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

As Jia Dongxu watched Zhao Shufen's retreating figure, the smile vanished from his face, leaving only a狰狞 (zhengning, meaning ferocious or hideous) expression. The neighbors who were washing up nearby, seeing the change in Jia Dongxu's expression, all sighed in unison. They say like mother, like son; no matter how good Jia Dongxu's usual behavior was, the neighbors' impression of him had changed at this moment.

After washing up, Jia Dongxu changed into a clean and neat set of clothes, and went out carrying a bag of cigarettes and candy he had bought from the grocery store at the alley entrance the day before.

After Jia Dongxu left, the neighbors started gossiping: "Did you hear that?! Jia Dongxu is getting married today?!"

"I heard him! He spoke so loudly. How could I not hear him?!"

"Do you think he'll come back to the courtyard to hold a banquet?!"

"Look at how stingy he is. You actually want to eat at his banquet?! You'd better dream on! You can have anything in your dreams."

Although Zhao Shufen was at home, the whispers of her neighbors still reached her ears. Others might not know, but Zhao Shufen knew perfectly well that the matchmaker who helped Jia Dongxu find a partner was found by Yi Zhonghai. And Yi Zhonghai also paid for the matchmaker. Indeed, long ago, Jia Zhangshi had single-handedly offended every matchmaker in the entire Nanluoguxiang area. Not a single one was willing to act as a matchmaker for her family.

After a while, Zhao Shufen, having calmed down, realized what was happening. Jia Dongxu's question about the money for the sewing machine was actually a test. He was trying to exploit her and leave her with nothing. Zhao Shufen immediately became alert. Without family to rely on, Zhao Shufen now only had two options. One was to sell the house and find another place to live. The other was to find a man she knew and marry him. After much thought, Zhao Shufen decided to find an opportunity to test He Daqing. If He Daqing wasn't interested in her, then she would have no choice but to sell the house and leave the 95th Hospital.

After breakfast, He Daqing carried He Yushui and followed He Yuzhu out the door. After walking for about half an hour, the three of them arrived at Shan Zhiqi's house. As soon as they entered, He Daqing cupped his hands and said, "Fifth brother, congratulations!"

Shan Zhiqi paused for a moment when he saw He Daqing, then asked, "Third Brother, what brings you here?! When did you get back?!"

He Daqing replied, "I came back yesterday afternoon." He then took out the prepared gift money and handed it over. Shan Zhiqi accepted the red envelope and said, "Third Brother, please come inside!"

He Daqing asked, "Have the boss and the others arrived?!"

Shan Zhiqi said, "My older brother and the others will be here in a little while."

"Alright! Go ahead and do your thing! I'll watch my son cook." With that, He Daqing looked at He Yuzhu and urged, "Yuzhu, are you ready?!"

He Yuzhu smiled, didn't say much, put the wooden box on the table, opened it, took out sleeves and aprons and put them on, then lifted the cloth covering the knife, picked up the knife and started working.

He Daqing's eyes widened when he saw the knives in the box. He never imagined that his son would have such good tools.

Driven by curiosity, He Daqing couldn't help but ask, "Zhu Zi, where did you get this set of knives?!"

He Yuzhu couldn't possibly tell He Daqing that he had half a container full of these knives in his spatial storage. He Yuzhu quickly replied, "I got them from the black market."

He Daqing, being a bit of a sour grapes, said, "You're really lucky, kid."

He Yuzhu instinctively replied, "If I were unlucky, I wouldn't have met a father like you."

After being rebuked by He Yuzhu, He Daqing lost interest in watching him cook and led He Yushui directly into the living room.

As time passed, the guests arrived one after another. Shan Zhiqi's son, Shan Qiyong, greeted the guests, went back inside to change into a brand-new Zhongshan suit and a cotton overcoat, and after tidying himself up, came out of the house. About half an hour later, the auspicious time arrived, and Shan Qiyong, along with his brothers, set off on borrowed bicycles and in a hired horse-drawn carriage.

Around 11:00 AM, the wedding procession returned. Along with the bride, her relatives who had accompanied her also returned. Upon seeing the bride, He Yuzhu immediately had cold dishes brought to the table. At 11:28 AM, the brief wedding ceremony concluded, and the hot dishes began to be served.

Although He Daqing had tasted his son's cooking last night—just some simple home-style dishes—he hadn't thought much of it. But seeing the formal banquet prepared by He Yuzhu today, He Daqing suddenly felt a pang of regret. If he hadn't abandoned his siblings and left Beijing, He Yuzhu might not have grown tired of being a chef. With He Yuzhu's talent, becoming a chef for state banquets wasn't out of the question.

After several rounds of drinks and dishes, and after Shan Zhiqi's son and his wife finished toasting, He Daqing chatted with Qian Bin, the sixth brother sitting next to him, about the house repairs: "Sixth brother, do you still take on house repair jobs?!"

Qian Bin replied, "Of course I'll answer! Why wouldn't I?!" Then he asked, "Third Brother, why did you think of asking this today?!"

He Daqing said, "Well, I went for a walk outside and now I'm planning to come back. You know my house situation. The pillars and the rainwater are both quite heavy. I'm planning to tidy up the house."

Qian Bin said, "I'm good at repairing houses. I'm free this afternoon, so I'll go to your house and take a look."

"Alright!" He Daqing replied, raised his wine glass and clinked it with Qian Bin's. He took a sip of wine and was about to pick up some food when Lao Qi Gong Liang, who was sitting on the other side of He Daqing, said, "Third Brother, your No. 95 courtyard has become famous this time."

Everyone present showed curious expressions upon hearing Gong Liang's words. Before liberation, Gong Liang was a patrolman known for his smelly feet. After liberation, because of his good class background and his secret assistance to people in the underground transportation station, he was retained by the Public Security Bureau. Although he wasn't stationed in the Nanluoguxiang area, his station was still under the Dongcheng Branch Bureau.

Gong Liang took a bite of his food and continued, "There's a deeply entrenched enemy spy in their compound. As for the specifics, the case isn't closed yet. I can't tell you."

He Daqing noticed that his other sworn brothers were all looking at him. He hurriedly said, "You don't need to look at me. Although I know what's going on, I can't say it now. Don't make me make a mistake."

Qiao Feng, the fourth brother who ran a pawnshop, asked, "Third brother, have you ever thought about finding a proper woman to settle down with?!"

He Daqing replied, "Of course I wanted to! How could I not?! If I didn't want to, how could I have been tricked?!"

The eldest brother, Na Jiu, who worked as a switchman at the train freight station, chimed in, "Third brother, if you're really planning to settle down with a decent woman, as long as Zhu Zi and Yu Shui have no objections, I'll have your sister-in-law help you find one. What do you think?!"

He Daqing asked, "Brother, from what you're saying, your wife has connections?!"