Courtyard House: Become Stronger Through Blind Dates

The next day, just as dawn was breaking, He Yuzhu opened his eyes.

The unfamiliar environment left him stunned for a few seconds, then memories flooded back; he was now He Yuzhu.

He jumped up and first looked at He Yushui, who was still fast asleep beside him.

The little girl wasn't sleeping soundly; there were still tear stains on the corners of her eyes, which softened He Yuzhu's heart.

"Since I'm here, I might as well make the best of it." He muttered to himself, "The child is so young, he can't be without his father's love. No matter what, it's not as good as him being with his father."

He got up quietly and, following the original owner's memories, took out a small bundle from the cupboard.

He Daqing left in a hurry, but his house was still fully furnished.

He packed up all the clothes he could still wear after the rain, and after thinking for a moment, he began rummaging through his drawers and cabinets to search for them.

The meager income the original owner earned as an apprentice had long been spent by him.

I only have 32,000 yuan in my pocket right now, 30,000 of which was sponsored by Yi Zhonghai.

After searching around, he actually found something.

Unfortunately, it wasn't money, but a bag of silver dollars, 15 in total.

"Never mind, that should be enough for train tickets..."

After carefully putting away the silver dollars, he went to wake He Yushui.

"Rain, wake up, it's dawn, we should get going."

He Yushui rubbed her sleepy eyes and said in a tearful voice, "Brother... are we really going to find Dad?"

"Yes, really~" He Yuzhu said with certainty, "Get up quickly, I'll wash your face for you, and we'll leave after you've eaten."

After washing up the drowsy little girl, He Yuzhu quickly reheated the leftovers from last night.

The brother and sister ate breakfast in silence. He Yushui shoveled rice into her mouth, her big eyes occasionally stealing glances at her brother.

After finishing breakfast, He Yuzhu picked up his small bundle and led He Yushui out of the house.

At this time, there were already many people washing up by the pool in the middle courtyard, and Jia Zhangshi was brushing her toothbrush vigorously.

Seeing their impressive long journey, the man with the triangular eyes rolled his eyes and shouted, "Hey, Sha Zhu, where are you taking your sister so early in the morning?"

He Yuzhu, not wanting to argue with her any longer, simply called out, "Go find my father!"

The sound was quite loud, instantly attracting everyone's attention.

The window of Yi Zhonghai's house moved slightly, and a figure appeared and disappeared behind the curtain.

Jia Dongxu also poked his head out of the house, his eyes filled with complex emotions.

"Looking for your father? Do you even know where your father is?" Madam Jia pouted, clearly not believing her.

"No need for you to trouble yourself," He Yuzhu retorted, neither too soft nor too hard, and pulled Yushui straight towards the front yard.

As soon as he arrived at the front yard, he was stopped by Yan Bugui, who was already waiting there.

Yan Bugui's face broke into a shrewd smile: "Zhuzi, are you going on a long trip?"

"Yes, let's go to Baocheng." He Yuzhu stopped, wanting to see what this "calculatory genius" Yan Bugui was up to.

(Currently, even the subdistrict offices haven't been established in Beijing; they won't be until 53.)

"Baocheng isn't close, it'll take several days to go back and forth, won't it?" Yan Bugui rubbed his hands together. "I'm worried about leaving the house unattended once you're gone."

"How about this, I'll take the trouble to watch the door for you, no more than a day, and you just give me a thousand yuan as a tip, okay?"

He Yuzhu sneered inwardly, but put on a look of sudden realization: "Oh, Teacher Yan, your price isn't too expensive."

Upon hearing this, Yan Bugui's smile widened, thinking that this silly boy was indeed easy to fool.

Unexpectedly, He Yuzhu changed the subject: "But Teacher Yan, we have to make this clear first! If anything is missing from my house during this period, from a needle to a table or chair, you have to compensate me for it at market price, exactly as it was."

"If you agree, I'll sign a written agreement right now, and the job of guarding the gate will be yours."

"Huh? This...this..." Yan Bugui's smile froze instantly, as if he had been choked.

He only wanted to take advantage of the situation; how could he dare to take responsibility? If something were really lost, his meager salary wouldn't be enough to compensate for it!

He stared at He Yuzhu in shock, as if he were seeing this kid for the first time. When did he become so shrewd?

"What? Teacher Yan doesn't dare to vouch for me?" He Yuzhu asked, feigning surprise. "Then forget it. Yushui, let's go."

After saying that, he ignored the dumbfounded Yan Bugui and pulled He Yushui out of the courtyard gate.

Yan Bugui watched their retreating figures for a long time before muttering, "That idiot Zhu... did getting into a fight make him smarter?"

After leaving the compound, He Yuzhu did not go to Emei Restaurant immediately, but instead pulled He Yushui to stand at the street corner and look around.

At this time, many walls on the streets were covered with slogans and posters promoting the Marriage Law.

"Abandoning children...shouldn't that be illegal too?" He Yuzhu pondered to himself.

Although he didn't remember it very clearly, the marriage law did emphasize the protection of minors.

He Daqing's behavior, at best, is morally corrupt, and at worst, it constitutes the crime of abandonment!

"Come on, Yushui, I'll take you somewhere." He Yuzhu made up his mind, changed the route, and headed straight for the nearby police station.

Inside the police station, a young police officer is on duty.

Seeing He Yuzhu bring in a little girl, he asked kindly, "Young comrade, what can I do for you?"

He Yuzhu took a deep breath and got straight to the point: "Officer, I want to report a case."

"Oh? What case did you report? Tell me." The police officer took out a notebook and pen and asked.

He Yuzhu said seriously, "I want to report my father, He Daqing, for abandoning his underage children. He ran away yesterday with a widow surnamed Bai, leaving me and my sister He Yushui behind."

"I'm sixteen this year, and I can barely make ends meet, but my younger sister is not even seven years old yet and hasn't started elementary school. He left without leaving any living expenses or making any arrangements. This is abandonment!"

The young police officer was visibly taken aback, clearly having little experience dealing with this type of situation.

He scratched his head, looking somewhat embarrassed, and said, "Young man, well... even an upright official finds it hard to settle family disputes! Your father... might have acted impulsively, or perhaps he has some other plans. It's not really appropriate for our police station to handle this directly, is it?"

He Yuzhu had anticipated this reaction. He immediately raised his voice and righteously retorted, "Police officer, the country is vigorously promoting the Marriage Law. It is being publicized in newspapers and on walls. It clearly stipulates that parents have the obligation to raise and educate their children."

"Abandoning minor children is a crime! How come it's become a trivial 'family matter' in your case? Is this a misunderstanding of the law, or are you trying to neglect your duties?"

The shout was so loud that it stunned the police officer on duty, whose face turned pale and then red.

"What's going on? What's all the noise about?" The door to the inner office opened, and a slightly older, serious-looking officer in uniform walked out. His shoulder insignia indicated that he was a deputy director.

The on-duty police officer felt like he had seen a savior and quickly stepped forward to report the situation in a low voice.

After hearing this, the deputy director frowned slightly and glared at the police officer.

Then he turned to He Yuzhu and said with a smile, "Young comrade, don't get excited. I am Deputy Director Wang here. Come with me. We can talk about it inside."

He invited He Yuzhu and He Yushui into a small reception room and poured each of them a cup of hot water.