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

While Xu Wude was instructing Xu Damao at home, Yi Zhonghai arrived at the deaf old lady's door and knocked. Hearing the knock, the deaf old lady replied, "The door's unlocked, come in!"

Yi Zhonghai pushed open the door and walked into the deaf old lady's house, getting straight to the point: "Grandma, you saw what just happened. Where did this Uncle Shazhu come from?!"

The deaf old woman said, "No matter where he came from, He Yuzhu is now a pillar in the courtyard. It's true what they say, even fools have their luck! This kid He Yuzhu actually has such good fortune." Then the deaf old woman looked Yi Zhonghai up and down and asked, "You went to see Jiao Laosan?!"

Yi Zhonghai paused for a moment, then nodded silently.

The deaf old woman sighed and said, "Since we've already looked, let's just leave it at that!" Then she asked, "You've come here at this time, it must be about the liaison officer, right?!"

Yi Zhonghai said, "Grandma, why did everyone in the courtyard choose those old women, and not me?! Haven't I taken good enough care of them?!"

The deaf old woman said, "Zhonghai, if it weren't for He Yuzhu's words, I reckon you would have been the liaison officer in the compound. It's such a pity. Since you've already prepared to send away the troublemaker, why are you still worrying about it?! Maybe in a few days, after He Yuzhu is gone, you can become the liaison officer. Who knows?"

They say you have to listen carefully to the underlying meaning, and Yi Zhonghai had already discerned the other layer of meaning in the deaf old woman's words. He said, "Grandma, I understand! It's getting late, you should get some rest. I'll be going now!"

The deaf old woman watched Yi Zhonghai's retreating figure and muttered under her breath, "Useless!"

Nothing happened that night. The next morning, Yi Zhonghai got up early and, taking advantage of a trip to the public restroom, met with Jiao Laosan. Yi Zhonghai told Jiao Laosan what He Yuzhu looked like, and then returned to the courtyard house. A little after seven in the morning, He Yuzhu and her brother ate breakfast and went out.

However, as He Yuzhu stepped out of the courtyard gate, he suddenly felt a pang of unease. He Yuzhu immediately released his divine sense. Soon, a man with a hooked nose hiding around a corner appeared in He Yuzhu's mind. He Yuzhu thought to himself, "I really didn't expect Yi Zhonghai to dare to send someone to deal with me?!" He Yuzhu pretended not to notice and continued walking towards the Military Control Commission with He Yushui.

After Jiao Laosan and He Yuzhu and his sister passed by him, they immediately came out from around the corner. He Yuzhu and his sister followed behind them.

Not long after, He Yuzhu brought He Yushui to the entrance of the Military Control Commission. The gatekeeper, seeing the siblings, smiled and asked, "Young man, what brings you here today?"

He Yuzhu said, "Grandpa, Aunt Wang Xia asked me to come and see her."

The gatekeeper sized up He Yuzhu and said, "Not bad, young man. Come in! Deputy Director Wang works in the third east wing room of the central courtyard."

"Thank you, sir!" He Yuzhu greeted the gatekeeper and led He Yushui through the gate of the Military Control Commission.

Jiao Laosan stood not far away, watching He Yuzhu and his sister enter the Military Control Commission, his brows furrowing involuntarily. After a moment's hesitation, Jiao Laosan decided to wait at the entrance for He Yuzhu and his sister to come out of the Military Control Commission.

"Knock! Knock! Knock!" He Yuzhu led He Yushui to the door of Wang Xia's office and knocked on the door.

Hearing the knock, Wang Xia called out, "Come in!"

He Yuzhu pushed open the door, led He Yushui inside, and called out, "Aunt Wang!"

"Zhu and Yushui are here?! Please have a seat!" Wang Xia gestured for He Yuzhu and his sister to sit down, then opened her desk drawer, took out a prepared letter of introduction, and handed it to He Yuzhu, saying, "This is the letter of introduction. I've already made the arrangements for you. Just take the letter and go directly there."

He Yuzhu accepted the letter of introduction and said, "Thank you, Aunt Wang!"

Wang Xia said, "I'm going to complete the onboarding process now, so I can start work right after the New Year." Then she asked, "What are your plans for the New Year?"

He Yuzhu replied, "It's just me and Yushui at home. I plan to go to my master's house early on the first day of the Lunar New Year to wish him a happy new year. After that, I'll stay at home. At most, I'll take Yushui to the temple fair."

Wang Xia said, "Don't go out on the third day of the Lunar New Year."

"Okay!" He Yuzhu obediently replied, "Aunt Wang, if there's nothing else, Yushui and I will be going now!"

"Go on!" Wang Xia watched He Yuzhu and his sister leave her office, couldn't help but sigh, and continued with her work.

As they walked out of the military control office, He Yushui asked, "Brother, where are we going now?!"

He Yuzhu replied, "I'm going to report to the machine tool factory." Then he asked, "What?! Do you have other ideas?!"

"No!" He Yushui shook her head vigorously. He Yuzhu smiled and picked her up, saying, "Come on! Let's go get the onboarding done. Afterwards, I'll take you for a stroll around Wangfujing."

Jiao Laosan followed He Yuzhu for a while and discovered that He Yuzhu was taking the road to the First Machine Tool Factory in Beijing. Jiao Laosan's eyes lit up, and he immediately decided to take a shortcut and ambush He Yuzhu ahead. However, Jiao Laosan was unaware that his every move was being watched by He Yuzhu.

Because he was with He Yushui, He Yuzhu couldn't easily take action. Therefore, for safety, he had to take a detour to avoid Jiao Laosan's ambush. A little after 9:30 AM, He Yuzhu arrived at the entrance of the machine tool factory with He Yushui. He Yuzhu was stopped by the guard at the gate: "Comrade, what's the matter?!"

He Yuzhu took out his letter of introduction and handed it to the guard, saying, "Comrade, this is my letter of introduction. I'm here to complete my onboarding procedures."

The guard took the letter of introduction from He Yuzhu, looked at it, and after confirming that there were no problems, returned the letter to He Yuzhu, saying, "Comrade, please register!"

"Yes!" He Yuzhu responded, leading He Yushui into the guardhouse at the factory gate. He wrote his name and purpose in the register. Then, He Yuzhu looked at the shift leader sitting behind the desk and asked, "Comrade, I'm leaving my sister here. Could you please look after her?"

The duty officer nodded and said, "Okay! Don't worry, leave her here!"

"Hey!" He Yuzhu responded and said to He Yushui, "Yushui, stay here and wait a while, I'll be right back."

"Okay!" He Yushui responded obediently, saying, "Brother, go ahead! I'll wait for you here!"

After obtaining He Yushui's consent, He Yuzhu did not delay for a moment and immediately followed the route pointed out by the guard at the gate to the labor and personnel department of the machine tool factory.