Courtyard House: Starting with a 28-inch motorcycle

Madam Jia sprang from the bed, her face flushed with anger: "Oh my! Your son and husband are still waiting at home, where are you going instead of cooking?"

"An elderly couple just divorced, and he hasn't had dinner yet. I need to hurry and buy some food to cook for him..."

Before she could finish speaking, Jia Zhangshi burst out in a shrill voice: "Fine! Your own people are starving, yet you're serving outsiders first? Qin Huairu, do you even consider this your home?"

"Stop yelling!" Qin Huairu grabbed her cloth bag, her tone hardening. "I'm going to buy some cooked food, and I can share some meat with you when I get back. If you think it's not flavorful enough, then keep yelling—tonight the whole family will be eating cabbage stalks!"

As soon as Qin Huairu finished speaking, she glanced sideways at Jia Zhangshi, then her face darkened, and her tone became harsh: "Fine, I'm not going! Listen carefully—our family can't have meat because your grandmother won't let me go!"

After saying that, she turned around and walked to the stove, reaching for her own black-rimmed iron pot and rough earthenware basin. Her movements were quick and efficient, showing that she was really planning to focus on cooking and had no intention of going out to buy anything.

Upon hearing this, Banggeng jumped up and down in panic. His stomach was already rumbling with hunger, and he immediately softened his tone: "Mom, you go! Let Grandma cook!"

"Your grandma's too lazy to even get angry!"

He turned and lunged at Jia Zhangshi, clutching her clothes tightly with his little hands, tugging hard: "Grandma, hurry up and light the fire! We've been eating vegetarian food for almost half a month!"

Madam Jia felt a tightness in her chest, but she couldn't resist her eldest grandson tugging at her sleeve and pleading. When she turned her head, Jia Dongxu was also staring at her expectantly, muttering, "Mom, just lend a hand, how can you not benefit from this..." Before she could finish speaking, she had no choice but to snatch the pot and pan from Qin Huairu's hands, silently tie on her apron, and go into the kitchen.

But it was indeed too late to start cooking now. The chimneys of the houses in the courtyard were already emitting bluish-white smoke, while the Jia family had only just kneaded their first dough, with a few bits of flour still sprinkled on the cutting board.

After a while, Qin Huairu carried two enamel bowls and three plump white steamed buns, steadily and gracefully entering the deaf old lady's house in the backyard.

"Grandpa, your meal has been brought to you."

Half a glistening, crispy roast chicken, a plate of golden, fragrant scrambled eggs, a small dish of crisp pickled vegetables, plus three soft, snow-white steamed buns.

It was all paid for by Yi Zhonghai. Qin Huairu only secretly kept an egg, a few pieces of chicken leg meat, and a steamed bun—this was with Yi Zhonghai's approval, and she didn't touch it.

Earlier, Jia Zhangshi had wanted to make more: she cut off most of a roast chicken and steamed four or five white flour buns in one go. Qin Huairu immediately stopped her without hesitation. Given her mother-in-law's stubbornness, that would be killing the goose that lays the golden eggs—she was aiming for a steady, long-term profit, so she couldn't let her do whatever she wanted.

Seeing that the roast chicken was almost untouched and most of the scrambled eggs were left, Yi Zhonghai felt a slight sense of relief and said gently, "Huairu, thank you for making this trip. Go back and eat."

"Alright, I'll come back to collect the bowls after I finish eating. Grandpa and Grandma, please eat while it's hot."

As soon as she finished speaking, she hurriedly turned back into the house—Xiao Dang was still at home waiting for her to lull him to sleep.

As soon as the figure disappeared beyond the doorway, Yi Zhonghai gently pushed the food in front of the deaf old woman and sighed, "Old lady, I've really messed up this time... Zhang Shufen, she really dared to divorce me!"

"Zhonghai, she probably suspects that you were the one who pulled strings behind the scenes regarding the child. She's completely heartbroken and refuses to turn back, and I can't persuade her anymore..."

Normally, she would have reached for the roast chicken as soon as she smelled it; but today she didn't even pick up her chopsticks, just staring blankly at the table.

What bothered her even more was that the older woman had been unusually distant from her lately, speaking with sarcasm and avoiding eye contact—as if she had known all along that those ideas were secretly instigated by her.

But when she was discussing it with Yi Zhonghai, the windows were all closed tightly. How could an old woman have such a secret informant?

The deaf old woman thought and thought, and could only think of one possibility: "Zhonghai, aren't you being too hasty? Who saw you hanging out with those people from the countryside that day?"

Yi Zhonghai's heart skipped a beat. After thinking about it carefully, he realized that it was true. But he couldn't refuse: those people had all been counting on him to make decisions as soon as they entered the room. If he stood idly by, he would only expose himself faster.

"Grandma, it's no use talking about this now, the divorce is over. As for you... Zhang Shufen is determined not to come. How about we have Huairu come and take care of you?"

These words startled the deaf old lady. She was indeed worried about who would lend a hand, but as soon as Qin Huairu's name came up, her brows furrowed.

"Xiao Yi, her belly is already quite big, she'll be giving birth in a few months, how can she possibly take care of me?"

She shook her head. Although Qin Huairu was quick and efficient, her waist was getting rounder every day. How many more days could she do heavy work? Besides, she worked in the factory during the day and had to deal with the Jia family's affairs when she got home at night. If she had to take care of her old bones, who could bear the responsibility if she had a miscarriage?

"Huai Ru is reliable and meticulous. Besides, she'll be taking maternity leave soon... But your concerns are indeed valid."

Yi Zhonghai had also considered the consequences: if he really overworked himself and got seriously ill, given Jia Zhangshi's fiery temper, she would probably grab a rolling pin and storm into his room and cause a huge scene.

"Besides her, there's really no one else suitable. Who else can we entrust this courtyard to? Are we going to ask Old Yan's wife to come?"

Yan Bugui's wife is quite leisurely, but she's just like her husband—short-sighted and greedy for money.

The most suitable person to take the place of was Zhang Shufen. Unfortunately, now that the older woman has divorced Yi Zhonghai, she has also become indifferent to Zhang Shufen, and doesn't even want to mention the word "care" anymore. Suddenly, Yi Zhonghai is stuck in a dead end.

In fact, the thought had crossed his mind: why not just ignore it?

He is now a level 5 fitter, earning more than 30 yuan less in wages, and he also has to subsidize the Jia family from time to time, so he is already short of money.

I used to save seventy yuan a month without fail for retirement, but now I can only manage to scrape together thirty; sometimes I even have to divert money from my savings.

After much deliberation, he gritted his teeth and agreed: the deaf old lady was indeed old and greedy, but as long as he controlled the frequency, it wouldn't cost much; besides, she was the most senior person in the courtyard, and she usually kept quiet about gossips about He Yuzhu, which was quite effective—"taking advantage of one's age" might not work on He Yuzhu, but it always worked on others.

"Forget it, let's put it aside for now. I'll try to sound out Shufen's feelings again in the next couple of days—after more than ten years of marriage, can she really just abandon this old woman like me?"

The deaf old lady waved her hand, finally reached out with her chopsticks, picked up a piece of chicken leg meat, and slowly put it into her mouth.

But after only two bites, a commotion suddenly came from outside the courtyard.

Yi Zhonghai and the deaf old lady were both startled. Their eyes met, and he immediately got up, walked to the door, and lifted the curtain—there he saw Xu Damao standing unsteadily at the gate, carrying a tattered cloth bag.

This person has been missing for a long time. Ever since he divorced Yu Li, he has been going to the countryside every few days, or staying in his parents' house and not going out. He rarely steps into the courtyard house.

Later, he simply stopped coming back. He was rarely seen, maybe once a month, and even at the factory, he was rarely seen.

Today, however, he returned in a flurry of activity, carrying bulging woven bags and cardboard boxes, followed by a woman with delicate features, and on either side of her, holding the hands of two children—a boy of seven or eight and a girl of five or six, their little faces radiating cleverness, clearly the woman's biological children.

The second uncle from the next room also heard the commotion. He slipped on his cloth shoes and stepped out the door. Looking up, he saw it was Xu Damao and immediately called out, "Damao? And who are these people...?"

"Second Uncle, this is my new wife, and these are our son and daughter! Their names have all been changed, and their household registrations are with the neighborhood committee!" Xu Damao grinned, then quickly winked at the woman beside him, "Wife, quickly greet them—this is our highly respected Second Uncle Liu Haizhong, a level seven forging worker at the steel mill, his skills are top-notch!"

Upon hearing this, Liu Haizhong's eyelids twitched: It's only been a few months since we last met, and Xu Damao already has two kids?

His heart skipped a beat, and he immediately concluded that she must be a widow. Then, thinking back to Yu Li's words at the hospital assembly, "I'm in great health and can have children!" he suddenly understood: Xu Damao had probably found a widow with a child outside, otherwise why would he be in such a hurry to bring her in?

"Da Mao..."

"Second Uncle, I just got back. The house is all dusty and I haven't tidied up at all! I'll talk to you in detail later!" Before Xu Damao finished speaking, he pushed open his own door and half-helped, half-dragged his wife inside, leaving Liu Haizhong alone in the backyard, his shadow stretched long and thin by the setting sun.

Several seconds later, Liu Haizhong finally came to his senses, let out a heavy sigh, turned around, and walked home with a flick of his sleeve.

After his figure disappeared through the doorway, Yi Zhonghai slowly sat back down in the bamboo chair. The deaf old woman squinted and asked, "Zhonghai, what's all the commotion outside?"

Yi Zhonghai waved his hand: "It's nothing serious, it's just that Xu Damao brought a new wife home—she sounds like a widow, and she has a son and a daughter with her."

"Oh, a widow? That's a done deal... That scoundrel, unable to father a child herself, yet she goes to pick up the pieces left behind by someone else!"

"Grandma, Xu Damao is just a cunning little devil; the real thorn in our side is He Yuzhu!"

Mentioning He Yuzhu, Yi Zhonghai's lips twitched, a cold glint flashing in his eyes. But then, as if remembering something, he suddenly leaned closer to the deaf old woman and lowered his voice: "What do you think... about letting Xu Damao, your new daughter-in-law, take care of you? They live nearby, so it'll be convenient to bring her soup and medicine!"

"Zhonghai, I've never even met her. Besides, would that black-hearted Xu Damao agree to it?"

"I'll go sound them out tomorrow. Old lady, besides Huairu, there are really no reliable people in this courtyard."

Yi Zhonghai sighed, his voice filled with three parts weariness and seven parts helplessness. The deaf old lady listened and fell silent—she knew in her heart that things were not as they used to be, and the treatment had loosened. Yi Zhonghai was already struggling to make ends meet, and if he continued to be picky, he would probably have to sweep the broom himself.