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

Meanwhile, Yan Bugui ran back home and hid in the inner room. Yang Ruihua, who was changing Yan Jiekuang's diaper, noticed that Yan Bugui's expression was off and hurriedly asked, "Old Yan, what's wrong?!"

Yan Bugui sighed and said, "Don't even mention it! This time we spread rumors about He Yuzhu outside, and we really offended him. We can't stay in this area anymore. If we stay any longer, we'll be too ashamed to even go out."

Yang Ruihua hesitated for a moment, then said, "How about we take back the shop we rented out?! And move back in?"

"No way!" Yan Bugui firmly rejected Yang Ruihua's suggestion, saying, "We finally cleaned up the mess. If we move back and someone with ulterior motives finds out, it'll be troublesome. I'll ask around these next few days. If all else fails, we'll move out, even if it's a smaller place. As for work, I'll find someone else to see if we can find a different job."

Yang Ruihua sighed and said, "Old Yan, even if we move to a different place, we can't live the same way we do now. If we scheme against what others have, we'll eventually be schemed against ourselves."

Yan Bugui said, "Isn't everything I'm doing for this family?!"

Seeing Yan Bugui's current state, Yang Ruihua knew she couldn't provoke him any further. Yang Ruihua sighed, said nothing more, and carried Yan Jiekuang out of the inner room.

He Yuzhu had barely caught his breath when he got home when Xu Damao rushed up to him and said, "Brother Zhu, you're amazing! Even someone as eloquent as Yan Bugui was rendered speechless by you."

He Yuzhu said, "Da Mao, this isn't because I'm arrogant. This is called persuading people with reason."

Xu Damao continued, "I eavesdropped outside the Yan family's house for a while. I heard Yan Bugui say that he wants to move out of our compound and also wants to change jobs."

"Oh ho?! This old bastard's trying to run away?!" He Yuzhu muttered to himself, "Yan Bugui's got a guilty conscience! Looks like he's been up to no good behind the scenes!"

Xu Damao chimed in, "That old bastard, I could tell at a glance he wasn't a good person."

He Yuzhu glanced at Xu Damao, thinking to himself, "Yan Bugui isn't a good person, but you're the good one?!"

Xu Damao noticed that He Yuzhu's gaze was a bit off, and unconsciously looked himself up and down before asking, "Brother Zhu, what's wrong with you?! Why are you looking at me like that?!"

He Yuzhu said, "Da Mao, school is about to start. Have you done your winter break homework?!"

Xu Damao laughed and replied, "Brother Zhu, don't worry! I finished my homework a long time ago." Then, changing the subject, he asked, "Brother Zhu, do you know why Liu Guangtian hasn't come out these past two days?!"

He Yuzhu said dismissively, "What else could it be?! He got beaten up by his dad."

Xu Damao said, "Brother Zhuzi, that Liu Guangqi is a real scoundrel. A couple of days ago, Liu Guangtian used the money he earned from collecting garbage to buy two meat buns and secretly ate them with Liu Guangfu. Liu Guangqi saw them, and then he reported Liu Guangtian for stealing money from his family. That good-for-nothing Liu Haizhong didn't even ask what happened and just beat Liu Guangtian up."

He Yuzhu asked, "Da Mao, do you know how much money was stolen from Liu Haizhong?!"

Xu Damao replied, "I really don't know." Then he asked, "Brother Zhu, do you know something?!"

He Yuzhu said, "I happened to see Liu Guangqi coming out of Quanjude while I was on patrol today."

"Holy crap! This guy is a complete scoundrel! He stole money and then made Liu Guangtian take the blame?!" Xu Damao looked at He Yuzhu with an incredulous expression.

He Yuzhu said, "Liu Guangqi's character, who does he take after?!"

Xu Damao said thoughtfully, "That's hard to say."

He Yuzhu said, "I saw Liu Guangtian and Liu Guangfu born. They are definitely Liu Haizhong's children. But it's hard to say about Liu Guangqi. He was already born when Liu Haizhong's family moved here."

Xu Damao said, "Liu Haizhong isn't the type to raise someone else's child. Unless Liu Guangqi was switched at birth." At the same time, Xu Damao's mischievous nature kicked in. He planned to find an opportunity to tell Liu Guangtian about Liu Guangqi stealing money to go to Quanjude (a famous Peking duck restaurant). He also wanted to instill in Liu Guangtian the idea that if Liu Haizhong hit him, he would hit Liu Guangqi—the idea that children should pay for their parents' sins.

Xu Damao stayed at He Yuzhu's place for a while before leaving. He Yuzhu packed his things, came out of the house, went to the kitchen, and busied himself preparing dinner.

"Brother!" He Yuzhu had just finished making the sweet and sour pork when He Yushui rushed into the kitchen and asked, "Brother, what delicious food did you make?! I could smell it from the backyard."

He Yuzhu picked up a piece of sweet and sour pork and stuffed it into He Yushui's mouth. He Yushui chewed the pork, her eyes unconsciously closing, looking dazed by the aroma. After a while, He Yushui looked at He Yuzhu expectantly and said, "Brother, I didn't taste it properly before. Give me another piece!"

He Yuzhu simply took a small bowl, put some sweet and sour pork in it, and said, "Here, have some!"

"Brother! You're the best!" He Yushui took the small bowl, gave He Yuzhu a "good guy" card, and then ran out. She found Xu Xiaoling, and the two sisters began sharing the sweet and sour pork from the small bowl.

Before six o'clock in the evening, He Daqing returned on his bicycle with Liang Wanping. From the moment they entered the alley, He Daqing had heard people discussing the matter between He Yuzhu and Yan Bugui's family. Hearing that his son hadn't been wronged, He Daqing was relieved. He pushed the bicycle into the main house and parked it near the window, then went to the kitchen.

When He Yuzhu saw He Daqing return, he said, "Dad, the food is ready. Call Aunt Liang over for dinner!"

He Daqing didn't mince words and asked directly, "Zhu Zi, I heard about your affair with the Yan family when you came back. Should I have someone deal with those Yans?!"

He Yuzhu said, "Treating their family is a piece of cake for me. There's no need to make a big fuss. Rumors about Yan Bugui might even reach their school by tomorrow. At that point, we won't need to deal with him; someone else will."

"As long as you know what's going on!" With that, He Daqing went to call Liang Wanping for dinner. He Yuzhu then walked to the kitchen door and shouted loudly, "Yushui! Dinner's ready!"

"Coming!" He Yushui responded and ran out from the backyard. She first put the small bowl in her hand on the dining table, and then ran to the sink to wash her hands.

After He Daqing and Liang Wanping sat down, He Yuzhu handed a steamed bun to He Yushui, then grabbed one for himself and started eating. Halfway through his meal, Liang Wanping suddenly said, "Zhuzi, don't worry about the Yan family's affairs. I'll find someone to deal with them and get revenge for you."