Courtyard House: Starting with a 28-inch motorcycle

"That's right." He laughed. "Why are you being so polite with me?" He paused, then glanced at the pot on the stove. "Are you cooking? Leave it to me. You put everything away first, hide the meat where it should be hidden, and put the sugar where it should be added."

The winter nights were cold, and the food was not afraid of spoiling, but He Yuzhu brought so much meat that it was enough for the family to eat to their hearts' content for half a month.

He rolled up his sleeves and was about to go into the kitchen when Bai Danyu suddenly called out from behind him, "Apron! Tie it on, don't get your clothes dirty."

"Hey, Sister Bai is so thoughtful." He turned around and smiled.

"Stop being so glib!" Bai Danyu scolded lightly, but the corners of her mouth unconsciously turned up.

Bai Danyu gently nudged He Yuzhu, who grinned and turned to disappear into the kitchen. Before leaving, he didn't forget to cut off a pound of pork belly, half a pound for braised dishes, and half a pound for stir-fries, his movements as nimble as an old shopkeeper.

The knife slammed down on the cutting board with a crisp, clean "thump-thump," and within minutes, the room was filled with a delicious aroma—the smoky scent of oil, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar wafted into people's noses, making their mouths water.

He Yushui, dressed in new clothes, skipped and hopped out to show them off. As soon as He Yuzhu returned, her little temper vanished instantly, replaced by a smile sweeter than candy.

Two meat dishes, two vegetable dishes, and a soup were all served in the blink of an eye. Bai Danyu also specially opened three bottles of drinks—ginseng and fruit drinks that He Yuzhu brought back from Hong Kong Island. They were brand new, without even a label, and their place of origin was a mystery.

He Yuzhu brought this back as a gift, and he had stockpiled quite a few in his space. Even if someone saw it, they would at most guess that it was some trendy new drink that had suddenly appeared, and they would never think that it had anything to do with Hong Kong Island.

But when he noticed that Bai Danyu had only opened one bottle for Bai Ying, while leaving her own untouched, he immediately spoke up to stop her, saying, "Sister Bai, don't give this drink to the child, and even avoid rainwater at night. This is a potent energy drink to boost energy and combat fatigue; drinking it will make you stay awake until dawn."

"Oh dear, I really didn't know. Little Ying, don't drink it, Auntie will get you a bowl of hot soup."

Bai Danyu took the drink back as she spoke. The little girl's face fell, and her little mouth pouted so much it could hold an oil bottle.

"Come here, Uncle will spoil you. This fattest and most fragrant piece of braised pork is specially saved for you."

He Yuzhu reacted swiftly, placing a piece of glistening, oily meat steadily into Bai Ying's bowl, successfully diverting attention in an instant. Meanwhile, He Yushui had already clutched her own bottle to her chest, afraid her brother would confiscate it at any moment.

She had taken a sip earlier; it was sweet and refreshing, even more intoxicating than Arctic Ocean soda, and she simply couldn't stop eating it.

"Sister Bai, don't be shy, eat more." He Yuzhu put some meat on her plate while casually asking, "By the way, how's the washing machine factory doing?"

Bai Danyu straightened her expression: "It's alright, it's on the right track. The two workshops can produce ninety units a month, but there are too few skilled workers. If everything goes smoothly next year, doubling the output shouldn't be a problem. But to go any further, we'll have to expand the factory; we're already at our limit."

"Don't worry, we'll definitely expand." He Yuzhu nodded. "The leadership has set a target of 2,000 units for next year, but at the current pace, we can't keep up. Expansion is inevitable."

He paused, then added, "If we don't do the outer casing ourselves and outsource it, the progress will be even faster."

Bai Danyu looked at him, her tone becoming more serious: "In the end, I have to thank you, Zhuzi. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have become the deputy factory director."

He Yuzhu waved his hand and laughed nonchalantly: "With your abilities, it's only a matter of time. What does it have to do with me?"

After a moment of silence, she suddenly asked softly, "Zhu Zi... are you leaving again next year?"

"It's hard to say, I'll most likely have to make another trip." He Yuzhu narrowed his eyes. "They're taking off right now, so I'll have to go back and forth quite a bit..."

Before she could finish speaking, He Yushui's face immediately fell. Bai Danyu didn't say anything, but she also felt uneasy.

But things in Hong Kong really can't be delayed. This time, 8,000 tons of meat were just transported back, relieving the urgent need in the mainland. Next year, we'll need to continue hauling supplies. If Mr. Lou buys another cargo ship of nearly 10,000 tons, one trip could last a year.

These matters required He Yuzhu's personal oversight. Simply securing access to the Hong Kong Island Coast Guard checkpoints wasn't enough; the real challenge lay with the undercurrents on the Taiwanese side.

Moreover, the Zhenghe Group's beverage factory, winery, and He's boxing gym all rely on him.

If he were to abandon his responsibilities, Lou's father alone couldn't manage the situation. Unless Lou's mother were to take charge—she could handle most of it, having helped manage the business before liberation—then ultimately, the boxing gym would still depend on him.

The meal lasted a long time, and all four dishes and one soup were completely devoured. Bai Danyu and He Yushui hadn't tasted this authentic cooking in a long time, and even though it was just home-style food, they were very satisfied, their mouths and teeth lingering with delight.

After dinner, it was already late. Bai Danyu said with a hint of embarrassment, "Zhuzi, it's too late, I won't keep you any longer..."

Her family only had two rooms. Originally, He Yushui had one room, and she and her daughter had another. Now that He Yuzhu had come, there wasn't enough room for them to sleep in the living room.

"Okay, my place is all set up too." He Yuzhu stood up, her tone natural. "Sister Bai, I'll come see you again in a few days."

"Rain, time to go home."

"Yeah, bro."

He Yushui sprang up like a carp, and before her toes even touched the ground, she excitedly rushed outside—there were no relatives in the courtyard, and she couldn't be bothered to go back and suffer. Apart from occasionally sneaking over to the Lou family to mooch some candy from Lou Xiao'e, she was too lazy to even step over the threshold of the courtyard.

He Yuzhu pedaled his old-fashioned bicycle back with her on the back. The wheels rolled over the thin frost as he asked, "Yushui, when I wasn't there, who dared to give you the cold shoulder?"

"Who would dare!" she laughed, swinging her leg. "Sister Bai protects me more than her own eyes, and my classmates fawn over me. I'm always either first or second—and even that second place is intentionally let on!"

He Yuzhu's throat relaxed: "I'll get my marriage certificate with Lou Xiao'e after the New Year. You're in the second year of junior high now. After you graduate from junior high, I'll give you a Phoenix brand bicycle—the kind with gears, a bell, and rearview mirrors."

(She rides her bike like she's on stilts now, her legs can't reach the pedals. In another year, when her waistline straightens, the wind will be able to carry her away.)

"Pinky promise! If you go back on your word, you're a puppy!"

"No backing out—the watch will be included too, a Shanghai brand all-steel shockproof model. But the condition is that your grades can't drop out of the top three. If you drop one place, the watch chain will be cut first."

"Leave it to me!" She tossed her chin up, her eyes shining brightly. "I'm a top student personally monitored by Bai Danyu, remotely supervised by He Yuzhu, and even my draft paper is folded according to grades!"

I entered the courtyard around eight o'clock. The courtyard was already so quiet that only the clicking of the door knocker could be heard. It was cold; who would be out there shivering and gossiping?

A hundred or so shiny black coal briquettes were piled up neatly in front of the He family's door, forming a small mountain. He Yuzhu glanced at them and knew immediately: Old Wang had done it. He figured Old Wang had just returned to Beijing and was worried that the coal in his stove would freeze into icicles, so he had carried half a warehouse full of coal over the night to store it.

—Anyway, the coal plant will restock as soon as it opens tomorrow morning.

"Give me the stove." He picked up the fire tongs. "In ten minutes, the house will be warm enough to steam buns."

(Hisself? Ha, he's so energetic he could roast a sweet potato; even in winter, when he goes out in just a thin shirt, his breath seems to carry sparks.)

Only when the fire crackled and glowed red, and the warmth seeped through the cracks in the bricks, did he turn and go back into the house.

He tossed and turned three times, unable to fall asleep. With a swipe of his finger, the system interface popped up—

[Proficiency System]

[Host: He Yuzhu]

[Skills Bar]

Cooking Skills (Max Level, Off the Charts)

家务｜俄语｜英语｜钓鱼｜形意拳｜木工｜医术｜农学｜太极｜机械维修｜围棋｜八极拳｜八卦掌｜电工（满级）｜射击（满级）｜按摩｜古董鉴赏（四级·326/800）｜酿酒（四级·112/800）｜金融（二级·17/200）｜洪拳（四级·112/800）

[Vitality Acceleration Space (Unlocked): 204800 m³]

In the past few months on Hong Kong Island, he had no time to level up—it was all about hard work: while his father expanded the territory, he cleaned up the mess, plugged loopholes, and established rules. He should have mastered Hung Kuen quickly, but meetings, reports, and cargo ship scheduling at 3 a.m. left him only with fragmented time; he learned brewing and finance by studying on the job, especially finance, which grew slower than a snail, but at least he understood how candlestick charts bite and how futures contracts fleece investors.

If Lou Xiao'e's wedding date hadn't been so tightly scheduled, Lou's father would never have let her go—the Zhenghe Group was growing rapidly, and taking him away would be like removing his backbone. The old man didn't say anything, but secretly he even took two extra blood pressure pills.

……

The next morning, He Yuzhu squatted by the pond in the central garden, scooping water to wash his face; his eyelashes were frosted with cold. Neighbors peeked out and saw him, greeting him with smiles.

"Zhu Zi is back?"

"Wow, that energy! Did you get it from soaking in the seawater of Hong Kong Island?"

He Yuzhu responded. Although he was only so-so with most people in the courtyard, he couldn't be rude since they had greeted him, so he just casually replied.

When Qin Huairu greeted him in the morning, he pretended not to hear her at all, brushed his teeth, and immediately slipped away without even giving her a glance.

"Zhu Zi, I didn't have time to haul the coal briquettes yesterday, so I'll haul them back for you today."

As soon as Lao Wang heard that He Yuzhu had returned, he immediately came to his door to discuss the matter.

"Oh, was that pile of coal you left there last night? Thank you, Uncle Wang! Take a lot back with you today, so the three little ones don't get cold."

He Yuzhu grinned and casually pulled out a whole pack of Zhonghua cigarettes and stuffed it into his hand.

Old Wang waved his hands repeatedly: "No, no! It's just a small favor, why are you making such a fuss?"

"Oh, I'm getting married soon, and I'll be troubling you a lot from now on. I'd feel bad if you didn't accept this—consider it a wedding gift, please take it!"

Having said all that, further refusal would be pretentious. Old Wang chuckled and accepted the cigarette, offering his congratulations: "Alright, then I won't stand on ceremony! Congratulations, Zhu Zi! Just call me anytime if you need anything, I'll be there in a heartbeat!"

"Thank you in advance, Uncle Wang, we're not being polite!" He Yuzhu replied with a smile.

He turned around and went into the kitchen to prepare breakfast for He Yushui. His younger sister was still in junior high school and wouldn't start her holiday until tomorrow, so he had to personally deliver it to her today.

After He Yushui finished eating and went to school, He Yuzhu packed several gifts, tied them to his bicycle, and set off.

The courtyard became lively as soon as he left.

They chattered amongst themselves, but the topic always circled back to the young people in the courtyard. Although many of them disliked He Yuzhu and couldn't get anything out of him, they all knew perfectly well that among this generation, Sha Zhu was the most successful. He was even getting married now, and they heard that he was going to marry a young lady from a wealthy family.