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

The three aunts and Yu Li were busy cooking at the stove, while Yan Jiecheng helped out by handing them scallions, ginger, garlic, and the like.

He also knew that it wasn't a good thing to scold his younger siblings during the Lunar New Year.

After being scolded by his parents, he didn't get a good look from his wife either, so he quickly took the initiative to help with the work.

However, no one spoke much in front of the stove, and the atmosphere was somewhat awkward.

"Dad, shall we go over there and wish everyone a Happy New Year?"

Yan Jiekuang looked at his father and deliberately raised his voice to ask a question.

They had a very good impression of Zhou Feng and would often try to get close to him and curry favor with him.

Of course, they could sense that their older brother disliked Zhou Feng, but...

What if you get yelled at during the Lunar New Year? Even if it's your own brother, what does it matter?

If you can't get back at him with insults or physical attacks, then just mention Zhou Feng and annoy him.

Yan Bugui was taken aback, and a hint of unease flashed across his face.

"It's not very convenient for our family to go now."

If they are all neighbors, it's perfectly reasonable to visit each other to exchange New Year's greetings.

Zhou Feng is now capable and has a high status. Even the leaders in the street office greet him with smiles.

When visiting his home for the New Year, how can you go empty-handed?

Wouldn't doing that be slapping someone in the face?

The problem is that we don't have anything good at home right now; the best thing we have is that broiler chicken.

They sent a chicken to every household in Beiping, and you're going to use that chicken as a gift?

Others may not know, but Yan Bugui certainly wouldn't do such a thing.

Even the most thick-skinned person couldn't have imagined how embarrassing that moment would be.

After hesitating for a few seconds, he slowly walked to the front of the kitchen, looked out the window, and casually asked the third aunt a question.

"Huh? Zhou Feng hasn't come out all day?"

"No! I don't think I've seen him even once today."

Yan Bugui hummed in response and then fell silent.

If Zhou Feng were out, he could pretend it was a coincidence and casually offer a New Year's greeting.

As it turned out, the person hadn't left the house all day. Since it was already this late, there was no point in holding onto any more hope.

"Old man, how about..." the third aunt tentatively suggested, "...we make some dumplings and send them over?"

"Heh... What good food haven't they eaten? Would they even look at our vegetable dumplings?"

Before Yan Bugui could speak, Yan Jiecheng spoke first.

He didn't want to deal with Zhou Feng, nor did he want his family to deal with Zhou Feng.

After listening to what he said, Yan Bugui thought for a moment, glanced outside a few more times, and finally sighed.

"Let's wait and see. Keep an eye on him, and when he leaves, remind me. Then we'll just say a few auspicious words to him and that's it."

Upon hearing this, Yan Jiecheng didn't say anything more, but his unease only intensified.

What he didn't notice was that his wife, who was cooking nearby, moved her feet further away from him once again.

Meanwhile, Zhou Feng's room was quite quiet.

There were a few ordinary dishes on the table, all just casually prepared.

A braised pork belly, an egg stir-fried with onions, and a bowl of cabbage and tofu soup.

At this time, it's the Lunar New Year in the traditional courtyard world, but in the modern world, it's just the beginning of autumn.

So, holding his rice bowl, listening to the occasional sound of firecrackers outside the window, he suddenly felt a little dazed.

In the modern world, the sounds of firecrackers and fireworks on Lunar New Year's Eve are much louder than here.

But the festive atmosphere at home wasn't that strong.

The family sat around in the living room, each with a mobile phone in hand, either grabbing red envelopes or scrolling through short videos. The Spring Festival Gala was on TV, but no one was watching it.

The New Year's greetings on social media are much more lively than the chats at home.

The meal was quite lavish, but everyone usually eats well.

It's simply a matter of combining the dishes that are meant to improve the meals and cooking a whole table of them at once.

Then, two days later, everyone started eating leftovers.

Unlike this era.

Prepare some candy, melon seeds, and peanuts, and the children will be happy for half a day.

They don't need hundreds of firecrackers; just one or two will keep them entertained for an entire afternoon.

However, none of this concerned him. Zhou Feng picked up a piece of meat with his chopsticks and put it in his mouth, chewing it.

It's not that he doesn't want to go out, but the problem is there's not much to do there.

Bai Ling went back to her hometown yesterday. She had told him in advance, and he didn't have the right to insist that she stay for the New Year.

The other people in the courtyard were like mice before a cat when they saw him. Although they didn't exactly bow and scrape and smile obsequiously, it was generally difficult for them to have a normal conversation with him.

When he goes out, everyone else has to figure out how to greet him, and he has to respond appropriately. It's exhausting.

Rather than making both parties uncomfortable, it's better to stay at home.

After finishing my meal, I cleared away the dishes, leaned back on the bed, picked up my phone, and began my thrilling battle in the Rift.

The liveliness of other people's homes had nothing to do with him, and he didn't feel lonely, since he was used to it in modern society anyway.

When I get tired of playing, I turn off my phone, switch to a sleep-inducing live stream, and go to sleep.

Despite the crackling and popping of firecrackers outside, he slept quite soundly.

The next day, early on the first day of the Lunar New Year, Bang Geng jumped up.

Before his sister woke up, he ran to Sha Zhu's house and dragged her out of bed.

"No, Uncle Sha, do you still stand by what you said last night?"

"What did I say?"

Shazhu was still half asleep and hadn't realized what was happening, which made Banggeng across from him so angry that he jumped up and down.

"You said it last night! You had a way for the three of us to get lots of lucky money, and then we'd put in a good word for you with my mom and grandma!"

"How come you don't care anymore after just one night's sleep?"

After being reminded by Bang Geng, Sha Zhu finally came to his senses and slapped his forehead.

"Pshaw! I thought it was something serious? You dragged me out of bed so early in the morning just for this?"

"Isn't that enough?"

Banggeng rolled her eyes at him, annoyed.

The Jia family didn't have much money to begin with, and the three children didn't live a good life either.

Last night, Sha Zhu told them that they would receive lots of lucky money today, which made the three kids incredibly excited.

Bang Geng didn't even get a good night's sleep, just waiting for dawn!

"Alright, since we're all up, let's go!"

Sha Zhu didn't hesitate. He put on his clothes, climbed off the bed, and followed Bang Geng outside, slipping on his shoes.

Xiao Dang and Huaihua were already waiting outside, and they immediately called out when they saw Shazhu.

"Happy New Year, Uncle Silly!" "Happy New Year, Uncle Silly!"

Sha Zhu was overjoyed, his eyes practically popping out of his head. He reached out and patted Xiao Dang's head. "Good, good, good! Come in, come in, it's cold outside."

The two children followed him into the house.

After entering the house, he took out several red envelopes from the cabinet and put one in each person's hand.

"Here you go, take this New Year's money!"

After the three children took the red envelopes, squeezed them, and put them in their pockets, they looked at Sha Zhu with longing eyes.

The latter, looking completely confident, tapped their foreheads.

"Don't worry, what I said yesterday still stands!"

The three children, one adult and three children, left Sha Zhu's room and went to the backyard.

When they arrived at Xu Damao's house, Sha Zhu began to teach the four children a few rhymes.

After listening to them finish their rambling, he knocked on Xu Damao's door from the outside and let the three children in.

Xu Damao was still fast asleep inside the house.

Like Zhou Feng, he spent the Spring Festival alone at home.

However, the two are different. Zhou Feng has gotten used to having a mobile phone with him and is living a rather comfortable life.

He, on the other hand, was left alone because his wife didn't want him anymore.

So I drank a bit more alcohol late at night and went to bed early.

We wish you a Happy New Year!

The three children entered the room and knelt by the bed, shouting in unison.

Xu Damao was fast asleep and couldn't hear anything.

Seeing this, Banggeng tugged at his arm hard again and then shouted it again.

This startled Xu Damao awake from his sleep.

"Wait... what are you trying to do?"

Banggeng glanced at his two younger sisters: "Ready, let's go!"

The three of them simultaneously started banging on the bowls in their hands.

"Uncle Da Mao, Uncle Da Mao, the Spring Festival is here! Give me some lucky money and I'll stop making a fuss!"

"Hmm?"

Xu Damao half-closed his eyes and glanced sideways at the three kneeling children.

"Get out, all of you, get out of here!"

So what if it's Chinese New Year?

Lou Xiao'e ran home. She had a terrible New Year's celebration and wished she hadn't had it at all!

Now those three kids dare to come to his house and bully him?

"One dollar is too little, two dollars are too little, three or four dollars are just right."

"If you don't give it to me, I won't take it, and I still won't find a wife!"

???

Xu Damao's eyes instantly turned red.

Is this guy here to ask for New Year's money?

This guy is just here to annoy him!

Whose child comes to ask for lucky money during the Lunar New Year, saying that the person can't find a wife?

"Fuck you! You idiot Zhu, get out here!"

Xu Damao clenched his fists as he looked at the three children kneeling in front of him.

But every wrong has its perpetrator, and he was quite certain that the three children couldn't have come up with such a rhyme.

There's no one else but Sha Zhu who could come up with such a story and then go to his house during the Chinese New Year to annoy him.

Is this guy sick?

Didn't his past experiences calm him down?

It's only been a few days, and they're already causing trouble again!

Seeing Xu Damao's somewhat hysterical state, Xiao Dang and Huaihua felt a pang of panic, their lips trembling as they involuntarily took two steps back.

Even the stick-shaped stalks were starting to panic.

This is quite different from what Sha Zhu said last night about Uncle Xu Damao's possible reaction!

Will they get beaten up?

Even if Bang Geng is incredibly tough, he wouldn't dare to fight an adult.

"Hey, hey, hey? Xu Damao, you're so boring! That kid came to wish you a Happy New Year this morning, why are you yelling?"

Sha Zhu, who was sitting outside, noticed that Xu Damao's tone inside sounded off, so he opened the door and went in with a mischievous smile on his face.

It has to be said that with the support of the top leader, this guy really did revert to his true nature.

"You idiot! Are you fucking crazy? Coming here to cause trouble during the New Year?"

Xu Damao's anger was truly burning.

The pressure of being locked up for so long, the resentment of my wife leaving, and the morning grumpiness from being woken up early all piled up together.

"Hey, I find you so boring. It's Chinese New Year, and people's kids come to wish you a happy new year, and you don't even give them a red envelope, why are you yelling?"

Sha Zhu naturally noticed that Xu Damao's mood was off, but the two had known each other for so many years and were quite familiar with each other.

Even if Xu Damao is angry, what can he do? If he's not angry, all his efforts will have been in vain.

"I'll fucking kill you!"

Xu Damao, wearing thermal underwear, stood up from the bed, leaped up, and pounced on Sha Zhu.

The three children froze for a moment, then screamed and fled from Xu Damao's room.

Although Sha Zhu didn't react immediately, he was very strong!

Even though Xu Damao had the upper hand, he was directly suppressed by force and pinned down.

"You idiot, just keep holding me down like this, whatever you do, don't let Grandpa get up, or I'll fucking kill you!"

Even as Sha Zhu pressed him down with his big hand, Xu Damao continued to curse and swear, his eyes filled with hatred as he looked at Sha Zhu.

That look startled Sha Zhu.

He hadn't been unaware that Xu Damao might have gone even further than what happened today; he had done things before.

This was the first time Xu Damao had ever shown such a look, making Xu Damao's hair stand on end.

"You're such a sore loser, it's no fun at all. I'm leaving. Don't make trouble for me during the New Year!"

Sha Zhu tried to loosen his grip on Xu Damao, but the latter suddenly struggled, startling him. He quickly pressed Xu Damao down again and pushed him towards the bed.

Taking advantage of Xu Damao's inconvenience due to being on the bed, he leisurely left Xu Damao's house.

As soon as they entered the passageway of the district court, Banggeng and the other two came to greet them.

"Uncle Sha, what's wrong with Uncle Da Mao? It's not what you said!"

"Yeah, that scared me to death! I thought Uncle Da Mao was going to beat us up!"

"Mmm, the locust flower is scared!"

The three siblings were truly startled by Xu Damao's ferocious expression, with his red eyes and bared teeth.

"Heh! He was just trying to scare you. I easily subdued him inside the house. You ran away too soon!"

Sha Zhu patted his chest smugly, and looked back at the backyard with a hint of disdain.

"But Uncle Sha, this isn't what you said last night! Uncle Da Mao didn't give us any money at all!"

Bang-geng ignored Sha-zhu's boasting and instead showed a hint of dissatisfaction on his face.

Xiao Dang and Huaihua nodded hurriedly in agreement.

They went to Xu Damao's house early in the morning, not to annoy him, but because Sha Zhu said he could get more New Year's money!

As a result, not only did I get nothing, but I also got a huge fright.

"Alright, alright, you didn't get the money, huh?"

As soon as Sha Zhu finished speaking, the three children nodded repeatedly, like chicks pecking at rice.

"I'll make up for the New Year's money Xu Damao gave you. You can ask your Third Uncle for it again later!"

With a hint of reluctance, Sha Zhu pulled three yuan from his pocket and reluctantly handed it to the three children. Seeing them about to run away, Sha Zhu tugged at a stick: "Don't just ask for money! Remember what I told you to say?"

"Remember this, and say a few good things about you to my mom and grandma, tell them you're good to us and capable!"

"Alright, go ahead!"