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

On the third day after Yu Li married into the family, she started washing clothes in the yard.

She carried a basin of bed sheets to the public water tap, turned it on, and the water gushed out. Aunt Erda was washing vegetables nearby, and the two sat close together, chatting idly.

"Second Aunt, how long have you been living in this courtyard?"

The second aunt picked off the vegetable leaves and threw them into the bucket next to her.

"It's been over twenty years. We've lived here since before Liberation."

Yu Li nodded, pressed the bed sheet into the basin, and rubbed it a couple of times.

"So you know that guy from the He family? Yu Shui's brother?"

The second aunt paused her cleaver.

"Zhu Zi? I know him. What's up?"

Yu Li smiled.

"It's nothing. I just heard he's an official at the steel mill, and he's quite powerful."

The second aunt continued chopping vegetables.

"That's impressive. He fought in Korea and made meritorious contributions, so he became the deputy factory director after he came back."

Yu Li said "Oh" and turned the bed sheet over.

"Does he usually stay at the factory? Or does he go somewhere else?"

The second aunt raised her eyelids and glanced at her.

Why are you asking this?

Yu Li's smile froze.

"Just asking. My son Dongxu also works at a steel rolling mill, and I'd like him to learn from them."

The second aunt didn't say anything more, and left with the dishes. Her footsteps echoed on the blue bricks, one after another, until they faded into the distance.

Yu Li kept her head down, scrubbing in the basin, without looking up. Only when the sound of her second aunt's footsteps had completely faded away did she stop what she was doing and glance at He Yushui's window. Behind the window, a figure flashed.

That night, He Yushui couldn't sleep.

She remembered the questions Yu Li had asked her during the day: where her brother was, what he was doing, and whether he came back often. She remembered what her brother had said—"If anyone comes to the compound asking about me, remember to tell me."

She got up, lit the oil lamp, and pulled out the letter from under her pillow. She bit the pen for a while, thought for a moment, and then wrote:

"Brother, the Jia family's new bride is named Yu Li. She was asking about you in the courtyard today. She asked where you were and what you were doing. I feel something's not right."

After she finished writing, she folded the paper, put it in an envelope, and sent it out early the next morning.

When He Yuzhu received the letter, he was in the workshop staring at the second version of the cylinder block.

Ma Yuejin was recording data beside him, while Li Zhiming was squatting on the ground taking measurements. He opened the envelope, read it over, his face expressionless, but he tightened his grip on the letter.

He folded the letter and stuffed it into his work pocket.

"Old Lu."

Old Lu walked over from the doorway.

"Commander?"

He Yuzhu lowered his voice.

"The new daughter-in-law of the Jia family, Yu Li. Investigate her background, find out where she came from."

Old Lu nodded, turned and left.

Three days later, news came from Lao Sun.

He Yuzhu was sitting in his office when Lao Sun placed a piece of paper in front of him.

"Yu Li, 23 years old, from Hebei, her family are ordinary workers. But she has a cousin named Yu Dehai, who went to Taiwan in 1950."

He Yuzhu looked down at the paper.

Have you contacted them?

Old Sun nodded.

"We exchanged a letter last year. The content was casual, but the address was Hong Kong, which was used for transit."

He Yuzhu raised his head.

"Hongkong?"

Old Sun lit a cigarette, and behind the smoke were his squinted eyes.

"Yes. Hong Kong. We checked that address; it's the same one Zheng Huaiyuan used."

The room fell silent.

It was so quiet you could hear the second hand of the wall clock ticking away, click, click, one tick after another.

He Yuzhu stared at the paper, his gaze lingering on the two place names for a long time. He took out the letter and placed it on the table.

"It was written by Yu Shui. She said Yu Li was asking about me."

Old Sun took the letter and read it once.

"What are you planning to do?"

He Yuzhu stood up and walked to the window. Outside the window was the cinder road of the factory area. Several workers pushed carts past, the wheels creaking and groaning as they pressed down on the cinders.

"Don't move for now," he said. "Let's see what she's up to."

When Jia Dongxu returned home from get off work in the evening, Yu Li had already prepared dinner.

Jia Zhangshi sat at the table, poking around in her bowl with her chopsticks, muttering to herself.

"That's all the dishes? My son's been working all day, and this is all he gets to eat?"

Yu Li didn't say anything, set out the bowls and chopsticks, and sat down next to Jia Dongxu.

Jia Dongxu ate in silence, not uttering a sound.

After dinner, Yu Li cleared the dishes and took them to wash. Jia Dongxu sat on the doorstep smoking, his eyes fixed on the ground in the yard, lost in thought.

After Yu Li finished washing the dishes, she came over and sat down next to him.

"Dongxu, is your factory busy lately?"

Jia Dongxu nodded.

"Busy. That internal combustion engine project, I'm working overtime every day."

Yu Li's eyes lit up.

"Internal combustion engine? What's that?"

Jia Dongxu shook his head.

"I don't know. It's a technical matter, and I don't understand it either."

Yu Li moved closer to him.

"You're in the factory, can you see those documents?"

Jia Dongxu was stunned for a moment.

"Documents? What documents?"

Yu Li lowered her voice.

"It's those technical documents. If you can see them, just flip through them and remember a few keywords."

Jia Dongxu looked at her. It was dark in the courtyard, so he couldn't see the expression on her face, only her two eyes, which were so bright they were almost piercing.

Why are you asking this?

Yu Li smiled and patted the back of his hand.

"Nothing much. I just wanted to know what advanced things your factory is working on."

Jia Dongxu didn't say anything. He threw the cigarette butt on the ground and slowly crushed it out with his toe, one stroke at a time, until it was in tiny pieces.

"Alright, go back to sleep."

He stood up and walked into the house. Reaching the door, he didn't turn back; his voice came muffled:

"Don't pry into what's going on at the factory."

Yu Li's smile froze. She stood there, watching Jia Dongxu's figure disappear behind the curtain.

The courtyard was quiet.

She turned around and glanced at He Yushui's window.

The windows were dark, and I couldn't see anything.

But she always felt that there was a pair of eyes watching her from behind that dark window.