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

Zhou Feng stared at the 95% figure, his heart pounding with excitement, and his breathing became noticeably heavier.

Ever since the last upgrade, the progress bar has been moving at a snail's pace, like an old ox pulling a broken cart, barely moving forward a fraction of a second.

We've been waiting so long, like the flowers have all withered, but now we can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel.

"What are you thinking about?" Bai Ling asked, waving her hand in front of his eyes when she saw him lost in thought.

"No, I wasn't thinking about anything." Zhou Feng snapped out of his reverie, a smile creeping onto his lips.

Bai Ling looked at him suspiciously, and was about to ask again when there was a knock on the door.

It wasn't too light or too heavy, but it made Bai Ling subconsciously tidy her hair and glare at Zhou Feng with annoyance.

These past two days, she's given Zhou Feng a lot of hard time because of this.

Zhou Feng wasn't angry. He chuckled and then called out, "Who is it?"

"Brother Zhou Feng, it's me, Jingru."

"Come in!"

Hearing Qin Jingru's crisp voice, Zhou Feng let her into the house.

Bai Ling's expression subtly changed, her lips twitching downwards, but she quickly regained her composure.

Qin Jingru walked in from outside with a smile and then closed the door.

Behind him, Qin Jingru hurriedly walked outside without even turning her head.

Zhou Feng's house is terrifying. She had originally planned to come with her cousin to collect supplies a few days ago.

But when she saw that Bai Ling also lived there, her legs went weak.

When she went to pick up supplies later, she would only deliver them to Qin Jingru's doorstep before quickly leaving.

She didn't know how her cousin had endured the pressure.

"Your sister left again?" Zhou Feng asked casually.

He and Bai Ling had been watching from the window the whole time, so they naturally noticed that Qin Jingru and Qin Huairu had come over together.

Qin Jingru smiled and said softly, "My sister said she had something to do and told me to come and get my things myself."

The three people present understood the implications perfectly and knew exactly what was going on.

Zhou Feng didn't point it out, but instead patted her head.

Qin Jingru's smile deepened, and she first greeted Bai Ling sweetly, "Sister Bai Ling, you're here. I'm here."

Bai Ling nodded and replied casually, "You're here? Have a seat."

The tone wasn't exactly warm, but it didn't give them a hard time either.

Qin Jingru had gotten used to her attitude over the past few days and didn't care at all.

Instead, noticing that the two of them were looking into the courtyard, she carefully moved to the other side of Zhou Feng, placing her hands on either side of her body, looking obedient and sensible.

His attitude was impeccable, just like a concubine meeting the wife in the old society.

If it were the Qin Jingru from the original novel, she might still have had the idea of ​​competing and fighting for it.

But faced with Zhou Feng and Bai Ling, whose backgrounds and circumstances were so favorable, her little thoughts were completely suppressed, and she didn't dare to show them at all.

Bai Ling glanced at her, her lips twitched slightly, and she swallowed back what she wanted to say.

If this were the old Bai Ling, she would have said a few sarcastic or sarcastic things to her.

He comes from a family of cadres, received higher education abroad, and is a prominent figure in his workplace.

A country girl runs up to her and keeps thinking about her boyfriend. Who could tolerate that?

But things are different now.

The situation outside is getting more and more tense every day.

The Revolutionary Committee members were running around the city, investigating this and that, and no unit was at peace.

Sun Yue was having a hard time with the Special Operations Unit, so how could she have the energy to engage in any jealousy or rivalry with Qin Jingru?

Besides, she had already talked things out with Zhou Feng and had witnessed Qin Jingru's little scheme firsthand, so she cared even less.

She's just a woman who's attracted to Zhou Feng's qualities!

Behind Zhou Feng is the entire future of the Dragon Kingdom. Even if she takes whatever she wants, how much can she take with her?

So... let her be.

As long as Qin Jingru doesn't take advantage of her kindness or do anything outrageous, she'll pretend she doesn't see it.

Anyway, Zhou Feng's heart is with her, and no one can take it away from him.

"Sister Bai Ling, what are you looking at?" Qin Jingru asked softly when she saw Bai Ling looking out the window.

"Let's watch the show." Bai Ling raised her chin, gesturing for her to look out the window. "Those people in the courtyard are fighting for power."

Qin Jingru followed her gaze and looked outside. Sure enough, she saw a small square table set up in the courtyard. Liu Haizhong was sitting in the middle, with Yan Bugui and Xu Damao sitting on either side, holding a "meeting" in a very professional manner.

"Oh, did the old man really give up his seat?" Qin Jingru craned her neck curiously.

"He gave up." Zhou Feng leaned back in his chair, arms crossed. "Yi Zhonghai said he was quitting, so Liu Haizhong naturally took over the job with the old man."

"Then why did Uncle Yi quit?" Qin Jingru didn't quite understand the ins and outs of the matter.

Bai Ling said calmly, "These days, who wants to stand out? The nail that sticks out gets hammered down. Yi Zhonghai is a smart man; he knows that being the big shot right now isn't a good thing. It's better to give up early and avoid trouble."

Qin Jingru nodded as if she understood, then suddenly remembered something and pouted, "Oh right, Brother Zhou Feng, I ran into Sha Zhu when I came in just now."

"Hmm? What happened when you ran into him?" Zhou Feng became interested.

"He was carrying a big box, I don't know what was in it. My sister asked him, but he completely ignored her, just snorted and walked away, acting all high and mighty!"

As Qin Jingru spoke, she mimicked Sha Zhu's cold snort, which made Bai Ling laugh.

Zhou Feng laughed and waved his hand, "Don't bother with him. That's just how he is; he acts like everyone owes him two hundred yuan."

"You bet she is." Qin Jingru pouted. "She used to put on such a good act with my sister, so generous and understanding, but she was really just so-so. I didn't see what was so great about her!"

Bai Ling glanced at her, a half-smile on her face, and said, "So, who do you think is better?"

Qin Jingru blushed, glanced quickly at Zhou Feng, then lowered her head and whispered, "I won't argue with you about who's better. I know my own limitations."

These words were so blunt, and he placed himself in such a low position, that Bai Ling found it difficult to continue the conversation.

The room was quiet for a few seconds, then Liu Haizhong's voice came from the courtyard outside the window. His voice was so loud that it could be heard even through the window.

"Comrades! Starting today, our work in this compound will reach a new level! Now that I, Liu Haizhong, have taken on this responsibility, I will certainly live up to the trust placed in me by the street leaders and all the residents of the compound!"

Zhou Feng scoffed and lowered his voice to the two people beside him, saying, "Listen to that official tone. Anyone who didn't know better would think he was some high-ranking official."

Bai Ling laughed too: "With his level of competence, he can't even qualify for a neighborhood committee position, let alone 'the entire compound's residents. How many households are there in this compound?"

"That's right," Qin Jingru chimed in. "My aunt and sister both said we don't need to pay them any attention."

The three of them chatted amongst themselves, watching the spectacle and discussing it in hushed tones, creating a rare moment of harmony.

However, Zhou Feng's attention was mostly focused outside. According to the original plot, Sha Zhu would have to come back and give them a piece of his mind.

Let's push this 95% progress bar up a bit.

Ideally, he could reach 100% directly. Even if he couldn't, it should be close. If all else fails, he could find a chance to get involved.

Fan a breeze, light a fire, and make the fire burn even brighter.

Thinking of this, Zhou Feng felt much more at ease. He leaned back in his chair and continued watching the commotion in the courtyard.

"An old man!"

Xu Damao, hunching over and tugging at his hips, leaned closer to Liu Haizhong's side: "Do you think we should establish some rules for our department's operations first?"

"Setting rules?" Liu Haizhong, holding an enamel mug, tried to adopt a leader's air. "Tell me, what rules?"

Xu Damao's eyes darted around: "For example, some people run rampant in the courtyard, fighting and brawling. Shouldn't we do something about that?"

Everyone present knew perfectly well who he was referring to.

Yan Bugui said slowly, "Da Mao is right. That kid Sha Zhu has a bad temper and a ruthless hand. How hard did he kick just now? Da Mao can't even stand up straight yet."

Xu Damao subconsciously tightened his grip on his legs, his smile froze for a moment, then quickly returned: "That's right! If we don't beat Sha Zhu to a pulp, we can forget about having any authority in this courtyard!"

"This kid needs to be taught a lesson; he doesn't take me seriously at all!" Liu Haizhong nodded seriously.

"He's basically the root of all the trouble in our neighborhood."

Yan Bugui delivered the final blow to Sha Zhu. He would remember Sha Zhu for the rest of his life the incident when Yan Jiecheng was arrested.

Xu Damao lowered his voice: "The situation is different now. What is Sha Zhu? He's an unemployed bum with a criminal record. You two are now the top two leaders in the institute, representing the organization. Does he dare to mess with you?"

These words stirred something within Liu Hai's heart.

Given the current situation, if Sha Zhu causes any more trouble, he'll be walking into the line of fire.

Even if he's arrogant, does he still dare to go against the organization?

Just as the three of them reached a consensus and Xu Damao smiled, footsteps came from the middle courtyard. Sha Zhu strolled over from the middle courtyard with his hands in his pockets.

As soon as Xu Damao saw him, he subconsciously squeezed his legs together again and ran behind Liu Haizhong to hide.

That kick just now almost gave him psychological trauma; anyone who's been through that agonizing experience knows how painful it was.

But standing behind Liu Haizhong, he regained some confidence and managed to straighten his back.

What's there to be afraid of? He's a leader in the hospital now!

"Hey, don't go!"

"I didn't leave, where could I go?"

Xu Damao stared at Sha Zhu with his neck stiff. Liu Haizhong and Yan Bugui were beside him, so he couldn't show any weakness.

Liu Haizhong, Yan Bugui, and Xu Damao all stared at Shazhu, putting on quite a show of bravado.

"What's up, Da Mao? I heard you've been promoted to a third-level leadership position?"

"What's wrong?"

Xu Damao straightened his back and asked a question in return.

"Alright! You three are leaders now, right? So, is it okay for me, a mere bystander, to come and chat with you three leaders? Which of you three would like to go first?"

"Silly Zhu, the three of us are the leadership team of this hospital having a meeting!"

Yan Bugui glanced at Sha Zhu with some impatience. Right now, he looked at Sha Zhu as if he had just given away twenty-odd yuan.

"Get out of here! You think you're a leader? Do you even know what a leader's name is, how to walk, or how many fingers they have? Do you understand? You think you can be a leader?"

"A teacher is respected because he's a public servant. He might spout some classical phrases behind people's backs, but he aspires to be a leader?"

"A leader needs to be good at conversation. Do you? Wouldn't that make you an apprentice?"

With connections to a high-ranking leader behind him, Sha Zhu couldn't help but laugh as he looked at the three guys who called themselves leaders.

"Just the three of you, and you call that a leadership team? Who do you lead? Yourselves? What are you pretending to be so important about?"

"He Yuzhu!" Liu Haizhong slammed his hand on the table and stood up. "What kind of attitude is this? We are the leadership team of the institute, recognized by the organization. Comrade Xu Damao is also a young cadre who came from the street office. Insulting us is insulting the organization!"

"Oh my, Uncle, how can you talk like that? These people are just raising issues with you, why are you slapping this label on me?"

Sha Zhu wasn't in a hurry anymore. He sat down to the side and crossed his legs.

"As an ordinary citizen, I think you are far inferior to this old man in every way. You are not fit to be a leader. If you want to be one, go home and sort things out at home. Don't let your relationship with your son become estranged. Take care of your son before you try to manage me, okay, leader?"

"No... I'm telling you, you silly Zhu! Don't blame me for making things difficult for you from now on."

Liu Haizhong's breathing became rapid, and his eyes were wide open as he stared at Sha Zhu.

"See, one sentence has revealed all! A leader needs to have a broad mind; a prime minister's belly can hold a boat! Well, you have a big belly, but it can't hold much, just like me, one of the masses?"

"A level seven fitter who can machine decent stuff, what's so shameful about being a working-class person? Why do you have to act like a leader and embarrass yourself like that? You're just dreaming!"

"You—" Liu Haizhong was speechless, choked by his words, and after a long while, he finally managed to say, "From this day forward, I will never let you get away with this!"

Yan Bugui tried to smooth things over, saying, "Hey, Zhuzi, say less. Da Mao is indeed a cadre in the institute now, and Lao Liu is also a leader. Your attitude is really inappropriate. How about this, you apologize first, and we'll let it go."

Sha Zhu glanced at Yan Bugui, then at Liu Haizhong, and finally his gaze settled on Xu Damao.

Xu Damao was glaring at him with a dark expression!

Sha Zhu suddenly laughed, a loud laugh: "Fine, you want to apologize? I'll apologize."

He took a step forward, facing Xu Damao, his voice neither too loud nor too soft, just loud enough for the whole courtyard to hear.

"Comrade Xu Damao, I was wrong. I shouldn't have kicked you inside the yard; I should have kicked you outside. If I had kicked you outside, you wouldn't have been able to cry and scream in the yard. I'm sorry, I'll definitely be more careful next time."

"Silly Zhu, you—!" Xu Damao was so angry that he trembled all over.

The entire audience burst into laughter.

This group of people originally came to see what was going on with Liu Haizhong and the others, but they ended up making a big joke out of it because of Sha Zhu.

Some people laughed so hard they slapped their thighs, while others laughed until tears streamed down their faces, their bangs even sticking out of their hair.

Only Zhou Feng in the room was intently watching the progress of his double-door project: 96%!

We need to work even harder!