Courtyard House: Starting with a 28-inch motorcycle

"You too, feel free to contact me anytime if you need anything."

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhang Tianyang turned his car around and drove away. He Yuzhu stood there, took a deep breath, and walked towards the courtyard house.

The factories will be closing for the holidays the day after tomorrow, and every household is already busy preparing for the New Year. As soon as the New Year's greetings are issued, they will rush to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy meat coupons and grain and oil. The festive atmosphere has already quietly crept up the walls of the alleyways.

The moment he stepped into the courtyard, the front yard erupted in chaos.

"Pillar?! You're back?"

An auntie stared wide-eyed, almost dropping her shopping basket. Back then, He Yuzhu disappeared without a word, and even Yushui rarely showed up. Many people secretly speculated that he had gotten into trouble and been invited for "tea."

It was only after Director Wang personally came to the hospital to reassure them that he was on a business trip, which finally quelled the rumors. But privately, everyone was still suspicious, and all sorts of speculations never stopped—where exactly was he sent? Why had he been out of contact for months?

Now that they were standing right in front of them, they were all stunned.

"Yes, I came back as soon as the mission over there was over." He Yuzhu nodded lightly.

He had no interest in putting on a sentimental show with these neighbors, but he also didn't need to flip the table the moment he walked in. As long as they behaved themselves and didn't stir up trouble, he wouldn't bother to intervene.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, he walked straight to his own courtyard in Zhongyuan.

As soon as they left, the front yard erupted in a flurry of chatter.

He Yuzhu couldn't be bothered to listen to these idle gossips. Upon entering the central garden, he first scanned his three rooms—the doors and windows were intact, and no one had tampered with them.

"Pillar? You're really back?"

A familiar voice came from behind him. He turned around and saw Qin Huairu leading Xiao Dang and Yi Zhiliang, just coming out of an old lady's house.

She smoothed a stray hair behind her ear and explained, "An older woman went to buy groceries, so I'm watching over Zhiliang for her..."

"No need to explain, I don't care."

He Yuzhu spoke calmly, taking out a key from the Life Acceleration Space and clicking the door open to enter the house.

The room was a bit dusty, but much cleaner than I expected, clearly indicating that someone comes in to clean regularly.

He quickly found a broom and a rag, rolled up his sleeves, and began to clean up.

"Oh right, I haven't bought the coal yet... If I go now, the good coal will probably be all gone, leaving only ash."

He Yuzhu had just finished his work when a thought suddenly flashed through his mind—the coal supply for winter was still unresolved. At this critical juncture, everyone else had already stocked up on coal, and he had only just returned, so he could only scavenge the leftover scraps. He either had to make coal briquettes himself or hire someone to do it.

The bad thing is that he only got home today.

"Brother He, you're back! Do you need any help?"

Two voices came from the doorway. He Yuzhu turned around and saw that it was the two boys from the Wang family. They probably had just come back from carrying wood outside. They were covered in dust and hadn't even had time to change their clothes.

"Hey, if your dad sees you dressed like that, he'll beat you to a pulp."

He Yuzhu grinned, turned and went into the house, took out two boxes of snacks he had brought back from Hong Kong Island, and handed them to the two brothers along with the coal certificate and money: "I have something I need you to do. I might have to go out today, and I'm not sure if I'll be back. When Uncle Wang comes back, please buy me two hundred catties of coal. These snacks are for your family to try."

The Wang brothers accepted the coal certificate and money, but pushed the snacks back, saying seriously, "Brother He, my father said that helping you is the right thing to do, you can't take anything..."

"Yes, we don't want to!"

He Yuzhu frowned and forcefully shoved the pastries back at him: "This is a New Year's gift, you have to accept it! If you get beaten up, just say I forced you to give it to me, I'll take the blame if the sky falls!"

The two boys carefully took the task, their faces finally relaxing, and they quickly asked if there was anything else they could do. But He Yuzhu had already finished tidying up and had nothing to assign them, so he smiled and asked them to tell him how things were at home lately.

Nothing major happened in the courtyard. His biggest worry was when he could finally have some meat. Although He Yuzhu's departure had deprived Old Wang of a channel to sell his wood carvings, his skills remained, and he could still earn a little over thirty yuan a month, enough to support himself and his three children.

Besides, they had already dropped out of school. It wasn't that they couldn't afford the tuition; they were simply hopeless at studying and consistently ranked at the bottom of their class. Old Wang had also pondered He Yuzhu's words and thought it best to have them learn carving from him. At least they would learn a trade, which would be better than wasting their time at school.

As for other trivial matters in the courtyard, the two teenagers had no way of knowing. He Yuzhu rubbed their heads and waved for them to go home.

As it was almost time to leave work, he took out his bicycle, intending to buy some New Year's goods to deliver to Bai Danyu's house.

When he returned to the factory, Director Zhang secretly slipped him an envelope. When he opened it, wow! It contained everything: cigarette coupons, alcohol coupons, snack coupons, candy coupons, milk powder coupons, and the most outrageous item was meat coupons, weighing a full thirty jin!

These days, even Director Yang would be envious of this kind of treatment. The whole country is strapped for cash; who can afford to be so generous?

But in terms of contribution, He Yuzhu brought back 8,000 tons of meat, so this reward is really nothing.

At the supply and marketing cooperative, he didn't hold back: a pound of milk candy, two pounds of peanuts and melon seeds, two cans of milk powder, and five pounds of pork, three pounds of which were spare ribs—a pot of braised spare ribs, so fragrant it could lift the roof off. Other New Year's goods were also packed in, enough for Bai Danyu's family to have a very rich and delicious New Year.

After all, he had taken care of He Yushui for more than half a year, and he deserved to repay that kindness.

When he pushed his cart out of the supply and marketing cooperative, it was covered with goods on all sides, looking just like a small New Year's goods stall. Passersby stared in amazement.

Even dual-income families wouldn't dare to spend so lavishly.

He Yuzhu, however, was quite frank. All the receipts and documents were complete and properly documented, and had been specially approved by Director Zhang of the Ministry of Foreign Trade. He told anyone who wanted to report him to go ahead.

The factory's closing bell had long since rung. After a moment's thought, he decided to take the direct route and head straight for Bai Danyu's house. He figured He Yushui would have already gone home from school by now, so he wouldn't need to pick her up.

"The rain is back? Just a moment, dinner will be ready soon!"

Hearing the door open, Bai Danyu called out without turning around. He Yushui put down her schoolbag, turned around, and rushed into the kitchen: "Sister Bai, let me lend a hand."

He had been cooking for a long time, and He Yuzhu had taught him a few times before, so his skills were not bad. Compared with Bai Danyu, he was evenly matched.

Beside the stove, he suddenly asked softly:

"Sister Bai, will my brother... come back for the Chinese New Year?"

He Yushui kneaded the dough, her fingertips covered in snow-white flour, and spoke softly with her head down. She had been living at Bai Danyu's house for half a year, and life wasn't bad, but with the end of the year approaching, she hadn't seen any of her relatives, and a wave of bitterness of being forgotten inevitably rose in her heart.

While chopping vegetables, Bai Danyu gently advised, "Don't overthink it, Yushui. How could Zhuzi forget you? You're so clever; he dotes on you more than anything..."

Boom boom boom!

Suddenly, several knocks on the door interrupted the conversation. Bai Danyu was startled, frowned, and muttered, "Who could it be so late at night?" She put down the kitchen knife. "Yushui, I'll go open the door. Your hands are dirty."

"Who is it?" she asked as she opened the door, but froze on the spot for the next second.

The person standing at the door, travel-worn but with a bright smile, was none other than He Yuzhu.

Her heart skipped a beat, and a surge of joy exploded within her. She almost rushed forward to embrace him, but when she saw that his hands were full of things, she stopped herself in her tracks. The tips of her ears turned slightly red, and she wondered why she had lost control.

"Rain! Bai Ying! Come out and see who it is!" she shouted, her voice trembling.

The kitchen door burst open with a bang, and He Yushui rushed out with wet hands. The moment she saw him, tears welled up in her eyes, and she threw herself at him, hugging him tightly, sobbing, "Brother! Why did you take so long to come back?!"

"It's my fault, it's my fault. Things over there dragged on for too long and caused delays." He Yuzhu patted his sister's back gently and coaxed her softly. After she calmed down, he carried all the things he had brought onto the table at once—but one table wasn't enough to hold them all, so he simply piled them up on the floor as well.

"Sister Bai, Yushui, come here, come here, look what good stuff I brought!"

Everything she needed to eat, drink, and wear was provided. The supply and marketing cooperative had bought her pastries, sausages, and canned goods, as well as a light pink dress and a pair of cute little leather shoes specially chosen for He Yushui.

He Yushui's eyes lit up, and she grabbed the new clothes and ran into the house, saying, "I'll try them on!"

As soon as the room quieted down, He Yuzhu turned to Bai Danyu and said with a smile, "Sister Bai, these are all New Year's goods. Thank you for taking care of Yushui all this time. You've worked so hard."

"Don't thank me for my trouble, you're the one wasting money!" Bai Danyu complained, but her eyes betrayed her heartache. "So many things, how much did they cost? Rainwater isn't a stranger, why did you have to spend so much..."

Before she could finish speaking, Bai Ying secretly opened a box of pastries and was about to put it in her mouth when Bai Danyu snatched it away with lightning speed: "Put it away! Eat it during the New Year!"

"Waaah..." The little girl pouted, about to cry.

Seeing this, He Yuzhu laughed and opened another box, handing it over: "Take this and eat it, don't let the child suffer." He casually pulled an envelope out of his pocket and waved it, "Look, I have more coupons than I can use. I only spent one-fifth of what I needed to buy this today! I'll take care of all your New Year's goods this year."

Bai Danyu glared at him, then gently patted his arm: "Even if you have money, you can't waste it like this! Keep it safe!" With that, she neatly folded the envelope, stuffed it back into his pocket, and pressed it twice to make sure it wouldn't fall out.

He Yuzhu felt a warmth in his heart. His gaze fell on her slightly haggard face, and his tone softened immediately: "Sister Bai, you've lost weight... Has the factory been very busy lately?"

He took out several boxes of exquisitely packaged skincare products from the bag and solemnly handed them over: "These are from Hong Kong Island, face cream and hand cream. Take them and use them, don't be stingy. I'll come back often in the future and bring you more."

"This is too precious..." Bai Danyu's heart warmed, but she declined, "No, you should keep it and exchange it for something else."

"Don't talk so much." He Yuzhu stuffed it into her hand without saying a word. Their fingers touched accidentally. Bai Danyu's cheeks flushed slightly and her fingertips trembled slightly. In the end, she did not push it away.

"Okay, okay, I'll take it..."