Courtyard House: Primordial Chaos Pearl

The news of He Yuzhu's resignation caused an uproar in the courtyard. When he entered the courtyard wearing the new work clothes that Lin Dong had bought for him and pushing a wooden cart full of radio parts, Jia Zhangshi's mouth pursed so much that an oil can could hang from it, and even the second uncle Liu Haizhong's posture with his hands behind his back was stiff—no one expected that the silly Zhu, who used to be completely controlled by the Jia family, would now become Lin Dong's "right-hand man".

"Zhu, are you crazy? You're just going to throw away your secure job in the cafeteria like that?" Liu Haizhong was the first to attack. He had just returned from the neighborhood committee office, and his mind was filled with thoughts of how to get a share of Lin Dong's business. He Yuzhu's "defection" made him even more anxious. "Lin Dong's business looks glamorous, but if he gets arrested for speculation, you'll have nowhere to cry!"

"Second Uncle, I'm working legitimately with a state-owned factory. There's a contract and it's registered. It's more reliable than working in the canteen." He Yuzhu parked the car and stood up straight. "Last month I earned sixty yuan, more than I would have earned in three months working in the canteen." As soon as he said this, the courtyard fell silent. Even Qin Huairu, who was picking vegetables, stopped what she was doing, her eyes filled with jealousy.

Lin Dong came out of the house, holding the newly drawn parts blueprints in his hand: "If Second Uncle is envious, he should just focus on being a team leader and stop eyeing other people's jobs." His words hit Liu Haizhong's sore spot—a team leader in the street office has no real power and no money to be made, how can he compare to Lin Dong who makes a fortune every day?

Just then, Uncle Yan Bugui came over with an abacus, clicked the keys a couple of times, and said, "Lin Dong, I've done the math. The raw material cost for your hundred radios is three hundred yuan, the labor cost is twenty yuan, and the miscellaneous expenses are fifty yuan. The net profit is at least five hundred yuan. We're all neighbors, it's not good for you to keep all the profits to yourself."

"Uncle San has miscalculated." Lin Dong smiled and took out the cost list given to him by Boss Li. "The parts supplied by the state-owned factory are 30% cheaper than the market price. I didn't calculate the cost of the core components I produced myself. The net profit is indeed 500, but I have to pay Brother Zhu's salary and save money to expand production. How can I keep all the profits to myself?" He had expected Yan Bugui to come and settle this matter, so he prepared the list in advance.

Yan Bugui looked at the numbers on the list and started clicking the abacus even louder: "Then I'll manage the accounts for you. I'm a teacher, so I know the books best. Just give me ten yuan a month, which is half the price of hiring an accountant." "No need to trouble you, Uncle. I bought my own abacus. Brother Zhu learns bookkeeping quickly." Lin Dong refused directly. Yan Bugui was good with the abacus. If he really let him manage the accounts, he might overstate the costs and pocket the difference.

Upon seeing this, Liu Haizhong immediately chimed in, "I'm the head of the street committee. I can help you coordinate with the industry and commerce bureau and the tax bureau. I'll give you advance notice if there are any inspections in the future. I don't ask for much; just give me fifteen yuan a month as a service fee." He and Yan Bugui were clearly in cahoots, having pre-arranged their plan to squeeze money out of Lin Dong.

"I don't need your connections with Second Uncle. Comrade Wang from the Industry and Commerce Bureau is an acquaintance of Boss Li, and the factory will withhold the taxes." Lin Dong handed the blueprints to He Yuzhu. "If there's nothing else, we need to rush to finish the work and not delay the state-owned factory's order." After saying that, he pulled He Yuzhu into the house, leaving the two old men, whose schemes had failed, standing in the yard.

Liu Haizhong and Yan Bugui exchanged a glance, both seeing resentment in each other's eyes. Yan Bugui lowered his voice: "This kid's stubborn, we need to find a way to force him to give in." "I have an idea," Liu Haizhong sneered. "His production site is in the yard, violating the street's 'no factories in residential areas' rule. I'll report it and get the industry and commerce bureau to shut him down!"

He Yuzhu, who was passing by, overheard their conversation and quickly ran back into the house to tell Lin Dong. Lin Dong remained calm: "I was prepared. I applied for 'family handicraft industry registration' with the neighborhood office yesterday. As long as it doesn't disturb the residents and there's a formal contract, it's legal. Let them report me if they want. It'll be good for the industry and commerce department to prove my innocence once again."

Sure enough, the business registration team came again in the afternoon, but this time they came to deliver the registration receipt. When Officer Wang saw Liu Haizhong following behind, his face immediately darkened: "Team Leader Liu, the misunderstanding from last time has just been cleared up, why are you making false reports again? Comrade Lin's registration procedures are complete. If this hinders legal business operations again, I will report it to the street office." Liu Haizhong was so frightened that his face turned pale. He quickly apologized and slunk back into the house.

Their joint scheme failed, and the two old men finally calmed down. However, the Jia family started causing trouble again. That night, Lin Dong discovered that ten sets of transistors that had just been produced were missing. He immediately thought of Jia Dongxu—after being caught stealing parts last time, that guy was definitely not behaving himself.

He didn't make a fuss, but instead made fluorescent markings on the remaining transistors and deliberately said in the yard, "We need to move the parts inside tomorrow to prevent them from getting damp." In the middle of the night, he pretended to be asleep and hid behind the curtains to observe. Sure enough, he saw Jia Dongxu climb into the yard and grope his way towards the assembly table.

Just as Jia Dongxu picked up the transistor, Lin Dong turned on the light: "Brother Jia, here to 'borrow' parts again?" Jia Dongxu was terrified and turned to run away, but was blocked by He Yuzhu, who was guarding the door. "Caught red-handed this time, let's see what you have to say now!" He Yuzhu grabbed Jia Dongxu's arm and pressed him to the ground.

Hearing the commotion, Jia Zhangshi and Qin Huairu ran out. Seeing the transistor on the ground, Jia Zhangshi was about to throw a tantrum again, but Lin Dong coldly interrupted her: "These transistors are spare parts made for the agricultural machinery station. If one set is missing, we have to pay fifty yuan. Ten sets would cost five hundred yuan. Either you pay, or I'll call the police and let them settle this."

Five hundred yuan was an astronomical sum for the Jia family. Jia Dongxu was so frightened that he cried, "Brother Lin Dong, I was wrong. I just wanted to sell it for money. I didn't expect it to be so valuable." Qin Huairu also quickly pleaded, "Brother Lin Dong, our family is really in dire straits. Please forgive him this time. I will definitely keep a close eye on him from now on."

"I can forgive him, but he must pay compensation," Lin Dong said. "I know your family is poor. Here's what we'll do: Brother Jia, work for me for half a month, moving parts and cleaning the production line, as payment for the 500 yuan compensation. If you dare to slack off, I'll call the police immediately." Jia Dongxu had no choice but to nod in agreement.

With Jia Dongxu as their free laborer, production progressed much faster. Jia Dongxu, being watched by Lin Dong and He Yuzhu, dared not slack off, working himself to the bone every day until his back ached, and no longer had the energy to steal. Qin Huairu, seeing her husband so exhausted, was both angry and anxious, but dared not cause Lin Dong any more trouble.

Ten days later, one hundred radios were delivered on time. Boss Li came to inspect them with Station Chief Wang from the agricultural machinery station. Upon seeing the sound quality and workmanship of the radios, Station Chief Wang praised them highly: "Director Li, the quality of your radios is really good. Our agricultural machinery station would like to order twenty units for our technicians working in the fields."

Boss Li's eyes lit up, and he pulled Lin Dong aside to introduce him: "Station Chief Wang, the core components of this radio were all made by Brother Lin. His craftsmanship is even better than our factory's technicians. He can also make the parts your agricultural machinery station needs."

Station Master Wang immediately became interested and took out a blueprint for agricultural machinery parts: "We need fuel injectors for these diesel engines. The state-owned factory's parts will take a month to arrive. If Brother Lin can make them, I'll give you fifteen yuan per injector. The first batch will be thirty." The fuel injectors have very high precision requirements, and ordinary workshops simply cannot make them. But for Lin Dong, with the "precision shaping" function of the Chaos Pearl, it was a piece of cake.

"No problem, we can deliver in three days." Lin Dong took the blueprints, scanned them with the Chaos Bead, and detailed manufacturing parameters immediately appeared in his mind. Station Master Wang was overjoyed and paid a deposit of one hundred yuan on the spot: "If the quality is up to standard, we'll have you make all the parts for our agricultural machinery station from now on."

After seeing off Boss Li and Station Chief Wang, He Yuzhu jumped up excitedly: "Lin Dong, we're going to cooperate with the agricultural machinery station! We're going to expand our business to the countryside!" "This is just the beginning," Lin Dong said with a smile. "The profit margin on agricultural machinery parts is higher than that of radios. As long as our quality is excellent, we'll get more and more orders in the future."

To expedite the production of fuel injectors, Lin Dong entered the Chaos Space and used high-purity iron ore and lead-zinc ore brought back from the mine as raw materials, activating the "Precision Shaping" function. The Chaos Pearl released subtle golden light, polishing the metal raw materials into fuel injectors that met the precision requirements, with each one having an error of no more than 0.01 millimeters.

In less than two days, thirty fuel injectors were completed. Lin Dong took the fuel injectors to the agricultural machinery station for inspection. After testing them with professional instruments, Station Chief Wang exclaimed, "Comrade Lin, the precision of your fuel injectors is even higher than that of the state-owned factory. When installed on a diesel engine, fuel consumption can be reduced by 10%!" He immediately signed a long-term supply contract with Lin Dong and placed an additional order for fifty more.

Returning to the courtyard house with the new contract in hand, Lin Dong felt exceptionally cheerful. As soon as he entered, he saw Yi Zhonghai standing there, his expression somewhat grave. "Lin Dong, come here for a moment, I have something to say to you."

Lin Dong followed Yi Zhonghai into the house, where Yi Zhonghai poured her a cup of tea: "Lin Dong, your business is doing well now, which is a good thing, but you also need to be careful. Although your second and third uncles are scheming against you, they are still neighbors, so don't let things get too tense."

"Uncle, I've never provoked them; they're the ones who come looking for trouble first," Lin Dong said. "I've already given them plenty of face. If they're still not satisfied, don't blame me for being impolite."

Yi Zhonghai nodded: "I know you feel wronged. Actually, my second and third uncles also came to me, wanting me to plead with you and ask you to share some of the profits with them. I didn't agree because I know that your business was built on your own hard work, and it shouldn't be shared with those who reap the benefits without sowing."

Lin Dong was somewhat surprised; he hadn't expected Yi Zhonghai to side with him. "Thank you for your understanding, sir."

"You're a capable kid, you'll definitely achieve great things in the future," Yi Zhonghai said. "These disputes in the courtyard are just minor troubles for you, don't let them ruin your future." Lin Dong nodded. He knew what Yi Zhonghai meant: he shouldn't stoop to the level of the people in the courtyard and should focus his energy on business.

Back in his room, Lin Dong entered the Chaos Space and began cultivating the "Chaos Body Refining Technique." After this period of accumulation, his Chaos Power was now sufficiently abundant, and the time was ripe to break through to the third level. Following the incantation of the technique, he rapidly circulated his Chaos Power within his body, cleansing his meridians and bones. Although the pain was unbearable, he gritted his teeth and persevered.

After an unknown amount of time, he suddenly opened his eyes. The chaotic power within his body surged, and a powerful aura emanated from him—the third level of the Chaotic Body Refining Technique was complete! He slammed his fist into the stone wall of the space, and a deep crack appeared in the wall. Lin Dong nodded in satisfaction. Now, he could easily handle even a dozen burly men.

The next day, Lin Dong delivered the fuel injectors to the agricultural machinery station and settled the remaining payment. Station Master Wang gave him a new parts list, all urgently needed by the station, with an order totaling two thousand yuan. Holding the list, Lin Dong felt a surge of confidence—his business empire was expanding step by step.

Back in the courtyard, he saw Jia Dongxu obediently moving parts, while Jia Zhangshi stood to the side, her face grim but not daring to speak. The third uncle, Yan Bugui, and the second uncle, Liu Haizhong, hid inside, not daring to come out. Lin Dong knew that after these lessons, the people in the courtyard would no longer dare to provoke him easily.

That evening, he and He Yuzhu discussed their future plans in the house: "Brother Zhu, we now have two orders for radios and agricultural machinery parts, so we need to expand production. I'm thinking of renting a factory in the suburbs and moving production out, away from the troubles of the courtyard house."

"I agree!" He Yuzhu nodded immediately. "The people in the compound are always eyeing our business. Moving out will give us peace and quiet. I know some village officials in the suburbs who can help us find a cheap factory building."

Lin Dong patted He Yuzhu on the shoulder: "Okay, I'll leave this to you. Once the factory is rented, we'll hire a few workers and officially set up a small workshop. We won't have to produce secretly in the yard anymore."

Night had fallen. Lin Dong stood at the doorway, gazing at the lights of the courtyard house. He knew that leaving this scheming place was not far off. But before leaving, he wanted to completely resolve the troubles within the courtyard and make those who had bullied him pay the price for their actions.

His gaze fell on the Jia family's door, a cold smile playing on his lips. He would collect everything the Jia family owed the original owner. And his career would begin a new chapter in the new factory.