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

With a disdainful look, He Yuzhu sized up Yan Bugui and asked, "Teacher Yan, 'You won't go poor from eating or dressing, but you will if you don't plan ahead.' Isn't that your Yan family motto?!"

Yan Bugui replied smugly, "Yes!" Then he asked, "What's wrong with that?!"

He Yuzhu continued, "Your family divides cornbread by the piece, and pickled vegetables by the stalk. Am I wrong?!"

At this moment, Yan Bugui's smile vanished, and he gritted his teeth and nodded, saying, "That's right!"

He Yuzhu remained calm and asked, "Since your wife got pregnant, you've been keeping track of your child's expenses. Am I wrong?!"

Yan Bugui asked impatiently, "He Yuzhu, what do you mean by this?!"

He Yuzhu said, "Yan Bugui, you're a teacher. You call yourself a cultured person. You don't even know what all this means when put together. I think all the culture you've learned has gone to waste." Then, changing the subject, he continued, "No! Calling it a dog is an insult to dogs."

"He Yuzhu! What do you mean?!" Yan Bugui roared at He Yuzhu like a rabid dog.

He Yuzhu said, "Yan Bugui, you raised him when he was young, he'll take care of you when you're old. You must know that saying, right?! You're linking family ties with money. You're scheming against them now. Sooner or later, they'll turn around and scheme against you. If you don't change your ways, you'll be lucky if you die before your wife. If you die after her, you might just rot at home, with no one to collect your body!" With that, He Yuzhu reached out and pushed Yan Bugui aside, then led He Yushui out.

After He Yuzhu and his sister left, Yan Bugui took a while to come to his senses. He slowly shuffled back home, slumped into an uneven chair, and stared blankly into space. After a long while, he came to his senses and saw his wife walk past him. Yan Bugui asked, "Ruihua, did I really do something wrong?!"

Yang Ruihua stood there, stunned, unsure how to answer her husband. After a few minutes, she sighed and said, "Old Yan, I don't know about the others. But among the people I know, none of them keep accounts for their children. There's an old saying that children are debts. We're here to repay debts from our past lives, not to make them repay theirs."

Yan Bugui sighed and said, "Everyone has their own way of living. This is my way of living, Yan Bugui. I can't change it in this life. Maybe in the next!"

Hearing their father's words, Yan Jiecheng and Yan Jiefang, who were hiding outside the door, exchanged a glance and tacitly returned to their room. Yan Jiefang said, "Brother, we're not even adults yet, and we already owe the family a huge sum of money. How are we going to survive?!"

Yan Jiecheng replied, "You're asking me? Who am I supposed to ask?!"

Just as the brothers Yan Jiecheng and Yan Jiefang were worrying about their future, He Yuzhu, leading He Yushui, reached the alley entrance and encountered Shan Zhiqi, He Daqing's sworn brother. He Yuzhu exclaimed, "Fifth Uncle, where are you going?!"

Seeing He Yuzhu, Shan Zhiqi smiled and said, "I was just about to go to your house to look for you!"

He Yuzhu asked curiously, "Fifth Uncle, what do you want with me?!"

Shan Zhiqi said, "Your brother Xiaoyong is getting married on the third day of the Lunar New Year. I originally wanted to ask your dad to cook. But he ran off to Baocheng with someone. So I found someone else. But the chef had a family accident and can't come on the third day. At this critical time, I can't find anyone to cook. I heard you've completed your apprenticeship, so I came to ask you if you can take this job!"

He Yuzhu thought for a moment and said, "I can take this job. But I can't do it all by myself! You'll need to find a few people to help with picking and washing the vegetables, right?"

Shan Zhiqi replied with a smile, "That's easy. I'll just talk to my neighbors in the courtyard and ask them for help."

He Yuzhu thought for a moment, then nodded and said, "Okay, it's settled then. But you have to give me the menu. Otherwise, I won't know what to cook on the third day of the Lunar New Year."

Shan Zhiqi immediately pulled a menu out of his pocket, handed it to He Yuzhu, and said, "Zhuzi, take a look, are these dishes alright?!"

He Yuzhu took the menu, looked it over carefully, and said, "This menu is pretty good. However, there are some dishes that we can't make on the third day of the Lunar New Year. How about this? In this weather, the vegetables won't spoil. I'll go to your house to prepare the vegetables on the afternoon of the second day of the Lunar New Year. But, Fifth Uncle, I have something to say beforehand. Yushui is still young, and I'm worried about leaving her alone at home. So if I go to your house, I'll bring Yushui with me."

Dan Zhiqi then noticed He Yushui beside He Yuzhu and said, "I really didn't expect Yushui to have grown so much! The last time I saw her was the day your mother was buried. Zhuzi, you should take Yushui with you!" He then asked, "Do you know my family?"

He Yuzhu replied, "I know him."

"Since you know him, I'm relieved! I'll go back and take some people to buy groceries." With that, Shan Zhiqi turned and left.

Watching Shan Zhiqi's retreating figure, He Yushui asked, "Brother, who was that person just now?!"

He Yuzhu replied, "He's my dad's sworn brother. My dad has eight sworn brothers. He's the third oldest." After saying that, He Yuzhu led He Yushui to continue walking towards the market.

Upon reaching the market entrance, seeing the bustling crowd, He Yushui grabbed He Yuzhu's clothes, her face showing fear. He Yuzhu smiled and shoved the basket he was carrying into He Yushui's hands, then bent down and picked her up, saying, "Yushui, tell me if you see anything you like to eat. I'll buy it for you!"

"Hmm!" He Yushui responded softly, her eyes starting to look at the surrounding stalls.

In the winter of Beijing, the most common vegetables in the market are cabbage, radish, potatoes, and green onions. He Yuzhu didn't rush to buy vegetables; instead, he went to the meat stall first.

After queuing for a while, it was finally He Yuzhu's turn. By then, there was practically no good meat left on the stall. He Yuzhu stared at the meat for a few seconds, then decided to buy a pig's head, a set of offal, a whole pork chop, and a dozen or so pig tails. After weighing them, He Yuzhu paid and stuffed all the meat into a burlap sack. Then, carrying He Yushui in one arm and the sack in the other, he continued walking to the next stall.

After browsing the market for nearly an hour, He Yuzhu finally bought all the vegetables he wanted. As he left the market, the cry of a vendor selling candied hawthorns reached his ears. He Yuzhu walked over to the vendor, bought a skewer of candied hawthorns for He Yushui, and then led her home.

Just as He Yuzhu led He Yushui into Nanluoguxiang, a loud "Bang!" rang in their ears. He Yushui asked, "Brother, is there going to be a war?!"