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

Chapter 89 Jia Dongxu exploded

Tsk!
Another new skill has been unlocked.

Seeing the cycling experience points refreshed by the system, Li Hongbing was in a great mood. He rode his bicycle back and forth in the alley before finally stopping steadily in front of Li Hongmei.

"Sister, it's your turn."

In the blink of an eye, Li Hongbing had learned to ride a bicycle, and Li Hongmei was a little taken aback.

Is it that simple?
Although she often saw people riding bicycles on the road and it didn't seem too difficult, Li Hongmei was still a little apprehensive because she had never tried it before. However, after Li Hongbing's "demonstration," Li Hongmei unconsciously gained some confidence.

As Li Hongmei took over the bicycle, Li Hongbing and Shazhu assisted her in learning and practicing riding, just as they had done before.

Compared to Li Hongbing, Li Hongmei learned to ride a bicycle a little slower, but the final result was as expected.

Li Hongbing deliberately let Li Hongmei ride the bicycle a couple more times until she was more proficient. Then, keeping his promise, Li Hongbing handed the bicycle over to Sha Zhu, Xu Damao, and Liu Guangqi.

They may be generous, but if they don't take care of their bicycles and damage them, that's a different story.

Learning to ride a bicycle is a small thing.

In fact, it was a small obedience test that Li Hongbing intentionally conducted on them.

As peers in the courtyard, they were all around the same age. They often bickered and teased each other, and their disagreements were nothing serious.

This year, Sha Zhu is seventeen, Liu Guangqi is sixteen, and Xu Damao is fifteen. Although they are already showing some signs of their future, they are still young men and their personalities are not yet fully formed. We cannot judge them entirely through the lens of the original drama.

At least.

There was no grudge or deep-seated hatred between Li Hongbing and them.

There is no need to push them to the opposite side without any reason.

Just because you live in a courtyard house doesn't mean you have to be defiant and indiscriminately make enemies of the entire courtyard.

This is undoubtedly the most foolish thing to do.

As for what happens between them, Li Hongbing has no say in it and doesn't plan to for the time being.

It's like the entanglement between Sha Zhu and Xu Damao.

Li Hongbing is unsure.

At this point, had Sha Zhu already broken Xu Damao's skin?

If the answer is yes, once Xu Damao finds out about this, it will basically be a fight to the death, and even the Heavenly King himself wouldn't be able to stop him.

Of course.

There are exceptions.

Yi Zhonghai and Jia Dongxu are now a fait accompli, and due to the causes and effects of past events, it is almost impossible to avoid.

There's no need to be so polite with them.

"Let's go, sis, let's go back first. Don't worry, if you break it, I'll go to their elders."

Li Hongbing had already warned Xu Damao and the others that if they continued to act recklessly, Li Hongbing would have no choice but to "report" them.

Apart from Sha Zhu, neither Xu Damao nor Liu Guangqi currently have control over their finances. If there are any losses, it's most effective and convenient to go directly to their parents.

They'll compensate you for the money, and even give you a free meal with a feather duster.

Li Hongmei wasn't as carefree as Li Hongbing. After all, this bicycle was one of the few large items their family owned, and Li Hongbing would be riding it to and from get off work at Fengzeyuan every day. They didn't want to risk damaging it.

However, since Li Hongbing said that, Li Hongmei couldn't keep an eye on Xu Damao and the others like they were thieves, so she could only go back with them for the time being.

It's been a while.

Having barely satisfied their cravings, Sha Zhu, Xu Damao, Liu Guangqi, and the others reluctantly returned the bicycles.

Everyone knows that bicycles are valuable, and even if Li Hongbing hadn't reminded them, they wouldn't have dared to let the bicycle suffer any damage.

It's broken.

Neither of them can afford to pay the compensation now.

After this ordeal...

Apart from Sha Zhu, who was already close to Li Hongbing, Xu Damao and Liu Guangqi all felt more favorably towards Li Hongbing, and were even grateful to him.

Although they were concerned about saving face and didn't say it outright, Li Hongbing could sense it.

Xu Damao, who had previously been dissatisfied and resentful towards Li Hongbing, was no longer as arrogant and self-important in front of Li Hongbing.

Seeing this, Li Hongmei was also very happy.

They didn't get along very well before, but if they can improve their relationship now, Li Hongbing will make more friends in the compound, which will put her at ease even after she gets married.

In the evening.

When Yan Bugui returned from fishing, he learned the details of the Zhao family's betrothal ceremony that day. He couldn't resist putting down his fishing rod and running to the front of the Li family's house to look around, clearly wanting to see the first bicycle in the entire courtyard. Bicycles weren't exactly rare these days; almost everyone had seen one, but no one in the courtyard had ever owned one before.

Xu Fugui does own a vehicle, but it is the public property of the steel mill, not Xu Fugui's personal property.

Today, the bicycle belonging to the Li family can truly be considered the first of its kind in the entire compound.

"Uncle Yan, is there anything I can help you with?"

Yan Bugui's actions outside naturally caught Li Hongbing's attention, so Li Hongbing went out to check.

"It's nothing. I just heard that Hongmei's boyfriend came to propose marriage today and gave your family a bicycle as a betrothal gift. I was a little curious, so I came to take a look."

It wasn't anything shameful. Being caught red-handed by Li Hongbing, Yan Bugui didn't feel embarrassed at all and readily admitted his actions and intentions.

"Oh! That's how it is."

I thought something had happened to Yan Bugui, but I didn't expect it to be this.

Li Hongbing pointed directly to the location of the bicycle inside the house, allowing Yan Bugui to see it clearly.

There are always people in the yard during the day, and the gate is closed at night. Bicycles can be left outside, so there is generally no risk of them being stolen.

However, bicycles are not worthless these days, and there are some naughty kids in the yard, so Li Hongbing followed Li Hongmei's wishes and put the bicycle inside the house.

"Now that we have our own bicycles in our compound, it will be much more convenient if anything happens in the future."

Hearing Yan Bugui say this with a smile on his face, Li Hongbing objected and retorted on the spot: "Uncle Yan, please make a distinction. This bicycle belongs to our family, not to everyone in the yard. What you said is inappropriate."

Whether he takes his bicycle seriously or not is his own business.

But Yan Bugui's idea of ​​turning his bicycle into the common property of the courtyard is wishful thinking.

Li Hongbing wanted to punch him for what he just said.

It's one thing to scheme against him, but to do it so blatantly.

"Hey, Hongbing, that's not what I meant. You've misunderstood."

Faced with Li Hongbing's clear stance, Yan Bugui was a little embarrassed and quickly explained, "What I mean is, we're all from the same compound. A close neighbor is worse than a distant relative. If we encounter any emergencies, we can borrow your bicycle. Wouldn't that be a lifesaver?"

“If something really urgent happens, I’m not a stingy person, but it has to be a real emergency, like getting sick or breaking a leg, I’ll do it without hesitation.”

Despite Yan Bugui's demeanor, if Li Hongbing hadn't retorted, he would have definitely taken advantage of the situation.

Of course, Li Hongbing doesn't completely refuse to lend out his own bicycle. In situations like the ones he just mentioned, as long as there's no deep-seated hatred, he can't be completely devoid of human compassion.

This is not the society of later times, where neighbors living across the hall might only see each other a few times a year, or even not know each other after living together for several years.

Even if Li Hongbing doesn't intend to get involved in the trivial matters of the courtyard, he can't be a loner all the time.

As for whether Yan Bugui wants to borrow a bicycle to go fishing or visit relatives, that's out of the question.

If that's the case, will we be able to borrow enough bicycles?
You don't need it anymore at home?

Li Hongbing's words made sense, but Yan Bugui found them unlucky. What did he mean by "illness leading to a broken leg"?
So, if he wanted to borrow a bicycle, he had to suffer first.

However, Yan Bugui understood what Li Hongbing meant: normally, it would be impossible to borrow a bicycle.

Thinking of this, Yan Bugui's enthusiasm waned somewhat.

He really did intend to borrow a bicycle to go fishing, but Li Hongbing blocked the way.

However, Li Hongbing did not completely close the door, so Yan Bugui could only smile and say, "Then I'll thank you on behalf of everyone, you're so righteous!"

Yan Bugui's words made it sound as if Li Hongbing's willingness to lend a bicycle to anyone in the future was solely due to Yan's influence, or that he had secured this opportunity for everyone and therefore deserved credit.

This Yan Bugui...

Li Hongbing is truly impressed by his tendency to always try to get a better deal.

Just as Li Hongbing was at his wit's end, a series of crackling sounds suddenly came from the Intermediate Court.

"what happened?"

"what happened?"

"Jia Dongxu overturned their table."

"what's the situation?"

"I heard that Jia Dongxu has taken a liking to the country girl who came for the blind date today, but Jia Zhangshi disagrees..."

"Oh!"

"..."

(End of this chapter)