Courtyard House: Initial Donation of 50 Million

The next morning, Director Wang arrived at her office with mixed feelings. Sure enough, she found the timely document and briefing in her drawer. After reading them carefully, she felt reassured. With policy support and successful cases, she felt much more confident in working with Yi Zhonghai! She couldn't help but wonder if it was truly a case of superiors showing compassion for their subordinates? Or...? She thought of Wang Huanbo's unfathomable influence, shook her head, and decided not to delve any deeper, quickly preparing her explanation.

At 10 a.m., Director Wang once again stepped onto the threshold of the Yi family's house in the courtyard of No. 95. This time, the atmosphere inside was even more somber than yesterday. Yi Zhonghai sat at the table, his eyes sunken, clearly having not slept all night. An older woman sat on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), her eyes red and swollen, but with a hint of resolve absent from the previous night. The couple stood like trapped beasts facing each other, neither looking at the other.

"Director Wang, you've arrived." An older woman was the first to stand up, her voice hoarse but carrying a calm that showed she was ready to give up.

Yi Zhonghai merely raised his eyelids and let out a muffled groan.

Director Wang sat down, without much small talk, and immediately took out the document and briefing "issued by higher authorities" and placed them on the table. "Old Yi, sister-in-law, you two said yesterday you wanted to discuss this, so I came today to hear what you had to say. Also, here's a document and some directives that were just issued; please take a look."

Yi Zhonghai picked up the document with suspicion, and the older woman leaned closer. When she saw the bolded words "Adoption is protected by law" and "Adoption has the same rights and obligations as biological parents," the woman's eyes lit up, and her breathing quickened. Yi Zhonghai's brows furrowed even more.

"Old Yi," Director Wang said earnestly, "you see, the policy encourages and protects. If you adopt a child and complete the formalities, that child is your legal son or daughter, takes your surname, and will take care of you in your old age—that's only right! Isn't that more reliable than... well, other relationships? Besides, it's an honorable thing to do, to share the burden of the country and alleviate social pressure. The neighborhood committee and the factory will support it; who would dare to gossip?"

An older woman immediately chimed in, her voice trembling with tears yet unusually firm: "Director Wang, I've read the documents, I understand the policies! I must adopt this child! Yi Zhonghai, give me a straight answer today! Are you going to agree to the adoption, and we can make do and raise the child together? Or are you going to insist on this, then we'll go to the neighborhood committee right now and get a divorce! I'll take my bedding and move to the neighborhood committee's dormitory, and I'll go to the orphanage myself to apply for adoption! I, Liu Yufen, mean what I say!"

"You...you're insane!" Yi Zhonghai trembled with rage, pointing at the middle-aged woman. "Divorce? Where will you go if you get divorced? How will you survive?"

"I can work! The neighborhood committee can give me work! Sweeping the streets, pasting cardboard boxes, I can do it all! As long as I don't starve, I can raise my child!" The old woman refused to budge, tears welling in her eyes, but stubbornly refusing to fall. "I've had enough! I've had enough of this life of living like a widow and taking the blame for everything! Yi Zhonghai, if you're not going to live this life, I've had enough!"

Director Wang sighed as he watched the two men on the verge of conflict. "Old Yi, your wife is right. Think about it, you're a level eight worker now, with a high salary and good conditions. If you adopt a child and raise him well, how could he not amount to anything? How could he not abandon you? It's better than... better than being all alone in your seventies or eighties, with no one to even bring you tea or water. That would truly be a bleak old age!"

The phrase "a desolate old age" was like a needle, piercing deep into Yi Zhonghai's most fearful heart. His insistence on retirement stemmed from his fear of ending up like that. Looking at his wife, who seemed on the verge of madness and about to rush out for a divorce, and then at the unspeakable shame of his infertility, and the prospect of becoming the laughingstock of the entire hospital, factory, and even the whole neighborhood after the divorce—a lonely, wealthy old man with no one to truly care for him—that scene sent chills down his spine.

Agreeing to adoption means bringing an "outsider" into your home, investing emotions and money, taking the risk of not being able to "tame" the child, and enduring the strange looks from others. Disagreeing means the family will immediately break apart, losing the last shred of dignity, becoming completely alone, and your later years will be unimaginable.

This was an incredibly difficult choice. Yi Zhonghai's face was ashen, his hands clenched into fists, his nails digging into his palms. He had spent his entire life scheming, but he never imagined he would end up in such a predicament. He remained silent for the time it takes to smoke a cigarette, just as the older woman was about to lose patience and get up, Yi Zhonghai finally managed to squeeze out a dry, weary voice, filled with endless humiliation and helplessness, from deep within his throat:

"Sigh... whatever...do as you please..."

His voice was soft, yet it seemed to drain all the strength from his body. After speaking, he slumped into his chair, as if he had aged ten years in an instant.

The middle-aged woman was stunned. Then, an overwhelming sense of joy and relief welled up inside her, and tears finally streamed down her face. She forced herself not to cry out loud, but simply nodded vigorously: "Good! Good! Yi Zhonghai, you said it! Director Wang, did you hear that? He agreed!"

Director Wang breathed a sigh of relief and quickly smoothed things over, "That's good! That's good! Sister-in-law, Lao Yi has come to his senses! This is great news! A fantastic piece of news! I'll go back and prepare the paperwork right away! You two should also get ready and pick a day to visit the children at the orphanage!"

The news spread like wildfire throughout the No. 95 courtyard. Some sighed, some sympathized, and some secretly mocked Yi Zhonghai, saying he "ultimately resigned himself to becoming childless." Yan Bugui, from the front courtyard, rolled his small eyes upon hearing this and said to the third aunt, "See? Yi Zhonghai is completely finished this time! He'll have to adopt someone else's child! Our Jiecheng has to prove himself and give me a grandson someday to make him furious!" Liu Haizhong, from the middle courtyard, gloated, thinking Yi Zhonghai deserved it! This further solidified his resolve to force Liu Guangqi to get married and have children as soon as possible.

In the west courtyard, Wang Huanbo learned the results from Pangu's report and simply nodded. The tragedy of the Yi family was a bitter pill brewed by both the times and individual character; he was powerless to change it and could only do his part on the fringes. Three days later, the neighborhood orphanage and impoverished households received the anonymous "timely help" supplies as scheduled, solving their immediate crisis. Director Wang was deeply grateful to Wang Huanbo.

The adoption process for the Yi family has only just begun. Yi Zhonghai will face a completely unfamiliar role in his life amidst submission, resentment, and fear of the future. Meanwhile, the story of the courtyard house continues to unfold amidst chaos and turmoil. Wang Huanbo's vacation is also drawing to a close amidst all this commotion. Even greater storms may be brewing in the not-too-distant future.