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

After Jia Zhangshi left, Jia Dongxu sat in a daze. He knew that Jia Zhangshi had raised him with great difficulty after his father's passing, so he was extremely filial. He would never dare to contradict her. But Jia Dongxu never imagined that his father would indirectly die at the hands of his own mother. This was something Jia Dongxu simply couldn't accept.

After a while, Jia Dongxu walked out of the meeting room in a daze. Half an hour later, he boarded a long-distance bus back to Beijing. The bus was relatively empty. Jia Dongxu bought a ticket and found a window seat. Gazing at the scenery along the way, he once again drifted into a daze.

"We've arrived in Beijing! Everyone get off!" A little after 2 PM, the ticket seller's shout snapped Jia Dongxu out of his daze, and he got off the bus with the other passengers. After walking for over an hour, Jia Dongxu returned to courtyard number 95. At this point, Jia Dongxu was somewhat delirious, finding fault with everyone. It seemed as if everyone around him was pointing fingers and gossiping about him behind his back. And it's true, the Jia family had become the laughingstock of the entire Nanluoguxiang area. So Jia Dongxu's feeling was correct.

Back home, Jia Dongxu went straight to bed on the kang (a heated brick bed). Seeing him like this, Qin Huairu couldn't help but feel sorry for him. After all, Jia Dongxu was still her man. Qin Huairu scooped a bowl of cornmeal and half a bowl of wheat flour from the rice bin. She mixed the two kinds of flour together, cooked a large pot of porridge, ladled a bowl of it, and went to Jia Dongxu's side, saying, "Dongxu, you haven't eaten yet! Have some porridge to fill your stomach."

Jia Dongxu sighed, got up from the kang (a heated brick bed), took the bowl from Qin Huairu's hand, and said, "Huairu, so many things have happened at home all of a sudden. I'm so sorry to have troubled you."

Qin Huairu replied, "What's so difficult about it? We're all family, what's there to talk about?! No matter what outsiders say, we just need to live our lives well. Why worry so much?!"

Jia Dongxu fell silent and wolfed down the bowl of porridge. Soon, a steaming bowl of porridge was in his stomach. A wave of warmth instantly spread from his stomach throughout his body, dispelling the chill. Jia Dongxu immediately recovered and said, "Huai Ru, don't worry! I won't overthink things anymore. From now on, let's focus on living our lives well."

The next day, Jia Dongxu arrived at the factory and went straight to the workshop director, saying, "Director Xu, Yi Zhonghai is about to start eating peanuts. Could you please arrange a new mentor for me?"

Workshop foreman Xu Delai said, "Jia Dongxu, it's not that I'm going to reassign you a master. It's just that no one else is willing to take you on. I heard that Liu Haizhong from the forging workshop is in the same workshop as you. He likes to take on apprentices. Why don't you talk to him and ask him to take you on as an apprentice?"

Jia Dongxu said, "Director Xu, with my physique, going to the forging workshop would be suicide!"

Xu Delai sized up Jia Dongxu's supposedly frail physique and almost burst out laughing. Suppressing his laughter, Xu Delai said, "Dongxu! I know your physical condition perfectly well. I won't beat around the bush. If you want to work, stay and keep doing your job. If you don't want to stay here, then find your own way out."

Jia Dongxu knew perfectly well that Xu Delai couldn't find Yi Zhonghai to vent his anger on, so he was using him as a scapegoat. But Jia Dongxu had no choice; Xu Delai was the workshop foreman, while he was just an ordinary worker. He couldn't fight city hall, so Jia Dongxu could only obediently return to his workstation and get to work.

Time flies like an arrow, and a month has passed in the blink of an eye. He Yuzhu's house is completely repaired. He Daqing has moved back into the main house, while He Yushui still pesters He Yuzhu every day; the brother and sister live in the east wing. That side room has become the He family's kitchen and storage room.

On Friday evening, He Daqing had just returned home from get off work when Na Jiu arrived. After welcoming Na Jiu inside, He Daqing asked with a smile, "Brother Na, what brings you here today?!"

After sitting down, Na Jiu took the cup He Daqing handed her and asked, "Daqing, now that your house is settled and your job is stable, shouldn't you find someone who cares about you?"

He Daqing smiled wryly, "Brother, it's not that I don't want to find someone! Everyone in Nanluoguxiang knows about my situation. What girl would be willing to be with me?!"

Na Jiu chimed in, "Since you're having trouble finding someone, I'll help you. I, Old Na, don't shy away from recommending relatives. My sister-in-law is quite a good match for you. Why don't you two meet this Sunday?"

"Meet her?!" He Daqing hesitated for a moment, then nodded and agreed, "Okay, bring her over on Sunday. Let's get to know each other."

"Then it's settled! I'll bring him over to you on Sunday morning." With that, Na Jiu stood up, greeted He Daqing, and left.

He Yushui, who had been eavesdropping outside, came in and asked, "Dad, are you planning to run off with someone again?!"

He Daqing smiled and reached out to pat He Yushui's head, saying, "Don't worry! Dad promised you that I would never abandon you, now or in the future. This time, Dad is bringing someone home to take care of Yushui together."

He Yushui nodded with some skepticism. This could be considered an answer to He Daqing.

A while later, He Yuzhu returned. He Daqing had prepared the food and brought it to the table. After He Yuzhu sat down, He Daqing said directly, "Yuzhu, your uncle is bringing his sister-in-law over to meet me this Sunday. I'd like to hear your opinion."

He Yuzhu said, "Dad, when have you ever asked me what you're doing?! As long as you think it's appropriate, that's fine. You don't need to worry about me and Yushui."

Although the father and son had already talked things out, He Daqing knew in his heart that the rift between them was too deep to be healed in just over a month. He Daqing could only hope that time would bridge the gap between them.

"Ah! Father! Stop hitting me! Father! Stop hitting me! Ah!..." Just then, Liu Guangtian's hysterical screams rang out from the backyard. The screams sent chills down everyone's spines, as if they themselves were being beaten.

He Yuzhu muttered to himself, "I feel like something's been missing these past month. Turns out, it's because Liu Haizhong hasn't been affectionate with Liu Guangtian and Liu Guangfu." Thinking this, He Yuzhu asked, "Dad, Liu Haizhong is hitting the children like this. Are Liu Guangtian and Liu Guangfu really Liu Haizhong's children?!"

He Daqing thought for a moment and replied, "They're probably his biological sons. If they weren't, Liu Haizhong wouldn't dare beat them like that." Then he joked, "What?! Feeling sorry for those two brothers?!"