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

Liu Haizhong gasped, thinking to himself, "How come Yi Zhonghai was left behind?! Could he have colluded with that deaf old woman?!" The more he thought about it, the more likely it seemed. A bright smile immediately appeared on Liu Haizhong's face as he said, "Old Yan, you continue guarding the door. I'm going back now." With that, Liu Haizhong generously offered Yan Bugui a cigarette.

Yan Bugui took the cigarette, thinking to himself, "I've really hit the jackpot today."

Just then, Xu Damao walked up to Yan Bugui, looked at the cigarette in Yan Bugui's hand, and joked, "Teacher Yan, not bad bone in your hand! You can continue guarding the gate." With that, Xu Damao dashed into the central courtyard. After Xu Damao left, Yan Bugui finally reacted and angrily cursed, "Xu Damao! You little brat! You just wait!"

Upon hearing Yan Bugui's incompetent roar as he ran into the courtyard, Xu Damao couldn't help but burst into laughter. Hearing Xu Damao's wailing laughter from inside the house, He Yushui ran to He Yuzhu's side and asked, "Brother, Damao, have you lost your mind?!"

He Yuzhu replied with a laugh, "His brain has never been normal. Yushui, never play with him again. Otherwise, he'll pass on his mental problems to you."

He Yushui nodded seriously and echoed, "I won't play with him! I'll play with Xiaoling."

The next morning, He Yuzhu got up earlier than usual because he was going to the factory to collect his New Year's bonus. He Yuzhu had just come out of his house with his toiletries when he saw Zhao Shufen also coming out. He Yuzhu called out, "Aunt Zhao!"

"Zhu Zi!" Zhao Shufen replied weakly, walking to the sink to wash up. He Yuzhu looked at Zhao Shufen's haggard face and suddenly felt a pang of pity. After hesitating for a moment, seeing that no one else was around, He Yuzhu walked to Zhao Shufen's side, filling a basin with water as he said, "Aunt Zhao, I heard some doctors say recently that infertility isn't necessarily a woman's problem. Some men aren't fertile either. You and Yi Zhonghai have been together for so long without a child. I advise you to go to a major hospital for a checkup."

Zhao Shufen was taken aback by He Yuzhu's remark and turned sharply to him, asking, "Zhu Zi, do you know something?!"

He Yuzhu said, "Aunt Zhao, listen to my advice. No matter which hospital you went to for checkups before, go to a big hospital for a checkup now. There must be something wrong between you and Yi Zhonghai. You can't keep carrying the burden of being unable to have children, can you?! Besides, we don't even know if Yi Zhonghai can escape punishment this time. After your checkup, before the Military Control Commission punishes Yi Zhonghai, try to find a way to take his job at the steel mill. Even if you don't work as a fitter, you can still support yourself by sweeping floors or working as a kitchen helper in the canteen."

After hearing He Yuzhu's words, Zhao Shufen burst into tears. Her voice choked with sobs, she said, "Zhuzi, Lao Yi and I are so sorry to you two siblings!"

He Yuzhu saw someone arrive but didn't say anything. He quickly finished washing up, took his things, and went home.

After breakfast, He Yuzhu took He Yushui out. Just as the siblings reached the hanging flower gate, Matchmaker Li entered from outside. Matchmaker Li smiled and nodded to He Yuzhu, then walked into the central courtyard. Seeing Jia Dongxu washing up by the pool, she said, "Jia Dongxu, when are you free?!"

Upon seeing that it was Matchmaker Li, Jia Dongxu quickly wiped the toothpaste powder from his mouth and said, "Aunt Li, the factory will be closed the day after tomorrow. We'll be back to work on the fourth day of the Lunar New Year."

Matchmaker Li said, "How about this? I'll bring the girl over the day after tomorrow at noon. You two can take a look at her. If you like each other, you can get married before the New Year."

Jia Dongxu smiled and agreed, "Okay! Aunt Li, we'll do it your way!"

"Then I'll head back now!" With that, Matchmaker Li turned and left.

After the matchmaker, Li, left, the neighbors all complimented Jia Dongxu: "Dongxu, it seems your luck is finally turning around?!"

Jia Dongxu was also flattered by the neighbors' constant praise, which made him feel quite elated.

A little after 7:30 a.m., He Yuzhu arrived at the gate of the machine tool factory on his tricycle with He Yushui on the back. He Yuzhu showed his work ID and then led He Yushui into the factory.

"Team leader!" He Yuzhu had just parked his tricycle when he turned around and saw Han Junwei smiling and greeting him.

Han Junwei said, "You're here pretty early, kid!"

He Yuzhu replied with a smile, "Team leader, isn't this just us handing out New Year's bonuses today?!"

Han Junwei smiled and said, "Perfect timing, everyone from our three groups is here today. I'll show you around and give you my work assignment."

"Yes!" He Yuzhu responded and led He Yushui to follow Han Junwei toward the office.

Entering the main office, Han Junwei saw that everyone from Group Three had arrived. He called He Yuzhu to his side and said, "Everyone, quiet down! We have a new member in Group Three, He Yuzhu, who's sitting next to me. Let's welcome him!"

He Yuzhu continued, "Hello everyone! My name is He Yuzhu! I hope you'll all take care of me in the future!"

Then Han Junwei introduced the members of Group Three to He Yuzhu. Group Three, including Han Junwei and He Yuzhu, consisted of thirteen people, all of whom were men. Except for He Yuzhu, the rest were all veterans. Han Junwei smiled and introduced each person to He Yuzhu. Group Three was further divided into three subgroups. Previously, without He Yuzhu, Han Junwei personally led one subgroup. Now that He Yuzhu was there, Han Junwei no longer led the subgroups himself. The remaining three members of He Yuzhu's subgroup were named Zhang Fenglin, Gao Hu, and Shi Jun.

After getting acquainted with everyone in Group Three, He Yuzhu didn't mince words. He immediately pulled out two packs of Daqianmen cigarettes from his pocket, scattering them around the room before placing the rest on the table. Xie Fucai, the oldest among them, saw He Yushui beside He Yuzhu and said, "He Yuzhu, I'll call you Zhuzi! You don't look very old!"

He Yuzhu said, "Brother Xie, don't mention it! Who told us siblings to be tricked by our unreliable father?!" Then, without fear of losing face, He Yuzhu told his colleagues about what happened at home.

After hearing He Yuzhu's account, his colleagues all sighed in unison. Shi Jun spoke up, "Zhu Zi, are you really going to let the people who plotted against you off so easily?!"

He Yuzhu said, "Those two people are both inside. How am I supposed to settle accounts with them?!"

Han Junwei then came out of the office and said, "The New Year is almost here. I didn't want to spoil everyone's mood, but our purchasing team has a heavy workload. So I have to spoil everyone's mood. I have the task targets for the first half of the year for the four teams. Each team will negotiate within its own group." After saying that, Han Junwei handed out the papers with the task targets written on them.