't Qin Huairu his apprentice's wife?"

Yao Yao exclaimed in surprise.

"You know how high my martial arts skills are. I can hear every conversation in the courtyard clearly."

Qin Huairu was introduced to Jia Dongxu by Yi Zhonghai through a secret arrangement; Yi Zhonghai had already conceived her before the marriage.

"That Yi Zhonghai is disgusting. He should at least divorce and remarry."

Yao Yao shook her head helplessly.

"Yi Zhonghai has done bad things, and his wife has caught him red-handed. It's not easy for them to get a divorce; it could be a pretext for his execution."

"Alas, poor Jia Dongxu and Sha Zhu."

"Jia Dongxu is greedy for money and not a good person either. I often overheard him cursing Yi Zhonghai."

Don't think that Sha Zhu is a good person. He beats and scolds this and that in the yard, just like other kids his age.

He had beaten them all, so everyone in the compound knew he was a savior for the elderly and didn't tell him that.

Even if you tell him, he won't believe you. Look at Xu Damao, who was drinking just now. He even reminded Shazhu, and Shazhu beat him up. Xu Damao lives in the west wing of the backyard.

The Liu family lived in the east wing. Liu Haizhong was a stupid and wicked man who was obsessed with becoming an official and always put on airs.

"Oh, he's putting on airs. What kind of official is he?"

"That's bullshit. What else can he do besides hitting children?"

He was just a liaison, there to prevent espionage, and his job was to relay policies from above.

Everything else was useless, but Liu Haizhong acted like an official, bossing people around in the courtyard all the time.

"Brother Jianguo, if that's the case, then there are no good people in the compound."

"That's right, there are no good people in this courtyard. Be careful when you interact with them. Anyone who looks kind and gentle is definitely up to no good."

"Okay, Jianguo, I understand. Go to sleep, I'm a little sleepy. You can't touch me, I haven't recovered yet."

"Okay, I won't touch you, let's sleep in each other's arms."

The next day, Li Jianguo took some hard candy and took Yao Yao to meet the neighbors. After all, since he wasn't going to do anything, he still had to let her meet the beast.

Having already met Yan Bugui, Li Jianguo grabbed a handful of candy and left. Yan Bugui tried to reach for another handful, but Li Jianguo didn't mind and gave him another.

Upon arriving at the Intermediate People's Court, they first went to the Jia family's house and knocked on the door. Qin Huairu answered the door.

"Brother Jianguo, is this your wife? She's really beautiful. I heard Yan Bugui talk about her a couple of days ago, but I haven't seen her yet."

Hearing the voices at the door, Jia Dongxu quickly came out as well.

He was stunned when he saw Wang Yao. He had only heard that Li Jianguo's wife was beautiful, but he did not expect her to be this beautiful.