Courtyard House: Starting with a 28-inch motorcycle

"I've done nothing wrong, so if you think it's dirty, then don't touch your chopsticks!"

She put the laundry tub down by the sink and turned to go into the kitchen.

Madam Jia stomped her foot in anger: "You little vixen! I haven't even said anything and you're already getting impatient! Dongxu, you'd better keep a close eye on things! Look at these four steamed buns—is this how we eat a meal in our house?"

Four white flour buns, containing at least three or four ounces of refined grains, were hardly something the Jia family could chew on a daily basis.

Jia Dongxu stared at the few steamed buns, his face darkening. This was indeed like a thorn in his heart—if it really was given by his master, that would be fine, but his mother was watching too closely, not allowing even the slightest hint to leak out.

But how did they get four white steamed buns from someone?

Food is as precious as gold right now, and people are reluctant to give away even four coarse grain buns, but Qin Huairu brought back four snow-white and fluffy steamed buns.

"Dongxu, you need to give her a good talking-to..."

"Okay, Mom!"

Jia Dongxu's face darkened as he considered giving Qin Huairu a warning that evening to prevent her from doing anything inappropriate again.

Qin Huairu had just lifted the curtain to go out and start cooking when she bumped into an older woman carrying a lunchbox walking out.

When she mentioned this to Jia Zhangshi yesterday, the old lady pouted and muttered, "So stingy, she only ate two steamed buns..." She looked very unhappy.

The old lady only steamed three buns, and you ate two of them by yourself. No wonder the old man stopped you from delivering food!

Qin Huairu was furious and cursed Jia Zhangshi for being useless, but then she thought about it again—there was Jia Dongxu lying in the house with difficulty walking, and two little kids, Banggeng and Xiaodang, who couldn't be left alone; if Jia Zhangshi were sent away, even the bedpan would have to be brought to the bedside by someone else.

"Auntie, are you bringing food to Uncle? Has Zhiliang eaten yet? How about... coming over to our house for a meal?"

When she came back, she saw that the old lady had just turned off the stove and was now rushing out. Zhiliang was sure no one would care. If she could invite her into the Jia family for a hot meal and try the old lady's cooking, it would be much better than her own boiled cabbage and blackened pickled vegetables.

Back when there were no canteen lunchboxes, the Jia family's meals were always like this—Qin Huairu only had about twenty yuan a month, and she had to be very careful with every penny, not even a drop of oil could be saved.

"No need, Huairu, I just had Zhiliang go to Xiao'e's house for dinner."

The older woman waved her hand with a smile. She could trust Qin Huairu to some extent, given that she had taken care of Zhiliang in the past; but to let Zhiliang step into the Jia family's doorstep? She was a hundred times uneasy.

These past two days, she was helping He Xiao rush to make new clothes, so she shamelessly pleaded with Lou Xiao'e again and again, and finally managed to entrust the child to her.

They didn't even collect any food rations—Lou Xiao'e was too lazy to bother with such a small matter: these days, who comes to a house for a meal without bringing their own food coupons? At most, they'll just get a bowl of vegetable soup.

But the He family was different. Even their cornmeal was finely sifted and dried in the sun. The steamed cornbread they made was soft, fragrant, and sweet. It was even more tempting than the white flour steamed buns from other families.

Hearing this, Qin Huairu's heart skipped a beat, but she still smiled and told the older woman to slow down and watch out for the steps.

Turning back into the house, she tied on her apron and got busy. But as soon as dinner was served, the atmosphere became heavy—Bang Geng, oblivious and unaware, only felt that the steamed buns were soft and didn't scratch his throat, and his mouth was full of saliva as he chewed them; Jia Zhangshi and Jia Dongxu, however, had stern faces, and even Qin Huairu pursed her lips, poking at the food in her bowl with her chopsticks, not touching it for a long time.

After the meal, it was getting dark. Yan Bugui was standing on tiptoe to bolt the door in the front yard when he suddenly saw a cart creaking and groaning as it drove towards the courtyard gate.

"Uncle, don't lock the door yet! Old Yi is back!"

"Sister-in-law, what's wrong... Lao Yi? Why are you being discharged from the hospital so soon? Shouldn't you have rested for a couple more days?"

Yan Bugui was taken aback. His gaze swept over Yi Zhonghai's still bruised cheeks and crooked mouth. He didn't look like he had recovered at all.

"It's nothing serious, go back. There's a lot of work piling up at the factory, this little injury won't hold you back..."

Yi Zhonghai's voice was weak. In fact, the security department only approved his hospitalization for two days. After he paid the compensation, they urged him to leave. If he stayed any longer, he would have to pay out of his own pocket.

Before he could finish speaking, the man pushing the cart, his neck rubbing his hands, said, "Uncle, we've arrived. Could you please pay for the transport?"

The old woman was taken aback and secretly glanced at Yi Zhonghai—she had left empty-handed, without even a penny in her pocket.

Yi Zhonghai was helped to sit up straight before he pulled a crumpled one-yuan bill from his pocket and handed it over.

The man took the money, grinned, turned around, and pushed his cart away.

Yan Bugui watched from the side, clicking his tongue in astonishment: One yuan? It's only a few miles from here to the hospital, and they made it so easily!

"Old Yi, next time there's this 'good thing,' just ask Jie Cheng or Jie Fang to make the trip—they're both quick and agile, much better than Wo Bo!"

Upon hearing this, Yi Zhonghai's wound ripped open, causing his mouth to twitch in pain: What kind of good thing is this? My face is swollen like a steamed bun!

An older woman quickly smoothed things over: "Uncle, Old Yi's cane broke, and he hasn't gotten a new one yet. Would your son be willing to lend a hand?"

"Hey, do we even need to call them? Come on, Lao Yi, let me help you!"

Yan Bugui rushed forward and grabbed Yi Zhonghai's arm. He was not young, and he was panting heavily as he carried Yi Zhonghai; fortunately, the road was short, and the door of the Yi family's house was only a few dozen meters away.

As soon as he settled the person into the house, Yan Bugui rubbed his lower back and sighed, "Oh dear, I'm really getting old! I can't do this kind of work anymore, I can't keep up with you young people, I can't keep up..."

Yi Zhonghai hurriedly said, "Old Yan, thank you very much for today. Go back and rest."

"It's time to rest! I didn't expect that supporting you like this would leave me so exhausted—ouch..."

He complained of being tired, but he didn't move an inch, just stood in the middle of the room rubbing his lower back.

Yi Zhonghai knew perfectly well: this guy was just waiting to get some benefits.

You've only taken a few steps, and you're already thinking about the reward?

He sighed inwardly, then turned to Zhang Shufen and winked: "Get Old Yan an egg, something nourishing."

Upon hearing this, Yan Bugui's eyebrows immediately rose – in those days, eggs were rationed; without a ration coupon, you couldn't even see the eggshell!

"Old Yi, you're so straightforward!"

Clutching the egg, he walked home happily, saying he was tired, but his steps were light: one egg was enough for his whole family to have two full meals.

After Yan Bugui left, Yi Zhonghai strolled to the window, staring at the drafty, broken window, his brows furrowed: "This pane of glass is still hanging there? It's been dragging on for almost half a month, and you're just pretending to be deaf and dumb, too lazy to even open your mouth to ask someone to install a new pane of glass..."

"I have no money, and you haven't given me a single penny. How am I supposed to hire people?"

The middle-aged woman didn't even lift her eyelids, speaking calmly: "The rice bin is empty, the vegetables are almost gone, we need to renew our food rations, and pay for vegetables. If all else fails, we can ask the Jia family for a hand..."

Actually, she had long since given up on running errands for Yi Zhonghai. After Qian Youde and Ma Huaisheng stepped down, Lou Xiao'e helped her get back to making paper boxes, and also introduced her to some odd jobs like sewing bed sheets and altering clothes. Now she earns a steady ten or so yuan a month, and with two city residency permits, she has no worries about food and drink. Why would she bother working for him for free?

In particular, Yi Zhonghai was determined to kick Yi Zhiliang out of the house, even cutting off his food rations. With that kind of ruthlessness, even an old lady couldn't bear to look at him.

If you really need to ask someone to do something, you have to compensate her for the lost work time, otherwise there's no point in talking.

Although the two are currently on the same household registration, they are more distant than neighbors. Yi Zhonghai is well aware of this, but he is unwilling to back down an inch when it comes to getting rid of Yi Zhiliang. However, he is concerned about his reputation and cannot force him to leave. He needs to find a way that is both dignified and leaves no room for criticism.

"Nonsense! Huairu is busy at the factory every day, she's never home. Besides her, who else in the Jia family can we rely on?"

Yi Zhonghai's voice deepened, suppressing his anger: "Qin Huairu works non-stop shifts, I can't wait until Sunday; Jia Dongxu is lame, and Jia Zhangshi? If I stuff money into her hand, she'll probably chew it up before she even leaves the hospital!"

"I have to do odd jobs tomorrow. If you really want me to move glass, I'll give you an extra dollar. If you don't, you can find someone else."

The middle-aged woman was decisive and efficient; she turned away as soon as she finished speaking. This price, so direct and cutting, infuriated Yi Zhonghai, who snapped, "One yuan? Are you crazy? Can you even earn one yuan a day? Zhang Shufen, now you dare to ask me for money?!"

"Fine, if you won't give it to me, go find the Jia family. Anyway, I'll take care of your meals from morning till night."

After saying that, she turned and left. The grain tax had already been divided, and whether or not she got a divorce was no longer of any use to her. In fact, she had wanted to get rid of this mess for a long time, and she hadn't taken Lou Xiao'e's advice to heart at all.

Compared to Yi Zhonghai's stubbornly held onto savings, she believed more that Yi Zhiliang would grow into a fine tree in the future—no matter how tough an eighth-grade fitter was, he couldn't outdo the future prospects of his child.

"Okay, here you go!"

Yi Zhonghai gritted his teeth and forced out three words, then abruptly kicked off his shoes, rolled over and lay down, asking in a muffled voice, "Where's the cane I asked you to bring?"

"Right by the table."

After the woman finished speaking, she left the house without looking back.

As soon as the door closed, Yi Zhonghai's face seemed to be ripped open, his muscles taut and blue, his fists clenched so tightly that his knuckles turned white, and a sentence churning in his mind: "To repel external aggression, first secure internal stability."

He memorized this from listening to the storytelling of "Romance of the Three Kingdoms," and it stuck with him from the start. Later, when he was planning to support Jia Dongxu in his old age, he first focused all his efforts on becoming the "head of the household" in the courtyard, gradually consolidating the entire courtyard into his own domain.

But then He Yuzhu suddenly appeared, barging in and ruining all his plans—now not only is Jia Dongxu crippled, but he himself is also half-limping and has to use crutches to walk.

"This matter absolutely must be done."

He etched those words into his heart, and after much thought, he realized he could only ask the deaf old lady for help!

"Grandma, I've come to see you."

Yi Zhonghai carried the prepared cooked food and had Qin Huairu cook a few hot dishes. He personally carried them to the backyard and entered the deaf old lady's room with a smile.

Instead of asking an older woman to cook, he would help Qin Huairu when she was free, and leave her a couple of bites of food before she left, which guaranteed a few warm words of thanks in return.

"Little Yi, it's been a long time since you've stepped foot on my door..."