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

Wang Xia took the voucher, glanced at it, and returned it to He Yuzhu. A smile appeared on her face as she teased, "They say fools have good luck. You really lived up to your nickname 'Foolish Zhu'." She then instructed, "About the gold bars, just talk about it with me. Don't tell anyone else. When you buy the house, just say it was your father who gave you the money. If you need money in the future, you can only exchange the gold bars at the bank, never on the black market."

He Yuzhu replied, "Aunt Wang, don't worry! I know what I'm doing."

Wang Xia said, "Go to the housing management office first and register the house repair. Then go and do your work. Come back to me when you have some free time."

"Yes!" He Yuzhu responded and left Wang Xia's office.

The housing management office was located in a side building in the front yard. Just outside the hanging flower gate, turn right, and you'll find it. He Yuzhu entered the office, greeted everyone inside, and then walked up to Officer Luo, asking, "Brother Luo, is this where we register for house repairs?"

Officer Luo replied, "It's registered with me." He then asked, "Zhu Zi, are you going to repair your house?!"

He Yuzhu nodded and said, "Yes! Also, I'd like to take advantage of this house renovation to bring running water into the house. And also install an electricity meter."

Officer Luo said, "Registration for house repairs is free, but you'll need to pay separately for running water and installing a telegraph. Pay fifty yuan upfront, and we'll refund any overpayment or collect any underpayment later."

"Okay!" He Yuzhu took out fifty yuan and put it on the desk. Officer Luo picked up the money, counted it, and gave He Yuzhu a receipt, saying, "When the work is finished, you can settle the bill with this receipt." Then Officer Luo wrote another note authorizing the house repairs and handed it to He Yuzhu.

He Yuzhu put the two slips of paper in his pocket, said goodbye to Officer Luo, and then left the housing management office. A little after nine in the morning, He Yuzhu returned with the groceries. He put the groceries in the kitchen and said, "Uncle Xu, I've bought all the groceries for today. See if you need anything else?!"

Xu Dali, a cigarette dangling from his lips, walked over to He Yuzhu, opened the cloth bag, glanced at the vegetables inside, and said, "Not bad! These two rabbits are pretty plump!" He then asked, "Yuzhu, did we exceed the quota today?!"

He Yuzhu replied, "Uncle Xu, don't worry! There's absolutely no excess."

"It's good that it's not over the limit. Just remember that." After saying that, Xu Dali took the rabbit to the edge of the pool, found a small knife, and skillfully began to skin the rabbit.

Seeing that everyone was busy, He Yuzhu realized there was nothing for him to do. He went next door to check on He Yushui, then said goodbye to Xu Dali and left the cafeteria.

"Knock! Knock! Knock!" He Yuzhu walked to the door of Wang Xia's office and knocked on it.

Hearing the knock, Wang Xia called out, "Come in!"

He Yuzhu pushed open the door to Wang Xia's office and called out, "Aunt Wang!"

"Pillar, sit down!" Wang Xia gestured for He Yuzhu to sit, then took a returned map and sat down next to him, asking, "Pillar, you already own a house. If you buy another one, you'll exceed the limit. What are your plans?"

He Yuzhu said, "When the house was transferred last time, the side room was transferred to Yushui, and the main house was transferred to my name. I plan to transfer the main house to Yushui's name as well. That way, Yushui will also have some security. Even if my father remarries, the house will still belong to Yushui, and that stepmother will be more polite to Yushui."

After hearing He Yuzhu's words, Wang Xia joked, "At such a young age, why are you talking like you're making your final arrangements?!"

Suddenly, He Yuzhu blurted out, "Aunt Wang, I want to join the army."

Wang Xia stared at He Yuzhu for a few minutes before speaking, "Zhuzi, joining the army is a good thing. In principle, Aunt Wang supports you. But have you thought about Yushui before you join?! Although your father only left for a few months before returning, the emotional trauma he caused Yushui was considerable. She's finally recovered. What will she think if you leave like this?! There are many ways to live. Since you made up your mind to rely on Yushui, you two siblings have become each other's support. Even if your father comes back now, you can't choose to run away." Then, changing the subject, she continued, "Zhuzi, the Military Control Commission is only temporary. It might be dissolved one day. You can't stay in the Military Control Commission forever. While your Aunt Wang can still make decisions, think about which unit you want to join."

He Yuzhu looked up at Wang Xia and said with a smile, "Aunt Wang, don't say anymore! I don't plan to leave. Even if I were to leave, I would wait until the military control commission withdraws."

Wang Xia said, "In life, there are always eight or nine things that don't go as planned. Not everyone has a smooth journey."

Seeing Wang Xia suddenly lost in thought, He Yuzhu guessed that she must be remembering things from the past. After hesitating for a moment, He Yuzhu said, "Aunt Wang, I'd like to build a cenotaph for my uncle next to my mother's grave during the Qingming Festival. That way, the two siblings can have each other company in the afterlife."

"You've got a good idea!" Wang Xia chimed in, adjusting her mindset as she said, "Zhu Zi, the Military Control Commission, in conjunction with the Public Security Bureau, recently raided many gambling dens and confiscated a lot of unclaimed houses. Currently, there are four places that meet your requirements. One is the entire backyard of No. 97 next to your house. The other three are in Shajing Hutong, Suoyi Hutong, and Mao'er Hutong. Shajing Hutong has four back rooms in the backyard, Suoyi Hutong has three main rooms in the middle courtyard, and Mao'er Hutong has a small boudoir."

He Yuzhu thought for a moment and asked, "Aunt Wang, do the things in the courtyard I live in have owners in other courtyards?"

Wang Xia said, "The east and west courtyards of No. 95 are planned to be renovated by the higher authorities. After the renovation is completed, a separate gate will be opened and assigned to the technicians."

He Yuzhu said, "Then I want the house in courtyard number 97."

Wang Xia said, "No. 97 was originally a three-courtyard siheyuan (traditional courtyard house). The third courtyard was destroyed by Japanese artillery fire. Later, the people around demolished the third courtyard. The third courtyard became an empty space. The three-courtyard siheyuan then became a two-courtyard house."

He Yuzhu then asked, "Aunt Wang, is the land for the third house for sale?!" Seeing the puzzled look on Wang Xia's face, He Yuzhu continued, "Aunt Wang, don't worry! I'm not building a house on that land right now. It's just sitting there empty anyway, so I plan to grow some things."

Wang Xia said, "Okay! I'll sell you that land too. But let me make it clear, you can't build houses on that vacant land for the time being."

He Yuzhu grinned and said, "Aunt Wang, we understand the policy!"

"You know that much!" Wang Xia echoed, then asked, "The house and land together cost three thousand yuan. Do you have enough money?!"

"Enough!" He Yuzhu responded, took out three stacks of money from the inner pocket of his clothes, and placed them in front of Wang Xia.

Wang Xia looked at He Yuzhu with some surprise and asked, "Why are you carrying so much money?!"