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

"You're really thoughtful, kid." Xu Dali gave He Yuzhu a thumbs up.

Jin Qiao'er asked, "Uncle Xu, how many dumplings are we going to make today?!"

Xu Dali replied, "No matter how many, just keep taking them until you get off work."

He Yuzhu rolled up his sleeves and said, "Uncle Xu, let me help you chop the filling!"

Xu Dali said, "You don't need to chop the filling. Go and wash the pig intestines."

"Yes!" He Yuzhu responded, took out two sets of pig offal from another cloth bag, and started working. Seeing that He Yuzhu had started, the others stopped their idle chatter and also began to work.

Time quickly passed to 2 PM. After nearly four hours of work, He Yuzhu had thoroughly cleaned both sets of pig offal. He found an unused pot and began the braising process. In the blink of an eye, another hour or so had passed. The braised pig offal was ready.

Xu Dali cut off a small section of pig intestine, tasted it, and said, "Zhu Zi, you're pretty good! The offal is braised perfectly." Then Xu Dali found a scale and weighed all the braised pig offal. He smiled and said, "What a coincidence. Everyone can get a pound." Then he said to Zhao Hongdou, "Xiao Zhao, go and tell them to bring their lunchboxes and pick up their things after get off work."

"Hey!" Zhao Hongdou responded and immediately ran out of the kitchen. Xu Dali started cutting the braised pork offal, while Miao Lan helped weigh it with a scale.

Jin Qiao'er glanced at the broth in the pot and asked, "Zhu Zi, what are you going to do with all this broth?!"

He Yuzhu said, "When they come to collect their braised meat later, give each of them a spoonful. Any extra, you can figure out what to do with it yourselves!"

"Yeah! This is a good way to divide it!" Xu Dali agreed, then urged, "Zhu Zi, bring your lunchbox over."

"Yes!" He Yuzhu responded, took out his lunchbox, and placed it next to the cutting board.

Xu Dali deftly sliced ​​half a pig's heart, a third of a pig's stomach, and a piece of pig's liver, placing them into He Yuzhu's lunchbox. He Yuzhu then ladled a spoonful of broth into the lunchbox, closed the lid, put it in his bag, said goodbye to Xu Dali, and left work with He Yushui. Passing a mailbox, He Yuzhu tossed in the letter he had written the day before, intending to send to He Daqing.

"Zhu Zi, off work?!" As He Yuzhu walked to the entrance of No. 95 courtyard, the surrounding neighbors greeted him.

"Yes! Off work!" He Yuzhu replied, leading He Yushui as they stepped into courtyard number 95. They overheard people discussing Jia Dongxu's blind date. He Yuzhu didn't pay much attention and continued walking towards the central courtyard with He Yushui. Just as the siblings passed through the hanging flower gate, they saw Jia Dongxu, accompanied by a matchmaker and a young woman, emerge from his house. When He Yuzhu clearly saw the young woman's face, he couldn't help but sigh, "Truly, the courtyards come and go, but Qin Huairu remains. I've already sent Yi Zhonghai and Jia Zhangshi there. How come Qin Huairu can still come to the courtyard?! It seems the power of Heaven's adjustment is quite strong."

Back home, He Yuzhu took out a lunchbox, poured the braising liquid into a bowl, and placed the lunchbox on the table, saying, "Yushui, I've put the braised meat on the table for you. Help yourself if you want some. Brother, go tidy up the side room next door." With that, He Yuzhu lit the stove and went to the side room.

He Yushui moved a chair to the side of the stove, then took a comic book and sat down to read it.

Time quickly passed to a little past four in the afternoon. Jia Dongxu, humming a tune, strode back home with an air of nonchalance. Seeing Jia Dongxu's cheerful demeanor, Yan Bugui couldn't help but ask, "Dongxu, what's making you so happy?!"

Jia Dongxu replied with a smile, "Teacher Yan, my good thing is done."

"Oh?! Congratulations!" Yan Bugui chuckled, then asked, "Dongxu, when are you planning to get married?!"

Jia Dongxu said, "I'll discuss the specific timing with the matchmaker at their house tomorrow."

Yan Bugui then asked, "Dongxu, how much dowry are you planning to give the woman?"

Jia Dongxu lit a cigarette and replied while smoking, "Teacher Yan, you know my family's situation. I can't give too much, and I can't give too little. Although my fiancée is from the countryside, we can't be rude. I plan to give ten yuan as a bride price. That should be enough. As for the banquet, we'll set up two tables in the courtyard. One table will be for the bride's relatives, and the other table will be for a representative from each family in our courtyard, just to show our appreciation."

Yan Bugui's eyes darted around, and he said, "Dongxu, you're hosting a banquet and need to buy groceries. Can you manage all that by yourself?!"

Jia Dongxu replied with a smile, "Teacher Yan, isn't that simple?! Anyway, the weather is cold now, so the things won't spoil if we just leave them there. I'll go buy them the day before the wedding."

Still unwilling to give up, Yan Bugui asked, "Who are you planning to hire as the cook?!"

Jia Dongxu replied, "Find Master Yang from our factory."

Yan Bugui said, "Dongxu, hiring an outside chef costs money. Why don't you hire one of the chefs in our compound?!"

Jia Dongxu understood who Yan Bugui was referring to and also wanted to ask He Yuzhu to help with the cooking. However, the relationship between the two families prevented Jia Dongxu from speaking up. Yan Bugui seemed to read Jia Dongxu's mind and said, "Dongxu, how about I talk to He Yuzhu about this?"

Jia Dongxu sighed and replied, "Forget it! I won't trouble him." With that, Jia Dongxu lost interest in continuing his conversation with Yan Bugui and walked right past him. Yan Bugui watched Jia Dongxu's retreating figure, looking as if he had lost a fortune, and clutched his chest as he went home.

Yang Ruihua, who was sewing clothes at home, saw Yan Bugui return and sit beside her, clutching his chest and sulking. She couldn't help but ask, "Old Yan, what's wrong?! You were fine when you went out, how come you're like this in such a short time?!"

Yan Bugui said angrily, "Don't even mention it! Jia Dongxu went on a blind date today, didn't he?! He just dropped his date off, and I was thinking that since he doesn't have any elders in his family right now, I asked him about the wedding. If he needed any shopping or anything, we could lend a hand. But he was completely unresponsive!"

Yang Ruihua said, "Weddings require a banquet. A banquet requires buying food, and there's a lot of money to be made from that."

"Who says otherwise?!" Yan Bugui chimed in, saying, "Since he doesn't want our help, then we can relax a bit."

Yan Bugui spoke lightly, but his heart was bleeding.