Courtyard House: Starting with a 28-inch motorcycle

"Thank you for your hard work, Uncle San."

"As long as you live a peaceful life, that's better than anything else."

After saying a few words, Su Yu turned and went out, locking the courtyard gate, the main room door, and the inner room door. She then took Xiao Yulan's hand and headed towards the smooth dirt road outside the village.

Xiao Yulan was tall, just over 1.7 meters, with her ponytail swaying gently as she walked. Her fair oval face still had a bit of baby fat. She wore a light blue polyester shirt, crisp military green trousers, and cloth shoes with thirty layers of soles—she looked exactly like a girl from the city.

Su Yu helped her into the car seat. The car was already surrounded by people, their eyes glued to the car, not even wanting to blink.

He held onto the back rack with one hand and lightly protected his waist with the other, his voice soft and steady: "Don't be afraid, just keep your feet firmly planted and pedal forward."

Half an hour later, he quietly let go. Xiao Yulan was completely unaware and rode a long way before turning back. When she saw Su Yu standing by the roadside smiling at her, she suddenly froze and hurriedly turned around to look for him—forgot to apply the brakes. The front of the bike veered off course and crashed into Li Dashuan, who was squatting by the roadside watching the commotion.

Fortunately, the speed was slow, and the impact only made him bounce on the butt. He dusted himself off and stood up. Su Yu quickly smiled apologetically and promised to teach him to ride for an hour, which finally made the man beam with joy.

Xiao Yulan practiced for two more laps, her movements becoming smoother and smoother. She simply pushed the bike to the person she had bumped into—Liu Yan. This kid had been eyeing this bike for a long time, but he hadn't even dared to touch the handlebars before. Now that he could ride it for a full sixty minutes, he was so happy he jumped for joy.

He figured out the way in just over ten minutes, and Su Yu kept her word, letting him drive around the village showing off. After one round, all the village boys were green with envy, wishing they had been the ones who had been hit earlier.

When the time was up, Liu Yan reluctantly returned the bike, rubbing his hands together and chuckling, "Third Brother, what work are you doing tomorrow? I'll lend you a hand! Can I borrow your bike? Or... you can bump into me again, that'll do!"

Su Yu couldn't help but chuckle: "Okay, I'll take you to work after get off work tomorrow, and you can ride the bike as you please."

"No cheating allowed!"

"I'd be a dog if I lied to you."

Liu Yan skipped and hopped away, his back view exuding a smug air.

Seeing that most of the people had left, Xiao Yulan quietly pushed her bike onto the road again, practicing turning, braking, and holding the handlebars with one hand over and over again.

When Su Yu returned home to start cooking, she found Liu Yan still sitting in the corner of the main room, holding a half-cup of cold tea, motionless.

Su Yu glanced up and asked, "What's up?"

Liu Yan smiled broadly, her tone sickeningly sweet: "We're family, so it's only natural for me to lend a hand. If you ever have any difficulties, just let me know—I guarantee I'll handle it efficiently, transparently, and without any delays!"

Su Yu nodded: "Okay, I'll call you if I need anything."

Upon hearing this, Liu Yan's eyebrows lifted, and she hummed a little tune as she walked home. Halfway there, she bumped into Xiao Yulan and immediately grinned, her eyes crinkling with laughter. Xiao Yulan pretended not to see her, showing no annoyance and not even pausing her steps—Su Yu was the key figure; as long as he gave the go-ahead, let others be cold-faced if they wanted.

Xiao Yulan pushed her bicycle into the main room and carefully placed it against the wall. She dared not park the bicycle in the yard; Su Yu had said it cost over a hundred yuan, more precious than this mud-brick house.

As soon as she entered the room, she lowered her voice and asked, "What's Liu Yan doing here at this hour? What brings her here?"

Su Yu was wiping the corner of the table without looking up: "Just nod and smile when you see her, that's all. People like that only care about getting something for nothing, they just want to take advantage of others and get some benefits. Don't worry about it, we'll be moving to the city soon—I'll become a permanent employee, and the factory will definitely provide housing for me. Then you can just pack your bags and move into the city."

He had originally planned to grit his teeth and save money to buy a household registration and change his identity, but unexpectedly, a worker's quota fell from the sky. Once he got into the factory, housing was not difficult: as long as you were willing to use your brain, run errands, and know how to get along with people, the housing allocation certificate would be stamped with red seal sooner or later.

Xiao Yulan gently bit her lower lip: "But I don't know anything about going to the city."

"Don't worry, Third Brother knows what he's doing." Su Yu reached out and ruffled her hair. "Just follow me, you can't go wrong."

Xiao Yulan wrapped her arms around his waist, buried her face in his chest, and said in a soft voice, "Third Brother, why are you so good to me?"

Su Yu smiled and said in a gentle voice, "Third Brother likes you." She paused, then added, "Next month when you turn twenty, we'll get our marriage certificate."

"Mmm... Third Brother is the best." She tilted her head back, her eyes sparkling.

"Alright, go eat." Su Yu patted her back. "I still have to rush to Aunt Wang's house—to ask Uncle Wang and his son to come and make furniture today. The wood has been drying for more than forty days, and the moisture has completely dissipated."

Xiao Yulan responded and obediently turned and went into the kitchen.

Su Yu carried half a pound of peach shortbread out the door.

Wang Guifen was squatting in front of the stove eating when she looked up and saw several children slinking back with their heads down, still holding their bowls in their hands.

"What's so special about a broken bicycle? You're not even going to eat?" Her voice was sharp, but there was no real anger in it.

None of the children uttered a sound. They knew in their hearts that the brighter Su Yu's life became, the more suffocated Wang Guifen felt. The fact that Su Yu was doing so well after moving out made their family seem like a bottomless well, suffocating them—wasn't separating the family property a desperate escape?

Su Yu had a candy in her mouth, her eyes lowered, and the candy wrapper rustled as she pinched it between her fingers.

Wang Guifen glanced at him sideways: "What are you chewing on, Xiao Wu?"

"It's candy from my third sister-in-law." Her voice was so soft it was like a mosquito's hum.

Wang Guifen opened her mouth, but ultimately said nothing. Her heart churned: If only she had known this would happen, she should have gritted her teeth and not parted ways… That bicycle should be roaming the yard by now, shouldn't it? Why should she just look at it without touching it?

When Su Yu stepped into Wang Dingjiang's courtyard, the family had just returned from the village entrance. It turned out that they had been standing at the crossroads for two whole hours, just to watch Xiao Yulan ride her bicycle—the bicycle was gleaming, the figure was swaying, and when the wind blew, the hem of her clothes fluttered, making everyone who watched gasp in amazement, and they still hadn't had enough of watching.

As soon as Aunt Wang saw him, she immediately lifted the pot lid: "Oh! Sanzi's here? Quick, quick, get a bowl of hot porridge! Come and have a little something to tide you over!"

Su Yu waved her hand: "Auntie, I've already eaten. Thank you for helping me get these peach shortbreads—I just managed to snag them at the supply and marketing cooperative today. I'll have to trouble Uncle Wang to come over and do some work tomorrow; the wood is all dried out and ready to be worked on."

Uncle Wang stroked his chin: "Alright! I'll take Dingjiang over tomorrow morning. Dingjiang, pour Sanzi a bowl of liquor!"

"Uncle, I really can't drink."

"How can a man of the house abstain from alcohol completely?"

Su Yu couldn't refuse, so she sat down and took a few sips with the two of them. Her tongue was numb from the spiciness, but she kept a smile on her face.

……

Before the sky had even turned blue, the door was being pounded on so loudly it shook the mountains.

Su Yu put on her coat, got up, and slipped on her shoes to open the door—Wang Dingjiang and his son were already standing at the door with planes and inkstones, their tool bags still covered in morning dew.

"Uncle, isn't this a bit too early?"

Uncle Wang grinned: "You guys are doing well these days. Back in the '60s, at this time of year, you wouldn't even have a chance to pull weeds on the mountain!"

Su Yu quickly ushered the person into the house, then turned and went into the kitchen to get busy: she cooked a pot of thick porridge, mixed in pork cracklings, which smelled incredibly delicious and was also very filling.

The two had just put down their bowls when the saw and chisel began to make noise.

Su Yu then took out another pound of pork belly, washed it, and sliced ​​it—he would eat it for lunch. He had to get to his early shift, and he really didn't dare entrust Xiao Yulan with her cooking skills, fearing he might ruin such good meat.

"Yulan!" He poked his head into the inner room. "Drink your porridge when you wake up. I'll make some cabbage and tofu soup for lunch. I've already made the pancakes; they're warming up in the pan. You can heat up the vegetables and the pancakes and eat. I'll cook dinner when I get back."

"Okay, go ahead, I'll take care of things at home," she replied crisply.

Smelling the aroma of meat, Wang Dingjiang and his son worked even faster—being able to serve meat to the workers meant that the employer valued them and wasn't just using them for free.

Su Yu put on blue overalls and bowed to Uncle Wang: "Uncle, I'm going into the city now. I'll be relying on you two to take care of me."

Uncle Wang patted his chest and said confidently, "Don't worry! Our skills are just as good as the master chefs in the city!"

Su Yu hopped on his bicycle, the wheels crunching on the cobblestones as he sped towards the city—it was his first day on the job, and he needed to appear energetic and hardworking.

Once inside the canteen kitchen, he pulled a handful of raisins from his cloth bag and stuffed them into the hands of his colleagues one by one.

Squad leader Zhang Yishu, a cigarette dangling from his lips, chuckled, "Little Su, you're taking over Old Zheng's shift today! We trust your skills, so you pick your specialty!"

"Squad leader, the dishes I'm best at are twice-cooked pork and loach stew with tofu. They're home-style dishes, and I guarantee you won't be disappointed."

"Okay! That's all for today—" Zhang Yishu pointed to the blackboard, "Twice-cooked pork, braised pork belly, cabbage and tofu soup, braised eggplant, crispy spare ribs, and bitter vegetable soup."

The morning was quiet, so Su Yu took the money and went straight to Director Zheng's office.

"Director, 150 yuan. Thank you for helping me get this bus." He pushed the money over. "Bus tickets are harder to find than gold these days. I really don't know how to thank you enough. I'll treat you to dinner after get off work today. You must do me the honor!"

Director Zheng twirled the coin and chuckled, "Alright! This is the first time you've treated everyone; it's a great way to unite our comrades, I must be there."

He thought to himself: This Su Yu is really sensible. Not only did she get twenty yuan for free, but she also thanked him profusely without a single complaint. She has never asked anyone for a favor, and she knows how to advance and retreat and is sensible—a person like this deserves a helping hand.

Su Yu then took out a few more fish from her bag: "Director, these are fish I caught in the pond behind the mountain. Each one weighs almost half a pound. I'll give you two to try first."

Director Zheng stared at the plump and shiny fish and nodded in satisfaction.

Su Yu put down the fish, turned around and went back to the kitchen, stuffing three fish into his hands—all caught from the pool in his spatial dimension, densely packed at the bottom, the net sloshing about with each dip and lift, revealing lively, silvery scales. He had never eaten this kind of fish before, didn't know how many bones it had, and had no idea how to cook it—but the fresh, wild scent of the mountains wafted over him.

Everyone happily accepted the fish, and Su Yu didn't even forget the waiters who served tea and water—giving gifts is all about being thorough and considerate to avoid gossip.

A day passed in the blink of an eye. Zhang Yishu was particularly satisfied with Su Yu's performance in the kitchen today: the heat was steady, the knife skills were sharp, the portions were generous, and she remained calm and composed, neither getting carried away by working with Director Zheng nor putting on any airs of a "newcomer." Anyone would feel comfortable with such a partner.