The Beginning of a Courtyard House: Sixty Years of Internal Strength

"Take me to see it tomorrow. If I like it, I'll agree to all your requests."

Li Jianguo thought to himself, "Whether it's land or not, in a few years it will become a high-level cooperative and everyone will eat from the same pot. All this land will be taken back, and then we can only earn work points."

Besides, he wouldn't even bother with this little bit of food; there's not enough to go around in the current space.

The next day, after borrowing a donkey cart from her uncle's family, Grandma Li set off with Li Jianguo. It took the donkey cart two hours to reach Wangjiazhuang, which was just a few villages away.

Once outside the courtyard, it was indeed poor. There were only a few mud-brick houses inside, with thatched roofs and no tiles on the roofs.

My grandparents' house was half brick and half adobe; the lower part was brick and the upper part was adobe, and it had a tiled roof. The grass on that roof could easily be blown away by a strong wind.

When Li Jianguo first saw the girl, he was stunned. It was truly a case of a good bamboo shoot emerging from a bad one, or a phoenix flying from a pheasant's nest. This girl had a bit of the "Milk Tea Sister" vibe.

She has long, jet-black hair draped over her shoulders, a youthful and lively oval face, and features that are pleasing to the eye. She looks truly pure and innocent.

Although her clothes were tattered, her face had fair and radiant skin, a pair of clear and bright eyes, and a high, full chest.

Even thick clothes couldn't hide her ample bust. The clothes were covering her up quite thoroughly, but you could tell from her neck that she had very fair skin—the kind of cool-toned white skin.

She doesn't possess the same kind of beauty as her older sister Xue Ru. Xue Ru's beauty is a kind of alluring and seductive charm. But hers is a pure and sensual beauty, both innocent and alluring.

Li Jianguo looked at it carefully a few more times. It was the first time he'd seen it without a ball.

Logically speaking, how could this family raise such a girl? Did they suddenly have a genetic mutation?

However, looking at her mother next to her, she does have a good foundation, and they do resemble each other somewhat in their eyes and eyebrows.

It seems that he is indeed his biological son; Li Jianguo initially suspected that the child was adopted.

Then look at her brother next to her. Although his skin is bad and he is very tanned, there is a sense of determination between his brows.

Grandma Li whispered something in his ear.

"Do you like it? If you do, I'll talk to their family and we'll take him home right away. We don't need to do anything else; you can just take him back to the city to get the marriage certificate."

Li Jianguo exclaimed, "Wow, so fast? I haven't even exchanged a single word with this 'Milk Tea Sister,' and I don't even know her name, and she's already taking me home."

However, he did take a liking to it and handed 5 yuan to his grandmother.

"Grandma has no problem with it, she's agreed to all the conditions."

Grandma took the money and pulled her parents out of the house, her mother leaving behind a message.

"You two should have a chat."

Li Jianguo didn't stand on ceremony and spoke directly, "I still don't know your name."

The girl blushed and lowered her head.

"My name is Wang Yao."

"Oh, Wang Yao, you don't need to be so nervous. Let's just have a simple chat. What do you usually do at home? You look so fair-skinned, you don't seem like you do a lot of housework."

Huang Yao thought Li Jianguo thought she was lazy, so she quickly offered an explanation.

"I often do housework and work in the fields. It's just that I'm naturally like this; I don't get tanned."

"Hmm, it's okay, that's not what I meant. Besides, if you come to the city with me, you won't have to work in the fields."

"I just need to tidy up the house and cook for you. By the way, have you ever been to school? Can you read?"

Wang Yao got up, feeling embarrassed.

"I only attended primary school for two years, and I don't know most of the characters. I can only write my own name."

After saying that, Wang Yao blushed and lowered her head in embarrassment.

"It's okay, it's okay, I can teach you slowly later."

They chatted for half an hour, but then the conversation stalled. Li Jianguo didn't know what to say to her, so he just asked her a question and she answered it. Wang Yao was too shy.

Fortunately, Grandma and Li's mother arrived shortly afterward and gave Li Jianguo the marriage introduction letter and the certificate for transferring his household registration.

"I'll pack her some clothes, and you can take her away." With that, Li's mother took out a summer dress from the closet.

Wang Yao's eyes reddened; she knew she was about to leave.

Li Jianguo tactfully left the house to let the mother and daughter chat, while he curiously eavesdropped.

Li's mother gave her a few words of advice: a married woman should obey her husband, be obedient, and be diligent.

Grandma and Li Jianguo led her, turning back every few steps as she boarded the donkey cart, and then the three of them slowly returned to Lijiazhuang.

Upon arriving at his hometown, Li Jianguo couldn't rush things. After all, the village chief had already announced over the loudspeaker that it was time to pack up.

In the morning, taking advantage of the little time I still had, I quickly went to the village committee, collected the villagers' belongings, and then had lunch with them.

After eating, he carried Wang Yao back to Beijing on a shoulder pole. On the way, the two gradually became familiar with each other, and they started calling each other Brother Jianguo and Yao Yao.

They arrived in Beijing around 2 p.m., and Li Jianguo quietly took out his household registration book from his spatial storage.

First, the neighborhood committee issued their marriage introduction letter, and then they took Yao Yao to get their marriage certificate. In this day and age, a marriage certificate is no different from an award certificate; it doesn't even have a photo.

After getting their marriage certificate, they went to the neighborhood committee to register their household registration.

I glanced at the sky; it wasn't time to leave work yet. I'd better put the carrying pole and luggage home first.

When they arrived at the entrance of No. 95 courtyard, they ran into Yang Ruihua again. Yang Ruihua became curious when she saw Li Jianguo leading a pretty girl.

"Jianguo, who is this?"

"Aunt Yang, this is my wife, Wang Yao. She will be living in this courtyard from now on. We still need to put some things away."

Without giving Yang Ruihua a chance to speak, he led Wang Yao home.

Li Jianguo pushed open the door and said, "Yaoyao, these two rooms are our home. The kitchen is next door, and the living room and bedroom are over here."

Li Jianguo put the carrying pole down and told her to put the clothes on the table.

Wang Yao looked around carefully. This would be her home from now on. She was very satisfied. It was much better than the house in her hometown. It was just a little small, but it was fine for just the two of them.

Considering the clothes Wang Yao was wearing, let's take her to get a few made.

Li Jianguo locked the door and led her there, deciding to go to the silk shop since they were old acquaintances and he could get a discount.

"Brother Jianguo, where are we going?"

"I'll take you to buy some clothes," Li Jianguo replied casually.

Hearing that she was going to be bought clothes made Yao Yao feel warm inside.

Yao Yao felt a little embarrassed when she saw the stylish silk shop. "Brother Jianguo, why don't we make it ourselves? It looks expensive here."

"Yaoyao, don't worry, I have plenty of money. It's just a few outfits, right? I know the owner here, he can give me a discount."

I took her hand and led her inside. I was surprised to find that her hands had many calluses, which meant she must do a lot of work.

As soon as she entered, Chen Xueru saw Li Jianguo leading a pretty girl in.

Her heart skipped a beat, even though she had long been prepared for Li Jianguo to marry someone else.

But when the moment came, she still felt a little uncomfortable, though she didn't show it on her face.

After all, her relationship with him couldn't be made public.