Courtyard House: Starting with a 28-inch motorcycle

After saying that, she pulled the little one into the house, leaving Qin Huairu standing there, her hands dripping wet clothes, her mind blank.

A moment later, she snapped back to reality, hurriedly gathered the unfinished laundry, and rushed back to the Jia family home—the Yi family's help was crucial. Although Yi Zhonghai was gone, an older woman had recently brought ten jin of cornmeal to help in an emergency.

Now that Yi Zhiliang has joined the family, will the Jia family still have any food to eat?

Before long, Jia Dongxu couldn't sit still any longer. He lingered at the door, not daring to force his way in, and cautiously asked, "Auntie, do you need any help?"

Not only his family, but also the neighbors in the front and back yards who heard the commotion became interested and came to inquire. Even the deaf old lady, who usually had "selective hearing loss," got out of bed with her cane and came to visit in person.

The He siblings had already finished dinner. He Yushui was leaning over the table listening to the Russian channel on the radio, learning a foreign language in advance.

It was noisy outside. She turned her head and asked, "Brother, why is it so noisy outside?"

"What else can we do but watch the show? An old lady brought a kid back." He Yuzhu didn't even look up, his carving knife flying as he carved a pair of wooden birds. "It has nothing to do with us."

"Oh..." He Yushui responded, turned up the volume, and continued to study her Russian.

Recently, Lao Wang also started learning carving from He Yuzhu. At first, he could only carve cats and dogs, selling them to the children in the alley for five cents each, just for fun.

The advantage lies in speed; one can produce about ten items a day. Little by little, one can earn nearly a dollar a day just from these little gadgets.

Once his skills improve, the family income will be more stable. He Yuzhu advised him to quit his job carrying heavy loads and focus on honing his skills—earning a living through skill is much better than relying on physical labor.

Moreover, if the two younger ones in the Wang family really can't concentrate on their studies, they could simply learn wood carving. Studying is certainly good, but these two kids simply can't sit still. They're not afraid of being beaten or scolded; they can just sit there watching He Yuzhu carve for an hour without moving.

Rather than waiting a few years to be sent to the countryside before finishing high school, it's better to learn a real skill early on so you won't starve wherever you go in the future.

Old Wang listened to He Yuzhu's every word. Even without selling his wood carvings, the family still earned more than twenty yuan a month; if you add the share of the carvings they received, they could easily earn fifty or sixty yuan, which would definitely be considered top-tier income in the courtyard.

If the two boys really succeed in wood carving, Old Wang has decided to sell everything he owns to open a wood carving factory for them!

On the other side, the Yi family.

As soon as the deaf old lady entered the door, an older woman immediately persuaded the neighbors who had been watching the commotion outside to leave: "Everyone, disperse. We'll be handing out candy tomorrow, so let's share in the joy."

After saying that, he turned around and went to fetch a few kettles of water, preparing to boil some hot water for Yi Zhiliang to take a good bath.

The deaf old lady stood by the bed, sizing up Yi Zhiliang. The more she looked at him, the more she thought he was a good boy, but she knew in her heart that he was not the kind of son Yi Zhonghai was thinking of.

After the older woman finished wiping Yi Zhiliang's body, she quickly pulled her aside and whispered, "Shufen, why did you suddenly bring a child back? Does Xiao Yi know about this?"

"I don't know yet. It was my own decision." The woman said calmly, "After Lao Yi passed away, I was all alone, with no hope at all. Adopting one is a way to keep the Yi family line alive."

As she spoke, she glanced back at the little figure on the bed, a smile playing on her lips: "I fell in love with him at first sight. If Old Yi knew, I doubt he'd object."

The deaf old woman sighed inwardly—what could she do even if she objected? The person couldn't come back.

"But we still need to talk to Xiao Yi about this. After all, he's the head of the household. What if you two hurt each other's relationship because of the children?"

Upon hearing this, the smile on the middle-aged woman's face slowly faded, but her voice became even more steady: "If Lao Yi doesn't agree... then I'll support myself. I'll make a few more matchboxes and a few more shoe soles, enough for Zhiliang and me to survive."

The deaf old woman was startled; she realized that this woman was determined to raise the child.

Now that things had come to this, she had no other choice but to grit her teeth and ask again, "Shufen, where is Xiaoyi now? Should I write him a letter? If he disagrees, I can try to persuade him..."

An older woman shook her head: "Grandma, I don't know where he is. If we really want to write a letter, we can only do it through the neighborhood committee, and only family members can do that..."

The meaning is clear: only she can contact Yi Zhonghai. Anyone else? Not a chance.

The deaf old lady was silent for a moment, then finally waved her hand: "Alright, you go ahead and do your work. It's getting late, I'm going back to rest."

She turned and walked away, leaning on her cane, without asking again whether it was He Yuzhu's idea. The person had been brought back and registered, but the key was that they still couldn't be contacted—asking would be pointless.

After she left, the older woman looked at Yi Zhiliang sleeping soundly on the bed and thought she needed to find some clothes for him to wear. Although she said she would go to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy new clothes tomorrow, she couldn't let the child stay in bed naked tomorrow morning. The old clothes she had were so worn out that they couldn't be patched, and wouldn't even be good enough to be thrown in the corner as a rag.

She thought for a moment, put a few coins in her pocket, and headed straight for Old Wang's house in the backyard.

In the courtyard, the only families with children of similar age were the Yan family, the Jia family, and the Wang family. The first two families couldn't speak freely; Jia Dongxu had just come by, and his expression was clearly off.

That leaves only Old Wang.

Not long after, an older woman returned, carrying a clean set of clothes. Old Wang was a simple-minded man; if it were a troublemaker like Yi Zhonghai coming to his door, he would have kicked him out without a word. But when an older woman came to ask for help, he gave her his own child's old clothes without hesitation.

A few days later, He Yuzhu was inspecting hygiene in the steel rolling mill canteen, watching Ma Hua practice his knife skills.

Suddenly, a clear shout came from the doorway:

"Pillar!"

He turned around and saw Bai Danyu.

He immediately told MCA, "Practice cutting the way I told you, don't be lazy."

He finished speaking and turned to walk towards Bai Danyu. Only after they had left the cafeteria did he speak, "Sister Bai, what's up?"

Bai Danyu began, "Zhu Zi, my dad hasn't been feeling well lately. We saw an old traditional Chinese medicine doctor who said he needs to drink ginseng soup for a long time to regulate his body. But it's so precious, my brother and the others have been trying to buy it but haven't been able to, so..."

Before he could finish speaking, He Yuzhu nodded and said, "Sister Bai, stop talking and come to my office."

Having said that, he turned and left, with Bai Danyu following closely behind. Once inside, using the table as cover, He Yuzhu flicked his fingers, and two plump ginseng roots immediately slid out of his pocket and landed steadily in his palm.

"These two are about eight years old. Please take them back for your uncle. If that's not enough, I can find another way."

He casually grabbed a piece of cloth, quickly wrapped it up, and handed it over.

Bai Danyu was stunned. She hadn't expected He Yuzhu to hand over two top-grade ginseng roots without even blinking. A surge of warmth welled up in her heart, and she quickly said, "Zhuzi, how much do these cost? I'll ask my family to scrape together some money..."

"It's just a few dollars, Sister Bai, you're making things awkward by mentioning money." He Yuzhu interrupted with a smile, "You really want to thank me? Just bring some more of that tea from last time."

Without saying a word, he shoved the cloth bag into her hand.

"Then... I won't stand on ceremony with you." Bai Danyu's eyes welled up with tears as she said softly, "Thank you, Zhuzi."

She knew in her heart that her father desperately needed this medicine. He had collapsed from exhaustion and been hospitalized recently, stubbornly refusing to use his family connections to get a special supply—after all, they were in the Ministry of Health, and if they really wanted to ask, they might be able to get it. But the old man was stubborn, preferring to endure the pain rather than rely on the influence of those in power.

As a result, the two sons of the Bai family, despite having connections, were constrained at every turn and were unable to buy a single decent ginseng.

She was truly desperate, so she remembered that He Yuzhu often tinkered with medicinal herbs and might have some expertise. She decided to give it a try and ask him. Little did she know that this question would lead her to a stroke of incredible luck.

After get off work, He Yuzhu picked up He Yushui from the middle school as usual. On the way back to the courtyard, he caught sight of Li Wangcai at the street corner and made a gesture without making a sound.

After returning home and putting down his bicycle, he changed his bag and quietly returned.

He didn't stop as he passed the street corner, heading straight for the back alley of an abandoned old house in the west of the city. He had barely settled in the shady corner when Li Wangcai followed like a ghost, grinning, "Boss He—"

"Stop." He Yuzhu waved his hand. "Just call me junior brother. 'Boss' sounds creepy."

Li Wangcai chuckled and immediately changed his tune: "Junior Brother He, that ginseng from last time sold, and the market is much better than expected! As soon as I let the word out, several buyers were already asking about it. I heard there's still some in stock, and they all want to place more orders..."

As he spoke, he pulled out a small piece of the cut-off "small yellow croaker" from his pocket, weighing about ten grams.

The official price of gold is now 20 yuan per gram, but on the black market it has already soared to over 30 yuan. He was selling ginseng for 300 yuan a piece, so naturally he couldn't exchange it for gold at the official price; in the end, he only got this much.

He Yuzhu took the gold, weighed it in his hand, and handed it to the other party after taking out fifteen yuan. As for how much Li Wangcai sold it for or how much he made, he didn't care—he would buy it for a flat three hundred yuan.

"My brothers and I have made a lot of connections, and this time the client just asked for ten..."

"Ten?" Before he could finish speaking, He Yuzhu had already taken a cloth bag from his satchel and handed it over. "Fifteen sticks inside, is that enough? How long will it take to get them out?"

Li Wangcai lifted a corner of the lid, his eyes immediately lighting up, his voice barely containing his excitement: "Seven days! Seven days at the latest! Junior Brother He, shall we meet at the usual place then?"

"Right here," He Yuzhu said calmly. "I'll be waiting for you in the back alley at this hour seven days from now."

He turned and left after saying that, his back view clean and decisive.

"Danyu, where did you get this ginseng?"

At home, Bai Weizhong examined the two ginseng roots repeatedly, his brows furrowed, before finally asking a question.

Bai Danyu's heart skipped a beat. Her first thought was: Something's wrong? But then she thought, Zhu Zi wouldn't cheat her. So she calmly replied, "I bought it from a friend. What's wrong?"

"Bought it?" Bai Weizhong's eyes narrowed. "Where did you get the money?"