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

Xu Wude looked Xu Damao up and down and said earnestly, "Damao, it's not that Dad doesn't want to teach you now. It's just not the right time yet. I'll teach you after you graduate from high school! I'll not only teach you how to project movies, I'll also teach you how to drive."

Zheng Xiaoying glared at Xu Wude and said, "You always say I spoil Da Mao, but I think you're no worse than me!" After saying that, Zheng Xiaoying looked at her daughter Xu Xiaoling sitting next to her and said, "Xiaoling, don't be like your brother! You must study hard in the future!" After saying that, Zheng Xiaoying picked up a steamed bun made of mixed flour from the winnowing basket, broke it in half, and handed it to Xu Xiaoling.

Xu Xiaoling took the steamed bun made from two kinds of dough, took a bite, and said indistinctly, "Mom! I will definitely get into a good university in the future and make you and Dad proud!"

"Wow?! My daughter is ambitious!" Xu Wude chimed in, picking up a piece of food with his chopsticks and putting it into Xu Xiaoling's bowl.

Zheng Xiaoying then asked, "I heard that Yi Zhonghai also gave his job to Zhao Shufen. Do you think the factory will accept her?!"

Xu Wude said, "It's hard to say. It all depends on Zhao Shufen's luck now. If Zhao Shufen completes her employment procedures before the Military Control Commission makes its decision, the factory will have to hire her even if they don't want to. After all, the union is keeping an eye on things, and Boss Lou won't cause trouble for himself over a single job opening."

"That's true!" Others might not understand the Lou family, but how could Zheng Xiaoying, as a servant of the Lou family, not understand?! Zheng Xiaoying continued, "Master, Butler Fu spoke with us yesterday. The Lou family doesn't need so many servants now. They're going to lay off two-thirds of them."

Xu Wude asked, "Do you want to stay with the Lou family, or find another way out?!"

Zheng Xiaoying said, "I want to work at the Lou family's factory."

Xu Wude hesitated for a few seconds and said, "Talk to Butler Fu tomorrow and ask him to help you find a job at the steel rolling mill."

Zheng Xiaoying asked with some concern, "Will Butler Fu listen to me?!"

H. Wood said, "Tell Butler Fu that I sent you to him. He'll help you."

A few years ago, when the Japanese were in power, Xu Wude was Lou Zhenhua's driver. When Butler Fu was out on business, he encountered the Japanese attacking the Anti-Japanese United Army. If it weren't for Xu Wude saving him, Butler Fu would have been dead long ago. Later, upon returning to Beijing, Lou Zhenhua rewarded Xu Wude with a considerable sum of money and even found someone to teach him how to project movies. However, Butler Fu had never repaid this debt of gratitude. Now, it was time to do so.

After dinner, He Yuzhu washed the dishes, made a cup of tea, picked up a book, and leaned back on the bed to read. He Yushui, meanwhile, was perched at the foot of the bed, flipping through a comic book she had just bought that day. About an hour later, He Yushui closed the comic book, crawled over to He Yuzhu, and asked, "Brother, what are you reading?!"

He Yuzhu replied, "Reading!" Then he asked, "What's wrong?!"

He Yushui nestled into He Yuzhu's arms and asked, "Brother, will you always be good to me from now on?!"

He Yuzhu rubbed He Yushui's hands and said with a smile, "Silly girl! You're my sister. If I'm not good to you, who else should I be good to?!"

Then he asked, "Did someone spread rumors about you again?!"

"No!" He Yushui replied obediently, "I'm just afraid that one day you'll leave like Dad and won't want me anymore."

He Yuzhu said, "Don't think about such nonsense with your little head. I would never abandon you. Besides, our Yushui is so adorable. How could I bear to leave you?!"

With He Yuzhu's reassurance, He Yushui's young heart was comforted. She nestled in He Yuzhu's arms and fell asleep. He Yuzhu heard He Yushui snoring and couldn't help but smile. Just as He Yuzhu was about to help He Yushui take off her clothes, he realized that He Yushui's hands were tightly clutching his clothes.

Nothing happened that night. Just after 6:30 the next morning, everyone in compound 95 who had jobs left for work. Zhao Shufen quickly packed her things, took the letter of introduction from the Military Control Commission and the certificate of consent to transfer her job written by Yi Zhonghai, and left. Half an hour later, Zhao Shufen arrived at the gate of Lou's Steel Rolling Mill. The security guard at the gate stopped Zhao Shufen, saying, "This is a restricted area; non-factory workers are strictly prohibited from entering!"

Zhao Shufen took out the letter of introduction issued by the Military Control Commission and said, "Comrade, I'm here to complete my onboarding procedures."

The security guard took the letter of introduction, looked at it, and returned it to Zhao Shufen, saying, "Keep going straight, there's a three-story building ahead. Go up the stairs to the second floor, turn left, and it's the first room."

"Thank you!" Zhao Shufen put away the letter of introduction and followed the other workers into the factory. Following the directions given by the security guard at the gate, Zhao Shufen walked for about ten minutes until she arrived at the labor and personnel department. Zhao Shufen knocked on the door. Hearing the knock, the staff in the labor and personnel department called out, "Come in!"

Zhao Shufen pushed open the door and walked into the personnel department, saying, "My husband has a health problem, and he wants to transfer his job to me. Is the paperwork done here?"

The personnel department asked, "What's your husband's name?!"

Zhao Shufen hesitated for a moment before saying, "Yi Zhonghai."

Recently, thanks to the efforts of certain individuals, news of Yi Zhonghai's situation has spread throughout the factory. For anyone else, this would be easy to handle, but with Yi Zhonghai, it's a different story. The personnel department said, "Please wait a moment; we need to consult with Boss Lou."

"Oh! That's only right!" Zhao Shufen's heart began to pound. She was very worried that the factory would fire her. After all, Yi Zhonghai's reputation wasn't very good these days.

The personnel department called Boss Lou. After the call connected, the personnel department explained the situation to Boss Lou. Boss Lou considered it for a few minutes and then asked the personnel department to process Zhao Shufen's onboarding procedures.

After obtaining permission from Boss Lou, the personnel department immediately completed Zhao Shufen's onboarding procedures and assigned her to work as a kitchen helper in the factory canteen.

After Zhao Shufen finished her paperwork and was taken to the cafeteria, Zheng Xiaoying found Butler Fu and told him about the job. Butler Fu was initially reluctant, but when Zheng Xiaoying said that Xu Wude had asked him to help, Butler Fu immediately agreed. Butler Fu made a phone call to Lou's Steel Rolling Mill and wrote a note instructing Zheng Xiaoying to go directly to the factory to complete the paperwork.

Meanwhile, as Zheng Xiaoying left the Lou family's house, He Yuzhu returned to the Military Control Commission after buying groceries. While the kitchen helpers were busy preparing and washing vegetables, He Yuzhu took his tools to the neighboring courtyard to continue his land reclamation work. As the saying goes, strength can overcome skill, and He Yuzhu's advantage of great strength came into play. By lunchtime, He Yuzhu had cleared all the land. After lunch, He Yuzhu stayed at the Military Control Commission for a while, then said goodbye to Xu Dali and took He Yushui home.