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

To be honest, the reason He Yuzhu took He Yushui out for a stroll was twofold: first, He Yuzhu was currently unemployed and incredibly bored; second, there were just too many treasures hidden in the underground world of Beijing. He felt uneasy if he didn't store these treasures in his spatial storage. Moreover, He Yuzhu knew that it wouldn't be long before his uncle Zhang Dabiao's comrades or former superiors would come looking for him. They might even arrange a job for him then. He probably wouldn't want this much freedom again until retirement.

After lunch, He Yuzhu took He Yushui out. Everyone in the No. 95 courtyard who was supposed to be at work had already gone to work. Presumably, there wasn't much of a profit to be made, so Yan Bugui and his wife didn't appear at the gate. He Yuzhu led He Yushui out of the No. 95 courtyard gate without incident.

Once outside, He Yushui was initially quite well-behaved, holding He Yuzhu's hand. Gradually, however, she started to run around excitedly, looking here and there. Before they knew it, the brother and sister had arrived at Zhengyang Gate.

After wandering around Zhengyangmen, He Yuzhu didn't see the He family's tavern or the Chen family's silk shop. He Yuzhu had originally wanted to see Chen Xueru before she got married, but now that was out of the question. Passing through Dashilan, He Yuzhu took He Yushui to Ruifuxiang Silk Shop, bought her a few yards of floral fabric, and then returned to No. 95 Courtyard.

"He Yuzhu, you two siblings are back?! What are you carrying?! Let me see!" Yang Ruihua's voice reached He Yuzhu and He Yushui's ears as they stepped into the gate of No. 95 courtyard.

He Yuzhu chuckled and joked, "Aunt Yang, you two are truly a perfect match! Your husband, Teacher Yan, loves to take advantage of others, and it seems you're the same way!"

Yang Ruihua's face showed displeasure as she questioned, "He Yuzhu, what did you say?!"

He Yuzhu replied, "What I said, do you think you wouldn't know?!" Then, before Yang Ruihua could speak, He Yuzhu continued, "Aunt Yang, don't say your family is struggling. You might fool people who don't know your family's situation, but you're not fooling me." Seeing that a growing crowd had gathered to watch the spectacle, He Yuzhu asked, "Aunt Yang, do I need to say more?!"

"Hmph!" Yang Ruihua snorted coldly and went straight home.

Seeing Yang Ruihua leave, He Yushui asked curiously, "Brother, what happened to Aunt Yang?!"

He Yuzhu replied, "Aunt Yang is going through menopause. Don't worry about her. Let's go back, I'll cook you something delicious!"

A little after 2 p.m., He Yuzhu, carrying the cloth and a bag of cotton he had bought that morning, led He Yushui to the door of the side room in the front yard and knocked on the door.

Hearing the knock, Aunt Pang answered, "Coming!" The door opened, and she saw He Yuzhu and his sister standing there. Curious, she asked, "Yuzhu, what brings you two here?!"

He Yuzhu said, "Auntie Pang, Yushui's clothes are all old. I took her out to buy some cloth this morning, and we still have some cotton at home. Could you please make her a cotton-padded coat and trousers?" As he spoke, He Yuzhu took out a dollar from his pocket, handed it to Auntie Pang, and said, "Don't worry! I won't let you work for free. This is a dollar; consider it your wages."

The plump auntie smiled and took the money, saying, "Bring the rainwater in! I'll take her measurements."

"Yes!" He Yuzhu responded and led He Yushui into Aunt Pang's house. Aunt Pang's husband was named Pang Qi, and he worked as a boiler operator at Lou's Steel Rolling Mill. Aunt Pang had five children in total, but only a pair of twins survived. The two were about the same age as He Yushui. After taking her measurements at Aunt Pang's house, He Yushui followed He Yuzhu home, grabbed some snacks, greeted He Yuzhu, and went to play with her friends.

Yan Bugui returned home from get off work. As soon as he entered, he saw his wife looking sullen and asked, "Ruihua, what's wrong?!"

Yang Ruihua glared at Yan Bugui and said, "What else can happen?! That He Yuzhu is getting more and more unruly. He even dares to talk back to me!"

"Didn't you tell me just a couple of days ago that I shouldn't stoop to his level?! What's wrong with you today?!" Yan Bugui hung his bag on the wall and then sat down next to Yang Ruihua.

Yang Ruihua said, "This noon, He Yuzhu and He Yushui came back from outside. I saw he was holding a piece of cloth, and I wanted to see it. Not only did he refuse to let me see it, but he also talked back to me. These are minor things, and I won't argue with him. Clearly, my sewing skills are better than Pang Qi's. That kid He Yuzhu made clothes for He Yushui, but instead of asking me, he went to Pang Qi's wife. He paid her a whole dollar for it!"

Yan Bugui hadn't taken it seriously at first, but when he heard that He Yuzhu hadn't asked his wife to make clothes, he was incredibly frustrated! Not only had he not earned a single yuan in wages, but he hadn't even gotten a scrap of fabric. Suppressing his resentment, Yan Bugui said, "No! We can't let He Yuzhu continue like this. I'll talk to Lao Yi later and make sure we shut He Yuzhu down."

At this moment, He Yuzhu, who was catching up on sleep at home, was unaware that Yan Bugui was planning to join forces with Yi Zhonghai to deal with him. Even if he did know, He Yuzhu wouldn't take it seriously. Yan Bugui's petty schemes were something even the He Yuzhu in the TV series couldn't handle, let alone the current He Yuzhu.

"Old Yi!" Just after six o'clock in the evening, Yan Bugui saw Yi Zhonghai return and immediately called out to him.

Yi Zhonghai asked, "Old Yan, what's the matter?!"

Yan Bugui pulled Yi Zhonghai aside and said, "Old Yi, that kid He Yuzhu is getting more and more unruly. He has no respect for his elders at all. If this continues, He Yuzhu will go astray sooner or later. We elders in this courtyard can't just stand by and watch him go astray!"

Yi Zhonghai glanced at Yan Bugui discreetly and asked, "What are your thoughts?!"

Yan Bugui said, "Old Yi, you shouldn't have asked me this. I'm just offering a suggestion."

Yi Zhonghai snorted and thought to himself, "It's true what they say, 'Dog meat can't be served at a banquet.'" Yi Zhonghai pretended to consider for a few minutes and then said, "Old Yan, I think we should think about this matter more carefully. Let's talk about it later!" After saying that, Yi Zhonghai walked directly past Yan Bugui.

Watching Yi Zhonghai's retreating figure, Yan Bugui muttered resentfully, "Why is Yi Zhonghai so clueless?!"

Yi Zhonghai returned home, walked to the table, sat down, took out a cigarette from his pocket, lit it, and silently smoked. Zhao Shufen, who was carrying dishes in from outside, saw Yi Zhonghai sitting there in a daze and asked, "Husband, what's wrong?!"

Yi Zhonghai snapped out of his daze and asked, "Has the old lady's food been delivered yet?!"

Zhao Shufen replied, "It was sent over a long time ago. I guess it's all eaten by now."