Courtyard House: My Hidden Wheat Seeds Caused a National Sensation

A dull, aching pain shot through his lower back. He rubbed it, but the corners of his mouth involuntarily turned up in a smile.

The seat beside her was empty, and a faint, warm scent of a woman lingered on the pillow.

He took a deep breath, his chest filled with a feeling of full satisfaction.

"I'm a married man now."

He muttered to himself in the empty room, his voice smug, "I'll make sure that brat Xu Damao finds out later."

"Tsk, the wife we ​​found is much prettier than the one in his house."

Recalling what Liu Lili said when she snuggled up to him last night, He Yuzhu felt as if a fire had been lit in his heart.

She has already agreed. The day after tomorrow, he will ask for leave to meet her mother, get a letter of introduction, and then he can go and collect the red paper.

When Sunday comes, a proper banquet will be held, and He Yuzhu will be a married man!

Driven by excitement, he quickly put on his clothes and rushed out the door.

He ran straight to the front yard and knocked on Yan Bugui's door.

"Second Uncle!"

He Yuzhu announced in a loud voice, "I'm having a wedding! This Sunday, with Liu Lili."

Could you write some invitations for me?

Yan Bugui lifted his eyelids from behind his glasses and glanced at him. There was something complicated in his eyes, like pity, or like indifference from someone who had seen it all before.

He knew perfectly well about Liu Lili's background and didn't believe the deal could work out at all.

But then again, what's the benefit of exposing it? There's a fee for writing invitations.

"Shazhu, I'm the second oldest man in the courtyard now."

He slowly corrected her, then turned and took out a stack of blank red invitation cards from inside the house. "How many do you need? Tell me the time and place."

"It'll be held this Sunday at our Intermediate People's Court! Write fifty forms first; I need to set up five tables!"

"become."

Yan Bugui nodded, "The fee is two yuan."

He Yuzhu was feeling pleased with himself and readily pulled out two bills from his pocket and slapped them across the table.

Yan Bugui accepted the money and, without delay, spread out the invitation and began writing.

"You write first, I'll take a few to distribute."

He Yuzhu pulled out a few written invitations, grinned, and walked towards the backyard.

The first person he wanted to find was Xu Damao.

……

Upon arriving at Xu Damao's door, He Yuzhu hadn't even gotten his footing when his voice rang out: "Xu Damao! Come out!"

The door creaked open, and Lou Xiao'e emerged from behind it.

"He Yuzhu, what are you shouting for? Do you need to see Da Mao?"

"Hiding indoors and too ashamed to see anyone? What a coward!"

He Yuzhu scoffed and handed over a red invitation card, saying, "Fine, it's the same if I give it to you."

I'm getting married this Sunday, remember to come to the wedding banquet.

Before Lou Xiao'e could react, he turned and walked to the next room, knocking on Li Jianye's door.

"Brothers of Jianye!"

Li Jianye opened the door, his face showing the bewilderment of someone who had just gotten up.

"Brother Zhu, so early?"

"I'm sending you a wedding invitation!"

He Yuzhu grinned from ear to ear, shoving the invitation into Li Jianye's hand. "Your brother Zhu is getting married!"

Li Jianye held the bright red invitation card, speechless for a moment, before finally managing to squeeze out his usual polite remark: "Well... congratulations, may you have a son soon."

Thank you for your kind words!

He Yuzhu patted his shoulder heavily, swayed contentedly, and went to the next store.

He Yuzhu began delivering wedding invitations door-to-door.

He only delivers one card to each household, and only one person from each household needs to come; if too many people come, he really can't handle them all.

These days, food is very precious, and preparing a meal is no easy task.

Since neither the deaf old lady in the courtyard nor Yi Zhonghai's home was home, he saved himself the trouble of sending out those two invitations.

As he handed out the invitation to the Jia family, his gaze inadvertently swept across Qin Huairu's face.

He sighed silently to himself.

"Sister Qin, from now on, I, Zhuzi, am a married man."

He quietly bid farewell to that hazy old image in his heart, then put on a smile and continued walking towards another house.

In the hospital, Yi Zhonghai didn't sleep a wink all night.

He sat on the bench all night, his thoughts churning, gradually sorting out the events of the past few days.

A detail suddenly came to mind—why didn't Li Jianye call the police this time?

Given Li Jianye's consistent style, he would never let go easily once he had a handle on someone; if he had really called the police, He Yuzhu would probably be in the police station by now.

There must be some scheme hidden behind this that I haven't yet figured out.

Yi Zhonghai's brows furrowed more and more, and he decided that once he got to the factory at dawn, he would definitely find Li Jianye and get to the bottom of things.

As dawn broke, his wife, Zhou Lan, rushed to the hospital.

"How is the old lady?"

"His life has been saved, but he still needs to be hospitalized for observation for a few days."

"You stay here and look after things; I have to rush to the factory."

Yi Zhonghai gave a few instructions and then hurriedly left the hospital.

As soon as I stepped into the gate of the steel rolling mill, the buzzing of voices all around me filled my ears.

"Have you heard? Silly Zhu is getting married!"

"They say they found a girl who looks like an angel!"

"With that old-fashioned face, how could he possibly find a pretty wife? I don't believe it."

"You can't deny it! The wedding invitations have already been sent out, and the banquet will be held in the courtyard on Sunday. The bride's name is Liu Lili!"

"Wow! Sha Zhu really pulled it off this time..."

Those words pierced Yi Zhonghai's ears like needles, and he felt his temples throbbing.

"idiot!"

He gritted his teeth and cursed under his breath, "That Liu Lili is clearly playing you. When the banquet starts and she doesn't show up, let's see how you get out of this!"

Just as I was feeling secretly annoyed, the workshop foreman's shout came over:

"All workers at level six and above, please attend the meeting in the workshop conference room!"

Yi Zhonghai grabbed his notebook and followed the crowd. As soon as he entered the conference room, he saw Li Jianye sitting in front of him.

Seeing that everyone was present, Li Jianye stood up and spoke:

"The main reason for gathering everyone today is to assign the next production tasks."

A new project at the factory is about to start, and the blueprints have already been broken down.

Next, Mr. Liu will explain the specific division of labor and key technical points in the fitter's workshop.

After saying that, he took half a step back and gave his seat to Liu Weiping.

This young technician is now Li Jianye's capable assistant. He explains things clearly and concisely, and quickly gets the task out of hand.

As the meeting ended, Liu Weiping approached Li Jianye and whispered:

"Engineer Li, shouldn't we head to the next workshop?"

After Liu Weiping finished his report, he gathered the documents in his hands, smiled, and walked to Li Jianye's side to await instructions.

Li Jianye nodded slightly in agreement, then briefly explained a few words to the workshop director before leading Liu Weiping outside.

Just as I was about to step out of the conference room, I heard Yi Zhonghai's voice behind me:

"Li Jianye, let's talk in private."

Li Jianye turned around and saw Yi Zhonghai looking tense, as if facing a formidable enemy, and couldn't help but smile slightly.

He gestured for Liu Weiping to wait, then followed Yi Zhonghai to a secluded corner.

"Li Jianye,"

Yi Zhonghai cut to the chase, his gaze fixed on him, "Why didn't you call the police this time?"

He took a half-step forward, lowering his voice even further:

"Last time Banggeng went to your house, he didn't take anything, and you even called the police."

This time—you know in your heart that I was behind it all, and you saw through my plan, right? Since you even schemed against Zhu Zi, why didn't you get the police involved and completely ruin his reputation?

Upon hearing this, Li Jianye simply chuckled lightly and uttered two words:

"you guess."

Yi Zhonghai stood there, stunned, unable to react for a moment.

"Literally,"

Li Jianye spoke in a relaxed tone, as if he were having a casual chat, "Think about it yourself."

I have something to do, let's talk another day.

After saying that, he waved his hand, turned around, and left.

This was his "first gift" to Yi Zhonghai.

— This allowed the old master craftsman to fall into a vortex of suspicion and suffer repeatedly.

Of course, this gift is just the beginning; there are other "surprises" to come.

Wait for him, but the delivery will be a little late.

"I guess...I guess?"

Yi Zhonghai watched Li Jianye's departing figure, his brows furrowed.

"wrong……"

He muttered to himself, "The fact that he didn't call the police means he has something bigger in mind than calling the police... In other words, in his eyes, the cost of calling the police is far less than the benefits of remaining silent."

Damn it... what on earth is he plotting?

He walked towards the workshop, his mind in turmoil, bumping into several people along the way and eliciting a few disgruntled murmurs.

"Master, are you alright?"

Seeing that Yi Zhonghai's expression was off, Jia Dongxu quickly stepped forward to ask him what was wrong.

"fine."

Yi Zhonghai shook his head and said nothing more. He simply picked up his tools and walked toward a group of senior workers.

A new temporary workshop has been set up in the factory, specifically for the trial production of new projects.

Yi Zhonghai, as a top-notch fitter, was naturally one of the key figures among them.

"...The engineer has already explained the key points and difficulties of the operation clearly."

The workshop foreman looked around at everyone and said, "Fellow experienced workers, I won't say anything more. Let's begin!"

"Don't worry, Director!"

"This kind of work is a piece of cake!"

The workers responded enthusiastically, creating a lively atmosphere.

"Alright! The task is urgent, everyone hurry up!"

The director smiled and nodded, then turned and left the workshop.

The machines soon started running, and everyone got busy.

Yi Zhonghai held a file in his hand, but his mind was still on Li Jianye's question, "Guess."

on.

He worked mechanically, and before long, the parts under his hands went awry and became scrap.

He didn't pay much attention and started over with a new material.

But the doubt lingered in his mind, and in a moment of distraction, his hand slipped again—

"Tsk!"

Looking at the second piece of scrap, Yi Zhonghai's face darkened.

He took a deep breath, trying to concentrate.

However, that unease seemed to have taken root, and it couldn't be suppressed no matter what.

As a result, in less than a morning, the amount of waste he had accumulated was already quite considerable.

Not a single qualified part could be completed.

The temporary workshop foreman frowned upon seeing this.

"Master Yi, what's wrong...?"

He walked over to Yi Zhonghai, his voice clearly tinged with displeasure.

"You're a level eight skilled worker, and you can't even produce a single finished product?"

"Is there a problem with the job grade assessment itself, or do you have some personal issue with me?"

Yi Zhonghai's face immediately flushed.

He himself felt embarrassed—a dignified eighth-level fitter, unable to produce even a decent part. If word got out, where would he put his face?

The director's words drew the attention of the surrounding workers, who all stared at him with doubt and scrutiny.

"Director, I'm so sorry."

Yi Zhonghai quickly offered an explanation.

"Yesterday, the elderly woman in our compound who lives alone suddenly fell ill. I carried her to the hospital overnight and stayed by her side all night without closing my eyes."

"My condition today... is definitely not good."

Hearing him say this, the gazes around him gradually softened, and even showed a bit more respect.

Even the director, who had been looking annoyed, relaxed a little.

"Taking care of the elderly is a duty and deserves praise."

The director nodded, his tone softening.

"If you haven't rested well, why force yourself to come to work?"

"I'm afraid of delaying the factory's work schedule."

Yi Zhonghai quickly responded.

"Of course, I did overestimate my current energy level, and I should reflect on that."

"Alright."

The director waved his hand, deciding not to pursue the matter further.

"Master Yi, please don't touch the machine tool yet, go help move the materials."

"Our schedule is tight and the task is heavy, thank you for your hard work."

"It's not hard work, it's what I should do."

Yi Zhonghai responded and turned to walk towards the corner where the materials were piled up.

As he carried the heavy steel, his thoughts drifted elsewhere—

Why didn't that young man named Li Jianye report it to the police?

He kept thinking about these random things while mechanically working, and before he knew it, it was noon.

After putting down the materials, he found his apprentice Jia Dongxu, and the two of them headed towards the cafeteria with their lunchboxes.

"Master, I've recently been reading 'Romance of the Three Kingdoms,' it's truly a wonderful book!"

Jia Dongxu said with great interest as he walked.

"There's a particularly interesting term in it—'slave to three masters,' which refers to Lü Bu."