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

Qi Bing's daily life is simple yet fulfilling. In the morning, he goes to the Beigong Museum to read books, and in the afternoon, he stays at home in the Xuanhuang World to comprehend the artistic conception, cultivate the Xuanhuang Gong of Heaven and Earth, explore the Dongsheng Divine Continent, and ponder battery technology.

Occasionally, when attending meetings, Qi Bing would take the opportunity to offer some suggestions.

In the northern part of the Siheyuan (courtyard house) world, the ancient city wall was not completely demolished, and the fire ended without a trace.

Although the ancient city wall in the north has been preserved, many more gates have been added. What used to have four gates now has at least eight, and what used to have seven gates now has at least sixteen...

The newly built factories are all located outside, so whether the city walls are there or not has little impact on industrialization.

Preserving the ancient city walls will benefit the future development of tourism in the northern part of the city.

Liu Haizhong, who lives in a courtyard house, has been all smiles and walking with a brisk pace lately. The reason is simple: his eldest son, Liu Guangqi, is getting married.

Liu Guangqi's girlfriend was Du Lanyue, who was his classmate and colleague. Du Lanyue's father, Du Zhiteng, was a cadre in a machinery factory.

That weekend, Du Zhiteng and his wife came to the Liu family and said bluntly, "Father-in-law, Guangqi is a hardworking and reliable young man, and he and Lanyue are compatible. We agree to their marriage. As long as the two children are happy in the future, that's better than anything else."

When facing cadres, Liu Haizhong was obsequious and subservient, while Du Zhiteng was a section-level cadre in the machinery factory.

Liu Haizhong was overjoyed that his in-laws were officials, and he was also pleasantly surprised by the marriage between Liu Guangqi and Du Lanyue.

After leaving the Liu family, Du Zhiteng looked at Liu Guangqi and said, "Guangqi, if you have ambition, don't stay in this northern city. Come with me to Wanzhou. I guarantee you'll be promoted one level in six months, and in a few years, you'll be promoted to section chief."

Du Zhiteng only has one daughter, Du Lanyue. He asked Liu Guangqi to go with him to Wanzhou because he wanted a son-in-law who would live with his family.

Upon hearing this, Liu Guangqi's eyes lit up. His father, Liu Haizhong, was a careerist, and he was no exception.

Liu Guangqi said with a determined look in his eyes, "Uncle, don't worry, I'll listen to you completely. As long as I can get promoted and live a good life with Lan Yue, I'll go anywhere you want. I'll go to Wanzhou with you!"

As time passed, Liu Guangqi's wedding date approached, and Liu Haizhong and his wife began to prepare, deciding to hold a grand celebration.

Chen Rong asked, "Honey, are you really going to buy Guangqi a three-pack of headphones?"

Liu Haizhong said, "Guangqi's wedding is a major event for our family, and we must arrange for the 'three turns and one sound' (referring to a set of three watches, one watch, and one radio)."

The "three turns and one sound" refer to a bicycle, a sewing machine, a watch, and a radio. Nowadays, you can buy these items as long as you have money; no coupons are needed.

The earliest bicycle ticket in Beicheng in the previous life was issued in July of 1959.

A few years ago in this world, you could buy a bicycle on credit.

The northern part of the city has a population of about six million and a total of nearly 300,000 bicycles, which means there is one bicycle for every twenty people on average.

Even if each family has only five people on average, in the northern part of the city, there is one bicycle for every four families on average.

In some fan fiction novels about courtyard houses from my previous life, it was said that in the northern part of the city during this era, bicycles were rarer than sports cars, which is utter nonsense.

After buying all the necessary items, Liu Haizhong hired a cart to transport them to the courtyard house.

Seeing Yan Bugui in Liu Hai's hair, he asked thoughtfully, "Old Liu, were all those three watches and one radio bought for Guangqi?"

Liu Haizhong said with a smile, "Old Yan, my Guangqi is getting married, right? This is all prepared for him."

As the items were moved into the yard, many neighbors gathered around, their eyes filled with envy.

Yan Bugui, a shrewd strategist, did some mental calculations and admired Liu Haizhong's wealth and generosity.

On the day of the wedding banquet, Liu Guangqi and some others went to the Du family to welcome the bride.

He Yuzhu and others continued to prepare the meal.

Liu Haizhong started making arrangements several days in advance, and a total of more than 30 tables were set up.

Among the guests attending the wedding banquet were relatives of the Liu and Du families, Liu Haizhong's colleagues and apprentices from the factory, and neighbors from the courtyard.

The wedding banquet menu didn't feature any delicacies, but there were plenty of substantial dishes, including braised pork belly, braised fish, and chicken stew with mushrooms...

With his meticulously styled bangs, wearing a Zhongshan suit, gleaming leather shoes, and perfectly combed hair, he went from table to table toasting, a smile always on his face, offering cigarettes to everyone he met, exuding a sense of triumph.

The neighbors in the courtyard ate and chatted, and many of them envied Liu Guangqi for marrying a woman from a cadre's family.

Qi Bing did not attend Liu Guangqi and Du Lanyue's wedding banquet; at that moment, he was feasting in the Xuanhuang World.

When Liu Haizhong came to invite him, Qi Bing did not respond and went directly to the Xuanhuang World.

His gate has an internal lock; whether it's locked or not, you can't tell from the outside when it's closed.

He usually keeps his house closed, and whether he's home or not is entirely up to him.

Qi Bing, who has lived two lives, does not want to have any contact with the people in the courtyard.

Human relationships are built through interactions and exchanges.

In Qi Bing's personal opinion, cutting off contact with people in the compound was more beneficial than harmful.

Three days later, at midnight, at the Liu family's backyard.

Du Lanyue asked in a low voice, "Guangqi, is everything packed?"

With mixed feelings, Liu Guangqi said, "Wife, everything is packed. Change of clothes, documents, money—I've packed everything. We'll move out at one in the morning."

Du Lanyue reminded him, "Guangqi, is the letter finished?"

Liu Guangqi slapped his forehead and said, "I forgot."

Du Lanyue said, "Write the letter quickly, we're leaving soon."

Liu Guangqi nodded, picked up a pen and paper, and began to write a letter.

At one o'clock in the morning, Du Zhiteng drove a truck to the gate of the courtyard house.

It took Liu Guangqi and Du Lanyue more than half an hour to load all the things they were going to take into the truck.

The Liu Haizhong couple, fast asleep, were completely unaware.

Hearing the noise, Liu Guangtian glanced around quietly, then turned and went back to bed.

"With that ungrateful Liu Guangqi gone, my parents will have to rely on me to support them in their old age. My life will definitely be better from now on."

Liu Guangtian was filled with anticipation and excitement.

The next morning, Liu Haizhong got up early, walked happily to the door of the bridal chamber, knocked on the door, and called out, "Guangqi, Lanyue, get up and have breakfast. We cooked noodles for you."

There was no response from inside. Liu Haizhong knocked on the door again, but still no response.

With a worried expression, Liu Haizhong tried to push the door open.

Seeing that there was only a bed and a table left in the room, Liu Haizhong felt like his world had collapsed.

When Liu Haizhong realized that his eldest son and daughter-in-law had run away, he felt dizzy and almost collapsed to the ground.

"No, we can't let the neighbors in the yard know about this."

Liu Haizhong, who was very concerned about his image, came to his senses and looked at the document carefully, discovering a letter on the table.

Liu Haizhong, who initially graduated from elementary school, attended night school for several years and is about to receive his junior high school diploma.

Having read quite a few words, he read the letter from beginning to end, and his anger dissipated considerably.

Consoling himself, Liu Haizhong muttered to himself, "With Du Zhiteng's help, it will be easier for Guangqi to get promoted if he goes to Wanzhou with the Du family."

Liu Haizhong, who was lost in thought, was startled awake by Chen Rong's voice.

Turning to the living room, Liu Haizhong told his wife and children about Liu Guangqi and his wife's trip to Wanzhou, and instructed them to keep it a secret.

Around 9 a.m., Liu Guangtian went to the restroom. As he passed the Intermediate People's Court, Yi Zhonghai asked, "Guangtian, where are your older brother and sister-in-law? It's almost 10 a.m., and they're still not up?"

Liu Guangtian wanted to say that his older brother and sister-in-law had run away, but fearing he would be beaten, he swallowed his words. On a whim, he casually said, "Uncle, my older brother and sister-in-law have both gone to work."

"Isn't today a day off? Why is the machine factory still open?"

"I don't know, sir. Never mind, I need to go to the restroom."

Yi Zhonghai not only heard about Liu Guangqi and his wife fleeing last night, but also witnessed it firsthand.