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

"Alright, stop looking. Don't be fooled by how busy your dad is now; he'll benefit from this later!"

Zhou Feng pulled Lou Xiao'e's hand and sat down.

Now that there's no one else in the room, he can be a little more unrestrained.

He placed his hands on each of the girls, and had them use their chopsticks to bring the dishes in front of him.

Even if this is the 1960s, we still want to live the life of ancient times, surrounded by beauties on both sides!

Unfortunately, Zhou Feng hadn't been enjoying his time with the two women for very long when a jeep drove into the alley.

Li Huaide got out of the car carrying two bottles of Fenjiu liquor.

Although he was dressed in a very formal Zhongshan suit and looked very imposing, his expression was somewhat unnatural and his eyes were filled with trepidation as he strode into the courtyard at number 95.

Standing at the door of Zhou Feng's house, he took a deep breath before raising his hand to knock: "Is Comrade Zhou Feng home? I am Li Huaide."

A gasp came from inside, and a few minutes later, the door opened from the inside.

Qin Jingru opened the door. She poked her head out and smiled sweetly when she saw Li Huaide: "Brother Zhou Feng is inside. Please come in."

"Brother Li! What brings you here, you busy man?"

When Zhou Feng saw Li Huaide following Qin Huairu into the house, he immediately stood up.

The latter glanced at the dishes on the table and sighed inwardly, realizing that he had come at the wrong time again.

At this moment, Zhou Feng was sitting in a chair, with Lou Xiao'e on his left and an empty seat on his right, clearly belonging to the woman who had opened the door for him earlier.

If there's nothing else, he'll wait for Zhou Feng to come to the steel mill to find him.

This friend of mine can act recklessly day or night, and I'm afraid he'll have a hard time avoiding this situation when he comes here in the future.

Li Huaide put down what he had brought and sat down opposite Zhou Feng. Qin Jingru also returned to her seat and naturally sat down next to Zhou Feng.

She completely ignored Li Huaide across from her, picked up her chopsticks, took a piece of braised pork, and casually put it into Zhou Feng's bowl.

Li Huaide's gaze swept over the two women, and he roughly made up his mind.

He had met Lou Xiao'e before; she was Lou Zhenhua's daughter, a well-bred lady from a prominent family. She exuded an air of elegance just sitting there, and her eyes and brows revealed a pampered and refined air.

He hadn't met the other woman before, but she was youthful, beautiful, and had bright, lively eyes; she was a likable girl.

The two women sat on either side of Zhou Feng, one exuding the elegance of a well-bred lady and the other the vivacity of a young girl; they complemented each other perfectly.

Moreover, judging from the distance between them and Zhou Feng, as well as the intimacy and naturalness in their expressions, their relationship should not be ordinary.

As the saying goes, birds of a feather flock together, and in this era, that perfectly describes people like Zhou Feng and Li Huaide.

So he never thought of the relationship between the three of them as purely platonic, after all, Zhou Feng was much more knowledgeable about matters between men and women when he was drunk!

It's better to believe that Li Huaide is not greedy than to believe that such a person is honest.

"Brother Zhou Feng."

Li Huaide hesitated for a few seconds before speaking first, his tone tentative: "I came here mainly to talk to you about Ma Yingjie."

Zhou Feng was chewing on the braised pork Qin Jingru had brought him. Li Huaide's words had no effect on him. He chewed slowly and deliberately, and only after swallowing did he look up at the other man and ask, "What's wrong with Ma Yingjie?"

"Hey! This kid came to my office crying, saying someone took his place and he felt wronged. I was thinking of coming over to ask you what happened, just in case he made a big mistake and is afraid to tell me."

Zhou Feng put down his chopsticks, leaned back in his chair, and met Li Huaide's gaze calmly. "Brother Li, do you want to hear the truth or just pleasantries?"

Li Huaide's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly sat up straight: "Given our relationship, of course I'm telling the truth. Do we need to be polite? If Ma Yingjie really does anything to wrong you, you don't need to lift a finger, I'll take care of it for him!"

"Okay, then I'll just say it directly."

Zhou Feng took a sip of water and paused for a few seconds to organize his thoughts: "Ma Yingjie is incompetent, and even more cowardly. I asked him to watch over three farms for me, and he didn't respond at all. Before, when I went to the incubation farm, that political commissar named Niu Aiguo tried to stop me from causing trouble, you know?"

Li Huaide nodded.

Ma Yingjie even came to him specifically to talk about this, boasting about how powerful Zhou Feng was and how little face he gave Niu Aiguo.

"Ma Yingjie was standing right there, not daring to utter a single word. What use is an assistant like me who can't handle a task, has no guts, and needs to step in for him when something goes wrong?"

Li Huaide's face instantly turned ugly.

It wasn't because I was angry, but because I was embarrassed.

When Ma Yingjie was chosen to be Zhou Feng's assistant, he took the initiative to keep the guy by his side, saying he would help Zhou Feng get better.

And this is how this kid turned out?

Not only does he not work, but when the leader encounters trouble, he just cowers like a coward. Isn't this a slap in the face for Li Huaide?

"Let's talk about Lou Zhenhua again."

Zhou Feng felt Lou Xiao'e stiffen beside him, so he immediately reached out and put his arm around her waist, applying a little force to give her some support.

"I only gave them three days, and they already found three discrepancies in the inventory checklist, which also exposed a lot of people who were drawing salaries without working. The factory has compiled a list of major problems, which is well-organized, focused, and efficient."

"Brother Li, let me give you a heads-up. Not only am I going to give Lou Zhenhua an important position, but I'm also going to provide him with a car and the best treatment, because that's what he deserves."

"Regardless of his family background or who wants to harm him, I'll take this on."

Li Huaide's face flushed red and then turned pale, and he couldn't say a word for a long time.

Who wants to make a move against Lou Zhenhua?

It's him, of course!

After Liu Haizhong reported Lou Zhenhua, they all regarded this guy as a political achievement.

Who would have thought that Lou Zhenhua would get on the good side of Zhou Feng?

"Brother Zhou, this is my fault. That good-for-nothing Ma Yingjie, I didn't bring him out, and it delayed such a big thing for you. It's all my fault!"

Li Huaide timely revealed a hint of guilt, which was only because they were at Zhou Feng's house. If they were at a dinner table, he would have already started to punish himself with three drinks.

"Brother Li, we don't need to talk about that!"

Zhou Feng smiled and shook his head, gesturing for Qin Jingru to pour Li Huaide a cup of tea as well.

Their relationship extends far beyond the steel mill; the courtyard currently under renovation was also arranged by Li Huaide, who helped find people and coordinate materials.

"This is all in the past, it has nothing to do with you, don't take it to heart. The bond between us brothers, how could that good-for-nothing Ma Yingjie possibly affect him?"

Li Huaide felt relieved and smiled, finally feeling a weight lifted from his shoulders.

He picked up his teacup, clinked it against Zhou Feng's, and then drank it all in one gulp.

Qin Jingru, who was standing to the side, immediately widened her eyes. Although the tea had been steeping for a while, the temperature was definitely not low.

That's a tough guy! He drank it all down without spitting it out.

Although Li Huaide still wore a smile, his fists were clenched under the table. He had already drunk the wine, so he couldn't show any weakness.

After a long pause, he finally let out a long sigh of relief and patted his chest vigorously: "Brother Zhou, don't worry, this kind of thing won't happen again. What kind of help does Comrade Lou Zhenhua need? What channels does he want to use? As long as I can help, just let me know!"

"Of course, thank you, Brother Li!"

Zhou Feng placed his hand on the freshly poured teacup, his lips twitching slightly. He didn't mention asking Qin Jingru to pour tea for Li Huaide anymore, and simply took a small sip.

Regardless of anything else, Brother Li is definitely respectable in this respect.