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

Yan Bugui gritted his teeth and said, "You Jia Zhangshi, so it turns out you were the one pulling the strings behind the scenes!"

Yang Ruihua asked, "Old Yan, now that you've been transferred to logistics, is your salary lower?!"

Yan Bugui replied angrily, "My salary has been cut in half. I only get 28 yuan a month!"

"What?!" Yang Ruihua's heart felt like it had been squeezed by something. "So much money gone all at once! How are we supposed to live?!" she exclaimed.

Yan Bugui sighed and said, "We'll live the same way we always have. Make the porridge thinner and the cornbread smaller. When you have time, go to the military control commission and pick up some handicrafts. I'll try to find some side jobs."

Yang Ruihua sighed, patted her stomach, and said, "There are already four people in the family. If another one joins, I really don't know what we'll do!"

Yan Bugui said, "What else can we do?! In a few years, when it's all settled, we'll be able to relax a bit."

"Ouch?!" Before Yan Bugui could finish speaking, Yang Ruihua suddenly felt a sharp pain in her stomach. Clutching her stomach, Yang Ruihua cried out, "Old Yan, I'm going into labor!"

Yan Bugui immediately helped Yang Ruihua to bed and comforted her, "Wife, bear with it a little longer, I'll go get the midwife right away!"

"Yes!" Yang Ruihua responded, urging, "Go quickly!"

"Oh!" Yan Bugui responded and immediately ran out the door. Not long after, Yan Bugui arrived at the alleyway at the home of Midwife Zhao. Panting, Yan Bugui asked, "Is Aunt Zhao home?!"

Hearing the shouts, Aunt Zhao came out of the house and asked Yan Bugui, "What's wrong?!"

Yan Bugui hurriedly said, "Aunt Zhao, my wife is about to give birth! You'd better come with me right away!"

Aunt Zhao said, "It's eight yuan for childbirth. You pay others after they give birth. You have to pay me first, then I'll go with you to deliver the baby."

Yan Bugui had originally planned to get the baby over there first, and then negotiate the price after the baby was born, hoping to get it down to below four yuan. However, Zhao Dama had anticipated his plan and demanded payment upfront. Left with no other option, Yan Bugui reluctantly pulled out eight yuan and handed it to Zhao Dama, the midwife.

Midwife Zhao took the money, went back to get her things, and then followed Yan Bugui out the door.

Upon arriving at the Yan family home, midwife Zhao immediately instructed, "Quickly boil water! The more water the better!" Then, midwife Zhao checked if Yang Ruihua's birth canal was dilated and began preparations.

It was already six o'clock in the afternoon, and people were gradually returning from work. Liu Haizhong and He Daqing, a married couple, had just stepped into the courtyard house when they heard Yang Ruihua's hysterical screams coming from the Yan family home. Liu Haizhong asked, "Old Yan, what's wrong with your wife?!"

Yan Bugui replied, "What else could it be?! It's having a baby, of course."

He Daqing said, "Isn't your wife's due date next month?!"

Yan Bugui said, "My salary was reduced by the school. My wife was so frightened that she went into premature labor."

Liu Haizhong said, "Old Yan, I'm not trying to criticize you, but you're a teacher. Instead of focusing on teaching and nurturing students properly, you're always trying to take shortcuts. Even if you manage to evade this time, you won't be so lucky next time. Take my advice, don't get involved in those messy things anymore. Be a decent person!" After saying this, Liu Haizhong patted Yan Bugui's shoulder meaningfully and then left.

Yan Bugui looked at Liu Haizhong's retreating figure with a sense of depression. He thought to himself, "What's wrong with Liu Haizhong?! Why does he have to meddle in everything?!"

"Ah!" Yang Ruihua's scream pulled Yan Bugui back to reality. Just as Yan Bugui was about to exchange a few words with He Daqing to try and get on his good side, he heard a baby crying from inside the house. A short while later, the midwife, Zhao, came out of the house, smiling, and said, "Teacher Yan, congratulations! Mother and child are safe. Your wife has given birth to a big, healthy boy."

"What?!" Yan Bugui showed no joy at the arrival of his son; instead, a look of worry appeared on his face.

He Daqing said, "Old Yan, congratulations! You have another son! You're still going strong and vigorous!"

Yan Bugui snapped out of his daze, glanced at He Daqing, gave an awkward laugh, and said, "I'll go back and check on my wife first!" With that, Yan Bugui dashed into the house.

Watching Yan Bugui's retreating figure, Liang Wanping said, "The Yan family is going to be lively again."

He Daqing said, "His family is nothing special. Luckily, Yan Bugui's wife is Yang Ruihua. If it were Jia Zhangshi, it would be much more lively. Let's go back!"

As He Daqing entered the courtyard, he smelled the aroma of food wafting from his own kitchen. After parking his bicycle, He Daqing went into the kitchen. Seeing that only He Yuzhu was there, he asked, "Yuzhu, where's Yushui?!"

He Yuzhu replied, "She's in her own room!" Then he asked, "Dad, what happened in the front yard?!"

He Daqing replied, "Yan Bugui's wife gave birth."

"Oh my?! A new baby is on the way! That's wonderful!" Then He Yuzhu asked, "Dad, you've been trying so hard, why isn't Aunt Liang showing any signs of pregnancy?! Are you going to pass away?!"

He Daqing laughed and said, "Kid, you're still too green to see your dad make a fool of himself! I came back so late today because I took your Aunt Liang to the hospital. The doctor said she's pregnant. She's about two months along."

Seeing He Daqing's happy expression, He Yuzhu cautioned, "Dad, I've heard that the first three months of pregnancy are the most dangerous for a woman. You'd better be careful."

He Daqing glared at He Yuzhu and said, "Do you think your father is the kind of person who doesn't know what's good for him?!"

He Yuzhu said, "You know what's going on. I won't say anything more! The food is ready, go and call Aunt Liang and Yushui over for dinner!"

At the same time, Jia Dongxu returned. As soon as he entered the house, he saw Jia Zhangshi looking extremely happy. Jia Dongxu couldn't help but ask, "Mom, why are you so happy?! What happened?!"

Jia Zhangshi said, "Dongxu, have you heard?! Yan Bugui has been transferred to sweep the school."

"What?!" Jia Dongxu exclaimed in surprise, "When did this happen?!"

Jia Zhangshi replied, "It happened this afternoon."

Jia Dongxu asked thoughtfully, "Mom, one thing after another has happened in our courtyard. Do you think it's because the feng shui of this courtyard is bad?!"

Upon hearing Jia Dongxu's words, Madam Jia Zhang became immediately interested and said, "Dongxu, why don't I go ask the immortal?!"

Jia Dongxu snapped out of his daze and reminded her, "Mom! That kind of thing doesn't work anymore. Don't go looking for those kinds of people. If the military control committee finds out you've been seeing them, it'll be a real problem!"