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

A little after 2 PM, He Yuzhu returned from the Military Control Commission with He Yushui. They glanced at the progress of the main house's renovation. He Yuzhu went next door and carried over his bedding. The people in courtyard number 95 were all surprised to see He Yuzhu take out his key and open Yi Zhonghai's door. Ma Cuilan walked to Yi Zhonghai's door and called out, "Zhuzi!"

"Hey!" He Yuzhu responded, running out of the house and asking, "Aunt Ma, what's wrong?!"

Ma Cuilan asked, "Zhu Zi, how do you have the key to this house?!"

He Yuzhu said, "Isn't Aunt Zhao going back to her hometown to reunite with her parents?! Before she left, she sold the house to my dad. Now these two houses are in my dad's name."

Ma Cuilan said, "Zhu Zi, you have quite a few houses!"

He Yuzhu understood what Ma Cuilan meant and said with a smile, "Aunt Ma, my father and I have already separated our households. Moreover, our original house is now under Yushui's name."

"What?!" Everyone in the courtyard was shocked to hear this. Ma Cuilan said, "Zhuzi, even if you don't want it, the house should just be returned to your father. Why is it being transferred to your sister?!"

He Yuzhu said, "My dad's age, he can't stay single forever. He'll find a wife sooner or later. If the stepmother is good to us and gives birth to a son or daughter for my dad, we can discuss the house and everything else. But if a troublemaker comes along, then don't blame us siblings for being ruthless. We'll let you live here while you're alive, but if you die, forget about the house. However, the two east wing rooms are in my dad's name. You can get a share of them then, as a memento."

"He Yuzhu is really ruthless."

"Yeah! I never would have guessed. He Yuzhu is such a cunning guy. We used to call him 'Silly Zhu,' but it turns out he just thought we were fools."

Yang Ruihua continued, "Zhuzi, there are only three people in your family. Even if your father remarries, there will only be four people. Your family doesn't need that many houses!"

He Yuzhu said, "Aunt Yang, you're wrong! I'm 17 this year. In two more years, I'll be looking for a partner. Everyone knows the housing situation in Beijing these days. If I don't prepare a house now while it's not too tight, it will be too late after I get married. As the old saying goes, if you miss one chance, you'll miss it again. Don't try to scheme or take advantage. If you succeed in scheming today, you'll have to pay it back sooner or later. Taking advantage isn't so easy. You might gain an advantage today, but your family could be ruined in a few days."

The others didn't sense it, but Yang Ruihua, who was close to He Yuzhu, could deeply feel the murderous aura emanating from him. Yang Ruihua saw He Yuzhu as if he were facing a monstrous beast; his body trembled involuntarily.

Seeing Yang Ruihua's reaction, He Yuzhu chuckled and called out to Qian Bin, "Sixth Uncle!"

Qian Bin walked up to He Yuzhu and asked, "Nephew, what's the matter?!"

He Yuzhu said, "Sixth Uncle, after the main house is finished, we'll work on the side rooms, and then help tidy up these two east wing rooms as well. Also, could you send a few people next door to help me flip the roof tiles?"

"Sure! I'll make the arrangements!" Qian Bin readily agreed and then continued working with his team.

At six o'clock in the afternoon, people who were working outside returned home. They all knew about Zhao Shufen's departure. Jia Dongxu, in particular, was furious after learning from Qin Huairu that Zhao Shufen had left Beijing. He also regretted being too slow. Despite his anger, Jia Dongxu didn't forget about the homecoming the next day. Early the next morning, Jia Dongxu and Qin Huairu had breakfast at home, and then the couple went out. Being concerned about his image, Jia Dongxu gritted his teeth and went into the small shop at the alley entrance, spending five yuan on a box of pastries, two bottles of wine, and a carton of Pegasus cigarettes before taking Qin Huairu to the long-distance bus station.

Meanwhile, He Yuzhu, as usual, returned to the Military Control Commission after buying groceries. However, when He Yuzhu returned to the Military Control Commission today, he not only carried groceries but also a roll of greenhouse film taken from his spatial storage. He Yuzhu put the groceries in the canteen, reported the expense to the finance department, and then went to his private plot of land.

Taking a break from his busy schedule to have a smoke in the kitchen, Xu Dali saw He Yuzhu and his sister fiddling with some strange-looking things in the field and curiously walked over. Xu Dali asked, "Yuzhu, what are you doing?!"

"Uncle Xu!" He Yuzhu called out, "When I came back from buying groceries today, I saw someone selling this stuff. I heard the man say that it came from foreigners. They use it to grow vegetables in the winter. They don't know how to use it properly, so they use it as a waterproof tarpaulin. I was thinking that if we want to use this to grow vegetables, laying it on the ground won't work, so I'm thinking of trying to build a shed. If it works out by accident, we can have more variety in our food. If it doesn't work, it can still be used as a waterproof tarpaulin. Anyway, it's not a complete loss."

Grandpa Xu stared at the membrane for a while, then asked, "Pillar, will this thing work?!"

He Yuzhu replied, "We'll know once we try it! I'll go buy seeds after the greenhouse is built."

Xu Dali said, "You don't need to buy seeds. I have some. Come find me when you're done, and I'll get them for you."

"Yes!" He Yuzhu responded and continued working.

Before they knew it, it was the eighth day of the Lunar New Year. Today was Sunday. Yesterday, He Daqing had promised He Yushui that he would take her out to play today. So he didn't go to the Military Control Commission with He Yuzhu. When He Yuzhu went out this morning, he ran into Jia Dongxu taking Qin Huairu out. Jia Dongxu glared at He Yuzhu, grabbed the cloth bag from Qin Huairu's hand, and walked out of the courtyard.

When Yan Bugui came out of his house and saw the situation, he said, "Zhuzi, don't hold a grudge against Jia Dongxu. He took his wife to see his mother today."

He Yuzhu smiled, didn't reply, and went straight out the door.

Watching He Yuzhu's retreating figure, Yan Bugui sighed, shook his head, and muttered, "This He Yuzhu is becoming more and more incomprehensible."

Just then, Xu Wude and his wife came in from outside with Xu Damao and his sister. Yan Bugui asked curiously, "Old Xu, it's been so many days. Where has your whole family been?!"

Xu Wude replied, "An elder from our old family passed away. We went to the funeral." Then Xu Wude offered Yan Bugui a cigarette and asked, "Old Yan, what's been going on in our compound lately?!"

Yan Bugui took the cigarette, smelled it first, then habitually put it behind his ear and said, "A lot has happened in our compound lately. A few days ago, He Daqing came back. Zhao Shufen got in touch with her family. She sold the house in the compound to He Daqing and went to live with her parents."