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

"No, didn't you listen to the meeting that day?"

Liu Haizhong was almost laughing in exasperation. He stared at Sha Zhu and asked him a question, to which the latter immediately put on an innocent expression.

"What are you listening to? I didn't hear anything! What did you hear?"

After a series of nonsensical arguments, Sha Zhu, while cracking sunflower seeds, casually raised an eyebrow at his bangs.

He had no concept of power and status before, but he thought that the working class had power anyway.

But after being taken to the Special Operations Unit, he gained a new understanding of this matter.

Therefore, no matter how reckless or arrogant he was, he didn't dare to provoke Zhou Feng easily. Even though Zhou Feng had just scolded him by name, he didn't show any anger.

However, Liu Haizhong, who was just a worker, was naturally not taken seriously by him.

After all, he is now someone favored by high-ranking officials, and he is not on the same level as these ordinary people.

"Old Yi, what do you think we should do with people who have no respect for their elders and no regard for the rules of the compound?"

Liu Haizhong could also see that Shazhu was not convinced by him, but he relied on his status as the second uncle. People in the courtyard recognized him and listened to him, but if they didn't recognize him and treated his words as farts, there was nothing he could do about it.

The only solution is to pass this problem on to Yi Zhonghai.

Yi Zhonghai glanced sideways at Liu Haizhong.

Yesterday, while he was eating, he heard Sha Zhu mention several times that he knew some big boss.

He's acting recklessly in the yard now, so he's not going to bother arguing with Sha Zhu at this time.

"Everyone, what should we do?"

It's just kicking the ball around, isn't it?

Liu Haizhong passed the ball to Yi Zhonghai, who then passed it on to everyone present.

"What? What do we do? We have to pay for it!"

Xu Damao was the first to step forward.

Although he didn't pay any money, he got beaten up early in the morning, and this matter can't just be left like this.

"Good heavens, bringing three kids like this is robbery! That's unacceptable! Breaking into our house first thing in the morning, they have to pay me back! And the money from Uncle San's house, he has to return it!"

Yan Bugui's eyes lit up when he heard Xu Damao's words.

"Without rules, nothing can be accomplished. These three elders will lose all authority in the courtyard!"

Xu Damao is also much smarter than before. He knows that if he targets Sha Zhu, not many people will stand up for him.

So, he first used the method of making Sha Zhu lose money to bring Yan Bugui to his side, and then brought up the matter of prestige to make Liu Haizhong also share the same hatred.

As for Yi Zhonghai, Xu Damao never had any hope for him when he had a conflict with Sha Zhu.

Those two were wearing the same pair of pants.

"Absolutely! That's unacceptable! During the Lunar New Year, people offer New Year's greetings, but good heavens, they kneel down and kowtow, banging their bowls like beggars! I'll have bad luck for the whole year!"

It was clear that Yan Bugui was genuinely angered by Sha Zhu's actions; as soon as Xu Damao initiated a team fight, he immediately followed suit.

The anger on his face was almost palpable.

"that is!"

Xu Damao nodded, then looked up at Qin Huairu: "You have a problem with how you raise your children. Sha Zhu led the way; it was your kids who came into our house and asked Uncle San for money. You'll have to pay for this compensation!"

Qin Huairu, who was standing to the side, was completely dumbfounded.

How did this become her business?

It was indeed she who instructed her three children to plead poverty.

But this time, she really didn't know anything. After finishing her work at home, she went to a meeting, and as a result, such a huge burden was dumped on her head.

"What compensation? You think I'll pay for it? What am I supposed to compensate you for? I haven't seen a single penny!"

This time, Qin Huairu retorted confidently, saying, "We didn't do it, so we have nothing to hide."

"Did you see that? This happened, so you have to pay for it. We even broke our door latch, so hurry up and pay us back!"

Xu Damao kept a straight face and remained expressionless.

In the past, he might have given the Jia family some face, after all, he had dealt with Qin Huairu quite a bit.

But what those three brats said this morning really broke his spirits. Now, no one can help him; he has to teach them a lesson.

"What are you saying? Do you think whatever you say is the truth?"

Seeing that Qin Huairu was about to lose, Jia Zhangshi pulled her from behind and stood directly in front of her.

"You're the ones talking now, but we have to go back and ask the kids! If you say it's 100 yuan, we mother and children won't be able to survive!"

Jia Zhangshi stared wide-eyed, her gaze sweeping over Xu Damao and Yan Bugui.

She had been observing Zhou Feng from behind, and only stepped forward when she saw that he showed no intention of speaking.

To be honest, she wasn't intimidated by anyone in this courtyard, except for Zhou Feng who was sitting.

"If the money isn't in the child's hands, then it's in Sha Zhu's! If Sha Zhu took it, then he'll have to pay three times the amount!"

Yan Bugui adjusted his glasses and fixed his gaze on Sha Zhu again.

"Yes, yes, yes! You caused this, so you should pay back the money first! You can ask for it back after Qin Huairu asks the child tonight."

Liu Haizhong immediately followed suit.

Sha Zhu had just said such nasty things to him, so it's not unreasonable for him to join in and kick a dog when it's down.

Sha Zhu nodded seriously, while continuing to crack sunflower seeds.

"You're right, that's fine!"

Sha Zhu threw the sunflower seed shells in his hand onto the ground, clapped his hands casually, looked around, moved a long chair over, and sat down.

"Come on, give me my money back!"

Seeing him sitting there so arrogantly, like a big shot, Yan Bugui leaned closer curiously: "Seriously, if you're going to give me a refund, just give me a refund. Why are you acting like that?"

"You want money? Then kowtow to me!"

Sha Zhu stared intently at Yan Bugui, a smug look creeping onto his face.

"Don't you understand? Did the three kids kowtow to you? They can't just kowtow for nothing, can they? They only want money, not to repay their debts. That won't do!"

"Uncle, why are you kowtowing to me? How can I return your money?"

As he spoke, Sha Zhu even crossed his legs and raised an eyebrow at Yan Bugui: "Of course. You're the third uncle, I can't let you kowtow to me. Instead, have your child kowtow to me, and I'll return the money to you, how about that?"

Coincidentally, he was pointing at Yan Jiecheng, who had been holding back his anger for several days, and the latter immediately became furious.

These past few days, he's been bullied by the two sons of the Liu family, by his wife, and by his parents. Now, Sha Zhu is even asking him to kowtow. How could he not be furious?

"You idiot Zhu, you're talking bullshit!"

Yan Jiecheng stared wide-eyed and gritted his teeth, looking like he was about to walk forward, but only his upper body moved while his lower body remained completely still.

Don't be fooled by Sha Zhu's seemingly loud but actually rude behavior; he's been humiliated by Zhou Feng so many times.

But this guy was known for his fighting skills among his peers in the courtyard.

If Yan Jiecheng really tried to fight him, he would probably be the one who lost face and would be left there by Sha Zhu on the spot.

"Tsk tsk tsk, everyone listen to this, is this really something a teacher's child would say?"

"Disrespectful! You won't kowtow, huh? If you don't kowtow, then you won't get the money."

Seeing Sha Zhu's smug look, Xu Damao took a step forward: "What I'm asking you for is the money for damaging my door this morning. I don't need to kowtow to you, do I?"

"Oh, no need for that. Our door is fine, it's not damaged. We can just exchange our doors."

Sha Zhu waved his hand dismissively, pretending to be magnanimous.

Xu Damao used to be a projectionist, and Lou Xiao'e's family was not short of money. The quality of their door was far superior to the broken door of Sha Zhu's family.

Not to mention that Xu Damao only said the door was broken, but in reality the door was perfectly fine.

"Hey! What nonsense are you talking about? What kind of crappy door do you have that you want to trade with me?"

Xu Damao laughed in anger, but Sha Zhu waved his hand dismissively.

"Look at that old man's family, at least he has a few children who kowtow to him for money. Look at you, not to mention children, you've even lost your wife."

Sha Zhu is now particularly enjoying the feeling of sitting in the center of the courtyard, pointing out the landscape.

After confronting the Third Uncle, he turned his attention to Xu Damao. No one could escape; he wouldn't let anyone get away.

"You fucking..."

Just as Xu Damao was about to rush forward, he felt a sharp pain all over his body. The wound from that morning hadn't healed yet, so he could only angrily shake his hand and try to leave.

Yi Zhonghai also stood up. After all, things had turned out this way, and he wasn't in the mood for a New Year's gathering. It was the New Year, so he didn't want to make things uncomfortable for others.

Just as things were about to break up, Zhou Feng suddenly coughed lightly.

The reason I watched them advance the plot was because Sha Zhu's foul mouth kept drawing hatred, and the emotional value required for the double-crossing was constantly increasing, so I just watched from the sidelines.

But now, the conference is going to break up, that won't do.

"Um... I have something to say!"

The voice wasn't loud, but everyone present stopped in their tracks and focused their attention on Zhou Feng.

"I think what Sha Zhu said makes some sense. It's only right to kowtow when you want lucky money during the New Year."

Hearing Zhou Feng's words, Sha Zhu's smug expression grew even stronger.

He even started imagining in his mind whether Zhou Feng had heard that he was appreciated by the big boss, so he was deliberately trying to ease the tension between them!

"Hey, Jie Di, come here!"

As Zhou Feng beckoned, Yan Jiedi quickly ran to his side.

"You're about seventeen or eighteen years younger than Sha Zhu, right? That's a perfect age match."

Yan Bugui was somewhat embarrassed. Making his daughter kowtow to Sha Zhu was a disgrace to the Yan family.

Sha Zhu had already crossed his legs and even raised his eyebrows at Yan Bugui, making various provocations.

"According to what Sha Zhu just said, three kids, three heads each, one yuan each, which means we'll charge 33 cents per head, right?"

"That's right!"

Sha Zhu was the first to respond, while Yan Bugui remained unresponsive, his face ashen.

Even if he was unwilling, since Zhou Feng had brought it up, he didn't dare to object.

Whom did the pleading gaze sweep over, and who avoided it?

No one in the courtyard dared to stroke Zhou Feng's tiger whiskers.

Jia Zhangshi and Qin Huairu exchanged a glance.

I didn't expect Zhou Feng to have this attitude.

If that's the case, it can only prove one thing: Sha Zhu has really climbed the social ladder this time.

Then they need to make a big change in their attitude towards Sha Zhu.

Who would have thought that this simple-minded fool could have a day when he could turn his life around?

"Jie Di, how much lucky money did you get from your family this Chinese New Year?"

"This…"

Yan Jiedi hesitated for a long time before finally whispering, "Sanmao."

Ok!

He gave his own child 3 mao (0.3 yuan) as New Year's money, but Qin Huairu's three sons each swindled a yuan from him. No wonder Yan Bugui hated him so much.

"Then do as I say!"

Zhou Feng whispered a few words in Yan Jiedi's ear. She was taken aback at first, then her eyes lit up and she nodded vigorously.

At first, she was unwilling; who wants to kowtow to Sha Zhu!

But now, she's more than willing!

Seeing Zhou Feng walk towards Sha Zhu, she quickly followed.

"Each head costs three mao and three jiao, Jie Di, you'd better keep track of the number so you don't make a mistake."

Hearing Zhou Feng's reminder, Sha Zhu just shrugged and didn't take it seriously.

Even if he never went to school, he knows that you only need to knock on this three times, why do you need to count?

As Zhou Feng stood behind Sha Zhu and put his hand on his shoulder, Yan Jiedi also came to the opposite side of Sha Zhu, knelt down with a thud, and then kowtowed vigorously.

"Happy Chinese New Year! One! Two! Three! Four! Five! Six! Seven! Eight..."

"Huh?"

Just as Sha Zhu was about to stand up, he realized that Zhou Feng was pressing down hard on his shoulders.

Xu Damao's eyes lit up, and he immediately understood what Zhou Feng meant. He ran up to Sha Zhu in a few quick steps.

Zhou Feng was actually having trouble controlling this simpleton, but with Xu Damao on one side each, they managed to temporarily restrain him!

Yan Jiedi was also a clever girl. Seeing that Sha Zhu was still sitting there, she kowtowed very quickly, barely straightening her back, and kept kowtowing while the number she was counting in her mouth was also increasing rapidly.

"42! 43! 44!"

"Hey? This won't do!"

Seeing that Yan Jiedi was almost 50 years old, Sha Zhu quickly struggled.

Although he didn't stand up, he managed to escape from their grasp, but he had exerted force in the wrong direction, directly forward.

With a thud, Sha Zhu also knelt down in front of Yan Jiedi, interrupting her kowtowing rhythm by taking advantage of the situation.

"Alright, that's enough for now! Jie Di kowtowed forty-eight times, and you just returned one, so we'll make it forty-seven. Each kowtow is thirty-three cents, but since it's the New Year, let's round it down to sixteen dollars!"

Zhou Feng roughly calculated in his mind that it should be less than sixteen yuan, but he just said that. People in this era basically don't know how to do math, so it would be quite a hassle for them to figure out the amount.

"Wait, why is it sixteen yuan? It's not a three-yuan thing!"

Sha Zhu was stunned. How did he end up owing someone sixteen yuan?

"Didn't you set the price? Thirty-three cents a head, and you agreed to it just now? Now you want to go back on your word?"

Zhou Feng still had a smile on his face, completely unlike his aggressive demeanor just now, which made Sha Zhu shiver involuntarily.

"If you don't want to pay, that's fine too. Yan Jiedi kowtowed to you forty-seven times just now. If we take out the three that should be returned to you, there are forty-four left. You don't have any children, so just return your head."