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

Li Jianguo certainly wasn't short of money. He went straight to the liquor company and bought everything new.

Then Li Jianguo, carrying tools and wine jars, found another alley and entered the space together.

Then, following the steps taught by Xu Huizhen, he began brewing wine, mainly using red sorghum to brew Niulanshan and Erguotou.

The brewing jars he bought are still too small; he can't brew much at once. However, he doesn't grow much sorghum either, because he mainly grows corn and wheat.

I quickly pulled out the basic brewing manual I bought at the hotel.

After discovering the raw materials, most wines now use sorghum and wheat, while corn can only be used to brew mixed liquors.

Wheat can only be used to make yeast starter, and cannot be used to brew baijiu (Chinese liquor) on a large scale.

It seems I'm still quite ignorant; I only know about drinking, but I don't even know what kind of wine it is made from.

Looks like I'll have to plant more sorghum liquor in the future, but I probably can't drink that much anyway, so I'll just treat it as a bit of fun.

"Brother Jianguo, I've finished learning all these characters."

"Really? Come on, let me test you. If you can't answer, you'll be punished, and the punishment will be the same as always."

Upon hearing the old rules, Yao Yao immediately blushed and softly hummed in agreement.

Teacher Li officially went online, and Yao Yao began her teaching exam.

Yao Yao was so ashamed of her poor grades that she fell asleep.

Li Jianguo quickly grabbed some things and went back to the steel rolling mill to hand in his task.

After completing the task, I planned to go home, since I had been away for almost a week.

Looking around, it was now clear that Yao Yao was already dressed, and the two of them returned to courtyard number 95 together.

"Jianguo is back." Just as I reached the courtyard gate, I heard Yan Bugui's voice.

"If you went back to your hometown for a week to do some shopping, and you brought your wife with you, then you're doing great."

"Teacher Yan, it's a good opportunity to take your wife home to visit your grandparents without any delay."

"Jianguo, when you left, the institute held a meeting and decided that, to show respect, Yi Zhonghai would be the eldest uncle, Liu Haizhong the second eldest uncle, and I would be the third eldest uncle. You can't call me by the wrong name from now on."

Old Man Yan looked like he was lecturing someone, leaving Li Jianguo speechless. He had only been away for a week, and the "old man" title had already started.

"Old Man Yan, that's not right. Didn't I tell you?"

Don't let my young age fool you, I'm actually quite senior; I could be your grandfather by now.

From now on, the three of you will call me Grandpa and Yao Yao Grandma. Don't get them wrong. I was magnanimous not to mind before, but not anymore.

Li Jianguo spat at Yan Laokou and then took Yaoyao home.

"You, you, you are an insult to civility."

Yan Bugui's face turned red with anger. How dare he insult him like that? He would definitely make things difficult for him in the future.

As soon as she entered the room, Yao Yao spoke.

"Brother Jianguo, it seems I won't be able to go out with you as often, and we can't go back to our hometown every week, can we?"

"Yeah, that's right. From now on, we'll go out once a month. During the day, I'll pretend to be doing some shopping in Beijing."

The two then tidied up the house briefly.

Yao Yao then began to study diligently, and Li Jianguo did not disturb her.

Two months passed peacefully.

Li Jianguo was counting down the days; the old lady was supposed to explode today.

He deliberately stayed home and waited, but after a whole day there was still no sign of anything happening.

In the afternoon, he heard the old woman calling out, but no one paid any attention. Li Jianguo listened carefully and realized there was no one in the backyard. Serves her right.

It wasn't until after 4 p.m. that a scream was heard. It turned out that the old lady had woken up from her afternoon nap to find herself paralyzed.

The woman who was washing clothes by the pond in the middle courtyard kept calling, but it was too far away for anyone to hear her. Finally, Liu Haizhong's wife returned from grocery shopping and heard the noise from inside.

He hurriedly called Li Cuilan, who was still cooking, over.

The women from the middle courtyard also followed the sound to the backyard.

"Grandma, Grandma, what's wrong? What happened?"

"Cuilan, hurry and take me to the hospital! I can't feel my hands and legs anymore. Am I paralyzed? Please get someone to take me to the hospital right away!"

The old lady's voice was already hoarse, and she spoke weakly.

Li Cuilan was also startled and quickly went to call for help.

Steel rolling mills usually only provide lunch; they never provide dinner for the workers, only special meals for the leaders.

So He Yuzhu came home early today, while Yi Zhonghai hadn't arrived home yet.

Li Cuilan rushed to the Central Courtyard. "Zhu Zi, Zhu Zi, hurry! The old lady is sick, get her to the hospital immediately!"

Upon hearing this, Sha Zhu immediately panicked and hurriedly ran to the backyard.

He immediately picked up his grandmother and ran towards the hospital.

Qin Huairu, holding the child, wanted to follow, but Jia Zhangshi pulled her back.

"What are you doing? What's it to you? Go home right now."

"You know the relationship between the old lady and Yi Zhonghai, so let's make a good impression now."

"Then Yi Zhonghai will have a better impression of our family, and he will be more attentive in teaching Dongxu, and will feel more comfortable approaching us."

Qin Huairu is a smart woman; she knows when to befriend someone.

"What if you go and they make you pay for it?" Jia Zhangshi pouted unhappily.

"How could that be? Didn't you see that Li Cuilan and Sha Zhu went with them?"

They'll pay for the medical expenses. Now is the time to offer help and show kindness; when else should we go?

"Okay, go ahead. Give me the stick. I'll watch the child. I'm afraid the old lady will pass on the strange disease to the child."

Jia Zhangshi was very unhappy and snatched the child away.

"Alright, you can just eat a simple egg at home. If Dongxu comes back, make sure he and Yi Zhonghai go to the hospital right away. Tell Dongxu to behave himself. I'm going to the hospital now."

Li Jianguo heard the commotion behind him and, just as he stepped out of his house, saw Sha Zhu carrying the old lady on his back and rushing out. They looked just like a loving grandson and grandmother.

Li Jianguo already knew the result, so there was no need for him to join in the fun. The commotion in the courtyard was probably going to be even more interesting from now on.

"Jianguo, why didn't you go to the backyard earlier? Don't you know, the old lady seems to have collapsed, and Shazhu has already carried her to the hospital."

Yao Yao looked like she was about to witness a good show.

"Of course I know what happened. I was the one who secretly did what happened to the old lady."

Li Jianguo whispered in Yao Yao's right ear.

"When did you do it? Why? Brother Jianguo, you won't get caught, will you?"

After hearing this, Yao Yao immediately became worried. If they were discovered, it would be a big deal; she would probably end up in jail.

"Don't worry, Yao Yao, the hospital won't be able to find anything. I just left a bit of internal energy inside my body, and it will only erupt in a few months."

Do you remember when we went to deliver candy to the old lady?

She was muttering to herself, planning to trick you into divorcing me and introducing you to that idiot. I got angry and secretly did something to her.