Siheyuan: A master brewer starts with a jar of bone-strengthening wine!

"Eat! Eat! Eat!!" Chen Xueru slammed her chopsticks down, huffing and puffing, "After I finish eating, I'm going to throw these against the wall! Tomorrow I'll storm over to that heartless boss and beat him so badly he'll be crawling on the floor, his own mother won't recognize him!"

Liu Dong quickly stopped him: "Don't smash it! Our courtyard house's living room is in need of a talisman to ward off evil spirits. It would look quite fitting there—it wouldn't matter if it breaks, since it's not worth much anyway!"

The two went inside and started eating.

The room was so quiet you could hear the clinking of bowls and chopsticks.

There were only three adults and two kids; no one else.

Chen's mother ate a couple of mouthfuls of rice, then suddenly put down her chopsticks, her brows furrowing deeply: "How have those two girls, Niandong and Nianqiu, been coping these past few days? Have they been eating enough? Sleeping well? Are their blankets thick enough?"

Liu Dong placed a piece of braised pork into her bowl: "Mom, don't worry! I'll personally drive you to Daqianmen this Saturday. Seeing it for yourself is much better than hearing me say it a hundred times!"

Before the words had even finished—

Clang!

The courtyard gate was suddenly kicked open!

Niandong and Nianqiu cried out as they rushed inside, "Daddy—!!"

"Mother--!!!"

"grandmother--!!!"

"We're back!!!"

Chen Zhongze followed slowly behind, his face ashen, looking as if he had just pulled three all-nighters and was owed 100,000 yuan.

He rubbed his hands, his voice hoarse: "Mom...brother-in-law...I really can't take it anymore! These past two days, Lü Fang and I have been torn apart by these two little devils! I can't do this job!"

"Oh—" When Chen's mother saw her granddaughter's sallow face and thinner arms, her hands trembled. "Chen Zhongze!! Look at me! How hungry is my granddaughter? Are you feeding them grass or tree bark?"

"Waaah—Grandma, I want milk!!" Nianqiu buried her head in her grandma's arms, her little belly flat, and her voice was trembling with tears.

Liu Dong turned and ran to the bedroom, carrying out a large bottle of warm milk: "Come on, let's fill our stomachs first!"

He could tell at a glance that the two children had lost at least two or three pounds during those few days at Daqianmen.

"Brother, would you like to sit down and have something to eat with us?" Liu Dong brought over a new set of bowls and chopsticks.

Chen Zhongze, in his early thirties, used to be a carefree scoundrel, but now he's become quite concerned about his image. He glanced at the steaming braised pork, stir-fried vegetables, and white rice on the table, swallowed hard, and then forced himself to swallow back his saliva: "No, no... I'm really not hungry! Brother-in-law, we'll have to trouble you often in the future... These two beauties of our Chen family only recognize your doorstep!"

"Hey! They're our own kids, why are you worrying about them!" Liu Dong patted him on the shoulder. "Don't worry, as long as I have food to eat, I'll make sure they don't lick the bowl clean!"

"Mom...I'm leaving!" Chen Zhongze pushed the old-fashioned bicycle, making a creaking sound as it walked north.

Liu Dong immediately chased after him, saying, "Brother-in-law, let me see you off!"

He escorted Liu Dong all the way to the entrance of Beiheyan Street. The wind was a bit chilly, and the shadows of the trees dazzled the eyes. Before parting, Chen Zhongze stopped, didn't speak, and just stared straight at Liu Dong for several seconds. His Adam's apple bobbed, and he finally spoke in a hoarse voice, "Brother-in-law... I only have two daughters. With Lü Fang's health, I'm afraid it will be difficult for her to have children again... I... I..."

"Don't worry!" Liu Dong reached out and patted his shoulder twice. "Both girls are surnamed Chen, it's written on their household registration, and they have the Chen family spirit flowing in their veins—would you turn your own nieces away? We're family, not just passing through!"

He paused, then added, "If I were really after this title, why would my third son have your surname? I would have changed it back to Liu long ago!"

Chen Zhongze was taken aback, then slowly nodded: "That makes sense."

But my heart felt like it was stuffed with a wad of wet cotton, heavy and suffocating, making it hard to breathe.

Something's not right? I can't quite put my finger on it.

It's just frustrating.

As Chen Zhongze rode his bicycle around the street corner, Liu Dong turned back, his shoes making a clattering sound on the blue bricks.

Just as I entered the central courtyard of the siheyuan (traditional courtyard house), a little girl with pigtails stood on tiptoe under the eaves and called out in a childish voice, "Grandpa—"

Liu Dong looked up and saw He Yuzhu and Kong Yuqin's youngest daughter, He Xiaoxuan, born at the age of sixty-one, who was just seven years old. She had thin arms and legs and was wearing a faded blue cotton jacket.

"Oh, Xiao Xuanzi's here?" He bent down with a smile. "Have you eaten yet?"

The child's name is cleverly chosen. Xiaoxuan sounds like morning dew rolling on the tip of a bamboo leaf, crisp and sparkling.

"Eat, grandpa!" Xiaoxuan nodded, tilting her little face up to ask, "I just saw Sister Niandong and Sister Nianqiu carrying their bundles back, right?"

"Absolutely!" Liu Dong straightened up. "I just walked in!"

"Then... can I go play with them?" She clutched the hem of her clothes, her eyes blinking.

"Why not?" Liu Dong opened his arms. "Come on! Grandpa will take you over—three kids together, it'll be fun!"

These days, seven- or eight-year-olds don't have many friends. Her older brother, He Xiao, is too old and thinks she's a burden; the other children in the neighborhood are either too young or don't fit in. Only the two Chen sisters—Nianqiu is lively, and Niandong is steady—often take her to play jump rope and cat's cradle. A couple of days ago, Nianqiu went back to her hometown near Daqianmen, and Xiaoxuan has no one to talk to.

Liu Dong led her into the house.

"Sit down and eat!" He pressed Xiaoxuan down onto the small stool next to him. "Tell me what you want to eat, and I'll get it for you—"

On the table was a bowl of brown rice, a plate of stir-fried cabbage, half a salted duck egg, half a roasted duck leg, and a boiled egg. There weren't many dishes, but they were glistening with oil, and the pieces of meat were thick and substantial, making the aroma more substantial than that wafting from the stoves of most households in the courtyard.

Xiaoxuan obediently shook her head: "Daddy said I'm not allowed to eat at other people's houses. Grandpa, I'm not hungry. I'll play with Sister Nianqiu after she finishes eating... *gulp*"

The last rumble of his stomach was soft and aggrieved.

Liu Dong chuckled: "What else did your dad say?"

"Say...you must listen to the old man."

"Hey! That's right!" He grabbed a duck leg and an egg, and without a word, shoved them into her small hand. "Now, the master orders—eat! Don't leave a single bite!"

He broke open a multigrain bun and ate it with plain water.

Food is just for filling your stomach. He stopped caring about such things a long time ago; a peaceful life is what matters most.

Xiaoxuan looked down at the duck leg in her hand and suddenly whispered, "Grandpa... can I take a piece back with me so my brother can try it?"

"Of course!" Liu Dong patted her head. "Go on, good girl!"

Xiaoxuan, carrying a duck leg and eggs, skipped and hopped out the door.

Watching from the side, Chen Xueru smiled and said, "This child takes after her mother; she's kind-hearted, has a sweet tongue, and is efficient in her work—she's bound to be a good person in the future."

"Hmm," Liu Dong responded, "Both of Zhu's children are quite good. The older one is sensible, and the younger one is considerate."

Inside the courtyard, it was completely dark.

The kerosene lamp in Yi Zhonghai's house had long been hung on the eaves, its light shining down and illuminating the entire courtyard clearly, even making the moss in the cracks between the bricks glow.