Courtyard House: A System Connecting Two Worlds, Resources for the Nation

That afternoon, Zhou Feng was planning to wait for Bai Ling to return so he could take a photo of her to confirm her identity.

But getting bored while waiting, I took out my phone and played some games.

Unexpectedly, time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, a day had passed.

If it were before, he would never have imagined that he would be lying in a courtyard house in 1960s Beiping, reading novels and playing Candy Crush on his phone!

I don't know how much time had passed, but suddenly a noisy commotion came from outside the window.

Not long after, someone knocked on Zhou Feng's door.

"Comrade Zhou Feng, are you home? Our institute is holding a general meeting, you'll have to come."

Zhou Feng then looked up from his phone screen and saw that it was getting dark outside.

It's amazing that I didn't feel hungry at all that afternoon.

But what kind of trouble is Yi Zhonghai planning to cause this time?

Haven't you had enough of being scolded?

He quickly hid his phone in his cabinet, locked it, and then strolled out the door with his hands behind his back.

When he arrived at the courtyard, the neighbors all found their own places and formed a circle.

A table was set up in the courtyard, with Yi Zhonghai sitting in the middle, and Liu Haizhong and Yan Bugui sitting on either side, putting on quite the airs of an old man.

As soon as Zhou Feng appeared, Yi Zhonghai's gaze swept over, and he immediately glared back defiantly.

This is a good opportunity to recharge the energy of the double-door system.

Ten cubic meters of space is still too small.

He had previously taken a liking to a six-poster canopy bed with a dragon-patterned railing made of elm wood from the late Qing Dynasty to the early Republic of China. The dragon-patterned railing, made using the mortise and tenon technique, was magnificent, and the elm wood was also very thick and heavy.

If this were brought back to modern times, it would easily sell for nearly thirty thousand dollars!

As a result, because the bed frame was too big, even if he moved it out of the other person's room, he wouldn't have enough space to take it with him, so he had no choice but to give up for the time being!

You can't just escalate things by constantly picking fights with people in the yard. If you do it too much, they'll report you for openly provoking, causing trouble, and creating problems out of nothing, seriously disrupting public order. That's definitely hooliganism and constitutes the crime of hooliganism!

Now that Lao Yi is offering a ladder, we must seize the opportunity!

Unfortunately, Lao Yi only made eye contact with him before looking away, not giving Zhou Feng another chance to make trouble.

Zhou Feng didn't care. He walked straight to the seat opposite the three old men and sat down so that Yi Zhonghai could see him when he looked up and give him a heads-up.

However, he was really overthinking it this time; he wasn't the main character at the college-wide meeting after all.

The first to step forward was Liu Haizhong, who, with his pregnant belly protruding, glanced around before slowly speaking.

"Today, we're holding this hospital-wide meeting for one thing only: Xu Damao's family had one of their chickens stolen!"

"At this moment, someone's stove is simmering a chicken. Maybe it's a coincidence, maybe it's not..."

This set of official jargon left Zhou Feng dumbfounded.

But it wasn't because of Liu Haizhong's tone or the incident of losing the chicken, but rather because of the content of his words and the scene.

He knows this scene all too well!

Isn't this the classic opening scene from the original work?

Has the story begun?

Wait a minute, he clearly remembered that at the beginning of the story, Sha Zhu and the others were wearing cotton-padded coats and it was snowing!

Although it's getting cooler now, it's still a long way from needing a cotton-padded coat!

It seems this might be the butterfly effect brought about by his time travel?

"Come on, let's invite the most senior gentleman in our compound to preside over this meeting!"

Having satisfied his craving for officialdom, Liu Haizhong sat back down contentedly.

Yi Zhonghai picked up where he left off, his gaze turning to Sha Zhu sitting to the side: "He Yuzhu, tell the truth, did you steal Xu Damao's chickens?"

Zhou Feng crossed his legs and leisurely watched them perform, almost as if he was about to grab a handful of sunflower seeds.

Just then, a faint fragrance wafted by, and Bai Ling carried a small stool and sat down directly next to him.

This immediately attracted the attention of many residents.

After all, her looks and temperament are outstanding in the Nanluoguxiang area, especially among the young men who are staring at her with wide eyes.

"Comrade, who are you...?"

Yi Zhonghai frowned and asked, "I've never seen such an outstanding young person as Bai Ling before. Why did she suddenly come to this courtyard?"

The three older women standing nearby quickly explained, "Old Yi, this is Comrade Bai Ling. She just moved into our compound today. Director Wang from the neighborhood office personally delivered her here!"

Yi Zhonghai nodded upon hearing this and did not ask any further questions.

On the contrary, the small eyes in his bangs were a bright spot.

The neighborhood chief personally delivered it? This new female comrade must have some connections!

Lou Xiao'e, who was standing to the side, stomped hard on Xu Damao's foot.

The man's eyes are practically glued to the girl; he's such a loser!

Qin Huairu's expression also turned sour, because Sha Zhu's gaze had drifted over there as well.

It wasn't that she liked Sha Zhu; it was just that she was putting herself in his shoes and worried that if Sha Zhu gave all the lunchboxes to the new bride, what would her own child eat?

"I wonder where this person came from; she looks like a vixen!"

Jia Zhangshi sneered sarcastically from behind, never saying anything nice about this old hag.

However, Bai Ling's scholarly air and capable demeanor were indeed somewhat out of place in the atmosphere of this large courtyard.

In this respect, he is somewhat similar to Zhou Feng, who is also completely unlike someone who was born and raised in this courtyard.

"What are they doing?"

Bai Ling tilted her head slightly and took the initiative to lean closer to Zhou Feng to start a conversation.

Zhou Feng's body stiffened almost imperceptibly, then he grinned and replied in the same low voice, "It seems they say Sha Zhu stole Xu Damao's chicken, right? Aren't these three old men here conducting a trial?"

"Stealing chickens? A criminal trial?"

These two terms were not unfamiliar to Bai Ling, after all, she worked in the public security system in Beiping. Although she was usually busy with major cases, she had also passively learned about these petty thefts.

But how is the word "trial" associated with these ordinary people living in the courtyard house?

Do these so-called "old men" really have such rights?

She also became interested and watched the performance of everyone in the room with great interest.

"He Yuzhu stealing Xu Damao's chickens isn't a matter of morality, it should be considered retaliation, don't you all agree?"

The plot has progressed to the point where Yi Zhonghai has started to steer the narrative in order to characterize and exonerate Sha Zhu's behavior.

Zhou Feng grimaced as he listened, and Bai Ling's brows furrowed slightly.

One thing at a time, Xu Damao speaking ill of others behind their backs is a matter of character.

If the situation is serious, you can criticize and educate him, or even sue him for defamation or insult.

But Sha Zhu steals chickens because of this, which is a real theft, and the nature of the theft is completely different. How can they be confused?

"That's right! The old man has a point!"

"To seek revenge is to seek revenge!"

That's exactly how it works!

Before they could react, the residents in the courtyard started chattering in agreement.

The two exchanged a glance and chose to remain silent for the time being.

"This is the first and the last time..."

Yi Zhonghai was still trying to smooth things over and try to put the matter aside lightly.

But over there, Sha Zhu was already smugly raising his eyebrows at Xu Damao.

The underlying message is simple: I admit I stole your chicken, so what can you do about it?

"etc!"

Bai Ling finally couldn't hold back anymore.

Having worked in the public security system for several years, she saw that a theft case was about to be ruined by Yi Zhonghai, so she quickly spoke up to stop him.

Xu Damao, who was standing nearby, immediately realized what was happening and chimed in, "Wait a minute, Uncle, did he just eat our chicken for free?"