Courtyard House: Erguotou (a type of Chinese liquor) Traded for an Aircraft Carrier, the Whole Count

After Xu Damao left, Jiang Chen didn't rush to deal with Liu Guangtian's matter. The bait had been cast, and the fish were starting to bite; hauling in the net was only a matter of time. His immediate priority was to return to the courtyard house.

Yi Zhonghai suffered such a huge setback at the factory; by now, the news should have spread like wildfire into that scheming three-courtyard house.

Jiang Chen pushed his brand-new old-fashioned bicycle, with two boxes of braised pork he'd brought back from the canteen hanging on the handlebars, and slowly rode out of the factory gate.

Just as he had expected, a strange and restless atmosphere permeated the air in No. 95 Nanluoguxiang at this moment.

The news was brought back by Uncle Yan Bugui, the third son of the man in the front yard. This old man was as shrewd as an abacus maker. Although he wasn't an employee of the steel rolling mill, his ears were sharper than radar. He overheard several workers excitedly recounting the "miracle" that had occurred in the first workshop at the alley entrance. His eyes darted around a few times, and he immediately sensed the dramatic shift in the wind.

Just as Jiang Chengang pushed the cart into the front yard, Yan Bugui appeared out of nowhere, holding a chipped enamel basin and pretending to water the flowers.

"Hey, Section Chief Jiang! You're back?"

Yan Bugui's old face beamed like a chrysanthemum, and he bent at least fifteen degrees lower than usual. In the past, when he saw Jiang Chen, he would at most nod and call him "Little Jiang," but now, his address of "Section Chief Jiang" was tinged with sweetness and cloying sweetness.

"Uncle, watering the flowers?" Jiang Chen asked, supporting himself on one leg with a half-smile.

"Hey, what a waste of time." Yan Bugui put down the kettle, his eyes fixed on the lunchbox on Jiang Chen's handlebars. His Adam's apple bobbed, but he forcefully suppressed the urge to ask for it. Instead, he turned around with a serious expression and shouted into the house, "Jiecheng! Jiefang! Where have you all been? Didn't you see your Uncle Jiang is back? From now on, when you see Uncle Jiang, be polite and courteous! Do you hear me?"

Inside the house came the indistinct responses of Yan Jiecheng and his brothers.

Yan Bugui turned his head, lowered his voice, and said with a mysterious yet ingratiating expression, "Section Chief Jiang, I've heard everything. You were incredibly powerful at the factory today! Even Old Yi, that level eight worker, fell for your tricks? Tsk tsk, I knew it! Among the young people in our institute, you're the most promising! You're like a reincarnation of the God of Literature!"

As he spoke, he seemed to have gone to great lengths, pulling a small handful of roasted peanuts from his pocket and stuffing them into Jiang Chen's bicycle basket: "These are homemade, for you to have with your drinks. In the future, we'll need your help with things in our compound."

Jiang Chen looked at the dozen or so peanuts and sneered inwardly. This stingy old man Yan usually calculates even a grain of salt, but the fact that he could bring out peanuts today means that in his heart, his value has exceeded a hundred times that of these peanuts.

"Thanks, Uncle." Jiang Chen didn't refuse and pushed the cart inside.

Just after passing through the hanging flower gate, I bumped into my second uncle, Liu Haizhong.

Ever since Liu Haizhong was stripped of his title of "Second Uncle" and dismissed from his post, he had been staying at home pretending to be sick. But today, he was dressed neatly, carrying two bottles of Erguotou (a type of Chinese liquor) that had been sitting for who knows how long, and was standing in the corridor of the central courtyard looking around.

Upon seeing Jiang Chen, Liu Haizhong's chubby face instantly filled with a complex expression—embarrassment, jealousy, but mostly a kind of schadenfreude followed by fervor.

"Jiang... Jiang Chen." Liu Haizhong put his hands behind his back, trying to adopt the air of an elder, but his confidence was clearly lacking. In the end, he could only offer the wine in his hand forward. "Off work? Um... Second Uncle... oh no, I mean your Uncle Liu, there's something I want to talk to you about. Are you free tonight? How about we have a couple of drinks?"

Liu Haizhong's plan was shrewd. With Yi Zhonghai gone, his authority in the factory was gone, creating a power vacuum in the courtyard. If he could win over Jiang Chen, this rising star, and the two of them joined forces to completely crush Yi Zhonghai, then Liu Haizhong might have a chance to make a comeback.

"Uncle Liu, I won't drink anymore, let's do it another day." Jiang Chen glanced at him indifferently, his tone distant. "The factory just gave me a new task, and I have to work overtime tonight to look at blueprints."

"Hey, hey! Work is important, work is important!" Liu Haizhong was met with a rebuff, but he didn't dare to lose his temper at all. Instead, he nodded repeatedly. "Then you can take this wine. Young people use their brains a lot, so a little drink will help you relax. In the future, you'll need to be more active in the factory... cough cough, you'll need to be more out and about."

Jiang Chen didn't accept the wine and walked straight through the central courtyard.

At this moment, beside the water tank.

Qin Huairu was washing clothes. In the dead of winter, the water was bone-chillingly cold, and her hands were red with cold, but she washed very slowly, her eyes constantly glancing towards the hanging flower gate.

When Qin Huairu saw Jiang Chen pushing the cart, wearing a military officer's overcoat and walking over with a straight and upright posture, she suddenly stopped washing clothes.

Looking at Jiang Chen's cold and heroic face, and then at his humble yet arrogant, even somewhat condescending, attitude towards Liu Haizhong and Yan Bugui, she felt a mix of emotions.

regret.

That was a heart-wrenching regret.

Once upon a time, Jiang Chen was just a nobody who had just started working at the factory, and Qin Huairu wouldn't even give him a second glance. At that time, all she cared about was Yi Zhonghai's monthly salary of ninety-nine yuan, thinking that by clinging to this big shot, the Jia family would never have to worry about food or drink.

But now?

Yi Zhonghai, that seemingly unshakeable mountain, was like paper in front of Jiang Chen, easily broken with a gentle poke. She heard everything that happened at the factory today; even Chief Engineer Wang was bowing down to Jiang Chen, and Yi Zhonghai had lost face beyond measure.

This is no nobody; it's clearly a golden dragon that hasn't fully taken flight yet!

If... if I hadn't helped Jia Zhangshi extort Jiang Chen back then, if I had shown him kindness earlier, with my looks and skills, wouldn't I be the one sitting on the back of that bicycle laughing now?

Qin Huairu bit her lip, her eyes becoming hazy and greedy. That look was like that of a starving vampire seeing a neck full of live arteries. She subconsciously puffed out her chest, tucked the stray hairs behind her ears, revealing a section of her fair neck, trying to attract Jiang Chen's attention.

"Jiang Chen..." she called out softly, her voice carrying a hint of seduction.

However, Jiang Chen didn't even glance at her, not even out of the corner of his eye. The rolling wheels crushed her ridiculous fantasy and went straight back to the backyard.

Qin Huairu stood frozen in place, watching that resolute figure walk away. Her eyes instantly reddened, and the bitterness and resentment in her heart transformed into deeper calculations.

In the main house of the central courtyard, the door to Yi Zhonghai's house was tightly closed.

The room was dark, with no lights on.

"Snapped!"

A crisp cracking sound rang out, followed by a suppressed, heavy breathing.

Yi Zhonghai slumped in his armchair, a shattered purple clay teapot at his feet. His face, usually masked by hypocrisy, was now twisted like a vengeful ghost in the darkness.

He lost. He lost completely.

He not only lost the technical aspect, but also the hearts of the people. He heard Yan Bugui shouting in the courtyard just now very clearly. When a wall falls, everyone pushes it down. These neighbors who used to be so respectful to him are now all eager to curry favor with Jiang Chen by stepping on his face.

"Jiang Chen... Jiang Chen!"

Yi Zhonghai spat out the name through gritted teeth, his voice hoarse like an old bellows. Fear, for the first time, took root in the heart of this shrewd and experienced level-eight worker. He felt that his "Grandpa" dynasty, which he had painstakingly built up over decades in this courtyard, was collapsing.

The Jiang family's backyard.

Jiang Chen parked the car, closed the door, and shut out the hustle and bustle outside.

He stood in the center of the room, not in a hurry to turn on the lights. In the darkness, a cold smile curled at the corner of his lips.

"System, process the transaction."

[Ding! Strong emotional fluctuations detected.]

[Source: Yan Bugui (calculation, ingratiation), Transaction points +20.]

[Source: Liu Haizhong (jealousy, schadenfreude, fear), trading points +30.]

[Source: Qin Huairu (Regret, Greed, Resentment), Trading Points +50.]

[Source: Yi Zhonghai (Fear, Despair, Anger), Trading Points +80.]

Total trading points earned: 180 points. Current balance: 680 points.

Jiang Chen listened to the pleasant notification sound in his mind and gently dusted off the dust on his coat.

"This emotional value is just an appetizer."

He walked to the window, peered through the gap in the curtains at the various demons and monsters in the courtyard, each harboring their own ulterior motives, his eyes as deep and unfathomable as a still pool.

"This is just the beginning; the real show is yet to come."