Courtyard House: Starting with a 28-inch motorcycle

That night, an old man invited He Yuzhu and He Yushui to his home for dinner, and also asked an old woman to bring a hot meal to the old lady. After a few rounds of drinks, he and He Yuzhu clinked glasses and chatted, while He Yushui squatted on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), feeding the two children malted milk powder spoonful by spoonful.

He Yuzhu grinned – this stuff, ordinary families wouldn't even open a can during the New Year, but now they're drinking it like it's plain water. Even though the nutrition is about the same, and drinking too much won't cause any harm, it's just too precious! New clothes, bone broth, malted milk powder, milk candy in hand… this life is even more extravagant than that of cadres! How many ration coupons have the two old folks saved? They've probably emptied their savings of decades.

From now on, I'm afraid no one in this courtyard will be able to get even the slightest benefit from the old man.

The older woman came back and, without even taking a break, first wiped the two babies' faces and changed their diapers, urging He Yushui to eat quickly.

After finishing their meal, He Yuzhu and He Yushui walked home one after the other.

He Yushui suddenly chuckled, "Fangfang is so funny! I took the candy from her hand, and she just stared at me and smiled like an idiot!"

He Yuzhu stopped and turned his head to look at her for a moment.

"Impressive," he said, raising an eyebrow and smiling. "Trying to steal candy from a toddler? If an old lady knew, she'd chase you down three alleys with a rolling pin!"

He Yushui scratched her head and laughed sheepishly, "Hehe... I couldn't resist when the candy was right in front of me. I just wanted to tease her a little."

He Yuzhu took out a few food coupons and stuffed them into her younger sister's hand: "Here, I'll bring you two candies tomorrow—don't always act like an older sister, don't be as stubborn as when you were little."

He Yushui jumped onto his back with a "whoosh," her little legs swinging back and forth: "I knew my brother was the most doting! Unlike Jiye, who snatched the rattle drum from Fangfang's hand as soon as he saw it!"

He Yuzhu rolled his eyes. How old is this girl? What does she know about closeness and distance? Who knows, maybe when he was little, he even pulled her braids and slapped her on the forehead. She's just a heartless idiot.

Just as dawn was breaking, an old man squatted at the factory gate with his bundle, waiting for Liu Lan. They had arranged to set off early that morning to visit Liu Lan's hometown, Liu Family Village.

Liu Lan also carried a heavy coarse cloth bag on her shoulder, containing several kilograms of cornmeal and half a bag of dried sweet potatoes. In the past, her older brother would save his food rations to send to the city, tightening his belt to save money for her travel expenses. Now that her life was a little easier, how could she just take it and not pay it back?

Clutching their tickets, the two endured a bumpy ride to Liujia Village.

As Liu Lan stepped into the courtyard, the kitchen was filled with the aroma of burning firewood. Her sister-in-law, wearing a faded apron, was busy at the stove.

Upon seeing her carrying things again, Sister-in-law Liu's face immediately turned as long as a donkey's: "Auntie! Is your threshold made of gold? You're already showing off after just catching your breath? Hurry up and take it back!" As she spoke, she reached out to stop her, refusing to let her put the bundle on the ground.

An old man watching from the side clicked his tongue in amazement: "These country folk are so honest, it's almost painful to handle!"

Aunt Liu looked up and saw an old man, then paused, "Lanzi, who is this...?"

Liu Lan quickly smiled and introduced, "These are my colleagues from the factory. You know about what happened a couple of days ago. These were gifts from them thanking us for sending their children. This little bit of food is just a small token of my appreciation as their sister-in-law—if you don't accept it, I really won't recognize you as my sister-in-law anymore!"

Sister-in-law Liu reluctantly took the grain sack, muttering, "Sigh, whose family hasn't struggled to make ends meet? You silly girl, your heart is fuller than the rice jar..."

"You have to eat before you leave! Your parents are about to finish work!"

"We'll talk about it later, I have something to do right now—I'll go to my second brother's house first, and then I'll come back to visit Mom and Dad."

Before she finished speaking, she had already taken the arm of an old man and walked quickly toward Liu Erdan's house.

When they arrived at Liu Erdan's house, only Wang Ya and her two children were inside. She was squatting in front of the stove adding firewood, while the two children, wrapped in old cotton quilts, huddled on the bed. Their little jackets were torn, exposing their elbows, and their toes were red from the cold. They could only keep warm by tucking the corners of the quilts in.

The house was much tidier now; the broken baskets piled up in the corners were gone, and the original color of the blue bricks could be seen on the floor—unlike when Liu Lan came a couple of days ago, when there was hardly any room to put your feet down.

"Second sister-in-law, I've come to see you! Second brother went to work today?"

Wang Ya wiped her hands and smiled, "After you left the day before yesterday, my stomach felt better; yesterday I was able to chew a mixed grain bun, and in the afternoon I went back to the team to earn work points—Lan, who is this…?" She gestured towards an old man.

"It's the family that adopted our child. They came specifically to acknowledge our relationship and meet our relatives."

Wang Ya looked the old man up and down, then nodded silently: "Thank you, comrade... If it weren't for you, we really don't know how we would survive..."

An old man quickly handed over the wrapped meat, but Wang Ya refused to take it, her hand frozen in mid-air.

Just then, Liu Erdan entered the courtyard carrying a shoulder pole.

Liu Lan immediately noticed that he looked much better. Although he was so thin that his cheekbones were prominent, his eyes were brighter and his spine was straighter.

"Lan, my dear!" Liu Erdan's voice trembled. "You saved my life—the life-saving food, the life-saving gas money, I'll never forget it!"

Liu Lan waved her hand: "What are you saying, Second Brother? When we were little, you climbed trees to pick sour dates for me, and even when you fell and scraped your knee, you still made me laugh!" She turned to the side and pointed to an old man, "This is an elder from the child's new family. He came here today specifically to recognize his relatives."

Liu Erdan bowed repeatedly and invited the two to sit down on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed). Wang Ya deftly cut off a piece of fat and fried it in the iron pot with a "sizzle." As soon as the oil sizzled, the aroma immediately filled people's noses—although there was no oil stored at home, they had their own way of cooking fat.

"Now that I've introduced you both to the person, I need to hurry back to my parents' home. Goodbye for now!"

Wang Ya grabbed her wrist: "Sit a little longer, it's just a bowl of porridge!"

Liu Lan gently withdrew her hand, shook her head and smiled: "If I take a bite, they'll have to drink one less spoonful—you keep it and slowly supplement the children's diet."

As soon as she left, an old man took out a hundred yuan and nine feet of cloth coupons from his pocket and stuffed them into Liu Erdan's hand: "Take them, you are the child's own parents, this is the duty you should fulfill; I also have to thank you for your kindness."

Liu Erdan pushed the money on the table: "I made an agreement with Lan the day before yesterday, twenty yuan is enough. From now on, don't mention the word 'biological'—we just hope the child is well-fed, warmly clothed, and safe and sound, then we'll be at ease."

Wang Ya sat on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), feeding the child porridge with one hand and wiping away tears with the other, the tears falling into the bowl with a patter.

The old man insisted on pushing the money back: "Please accept it! It's for the sake of the children and their brothers so they can take care of each other in the future—you'll be godparents from now on, so please visit often. This is my address."

Liu Erdan choked for a long time before saying in a hoarse voice, "Brother, when the kids are older and can't remember what we look like anymore... we'll sneak a peek, just one. From now on, we'll treat them as your children." As he spoke, two streams of tears rolled down his cheeks.

An old man patted him on the shoulder forcefully: "Good! From now on, I'll call you brother—our two families will stay in touch, our hearts are closer than blood!"

Liu Erdan finally stuffed the money into his inner pocket, and the three of them sat around the small table, enjoying a lively meal. Before leaving, the old man smiled and promised, "Next year for Chinese New Year, I'll come back with more New Year's goods!"

When Liu Lan returned to her parents' home, her mother hugged her tightly, tears streaming down her face: "My poor daughter... You've only been relaxed for two days and you've already squandered your money! What good food can we two old bones eat? We're saving it for our grandson! Your willingness to come back and visit is more important than anything else. Just buy your nephew a scrap of cloth; why empty our coffers?"

Her father and eldest brother sighed as well, saying that she didn't know how to manage a household, that she was too soft-hearted and too fickle.

An elderly man met Liu Lan at the village entrance, and the two boarded a bus back to the city.

Liu Erdan, carrying the money, went straight to the brigade headquarters to make up for the work points he owed—the grain harvest was due in a few days, and if he didn't have enough work points when it was distributed, his whole family would probably go hungry. He was the only one earning work points, and he had been sick recently, so his account was already empty.

He then went into the supply and marketing cooperative, exchanged cloth coupons for new clothes for the child, and weighed out eggs and brown sugar for Wang Ya to help her recover. In the past, the ration coupons issued by the brigade were completely useless to his family because they were too poor; now, holding a hundred yuan, he had never seen such a large sum of money in his life, but he was only thinking about: the debts of gratitude he owed during the famine years, which he had to repay one by one; and the neighbors who had helped him, which he had to thank by bringing candy to their door.

When he returned to the village carrying cloth, brown sugar, and a newly made jacket, the whole street gathered around him, marveling, "Wow, city people are so rich!" Then they compared him to Liu De's family, saying, "Look at Liu Lan, she looks like a beggar when she goes back to her parents' home..."

Someone pressed him, asking, "Erdan, which branch of the family is this relative of yours? How much did they give you? Tell us!"

Liu Erdan just grinned, didn't answer a word, and steadily carried his things home. In the end, the cost was less than twenty-five yuan, and he had even settled all his old debts.

The old man returned to his courtyard house, his face beaming with joy—this had all been handled perfectly! His biological parents hadn't argued or fought over anything; from now on, they were godparents, a perfectly legitimate arrangement. He'd bring some snacks over again next year for the Lunar New Year. Sigh, this family's hardships are heartbreaking…

The third old man, pipe in mouth, came over and said, "Hey, old man, where did you strike it rich? Are those two kids your own?"

An old man chuckled and patted his chest: "My son and my daughter! They just went back to their hometown for a visit."

The old man's heart skipped a beat: This melon is growing really fast! It's swollen since yesterday, looking like it's three months pregnant—could it be that the old man secretly raised a child back in his hometown years ago? Now that this child has suddenly appeared, it's probably because he has a scar from his past!

The old man completely ignored the churning thoughts in the third man's stomach, turned around and walked towards his own house, eager to see the two children.

The old man quickly took two steps to stop him: "Old Qi broke his leg today and is in a hurry to raise money for the hospital! The old lady said that all the money in her family is with you, so... how much would you lend him?"

An old man waved his hand: "My meager savings were all given to those in need to tide me over, where would I find any left? I'll go borrow some from Sha Zhu later to tide me over!"

—That hard-earned money, we need to save it for Jiye to find a wife. It didn’t fall from the sky, why should we throw it away?

The old man stood there, his eyes almost popping out of their sockets: Was this the same old man who used to rush to put the lid back on if someone lifted the pot lid? In the past, even if a chicken went missing in the yard, he would grab a broom and run all over the alley calling for help. But today, he was as wilted as a frostbitten eggplant!