Courtyard Houses: Longevity Since the War of Resistance

Li Feng woke up just as dawn was breaking.

He lay on the bed in a daze for a while, unable to tell whether it was the sunlight of his memories that had woken him up or the sunlight of this peaceful courtyard house.

Or perhaps... the tears welling up in my eyes right now.

"Ah~~~" Li Feng stretched, his joints making a crisp sound.

He casually took out two eggs, a small piece of pork, and a bunch of scallions from his system space. This system space was one of his most useful skills, and it was filled with good things he had accumulated over the years.

Sometimes he finds it funny that a person with a lifespan of almost infinite is now living a mundane life in this courtyard house.

The fire on the stove was lit, the pan was heated, the oil was cooled, and when the oil was hot, an egg was cracked into it with a sizzling sound. Then the pork was added to the pan, and the aroma of scallions wafted out.

The smell was particularly strong in the courtyard in the early morning, seeping into the neighbors' homes through the cracks in the doors and windows.

The Jia family immediately took action.

"Damn it! Are they trying to kill us all?!" Jia Zhangshi's raspy voice blared through the courtyard. "Eating meat first thing in the morning, aren't they afraid of choking? Those heartless bastards, they don't even know to help us, a widow and her orphans!"

While cursing, Jia Zhangshi shoved Qin Huairu hard, "Go! Go get some! Bang Geng is still growing!"

Qin Huairu wore an expression of reluctance, but in her heart she had other plans. This newcomer, Li Feng, was already a deputy section chief at such a young age, much better than that cook, Sha Zhu.

If we can win him over, life will be much more comfortable from now on.

"Mom, isn't this inappropriate?" Qin Huairu said, but she had already started fixing her hair in front of the mirror.

"What's wrong with that? He's already eaten meat, what's wrong with sharing some with us?" Jia Zhangshi glared at him. "Go now!"

Qin Huairu dawdled as she left the house, deliberately unbuttoning the top button of her shirt before walking to Li Feng's door.

"Brother Li Shan, are you home?" Her voice was soft and sweet, with a deliberate touch of coquettishness.

Inside the house, Li Feng was shoveling rice into his mouth. Having transmigrated in his twenties and experienced several years of war, his mind was already mature enough. Moreover, he was familiar with the plot and could see right through Qin Huairu's little schemes.

After finishing his meal in no time, Li Feng yanked open the door.

"I was here just now," he said expressionlessly. "I'm not here now."

After saying that, he turned and walked past Qin Huairu without even giving her a second glance.

Qin Huairu froze on the spot, her face alternating between pale and flushed. She had never been so humiliated in front of a man before. She was determined to win over this Li Shan!

Li Feng strode out, but when he reached the courtyard gate, he turned back to look at the courtyard house again.

The war is over, and now he has more important things to do. To ensure the country prospers, he needs to correct any potential pitfalls in advance.

We need to smooth over any potential grievances beforehand.

But if he lived too long and saw too much, he was afraid he would become less like a human being.

This courtyard house is a place that provides amusement and humanity. Li Feng had already decided while eating breakfast that he would turn these beasts into compassionate and benevolent people.

After all, he believed that human nature is inherently good.

Thinking of this, Li Feng couldn't help but laugh. This goal was much harder than fighting the Japanese.

The steel rolling mill was not far from the courtyard house, only about a 20-minute walk away. Director Yang and Deputy Director Li were waiting at the gate.

"Comrade Li Shan, we've been waiting for you!" Factory Director Yang greeted him warmly, shaking his hand tightly. "We received a call from the ministry a few days ago saying you were coming, and we've been looking forward to it every day!"

Deputy Factory Director Li also came over, his face beaming with smiles: "Yes, yes, don't worry about us at the factory. Just let us know if you need anything."

Li Feng knew perfectly well that this must have been arranged by Uncle Chen and the others. He smiled calmly and said, "You two factory directors are too kind. I'm just an ordinary cadre. I'll need your guidance in the future."

"No, no," Director Yang waved his hand repeatedly. "Come on, we'll take you to the security department first."

Along the way, the two factory directors accompanied them, one on each side, drawing stares from the workers. Upon arriving at the security office, Director Yang pulled a stack of coupons from his pocket: "These are welfare benefits for the factory's cadres; meat coupons and cloth coupons are all in here. Keep them."

Not to be outdone, Deputy Factory Director Li quickly pulled out several industrial vouchers: "I heard you're planning to settle down, these should come in handy. If you need more, just let me know."

Li Feng thanked him and accepted the gift readily; refusing it would have seemed too formal.

After the two factory managers left, he took a walk around the office. The room wasn't large, but it was clean and tidy. A factory map hung on the wall, and the duty log was on the table. He sat down in a chair and casually flipped through the factory's rules and regulations.

The day was quite leisurely. The older colleagues in the department knew that Li Feng was no ordinary person and was also the deputy section chief, so they naturally tried to curry favor with him.

He paid special attention to her while eating lunch in the cafeteria. Sha Zhu was shaking very rhythmically, and Qin Huairu was twisting quite rhythmically as well. With this swaying, people actually gave her a seat to buy lunch. In terms of sheer cunning, Qin Huairu could rank second in the courtyard.

The first one is naturally the one who kidnapped the genius Yi Zhonghai.

Around 4 PM, Li Feng arrived early at the perimeter of the cafeteria. The main storyline was unfolding, and Bang Geng was sneaking into the cafeteria kitchen.

Sha Zhu's loud voice rang out: "Kid, you stole the government's soy sauce, run, run, run!"

Suddenly, a rolling pin flew out of the kitchen, but instead of hitting the handle, it hit Xu Damao on the head, who happened to be passing by.

"Ouch! You idiot Zhu, are you looking for death?" Xu Damao yelled, clutching his head.

Instead of apologizing, Sha Zhu laughed: "Xu Damao, I've noticed you're asking for a beating. I'm beating up Widow Qin's son, why are you getting involved? You're using the back door instead of the front one."

Seeing that the protagonist, Bang Geng, had left, Li Feng stopped watching the remaining two characters' scenes. Following Bang Geng, he indeed saw him and his two younger sisters eating chicken. The three children were eating with their mouths full of grease, completely unaware that someone was secretly observing them.

"Eat up. After you finish this meal, you'll remember this lesson," Li Feng muttered to himself.

Instead of going straight back to the courtyard house, Li Feng, clutching the bicycle voucher given to him by Factory Director Li, went to the department store and bought a brand-new 28-inch bicycle. When he rode his gleaming new bike back to the courtyard, the place was already buzzing with excitement.

"Where's one of my chickens? Has anyone seen it?" Xu Damao shouted, jumping up and down as he stormed into the courtyard. He saw chicken soup simmering on Sha Zhu's stove and immediately saw irrefutable evidence. "Sha Zhu, where did this chicken come from?"

Sha Zhu chuckled and used his body to shield himself from the pot: "Don't drool in there, where are you looking?"

"Is it any of your business?" he retorted nonchalantly.

"Did you steal from our house?" Xu Damao persisted.

"Why don't you ask it?" Sha Zhu chuckled. "Do you have chickens at home? Do you even have any chickens?"

"Don't play dumb with me!" Xu Damao jumped up and down in anger. "I brought back two chickens a couple of days ago, and they've been in our chicken coop for two days. How come one of them is gone?"

The commotion and noise from the two men arguing and starting the fire quickly drew out Uncle Liu Haizhong. He stood with his hands behind his back, speaking in a very official tone: "What's going on? Why are you making such a racket in the yard?"

Upon hearing Xu Damao's explanation, the second uncle became animated: "A chicken went missing? This is a matter of morality! Our courtyard hasn't lost a single needle or thread in over ten years! Notify the first and third uncles, call a courtyard-wide meeting!"

"Okay!" Xu Damao couldn't be happier.

Qin Huairu, who was standing nearby, panicked and quickly stepped forward: "No, no, no, Xu Damao, Second Uncle, it's just a small matter, is it really necessary to hold a meeting for the whole hospital?"

The second uncle's face hardened: "What do you mean, 'Is it really necessary?'"

"That's not what I meant," Qin Huairu quickly said with a smile, her words carrying a hidden meaning. "Aren't you the second-in-command of this courtyard? This matter can be resolved with you here in charge. Besides, let's not discuss whether Sha Zhu stole the chicken or not. Let's get everyone together and go look for it. If the chicken comes out from some hidden corner, wouldn't that be unfair to Sha Zhu?"

Lou Xiao'e, standing nearby, objected: "Qin Huairu, what do you mean? If he didn't steal the chicken, who did? Could it be Bang Geng?"

"What nonsense are you spouting?" Qin Huairu said as if she had been stepped on. "Fine, fine, I don't care about your messy affairs."

"Ignore her," the second uncle declared decisively. "We'll have a meeting tonight!"

Qin Huairu rushed home and, seeing Banggeng wiping his mouth and his two daughters, knew something was wrong. She pulled Banggeng aside and whispered, "Tell Mom the truth, did you steal the Xu family's chicken?"

Madam Jia immediately defended her son: "What nonsense are you talking about! Is our Banggeng that kind of child? Really!"

Qin Huairu was both anxious and angry. She pulled Xiao Huaihua over and said, "Look at the oil stains on Xiao Huaihua's clothes! She hasn't eaten yet. Would she be like this if she hadn't eaten so much outside?"

Still not giving up, Jia Zhangshi asked each of them in turn, "Banggeng, tell Grandma the truth, did you steal the chicken?"

"have no idea."

"Little Dang?"

"I don't know either."

"Locust flowers?"

Young Huaihua smacked her lips and said innocently, "Grandma, my brother's beggar's chicken is so delicious!"

Qin Huairu's vision went black: "Look! Look!"

Banggeng was still stubbornly insisting, "I didn't steal that chicken! I found it in the front yard, and it ran away if I didn't catch it!"

"You're just asking for trouble!" Qin Huairu said angrily, poking his forehead.

The general meeting was held as scheduled. The three old men sat in the center, surrounded by neighbors. Xu Damao was vehemently accusing them, while Sha Zhu remained unfazed, like a dead pig unafraid of boiling water.

Just then, Qin Huairu arrived, supporting Jia Zhangshi. She didn't say anything, but looked at Shazhu with tearful eyes.

Sha Zhu's heart skipped a beat. He remembered that Bang Geng had stolen soy sauce that afternoon, and when he came back, he saw the three children lurking around in the corner. He instantly understood everything: Xu Damao's chicken must have ended up in Bang Geng's stomach.

Seeing Sister Qin's helpless look, Sha Zhu steeled himself, straightened his neck, and said to the three old men and everyone in the courtyard, "Alright, alright, stop yelling! I stole the chicken, so what!"

Yi Zhonghai frowned, while Liu Haizhong and Yan Bugui exchanged glances. Xu Damao, however, pressed on relentlessly, demanding severe punishment.

Just as Shazhu was about to firmly pin the hat on Banggeng and shield him from this calamity, a clear and powerful voice broke the commotion.

"Wait a minute. Comrade He Yuzhu, you probably didn't steal this chicken, did you?"

Everyone looked in the direction of the sound and saw Li Feng, the newly arrived deputy head of the security department, standing by the moon gate, his gaze calm yet carrying an undeniable weight.

The entire courtyard fell silent instantly.