Courtyard House: Become Stronger Through Blind Dates

He Yuzhu strolled leisurely among the stalls, his eyes scanning the surroundings as he searched.

He walked from the east end to the west end, and then from the south end to the north end, his eyes almost getting tired, but he didn't see a complete wooden dummy, or even a decent wooden stake.

"Sigh, it seems this thing is really hard to find..." He Yuzhu felt a little discouraged. Standing in front of a stall selling secondhand furniture, he frowned as he looked at the pile of broken wood.

The stall owner was an old man who looked to be in his fifties, wearing a worn-out cotton hat, and was leaning against the side with his hands in his pockets.

Seeing He Yuzhu standing in front of his stall with a worried look on his face, he took the initiative to strike up a conversation: "Young man, I've seen you wandering around for ages. What are you looking for? I have tables, chairs, benches, cabinets, and boxes all here. See if there's anything you like?"

Hearing the voice, He Yuzhu turned around and asked, on a whim, "Grandpa, do you know if there are any wooden dummy ...

"Wooden dummy?" The old man chuckled upon hearing this, carefully examining He Yuzhu from head to toe. He laughed, "Oh ho, I didn't realize! You look quite old, what brings you to suddenly want to practice martial arts?"

"That wooden dummy isn't an ordinary item; it's usually custom-made by a carpenter who comes to your home to take measurements. Who would put one of these things out for sale? Do you think it's a rolling pin?"

Upon hearing this, He Yuzhu was not disappointed at all; instead, his eyes lit up.

There's a way! This old man's words were loaded with meaning; he clearly knows the ropes!

He immediately took two steps closer and said politely, "Sir, from what you're saying, you know where this can be made? If you could show me the way, I would be extremely grateful!"

Upon hearing this, the old man simply smiled at him and remained silent, putting his hands back in his pockets, his meaning all too clear.

He Yuzhu cursed "old fox" inwardly, but his hands moved quickly, deftly pulling out a thousand-yuan bill from his pocket and stuffing it into the hand: "Grandpa, this is just a small token of my appreciation. Please buy a pack of cigarettes."

To everyone's surprise, the old man didn't even flinch, as if he hadn't seen the money at all. He kept his hands tucked in, a half-smile on his face.

He Yuzhu's heart skipped a beat. Good heavens, they think it's not enough? They've got quite the appetite!

He gritted his teeth, reached into his pocket again, and this time counted out four more thousand-yuan bills, quickly stuffing them into the old man's hand: "Grandpa, please help me, I really want them."

The old man felt the thickness of the wooden dummy in his pocket before lowering his voice and saying, "You know how to handle things, kid! You're lucky to have run into me. There aren't many people in this city who know where to make these old-fashioned wooden dummy sets anymore."

As he spoke, he rummaged through the toolbox next to him and pulled out a half-pencil stub and a crumpled cigarette pack paper. He quickly wrote an address on it and handed it to He Yuzhu: "Here, go look for it. When you get there, just say that Old Li sent you."

"Old Lu's skills are good, but he has a bit of a strange temper, and his prices aren't cheap. You should weigh the pros and cons yourself."

He Yuzhu quickly took the note, which read, "The third house inside the east entrance of Zhuan Ta Hutong in Xicheng District".

Xicheng? He Yuzhu grinned. He definitely wouldn't make it today; he had to go to Xu Dahai's house to help with a blind date later!

"Thank you so much, sir! You've been a great help to me!" He Yuzhu said quickly.

"Don't be so polite. I've taken their money, so I'm obligated to help them out," the old man chuckled, waving his hand. "Go on with your work!"

He Yuzhu turned and left the flea market. Although he didn't buy anything ready-made, he found a way to get things, so the trip wasn't in vain.

On his way back, he passed a fairly large traditional Chinese medicine shop and, remembering the medicinal bath, stepped inside.

The shop was filled with the rich aroma of medicine, and an old doctor was taking a woman's pulse.

He Yuzhu took out the list of medicinal herbs he had written down the night before and handed it to the clerk who was dispensing the medicine.

The waiter took the order and saw that it contained more than a dozen herbs, including: Clematis armandii, Clematis chinensis, Carthamus tinctorius, Achyranthes bidentata, Spatholobus suberectus, Angelica sinensis tail, etc., some of which were quite expensive.

"Comrade, is this prescription... for strengthening muscles and bones?" the waiter asked casually while skillfully handling the medicine.

"Yes, my family needs it," He Yuzhu replied vaguely.

The shop assistant didn't ask any questions. He quickly weighed and packaged the medicine, then tied all the medicine packets together with a large piece of brown paper. He then fiddled with the abacus a few times and said, "Cheng Hui, seven hundred and thirty thousand. I'll round it down to seven hundred and thirty thousand for you."

He Yuzhu's lips twitched as he listened, and his heart ached terribly.

These few packets of herbs cost over 700,000? That's highway robbery!

No wonder they say the poor are scholars and the rich are warriors. He suppressed his heartache, counted out seventy-one ten-thousand-yuan bills and handed them over. When he received the bundle of medicinal herbs, he felt his heart was bleeding.

"Damn it, this money really goes by so quickly..." he grumbled, carrying his medicine bag and walking back quickly.

Back home, He Yuzhu put the large bundle of medicinal herbs into the cabinet, locked the door, and then walked towards the neighbor's yard.

Xu Dahai's family also lived in the middle courtyard. They also had three main rooms, with a layout similar to He Yuzhu's family, but they were much tidier and cleaner, with bright windows and spotless furniture. It was clear that they were a family that lived a proper life.

At this time, the Xu family was already a scene of bustling activity.

Xu Dahai, wearing an apron, was cleaning and scaling fish in the yard;

His wife and a young man were chopping vegetables in the kitchen, making a loud clattering sound.

A little girl with two braids is helping to pick and wash vegetables.

Compared to the Jia family's approach of relying on He Yuzhu to do everything, the Xu family is much more reassuring.

"Zhu Zi's here! Come on in, come on in!" Xu Dahai greeted He Yuzhu warmly, wiping his hands on his apron. "Look, everything's almost ready. We're just waiting for you to show off your skills!"

Aunt Xu peeked out from the kitchen, her face beaming with joy: "Zhu Zi, thank you for your hard work today! Just let me know if you need anything!"

"Uncle Xu, Aunt Xu, you're too kind. Everything's all taken care of; it's saved me a lot of trouble!"

He Yuzhu was very pleased. This family was honest and reliable. He rolled up his sleeves and prepared to go into the kitchen to help.

"Hey, no need, no need!" Xu Dahai grabbed him. "We can handle this little bit of work. We can't let you do any more cleaning. You're the head chef today. Go to the main room, have some water, and rest for a while. You can start when it's almost time."

Unable to refuse Xu Dahai's hospitality, He Yuzhu had no choice but to be pulled into the main room.

The main room was also clean and tidy, with peanuts, melon seeds and fruit candies on the octagonal table, obviously for entertaining guests.

The two had barely sat down and exchanged a few words when they heard laughter and chatter coming from outside the courtyard gate.

Mr. and Mrs. Xu immediately stood up and said with a smile, "They're here! They must be the matchmaker and the young lady!"

Sure enough, when the curtain was lifted, the first person to enter was a well-dressed matchmaker named Wang, who kept greeting people. Behind her were a young woman and a middle-aged woman who looked like the young woman's mother.

As soon as the girl entered the room, He Yuzhu's gaze was immediately drawn to her.

She was about eighteen or nineteen years old, wearing a brand-new plaid coat, a white scarf, and two jet-black braids hanging down in front of her chest.

She wasn't exceptionally beautiful, but she had fair skin, delicate features, and most importantly, a graceful and poised demeanor.

She showed none of the stage fright typical of young women. Upon entering, she greeted Mr. and Mrs. Xu with a smile, and then boldly surveyed the Xu family's surroundings with her eyes.