Courtyard house: Just the right amount of pressure, leaving you bewildered but not brain-damaged.

The west wing of the front yard belongs to the Yan family.

Yan Jiekuang was frightened just now. He only came to his senses after entering the house and then hugged Yang Ruihua's leg and cried loudly.

Little Jiedi, who knew nothing, also joined in the fun, putting on a duet.

Yang Ruihua quickly stood up and paced around the octagonal table, repeatedly saying, "Jie Di, be good, don't cry, don't cry."

I spun around five or six times, but it had no effect whatsoever.

Just as Jie Di's attention was drawn in, she opened her mouth wide and forgot about continuing to cry, but Jie Kuang's wailing always helped her keep the fire burning.

Having been slapped six times and losing all his prestige, Yan Bugui was planning to complain to Yi Zhonghai that night, hoping to regain face and make a good impression. However, the constant crying made his head buzz.

"Snap"

"Cry again? I'll spank you until your bottom is swollen!"

Yan Bugui grabbed Jie Kuang's arm and slapped him hard across the face.

"Stop it!"

Jie Kuang was suddenly attacked, his buttocks burning with pain. He froze for half a second, and was about to burst into tears when Yan Bugui's shout startled him back down. He could only sob silently with his lips pursed, his body trembling uncontrollably.

"Eee-yah-yah..."

Yan Jiedi, who was crying her heart out, realized that she was the only one left performing diligently. She immediately became upset, waving her hands and kicking her legs to express her dissatisfaction. She also kept talking, uttering accusatory syllables to Yang Ruihua.

"Old Yan, is your face alright?"

With the two little devils quiet down, Yang Ruihua finally had time to care about the pillar of the family.

"Hmm, huh? Seems like everything's alright?"

"Let me see, is it swollen?"

Yan Bugui reached out and touched his face, gasped, and then realized something was wrong—it didn't hurt at all anymore.

Yang Ruihua leaned closer, examined it carefully, and shook her head. "It's not swollen, just a little red. You can't even tell unless you look closely."

"Hmph, what a waste of his big size, his arms swing so loudly, he's just a pretty face with no substance."

Once he was sure he was alright and wouldn't have to go to school with his chubby face tomorrow, Yan Bugui perked up again.

"Tonight, have Lao Yi instigate Sha Zhu to give him a good beating and see if he dares to be arrogant again."

"Ruihua, how much do you think we should ask that kid to pay us? Isn't 200,000 a bit too little?"

"I was performing my duty by inspecting the items brought into the yard. His physical assault on me constitutes obstruction of legitimate law enforcement."

"No, we need more money. This matter won't be resolved without 300,000."

Yan Bugui felt more and more justified as he spoke. How could a dignified manager like him be bullied by a new resident?

"Old Yan, the 300,000 is your share of compensation, right? I also got slapped twice, shouldn't you add some more?"

Like Yan Bugui, Yang Ruihua's eyes lit up, but he was not satisfied with the figure of 300,000.

"Right, right, how could I forget that? Four hundred thousand!"

Yan Bugui nodded excitedly, as if the money would be safely in his pocket by evening.

"How about we ask for 50,000 less... 20,000 yuan, and make him compensate us for a cabinet?"

Yang Ruihua took a liking to the cabinet that Ban'erye had moved in; although it was secondhand, it was at least 70% new.

The cabinets at home are in such bad shape that they're about to be dismantled, so I should take this opportunity to replace them with better ones.

"Um……"

Yan Bugui glanced at his own cabinet, his voice drawn out in a nasal tone.

Replacing the cabinet with 20,000 yuan would be a good deal, but he couldn't bear to spend the money and needed to find a way to have the best of both worlds.

A few dozen seconds later, Yan Bugui's face turned bright red, and he almost suffocated from holding his breath. He slapped his thigh hard and said, "Not a penny less! We want the cabinet too! He even scared Jie Kuang and Jie Di to tears."

"Oh, you're so smart, I never would have thought of that."

Yang Ruihua looked at Yan Bugui with admiration.

"Honey, you hold Jie Di while I go make dinner. Jie Cheng will be home from school soon, and Jie Fang should be back from playing around by now."

"I'll steam two big cornbread buns for you today."

Yan Bugui took Xie Di, his face grim, and glared at Yang Ruihua.

"Why are you steaming big cornbread buns? What have I been telling you all along?"

"You won't get poor from eating or dressing, but you will if you don't plan ahead."

"If I eat a few more bites of corn noodles, will I gain two ounces of weight? I'll just eat until I'm not hungry anymore."

"If you save a little today and a little tomorrow, you can save a lot of money."

"Also, don't use any flour purchase certificates this month. There's a teacher at the school who doesn't like the mixed flour steamed buns. Summer vacation is coming in a few days, and his family will definitely not have enough white flour. I plan to sell them to him at a high price."

Yang Ruihua was scolded, but instead of getting angry, she nodded repeatedly like a primary school student who had made a mistake.

"Old Yan, don't be angry. It was my oversight. I'll listen to you."

Yang Ruihua walked quickly towards the kitchen, silently calculating in her mind.

There are six people in the family, two adults and four children. They spend 130,000 to 140,000 yuan a month on food. 110,000 yuan is spent on 100 jin of cornmeal, and the remaining 20,000 to 30,000 yuan is spent on vegetables and salt to make pickled vegetables.

Other expenses amount to a maximum of 20,000, and Lao Yan can save 200,000 from his official salary.

The monthly flour purchase certificate allows for 38 jin (14 catties) of flour, which should be enough to sell for 40,000 to 50,000 yuan.

With the 400,000 yuan compensation from Gao Xiaosheng, I can save about 650,000 yuan this month.

Yang Ruihua couldn't help but chuckle a few times at the kitchen door before taking out the flour bag to prepare dinner.

Meanwhile, in the east hall, Gao Xiaosheng was explaining his plan to He Yushui.

"Rain, I'd love to have you join us, but the two of us alone aren't enough."

"I'll try to get in touch with Sun Youtian these next few days. If there aren't any problems, I'll try to win him over and unite all forces that can be united."

"Your task is also quite important."

Gao Xiaosheng's expression was solemn, and his tone was deep. He patted He Yushui's shoulder as if he were about to entrust her with some difficult task.

"Brother Sheng, no matter how difficult it is, I can do it!"

He Yushui stood up abruptly.

It's hard to say whether the little girl really thought that way, or if she just blurted out something because of the atmosphere.

Anyway, Gao Xiaosheng was quite satisfied, nodding slightly with a smile on his lips.

"We had children's corps when we fought the Japanese more than ten years ago, and they were responsible for reconnaissance. Now I need you to set up an underground children's corps in the yard."

"We must not let the bad guys find out, and we must also deliver important messages in a timely manner."

"From now on, you'll be the leader of the children's corps in our No. 95 compound. Don't be a lone commander!"

Gao Xiaosheng has always suspected that in his past life his family might have belonged to the "over-birth guerrilla team," deceiving children in a way that resembled an old sow wearing a bra, one trick after another.

At He Yushui's age, her cognitive abilities are not yet mature enough, so explaining too many details is useless, even though she is considered relatively sensible among children her age.

We must start from her most interesting angle and cater to her preferences in order to stimulate her initiative.

He Yushui liked listening to stories about war, so Gao Xiaosheng gave her the title of regimental commander, which didn't cost her anything.

"Me? The leader of the children's corps? Really, Brother Sheng?"

He Yushui asked in surprise, her mouth practically stretched to her ears.

The regimental commander, what a high-ranking official! She's never even been a group leader in her class.

"Of course, what else could I be but the leader? Just tell me if you're willing to accept it or not."

Gao Xiaosheng answered decisively, without the slightest hint of unease.

The military has various levels such as squad, platoon, company, and battalion. Has anyone ever heard of a children's squad or children's platoon?

Even if there are only a few people, they are still called a children's corps.

"Yes, yes!" He Yushui started pecking at rice like a chicken, her little head bobbing like a nodding machine.

"Okay, sit down. Let me tell you about the things to keep in mind when recruiting members."

"First and foremost, the most important point is that fortresses are often breached from within, and traitors are more dangerous than the enemy."

"Wait a minute, Brother Sheng." He Yushui darted out, ran to the bedside, picked up her schoolbag, and took out her pencils and notebooks.