Courtyard Houses: Starting with the principle of hard work paying off

Chapter 59 Daring to Think and Act
The next few days were peaceful.

Both Yi Zhonghai and the deaf old woman settled down and stopped causing trouble.

It turns out.

Yi Zhonghai can no longer withstand further turmoil.

It’s different in the past.

Now, Li Hongbing not only dominates him in the courtyard, but also saved Lou Zhenhua's daughter, climbed the social ladder by marrying into the Lou family, and even became an apprentice of Guo Youzhong, the head chef of Fengzeyuan Restaurant. No matter how stubborn Yi Zhonghai is, he wouldn't choose this time to have designs on Li Hongbing.

Even if you're unwilling, you can only temporarily avoid their sharp edge.

As for the deaf old lady.

After being so frightened by Li Hongbing last time, I hid in the hospital for a few days. When I came back, I was much more low-key.

Obviously.

She was afraid.

With these troublemakers gone, Li Hongbing could focus all his energy on learning new skills and gaining experience.

I didn't pay much attention to what was happening in the hospital.

On the contrary, Sha Zhu has been pestered by the deaf old lady for the past few days because he promised to buy her meat and stew it.

"Silly Zhuzi, when are you going to buy me meat?"

"Oh dear, old lady, you walk so quietly! You almost scared me to death..."

"Hey! You lazybones, all you do is talk big. Don't change the subject. You said you'd buy meat for your wife, but you can't take advantage of my hearing. Otherwise, this cane in my hand won't allow it!"

"Madam, with your hearing like that, you're not good enough?"

"He can't hear when he should, but he hears everything without missing a single word when he shouldn't. That's amazing."

"You little brat, you're trying to insult this old lady, aren't you?"

"Hey! No way!"

"..."

The deaf old woman suddenly appeared, almost scaring Sha Zhu out of his wits. When she brought up the promise she made to buy her meat to stew, Sha Zhu couldn't help but tease her.

"After saying all that, I still don't want to buy meat for my wife."

Silly Zhu was enjoying himself, but the deaf old lady didn't have that much free time.

She really wanted to eat meat.

Everyone in the compound knew how frugal Yi Zhonghai and his wife were; they might not even buy meat to eat for a month.

It won't be so easy for her to get a share of the meat business.

What distressed the deaf old woman the most was...

With Yi Zhonghai losing his position as the eldest son, and Li Hongbing leading the opposition against her, now hardly anyone in the courtyard takes her seriously.

They are polite and respectful on the surface, but they don't actually do anything about it.

Now, whenever someone buys something delicious, they secretly hide it away, just to keep an eye out for her.

Even when the deaf old woman came to their door in person, they pretended to be confused and lied through their teeth.

Now, the only one we can count on is Sha Zhu.

"Madam, you've wronged me. I really don't have any money. I'll cook you some meat when I get my salary next month, okay?"

When the deaf old woman brought up the topic of eating meat again, Sha Zhu felt utterly helpless.

Since becoming an apprentice at the Emei Restaurant, he has solved his problem of food and clothing, but he has also become a true spendthrift.

If it were just him alone, even if the apprentice's salary wasn't high, he could still live a very carefree life.

But he still has rainwater.

Aside from the cost of school, there was also the monthly food fee paid to Yi Zhonghai's family, and money left for Yushui to eat lunch at school. After deducting other miscellaneous expenses, there wasn't much left.

Sha Zhu used all the extra money to buy meat.

Every time he finished cooking, he would first send a bowl to the deaf old lady, probably because he didn't eat as much rainwater as she did.

Rain is a child. Sha Zhu didn't think much of it before, but after being criticized by Li Hongbing, he realized that he hadn't taken it seriously enough.

When he first received his salary this month, he bought meat once and even gave some to the deaf old lady. Including the braised pork he stewed a couple of days ago, Sha Zhu really didn't have any money left.

If we make any further moves, the only thing we can do is use the money meant for the rainwater's lunch at school.

Even if Sha Zhu considers the deaf old woman an elder, he shouldn't do such a thing.

No matter what, he is Yushui's older brother.

If Li Hongbing found out, he would become a laughing stock.

The deaf old woman's face darkened.

It would be quite a few days before Sha Zhu received his salary next month, and she was already almost skin and bones. But given Sha Zhu's condition, the deaf old woman really couldn't do anything about it and could only leave dejectedly.

Actually, she believed Sha Zhu's words, since Sha Zhu rarely lied to her except for the last time, but the deaf old lady was so desperate to eat meat that she couldn't resist.

……

night.

After having dinner at Yi Zhonghai's house, Jia Dongxu quickly returned home.

only.

Instead of staying at home, he quietly slipped out.

This isn't the first time this has happened in the past few days.

"Honey, where do you think Dongxu would go at this time?"

"how could I know?"

"They're not going to some shady places, are they?"

"He's at the peak of his energy right now, so we must make sure he doesn't pick up any bad habits."

"How about... you find some time to talk to Dongxu?"

"How can I talk to him about something like this?"

"This……"

"..."

Yi Zhonghai's expression turned very unpleasant upon seeing his wife's worries.

As the top prospect for his retirement, Yi Zhonghai didn't want Jia Dongxu to get into trouble, much less for him to go astray.

Unfortunately, Jia Zhangshi hasn't "returned from her studies" yet, and there's no one at home to take care of him.

Although Yi Zhonghai is Jia Dongxu's mentor, there are some things he can't easily interfere with.

However, Yi Zhonghai and his wife really did have the wrong idea.

Jia Dongxu did not go to those disreputable places as they expected.

After leaving the courtyard house, he did the same thing as the previous days: he took the tram from Beixinqiao to Qianmen, then wandered around Fengzeyuan and kept strolling around.

It might be hard for anyone to believe.

Jia Dongxu did this not because he was targeting Li Hongbing, but there was a connection.

Previously, Li Hongbing had saved Lou Xiao'e in the moat nearby. Later, the Lou family came to repay him. Seeing Li Hongbing become "rich overnight", Jia Dongxu was extremely envious and couldn't sleep because of his jealousy.

He came here looking for a "serendipitous encounter".

If someone were to have an accident, or fall into the water like Director Lou's daughter, he could step in and seize the opportunity to rise to prominence.

If Li Hongbing knew, he would give Jia Dongxu a thumbs up, admiring his boundless imagination and decisive execution. He truly dares to think and act!
As for why Jia Dongxu chose this area...

It's actually quite simple. As a high-end restaurant, Fengzeyuan is frequented by celebrities and dignitaries, so the chances of meeting "important people" here are obviously greater than in other places.

Li Hongbing's act of saving people is a good example.

In this regard, Jia Dongxu clearly had given it thought; it wasn't just a spur-of-the-moment decision.

If you're going in the wrong direction, no amount of preparation will help.

For several days in a row, Jia Dongxu had no success.

However, Jia Dongxu believes that perseverance leads to victory, so he did not give up easily.

Even Li Hongbing, who had been in Fengzeyuan for two months, only encountered that one time.

But just once can completely change one's destiny.

No matter what.

Today was another fruitless day.

Just as Jia Dongxu was filled with disappointment and preparing to leave, he reached a less crowded section of the road when several "passersby" suddenly stepped forward, grabbed him, and pinned him against the wall.

"Damn it, who are you people, and what do you want...?"

"be honest!"

"Kid, we've been watching you for days."

"Speak! Who sent you?"

Who is your superior?

"Who are you here to meet, and what is your mission?"

"..."

(End of this chapter)