Courtyard House: Starting with a 28-inch motorcycle

He muttered under his breath, "Who told you to carry her the whole way..."

"What's it to you if I bring her back? Who did you just call? Say it again if you dare!"

He Yuzhu stepped forward, pushed the handlebars, and drove straight towards them. Yan Jiecheng forgot to empty the trash can in his hand, and turned to crawl into the yard with the can in his arms.

"Pah, you coward!"

Yu Li shook her head inwardly—this cowardly guy wants to pursue her? Even if she's been divorced once, she would never be interested in someone like Yan Jiecheng. Not to mention she has no plans to remarry right now, even if she were to look for someone, it wouldn't be someone from the same courtyard who lives with Xu Damao.

Since Yu Li temporarily stayed at the He family's house, Xu Damao has been returning home less and less often: sometimes he sneaks in late at night and slips away again before dawn; occasionally, you can smell a strong medicinal smell coming from his house, as if he is brewing some kind of bitter soup.

People in the courtyard gossiped privately, saying that Xu Damao was just weak and was forcing himself to drink Chinese medicine to regulate his body. When Yu Li broke off relations with him, she publicly showed him her medical examination report—she was perfectly healthy; he was probably the one to blame for not being able to have children.

After scolding Yan Jiecheng away, He Yuzhu turned and went home. Pushing open the door, he bumped into Lou Xiao'e squatting on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed) teaching He Xiao to read.

The child pouted and kicked his little feet, saying, "I don't want to learn! I want to go outside and run!"

He Yuzhu immediately put on a stern face: "Be a good boy and read the words with Mommy. If you don't study properly, the candy jar will be locked up forever!"

Upon hearing this, He Xiao pouted and was about to wail, but Lou Xiao'e quickly grabbed his cheek, coaxing him while pressing him down to draw a few more strokes.

While the child was writing, He Yuzhu rolled up his sleeves and went into the kitchen, quickly bringing out four steaming hot dishes.

The aroma wafted through the cracks in the wall into the Jia family's house next door, making everyone at the dinner table there look rather listless.

Banggeng sniffed and immediately looked up: "Dad! Mom! I want to eat meat too!"

Qin Huairu was breaking her chopsticks, not even looking up: "End of month, end of month to buy meat, huh?"

The steel mill offers meat as a perk at the end of the month, and she plans to collect an extra portion to bring home.

Bang Geng, however, wouldn't have it, slamming his hand on the table: "No! I want to eat it now! Mom, make it for me right now!"

Qin Huairu slammed the bowl on the table: "Where did we get meat from? This is all we have tonight. I'll make you some stew at the end of the month. Hurry up and eat!"

Banggeng turned and lunged at Jia Zhangshi: "Grandma! I want to eat meat!"

The old woman didn't even lift her eyelids: "My dear grandson, the money for the meat is in your mother's pocket. Grandma doesn't have a single coin on her!"

"No! I won't touch any meat today!"

Before he could finish speaking, with a "smash," he slammed the chopsticks to the ground.

Qin Huairu snapped, "Fine, don't eat then! If you dare throw your chopsticks again, I'll slap you!"

Madam Jia immediately defended her grandson: "Why are you taking your anger out on the child? It's because you can't get the meat yourself that you're taking it out on my eldest grandson!"

She clutched the stick tightly, lowered her voice, and spat, "It's all because of that He family. They're always eating and drinking well, all shiny and healthy, and they just stand by and watch someone die, hogging all the meat! Who knows where they got that meat from? It's filthy!"

Banggeng understood—don't even think about touching any meat today. But Grandma's words, "The He family has lots of delicious food," took root in his mind.

Two days ago at school, he saw a brand new eraser lying in his classmate's pencil case. It was blue with gold trim, and it looked so appealing. While everyone else rushed out to play jump rope, he deliberately lingered a few steps, reached out and grabbed the eraser, stuffing it into his pocket.

Later, the classmate cried and looked for the teacher. The whole class searched high and low, but he had already stuffed the eraser into a crack in the wall. How could they find it?

Feeling a little guilty after returning home, he quietly told Jia Zhangshi. The old lady didn't scold him; instead, she smiled and ruffled his hair, saying, "Good for you! Our eldest grandson thinks highly of him, that's why he took his things—anyway, no one saw, what's there to be afraid of?"

It was Jia Zhangshi's words that, like a spark, quietly ignited the crooked thoughts in Bang Geng's heart—if he didn't have it, he would steal it; as long as no one knew, it wouldn't be a big deal.

闫家

At the dinner table, Yan Jiecheng had a tense face and stiff eyebrows, looking as if someone owed him three bushels of rice.

Taking advantage of Yan Bugui's loss of appetite, Yan Bugui discreetly put the plate of pickled vegetables that had been given to him into his own bowl, chewed it slowly and deliberately, and only asked in a low voice when it was time to clear the dishes: "Boss, why are you looking so listless today?"

Yan Jiecheng's throat moved, but he ultimately didn't mention losing face in front of He Yuzhu, nor did he mention the unpleasant incident of seeing Yu Li coming back in He Yuzhu's car. He only vaguely said "It's nothing," then turned around and went back to his room to lie down.

No sooner had he left than Yan Jiefang and Yan Jiekuang reached out to snatch the remaining half of his cornbread. Yan Jiefang was quick; he grabbed it and swallowed it in a few bites.

Seeing this, Yan Bugui clicked his tongue in distress: "Jiefang! How could you steal your brother's rations? Tomorrow morning you'll be punished by eating half a cornbread less!"

"Excuse me, is this the Peace Orphanage?"

As soon as dawn broke on the weekend, Yi Zhonghai, without telling his family, hobbled to the old place where the old woman had adopted Yi Zhiliang years ago. Fortunately, he had all the paperwork with him, otherwise the old woman would have moved him elsewhere—otherwise, finding him would have been like searching for a needle in a haystack.

"Yes, this is the Peace Orphanage. Sir, what can I do for you?"

When the staff saw that the visitor was using a cane, their expressions relaxed a bit: an old man with mobility issues couldn't cause any trouble, so they casually asked him a question.

"I'm a fitter at the steel rolling mill. This is my work ID." Yi Zhonghai deftly pulled out his ID and handed it over, then continued, "My wife adopted a child here a few years ago. You should remember, right? Today I'd like to inquire about that child's whereabouts..."

"Oh, it's you! I remember now—that level eight fitter who went to support the Northwest! Please come in, please come in!"

Upon hearing this, the staff immediately remembered the past and warmly invited him into the house.

Yi Zhonghai's scandalous affairs never reached this place. In their eyes, he was still the renowned hero of the reconstruction efforts, and naturally, he was treated as an honored guest.

After a few pleasantries, Yi Zhonghai got straight to the point:

"Thank you for your help, comrade. I'm here to investigate Li Nan's background—when he first came to Beijing, did he leave any clues? Like an address, a letter of introduction, or anything like that?"

The other party hesitated for a moment, then nodded and said, "Master Yi, please wait a moment. It's been so long, I need to look through the old files. But the items should still be there; I kept them all myself, and they've never been lost!"

The orphanage has a total of several dozen children, but their family background information is very limited; it can't even fill an old cabinet.

Shortly after, staff members presented Yi Zhonghai with a yellowed letter of introduction and a faded, brittle piece of red string.

"Found it, Master Yi! Oh dear, luckily I remembered this—I even confirmed it with your wife beforehand. But she left in a hurry, afraid of upsetting the children, so she didn't take it. Here, I've kept it for you!"

Yi Zhonghai felt a surge of warmth and almost burst out laughing—his original plan was to only extract some information, then find a family without children, pretend to be a distant relative to take them away; and then give them some money to keep quiet, and that would be a tight cover-up.

To my surprise, there was actually a letter of introduction! A real relative is much more impressive than a makeshift fake one.

He immediately pulled out a brand-new pack of Zhonghua cigarettes and, without saying a word, shoved it into the staff member's hand:

"Oh dear, Master Yi, this won't do! It's such a trivial matter, there's no need for this..."

"You've done me a great favor, I feel so bad for you, comrade! Please accept this—I'm not a heavy smoker!"

He spoke softly to persuade her, while secretly giving her a wink, implying that she should keep the matter to herself. Then, he left satisfied, clutching the letter.

Greater China is extremely valuable these days, and Yi Zhonghai went through many connections to obtain it; it was worth it to get this letter in return.

After leaving the orphanage, he turned into a quiet alley and eagerly opened the letter of introduction:

...Guanghua Subdistrict Office in Beijing. They didn't even write down the house numbers; looks like I'll have to ask door-to-door...

A neighborhood committee office—just hearing the name gives no clues. Unless the neighborhood committee fully cooperates, it would take forever to reach thousands of households by just walking and talking. Besides, whether the people there are even still there is another matter entirely.

Fortunately, Yi Zhonghai still had connections—if he couldn't do it himself, the deaf old lady could! She had been dealing in grain coupons for years, was nimble on her feet, and knew people everywhere.

As long as the person is alive, they will definitely be able to dig them out.

Thinking of this, he smiled and his steps became lighter as he hummed a little tune and strolled home.

He Yuzhu's awards also came down, including both collective honors and individual recognition. In addition to being honored in the newspaper, he also met with leaders along with several other outstanding representatives, receiving material rewards and a shining medal.

The reward wasn't substantial: five hundred yuan plus a few tickets, less than the subsidy he received from the Ministry of Foreign Trade when he transported goods. But this sense of respect was hotter than the money.

The He family was overjoyed. He Yuzhu even asked Leader Wang if he could bring his family members. After receiving permission, the whole family rummaged through their belongings to find new clothes and headed to the Great Hall of the People in a neat and tidy manner.

Everyone present that day was from within the system, and even a few newspaper reporters came.

Although no photos were released to the public and the researchers' names were not mentioned, their deeds were published in turn, keeping the event a lively affair for a whole week.

When the event ended, Lou Xiao'e and He Yushui were still beaming – it was their first time stepping into this place, and they had seen so many high-ranking leaders, with even the vice-leader right in front of them.

"Look how shaky your hands are, be careful not to drop the baby! Here, let me hold him."

He Yuzhu grinned, lifted He Xiao in his arms a little higher, and turned to Lou Xiao'e, saying, "You've been holding him for too long, your arms must be sore—this little guy is three years old now, quite heavy!" Before he finished speaking, he shook his shoulders, laughed, and put the child down: "Come on, walk a few steps by yourself, practice your legs!"

He Yushui's eyes lit up, and her voice rose a beat: "Brother! Let me see that medal!"

He Yuzhu laughed heartily, deftly unfastened the medal pinned to his chest and handed it over, jokingly saying, "What's the point of just looking at mine? You're just starting out as a college student. Earning your own medal later will be the real deal!"

Last year, she was admitted to university, barely making it into Peking University, becoming the first proper college student in the He family. Unfortunately, He Yuzhu was still stationed in the Northwest at that time, and He Daqing took care of everything at home—he cooked for three days straight without skimping on the oil, and even invited familiar old neighbors from the courtyard to a feast.