Courtyard House: Ten-year-old Master Zhu reorganizes the entire courtyard

Yi Zhonghai didn't sleep a wink all night.

Every time I close my eyes, all I see is Director Wu's smirking face and those piles of dark steel. No matter how I look at them, those lumps of iron seem to exude an evil aura, as if they're about to devour me.

I arrived at the factory early the next morning.

Something's off.

The workshop was eerily quiet; the workers were all engrossed in their work, not even a cough could be heard. Even the usual seasoned jokers, who loved to tell dirty jokes, were as silent as clams today.

Factory Director Wu's secretary came over and called him into his office.

Factory Director Wu sat behind that large desk, twirling a Parker pen in his hand.

"Old Yi."

The pen stopped.

"How's the preparation going with what I told you yesterday?"

Yi Zhonghai stood there, his calves twitching.

"Factory manager, you mean... that batch of scrap?"

"right."

Factory Director Wu pushed a document across the table.

"This is the scrap list. You're the workshop foreman and a senior technician. You sign it to confirm that these materials are indeed unusable. That completes the process."

Yi Zhonghai picked up the list.

My hands were shaking a bit, and I couldn't hold the paper properly.

The list is entirely made of special alloy steel. The sheer quantity is dizzying.

"Factory manager, I've looked at these steel materials, and they seem... they seem usable."

Yi Zhonghai forced out a sentence.

Factory Director Wu's face instantly fell.

That warm smile was gone, replaced by a chilling coldness that sent shivers down your spine.

Factory Director Wu stood up, walked around the table to him, and lowered his voice.

"Old Yi, I value you because I think you're a sensible person. This batch of steel is scrap material that was ordered by the higher-ups. If I say it's scrap material, then it's scrap material. You just need to sign off; the rest is none of your concern."

A hand was placed on Yi Zhonghai's shoulder.

I patted it twice. With a lot of force.

"If you sign, your bonus this month will double. And I'll report your promotion to a permanent position right away. If you don't sign..."

Factory Director Wu didn't continue.

He just chuckled.

Threat.

This is the threat of open warfare.

Yi Zhonghai held the pen, the nib hovering over the paper, hesitant to put it down.

Signing it would be complicity, a theft of state property. If this is discovered later, jail time would be the least of your worries.

If I don't sign, I'm afraid I'll lose this foreman position I just got, and I'll also offend the factory manager. I'll be constantly giving him a hard time at the factory from now on.

"I...I'll take another look."

Yi Zhonghai put down his pen, his forehead covered in fine beads of sweat.

"This quantity is a bit large, I need to... I need to go to the warehouse to check it."

Factory Director Wu stared at him for a few seconds.

His eyes were like knives.

"Okay. Go check it. I need to see the signed form by tomorrow morning."

……

That evening, in the courtyard house.

Yi Zhonghai sat at the table, staring blankly at a plate of peanuts. He didn't even touch his chopsticks.

Li Guihua, who was sewing shoe soles nearby, couldn't help but speak up when she saw his dazed look.

"Old Yi, what's wrong? You've been acting like a mute since you came back today."

Yi Zhonghai sighed and told him about what had happened at the factory.

Li Guihua stopped needlework.

"Old Yi, we can't do this!"

He slammed the sole of his shoe onto the table, making quite a noise.

"That's illegal! Even though we have no children and rely on this little bit of salary for our retirement, we can't do something so immoral! What if... what if we get caught? How am I supposed to live?"

"If I don't do it, someone else can!"

Yi Zhonghai scratched his hair in frustration, his scalp tingling.

"If I don't sign, Director Wu can immediately find someone else to sign. Then I'll lose my foreman position and be tortured to death."

"Once it's gone, it's gone!"

Li Guihua's eyes reddened, and her voice trembled with tears.

"We earn our living with our skills, we won't starve. If you go in, then you'll have nothing left."

As the two were arguing, a child's noise suddenly came from outside the window.

Banggeng was running around the yard with a few little kids, his voice incredibly loud.

"Catch the spy! Catch the spy!"

"I heard the steel rolling mill is making arrests! Those who were reselling goods have all been arrested!"

Xu Damao's voice, mixed in, sounded particularly jarring, as if he were deliberately shouting it for someone to hear.

"Really? I heard the police went directly to arrest them, and even the factory manager was questioned!"

Yi Zhonghai felt a jolt.

He suddenly pushed the window open.

In the courtyard, He Yuzhu was washing clothes by the pool in the middle. He looked up when he heard the children shouting.

They happened to meet Yi Zhonghai's gaze.

He Yuzhu didn't say anything.

He simply shook his head slightly in the direction of Yi Zhonghai.

His eyes were icy cold, radiating an all-knowing aura. And there was a hint of...warning.

Yi Zhonghai felt as if he had been punched hard in the chest.

The news spread so fast?

Or is this just someone trying to intimidate us?

He closed the window, leaned against the wall, and gasped for breath.

Cold sweat streamed down my back, soaking my clothes.

Suddenly, He Yuzhu's words from yesterday popped into my head: "If the fire burns too brightly, it's easy to set yourself on fire."

This kid definitely knows something.

"Osmanthus fragrans."

Yi Zhonghai's voice was hoarse, as if he had sand in his throat.

"Go, find my medicine bottle."

"What are you going to do?"

"Brewing the medicine. The more bitter, the better."

Yi Zhonghai gritted his back teeth.

"Tomorrow, I'll ask for sick leave. I won't sign this."

……

the next day.

Yi Zhonghai did not go to the factory.

He asked an older woman to deliver a sick leave note, saying that his old leg pain had flared up and he couldn't get out of bed.

Factory Director Wu looked at the leave slip and sneered.

I crumpled it into a ball and threw it into the wastepaper basket.

"Old fox."

He cursed.

Since this old man doesn't know what's good for him, let's find someone else.

That afternoon, a foreman surnamed Wang from Workshop Two was called into the office. This man was usually a sycophant, with mediocre skills, but he was obedient.

Less than half an hour later, Foreman Wang walked out with a ruddy complexion.

The scrap list already had names signed on it.

……

In the courtyard house.

He Yuzhu was helping He Daqing prepare dinner.

"I heard Yi Zhonghai is ill?"

He Daqing was slicing radishes with skillful knife work when he casually asked a question.

"Mental illness."

He Yuzhu drained the washed vegetables and threw them into the basin.

"He got sick from fright."

"Did you get sick from fright?"

He Daqing paused, not understanding.

He Yuzhu smiled.

By retreating, Yi Zhonghai preserved his reputation but also thoroughly offended Factory Director Wu. Moreover, his withdrawal was tantamount to giving up his position. With that foreman surnamed Wang taking over, the situation in the factory would only become more chaotic.

But that's exactly what He Yuzhu wanted.

People like Yi Zhonghai will only behave if they feel pain and fear.

And that Factory Director Wu…

He Yuzhu glanced at the sharp kitchen knife in his hand. A cold glint flashed in his eyes.

Since you want to empty the factory, then I'll let you.

However, who ends up with the things you moved out is not up to you.

On the system interface, in the faction sandbox section, the steel mill icon is flashing red.

An even bigger storm is brewing.