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

When Xu Damao heard Yu Haitang praise their house, he immediately understood what the girl was thinking. Secretly pleased, he pressed his advantage: "Haitang, you have no idea where you are in my heart—you're like a goddess on Mount Everest!"

"I've been telling you to break up with Yang Weimin, and my first thought was, 'Are you still going to hesitate and hold back? I have to pursue you, pursue the most beautiful woman in our factory!'"

This combination of being called a goddess and the number one beauty has elevated Yu Haitang to the highest level.

The latter was an arrogant person who liked to hear flattery. What did that simpleton Sha Zhu know about being eloquent?

Although he had a skill and his family was relatively well-off, after he climbed up to a high-ranking official, he acquired many rare and unusual items.

But Xu Damao is just too eloquent!

One sentence after another brought out Yu Haitang's proud and arrogant face. After a long while, she finally managed to squeeze out, "But you've been married before."

"You just don't understand!"

Xu Damao was even happier and quickly threw out a sentence to pique Yu Haitang's curiosity.

Yu Haitang's words were not meant to contradict him, but rather she was genuinely considering whether she could be with him!

Sure enough, Yu Haitang looked at him with some confusion.

"To be honest with you, firstly, I have certain advantages that others don't."

Looking at his confident demeanor, Yu Haitang suddenly curled her lip: "It's just these two rooms, isn't it?"

Although Sha Zhu's house is a little smaller and less decorated than Xu Damao's, at least he has a record player!

"Haitang, I'm a very low-key person. Nobody knows how much wealth I have. Let me just tell you this: I can give away a house like this whenever I want."

Xu Damao had an indifferent expression on his face, which made Yu Haitang's heart flutter.

She knew the importance of keeping one's wealth hidden, but she never expected Xu Damao to be such a wealthy person!

"Secondly, I'm a cultured person, I appreciate elegance, and you're a cultured person too, so we have something in common!"

"Third, I have been married before, but that taught me how to treat my partner well. This is the experience I've accumulated."

It has to be said that Xu Damao's words were somewhat ahead of their time, and they did indeed make Yu Haitang's heart flutter.

However, after hesitating for a while, the girl suddenly raised her glass and said, "Let's not talk about this anymore, let's have a drink first."

"Fine! I know I can't outdrink you, but I'll risk my life to keep my goddess company today!"

Xu Damao downed the wine in his glass in one gulp, which made Yu Haitang's expression of satisfaction even more pronounced.

Some things are best left unsaid.

As a seasoned player in the world of romance, Xu Damao naturally understood that Yu Haitang was changing the subject to give him space to think.

This is the best result that can be achieved so far.

Originally, Yu Haitang was considering marrying Sha Zhu, but now Xu Damao has overtaken her by adding himself to the list, even ranking higher than Sha Zhu. That's enough!

However, Yu Haitang's alcohol tolerance was truly impressive; she got Xu Damao completely drunk, leaving him slumped on the table, unconscious.

Without even blushing or out of breath, she went to the back room of Yu Li's house to discuss it with Yu Li.

"Sister-in-law, I'm not exaggerating, but you're really quite capable! You've become a key figure in our courtyard!"

After listening to what Yu Haitang and Yu Li had to say, Yan Jiecheng immediately praised Yu Haitang.

Now that Yu Li is ignoring him, he has no choice but to take a roundabout approach and try to win over Yu Li's sister first.

"Of course, let alone your little courtyard, even in the steel rolling mill, we're big shots!"

Yu Haitang rested her chin on her hand with a smug look on her face, radiating pride.

With her looks, saying such things does indeed sound somewhat ordinary yet confident.

Not to mention anyone else, even compared to her sister, she is far inferior.

"What's so great about this? Tell me clearly, whose side are you on?"

Yu Li said something rather irritatingly.

When Yu Haitang went to see Zhou Feng on her own initiative, she didn't think it would go well, and sure enough, she was turned away.

Now that she's gone to the yard again and is playing the waiting-for-the-higher-bid-price game, Yu Li is even more dissatisfied.

"I haven't decided yet!"

Yu Haitang rested her chin on her hand, seemingly lost in thought.

"In my opinion, Xu Damao is better."

Yan Jiecheng's face showed some interest. Xu Damao's previous wife was Lou Xiao'e, and his father-in-law was Lou Bancheng.

No matter how bad someone's class background is, their family must have a lot of wealth!

It's possible that Xu Damao and Yu Haitang weren't exaggerating when they said it; a house might not be a big deal to them.

"What's it to you?"

Yu Li retorted directly, causing Yan Jiecheng's smile to freeze, and he turned away somewhat indignantly.

She then turned to her younger sister: "You're a young, unmarried woman, and you want to marry a divorced man? How will you ever face anyone after that? How will you get past Mom and Dad?"

"Although Sha Zhu doesn't have any bad intentions, he has no guts and has offended everyone in the neighborhood. You've really made a mistake by marrying him."

"And then there's the second uncle's son. He was beaten and scolded by his father since he was a child. He never had a good time. He must have some personality problems."

As Yu Li spoke, she kept shaking her head.

"Alright, alright, my first choice is definitely Shazhu, but I still need to think about it. It's not that easy to decide. I'm going back to rest now, I'm sleepy."

Yu Haitang stood up and walked out.

After listening to her sister's analysis, she concluded that none of the women in this courtyard were marriageable!

You can't understand a person just by what others say. Everyone has their biases, so you have to get to know them and interact with them yourself.

On the other hand, Qin Jingru was somewhat disappointed.

After telling her cousin what had happened, she sat with Zhou Feng in his room in a rocking chair, listening intently as the commotion in the yard started.

But Zhou Feng had been holding her until he fell asleep and then woke up again, and he didn't hear any noise outside.

With Sha Zhu's loud voice, if he finds out about this, he'll cause a huge uproar in the yard.

How come you're so tolerant this time?

Seeing Zhou Feng yawning in a daze, Qin Jingru quickly helped him back to bed, took off his clothes, covered him with a blanket, and then left the room.

The next morning, after she woke up, she went to the window and stared intently at the house of Sha Zhu across the street.

Xu Damao had already passed by outside, but Sha Zhu hadn't made any move.

Then a figure appeared, knocked on Sha Zhu's door, and went inside.

Yu Haitang?

Is she here to explain things to Sha Zhu?

Before Qin Jingru could even ask questions, she saw her cousin's expression change. She went back into the house, grabbed an empty basin, and headed towards Sha Zhu's house.

In the time it took to say a few words, she came out again carrying a basin of dirty clothes.

"Hey? Sis, why hasn't that silly Zhu made a move? How are things between him and Yu Haitang?"

Qin Jingru, like a gossipy old woman in the village, rushed to greet Qin Huairu as soon as she saw her come out, bombarding her with questions.

"How would I know? I just went in to collect some dirty clothes. Sha Zhu has helped us so much, I was just doing what I could to help him."

Qin Huairu's expression was flawless; she had repeated this line countless times.

Not to mention her own sister, she's almost fooled herself.

Qin Jingru glanced at her sister, then at Sha Zhu's door outside, and suddenly seemed to understand something.

She may be naive, but she's not stupid!

What does it mean when a grown man goes on a blind date and another woman comes into the house to clean and wash his dirty clothes?

Before Qin Huairu could even start fetching water, another figure appeared at Sha Zhu's door.

Xu Damao waved through the door, "Haitang, come here, I want to say a few words to you!"

Yu Haitang glanced at the door, explained a few words to Sha Zhu, and then turned and walked outside, which immediately made Sha Zhu's face darken.

"Hey? Sis, why did Yu Haitang leave with Xu Damao? Didn't you tell Shazhu what I told you yesterday?"

Qin Jingru's face also showed a hint of disappointment.

Her expression towards Qin Huairu was somewhat resentful.

She missed out on the excitement this time, and the biggest problem must be her cousin.

Given Sha Zhu's temperament, if Qin Huairu had told him about Xu Damao's sabotage last night, he wouldn't have been able to let Xu Damao take Yu Haitang away so easily today!

"Alright, why are you so concerned about the three of them? You..."

Although Qin Huairu was in a bad mood because she saw Sha Zhu and Yu Haitang on a blind date, she was about to say something harsh when she remembered that Qin Jingru was not just her cousin, so she swallowed her words.

Zhou Feng, who lives in the front yard, is the boss. Anyone who is associated with him, even Qin Jingru, who is his concubine, is not someone he can easily manipulate.

Even if the other person is his cousin, it's still the same!

At this point in the original story, Sha Zhu and Xu Damao were stealing each other's bases.

Xu Damao stole Yu Haitang with a meal of red wine and a meal at Donglaishun, while Shazhu attracted Lou Xiao'e with his broken machine that he had brought back from the big boss.

In this world, Lou Xiao'e had long since severed ties with Xu Damao, and didn't stay in the courtyard to take care of the deaf old lady, let alone Tchaikovsky.

By a twist of fate, a world where only Shaju gets hurt was created.

Qin Jingru ignored her cousin's words and instead raised her chin, saying, "I was just being righteous and standing up for what's right! Sha Zhu and Yu Haitang were having a good talk, so why did Xu Damao have the right to interfere?"

Seeing that Qin Huairu didn't say anything, she rolled her eyes again, stood up, and ran towards Sha Zhu's room.

"Hey? Where are you going?"

"If you won't tell, I will! We can't keep people in the dark, can we?"

Qin Huairu tried to stop her, but it was too late. She could only sigh as she watched Qin Jingru run into Sha Zhu's room.

Hopefully, Xu Damao will step up his game and take care of Yu Haitang directly.

"Oh, what wind blew you here?"

Sha Zhu was resting inside when he saw Qin Jingru come in and casually asked her a question.

He couldn't afford to offend Zhou Feng, but Qin Jingru, who was supposed to be introduced to him, was now having an ambiguous relationship with Zhou Feng.

Therefore, he didn't have a good impression of Qin Jingru either.

"There's not much wind, I just came to remind you."

"What are you reminding me of?"

"Yesterday, Zhou Feng and I overheard Xu Damao and Yu Haitang talking badly about you outside the compound. He didn't say anything at first, but later, when he heard that Yu Haitang had feelings for you, he dragged her out for red wine late at night."

"You and Zhou Feng both heard that?"

"I heard you. If you don't believe me, you can go ask in the front yard!"

Qin Jingru rolled her eyes and left Sha Zhu's room.

She had already said what she wanted to say. If Sha Zhu still didn't react, she might as well not watch the show and wouldn't bother with it.

However, the moment she stepped out of Sha Zhu's room, she heard an angry shout from inside: "That bastard! He's got a problem if you don't discipline him for three days!"

As Qin Jingru walked towards the outer courtyard, a smile appeared on her lips, and her normally normal steps became bouncy.

"What's making you so happy?"

When she arrived at Zhou Feng's house, Bai Ling, who had returned home late the night before, opened the door for her. Breakfast was almost ready.

Qin Jingru chuckled, grabbed a steamed bun, took a couple of bites, swallowed it, and nodded with satisfaction: "Sister Bai Ling, just wait and see!"

"Did you go and tell Sha Zhu on you?"

Zhou Feng, who had just gotten out of bed, asked curiously.

"Hmm! How do you know it was me who went to complain, and not my sister?"

Qin Jingru wiped her hands on the rag on the table, then quickly ran to the bedside and helped Zhou Feng get dressed.

This left Bai Ling somewhat speechless.

With what this girl did, she couldn't possibly catch up.

Zhou Feng patted Qin Jingru's head with satisfaction: "Who doesn't know what your sister is thinking? Even if you told her, she wouldn't directly inform Sha Zhu. She has to ruin Sha Zhu and Yu Haitang's relationship first, and then use this incident to shift the blame onto Xu Damao. That's called diverting the blame."

Qin Jingru's smile was somewhat stiff.

She suddenly remembered that when Sha Zhu and Yu Haitang were talking at home that morning, her sister had grabbed an empty basin and poured it in, clearly intending to disturb them.

This behavior is bad enough, but because it's her sister, it's hard to say anything.

After the three of them had breakfast and chatted for a while, they finally spotted Xu Damao, who was returning home looking very pleased with himself, through the window.

He had already received Yu Haitang's reply. Although Yu Haitang said she basically agreed and still needed to ask her family's opinion, it was practically the same as agreeing outright.

From this perspective, Xu Damao is quite capable; even after Lou Xiao'e left, he was able to bring back a factory beauty as his wife.

Especially since this factory flower was snatched from Sha Zhu's hands, it smells even better!

Just as he was happily walking through the courtyard, heading home, he heard a loud shout behind him: "Xu Damao! You stop right there!"

Turning his head, he saw Sha Zhu running towards him with red eyes.

"Holy crap! Stupid Zhu, are you out of your mind?"

Xu Damao cursed as he ran home as fast as he could.

Don't be fooled by his sassy banter; when Sha Zhu is in that state, he never confronts him head-on.

A wise man doesn't suffer a loss he can avoid!