Courtyard Houses: The Great Masters of a Nation Hidden Within

Gao Jianguo followed the deaf old woman into her room.

As autumn arrived, the weather turned cold quickly. No fire was lit in the house. The older generation was used to this, and they would endure the cold until it became unbearable.

Gao Jianguo put the flour bag and the paper package of white sugar on the table, rubbed his hands together, and said, "Grandma, we just moved in yesterday. It's the first time I've seen you, so I didn't have time to prepare anything. I just brought you some high-gluten flour and white sugar. It's nothing special, so please don't think it's too shabby."

The deaf old woman glanced at the flour bag, then at the tightly wrapped candy, and knew perfectly well that this young man spoke lightly, but the things inside were no small amount.

His last bit of wariness dissipated, and he kept muttering, "Look at you, kid. Everyone's here, why did you have to spend money to bring anything?"

As she spoke, she carried the things into the inner room, her wrinkles smoothing out, and she also poured Gao Jianguo a cup of water.

Gao Jianguo continued, "Of course, of course. Respecting elders is a principle that applies no matter where you are. Besides, when my parents were alive, they were making revolution, and they might have even worn the soles of the shoes you made, haha."

Upon hearing this, the deaf old woman realized that this was a family member of a martyr, and her sense of kinship deepened: "Oh dear, you've also suffered hardships since childhood, poor child."

Gao Jianguo waved his hand: "It's nothing, it's all in the past. Although I was young back then and couldn't personally kill a few Japanese devils to avenge their parents, I dealt with quite a few Japanese devils in the banner during the bandit suppression a few years ago, so I guess I made up for it."

The deaf old woman felt even more at ease now. Those who had been on the battlefield and made military achievements were like family members in the same trench, and she had to be doubly close to them.

The old and the young chatted away, one step at a time, about everything from city streets to hip bones. When they talked about the famine years, the old lady couldn't help but dab her eyes with her sleeve.

The two were chatting enthusiastically when a boisterous voice burst in from outside the door: "Hey old lady, are you home yet? I saw you've arrived."

The door opened, and a man of medium height with a long face entered. He was very familiar with the old lady. Seeing that the door was ajar, he stepped in without even knocking.

"Grandma, guess what good stuff I've brought you?" The man said, turning around to tease the old lady as he closed the door.

Gao Jianguo recognized him at a glance. In fact, he could guess the identity just by listening to his voice. He Yuzhu, nicknamed "Silly Pillar," had arrived. He was the "Courtyard War God," the "Thirty-Seven Yuan and Fifty-Five Hero," the "Number One Chef," and the "Number One Sucker."

Sha Zhu turned around and saw a young man sitting at the table smiling at him. He was stunned for a moment, then put the aluminum lunchbox in his hand on the deaf old lady's table and said, "Hey~~~ old lady, you have a guest here. I'm sorry to bother you. I'll leave the food here for you. You can heat it up later. It will get cold on the way back."

Gao Jianguo stood up and handed over his hand: "You must be Master He Yuzhu, right? The old lady was just talking about you. I am..." Gao Jianguo then explained his name and why he was sitting in the deaf old lady's room.

The deaf old woman was now lost in her daydream of being pampered by two strong young men, and she grabbed Sha Zhu, saying, "Don't go, don't go, sit down, sit down, chat with Jianguo. You're about the same age, you'll get along better. By the way, isn't today Friday? Didn't you go to the canteen?"

Sha Zhu grabbed a rough earthenware bowl, poured in half a bowl of water, tilted his head back, and gulped it down. He then wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "Don't even mention it," he said. "I wasn't feeling well today, so I took leave from the factory and came back early. This is the eggplant I cooked for you. Even though there's no meat, I put in plenty of oil." While keeping an eye on Gao Jianguo, Sha Zhu didn't directly tell him that it was leftovers he had taken from the kitchen.

The deaf old woman didn't hide anything. She turned around and brought out the high-gluten flour that Gao Jianguo had just given her from the inner room: "It's all ready. It's almost noon. Jianguo even brought me this much flour. Move around and knead some dough. You two boys can eat lunch here. We'll make hand-pulled noodles and braise the eggplant you brought."

Sha Zhu chuckled at the sight of it. Such fine flour, even he, the factory's ladle-taker, didn't see it every day. "Wow, old lady, you're really stingy? You're willing to take out such precious stuff to feed us? Fine, today I'll borrow your flower to present to you and show you my little bit of cooking skills."

Gao Jianguo also stood up: "I still have some food stored in my house. Let me take it. It'll be more lively if there are more of us." On Wednesday noon, there weren't many people in the yard who could fit at a table. Gao Jianguo didn't mind contributing more food to make it more festive.

Upon hearing this, Sha Zhu realized that this person was honest and easy to get along with, so he didn't stand on ceremony: "That's great, you go ahead with your work, I'll put it away here first, and make sure the vegetables you brought aren't wasted."

Gao Jianguo went back to his room, picked out two and a half ounces of meat and a bag of cabbages, and headed to the backyard.

The deaf old woman and Sha Zhu took a look and realized that this scholar was really generous with what he had to offer. There was meat and vegetables, especially that piece of pork belly, which had three layers of fat and two layers of lean meat. At first glance, it was clearly top-quality.

Sha Zhu gave him a thumbs up: "Brother, you're a true friend! Just you wait, I'll teach you a lesson today."

Gao Jianguo chatted idly with the deaf old woman, while Sha Zhu busied himself at the stove. The house was peaceful and quiet. Before long, Sha Zhu brought the food to the table, then said to the two of them, "Wait a moment," before turning and leaving.

Gao Jianguo asked, puzzled, "Grandma, where did he go?"

The deaf old woman pursed her teeth and said, "What else could he be doing? Going to get your drinks, of course. You brought noodles and meat, he had to pull out some of his best stuff, otherwise he wouldn't be able to save face."

A short while later, Sha Zhu strode in carrying two bottles of liquor and a plate of raw peanuts: "Hurry up, hurry up, my mouth is watering!"

The three of them, young and old, ate, drank, and chatted until 2 PM before finally stopping. Sha Zhu, his tongue practically slurred from drinking, clung to Gao Jianguo's hand as they parted, repeating the same old lines: "Brother, when you get to... the steel mill, if you run into any trouble, just come to me. I'll make sure everything's clear and simple for you~~~ I'm not bragging~~~~ Brother, when you get to the steel mill, if anything happens, just... just... look for me..."

After finally managing to get the man back to his room and onto the bed, Gao Jianguo returned to his own room, turned on the stove to boil some water, and sipped some tea leaves. While sipping his tea, he looked around the room, pondering what he should add to it.

The main room is for receiving guests, so a complete set of tables and chairs is necessary. The north room is for sleeping, reading, and writing, so a bed, bookshelves, chests, and cabinets should also be provided. As for the south room... let's set it up as a kitchen and dining room for now. A set of pots, pans, tables, and chairs is needed, but not too many—one square table and two chairs will suffice. If guests come and there aren't enough seats, we can just bring more from the main room.

The rest were just odds and ends for household use, and he still had to build a stove himself... a stove!!! Thinking about this, Gao Jianguo realized that the first thing he had to do after entering the factory was to find something.

In Gao Jianguo's eyes, this object had absolutely nothing to do with scientific research, but for him, it was the most important thing for living a comfortable life. Using the steel mill's materials, it was simple to make and wouldn't interfere with his regular work. The tricky part was how to move it back to his own home openly and legitimately. These days, even if you paid money, it wasn't so easy to carry a piece of government-owned iron out of the factory gate; it was a hot potato.