Courtyard House: I'm an engineer, and a fairy godmother transferred me to a different position.

Liu Guangfu stopped what he was doing, straightened his neck, and said with a hint of pride, "Dad, didn't you see the report card? Eighteenth in the class, a huge improvement!"

"Big bullshit!" Liu Haizhong glared, spitting almost onto his son's face. "Your class has less than forty people, and you dare to brag about being ranked eighteenth? Look at your older brother, he was the top student in the whole school back in the day! And look at you, still have the nerve to eat sunflower seeds?"

Liu Guangfu pursed his lips, but when his elder brother was mentioned, his pride couldn't be suppressed. After all, his older brother had recently been in the newspaper, and even the school teachers said that he was someone who could stand shoulder to shoulder with scientists.

"Father, aren't you deliberately trying to make things difficult for me by comparing me to my eldest brother? How many people in Beijing are like him?"

These words struck a nerve with Liu Haizhong, and his expression softened slightly. He rarely brought up his often-overlooked second son: "Alright, let's not talk about your eldest brother. What about your second brother? Didn't he also get into a vocational school last year? With your 18th place ranking, do you even qualify for vocational school?"

Liu Guangfu chuckled and seized the opportunity: "Second Brother got lucky with the pen from Eldest Brother. When Eldest Brother comes back, have him give me one too, and I'm guaranteed to pass the exam!"

"You little brat!" Liu Haizhong took off his cloth shoes and slapped Liu Guangfu on the thigh.

"Ouch!" Liu Guangfu hugged his leg and jumped up and down, muttering, "If you want me to go out, just say so... It's just to go to the alley entrance and see if my brother and sister-in-law have arrived yet."

"Get out! Hurry up! Don't get in my way!" Liu Haizhong put on his shoes, his beard trembling with anger.

"Let's go!" Liu Guangfu rubbed his leg, and before leaving, he grabbed a handful of melon seeds from the table and stuffed them into his pocket, then dashed out the door.

Almost simultaneously, a gleaming black Volga sedan silently pulled up on the bluestone path outside the courtyard gate. The moment the engine stopped, the entire alley fell silent. Liu Guangfu, who had been standing guard by the gate, stamping his feet and breathing on them to warm them up, suddenly brightened up and shouted at the top of his lungs:

"Brother! Sister-in-law! You're back!"

The shout was like a stone thrown into a deep pool. The wooden door of Yan Bugui's house in the front yard creaked open, and Yan Bugui, hands tucked in and neck hunched, crawled out. Upon seeing Liu Guangqi alighting from the cart, his thin face immediately broke into a wide, beaming smile, like chrysanthemum petals unfolding in autumn.

"Guangqi's back for the New Year?"

This morning I was telling my husband that someone like me, who's been in the newspapers, should definitely come home for the New Year in a presentable manner.

He deliberately spoke the words "it was in the newspaper" slowly and loudly, as if afraid that his neighbors might not hear him clearly.

This trick worked like a charm; people inside and outside the courtyard gathered around in no time, as if they had caught wind of something.

As soon as Liu Guangqi stepped out of the car, he was surrounded by neighbors.

Aunt Zhang from the front yard, Uncle Li from the middle yard, and even the deaf old lady who rarely showed her face were all being helped along, craning their necks to look outside.

"Kuji!"

"We've all heard about your newspaper ad! You've really brought honor to our neighborhood—no, to our country!"

"Who can argue with that!"

"In just a few years, he's become a great scientist. Look at his demeanor!"

"That's incredible!"

The surrounding neighbors all smiled broadly, their words brimming with pride and arrogance, as if Liu Guangqi were their own successful child.

Clearly, in these times when collective honor was highly valued, the emergence of such a person in the courtyard house made everyone feel proud.

Even Zhao Mengyun, who got off the bus later, was stopped by several enthusiastic aunties, creating a harmonious scene in the courtyard.

There was no scheming or envy, only pure congratulations, warmth, and a sense of pride in living in the same courtyard.

After all, the Liu Guangqi in front of us is no longer the naive young man who studied at Tsinghua University, but a section chief and a level 6 engineer in the Ministry of Machine Building!

There were also guards standing upright beside him, a sight rarely seen in the hutongs of the entire city of Beijing.

Liu Guangqi has now naturally grown accustomed to his unique situation in the courtyard house.

Faced with faces that were either respectful, ingratiating, or curious, he simply nodded slightly in response.

They were not overly intimate, yet there was nothing rude about them; their words and actions maintained just the right level of propriety.

Then, the guard opened the trunk and began unloading things—the year-end bonuses that Liu Guangqi and Zhao Mengyun had received from the ministry.

When those objects were seen, the courtyard fell silent for a moment.

If it were any other family moving New Year's goods into the house like this, gossipy women would have been muttering things like "wasteful", "who are they showing off to", and "they'll just get worms if they don't finish them", and they could have been talking about it from New Year's Eve to the Lantern Festival.

But at this moment, everyone's eyes were clear and without any impurities, as if all of this was perfectly natural.

Yan Bugui stared at the bag of flour and nodded, muttering to himself, "This treatment is befitting of Guang Qi's status as a Level 6 engineer."

An older woman was supporting a deaf old lady, only daring to watch from afar, not even daring to think of getting closer.

Qin Huairu, heavily pregnant with her third child, stood in the crowd, her gaze fixed on Zhao Mengyun with mixed emotions.

Zhao Mengyun was wearing a well-fitting woolen coat that accentuated her slender figure, and she had a faint smile on her face. She didn't look like a mother of two at all.

Looking at myself again—a bloated figure, a sallow complexion, though I still retain some of my facial features, my weariness and vulgarity are undeniable.

As women, their fates are vastly different.

On the other side, Liu Guangqi's bodyguard calmly carried his belongings through the crowd and headed straight for the backyard.

Throughout the entire process, no one dared to stop them, and no one uttered a single sarcastic remark; there was only constant exchanging pleasantries and polite small talk.

The scene was so harmonious it seemed unreal.

After the guards finished moving the items, saluted, and drove away, the people in the courtyard felt even more awe.

In the backyard, Mr. and Mrs. Liu Haizhong had been waiting for a long time.

It wasn't that they didn't want to go out and greet them, but the intermittent cries of the two little babies—Ruixue and Fengnian—made it impossible for them to leave.

I wonder if the children smelled their parents' presence, because they're making a fuss.

At this moment, Zhao Mengyun had already stepped into the backyard. Upon seeing her parents-in-law, she smiled and called out:

"Dad! Mom!"

"Xiaoyun, come inside quickly! The wind outside is like a knife, don't catch a cold."

Auntie Er smiled and reached out to brush the snow off Zhao Mengyun's shoulder.

Strangely enough, as soon as Zhao Mengyun entered the room, the two little ones immediately stopped crying.

She smiled as she took the two tiny bundles of food, and a faint smell of coal smoke mixed with the aroma of milk immediately filled her nostrils.

Liu Guangqi then went into the house, but did not approach the child; instead, she quietly walked to the side.

He naturally wouldn't compete with his wife to hold the baby—such moments should be reserved for her to enjoy intimate moments with her children.

As the Spring Festival approached, a thin layer of snow accumulated on the branches of the old locust tree in the courtyard. When Liu Guangqi pushed open the door, an icicle under the eaves broke off and landed crisply on the bluestone steps.

The warmth of the room, mixed with the aroma of roasted peanuts, wafted out. Liu Guangtian rushed out from the inner room, the newspaper in his hand crumpled at the edges. "Brother!" he exclaimed excitedly, "Our teacher specifically talked about your five-axis machine tool in class—saying it gave wings to the country's industry!" On the third page of the newspaper, next to a slightly blurry photo, there were indeed several red circles drawn around it, the ink smudged, like frost on a winter windowpane.

Liu Guangqi took the newspaper, his fingertips tracing the printed words. His younger brother's eyes shone brightly: "The whole class knows you're my brother now, they surround me after class asking all sorts of questions..." His voice trembled slightly at the end, whether from excitement or from the charcoal brazier burning too brightly in the room, it was hard to tell.

"Your studies at vocational school are important," Liu Guangqi said, folding the newspaper and handing it back. "The basics of mechanical principles are the foundation for your livelihood in the future."

"I know!" Liu Guangtian nodded vigorously, his cotton-padded jacket collar swaying. "After graduation, I'll come to the Hongxing Factory to be your apprentice. I can tighten screws and draw blueprints!"

A third head peeked out from the doorway. Liu Guangfu, clinging to the edge of the wooden door, stared longingly at the Hero brand fountain pen in his second brother's hand: "Big brother, I want a pen too... Please bless me so I can pass the vocational school entrance exam next year!"

Before he finished speaking, Liu Haizhong strolled out of the kitchen and gently tapped his youngest son's lower back with the sole of his cloth shoe: "You should move your eighteenth place ranking in the final exams up a bit." Laughter immediately filled the room, and the chicken soup simmering on the stove was bubbling away.

This year, the Liu family in the backyard was quite different. Dried cured meat hung from the kitchen beam, and the outlines of red dates and walnuts peeked out from a burlap sack in the corner. This scene was truly rare these days—but what could they do when this family received three salaries? Liu Guangqi's engineer's allowance, Zhao Mengyun's ministry benefits, and Liu Haizhong's New Year's gifts for the workshop deputy director were all piled together, and even the windowsill was stacked with pastries wrapped in oil paper.

Two years from now, when Liu Guangtian graduates from vocational school and gets a job, this courtyard will probably have its fourth lantern. When neighbors pass by, they always stop to praise him, their eyes filled with genuine envy, but no one utters a single sour word—everyone can clearly see that life is earned through hard work.

Liu Guangqi leaned back in his wicker chair, watching the fine snow fall outside the window. Time seemed to slow down in this courtyard, so slow that you could hear the soft patter of snowflakes hitting the roof tiles. When Aunt Wang from the front yard brought over pickled cabbage, she would raise her voice to greet him, and Uncle Li from the middle yard, while repairing his bicycle, would always nod and smile at the back. The calculations and scheming often found in stories had transformed here into simple greetings amidst the cooking smoke.

His room remained exactly as it was when he left home. The "Mechanical Drawing" book on the bookshelf was dust-free, the bedding was fluffy and soft, and the scent of sunshine permeated every thread. Liu Guangtian had long since moved into his younger brother's room, where two narrow beds were placed side by side, and the brothers had to mumble "excuse me" as they turned over. But his younger brother never complained, and at night he could often be heard quietly reciting formulas in the dark, occasionally interspersed with his sleep-talking, "When I go to my brother's factory..."

What made Liu Guangqi stop most was the cradle. His daughter's little hands twitched in the air, and she giggled when she grabbed his fingers. Zhao Mengyun leaned against the door, knitting a sweater, the ball of yarn rolling gently in the bamboo basket, like some kind of tranquil timer.

As dusk fell, Liu Guangtian came over again to ask about the transmission principle of a five-axis machine tool. The two brothers leaned over the octagonal table, their pencils tracing intersecting lines on the draft paper. Liu Haizhong brought over some roasted melon seeds, grabbed a handful and scattered them next to the drawings: "Talking is one thing, but don't miss your chicken soup." The firelight cast everyone's shadows on the wall, flickering and blending into a warm silhouette.

As night deepened, Liu Guangqi pushed open the door and stood under the eaves. The snow had stopped, and the moonlight made the ground sparkle. The faint strains of a radio playing opera drifted from the front yard, muffled by several courtyards, becoming a warm background sound in the winter night. He exhaled a puff of white breath, watching it slowly dissipate in the cold air—this ordinary, everyday life evoked a feeling more tenderness than any sophisticated machine tool.

Zhao Mengyun was holding an infant in her arms.

Liu Guangqi went up to Xiao Fengnian and made funny faces at him, scaring him with a crooked mouth and squinting eyes. In no time, he made the boy burst into tears.

He chuckled and stepped aside, letting his wife comfort their son.

Zhao Mengyun looked at him like this.

She couldn't help but glare at him and muttered a complaint: "You only know how to bully the son. If you're so capable, try teasing the daughter."

He had barely finished speaking.

Liu Guangqi has moved to his daughter Xiao Ruixue's side.

His expression softened instantly.

He touched his daughter's round cheek very lightly with his fingertips, his voice as soft as honey.

This blatant favoritism left Zhao Mengyun both amused and exasperated.

"When spring comes and the weather warms up, I'll draw a picture, find some good wood, and make a walker for my daughter."

Liu Guangqi looked down at his daughter and said.

"Where's your son?" Zhao Mengyun deliberately pressed for an answer.

"he?"

Liu Guangqi thought for a moment: "He can just crawl on the ground. It's better to raise a boy a little more roughly."

On the side.

Liu Guangtian and Liu Guangfu heard this.

For some reason, I feel like I've heard this saying somewhere before.

……

Not long after.

Sha Zhu's booming voice drowned out the laughter and chatter from the backyard: "Guangqi! Don't just stay cooped up inside, the guys in the yard have all taken care of things for you!"

"Let's go out for a couple of drinks!"

The sound was heard and the person arrived; Sha Zhu had already swaggered to Liu Guangqi's doorstep.

He was carrying several aluminum lunch boxes, with oil sizzling and glistening reddish-brown from the seams of the lids, clearly indicating that they were filled with food.

He was followed by a line of people.

Xu Damao and Jia Dongxu are young people of similar age in the compound.