Chapter 1: What a broken system

Mottled walls were covered in green plants, the leaves of several large trees half-yellow and half-green, indicating the change of seasons; this ancient courtyard house was bustling with people, yet it felt deathly still.

Shen Wu painfully rubbed his forehead, leaning on the dust-covered windowsill and looking outside; he was now filled with anxiety, because he realized he had transmigrated.

Moreover, the original owner was still suffering from amnesia.

"Is Sha Zhu going to die? Go see what's in the house and quickly bring something back," an obese old woman said, pointing at the house in the courtyard.

Although she deliberately lowered her voice, Shen Wu could still hear her clearly inside the house.

Have I transmigrated into Sha Zhu?

Good grief, Shen Wu is now a bit dazed; he still knows some of the plot of Satisfied Courtyard House, but He Yuzhu is famed as the Courtyard House War God.

Which expert could have beaten him into amnesia?

……

Shen Wu looked at the dilapidated furniture in the house, his heart filled with hope; although it looks shabby now, with his skills he will surely carve out a place for himself.

After all, this is the capital city, far better than his ruined hometown in a small town.

His parents, riding the wave of reform, went from a small shop in a village to becoming the largest wholesaler in the town.

Unfortunately, when he inherited the wholesaler, the town's youth had already left, leaving only a bunch of fifty- to sixty-year-olds, whose purchasing power was no longer what it used to be.

Later, inspired by Douyin, he made some retro goods, but the elderly who were willing to spend thousands on useless water purifiers were reluctant to buy his retro goods.

Being able to transmigrate is also great; he has confidence to open a commercial venture larger than the wholesaler.

"System, system."

"Ding, system preloading, please wait……"

Shen Wu felt helpless; what a broken system, people have arrived and the system is still preloading.

But after thinking, maybe the system needs other conditions to take effect, such as going to the Steel Rolling Mill's cafeteria or being able to dress down Yi Daye and his gang of beasts.

In the courtyard house, only a few of these people are decent; the rest are bastards, including Sha Zhu himself, whose foul mouth spares no one.

Moreover, the most hateful is Jia Zhangshi; listen to what she just said in the courtyard—is that something a neighbor should say?

After thinking carefully, Shen Wu felt he needed to do two things right away.

First, find out who beat him into this state.

Second, change his own flaws and escape Yi Daye and his gang's control; these people are constantly CPU…mar…putting himself.

Moving his body, enduring the bone pain, he came to his dilapidated kitchen; the cupboard was wide open, clearly the work of Bang Geng.

That pack of beasts left him nothing to eat, and no one came to look after him; if they ever try to take advantage of him again, he'll first slap himself twice.

The sunset had slowly sunk below the mountain, the last glow of twilight vanished without a trace; lying hungry on the bed, the transmigrated Shen Wu slowly fell asleep again.

After a night's rest, Shen Wu felt much better; although he still couldn't remember who hit him, his body no longer hurt as much.

He could now go to work at the Steel Rolling Mill.

Opening the door, Shen Wu took a deep breath; stepping out, he was now a brand-new He Yuzhu.

This morning the central courtyard was very quiet, only one person was exercising there; his hair was somewhat gray-white, but his muscles were fine, and he was also tall and sturdy.

Hmm, likely Yi Daye, who likes moral coercion.

"Zhuzi, you're awake, hurry up and go to work, you'll be late soon." Yi Daye said with a smile, "Your skills are so good, you'll surely have a bright future."

He Yuzhu was about to reply with a few words, but Yi Daye had already slipped away.

On the way to work, thinking about Yi Daye's words, He Yuzhu felt something was off; this wasn't how Yi Daye usually spoke—he should be asking what he ate, whether he had sent anything to the Jia family.

While pondering this, he went to the Steel Rolling Mill's cafeteria based on his remaining memory; inside, it was bustling, some were kneading dough, some washing vegetables, some slacking off.

A sharp young man came over in a quick trot, respectfully handing him tea and saying with a smile, "Master, you drink tea; this I bought from Zhang Yiyuan."

He Yuzhu patted his shoulder; this was his loyal disciple Ma Hua, and from what he knew of the plot, this person had never said anything to him.

He should properly pass on some knowledge to him.

"Ma Hua, today at noon you stir-fry a big pot of dishes; let me see your cooking skills."

He Yuzhu is the head chef in the cafeteria, and he still has that authority.

Watching He Yuzhu lead Ma Hua inside, a chubby laborer spat on the ground, saying, "Ma Hua really knows how to suck up; all he wants is to learn some skills, looking at that lowly servant's appearance."

He had Ma Hua go cut the vegetables needed for lunch, then He Yuzhu sat on a stool and softly called out to the system.

"Ding, system preloading, please wait."

It seems the trigger condition is not the cafeteria.

Plate after plate of stir-fried dishes were brought to the window; the workers coming to eat at noon were like schools of fish, arriving from all directions and gathering here.

A woman with a graceful figure and a face like peach blossoms and silver moon stood in the middle of the cafeteria; her eyes, like a pool of spring water, had already spotted He Yuzhu standing at the window.

"I heard at noon it's meat-stir-fried eggplant; later let He Yuzhu give me some extra meat to take back for Bang Geng to eat." She walked toward the window, feeling pleased.

"One serving of eggplant."

He Yuzhu glanced at Qin Huairu at the window, quickly scooped with his spoon in the basin, placed it in her lunchbox, and said expressionlessly, "Next."

Qin Huairu, full of joy, looked at the clear, watery soup in her lunchbox; her smile faded bit by bit, whereas He Yuzhu usually gave her a generous portion.

Inside there should also be two large slices of fatty meat.

"Zhuzi, your spoon is unreliable; give sister some more soup."

"What nonsense, is 'Zhuzi' what you call me? Who are you sister to?" He Yuzhu snorted, "Just these love-to-eat types; if you don't like it, go home and eat something good."

That's the temperament of the cafeteria's head chef.

"You're crazy." Qin Huairu glared at him, as if she didn't know him, "Is your brain broken?"

Watching Qin Huairu leave in a huff, He Yuzhu tossed the spoon to Ma Hua, found a quiet spot, and began calling out to the system; having dressed down Qin Huairu, the system should have acknowledged it, right?

"Ding, system preloading, please wait."

What a broken system! He Yuzhu silently cursed.