Pursued by the Heavenly Dao, first level up in the courtyard.

Li Huaide, whose father-in-law Xiao Zhendong failed to advance further and had no hope of promotion, had long since resigned himself to his fate.

Li Huaide is quite satisfied with his current income and life.

His monthly salary is over three hundred yuan, and prices are very cheap, so he has more money than he can spend.

They have a car, a house, and money; their social status is neither high nor low—they are already living a very happy life.

Li Huaide, now over fifty, has seen a significant decline in his combat strength, and he has reduced his spending on Liu Lan by more than half.

As soon as it was time to get off work, Liu Haizhong drove off to the hospital in a hurry.

Liu Guangfu smiled and called out, "Dad, you've arrived."

Liu Haizhong casually asked, "How are Zhao Fen and the baby?"

Liu Guangfu replied, "Everything is fine. I can go home tomorrow morning."

Liu Haizhong walked into the room, looked at his daughter-in-law and child, and felt relieved.

The following afternoon, Qi Bing used his divine sense to investigate and discovered that squid were celebrating in nine different locations on Earth.

"The number of squid in each venue ranges from a little over 8,000 to over 20,000."

Seeing the squid jumping for joy, Qi Bing decided to celebrate with them.

He restored several large fireworks representing the US, UK, France, and the Red Sands, and then used his divine sense to control some people.

"Whoosh whoosh whoosh..." One after another, large fireworks soared into the sky.

"Boom boom boom..." A deafening explosion rang out.

In the blink of an eye, all the squid from the nine locations disappeared.

As for whether innocent people will be harmed, Qi Bing believes that there are no innocent people around where squid gather.

"On this blue planet in the world of courtyard houses, not a single Japanese soldier is left, but there are still more than five million squid."

"Killing a few squid occasionally is just a celebration; sooner or later, we'll kill all the squid."

After playing with telekinetic lightning for a while, the Qi soldiers stopped, still wanting more.

Many squid died in Baizhou, Nanxingzhou, and Heizhou. The US, John Bull, French Chicken, and Red Sands conducted a joint investigation.

"Karl, why did you set off such large fireworks?"

"The squid are rich but heartless; I'm getting revenge."

"Henry, why did you set off the fireworks?"

"Many children have been killed by squid, and I am avenging those children."

"Sorov, why did you send a giant squid firework?"

"Sir, squid are inhuman, I'm doing a good deed."

The people who were arrested implied that killing squid was a good deed.

When a whale falls, all things are born.

Some squid owned too many assets, and with the fireworks that sent them flying into the sky, all of their assets became ownerless.

For those unclaimed assets, they can be divided however they want.

The nine large fireworks were a gift from the US, France, the UK, and the US to the squid; they had nothing to do with Qi Bing.

Those who gifted the squid-shaped fireworks all admitted that they were the ones who sent them, and no matter how you look at it, it had nothing to do with Qi Bing.

At 5 p.m., Qi Bing rode his electric scooter to the entrance of Yucheng Industrial School.

Yesterday at dinner, his wife and children both said they wanted to eat hot pot.

After waiting for more than ten minutes, my father-in-law, mother-in-law, wife, and children came out.

Qi Bing loaded the electric scooter onto the truck bed and then went to the hot pot restaurant with his family.

"The tripe is delicious, let's order two pounds."

"The tripe is delicious, I'll take five pounds."

"Goose intestines are delicious too, let's order two pounds first."

We each ordered some dishes, then chatted and waited for the food to be served.

In Chongqing's hot pot restaurants, ingredients can be ordered by weight or by portion.

One pound of meat, after being cooked, yields approximately four to six ounces.

Two pounds of tripe may seem like a lot, but after cooking, it weighs less than a pound.

I had a hot pot meal, which cost me over ten yuan.

"The minimum wage is too low, only 27 yuan a month, which is only enough for two hot pot meals."

After thinking it over, Qi Bing decided to propose to his superiors that the minimum wage be raised.

His family are all practitioners, so they eat more than ordinary people. One hot pot meal cost them fifteen yuan.

If you eat less meat and more vegetables, you can have a hot pot meal for just a few dollars.

The next morning, Qi Bing met with some elders and suggested raising the minimum wage.

Having lived two lives and with immortality just around the corner, he would not suppress others for the sake of a so-called sense of superiority.

In their past lives, some people, in order to continue to be superior to others, racked their brains to exploit ordinary people to the bone.

Having read countless ancient books and knowing a great deal about ancient times, Qi Bing believed that more than 90% of the people in the Xia Kingdom were relatives of the same origin, and were his fellow countrymen by blood.

Are distant relatives, like those who are eighty or eight hundred years apart, still related?

In both his past and present lives, he was not a bully who only dared to act when he was at home.

Qi soldiers deeply resented those who only dared to bully their own people.

In this courtyard world, he did a lot of things.

He completely wiped out the eight once-arrogant imperial merchants.

He helped eliminate the problems of the fifteen trades that once involved buying and selling ordinary people.

He also wiped out the descendants of Zeng Tuotou, Li Yueyue, and others.

After several meetings and discussions, wages were raised again, with the minimum wage at 50 yuan and the maximum wage at 1,500 yuan.

Qi Bing, who had his salary reduced by one grade, now receives a monthly salary increase of 1,450 yuan.

The biggest reason why Daxia can significantly increase wages is that Daxia's current industrial and agricultural output has achieved a surplus.

Prices remained unchanged, wages rose, and people's lives improved.

Wages increase while prices rise; relatively speaking, wages may not have increased, or may even have decreased.

The courtyard house, the backyard of the Liu family.

Chen Rong asked, "Honey, how much has your salary increased?"

Liu Haizhong said, "I'm level 13, my salary is 650 yuan, plus the level 8 forging subsidy, it's 700 yuan a month."

Chen Rong laughed and said, "With so much salary, you can't even spend a third of it in a month."

Liu Haizhong sighed, "Ye Qiu, Lin Fan, Li Kun, Xiao Ze, and Chen Bo in our institute are all academicians. Their monthly salary is 1,250 yuan. If you include other income, their monthly income is more than 1,300 yuan. Su Hai's salary is even higher."

Chen Rong asked curiously, "How much does Su Hai earn per month?"

Liu Haizhong said, "Su Hai is a national hero, enjoying the treatment of a second-level official, with a monthly salary of 1,450 yuan, only one level below the highest salary. His current living conditions are something he never dared to dream of before."

Chen Rong said, "I heard that Yang Ruihua's salary has increased to fifty yuan."

Liu Haizhong laughed and said, "Now, the wages for sweeping the floor are more than those for a fifth-level clerk, a sixth-level cook, and a fourth-level worker in the past."

Chen Rong said, "Honey, should we buy some cornmeal and steam a few cornbread buns to eat?"

Liu Haizhong nodded: "It's good to try cornbread once in a while. The cornmeal nowadays is made from pure corn, and the grains are very fine. The cornmeal of the past was made by grinding the corn and the cob together, and the grains were still very coarse."

With wages significantly increased, the people of Xia Kingdom were filled with jubilation.

With a minimum wage of fifty yuan, if you save up a bit, you can buy an electric scooter in a little over a year.

With a little effort, I can earn 100 yuan; with a little more effort, I can earn 150 yuan...

The per capita income in Haocheng, Gangcheng, and Baocheng has decreased significantly, but their living conditions have improved by several levels.

Previously, housing in Haocheng, Gangcheng, and Baocheng had to be purchased with personal funds, and housing prices were very high.

Housing in Haocheng, Gangcheng, and Baocheng is now provided free of charge by the government, just like in other parts of Daxia. This doesn't even include fourteen years of free education and 90% reimbursement for medical expenses...

Although per capita income in Haocheng, Gangcheng, and Baocheng has decreased significantly, prices have decreased even more.

The triads that once existed in Haocheng, Gangcheng, and Baocheng no longer exist, and ordinary people will no longer face the plunder and oppression of triads.

That morning, Qi Bing, who was using his divine sense to explore the Blue Star, saw some squid celebrating.

Using his divine sense, he once again gifted several large fireworks representing Red Sand, Eagle, Gallic Rooster, and John Bull to Squid.

Time flies, and it's already early August.

Heavy rain is pouring down in Yuzhou, continuing unabated, with the rainfall amount constantly increasing.