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

Not long after the deaf old lady and Zhao Shufen left the tobacco and sundry shop, a young man walked in. The shopkeeper, seeing the young man, asked, "Comrade, what would you like to buy?"

The young man said, "A pack of Taishan brand cigarettes."

The shopkeeper took out cigarettes from the counter, placed them on the counter for the young man, and said, "Two mao and forty cents."

The young man took out a wad of cash from his pocket, counted out three mao (0.3 yuan), and handed it over. The shopkeeper took the money, counted out six fen (0.06 yuan) from the cash box, and handed it to the young man, saying, "Comrade, please keep your change!"

After the young man left, the shopkeeper went to the window, hid behind the curtains, and peered out. Seeing the young man who had just bought cigarettes walk towards the other side of the street, the shopkeeper finally felt relieved. He went to the money box, took out the few bills the deaf old woman had given him, and put them in his pocket.

About an hour later, the shopkeeper's wife returned from grocery shopping. The shopkeeper said to his wife, "You watch the shop, I'm going to the back to use the restroom."

The shopkeeper's wife said, "Could you take this basket to the kitchen for me?"

"Hey!" The shopkeeper took the basket and walked towards the backyard.

The shopkeeper placed the basket in the kitchen, then went into a room next to it, quickly closed the door, and opened a hidden compartment in a pillar. He retrieved a bottle of liquid, dipped a cotton swab in it, and applied it to the money the deaf old woman had given him. After a while, the words written in the concealed liquid appeared: "Silence, Suspend Operations."

The shopkeeper collected the money, put the medicine bottle back in the hidden compartment, tidied up briefly, and then left.

At the same time, Li Yunlong and his wife got off the train with their child. Zhao Gang, standing on the platform, saw Li Yunlong and called out, "Old Li!"

"Old Zhao! I've missed you so much!" Li Yunlong said, giving Zhao Gang a big hug, then asked, "Old Zhao, why did you come to pick me up in person?!"

Zhao Gang said, "If I don't come to pick you up, you'll throw a tantrum! Then you'll ask, 'Are you and your family going to my place or your father-in-law's?!'"

Li Yunlong looked at Tian Yu, hesitated for a moment, and said, "Let's take you to my father-in-law's place instead!"

Tian Yu said with a smile, "Old Li! Don't make things difficult for yourself. Why don't you go to Old Zhao's place? I haven't seen Feng Nan in a long time. I've been wanting to have a good chat with her!"

Li Yunlong laughed and agreed, "Then let's listen to my wife."

"Let's go! Get in the car!" Zhao Gang led Li Yunlong and his family into the jeep parked nearby, then said to the driver, "Drive!"

The jeep drove out of the train station. Li Yunlong asked, "Old Zhao, have you investigated Zhang Dabiao's nephew?!"

Zhao Gang replied, "I checked. That person is indeed Zhang Dabiao's nephew. But those two children are also unfortunate." Zhao Gang then recounted his findings to Li Yunlong. Tian Yu, sitting beside him, exclaimed after hearing Zhao Gang's account, "How could a father be like that?!"

Li Yunlong then asked, "Have you told Wang Xia about it?!"

Zhao Gang said, "Wang Xia and her husband have been transferred to Beijing. Wang Xia's husband is now the deputy district head, and Wang Xia is the deputy director of the Military Control Commission in Nanluoguxiang. Zhang Dabiao's nephew happens to live in that area."

Li Yunlong sighed and said, "Zhang Dabiao is taking the blame for me!"

Zhao Gang advised, "Old Li, it's all in the past. Don't take it to heart. Back then, in the battle of Cangyun Ridge, if you hadn't led the team back and carried Zhang Dabiao out, he might have been killed long ago."

Li Yunlong said, "Zhao Gang, find some time to come with me to see those two children."

Zhao Gang thought for a moment and said, "I'll go to my workplace tomorrow to make arrangements, and we'll go take a look together tomorrow afternoon."

Meanwhile, at the entrance of courtyard number 95 in Nanluoguxiang, He Yuzhu was just about to lift his tricycle over the threshold when Yan Bugui appeared before him. Yan Bugui examined the tricycle for a moment as if it were a rare treasure, and was about to say something to He Yuzhu when he noticed the mountain of timber piled on the cart behind him. Yan Bugui asked, "Zhuzi, is all this timber yours?!"

He Yuzhu laughed and retorted, "Teacher Yan, if these timbers aren't mine, whose are they?!"

Yan Bugui then asked, "Zhu Zi, why are you buying so much timber?!"

He Yuzhu replied, "What else could it be used for?! Of course, it's for cleaning the house."

Yan Bugui rubbed his hands together, his eyes gleaming with greed, and said to He Yuzhu, "Zhuzi, you can't possibly use all this timber. Could you borrow some from me?"

"Who told you I can't use it?! Maybe this wood isn't even enough?!" With that, He Yuzhu took out the key and handed it to He Yushui, saying, "Yushui, go in and open the door. Let Master put the wood in the side room."

"Hey!" He Yushui responded, took the keys, and ran into the yard with her hair in a bun.

Seeing that He Yuzhu was watching, Yan Bugui realized he couldn't gain any advantage, so he snorted and turned to go home.

Wo Bo made over a dozen trips back and forth before finally getting all the timber inside. He Yuzhu took out a dollar and handed it to Wo Bo, saying, "Thank you for your hard work, sir. Here's the extra; buy yourself a couple of ounces of wine to help you relax."

"Thank you, boss!" Wobo took the money, smiled, and pulled the cart away.

He Yuzhu pushed his tricycle to his front door and had just parked it when Zhao Shufen led the deaf old woman in. The old woman saw He Yuzhu and called out, "Silly Zhuzi!"

He Yuzhu turned to look at the deaf old woman and called out with a smile, "Silly old lady, where have you been?!"

"What did you call me?!" The deaf old woman pretended to lean closer. He Yuzhu shouted, "Silly old woman!"

"He Yuzhu! How could you become so ill-mannered?! Today I'm going to teach you a lesson on behalf of your father!" With that, the deaf old lady raised her cane and struck He Yuzhu.

He Yuzhu dodged to the side, catching the deaf old woman's cane. But the instant the cane touched him, He Yuzhu immediately sensed something was wrong with it. Gripping the other end tightly, He Yuzhu looked at the old woman and said, "Old woman, from the moment you plotted to take He Daqing away, that kind-hearted, simple-minded He Yuzhu was already dead. Now, the one alive is He Yuzhu, here to collect your debts! Go ahead and kill me if you dare!" With that, He Yuzhu released his grip, gave a soft snort, and walked towards his house.

As the deaf old woman watched He Yuzhu's retreating figure, a fierce glint flashed in her eyes. She thought to herself, "Since you want to die, I'll grant your wish!"