I painted an aircraft carrier on the courtyard house for Dongda University.

"Ding-dong! Host detected entering No. 95 Nanluoguxiang Courtyard. System restarting."

"Ding-dong! System restart complete."

"Ding-dong! Congratulations, host, on your first entry into the 'Love in the Courtyard' storyline. You are here to receive a reward package:"

Unlock Xia Kingdom Hero-level Warrior Leng Feng

The reward includes ownership of the land and buildings in the east wing of No. 95 Nanluoguxiang (the host can go to the Nanluoguxiang Subdistrict Office to find Director Wang to collect the keys and documents).

5 energy points

The space has been expanded to 1000 cubic meters.

A reward of 100 jin of pork and 100 jin of rice.

Immediately afterwards, the system notification sounded again: "Ding-dong! It has been detected that the host assisted police officers in catching human traffickers and rescuing children, and made minor adjustments to He Yuzhu's values, all of which conform to the positive energy system's behavioral guidelines. A reward is hereby issued:"

Unlock Xia Kingdom military dogs

5 energy points

One bicycle ticket as a reward

(Please remember 1219.m.k.com for the fastest chapter updates.)

The reward includes 50 jin of refined grain coupons and 20 jin of meat coupons.

Looking at the generous rewards, Zhou Weiguo was overjoyed: "Good heavens, my buddy, you're finally back! And you've already given me a huge job!"

Just as he was rubbing his hands together, ready to try his luck and draw a reward, someone suddenly tapped him on the shoulder. "Uncle? Uncle! What are you daydreaming about?" He Yuzhu's voice rang in his ears.

Zhou Weiguo turned his head helplessly and looked at the silly Zhuzi in front of him.

Just then, the sound of the door being pushed open came from outside.

"Hey bro, I'm back! Is dinner ready? I'm starving!"

Before the words were finished, a girl of about eleven or twelve years old pushed open the door and entered. She froze upon seeing Zhou Weiguo and He Yuzhu inside, hesitated for a moment, and then asked, "Who is this older brother?"

He Yuzhu scratched his head, pondering for a long time without knowing how to introduce him, and finally gave up: "Why call me brother? Call me uncle."

"He Yushui (⊙o⊙)???"

He Yushui stared wide-eyed at the two of them, her face full of disbelief. Just as she was about to retort, He Yuzhu grabbed her shoulder.

"This is our own maternal uncle, our mother's youngest brother."

"He Yushui (⊙o⊙)???"

Twelve-year-old He Yushui was clearly struggling to process this sudden information. She reached out and touched He Yuzhu's forehead with a suspicious look: "Silly brother, are you running a fever?"

Without a word, He Yuzhu pressed his sister down onto the stool and repeated the conversation they had just had. After hearing this, He Yushui was completely stunned. Her mouth was agape, wide enough to fit an egg. Her eyes darted back and forth between He Yuzhu and Zhou Weiguo. After a long while, she finally managed to stammer, "Silly brother, I'm not well-educated. Don't lie to me."

He Yuzhu's voice was hoarse from talking, but seeing that his sister still didn't believe him, he slapped the photo into her hand. He Yushui examined it for a long time, her eyes slightly reddening, before cautiously asking, "You're not lying to me?"

Looking at the petite girl before him, Zhou Weiguo felt a pang of sorrow in his heart, and his voice choked with emotion: "Yushui, your uncle has been away all these years, and you and Zhuzi have suffered so much." As he spoke, he reached out and gently stroked He Yushui's head, his eyes filled with guilt and heartache.

Feeling the warmth from above, He Yushui seemed to finally let down her guard and buried her face in Zhou Weiguo's chest, sobbing silently. Zhou Weiguo held her tightly, his voice trembling as he comforted her, "Don't cry, don't cry. Your uncle will never let you suffer again." He Yuzhu, standing to the side, also had tears welling up in his eyes.

It took He Yushui a while to stop crying. Zhou Weiguo asked softly, "Yushui, tell your uncle, why are you afraid to cry freely?"

He Yushui glanced at her brother, then looked towards the door, her voice trembling: "There are many neighbors in the courtyard. If they hear us, they'll gossip, and my brother will be pointed at and talked about too..."

These words were like a sharp blade, piercing Zhou Weiguo's heart. Only then did he realize how cautious He Yushui had been all these years, despite her young age. Zhou Weiguo hugged her tighter, his tone firm: "Don't be afraid. From now on, if anyone dares to gossip, your uncle will be the first to punish them!" He Yuzhu nodded vigorously beside him.

After much coaxing, Zhou Weiguo finally calmed Yu Shui down. The three then chatted for a while, and seeing that Yu Shui had completely regained her composure, Zhou Weiguo spoke up: "Yu Shui, tell your brother that during those years when he was an apprentice, you were home alone, and he asked Yi Zhonghai and the deaf old woman to take care of you. Were they good to you?"

Upon hearing this, He Yushui lowered her head deeply. Zhou Weiguo gently patted her shoulder and said softly, "Don't be afraid, speak boldly, your uncle will stand up for you."

Yu Shui pursed her lips, her voice trembling, "Uncle, they all bully me. Whenever my brother is around, Uncle Yi lets me eat meat, but as soon as he leaves, he only gives me cornbread, so hard I can't even bite it; I have to soak it in water to eat. And that deaf old lady, she completely ignores me. Once I was starving and saw her eating meat outside the window, so I thought I'd go in and beg her for a bite, but when she heard me knocking, she hid everything and said she had nothing. Then she made me do chores for her. I even washed her feet once. Once, I don't know why, she even cursed at me. After that, I was too scared to go there anymore. On the other hand, Xu Damao, whom you always look down on, took pity on me and would occasionally give me a few steamed buns. Xu's mother took pity on me a few times and invited me to her house for meals, but Uncle Yi found out and made a scene. Since then, Xu and Aunt Xu have avoided me."

He Yuzhu was utterly shocked: "Impossible! Absolutely impossible! Yushui, don't just spout nonsense because your uncle is here. Why didn't you tell me back then?"

Rainwater's eyes instantly reddened, and she cried out, "Brother, how could I dare to say that! You're always exhausted when you come back. I was afraid you'd worry, and even more afraid that we wouldn't even have cornbread to eat, so I had to endure it all myself... Once, I was so hungry I couldn't stand it anymore, and I tentatively told you I was hungry, but you scolded me! You said that Uncle Yi clearly gave me braised pork, so why would I be hungry? I told you I didn't eat any, and you still scolded me, telling me I couldn't lie. That day, Uncle Yi did cook braised pork, but he gave most of the bowl to the Jia family, a small portion to the deaf old lady, and ate the rest himself! He even ate the cornbread clean, dipping it in the broth. I was starving, but you wouldn't believe me..." As she spoke, Rainwater broke down and cried bitterly.

Zhou Weiguo tenderly pulled Yu Shui into his arms, his eyes already searching for something to hold onto, while gently coaxing her, "Don't cry, don't cry, it's just that your uncle is late."

He turned to look at He Yuzhu, his tone icy: "Zhuzi, do you believe me now? What the hell have you been doing all these years? Letting your own sister suffer so much!"

He Yuzhu stood frozen, his face ashen, his lips trembling. He never imagined that his respected elder would treat his young sister like this. The room was deathly silent, save for the intermittent sobs of Yushui.