Courtyard Houses: Starting with Li Yunlong's Comrades-in-Arms

Sitting at her own table, Jia Zhangshi was already overwhelmed with work. The plate of braised pork in front of her had only been on the table for less than two minutes, and now it was empty, with the last bit of broth at the bottom wiped clean by her steamed buns.

She no longer used her chopsticks, but grabbed a handful of scrambled eggs from the plate that had just been placed on the table and stuffed them into her mouth. Her cheeks were bulging, and oil dripped from the corners of her mouth. As she chewed, she mumbled to Banggeng beside her, "My dear grandson, eat up! Shazhu's cooking is pretty good. These eggs are cooked perfectly. Eat more, or you'll miss out!"

Banggeng sat next to her, his little hands gripping chopsticks, his bowl already half full of food, and Jia Zhangshi kept shoveling more into it. Qin Huairu sat on the other side, her head down, her expression unreadable, quietly eating the little food in her bowl, occasionally reaching out to wipe the grease from the corner of Banggeng's mouth.

Yan Bugui's wife, who was at the same table, originally wanted to be reserved, but seeing Jia Zhangshi's attitude, she didn't care about being demure anymore. She used all her skills to move between the plates, picking up food more than twice as fast as usual.

The other two middle-aged women were not to be outdone, and the whole group devoured the food in no time, finishing it off within minutes of it being served.

The other two tables were alright; although they ate quickly, at least they had some manners, using their chopsticks in pairs, and occasionally someone would put down their chopsticks to take a sip of wine or say a word. Only at Jia Zhangshi's table, the dishes were all empty; the plates on the table had never been full since the meal started.

When Liu Haizhong saw this, the smile on his face froze instantly. His expression darkened, his lips tightened into a thin line, and the chopsticks in his hand hovered in mid-air, not reaching his mouth for a long time.

He spent nearly a hundred yuan to arrange this banquet, hoping to give Guangqi a respectable wedding and make his daughter-in-law proud. But now, look at how Jia Zhangshi's table is behaving! If the new bride comes out of the house and sees this, where will he put his face?

But he couldn't say anything in front of so many people. If you said anything to Jia Zhangshi, she would throw a tantrum and ruin the whole wedding.

Liu Haizhong held his breath, his expression growing increasingly grim, and his grip on the chopsticks tightened slightly.

Yi Zhonghai, sitting next to him, noticed Liu Haizhong's expression. Holding his wine glass, he thought for a moment and then smoothed things over: "Old Liu, Guangqi's wedding banquet today was truly wonderful. The neighbors in the courtyard haven't had such a feast in a long time, so it's normal that they're enjoying it. Come on, everyone, let's drink! Congratulations to Guangqi on his marriage!"

As he spoke, he raised his glass to the people at the table and took a sip himself. Liu Haizhong, seizing the opportunity, picked up his glass and took a sip as well. The gloom on his face lessened somewhat, but the displeasure in his eyes remained.

Several people at the main table raised their glasses in response, saying things like "Congratulations Guangqi," which helped to ease the awkwardness in the room.

But everyone knew perfectly well what was going on. Although they hadn't seen meat in a long time, they didn't go so far as to grab food with their hands and devour it like Jia Zhangshi did, leaving the whole table in a whirlwind.

It's best to keep these things to yourself; saying them out loud is embarrassing, but keeping them to yourself is also frustrating.

The group shook their heads inwardly, put down their wine glasses, picked up some food with their chopsticks, and stopped looking at Jia Zhangshi's table.

Yi Zhonghai took a couple of sips of wine, put down his glass, and as if remembering something, turned to look at Liu Shuanzhu, his tone tentative: "Old Liu, you're retired now, why doesn't Yuheng invite you two to live with him? His house is so big, it would be great for you to go and enjoy your retirement. Who in the neighborhood doesn't envy you for having such a successful son?"

Liu Shuanzhu was just about to put a piece of food in his mouth when he heard this. He swallowed the food and then slowly said, "Yu Heng said that we should move there. I discussed it with Xiuhe and we didn't agree. His compound is now full of generals and ministers. I'm just a cook. I don't know what I would do there. I would feel very uncomfortable."

He paused, put down his cup, and continued, "It's quite nice staying here in the courtyard. I know all the neighbors, and I can easily find someone to play chess with or chat with whenever I go out. I'm familiar with everyone. If I really went to Yuheng's place, I would be wandering around the courtyard alone, unable to find anyone to talk to. That would be truly miserable."

The people at the main table all curled their lip after hearing this.

Everyone knew that Liu Shuanzhu was being honest, but he could only say that if he had a choice. If it were them, and they had a minister's son who had prepared a house for them in the North City compound, they would be happy to live there, let alone serve him tea and water every day.

But Liu Shuanzhu refused to go, and that's where his confidence came from. They didn't need it, so he could choose.

A brief silence fell over the main table; no one spoke. Liu Shuanzhu picked up his glass, gestured towards Liu Haizhong beside him, and said casually, "Alright, let's not talk about this anymore. Guangqi is getting married today; it's a big deal. Come on, Haizhong, let me toast you again. Congratulations on becoming a father-in-law!"

Liu Haizhong was amused by his remark, raised his glass and clinked it with his. The two of them took a sip, thus ending the subtle silence that had just passed.

The table became lively again, chopsticks started moving again, wine glasses were raised again, and the laughter and clatter of bowls and chopsticks from the tables in the middle courtyard mingled together, continuing the festive atmosphere of the wedding.

At Wang Xiuhe's table, several middle-aged women were sitting together, and most of their bowls and plates were already empty. The commotion at Jia Zhangshi's table could be heard even through two tables, but the people on this side didn't bother to look over there.

Liu Haizhong's wife glanced at Liu Tingting several times before finally putting down her chopsticks. She moved closer to Wang Xiuhe and said with a warm smile, "Sister-in-law Wang, your Tingting is nineteen this year, right? This girl is getting more and more beautiful. She's grown taller than she was two years ago, and her features have become more defined. Shouldn't you be looking for a partner? Has anyone proposed marriage yet?"

The moment she said that, the table fell silent.

Jia Zhangshi's table was bustling with activity. Jia Zhangshi was reaching for the last piece of braised pork when she heard the words "look at each other." Her hand paused in mid-air, and her ears perked up. Yan Bugui's wife at that table also turned her head. Qin Huairu looked up at them briefly, then quickly looked down again.

The entire courtyard seemed to fall silent for a moment. Several gazes came from different directions, landing on Liu Tingting before quickly shifting away, pretending to look at someone or something next to her.

The middle-aged women and young wives present were all thinking rapidly.

Some families have sons of marriageable age, some have brothers, and some have relatives of suitable age on their mother's side. Even if not, there are always one or two young men of similar age in the families of their aunts and uncles. If they could fall in love with Liu Tingting, wouldn't that be like becoming relatives with Liu Yuheng?

Look at the current state of Liu Erhe's family. Liang Fangfang is officially working at the supply and marketing cooperative. Liu Erhe has a brand-new Phoenix bicycle. Liu Yixuan is wearing clean new clothes. Even the milk powder that Liu Qingyan drank when she was a child—wasn't all of that given by Liu Yuheng?

Liu Yuheng treats Liu Er and his younger brother so well, how could he possibly treat his only sister, Liu Tingting, badly? If any family were to marry Liu Tingting, wouldn't they be tied to the Liu family from then on? Liu Yuheng could easily offer a huge benefit.