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

"I knew you'd bring something good when you came." With that, Li Yunlong threw his cigarette butt on the ground and stomped it out as he said, "Old Kong! Let's go! Let's go drink!" With that, Li Yunlong led Kong Jie and He Yuzhu toward his room.

Upon entering the room, Li Yunlong gestured for the two men to sit down, then placed three enamel mugs and three pairs of chopsticks on the table. He Yuzhu quickly took out the lunchboxes. Kong Jie helped open the lids. Li Yunlong had already taken a bottle of Erguotou (a type of Chinese liquor) from the cloth bag containing tobacco and alcohol, saying, "Old Zhao and Old Xing are busy today, so they're out of luck." With that, Li Yunlong divided the bottle equally among the three enamel mugs.

He Yuzhu asked, "Uncle Li, when are you leaving?!"

Li Yunlong replied, "The train leaves at four o'clock the day after tomorrow." He then looked at Kong Jie and asked, "Old Kong, what are your plans for the future?"

Kong Jie replied, "What arrangements could there be?! I'm going back to school. I'll go with you. It'll be good for us to keep each other company on the way."

He Yuzhu sized up Kong Jie and said, "What you're saying sounds rather creepy!"

Kong Jie said, "You, Li Yunlong, aren't you supposed to be fearless? Why are you scared now?!"

Li Yunlong glared at Kong Jie and said, "When have I, Li Yunlong, ever been afraid?!"

Kong Jie said sarcastically, "Who can compare to you, Li Yunlong?! You disobeyed orders on the battlefield and got away with it. If it were anyone else, they would have been shot long ago."

He Yuzhu asked, "Uncle Li, do you know why you weren't included in the founding war?!"

Li Yunlong suddenly looked at He Yuzhu and asked, "What do you know, kid?!"

He Yuzhu said, "I heard you have as many merits as disciplinary actions?!"

Kong Jie chuckled and joked, "Li Yunlong, I didn't expect you to be so famous!!"

He Yuzhu continued, "Uncle Li, your style of leading troops is unique; you fight however you want. But the war to establish a nation is different from fighting the Japanese and the white-haired devils. Your divergent thinking isn't suitable."

Kong Jie said, "You're being too modest. If Li Yunlong goes to participate in the founding war, he might not even defeat many enemies, but he could disobey orders on the battlefield and get himself killed."

Li Yunlong took a sip of his drink, sighed, and said, "That day at the grave, you only said half of what you wanted to say. Today, there are no outsiders here, so tell us the other half!"

He Yuzhu said, "Uncle Li, you joined our team quite early and have experienced a lot. You must have encountered people who abused their power and did things that hurt their own people and pleased their enemies, right?!"

Li Yunlong nodded silently. He Yuzhu's words seemed to unlock a seal within him, reminding him of many things he had previously avoided thinking about. After a while, Li Yunlong asked in a hoarse voice, "You must have a solution, right?!"

He Yuzhu replied, "Defend the border! Go to a place with harsh conditions to defend the border. Not only you will go. Your wife, father-in-law, and mother-in-law will all go. If Uncle Zhao is willing, let him take his wife and children with you." After saying that, He Yuzhu glanced at Kong Jie and said, "Of the three of you from the Jin-Sui Iron Triangle, only Uncle Kong is wise enough to appear foolish and won't be threatened. You and the other one need to find a place to escape beforehand. Otherwise, the next ten or twenty years won't be easy. If all else fails, go find your brigade commander and ask him for advice."

Li Yunlong said, "It's too early to go find him now. Let's talk about it later!"

Two hours passed in the blink of an eye. The wine He Yuzhu had brought was all gone. Li Yunlong had also almost finished a bottle of Fenjiu. He Yuzhu leaned back in his chair, listening to Li Yunlong and Kong Jie reminisce about the past. After a while, both Li Yunlong and Kong Jie passed out. He Yuzhu helped them to bed, covered them with blankets, cleaned up the mess, wrote a note, placed it on the table, and then left Li Yunlong's room. ...

A little after 3 p.m., He Yuzhu returned home. As soon as he entered the courtyard, he saw Xu Damao, looking utterly dejected, playing jump rope with He Yushui and Xu Xiaoling. Seeing He Yuzhu was like seeing a lifeline for Xu Damao; he cried out, "Brother Zhu, you're back?!"

After parking his bicycle, He Yuzhu walked over to Xu Damao and asked, "Damao, when did you guys get back?!"

Xu Damao replied, "I came back at noon."

He Yuzhu looked towards the kitchen and asked, "Are my dad and your dad drinking in there?!"

Xu Damao nodded and said, "We've been drinking since one o'clock in the afternoon."

"What?!" He Yuzhu was startled. He Yuzhu had thought Li Yunlong was already quite a drinker. He hadn't expected his father and Xu Wude to be just as good at drinking as Li Yunlong and Kong Jie. He Yuzhu had initially planned to go to the kitchen to check, but quickly changed his mind. He Yuzhu said, "Stop playing around. Come to my place, I'll make you something good to eat."

Hearing there was something delicious, before He Yushui and Xu Xiaoling could even speak, Xu Damao had already removed the rubber band from his ankle. He Yuzhu opened the door and pushed his bicycle inside. Then he tossed the bag containing his uniform and work protective equipment onto the bed, and took out two roast chickens and an extra-large lunchbox full of hot garlic ribs from his satchel.

Before He Yuzhu could speak, Xu Damao had already started eating. He divided the two roast chickens into four equal portions, then divided the garlic ribs into four equal portions, and then eagerly grabbed a rib and stuffed it into his mouth. Seeing that Xu Damao had already started eating, He Yushui and Xu Xiaoling did not lag behind and started eating as well.

He Yuzhu took four bottles of Beibingyang soda from the cabinet, opened the caps, placed them on the table, and said, "You three eat slowly! Nobody's going to take it from you."

As Xu Damao ate, he said, "Brother Zhu, although I've been eating pretty well at my hometown these past few days, my mom's cooking can't compare to yours."

"Exactly!" Xu Xiaoling echoed, then asked, "Brother Zhu, did you offend Yan Jiefang?! I heard him talking bad about you outside today."

He Yushui said, "Xiaoling, let's not associate with the Yan family anymore. They're all bad people."

Xu Damao's face showed worry as he said, "Brother Zhu, we all know what kind of person you are. But outsiders don't. If you don't stop this, it will become true over time, even if it's not true."

He Yuzhu smiled and took out his work ID, handing it to Xu Damao.

Xu Damao immediately put down what he was holding, wiped his hands, took He Yuzhu's work ID, opened it, and asked in surprise, "Brother Zhu, when did you become a policeman?!"

He Yuzhu took back his work permit and said, "I just finished the formalities today, and I'll officially start work tomorrow."