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

Yan Bugui was dumbfounded. He had considered many possibilities before coming, but he never expected He Daqing to humiliate him like this. Yan Bugui's eyes widened, and he pointed at He Daqing, speechless. Seeing Yan Bugui's reaction, He Daqing chuckled, "Yan Bugui, being stingy is your habit. Being calculating is your nature. Before, when you were calculating this and that, the people in the courtyard didn't bother you because you were a teacher and they were afraid you would bully the children at school. If you have any shame, don't go looking for trouble. Be careful that the neighbors don't say anything openly, but secretly try to harm you! There are a lot of enemy agents outside now. What if you go out to the toilet one night and accidentally get hurt by an enemy agent?" After saying that, He Daqing left the stunned He Daqing standing there and called out to the main house, "Wanping, Zhuzi, Yushui! Dinner's ready!"

"Coming!" the three responded in unison from three directions. Then they saw He Yuzhu come out of the east wing, and Liang Wanping came out of the main room. He Yushui rushed in from outside like a cannonball. The three washed their hands by the sink and followed He Daqing into the kitchen.

Upon entering the kitchen, He Yushui saw the dishes on the table and immediately broke into a bright smile, teasingly saying, "Dad, you've really gone all out to please your wife?! You even brought out your best dishes?!"

Upon hearing He Yushui's words, He Daqing's eyes lit up immediately, and he asked, "Yushui, how do you know about Tan Family Cuisine?!"

He Yushui sat down opposite Liang Wanping and said, "Dad, it's not like you're the only one who knows how to cook Tan family cuisine! Didn't you give the recipe to my brother when we went to Baocheng last time? My brother has cooked it for me when he has nothing to do."

He Daqing unconsciously looked at He Yuzhu and asked, "Zhuzi, the ingredients for Tan Family Cuisine are hard to come by! Where did you get them from?!"

Abalone, sea cucumber, shark fin, and fish maw are indeed difficult to obtain these days. However, He Yuzhu didn't know what the original owner of this space did! Anyway, there were plenty of top-quality dried goods in the space. He Yuzhu said, "Dad, don't forget what I did in the Military Control Commission! Just because others can't get good ingredients doesn't mean I can't."

He Daqing said, "I went to great lengths to get these things from your Uncle Peng just for this meal. I never expected you to have such connections!"

He Yuzhu was taken aback, then pointed to the cabinet behind him and asked, "Dad, haven't you seen the things in this cabinet before?!"

"No!" He Daqing replied, then asked, "What's in here?!"

He Yuzhu said, "Why don't you see for yourself?!"

They say you have to listen to the underlying meaning in someone's words, and He Daqing immediately understood the hidden message in He Yuzhu's words. He Daqing immediately went to the hanging cabinet, opened the door, and saw a row of neatly arranged large glass jars inside. The jars contained dried goods such as abalone, sea cucumber, fish maw, fish stomach, shark fin, and bird's nest.

"Good heavens!" He Daqing exclaimed in surprise upon seeing these items. He turned to He Yuzhu and asked, "Yuzhu, you didn't rob a dried goods store, did you?!"

He Yuzhu said, "Robbery is illegal! If I had robbed someone, would I still be sitting here peacefully?! Several dried goods store owners in Qianmen and Dashilan have closed down. I took the opportunity to buy these things back at a rock-bottom price. Nobody knows what will happen in the future. It's uncertain whether we can get these things at all. It's good to have some now."

He Daqing closed the cabinet door, walked to the table and sat down, saying, "With these things at home, Sunday's menu will be much more varied."

He Yuzhu asked, "Dad, who are you planning to invite to cook on Sunday?!"

He Daqing said, "We have two cooks in our family, why would we need to hire anyone else?! It's just a casual meal anyway. I'll cook myself. You just need to lend a hand."

He Yushui asked, "Dad, can I invite my friends over on Sunday?!"

He Daqing paused for a moment, then asked, "Rainwater, who do you want to invite?!"

He Yushui said with a smile, "Don't worry! Two or three people at most. Tell me, is that alright?!"

He Daqing thought for a moment, figuring that there were only two or three children and they wouldn't eat much, and nodded in agreement, "Okay! You can treat us if you want!"

"Dad! You're so kind!" After saying that, He Yushui picked up a piece of meat and put it into He Daqing's bowl.

Seeing He Yushui's reaction, He Daqing shook his head with a wry smile, thinking to himself, "Who can blame him but his own daughter?!" Then He Daqing picked up the wine bottle, poured himself a glass of wine, and then looked at Liang Wanping.

Liang Wanping said, "Brother Daqing, pour me a glass too!"

"Hey!" This was exactly what He Daqing had been waiting for. He immediately poured Liang Wanping a glass of wine and then looked at He Yuzhu.

He Yuzhu immediately pulled out a case of Beibingyang soda from the cabinet and said, "Dad, Yushui and I will drink this." After saying that, He Yuzhu picked up a bottle of Beibingyang soda, used chopsticks to open the cap, gave one bottle to He Yushui first, and then opened another bottle for himself.

Before they knew it, it was six o'clock in the evening, and people who had been working outside gradually returned home. The He family had also finished their dinner. He Yuzhu and his sister very thoughtfully cleared the table and washed the dishes, while He Daqing took the wedding candies and led Liang Wanping to greet the neighbors and distribute the candies, letting everyone share in the joy.

Because He Daqing had warned Yan Bugui beforehand, when He Daqing took Liang Wanping to the Yan family to distribute wedding candy, Yan Bugui did not appear; instead, Yang Ruihua received them. After distributing candy in the front yard, He Daqing distributed it in the middle yard, and finally took Liang Wanping to the back yard.

"Knock! Knock! Knock!" He Daqing knocked on Liu Haizhong's door first.

Liu Haizhong, who had just returned, heard the knocking and opened the door. Seeing He Daqing and Liang Wanping, he asked, "Old He, what's up?!"

He Daqing took out a cigarette from his pack, offered it to Liu Haizhong, and said, "Old Liu, I'm getting married today. This lady next to me is my wife, Liang Wanping."

As Liu Haizhong took the cigarette, his brows furrowed involuntarily. He said, "Old He, why didn't you tell me you were getting married beforehand?!"

He Daqing laughed and said, "Old Liu, it's my wedding, not yours. Why should I tell you beforehand?! Who do you think you are?!" With that, He Daqing grabbed a handful of wedding candies and stuffed them into Ma Cuilan's hand, then took Liang Wanping to the Xu family next door. Seeing this, Liu Haizhong was furious! He angrily said, "That He Daqing, he really doesn't know what's good for him! When I become an official, I'll make sure he's dead!"

Ma Cuilan said, "Old Liu, don't you know who He Daqing is?! Why did you provoke him?!"

Since Ma Cuilan became the liaison officer for the courtyard house, she has gained a lot of confidence. At least she dares to discipline Liu Haizhong. However, for Liu Guangtian and Liu Guangfu, they still live under Liu Haizhong's corporal punishment.