The Courtyard House: Xu Damao's Aunt is the Queen of Women

With the strength of ten pillars, Liu Hao rode his bicycle and launched himself into the air.

Ye Juan was startled and instinctively reached out to hug Liu Hao's waist.

Liu Hao, riding his bicycle, smiled slightly and continued to accelerate, pushing the bicycle to the speed of a motorcycle.

A cold wind howled, almost blowing Ye Juan's hat off.

She adjusted her hat, looking completely bewildered, and secretly exclaimed in amazement, "This guy doesn't look strong, how come he's so powerful!"

"Slow down, the road is slippery!"

Liu Hao calmly replied, "Don't worry, I'm a great driver."

"..."

Ye Juan tried to huddle behind Liu Hao as much as possible, her hands gripping his clothes tightly. Because she wasn't wearing gloves, her hands were numb with cold.

Liu Hao looked down, slowed down, and said softly, "If your hands are cold, you can put them in my pockets. I don't mind."

I mind!

Ye Juan was so angry she wanted to bite her teeth, but her body betrayed her, and she put her hands into Liu Hao's cotton coat pockets.

"Hey, your cotton coat is pretty warm."

How could a down jacket made of white goose down not be warm?

I'll send you one another day!

"No, we're not even related, why would you give me something so expensive?"

"..."

Upon hearing this, Liu Hao realized that this was 1964, a time of scarcity. Cotton-padded clothes were a core asset for families due to their high production costs, strict rationing, and long lifespan.

You can't give gifts to strangers, but you can give gifts to relatives or friends.

I, Liu Hao, am determined to be Xu Damao's uncle-in-law.

"Comrade Ye Juan, do you have a boyfriend?"

"No, what about you?"

"I don't have any either. What do you think of me? Want to learn more?"

"..."

"You're so shameless!"

Ye Juan rolled her eyes. We'd only known each other for less than half an hour, and she was already asking if I wanted to get to know her. She must be after my looks.

Liu Hao's lips curled into a wide smile. He knew in his heart that Ye Juan was not hostile towards him.

He dated a few female students during college, so he had quite a bit of experience. When it comes to pursuing girls, you need to be humorous, witty, and know how to flirt!

Moreover, his nickname is Liu Zhijie. He has a strong bone structure and a face with a width-to-height ratio of nearly 1:1.5, which is the diamond-shaped face that Europeans and Americans dream of. At the same time, it also meets the three courts and five eyes standard of East Asians.

This kind of face is called the face of a top-tier military general—handsome even in the midst of chaos and war!

After taking the Mighty Vajra Pill, his facial features became more defined, and his appearance improved to a whole new level, second only to the reader. His chances of winning over the little queen are now very high.

Of course, in this era of transition from feudalism to a new society, when people's thinking was still very conservative, you couldn't just flirt around like that; you should know about the crime of hooliganism.

At best, they would be punished and criticized; at worst, they would be exiled to the Northwest to suffer hardship.

"Thank you for the compliment. As Lu Xun said, 'Only those with thick skin can get enough to eat!'"

Ye Juan chuckled: "Did Lu Xun really say that?"

"Don't worry about the details, I'm serious. Let me start by giving a detailed self-introduction."

Ye Juan became slightly interested in Liu Hao, treating it as a casual chat.

"Okay, let me introduce you."

"I live alone; I have no relatives or friends."

"Uh, you're an orphan?"

As soon as she said it, Ye Juan realized her mistake and quickly apologized.

"Ah, I..."

Liu Hao laughed freely and said, "No need to apologize. My ancestral home is in Shaanxi Province. I lost my mother when I was young. In 1943, my father took me to Tongxian County to escape famine. My father passed away two years ago. What does it matter if I am all alone? Mountains and rivers are my neighbors, and time is my friend. Where my heart is at peace is my home."

Ye Juan pursed her lips, her fondness for Liu Hao increasing even more.

The fact that he could remain so open-minded and cheerful after the death of his only father shows that he is an optimistic and positive person.

"I was adopted. My adoptive parents were both soldiers, serving in the Shenyang Military Region. I grew up in Northeast China."

Liu Hao understood. No wonder Ye Juan spoke with a slight Peking University accent; she grew up in Northeast China.

"There are three siblings in my family. I am the youngest. My eldest brother, Ye Zhonghua, is serving in the Guangzhou Military Region, and my second sister is studying at Harbin Institute of Technology."

"When I was fourteen, my adoptive parents were transferred back to the capital. My adoptive father, Ye Tingkai, became the deputy director of the Xicheng District Public Security Bureau, and my adoptive mother, Zhang Shuhua, became the deputy director of the Third Textile Factory."

Liu Hao was astonished and sighed that Ye Juan was lucky to be adopted by such a family. Otherwise, with her looks, Xu Damao's maternal grandfather's family really wouldn't have been able to keep her.

For a girl from a poor family, having only a beautiful appearance would be a disaster.

This also explains why Ye Juan was wearing a military officer's wool coat.

In the 1960s, officers' wool coats were not available for purchase with money; they could only be obtained through official rank and status, making them a symbol of class.

Ye Juan is 19 years old this year. Her adoptive father was demobilized when she was 14, which was in 1958. That year was the first large-scale demobilization of military cadres.

Therefore, Ye Juan's adoptive father was at least a lieutenant colonel, and perhaps the old man in his adoptive father's family was even a general.

Ye Juan continued, "Last July, I happened to meet Xu Damao's mother, Zheng Sulan, at the hospital. She recognized me by the birthmark on my palm and said that I was her younger sister who had been kidnapped when she was just a month old."

"My adoptive parents took me back to my hometown in Miyun County to reunite with my biological parents. Unfortunately, my biological parents had already passed away, and my eldest brother, second brother, fourth sister, and fifth sister had also died of illness. Only my third sister, Zheng Sulan, remained."

Hearing the undisguised sadness in her voice, Liu Hao comforted her, "Don't be sad. I'm much worse off than you. I was also adopted, and I don't even know where my biological parents are. You have an older sister, adoptive parents, older brothers and sisters, and a nephew. You're already very fortunate."

Ye Juan's beautiful eyes widened as she stared at Liu Hao's tall and straight back.

This is too bad!

"Huff... Brother Liu, slow down, the snow is so heavy, don't fall."

Xu Damao, suffering from kidney deficiency, pedaled his bicycle up and down, panting heavily as he spoke.

Liu Hao and Ye Juan then belatedly realized that they had already run ahead of Xu Damao.

"Don't worry, Projectionist Xu, I'm a very skilled driver. How much further until we reach the city?"

Xu Damao raised an eyebrow and joked, "Looks like your head's really been damaged. You've completely forgotten the way from the county to the city. This is Dongyue Temple, and Chaoyang Gate is just ahead!"

Liu Hao looked up and saw that the snow had stopped. The moat outside Chaoyang Gate had been filled in, and the original location of the city gate had become the Chaoyang Gate gap.

Looking inside, you see the capital city of the 1960s!

Along the street, gray brick bungalows stretch inwards, with eye-catching red slogans painted on the walls. The words "Go all out and strive for the top" stand out against the snow, exuding a passion unique to this era.

Pedestrians wearing navy blue and gray cotton-padded jackets hurried along, some pushing gleaming old-fashioned bicycles with cloth bags printed with "Serve the People" hanging on the handlebars.

This is not a blurry image from an old photograph, nor a cold text from historical records; it is 1964 within reach, a fiery, passionate era.

Liu Hao felt a moment of disorientation, as if it were all unreal!

"Stop daydreaming, hurry up and get to the factory to complete the paperwork while there's still time!"

Xu Damao's urging pulled him back to reality.

He shook his head, brushed the snowflakes off his hair, took a couple of deep breaths, glanced at the stunningly beautiful little queen, calmed his restless heart, and then tumbled off his bicycle into this fiery era!