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

Li Jianguo handed the letter to Wang Yao.

"Brother Jianguo, you even know He Daqing's address? That's amazing!"

"That's nothing. When He Daqing came back, I went to the police station with Shazhu. We even filed a police report together. I already found out He Daqing's work address."

After Yao Yao packed her things, the two went to bed.

Li Jianguo didn't do anything reckless today, after all, he had things to do tonight.

After nightfall, Li Jianguo found his old, worn-out cotton-padded coat and scarf, covered his face, and quietly climbed over the wall to leave the courtyard.

They traveled all the way to the black market and wandered around.

Li Jianguo wandered around the black market for half a day, but he didn't know who was involved in illegal activities, so he had to find someone to exchange currency.

"Hey bro, got a job that needs your help? Want to do it?"

Skinny Monkey was taken aback. Could he have run into a madman who wanted him to kill someone?

"Brother, what kind of work? I just exchange currency, I can't do those shady jobs. You've got the wrong person."

Li Jianguo lowered his voice and continued his narration.

"Don't worry, it's nothing serious. I just want you to spread a few rumors around Nanluoguxiang."

Upon hearing that it was just a rumor, the skinny monkey breathed a sigh of relief and immediately started making exorbitant demands.

"5 yuan."

Li Jianguo frowned upon hearing the price.

"Damn, man, are you ripping me off? How can it be so expensive? It's just spreading a rumor, I'm not asking you to hurt anyone, 1, wanna take it?"

"Okay, deal! Ten thousand it is, pay upfront. Now, what rumor?"

The skinny monkey quickly agreed, thinking, "Isn't ten thousand just free money?"

Li Jianguo was taken aback by how readily he agreed, and he ended up lowering the price.

He'd been tricked. There was nothing he could do; they'd already agreed. He had no choice but to accept it.

"Here's a 5000 deposit. If you do a good job, you can have the rest. You need to let me see your face first. If you don't work, how can I find you?"

"Okay, no problem."

As she spoke, she pulled down her scarf, revealing her face.

When Li Jianguo took one look, he thought, "Good heavens, it has a pointed mouth and monkey-like cheeks, and it's ugly in a very distinctive way. It's so easy to recognize."

Li Jianguo took out 5000 yuan and handed it to him.

"You spread the word that there's an old lady in courtyard number 95 who's paralyzed, and that a hypocritical man named Yi Zhonghai wants to take advantage of her and is watching her every day."

This beast didn't want to take care of himself, so he forced a little girl in the yard to wash the old lady's diapers every day.

Another thing is that he tricked the people in the courtyard into taking care of the old lady for free, and then morally blackmailed them without paying a single penny.

This guy is a cunning fellow who wants to eat the old lady's leftovers without putting in any effort. He's waiting for the old lady to die so he can take over the house.

It must be publicized everywhere, mainly about Yi Zhonghai, and some other bad things about him added, this person is so rotten.

Furthermore, this old lady is no ordinary person; she's very wealthy and a descendant of the remnants of the old regime. You should also spread the word about this.

The skinny monkey's eyes lit up.

"Dude, don't worry, no problem! Is that old lady really that rich?"

Li Jianguo gave him a few strange looks.

"Don't worry about it. The old lady is paralyzed, and we don't even know where she hid the money. If it were inside the house, Yi Zhonghai would have found it long ago, since he takes care of her every day."

The skinny monkey gave an awkward chuckle.

"Yes, yes, you're right."

"Alright, I'm leaving now. Handle this matter properly and make a big fuss about it."

Li Jianguo quickly gave the skinny guy some instructions, fearing he might take the money and not do the job.

Li Jianguo then went to the black market and bought two Mauser pistols and 200 rounds of ammunition.

I can come here often to buy guns. Guns are much more convenient than martial arts; I can use them for self-defense.

When Wang Yao got home, her friend was still awake and couldn't wait to ask her.

"How's it going, Brother Jianguo? Is it done?"

"It's all taken care of, don't worry, it's all settled. Go to sleep now."

The two then fell asleep.

The next day, Li Jianguo got up early. Wang Yao asked curiously, "Brother Jianguo, why are you up so early today?"

"Don't even mention it. The factory has been converted into Hongxing Steel Rolling Mill. From now on, if we don't go to the countryside anymore, every purchasing agent has to report to the factory. The management isn't as relaxed as before."

"Okay, then I'll get right to cooking."

"Oh well, just make something simple."

Yao Yao boiled a few eggs, heated up some porridge and steamed buns, and the two of them ate a simple meal with some pickled vegetables.

Li Jianguo went out and headed towards the steel rolling mill, where he unexpectedly ran into Jia Dongxu.

"Jia Dongxu, where's your master, Yi Juehu? I haven't seen him. Is he still at home recovering from his injuries?"

Jia Dongxu snorted and walked forward.

When Li Jianguo saw that he dared to ignore him, he immediately shouted.

"Jia Dongxu, you've gotten bolder, haven't you? You dare to give me the cold shoulder? You dare to glare at me? Looking for a beating again? You stand right there! If you take another step, see how I beat you!"

Unexpectedly, Jia Dongxu was indeed a coward. Jia Dongxu stood still, trembling.

"Li Jianguo, these are all human beings! If you dare hit me, I'll call the police!"

"Don't give me that crap. What kind of look was that on my face just now? I deserved to hit you. Stand up straight now. So what's going on? Are you and Yi Juehu up to something again?"

"No, really."

Jia Dongxu dared not speak of Yi Zhonghai's actions that had tarnished Li Jianguo's reputation, for fear of being beaten.

Why didn't he go to work with you?

"My master is recuperating at home. He's old and his recovery ability isn't good."

"Alright, get lost. Next time, watch your eyes! If you dare look at me like that again, I'll punch you!"

Jia Dongxu quickly agreed and ran off.

Li Jianguo chuckled; it felt really good to bully people like this.

Upon arriving at the office, Li Jianguo sat next to Wang Qiang and waited for roll call.

Wang Qiang began to complain.

"Coming to work this early every day is really hard to get used to, I'm so sleepy."

He then tossed a cigarette to Li Jianguo.

Li Jianguo lit a cigarette and took a puff.

"Who says it isn't? Complaining won't help."

A short while later, the team leader arrived.

"From now on, I'll be the group leader. Anyone who needs to go to the countryside, hurry up and submit your report. Get to work."

The team leader checked the number of people; everyone was present. After speaking, he left the office.

Everyone went to collect forms and write reports, and Li Jianguo also spent 10 days writing.

Turning my head, I saw that Wang Qiang was even more outrageous; he had been writing for half a month straight.

The team leader didn't look at it carefully; he just collected the form, made the record, and let the person go.

Li Jianguo thought to himself, "If I had known the management was this lax, I would have written more."

When he got home, no one was home; Wang Yao had probably gone out to mail a letter.

Li Jianguo waited for a while, and then she returned.

"Brother Jianguo, you're back?"

"Okay, let's go out together."

Li Jianguo locked the door, found a corner, and led Wang Yao into the space.

"I applied to go back to my hometown from the factory. It took me 10 days to write the application. Now we can enjoy ourselves for a while longer."

The tiger meat from before hadn't been prepared yet, but thankfully it didn't spoil in the cellar.

Li Jianguo took out the tiger and continued to smoke the meat.

They cleaned up the tiger skin, threw the bones and tiger penis into the large wine vat, sealed it, and put it back in the cellar.

There are far too few wine jars now. This batch of wine can barely be contained. Once the new sorghum matures, there won't be enough for brewing.