The Courtyard House: He Yuzhu Returns with Boundless Hatred for Revenge

Xu Damao, as a staff member of the propaganda department, although not yet a cadre, received a considerable amount of New Year's gifts, significantly more than ordinary workers. He also received three jin of meat, and the other gifts were not much less than He Yuzhu's. Together, the two of them received a total of eight jin of meat, which they used to make two or three hundred dumplings. It seemed like a considerable amount, and He Yuzhu's considerations also played a part. He was going to Baocheng with his sister on the third day of the Lunar New Year, leaving Xu Damao to look after the house. With dumplings and leftovers from the New Year, Xu Damao wouldn't have to find food for himself.

Then came the main event. This time, He Yuzhu truly unleashed his full potential, employing every trick in the book. He prepared the fish using three different methods, and also recreated various classic dishes from later generations using the available ingredients. The abundance and enticing nature of the dishes left Xu Damao speechless, and He Yushui swallowing hard. It was arguably the first time in both his past and present lives that He Yuzhu had displayed his true peak culinary skills.

A large octagonal table was laden with twelve dishes and a soup, so much so that several vegetarian dishes were even placed on the stove, there simply wasn't enough room. This lavish display was something He Yuzhu hadn't seen in over twenty years, and it was unlikely to be repeated for the next twenty. Because starting next year, the overall environment was set to deteriorate. Extravagance and waste would be reported and punished. He Yuzhu had this in mind; he wanted his sister, himself, and Xu Damao to fully enjoy this swan song for the next few decades.

During this period, the entire courtyard underwent earth-shattering changes. The changes were so great and unexpected that they caught everyone in the courtyard off guard. The He family rose to prominence, and He Yuzhu, who was once considered a simpleton by everyone in the courtyard as someone who would exploit his family's decline, broke free from his predicament and rose to become the deputy director of the steel mill's canteen. He now seemed to have the air of being the most powerful and influential family in the courtyard.

Just two or three months ago, the Yi, Liu, Yan, and Jia families, who had been working together in the courtyard to control the world and plotting to exploit the He family's extinction, have all fallen from grace. Some are crippled, some are sent to labor camps, and some are even criminally punished. Each family is worse off than the last, and even their lackeys have suffered collateral damage. It makes one sigh that life is unpredictable and the world is full of uncertainties.

The Yan family in the front yard—it's New Year's Eve today, but this dinner is practically no different from any other day: a bowl of cornmeal porridge and a cornbread for everyone. Oh, and today they've given each person a small pickled fish, about the length of a finger, as a special New Year's Eve treat.

The house was chilly; the stove wasn't even burning properly, barely maintaining a temperature that wouldn't freeze anyone. The family of five sat around the table, listless and lifeless, no different from being outside.

Yan Jiecheng stared intently at the food on the table. His right leg, broken by He Yuzhu, was empty below the knee, and his trouser leg was knotted. The wound hadn't fully healed, but he had become emaciated, with sunken eyes and prominent cheekbones, exuding a sinister aura, completely comparable to Jia Dongxu from the Central Court.

"Dad, today is Lunar New Year's Eve! Is this all? My leg hasn't even fully recovered yet, I need to eat something nourishing, right? Everyone else eats meat and dumplings for the New Year, but we don't even see a speck of oil? What's the difference between this New Year and being a beggar!"

Yan Bugui kept his head down, slowly and methodically breaking the cornbread in his hand, putting small pieces into his mouth, and chewing carefully, as if he were savoring some delicacy. Hearing his eldest son's words, he didn't even lift his eyelids, only letting out a snort.

"Make up for it? What are we going to do? Where's the money? Your mother's in jail, I've lost my job, and the whole family is counting on our meager savings. You think we can have a decent New Year's feast? We're lucky if we don't starve!"

He looked up, glancing at Yan Jiecheng's empty trouser leg with a hint of disdain. "After the New Year, once your foot has healed, you'll have to find a way to get out of here. Even if it's just picking up scraps or doing light work, you'll have to pay back some money! We don't support idlers in this family!"

"Dad! Do you have any conscience? How did I break my leg? It was all to stand up for you! Now I only have one leg left, and you still want to force me to go out and earn money? Am I even your own son?!"

"A biological son?" Yan Bugui sneered. "A biological son should be even more grateful and share the burdens of the family! If you act like this now, don't even think about having anything else in the future! If you can keep your mouth shut and not be a burden on the family, that's considered filial piety!"

After saying that, he stopped looking at Yan Jiecheng and turned his gaze to Yan Jiefang, who was silently munching on his cornbread. "Jiefang, listen to this too. After the New Year, don't go to school anymore. With our family's 'five black categories' background, it's useless for us to go; we'll be sent back sooner or later anyway. Just stay home, help with some housework, and go out with your older brother to earn some money. You're thirteen now, not a child anymore." In short, it was still the same old story: "Our family doesn't support idlers."

Yan Jiefang neither looked up nor uttered a sound. He knew resistance was futile. His father had schemed his whole life, and now that he was unemployed, he was even more eager to squeeze every last drop of oil from everyone. He actually quite enjoyed studying, but what his father said was true. Given their family's social class, what good would a good education do? He had to accept his fate. He told himself, having such a father and such a mother was simply destiny.

Yan Bugui glanced at Jie Kuang and Jie Di at the table, sighing inwardly. These two children were still young and couldn't help the family at all. They would have to eat and drink for free for another seven or eight years before they could bring any income to the family. Thinking about all the money that was just coming in and not going out, all that was being spent for nothing, his heart bled. If they just kept eating away their savings, when would it ever end?

Looking at his father's calculating face, and then at his younger brother's numb and resigned expression, Yan Jiecheng felt extreme hatred. The family was clearly wealthy, with such a substantial inheritance, yet he wouldn't give a single penny, watching his children suffer from hunger and hardship. How could there be such a father in this world? It was at this moment that Yan Jiecheng truly saw Yan Bugui for who he was. At that moment, he no longer considered Yan Bugui his father, and began to plan everything in his mind.

He couldn't just sit and wait to die. If things continued like this, he would be ruined, and his younger siblings would be ruined too. Relying on this heartless and ungrateful father was worse than relying on himself. He'd talk to Jiefang tonight and decide to search the house thoroughly while the old man was out looking for work; he was sure he'd find all the old treasures.

Meanwhile, the situation of the Liu family in the backyard was much better than that of the Yan family.

The dishes on the table were equally meager, but at least there was a bowl of braised pork in the middle. This was a year-end allowance specially issued by the Women's Federation to the brothers Liu Guangtian and Liu Guangfu. With half a jin of meat coupons and a little money each, the two brothers pooled their money to buy the meat and asked their mother, Gou Xianhui, to cook it. After all, she was their mother, and even if they were wrong, they couldn't bring themselves to eat the meat while their mother watched. If word got out, it wouldn't be good for them either.

"Mom, eat." Liu Guangtian picked up a large piece of fatty meat and put it directly into Gou Xianhui's empty bowl, his tone extremely indifferent.

Gou Xianhui glanced quickly at her second son, then lowered her head again, tears falling without warning. She didn't speak, picked up her chopsticks, took the piece of meat, but didn't eat it. Instead, she put it back in her bowl, took a cornbread, and ate it silently with the stir-fried cabbage.

Liu Guangtian didn't try to persuade him any further. He put a few pieces of meat on Liu Guangfu's plate, then put one on his own, and slowly began to eat. The meat was cooked well, savory and delicious. They had never eaten such large chunks of meat in their memories.

"Mom, you should eat. Your second brother and I won't blame you." In the end, it was the youngest son, Guangfu, who couldn't bear to watch anymore. He picked up the biggest piece and put it in Gou Xianhui's bowl, and smiled happily at his mother. After all, he was only ten years old. He had already gotten over many things and hadn't grown up yet. He was still very dependent on his mother.

This time, Gou Xianhui didn't refuse again. She knew it was her two sons' intention and expression of their feelings, and refusing again would truly hurt them. So she ate the meat heartily with her cornbread. The three of them sat around the table, and gradually, conversation began to fill the air, somewhat easing the previous awkwardness and bringing a touch of New Year's spirit.