Courtyard House: Starting with a 28-inch motorcycle

Wang Ya quickly chimed in, "That's right! His uncle is right. If we keep being so polite, we'll really become outsiders!"

An old man patted him on the shoulder with a smile: "We're brothers, why say such things? I just thought of you guys and bought some cloth and grain for my nephew and niece."

He paused, then softened his voice: "Don't overthink it. How are you doing? If you're having any difficulties, just say so!"

Wang Ya deftly took the bundle, turned around, and went into the kitchen to start cooking.

Liu Erdan rubbed his hands together and grinned, "Great! Really great! Thanks to my older brother, my belly is rounder, and I've saved up several cloth coupons, enough to sew new clothes for each of the kids!"

The old man nodded, placing his bundle on the edge of the kang (heated brick bed): "I'm your brother, helping you is only natural. This time I brought fine grains and clothes—from now on, if you need anything, don't try to handle it yourself, remember to call out!"

Liu Erdan: "Brother, you can't keep subsidizing us like this! You need to tighten your belt on your retirement money, and you have two kids to raise and send to school. How can life be easy? At least we have land here, so we can make a living; but in the city, you have to pay for everything – firewood, rice, oil, salt, and so on. You have to be very careful with every penny!"

An old man waved his hand, his voice steady: "Brother, I know exactly what's going on. Just live your life peacefully."

Wang Ya brought the stir-fried dish to the table. The slices of meat in the pan were so thin they were translucent—she hadn't dared to put in too much, having already planned to put them all into her older brother's cloth bag later to take back to the family for a treat. Her own family was dirt poor and couldn't afford anything decent, so even this small token of their affection had to be carefully considered.

The old man glanced at the sky; the sun was already setting. If he didn't leave soon, he would definitely miss the last bus. Just as he stood up, Liu Erdan pulled out a heavy oil paper package, weighing at least twenty pounds.

"Brother, take this back and give it to the children to help them recover! Our village slaughters a pig for the New Year as usual, so this meat isn't anything special—don't worry, we have plenty of meat these days!"

If the village's most extravagant brigade leader heard this, he would probably slam his fist on the table and yell: "You don't need anything? Then tell us what you've got!"

Actually, the meat came at just the right time—a pig in the village had died of disease a while ago, and then a hunter caught a wild boar in the back mountains. The team distributed the meat according to work points, and Liu Erdan first paid off all the work points he owed with cash, then took extra money from his own pocket to buy three jin from one neighbor and five jin from another, managing to gather a total of thirty jin. He dried and cured it thoroughly, waiting for the old man to come to his door. He even had five jin left hanging under the eaves of his own stove.

An old man shook his head: "Keep it to nourish your health! The butcher shops in the city are open every day, you can buy it anytime you want."

They were polite to each other, but they both knew in their hearts that they were short of meat everywhere and were just putting on a brave face.

Liu Erdan shoved the paper package into the old man's arms, his voice suddenly lowering but becoming even deeper: "If you don't take this meat with you today, I'll avoid you from now on—Brother? Gone."

The old man couldn't refuse, so he had no choice but to carry the cured meat and hurry towards the station.

He had just stepped into the courtyard when it was already past the end of the workday.

When everyone saw the bulging oil paper package, their eyes widened, their Adam's apples bobbed, and they almost drooled onto their feet—it weighed over twenty pounds! Who had ever seen such a sight before?

As soon as the old man reached the middle courtyard, the people in the front yard were still gaping in disbelief; the middle courtyard was in an uproar, with everyone speculating: Where did this meat come from? Did Master Yi somehow get some connections? Several people who were a little better off immediately tugged at his sleeves: "Master Yi, could you do us a favor and bring some back? Our kids are drooling over it!"

An elderly man pushed open the door to his house. An elderly woman was sewing shoe soles. She looked up, startled, and exclaimed, "Husband, you…!"

"Sigh, Erdan is too honest, I can't refuse him—if we don't accept him soon, he won't even be able to step over the door!"

"He's a kind and honest relative... In this courtyard, he's the only truly close family we have. After the New Year, I'll go visit him with you."

"Let's go before the child is old enough to remember things; that's what Erdan specifically told us."

"Okay! After the New Year, let the old lady watch the kids for a day. We'll go early in the morning and be back by noon."

"Okay! You'll see when you get there; the warmth and energy at Erdan's house is almost unbearable!"

How can it not be hot to the touch? I've stuffed your hands full of meat—these days, if I let you take a bite of fatty meat, it means I consider you family; if I give you the whole piece, then we're closer than blood brothers.

The old man was unaware that Hong Jingqiu had already set her sights on that bag of cured meat, and her heart was churning with resentment.

……

Hong Jingqiu stared at the cured meat in the old man's hand, her eyes darting around: Meat coupons are controlled more strictly than an iron barrel, where would an ordinary worker get a coupon? Even with the factory manager's quota, he couldn't accumulate this much!

She was slicing radishes when she saw the old man not even bother to wave the knife at her, and her anger flared up instantly. If he had politely cut half a pound and handed it to her, she could have pretended not to see it; but this manner made it seem as if she didn't even have the right to smell it! Did he really think he was the only one who could call the shots in this courtyard?

He didn't even bother cooking, and immediately headed to the police station to report someone for openly engaging in speculation and profiteering, swaggering around with over twenty pounds of cured meat!

As the old man walked down the street, several pairs of eyes were already fixed on him. But seeing him emerge from the bus station, dressed simply and carrying a rustic cloth bag, no one thought much of it—they guessed that his relatives in the countryside had slaughtered a pig and were sharing the meat with their city relatives. Sharing meat in the countryside isn't illegal, and giving gifts isn't illegal either; as long as you're willing to give, who can stop you?

Upon hearing this, the police were furious: How dare they challenge the policy red line in broad daylight!

Hong Jingqiu lowered her voice: "Comrade, I'm not going in with you—once we get to our compound, just ask any Yi Zhonghai, everyone knows him! Everyone saw it with their own eyes!"

After a brief discussion, the police officer nodded in agreement: there was no need for her to lead the way.

Whether this succeeds or not, Hong Jingqiu is guaranteed to profit—reporting speculation and profiteering brings rewards; if there's no evidence, she'll at most have wasted her trip; but with so much potential profit right there, reporting it is itself a conscious decision! Wrong? Excusable.

An old man was simmering soup on his stove when the gate to his courtyard was suddenly slammed open—more than a dozen people from the neighborhood committee and the police blocked the entrance, and neighbors swarmed around the yard, craning their necks to watch the spectacle.

A police officer stepped forward and asked in a loud voice, "Who is Yi Zhonghai?"

An elderly man quickly came out to greet him: "Comrade, it's me! What's wrong?"

"We have received a report from the public that you are suspected of speculation and profiteering. Please cooperate with the investigation!"

"Comrade, I went back to my hometown to visit relatives today. I have a clean record and didn't do anything illegal!"

"Then how do you explain the more than twenty kilograms of cured pork in your house?"

"A gift from a relative!"

"Oh? Which relative is so generous as to send twenty pounds as a gift?"

"If you don't believe me, come with me and ask me here!"

"walk!"

Before he finished speaking, the policeman picked up the cured meat, dragged the old man out of the courtyard, jumped into a jeep, and headed straight for Liujia Village.

The courtyard erupted in chaos—Good heavens! The police are here! If he doesn't come back tomorrow, he's definitely going to jail! Losing his job is a small matter; he'll never be able to get rid of this label again!

Back then, "speculation and profiteering" were also divided into different levels: poor peasants and hired farmers were caught, criticized and educated, made to write self-criticisms, and had their "tools of the trade" confiscated; workers like the old man would at most have their meat confiscated, be fined a little, and be made to make a big meeting to make a self-criticism; only those who were "capitalist roaders" would really go to jail.

But most people in the courtyard didn't understand any of this. They only knew four words: speculation = jail = ruined life.

As soon as the police left, He Yuzhu squeezed into the house and patted the old woman on the shoulder: "Don't panic, ma'am! Since it was a gift from a relative, it's fine! If there's any trouble, I'll think of a solution for you!"

The group arrived at Liujia Village, first visiting the brigade leader, then the village secretary, and finally entering Liu Erdan's courtyard. The police listened carefully, checked the meat distribution ledger and the bamboo tray for curing meat, silently returned the cured meat to the old man, solemnly apologized, and turned to leave.

Director Hong of the neighborhood office chuckled and patted an old man on the shoulder: "Old Yi, it's a misunderstanding! It's a complete misunderstanding! The police officers were just being overly enthusiastic. Now that the truth is out, the organization will clear your name!" After saying that, he led his men away.

They had just left the hospital—

The courtyard erupted in commotion again: "Wow! It turns out the Yi family really does have such a wealthy relative! They gave away over twenty catties of meat in one go. What a deep friendship and what solid financial backing they must have!"

He Yuzhu, He Yushui, and the old lady all stayed by the old lady's side, never leaving her side, just waiting for the old man and the others to return.

While waiting, I comforted them, saying, "Don't panic, it's good that everyone is safe." But the jeep sped away, and the round trip took less than two hours.

Fast? Of course it's fast! The shuttle bus only runs twice a day, one trip there and one trip back, and it has to depart on time. It can't compare to this metal box running around like it's on a whim.

The old lady patted the middle-aged woman's hand: "It's good that you're back safe and sound! Besides, your relative is an honest person, why are you crying—your eyes are swollen like peaches."

As soon as the old woman saw the old man push the door open and come in, her lips trembled and tears streamed down her face.

An old man wiped his sweat and said in a loud voice, "Mom is right! Why are you crying like that for no reason!" He then cut a whole pound of pork belly with three layers of fat and lean meat from the butcher's block and handed it to He Yuzhu. The old lady's portion was prepared long ago and would be sent over the next day. She always had a share of the food they made at home, whether steamed, stir-fried, or stewed.

He Yuzhu accepted the offer readily, laughing and saying, "I'll bring a live carp to your door in a couple of days. The more we visit, the warmer things will be."

From the moment the police entered to question them, to the crowd craning their necks to watch the spectacle, and finally to the moment the crowd dispersed and the lights went out, two figures remained hidden from view—they knew perfectly well who was behind it all. But unable to find any evidence, they could only grit their teeth and swallow their anger.

We need to find a way to deal with these two troublemakers, otherwise, this pent-up frustration will eventually make us sick.

The old lady suddenly leaned closer and poked his forehead: "Silly grandson, what are you thinking about?"

He Yuzhu grinned and said, "It's alright, Grandma. I'll go and prepare dinner for you right away."

The oil sizzled on the stove, and the aroma of rice wafted out as he put down the spatula and strolled towards Xu Damao's house. He wanted to see what kind of play those two cunning old foxes were up to.

"Wow—Jingqiu's skills are truly amazing!" He leaned against the doorframe and laughed. "Anyone who gets such a virtuous wife like you must be incredibly lucky!"