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

He Yuzhu wrote the list with a fountain pen, stroke by stroke, filling three pages. After finishing the last stroke, the pen nib paused on the paper, the ink spreading into a small dot. He closed the list, put it in the drawer, and locked it. Outside the window, the sun was shining brightly, illuminating the courtyard wall, making the plaster look dusty and gray.

He stood up and walked to the window. The leaves of the jujube tree in the yard had turned green, rustling in the wind. Qin Huairu was squatting under the tap washing clothes, her apron tied around her waist and sleeves rolled up to her elbows. The foam in the basin shimmered with iridescent light in the sunlight. She scrubbed slowly, stroke by stroke, until she was finished. Then she took the clothes out of the water, wrung them out, shook them out, and hung them on the clothesline. A breeze blew, and the hem of her clothes fluttered, billowing in the wind.

He Yuzhu stood by the window and looked for a long time.

The day Qin Huairu received her third injection, He Yuzhu was flipping through a list in his office. The phone rang; it was He Nianhua on the other end, her voice low, as if afraid of disturbing something.

"Dad, come back quickly. Mom's hair—"

What's wrong with your hair?

"You'll see when you come back."

He Yuzhu put down the phone and walked out of the office. The lights in the corridor were on, blindingly white. He went downstairs, pushed open the front door, and squinted at the sunlight. He quickened his pace, walked through the alley, and pushed open the courtyard gate.

Qin Huairu was squatting in front of the tap, washing bed sheets. The water in the basin was murky, and foam overflowed, dripping down the rim. She had her head down, her hair hanging down from behind her ears, jet black and shiny.

He Yuzhu stood behind her without saying a word.

She wrung out the sheets, stood up, turned around, saw him, and paused for a moment.

"Why are you standing there?"

He Yuzhu stared at her hair. The white hairs were gone, and from root to tip, they were jet black, gleaming in the sunlight. He reached out and touched it; it was soft and smooth, not dyed. He took her hand and turned it over to look. The age spots on the back of her hand had faded, almost invisible.

Qin Huairu pulled her hand back and wiped it on her apron.

"Nianhua is just spouting nonsense."

He Nianhua ran out of the house, holding up an old black-and-white photo of Qin Huairu from ten years ago, the edges of which were curled. He held the photo up to Qin Huairu's face, looked at it from left to right, and then smiled.

"Mom, you look younger than you did ten years ago."

Qin Huairu patted him on the shoulder. "Go do your homework."

He Nianhua didn't move, staring at her hair for several seconds, muttering "Really," before turning and running back into the house. He Yuzhu stood in the yard, watching Qin Huairu squat down to continue washing. She put her hands into the basin, rubbed them a couple of times, stopped, looked up, and stared at the shirt billowing in the wind on the clothesline.

"Huai Ru".

"Um."

He Yuzhu seemed about to say something, but swallowed the words back. Qin Huairu waited a few seconds, but when she didn't hear anything more, she lowered her head and continued rubbing.

"The physical requirements for astronauts are high," He Yuzhu finally spoke up. "Huayuan-1 can reduce the number of people who need to be eliminated."

Qin Huairu's hands didn't stop washing the clothes. "It's up to you."

In the afternoon, He Yushui arrived. She had gained some weight since ten years ago; her face was fuller, and she looked much healthier. When she entered, she was carrying a bag of bright red apples, which she placed on the table.

"Where is my sister-in-law?"

"In the inner room."

He Yushui walked to the doorway of the inner room and saw Qin Huairu sitting on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed) folding clothes. She stared at Qin Huairu's hair for a few seconds, then paused, stunned.

"Sister-in-law, your hair—"

"Nianhua is just making things up," Qin Huairu interrupted her, smiling.

He Yushui didn't ask any more questions, turned around and came out, sitting down next to He Yuzhu. He Nianhua ran out of the house and took He Yushui's hand.

"Auntie, look! My mom looks ten years younger!"

He Yushui patted He Nianhua's head. "I saw it."

Qin Huairu brought out the dishes: a plate of scrambled eggs, a plate of stewed cabbage, and a bowl of soup. He Nianhua climbed onto a stool, picked up her chopsticks, and popped a piece of egg into her mouth. He Yushui ate a few bites and then put down her chopsticks.

"elder brother."

He Yuzhu raised his head.

He Yushui hesitated for a moment, then lowered her head and traced her fingers across the table.

"That medicine...can Grandma use it?"

He Yuzhu's chopsticks stopped in mid-air.

The room fell silent. Qin Huairu also stopped what she was doing. He Nianhua looked around, wondering what had happened.

He Yushui looked up, her eyes reddening.

"I forgot, Grandma has passed away."

He Yuzhu put down his chopsticks. He looked at He Yushui, wanting to say something, but his throat felt like it was blocked by something. Qin Huairu stood up, walked to He Yushui's side, and put his arm around her shoulder. He Yushui buried her face in Qin Huairu's chest, her shoulders shaking. He Nianhua stood to the side, at a loss.

He Yuzhu sat there, motionless. He thought of the deaf old woman; the year he returned from North Korea, she sat on the doorstep, touched his face, and said, "Your soul has returned." Later, he became busy and went back less and less often. Then, she left. The jujube tree was still there, the jujube trunk was still there, but she was gone.

He Yushui cried for a while, then raised her head and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.

"Brother, I didn't mean anything by it. I just...miss her."

He Yuzhu nodded. "I know."

That evening, He Yuzhu sat alone in his office. He took the list out of his drawer, turned to the page with "Huayuan No. 1," and added a line after the word "allocation": "Already used by senior scientists such as Qian Xuesen and Yuan Longping." Qin Huairu's liver function returned to normal after the injection, and her white hair turned black.

He finished writing, put the list back, and locked the drawer. He stood up and walked to the window. The moon was bright, shining on the courtyard wall, making it appear grayish. He stood there for a long time.

the phone is ringing.

He answered the phone, and on the other end was Yang Xiaobing, whose voice was hoarse and had static from the long-distance call.

"Commander, there's some activity in Brazil."

He Yuzhu's hand tightened on the microphone. "Speak."

"Pu Zheng mortgaged the rubber plantation to the Americans in exchange for a dozen or so bio-soldiers for close protection. The training base has doubled in size, and the number of personnel has also doubled."

He Yuzhu didn't speak. Yang Xiaobing waited a few seconds on the other end.

"Commander, he's betting everything on the Americans."

"Keep watching. Don't let him get away."

Yang Xiaobing responded and hung up. He Yuzhu stood by the window, looking at the night outside. The moon peeked out from behind the clouds, shining on the courtyard wall. He stood there for a long time before drawing the curtains.

He turned around, walked back to the table, and sat down. He took the list out of the drawer, turned to the page with "Pu Zheng," and added a line: Rubber plantation mortgaged in exchange for protection by bio-warriors.

He finished writing, put the list back, and locked the drawer. He leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes.

Qin Huairu's hair turned black, He Yushui cried, and Pu Zheng staked his entire fortune on the Americans. Those people, those events, are all on the road.