Love in the Courtyard: Starting with Engineers

Little Fatty looked in the direction she pointed, then shook his head: "I don't recognize him, he's probably from out of town."

Nannan thought for a moment, then took out a piece of fruit candy from her pocket. Bai Ling had exchanged it for candy coupons yesterday and specially saved it for her.

Clutching the candy, she ran to the locust tree, looked up at the girl with a smile, and said, "Sister, why are you all alone? Here, have some candy."

The locust flower raised its head, revealing a sallow face.

Her eyes were red and swollen. When she saw the candy in Nannan's hand, her Adam's apple bobbed, but she didn't dare to take it.

These days, she's been following Sha Zhu around, eating thin porridge every meal. Forget about fruit candy, she even has to eat cornbread sparingly. She's never seen such bright and shiny candy before.

When Nannan saw that she wouldn't take it, she simply stuffed the candy into her hand.

Clutching the candy, Huaihua looked at the crooked ship model in Nannan's hand, then at the little girl with pigtails in front of her. Her tense lips finally relaxed, revealing a faint smile.

"I...I'll play with you, okay?" Huaihua's voice was soft, like a mosquito's hum.

Nannan clapped her hands and cheered, then took Huaihua's hand and squatted down to play marbles together.

Little Fatty joined in, and the three children squatted against the wall, dust rising and falling, their laughter filling the alley. Huaihua's fingers were very skillful; she taught Nannan and Little Fatty how to aim the marbles, and in no time, they had won half a pocketful of marbles, making Nannan clap her hands excitedly.

When Bai Ling followed the sound of laughter, this was the scene she saw.

She had originally come to call Nannan home for dinner, but when she saw the girl's face under the locust tree, she stopped in her tracks. Wasn't that a locust flower?

A few days ago, I heard the old ladies in the alley talking about how Sha Zhu's life had gotten worse and worse since he was fired from the steel mill.

Now he relies entirely on the monthly relief food distributed by the neighborhood committee, and occasionally someone comes to his door to learn how to cook, which allows him to earn a few coins to make ends meet.

Bai Ling sighed inwardly, stepped forward, and called out, "Nannan, it's time to go home for dinner."

The little girl looked up, saw Bai Ling, and immediately jumped up: "Mommy! Look, I've met a big sister!"

When Huaihua saw Bai Ling, her face turned pale instantly.

She hurriedly stood up, scattering the marbles in her hand all over the floor, her hand clutching the candy trembling nervously. She knew Bai Ling was Li Yu's wife, and the feud between Sha Zhu and Li Yu was common knowledge in the factories of Beijing.

"Aunt Bai..." Huaihua lowered her head, her voice barely audible, not daring to lift her head.

Bai Ling stepped forward, her gaze falling on the patched-up jacket, then on the worn-out cloth shoes, and felt increasingly uneasy.

"What are you doing here? Where's Shazhu? How are you doing?"

Huaihua's eyes immediately reddened, tears welling up in her eyes, but she held them back from falling.

She sniffled, her voice trembling with tears: "Ever since Uncle Sha was fired and his hands can't cook anymore, now, besides the relief food from the neighborhood, I only have a little income from occasionally teaching people to cook."

As she spoke, tears finally streamed down her face, falling onto the yellow earth and leaving a small wet patch.

Seeing that she was crying, Nannan quickly took out another piece of candy from her pocket and stuffed it into her hand: "Sister, don't cry, eating candy will make you feel better."

Seeing Huaihua like this, Bai Ling's heart softened even more.

She was silent for a moment, then took out two yuan from her pocket and stuffed the money into Huaihua's hand, saying in a deep voice, "Take it, buy some food first, don't go hungry."

Huaihua was stunned for a moment, and looking at the two yuan in her hand, her tears fell even more fiercely.

She hurriedly pushed the money back, saying, "I can't take your money!"

"Take it." Bai Ling pressed her hand down, her tone leaving no room for argument.

Huaihua clutched the two yuan, her fingers trembling.

Looking at Bai Ling's gentle features, and then at the innocent-looking girl beside her, she choked up and couldn't speak, only able to keep wiping away her tears.

Bai Ling gave her a few more words of advice, telling her that if she had any difficulties, she could come to the family compound and everyone would help if they could.

After saying that, he took Nannan's hand and walked towards home.

The little girl turned around and waved to the locust flower: "Sister, I'll come find you to play again tomorrow!"

Standing under the locust tree, watching the mother and daughter's backs, Huaihua clutched two yuan and two pieces of candy in her hand, and tears welled up in her eyes once again.

She stood at the entrance of the alley for a long time before slowly turning around and walking towards courtyard number 95.

When he got home, Sha Zhu was lying on the earthen bed. Seeing Huaihua return, he asked, "Where have you been? Why haven't I seen you for so long?"

Huaihua quickly hid the money in her hand in her jacket pocket, shook her head, and said in a low voice, "No... I didn't go anywhere, I just found two pieces of candy at the alley entrance. Try them."

She handed the candy to Sha Zhu, not daring to mention meeting Nannan and Bai Ling, let alone revealing the origin of the two yuan.

She knew Sha Zhu's personality all too well. That man was always concerned about his reputation and had a grudge against Li Yu. If he knew that she had taken Bai Ling's money, he would probably be furious.

Sha Zhu took the candy, popped it into his mouth, and the sweet taste spread in his mouth.

He clicked his tongue and sighed, "When will this ever end...?"

Huaihua didn't say anything, but silently walked to the stove, lifted the pot lid, and found only a small half pot of corn porridge so thin you could see your reflection in it.

She looked at the mushy soup in the pot, then touched the two yuan in her pocket, feeling a mix of emotions.

Meanwhile, in the Longxing Factory residential compound, Bai Ling was carrying a bowl of steaming hot corn porridge into the house.

Li Yu had just returned from the workshop, his body still warm from the molten steel.

He noticed Bai Ling's slightly red eyes and asked, somewhat puzzled, "What's wrong?"

Bai Ling shook her head and handed him the porridge: "It's nothing, I just feel a little sad seeing the locust flowers."

She paused, then said, "We're all just trying to make a living; it's not easy for anyone."

Li Yu held the bowl, remained silent for a moment, and then nodded.

"I wonder what the situation is like inside the courtyard house now?" Li Yu asked while eating.

"I heard that the second son of the Yan family got married recently, I think it was a woman named Yu Haitang."

Li Yu found it unbelievable when he heard this, because it seemed that Yu Haitang did not marry into the Siheyuan in the original work.

"By the way, it seems that Liu's two younger sons occasionally send money to their parents."

Li Yu nodded and said, "It's normal. Although they used to be beaten by Liu Haizhong, he still supported them for so many years. Plus, their salary at Longteng is not low now, so it's normal for them to send some living expenses."