Courtyard House: Starting with a 28-inch motorcycle

When they reached the door, he piled the log into the yard and grabbed three flatbreads, stuffing them into her hand: "If you get hungry these next few days, just come over. Third Brother will steam some buns and stew some vegetables for you."

Xiao Yulan nodded silently, tucked the pancake into her clothes, and walked home with her head down. Liu Yan glanced at her sideways, then turned and called for dinner; her father and grandmother didn't even lift their eyelids, as if she hadn't entered the house at all.

Her father had argued with Liu Yan a few times before, but when Liu Yan used her trump card—saying she was going to take her two sons back to her parents' home—her father and grandmother immediately wilted and didn't dare to utter a single harsh word.

Her grandmother secretly saved up a bite to eat and slipped it into Liu Yan's room while Liu Yan turned away; she also took out a few pieces of sweet potato root that she had picked up on the hillside from her bosom, glanced at her granddaughter with a hesitant look, and then quickly left the house with her head down.

Su Yu was still chopping trees with an axe in the mountain valley in the middle of the night, completely unaware of the situation at home. She carried thick logs on her shoulders, making trip after trip back to transport them—once the wood was completely dry, it could be used to make kang tables and chests.

Halfway there, he suddenly saw a pheasant dart across the ridge of the field. He took off after it, but instead of chasing it, he fell into a muddy ditch. He got up, covered in dirt, but the pheasant was long gone. He brushed the mud off his trousers, gritted his teeth, put the log back on his shoulder, and continued on his way home.

Pushing open the courtyard gate, she found it wide open, the bolt askew. Su Yu's heart tightened: Had someone been here last night? Who could it have been?

……

As soon as dawn broke, Su Yu got up and headed straight for the village headquarters. That was the usual place for daily roll call, distributing farm tools, and assembling for work. When he arrived, the yard was already full of people.

As soon as everyone from the educated youth compound arrived, the team leaders began roll call. In previous years, Su Yu was always assigned to carry manure, but today Su Guang assigned him to the educated youth group and publicly instructed him: "Let Su Yu take care of the newcomers and teach them how to till the land and identify seedlings."

Su Yu responded and joined the group of educated youth. One by one, the group received hoes, sickles, and carrying poles, preparing to go to the fields. The educated youth leader, Wu, assigned several female educated youths to the threshing ground, while Su Yu, along with a boy and a girl from the city, carried their tools and headed towards the fields.

The double harvest had just finished, and the work in the fields wasn't too strenuous, so the three of them walked at a moderate pace. But as soon as they stepped onto the ridge, they saw the team leader, Su Guang, and the scorekeeper, Su Yun, already waiting there.

The two educated youths were bewildered; they opened their mouths, but ultimately didn't dare to ask.

"The three of you go to the area north of the mountain to weed and loosen the soil. If you don't understand anything, learn from Su Yu." After saying this, Su Guang turned around and went to make arrangements for others.

"This is scorekeeper Su Yun." Su Yu nodded to the two of them and pointed north. "Let's go, let's go there first."

Seeing that most of the people had left, Su Guang and the accountant turned and walked towards the threshing ground. Su Yun looked at the two fair-skinned and delicate educated youths in front of her, and her brows furrowed involuntarily—they knew nothing, and even if they went to the fields smiling, they would probably be squatting on the edge of the field wiping away tears in less than half an hour. In that case, her third brother would be doing the work of three people, and this piece of land was only a few centimeters in size. If they didn't finish, they wouldn't even get a single centimeter.

She stole a glance at her third brother, wondering to herself: What is Father thinking? Isn't he pushing his third brother into a fire pit?

Su Yu led the two up the gentle slope. A shallow stream cut through the middle, with the north slope to the left and the south slope to the right. Although it was close to the foot of the mountain, the land was open and covered several acres. The three of them were allocated only about one acre each—they had to clear the grass in the morning, and each person had six fen of land; if they were even an inch short, they wouldn't get any points.

Today, besides weeding, we also need to turn the soil over again, as we'll be planting vegetables the day after tomorrow afternoon. Su Yu secretly rejoiced: Luckily, the field is empty. If it were planted with seedlings, these city kids probably wouldn't be able to tell the difference between chives and barnyard grass, and they might make a fool of themselves by pulling up all the seedlings, mistaking them for weeds. That would be a real mess.

As soon as the three of them stepped into the field, Su Yu rolled up her sleeves: "This is the only thing we'll do this morning—weed. Watch how I use the hoe: the blade slides into the soil, don't brute force it, keep your hand steady and your eyes sharp, be careful not to cut your instep."

At this moment, scorekeeper Su Yun was accompanying Wu Lanhua to deliver water to the fields. Wu Lanhua's load was not enough to drink on her own, so she had to help out. The two of them took turns carrying the water. She would make two trips in the morning and then stop to go home and cook. In the afternoon, she would make another trip, which would be her work for the day.

Su Yu wielded her hoe with lightning speed, the weeds rustling down as she casually plucked the tender bitter herbs that sprouted from the ground. The work looked easy, but it was actually strenuous and mentally taxing—the hoe handle burned her palms, and her back ached from the strain. After an hour, the female educated youth had red eyes and glistening blisters on her palms; the male educated youth weren't in much better shape, both leaning against their hoe handles, panting, and exchanging a wry smile.

Su Yu, however, found himself working with increasing ease, feeling no stiffness whatsoever, and instead experiencing an inexhaustible flow of energy. He quickened his pace, and within the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, he had cleared nearly a third of the land; the other two had only managed to eat a small corner, and had even taken two breaks in between.

Remembering Su Yu's words, "No work, no points," the two looked up and saw that Su Yu had already finished work and was squatting on the edge of the field, picking through the bitter vegetables one by one, her movements as nimble as if she were picking bean sprouts.

After he finished arranging the bitter herbs, he came over with a hoe to help. When Su Yun brought water to the edge of the field, she was almost stunned: only a small patch, about the size of a palm, remained untouched! She looked down and saw that Su Yu had already filled a small basket with tender green bitter herbs in his pocket. He came over, quickly stuffed a hard cornbread into her hand, and handed her a handful of bitter herbs.

"Eat these before anyone sees them. Take them back with you; your third aunt will be happy when she sees them."

"Third brother, your grain bin is almost empty. Keep it for yourself."

"I just carried back 100 jin of coarse grains yesterday. Besides, the grain station will be distributing grain in the next few days, so you'd better keep it well covered."

Su Yun's lips finally curled up. She took small bites of the pancake, gently placed the bitter greens on the earthen ridge, and chatted with her third brother about everyday matters.

The remaining weeds were simply pulled up by hand by the two of them, cleared away in less than ten minutes. With over two hours left before they were done, they could do whatever they wanted. Su Yu divided the bitter herbs into three portions, giving one to each of them, then turned and left without giving them another glance. The two men stood there dumbfounded, their heads buzzing: That's it?

They wandered over to the older educated youth, only to find them halfway through their work, bent over and panting heavily. Someone noticed the bitter herbs in their hands and casually asked, "Have you finished clearing your plot of land?"

The two nodded.

"Go back and rest quickly, boil some water, and make a soup with bitter herbs for lunch." Wu Zhiqing waved his hand.

Now they truly believed it—the six points from the morning were safely in their pockets. Clutching the fresh green vegetable leaves, the two felt warm inside, thinking about how they would have to work together again in the afternoon. They would then give some of the candy and soap they had saved to Su Yu, so that with him looking out for them, life wouldn't be so unbearable.

Su Yu carried the remaining bunch of bitter herbs towards Wang Dingjiang's house. Granny Wang, Wang Dingjiang's mother, was squatting in the yard scattering corn kernels to feed the chickens. Looking up and seeing Su Yu stride in with a large bunch of fresh bitter herbs, she immediately called out with a laugh and a scolding tone:

"Sanzi! The wood you chopped yesterday hasn't even fully rested yet, and you're already trying to nail boxes together? It's full of cracks; is it even usable?!"

Su Yu: "Auntie, I've come to ask you to help me propose marriage to the Xiao family."

Granny Wang's eyes lit up, and the corners of her mouth immediately turned up: "Oh, which girl have you taken a fancy to? Auntie will go and pave the way for you right away!" — She had already made plans in her mind: if it works out, there will be wedding candy, wedding money, and at least two catties of cornmeal, enough for the whole family to eat for half a month.

Su Yu: "Xiao Dongjia's eldest daughter, Xiao Yulan."

Granny Wang's face fell instantly, looking like a wilted eggplant. She sighed inwardly: Had this third son lost his mind? Liu Yan had already made her intentions clear—thirty yuan, fifty jin of grain, not a penny of dowry—clearly she was treating that girl like a laborer, toiling away until she was completely worn out! Besides, Xiao Yulan's health was such that she could barely stand in the fields, let alone swing a hoe properly. Wasn't this like jumping into a fire pit and then throwing money into it?

Granny Wang lowered her voice and asked, "Do you really have money and grain in your pocket?"

Su Yu nodded: "Everything is ready. Three yuan and half a jin of sugar, it's all here. Their family doesn't want a dowry, and neither do I; I've set my sights on Xiao Yulan."

Granny Wang slapped her thigh: "Alright! Leave this to me, don't worry! I know Liu Yan well—she's all about money, she'll give you anything. She'll give in faster than a hen laying an egg!"

Su Yu handed over a bunch of fresh, bitter greens, and then took out half a pound of sugar wrapped in oil paper from her bosom. Granny Wang smiled so hard that wrinkles appeared at the corners of her eyes, quickly tucked the sugar into her sleeve, and turned to leave.

……

At noon, Su Yu stir-fried a plate of wild vegetables at home and ate it quickly with some freshly made mixed flour pancakes. After resting for half an hour, she picked up her hoe and rushed to the fields—she had to keep a close eye on her farm tools, otherwise she would have nowhere to complain if she lost them: work points would be deducted when the grain was distributed, enough to make her panic and her legs go weak.

Scorekeeper Su Yun was already waiting at the edge of the field. This plot of land had to be tilled by this afternoon and tomorrow morning, twelve points for each person. The two educated youths were still nowhere to be seen, but Su Yu had already started working with her hoe. They also had to deliver loaches to the state-run restaurant tonight; there was no time to waste.

They had only dug a few times when two figures appeared in the distance. The man carried an old cloth bag, and the woman held a small bamboo basket; they approached with light steps.

The female educated youth smiled and said, "My name is Liu Mei, and his name is Li Yudong. Thank you for taking care of me; you must accept this small token of our appreciation!"

Su Yu took the item and casually slammed the hoe on the ground: "Watch how I dig first—raise your arm to gather strength, and then exert force suddenly when you bring the hoe down. It saves energy and won't hurt your back."

Before the words were even finished, the hoe had already driven deep into the soil, creating a smooth, dark wave. The two men were stunned for a moment, then turned and ran to the same plot of land they had worked on that morning, mimicking the hoe's movements.

Su Yu, however, worked like a wound-up iron man, getting smoother and smoother with each task. In less than two hours, two-thirds of the land was leveled. He plopped down by the furrow, unwrapped the gifts, and examined them closely: a can of malted milk powder, a packet of sugar, and a small cloth bag—containing a cloth ration coupon and a can of anchovies. He couldn't help but laugh out loud: these two were clever, knowing to bow and scrape. Besides, from now on they would be partners in the same group, three people per team; unless they were too sick to get up, they would be sweating side by side every day.

The two gritted their teeth and dug into the dirt, their palms burning from the effort. They stole glances at Su Yu while scanning their surroundings—sure enough, they were right: he was the fastest, even more steady and precise than the veterans. Following him from now on meant less work, more points, and guaranteed benefits!