Siheyuan (traditional courtyard house): Starting with the Korean War, returning home to take charge

He Yuzhu asked Old Sun to help him exchange the silver dollars for money.

Old Sun didn't ask any more questions and took him to the back door of the bank early the next morning. The director, surnamed Chen, examined each silver dollar against the light, turning them over and over, counting out 150 and issuing a receipt. The exchanged money was wrapped in kraft paper, a thick wad, bulging and uncomfortable in his pocket.

He Yuzhu took the money to the grain store.

Five hundred catties of grain took three trips to haul away. It included rice, wheat flour, cornmeal, and two barrels of soybean oil. The grain shopkeeper, seeing he bought so much, asked a few more questions. He said he was buying it for someone else. The man nodded and didn't say anything more.

I also bought quite a few daily necessities: towels, soap, matches, salt, and a few bolts of cloth, in blue and gray—colors that are durable and resistant to dirt.

The last item was redeemed from the system.

Fresh pork (100 jin)

[Points consumed: 10,000]

When he took it out of the system space, the meat was still cool to the touch, wrapped in oil paper and neatly stacked. He stuffed the meat into a burlap sack and piled it with the other things.

Current points: 49,440,000 - 10,000 = 49,430,000

The people from the neighborhood office were stunned when they saw him pulling a cart over.

He Yuzhu parked his car at the entrance and went inside to find the director. The director, surnamed Ma, was in her forties, spoke loudly, and was efficient. After hearing He Yuzhu's words, she froze for several seconds without moving.

"Deputy Factory Director He, what's going on here...?"

He Yuzhu handed over the form.

"Five hundred catties of grain, one hundred catties of meat, and some daily necessities. In my grandmother's name, I donated them to the families of martyrs and impoverished households in the neighborhood."

Director Ma took the form, looked it over twice, and then looked up at him.

"How much...how much does this cost?"

He Yuzhu did not respond.

Director Ma stared at him for a few seconds, then her eyes suddenly reddened. She turned her face away, wiped her eyes with her sleeve, and when she turned back, her voice was three degrees lower than before:

"Deputy Factory Director He, thank you on behalf of those families."

He Yuzhu waved his hand.

"Don't thank me, thank my grandma."

The items will be sorted starting this afternoon.

Seven families of martyrs and more than a dozen families in need came from the street. Director Ma stood at the door with a list and called out, letting each family in one by one. Twenty catties of rice, ten catties of flour, two catties of meat, and a towel, soap, and matches were all provided to each family.

He Yuzhu stood by the table, helping to hand over things.

A staff member came over to help and, noticing the meat sticking out of the sack, muttered, "Where did Deputy Factory Director He get all this meat coupons?" An older man next to her nudged her with his elbow, and she immediately fell silent. Director Ma turned and glared at her, but said nothing.

Aunt Zhang arrived, leading the thin child. Her hands trembled violently as she took the things. She looked at He Yuzhu, her lips moved a few times, but she couldn't utter a sound.

He Yuzhu nodded to her.

Aunt Zhang pulled the child towards the door. At the door, the child turned and glanced back at her.

The people in the courtyard began to whisper among themselves.

"Who donated this?"

"I heard it's Deputy Factory Director He."

"The steel rolling mill?"

"The money was paid by the grandmother."

"Tsk, what a nice guy."

He Yuzhu ignored the comments and continued handing out things in silence.

No one knows how Jia Zhangshi got the news.

When she appeared at the entrance of the neighborhood office, the items had already been mostly distributed. She squeezed through the crowd, stood in front of Director Ma, and put her hands on her hips:

"Director Ma, what about me? Why didn't I have any?"

Director Ma raised his eyelids and glanced at her.

"What do you mean, 'you'? You're not on the list."

Jia Zhangshi's face instantly turned a deep liver color.

"Why am I excluded? My family is also struggling financially! My mother-in-law is bedridden, and the whole family is waiting to be fed. Why is no one taking care of us?"

Someone nearby laughed. An old woman looked her up and down, then scoffed, "You're having difficulties? You're as fat as a pig, and you're having difficulties?"

The courtyard erupted in laughter.

Jia Zhangshi's face turned even redder, almost purple.

"This is just water retention! It's from drinking too much water! What do you know!"

The laughter grew even louder.

Director Ma slammed the list on the table: "Jia Zhangshi, stop making a fool of yourself here. Your son has a stable job and can earn money. What difficulties are you facing? Get out of here."

Jia Zhangshi stood still, her eyes darting around, and suddenly fixed her gaze on He Yuzhu.

She paused for a moment, her expression changed, and a smile tugged at the corner of her mouth.

"Oh, Deputy Factory Director He is here too? I was wondering why the neighborhood committee was suddenly being so generous; it turns out someone was using public property to buy their own reputation."

The courtyard suddenly fell silent.

He Yuzhu looked up at her.

Madam Jia felt a chill run down her spine when he looked at her like that, but the words were already out and couldn't be taken back. She stubbornly refused to speak, and her voice rose even higher:

"What, did I say something wrong? Aren't the products from your steel mill public property? Using public resources to do favors, you really know how to scheme!"

Director Ma's face darkened, and just as he was about to speak, He Yuzhu put down what he was holding.

He stood up and walked to Jia Zhangshi.

The two stood two steps apart. He Yuzhu looked down at her, not annoyed, his voice so low that only she could hear:

"If you shout one more word, I'll have a proper talk with everyone about how you treated Uncle Jia back then."

Madam Jia's face turned deathly pale.

She opened her mouth, but something seemed to be blocking her throat, and she couldn't squeeze out a single word.

He Yuzhu looked at her, waited a few seconds, then turned around and walked back to the table to continue handing things over.

Jia Zhangshi stood there, her face drained of color. Someone next to her pushed her: "Go, go, don't get in the way." She staggered and was pushed out the door by the crowd. She stood there in a daze for a while before lowering her head and disappearing into the alley, not daring to utter a single curse.

By the time the items were distributed, it was already dark.

He Yuzhu returned the empty cart to the grain store and walked into the courtyard. When he reached the alley entrance, he saw that the streetlights were broken, and it was pitch black. He slowed down and was about to turn in when a figure emerged from the shadows against the wall.

Old Zhou.

Old Zhou from the police station. He stood in the shadows, the red glow of his cigarette butt flashing on and off. When he saw He Yuzhu, he threw the cigarette butt on the ground and stomped it out.

"Deputy Factory Director He, we've been waiting for you for ages."

He Yuzhu stopped and looked him over.

"Old Zhou, what's up?"

Old Zhou looked around, then took two steps closer and lowered his voice:

"I have a case I'd like to ask for your help with."

He Yuzhu didn't respond, waiting for him to continue.

Old Zhou was silent for a moment, then lowered his voice even further: "Recently, there's been someone in the city collecting a kind of old item. They're using very unorthodox methods, and the sources aren't clean. We've been watching them for several days and discovered that they're in contact with you... with someone in your courtyard."

He Yuzhu's eyebrows twitched.

"Who?"

Old Zhou shook his head.

"They're still investigating; there's no concrete evidence yet. The police station said they'd like to confirm some details with you tomorrow morning."

He Yuzhu nodded.

"OK."

Old Zhou waved to him, then turned and disappeared into the night.

He Yuzhu stood at the entrance of the alley, watching his back walk away before turning around and walking inside.

In the courtyard, the light in the old lady's room was still on.

As he passed by the Jia family's house, he heard someone cursing inside. The voice was very low, as if squeezed out from between teeth, each word uttered one by one. The hatred was palpable even through the door.

He Yuzhu didn't stop and continued walking forward.

Upon entering the house, he found the old woman sitting on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), sewing shoe soles. Seeing him come in, she looked up and asked, "Why are you so late?"

He Yuzhu took off his coat and hung it on the wall.

"I need to take care of something."

The old woman didn't ask any more questions and lowered her head to continue sewing the shoe soles. The needle and thread made a slight hissing sound as they passed through the thick cloth.

He Yuzhu sat at the table, poured himself a glass of water, and slowly drank it.

Outside the window, night had completely fallen.