Chapter 9: Current Status

Li Aiguo had seen many descriptions of Yan Bugui before.

Some said that if he went out and didn't pick up money, it was considered a loss.

Some said that if a night-soil cart passed by, he would have to poke at the bucket to taste if it was salty or bland.

He had originally thought these were just people’s prejudices against Yan Bugui.

How could there be such a stingy person in this world?

After arriving in this era, however, he found it was damnably true.

Yan Bugui was a stingy old man in every sense of the word.

……

Those books were impossible to get back.

He had to find another way.

Under the dim light, Li Aiguo paced back and forth in the room.

Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck his mind.

He—had an epiphany.

The system only stipulated that he needed to "grind" books to gain skill points.

However.

It didn't specify the type of books.

So—what about elementary school textbooks, middle school textbooks, or even comic books?

The reason he thought of comic books was purely because the elementary and middle school textbooks had long since been borrowed by Yan Bugui.

Only the comic books had been treated as treasures by the former Li Aiguo and hidden away.

"Where did I put them?"

Li Aiguo rubbed his brow, then suddenly strode toward the corner.

In the corner sat a dark vinegar jar, used for pickling vegetables.

Ever since the former owner's mother passed away, the vinegar jar had been left idle, often used by Li Aiguo to store little trinkets that "would get him scolded by adults."

The vinegar jar was covered in dust. After fetching a towel to clean it off, Li Aiguo unscrewed the lid, reached inside, and pulled out a few comic books.

*Fu Gui*, *The Jijiatun Without Idlers*, *Female Commander Liu Hucheng*.

Holding the comic books, Li Aiguo used the dim light to carefully lay them out on the table.

*Fu Gui* was a work by Zhao Shuli, illustrated by the collaboration of Zhao Hongben and Zhou Xingsheng, with the publisher listed as "People's Book and Newspaper Supply Agency."

On the back of the comic book, there was a serial number: "Hua 0001."

Opening the yellowed pages, he saw vivid illustrations depicting the stories that took place during the land reform period.

The comic book was only a dozen pages long; Li Aiguo spent less than five minutes flipping through the whole thing.

"Skill point +0.001"

"???"

Li Aiguo’s eyes widened abruptly.

There were two more digits after the decimal point—was this damn system commissioned by Pinduoduo and produced by Tencent?

A powerful combination, indeed.

Fine, there was no way to exploit a bug.

Tomorrow, he would have to go to the Xinhua Bookstore to take a look; there should be plenty of books there.

Putting down the comic book and letting out a yawn, Li Aiguo fell asleep the moment his head hit the pillow.

The morning in the *siheyuan* began at 5:30.

Because there was residual moisture in the air, the tender sunlight pierced through the mist and scattered, forming streaks of vibrant morning glow that plated the ground in a crimson hue.

Amidst the breathtaking scenery, Li Aiguo picked up his chipped enamel basin, pushed open the door, and walked out.

As he walked, he observed the situation around him.

The *siheyuan* was divided into a front courtyard, a middle courtyard, and a back courtyard, plus a row of south-facing rooms next to the back courtyard, forming a four-section compound.

Li Aiguo lived in the back courtyard. His house faced south, with Xu Damao’s family to the west, Liu Haizhong living to the east, and the Deaf Old Lady’s room directly opposite.

The Deaf Old Lady had just turned seventy this year. Being elderly, she was a light sleeper and would get up early every morning.

Today, however, her old wooden door remained tightly shut.

Li Aiguo’s eyes narrowed slightly, but he didn't linger. He exited through the moon gate and headed toward the water basin in the middle courtyard.

There was only one faucet in the *siheyuan*, and every morning it was crowded with people, all carrying enamel basins and looking sleepy.

Yi Zhonghai, Liu Haizhong, Jia Dongxu, and Jia Zhangshi were also gathered nearby; they all looked displeased when they saw Li Aiguo.

Qin Huairu was nowhere to be seen; she was likely at home taking care of Bang Geng.

The Liu family’s children were there too. Liu Guangqi greeted Li Aiguo with a hint of embarrassment.

Li Aiguo nodded in acknowledgment.

At this time, Liu Guangqi was about the same age as Shazhu, having just graduated from technical school and waiting for a job assignment; it was said he had a good chance of becoming a cadre.

Once his unit was decided, the neighborhood committee would come to the *siheyuan* to investigate his social relations. This was why Liu Haizhong hadn't hesitated to shell out one hundred yuan.

Liu Guangtian was a bit older than Yan Jiefang, looking to be about ten years old.

Liu Guangfu was a two-year-old nursing baby.

Yan Jiefang’s son, Yan Jiecheng, was three years younger than Shazhu and was about to graduate from high school. Yan Bugui wanted him to get a job at the rolling mill.

Yan Jiekun was an elementary school student at the moment, seemingly an activist who served as a class cadre.

As for Yan Jiedi, she had only just learned to walk.

Yi Zhonghai was currently a level-seven machinist, Liu Haizhong was a level-six blacksmith, Jia Dongxu was a level-one machinist, and Bang Geng had just been born.

Yi Zhonghai had been married for decades without offspring, and the First Aunt took herbal medicine every day, but it had no effect.

Yi Zhonghai had already decided to adopt Jia Dongxu as his godson; whenever the Jia family caused trouble, he was the one who stepped in to smooth things over.

Plotting to take the Li family’s house had also been his idea.

When Li Aiguo’s father was alive, he earned a salary of eighty-nine yuan, the highest in the entire courtyard.

He was a warm-hearted man who often helped others.

After he was injured and bedridden, only a few neighbors, along with Yan Bugui, had come to visit him a few times.

"Aiguo, washing your face? I’ve got nothing to do this morning, how about I wash your quilt for you?" The Third Aunt walked over, holding Yan Jiedi’s hand, and greeted him warmly.

"That would be lovely, thank you." Li Aiguo didn't decline.

Among the three managing masters, only Yan Bugui had a decent relationship with the Li family.

Of course, this "decent" was only relative.

The former owner's father had also liked fishing and often went wild fishing with Yan Bugui.

In this era, there was no high-tech bait; fishing was a true technical skill.

At the beginning, Yan Bugui often came back empty-handed, and it was only after receiving guidance from the former owner's father that he could occasionally catch a fish.

After the former owner's father was injured, Yan Bugui had brought over two small crucian carp.

That was why, yesterday, Li Aiguo hadn't pursued Yan Bugui for "failing to save a life."

Yan Bugui was a stingy person who liked to take advantage of others, which was indeed annoying.

But.

Yan Bugui was an educated man with a certain bottom line; he wouldn't commit any major errors of principle.

This was a person one could still deal with.

*Splash, splash~*

He caught a basin of cold water from the gray-white faucet.

He brought it to the side and washed up vigorously.

He took the towel hanging around his neck and gave himself a rough wipe.

His sleepiness vanished, and he felt much more refreshed.

Li Aiguo carried the enamel basin, preparing to go home and cook.

Before he reached his door, the door opposite opened, and the Deaf Old Lady walked out leaning on her cane, calling out to stop Li Aiguo.

"Li boy, wait a moment."

Li Aiguo stopped and narrowed his eyes slightly, looking the Deaf Old Lady up and down.

Compared to the original story, the Deaf Old Lady was seven or eight years younger, only seventy this year, so she couldn't yet be called decrepit. One could still vaguely see from her features that she must have been a beauty in her youth.

The Deaf Old Lady’s identity was an unsolved mystery in the original story.

Some said she was a "Five Guarantees" household, some said her entire family were martyrs, and others said she was a dormant enemy agent.

None of this had anything to do with Li Aiguo.

He had no fondness for the Deaf Old Lady, nor could he say he felt any hatred.

To him, the Deaf Old Lady was just an older resident.

If she didn't provoke him, he wouldn't target her.

But if she dared to jump out and bare her fangs, then he would be sorry.

Li Aiguo was sizing up the Deaf Old Lady, and the Deaf Old Lady was observing Li Aiguo as well.

Although they were neighbors, the Deaf Old Lady’s entire focus was on Shazhu, and whatever spare energy she had went to looking after Yi Zhonghai’s family; she had no real dealings with the Li family.

In the Deaf Old Lady’s impression, Li Aiguo was shy by nature and didn't like to talk, much like his father; he rarely got involved in the affairs of the courtyard.

Back when Yi Zhonghai and the others wanted to seize the Li family’s house, the Deaf Old Lady had originally been against it.

As the old saying went, it was better to bully the old than the young, because one should never bully a youth for being poor.

Especially since Li Aiguo was now alone and unattached, a lone wolf.

If he ever got a wild hair, managed to get a hunting rifle from the pigeon market, and waited for the cover of darkness, he could wipe out all their families.

It was just that Yi Zhonghai was obsessed with the Jia family and wouldn't listen to her advice.