I am Jia Dongjin in the Siheyuan (Courtyard House)

Chapter 2 Birds

After regaining his senses, Jia Dongjin tossed and turned, unable to sleep. Scenes from the TV series kept flashing through his mind, making him daydream. He kept thinking about it until dawn, when he was so stiff in bed that he was finally forced to get up by the sound of Qin Huairu cooking.

"The bucket is empty, fill it with water." Qin Huairu's tone was devoid of any emotion, as flat as a robot. She held a soup spoon in her hand, as if warning someone not to make any rash moves.

Qin Huairu has a classic oval face, with soft yet defined lines. Her forehead is smooth and full, like a piece of finely polished mutton-fat jade. Her eyes are clear almond-shaped, and the light falls on her long eyelashes, casting a small shadow, like a butterfly resting on a petal, making her appear serene and beautiful.

She was slender but not thin, with a perfectly proportioned figure. Seeing Jia Dongjin in a daze, Qin Huairu's eyebrows furrowed slightly, and a faint impatience seemed to rise in her eyes.

At that time, most of the well water in Beijing was bitter and could not be drunk. It could only be used for washing and rinsing. Residents had to get water from the tap for drinking and cooking.

The tap was in the middle courtyard. Jia Dongjin carried a bucket, filled it with water, and then went to the public toilet outside the courtyard to drop off his belongings. After brushing his teeth and washing his face, it was just getting light. At this time, people in the courtyard came out one after another to wash up, and the atmosphere of daily life gradually rose.

"Good morning, Auntie!"

A middle-aged woman carrying a huge water jug ​​rushed towards him, and Jia Dongjin quickly dodged to avoid her, while also greeting her as usual.

"Oh, isn't this Jia Dongjin? Good morning!" Seeing Jia Dongjin bowing and scraping, Aunt Yang Ruihua smiled, gave him a brief greeting, and rushed to the tap to get some water.

At this moment, the door of the main room of the central courtyard was pushed open with a "bang," and a burly figure rushed out. "Third Aunt, why are you always like this? We are all in a hurry to get to work. Can't you wait a little while? What's the rush to water the flowers? If we are late and have our wages deducted, I will have to ask Third Uncle for compensation."

This man had a rough, aged appearance; his cheekbones were prominent on his broad face, and several deep lines on his forehead resembled furrows. Paired with a wide, red nose and dry skin on his thick lips, he looked ten years older than he actually was. His shoulders were broad, his back thick as a stone block, and his arm muscles were clearly defined. Just standing there, he exuded a ruggedness honed by years spent in the kitchen.

He was burly and young, but looked very "mature" and spoke in a harsh manner that made people frown.

"Big head and thick neck, either a tycoon or a cook," Jia Dongjin knew this was He Yuzhu, the war god of the courtyard.

Seeing the smile on Jia Dongjin's usually timid face, He Yuzhu felt inexplicably annoyed. He rolled his eyes and pretended to be bold, saying, "Dongjin, you're up so early today, there must be some good work at the train station. How about we have a couple of drinks tonight? I'll provide the food, you provide the drinks."

Jia Dongjin was a street hustler who made a living by carrying heavy loads at the train station. He was basically doing manual labor to earn money for food, cigarettes, and alcohol.

There aren't jobs at the train station every day, and the price for carrying bags varies, with some jobs being more lucrative than others.

You can earn about 6 cents a day working, and sometimes you can earn a dollar if you get a good job. Generally speaking, you can earn 18 dollars a month, but this is for the most hardworking and diligent people.

With foster parents providing food and lodging, Jia Dongjin only needed to hand over five yuan a month, which fostered his lazy nature. He would go out to work after earning seven or eight yuan.

Good news doesn't travel far, but bad news travels fast. No one knows who leaked it, but everyone in the courtyard knows. He Yuzhu's words are clearly meant to embarrass Jia Dongjin and deliberately make fun of him.

"Silly Zhu, I can't compare to you. A level 22 chef earns 5 yuan without fail. I'm weak and can't even earn 5 mao a day. How can I afford to buy wine?" Jia Dongjin smiled slightly and added, "Silly Zhu, I was born in January 35, which is exactly five months older than you. You can't call me Dongjin, so people won't gossip about it."

Jia Dongjin deliberately said he was a year older than his actual age, just to get a little revenge on He Yuzhu, since no one would check his household registration for such a small matter.

In his previous life, he was a small-time electrician with some basic skills. He lost so much money in the stock market that he became a fisherman to escape reality.

Having spent the entire night without sleep, Jia Dongjin privately felt that he could still be saved in this life, and he wasn't afraid of the people in the courtyard.

According to the original plot, He Yuzhu isn't a bad person; in fact, he has done the Jia family a great favor. However, he's not exactly a saint either. On one hand, He Yuzhu covets Qin Huairu's beauty, and on the other hand, he frequently goes on blind dates. He's a typical lecherous man, always wanting more than he has.

"Silly Zhu, Dongjin is older than you, you have to call him brother!" Seeing He Yuzhu get the short end of the stick, the three old women next to him laughed uproariously. They accidentally spilled water from the kettle onto He Yuzhu's pants, making his crotch and thighs wet, leaving the dignified war god of the courtyard in a sorry state.

"Hey everyone, come quick! Sha Zhu's wet his pants!" Another tall, thin young man, who was also carrying a basin to wash up, seized the opportunity to add insult to injury.

The tall, thin young man was wearing brand-new work clothes, but had a donkey-like face. He was none other than Xu Damao, a womanizer and a master of first blood.

Xu Damao and He Yuzhu are childhood friends who grew up together. However, they have a love-hate relationship as adults, and they can't control their tempers when they see each other. In their past lives, people online lamented that they were not of the opposite sex, otherwise they would have been a perfect couple.

"Xu Damao, you're asking for it!"

After a roar, He Yuzhu's eyes widened, and he rolled up his sleeves, ready to teach Xu Damao a lesson and take the opportunity to extricate himself from his embarrassment.

"Silly Zhu! What's all the noise about so early in the morning? Hurry up and wash your face before you go to work."

A middle-aged man of medium build, with a square face and short hair walked over.

He had a steady build, a square face with well-defined features, and a jawline as sharp as if carved by a knife, exuding an undeniable air of authority. Time had etched its marks on his face; the lines on his forehead looked as if plowed by the passage of years.

The middle-aged man had thick lips, and when he pressed his lips together, it was as if he was brewing some idea. His voice was deep and resonant, like the tolling of an old bell. With just one sentence, he stopped He Yuzhu, who was itching to make a move.

The man turned to Jia Dongjin and said gently, "Dongjin, don't take offense. Shazhu has always been impulsive since he was a child. He and Xu Damao were just playing around. Is your head injury almost healed? I told Jie Cheng yesterday to take good care of you. Jie Cheng knows the train station well, so you can go with him without worry."

"Good morning, sir. This little injury is nothing, thank you!" Jia Dongjin inwardly scoffed. The middle-aged man was none other than Yi Zhonghai, the Moral Celestial Venerable. As the big boss of the courtyard, Yi Zhonghai's appearance was indeed extraordinary, and the people around him immediately became obedient.

The third aunt was the same; she carried a large water bottle and scurried away quickly. It's amazing that someone so thin could walk with such a graceful, almost ethereal gait.

Jia Dongjin touched the back of his head; the head injury was caused by Qin Huairu's shove, and the wound had already scabbed over. Since being injured yesterday morning, he hadn't eaten, and now, apart from being hungry, Jia Dongjin didn't feel any discomfort.

He was speechless. Jia Zhangshi and Qin Huairu were indeed extraordinary. The two women didn't take him to the hospital, but just let him lie in bed and sleep for a whole day.

Mentioning Jia Dongjin's head injury, everyone around him perked up, staring intently at him. Their gazes were so intense that Jia Dongjin felt as if he were surrounded by beasts, and he couldn't help but take a step back.

"Brother Dongjin, how did you get injured? Did you say Sister Qin pushed you yesterday evening?" Donkey-faced Xu Damao jumped out first, his face full of meaning.

"Bang Geng is not even four years old. You can't take a child's words seriously. I accidentally slipped and fell. Xu Damao, how's your balls? I heard that a month ago, you were kicked by Sha Zhu and screamed. They were gone early this morning. Now the palace isn't hiring anyone." Jia Dongjin's tone was indifferent, but the impact was not to be underestimated.

You won't know the pain until you get hit by the stick yourself. Xu Damao's face turned red from being scolded. He was 1.8 meters tall, 3 centimeters taller than Jia Dongjin. He reached out to teach his newly acquainted brother Dongjin a lesson.

"Stop! If you dare lay a hand on Brother Dongjin, I'll beat you up. As the old man said, we are a civilized courtyard and we cannot tolerate bad seeds who do not respect the elderly and care for the young." He Yuzhu was only 1.75 meters tall, the shortest of the three, but the strongest. He had learned wrestling in Tianqiao since he was a child, and his fighting strength ranked first in the courtyard.

Xu Damao is skinny and has no fighting skills. He has been beaten by He Yuzhu since he was a child and has long been beaten into submission.

Seeing that things were going badly, Xu Damao scurried away faster than a rabbit. He darted behind Yi Zhonghai, poked his head out, and grinned slyly, "Silly Zhu, silly Zhu, you can't hit me, I'll make you furious!"

The two rivals were bickering happily when a thumbs-up was given to Jia Dongjin, followed by a hint of admiration: "Dongjin, you're something else! Daring to challenge idiot Xu Damao, I really didn't see that coming!"

As Jia Dongjin turned his head, he saw a thin, middle-aged man with a glint in his eyes. This man was none other than the Third Uncle Yan Fugui, the top scheming expert in the courtyard.

At that moment, he only felt that the other person's clothes were extremely shabby, and the broken part of the right eyeglass was wrapped with white tape, making him look just like that old stock investor who was eating corn in front of the stock market screen.

"Hey, Uncle, we were just joking around. I wouldn't dare challenge my two younger brothers." Jia Dongjin quickly admitted defeat, realizing he had stood out a bit earlier, and quickly reverted to his harmless, sleazy self.

He thought about it all night, but many things were still unclear. The only thing he was sure of right now was to just survive for the time being.

In his past life, everything was expensive except for his reputation, which Jia Dongjin had long since become accustomed to.

It was 1958. He Yuzhu was 23 years old, Jia Dongjin was 22 years old, and Xu Damao, born in 1937, was the youngest, only 21 years old. The three young men were arranged in an arithmetic sequence.

Xu Damao is still an apprentice at the steel rolling mill, having just left the ranks of a young, inexperienced boy. Not to mention Yan Jiecheng, Liu Guangqi, and others who are even younger. Yan Jiecheng is just 19 years old, two years older than Liu Guangqi. They still look quite childish as they laugh and joke around.

"These birds are quite interesting." Jia Dongjin glanced at his future neighbors, a friendly smile on his face.