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

After finishing breakfast, He Yuzhu washed the dishes and went out with his bicycle. Just as he reached the front yard, he saw Yan Bugui guarding the gate. He Yuzhu's lips curled slightly; he thought to himself, "Looks like he's waiting for me?! He's like a persistent ghost!" Then, pretending not to see him, He Yuzhu pushed his bicycle towards the gate.

As He Yuzhu pushed his bicycle to the threshold, preparing to lift it over, Yan Bugui stopped him. He Yuzhu asked, "Teacher Yan, is there something you need?"

Yan Bugui said, "He Yuzhu, shouldn't you give me an explanation?!"

While sizing up Yan Bugui, He Yuzhu asked, "Teacher Yan, do you teach math or Chinese at school?! I don't understand what you're saying!"

Yan Bugui said, "You don't understand what I mean?!"

"I really don't know?! Why don't you tell me so I can find out?!" After saying that, He Yuzhu put down the kickstand of the bicycle, parked the bicycle, and looked at Yan Bugui with a sly look.

To save face as a scholar, Yan Bugui dared not reveal the truth. He looked as if the words were on the tip of his tongue but he couldn't get them out, his face instantly turning bright red.

After a while, seeing that Yan Bugui did not react, He Yuzhu continued, "Since you're not going to say anything, then forget it! I'm not afraid of you wasting my time." With that, He Yuzhu lifted his bicycle and was about to step over the threshold.

Yan Bugui grabbed He Yuzhu again, looking ready to fight to the death, and said, "He Yuzhu, you conspired with outsiders to scheme against me! You caused me to lose a large sum of money! If you don't compensate me for my losses today, I'm not done with you!"

He Yuzhu put down his bicycle and said coldly, "You want an explanation! I'll give you one." Then, He Yuzhu looked at the onlookers and recounted how Yan Bugui had staged the "smuggling party" after his parents' deaths. After hearing He Yuzhu's story, the neighbors all offered their opinions. In any case, no one spoke well of Yan Bugui.

Even with Yan Bugui's thick skin, which was practically bulletproof, he couldn't take it anymore after hearing his neighbors' comments. After a while, he finally couldn't take it anymore and slunk home.

He Yuzhu spat at Yan Bugui's retreating figure and muttered, "He's asking for it!" Then he lifted his bicycle, stepped over the threshold, and rode off to work.

Upon arriving at the military control office, He Yuzhu had just parked his bicycle when he heard a commotion coming from the other side of the courtyard. Curious, He Yuzhu went over and saw a large number of people in his shed. His heart skipped a beat, and he shouted, "Who's there?!" Then, He Yuzhu chased the people out of the shed and demanded, "Who let you in?!"

Mu Ye smiled and said, "Comrade Xiao He, don't be angry. When I went back to submit my report yesterday, I told them about the cucumbers flowering. Everyone happened to have some free time today, so we all came to take a look."

"It's the same as everything outside, what's so interesting?!" With that, He Yuzhu started shooing people away again. Mu Ye pulled He Yuzhu back, saying, "Comrade He, don't be angry!"

"Don't try to play the good guy! You're the worst one! Let me tell you, you're not welcome here. Get out of here! Otherwise, I'll tear this shed down today!" With that, He Yuzhu made a move to lift the plastic sheeting. Fearing that He Yuzhu would actually lift the sheeting, Mu Ye, seeing this, dared not stay any longer and angrily shouted, "You just wait!" Then he followed the others and left the courtyard.

After these people left, He Yuzhu breathed a sigh of relief and muttered, "Do you know how hard it is for me to eat some vegetables and cucumbers?!" He then went into the greenhouse to check it over, making sure the vegetables were fine before leaving with peace of mind. However, fearing that Mu Ye and his group might return, He Yuzhu locked the door before leaving.

He Yuzhu had just gone out to buy groceries with baskets and sacks when Mu Ye and his group found Wu Jiangyong and reported him. Initially, Wu Jiangyong and his group were quite cooperative with Mu Ye and his team. However, after spending some time with them, Wu Jiangyong and his group had long disliked Mu Ye and his associates. They only kept quiet out of consideration for Hu Ruomu. Today, these people ran into He Yuzhu's crosshairs; they were simply unlucky.

After giving Mu Ye and the others a few perfunctory replies and sending them away, Wu Jiangyong went into Wang Xia's office next door and said, "Old Wang, what's wrong with your husband, Lao Hu?! Why is he bringing all sorts of people here? Go back and tell Lao Hu today that we've already given them the transparent tarpaulin. He shouldn't come here and cause trouble. How can we work when we're all making such a mess?!"

Wang Xia said, "Don't make me go back and talk to him. Old Wu, you should just call him directly!"

Wu Jiangyong thought for a moment, then nodded and said, "Okay! I'll call him right now."

Meanwhile, as Wu Jiangyong was calling Hu Ruomu, He Yuzhu had already reached the entrance of the market. Just as He Yuzhu was about to go in to buy groceries, he heard someone shout, "Quick! Stop him! Don't let him get away!"

He Yuzhu instinctively stopped and turned to look in the direction the sound came from. He saw a man about the same age as Jia Dongxu, brandishing a dagger and driving away people blocking his way as he ran forward. Two policemen and a woman were chasing after him.

Seeing this, He Yuzhu looked around, then walked to the half-brick lying by the roadside. He picked up the brick, weighed it in his hand, swung it around, and threw it. The half-brick seemed to have eyes; it struck the shin of the man wielding the dagger squarely. The running youth only felt a barely audible "crack" in his shin. Then he stumbled and fell to the ground. The passersby rushed forward the instant he fell and grabbed him.

Seeing that there was nothing more for him to do, He Yuzhu quietly retreated into the market and began his shopping spree for the day.

About twenty minutes later, He Yuzhu finished buying groceries and came out of the market. A middle-aged woman stood in front of him and said, "Young man, thank you so much for what you did earlier."

He Yuzhu was slightly taken aback and asked, "You didn't leave?!"

The middle-aged woman said, "I haven't thanked you yet! How can you leave?!"

He Yuzhu asked, "Was the item found?!"

"Found it!" the middle-aged woman replied, then added, "My name is Wu Yonghua. You still haven't told me your name or where you work!"

He Yuzhu said, "Comrade Wu, I have things to do. I won't talk to you anymore. I'm leaving now!" Without waiting for Wu Yonghua to react, He Yuzhu dashed off. Only after He Yuzhu disappeared into the alley did Wu Yonghua realize what was happening, thinking to herself, "Don't think I can't find you just because you didn't say anything. You just wait!"