The Courtyard House: The story begins with He Yuzhu beating up the White Widow.

A little after two o'clock in the afternoon, He Yuzhu and He Yushui had just turned into the alley where the widow Bai's house was located when they saw He Daqing walking ahead. He Yushui suddenly broke free from He Yuzhu's hand and ran towards He Daqing, calling out, "Dad!"

He Daqing, who was walking ahead, stopped abruptly upon hearing the call. After a moment, He Daqing thought he was hallucinating, but when He Yushui called out "Dad" a second time, he knew he wasn't hallucinating. He turned around and saw He Yushui rush into his arms like a cannonball.

He Daqing dropped what he was holding and hugged He Yushui tightly. He Yushui clung to He Daqing's clothes just as tightly, as if her father would disappear if she let go. He Yushui cried, "Dad! Don't abandon Yushui! Yushui will be good! Yushui doesn't want any treats! And she doesn't want any new clothes!"

He Daqing felt as if he had been punched hard in the heart, and his eyes instantly reddened. He Daqing comforted her, "Rainy Monster. Dad didn't abandon you. Dad came to Baocheng for work." Saying this, He Daqing picked up He Yushui, looked at He Yuzhu, and said, "Grab your things and come with me!"

He Yuzhu reluctantly walked to He Daqing's side, picked up the cloth bag on the ground, and followed He Daqing toward the restaurant not far away.

"Oh?! Master He, what brings you here today?!" The shopkeeper greeted He Daqing with a smile.

He Daqing asked, "Manager Tong, is a private room available?"

The shopkeeper smiled and replied, "It's empty! Come with me!"

After entering the private room, He Daqing sat down and said, "Manager Tong, I'd like some cold dishes: braised donkey heart and ginger-flavored donkey lips; hot dishes: braised donkey ribs, abalone-flavored donkey hooves, thick soup with donkey tendons, and spicy and sour cabbage. Also, three ounces of local liquor and a pot of tea."

"Please have a seat! The food will be ready soon!" With that, Manager Tong left the private room.

After the door closed, He Daqing asked, "Shazhu, how did you find us?!"

He Yuzhu replied, "How else could we have found us?! Yi Zhonghai gave us the address and we bought the train tickets." Then, changing the subject, he continued, "But he's not a good person either. Before we came, he had already sent a telegram to the White Widow."

He Daqing wasn't stupid; on the contrary, he was very shrewd. He quickly understood the hidden meaning in He Yuzhu's words. He Daqing asked, "What do you mean?!"

He Yuzhu said, "You gave me the nickname 'Silly Pillar.' Actually, you should be called 'Silly Qing.' You didn't even realize you were being schemed against. And you were wholeheartedly raising someone else's son?! Don't think that just because your name is Daqing, you can benefit from the Qing Dynasty. Even Dorgon couldn't handle this back then, do you think you can?! You just took over Yi Zhonghai's business."

He Daqing suddenly felt a sense of estrangement towards He Yuzhu. He tentatively asked, "Are you my son?!"

He Yuzhu rolled his eyes at He Daqing and said, "If I'm not your son, whose son is I?! I just didn't care about arguing with the people in the compound before. I was just pretending to be stupid. Do you think I'm really stupid?! If Yushui hadn't been making a fuss about finding her father, I wouldn't have brought her here!!"

He Daqing pondered for a moment, then asked, "You just said I fell for a trap?!"

He Yuzhu nodded and said, "Our courtyard has two families without heirs. One is Yi Zhonghai, and the other is the deaf old lady. Yi Zhonghai has his apprentice Jia Dongxu as his caretaker. You know Jia Dongxu's personality better than I do. With Jia Zhangshi around, let alone providing for his family, it's already a miracle that Yi Zhonghai isn't left without heirs. So they need a backup plan. The deaf old lady has her eye on your son, me. Because you think my son is simple-minded and easy to manipulate. But your presence is affecting their plans for their care, so they have no choice but to get rid of you. Widow Bai went to Beijing to ask her cousin for help. Her cousin introduced her to Yi Zhonghai. Yi Zhonghai wanted to use Widow Bai's womb to have a child. But no matter what he did, Widow Bai's belly wouldn't conceive. Since they were going to get rid of you anyway, they conspired with Widow Bai to set you up in a honey trap."

He Daqing asked, "How do you know so much?!"

"I can't exactly tell you it was all deduced by netizens, can I?!" He Yuzhu muttered to himself, then explained, "There are no secrets that stay hidden forever. While Yushui and I were looking for you, I also asked around. Considering the situation in the courtyard, even a fool could guess some of it."

He Daqing looked He Yuzhu up and down again and said, "You're something else! You actually fooled me too."

Before He Daqing could finish speaking, a waiter came in carrying a tray. After placing the cold dishes, wine pot, and teapot on the table, he left. He Daqing waited until the door to the private room closed before continuing, "They think they can outsmart me? They're too green! Since you're here, I'll make things clear to you."

He Daqing picked up the wine pot, poured some wine into the cup in front of him, and casually asked, "Zhuzi, what's our family's class status?!"

Without thinking, He Yuzhu blurted out, "Poor peasant!" Then he asked, "What's wrong?!"

He Daqing said, "Our family only declined in fortune during your grandfather's generation. Our ancestor apprenticed under Dai Dongguan, the head chef of the imperial kitchen. After Dai Dongguan, our family took over the imperial kitchen. It is said that prosperity is followed by decline, and wealth does not last beyond three generations. This is also true for our He family. I recently received news that the higher-ups are going to re-examine our family backgrounds. I was worried that it would affect you and Yushui, so I went along with it. Besides, your mother has been gone for three years. I have kept vigil for her for three years. I think I have done right by her."

He Yuzhu said, "Dad, Yushui and I don't object to you remarrying. But if you're going to find someone, find someone better! Is it worth it to marry a widow with two children to support?!"

He Daqing gave a wry smile and said, "What's the point of whether it's worth it or not?!" With that, he picked up a piece of food with his chopsticks and placed it in He Yushui's bowl, saying, "Yushui, eat!"

He Yuzhu asked, "Father, what are your plans for me and Yushui?!"

He Daqing took a sip of wine and said, "I asked your master. He said it won't be long before you graduate. I've already talked to Boss Lou. Once you graduate, you can take over my job. Before I left, I left two hundred yuan and a job recommendation letter from Lou's Steel Plant with Yi Zhonghai. I'll also send you ten yuan every month as living expenses."

He Yuzhu said, "You've entrusted the wrong person! Yi Zhonghai embezzled both the money and the recommendation letter. I reckon the money you send in the future might not even reach me."

He Daqing's expression changed instantly. He Yuzhu continued, "You know better than I what kind of people are in our courtyard. With you gone, it's just me and Yushui left. They're just waiting to eat our family dry!"