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

At nine o'clock in the morning, when the Yan family hauled away their last load of belongings, news of their move spread. He Yuzhu, hearing the neighbors' discussions, looked surprised: "How could Yan Bugui back down?! This doesn't seem like his personality at all!" Then, He Yuzhu unconsciously scratched his head.

Xu Damao suddenly appeared behind He Yuzhu and asked, "Brother Zhu, what are you thinking about?!"

He Yuzhu replied, "I wasn't thinking about anything!" Then he asked, "Where are you going?!"

Xu Damao said, "Well, there are still a few days before school starts. My dad asked me to go to the factory to see him today. He's going to teach me how to drive."

He Yuzhu said, "Da Mao, driving is a skill, you must learn it carefully."

Xu Damao said with a smile, "Brother Zhu, you can hold it up!"

He Yuzhu then asked, "Or should I give you a ride?!"

"No need!" Xu Damao replied, adding, "It's getting late, I'll be going now!"

Watching Xu Damao leave, He Yuzhu didn't linger, riding his bicycle away from the courtyard. With the Yan family no longer guarding the gate, the neighbors no longer needed to hide from them for fear of being taken advantage of. Less than a week after the Yan family moved out, a couple moved in. The man, surnamed Gong, named Gong Jian, worked at a car repair shop. The woman, named Gu Lin, was a nurse at Hongxing Hospital. They reportedly had a son. Because the couple had to work, they couldn't bring him with them, leaving the child in their hometown to be cared for by his parents.

On March 28th, at dusk, the family was having a nice meal when Liang Wanping suddenly experienced abdominal pain. He Daqing and He Yuzhu took her to the hospital. After more than an hour of agonizing labor, Liang Wanping finally gave birth to a healthy baby boy weighing seven pounds and eight ounces. He Daqing named his son He Yukun. True to his word, the day after He Yukun's one-month celebration, He Yuzhu, along with He Yushui and He Daqing, switched the names on the house and land deeds. The main house and the east wing went to He Daqing, while the two east wing rooms originally belonging to Yi Zhonghai's family went to He Yushui.

In May, the Hongxing Steel Rolling Mill began its first round of expansion. Without Jia Zhangshi's obstruction or interference, Jia Dongxu, through his current master's connections, spent one hundred yuan to get Qin Huairu a job at the mill. However, Qin Huairu was unlucky. She was assigned to the factory's logistics service department as a barber apprentice.

A few days before the Spring Festival in 1955, at dusk, an old woman who looked like a beggar appeared at the gate of courtyard number 95. Gu Lin, who had just returned from get off work, saw the old woman and asked curiously, "Auntie, who are you looking for?!"

The old woman stared at Gu Lin for a few seconds, then looked at the house number and muttered, "I didn't go to the wrong place, did I?!"

While the old woman was still in a daze, the plump aunt walked to the courtyard gate, carefully examined the beggar in front of her, and tentatively asked, "Are you Jia Zhangshi?!"

The moment Jia Zhangshi saw Aunt Pang, she breathed a sigh of relief and said, "I thought I'd gone to the wrong place!" Then, Jia Zhangshi swaggered into the courtyard house. Gu Lin, watching Jia Zhangshi's retreating figure, asked, "Aunt Pang, who is she?!"

The plump auntie said, "Jia Dongxu's mother from the inner courtyard! A few years ago, she stole from Old He's family in the inner courtyard and got arrested by the police. She was sentenced to four years. She came back for a few months in between because of a leg injury. After her leg healed, she went back in. Let me tell you, she's not a good person. She's a notorious shrew in our courtyard. You should avoid dealing with her if you can. If she tries to extort money from you, just report it to the neighborhood committee or the police station." Then the plump auntie sighed and said, "It seems our good days in this courtyard are probably coming to an end!"

Before Aunt Pang could finish speaking, Jia Zhangshi's roar echoed from the courtyard: "Jia Dongxu! Do you even care about me, your mother?! You knew I was being released from prison today, why didn't you come to pick me up?!"

Jia Dongxu said, "Mom! I've been busy with work lately and haven't had time to pick you up!"

Madam Jia roared, "If you're too busy, why didn't you send your wife to pick me up?!"

Jia Dongxu continued, "My wife also has to go to work now."

"Going to work?!" Jia Zhangshi was stunned for a few seconds, then pointed at Qin Huairu and asked, "She's found a job now too?!"

Jia Dongxu nodded honestly.

Madam Jia then asked, "She's gone to work, who's going to take care of my eldest grandson?!"

Jia Dongxu replied, "They were sent to the company's daycare center."

Madam Jia then asked, "How much did you spend to marry this woman?!"

Jia Dongxu replied, "Fifteen yuan as a bride price! My father-in-law only wants five yuan. The extra ten yuan is something I gave voluntarily!" Then he asked, "What's wrong?!"

Madam Jia Zhang was so angry that her body trembled involuntarily. She said, "Fifteen yuan?! To marry a country woman?! Jia Dongxu, have you lost your mind?! Go! Get that extra ten yuan back for me! If you don't get it back, you're not my son!" Then she roared, "Why aren't you going yet?!"

Jia Dongxu said, "Mom! Can you please shut up?! If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have married a girl from the countryside. Besides! What's wrong with girls from the countryside?! You came from the countryside yourself."

Madam Jia never expected that her usually timid son would dare to talk back to her like this. Madam Jia was furious. Jia Dongxu said, "Mom, wake up! Without Yi Zhonghai backing you up, you're nothing. If you continue to cause trouble in the courtyard like before, the people here will definitely send you back in. If you go back, you'll not only harm me, but also your grandson. Don't ruin our whole family. If you control your temper and stop causing trouble in the courtyard, Huai Ru and I will serve you well. If you insist on causing trouble, you only have two choices: go back to your hometown, or find a man and marry yourself."

"Jia Dongxu! What did you say?!" Jia Zhangshi glared, looking as if she wanted to devour Jia Dongxu alive. Just as Jia Dongxu was about to speak, Jia Zhangshi turned her fire on Qin Huairu and roared, "It's all because of you, you little hussy, stirring up trouble behind the scenes! Give me back my dutiful son!" With that, Jia Zhangshi lunged at Qin Huairu.

Jia Dongxu, quick as a flash, stepped in front of Qin Huairu, blocking Jia Zhangshi's way, and said, "Mom! I was brainwashed by Yi Zhonghai before, and I didn't understand many things. Now I understand! I will still be filial to you as before. But I won't blindly follow your words. What you've got is the dregs of the old society. This is a new society now. Your old ways are no longer valid." After saying that, Jia Dongxu said to Qin Huairu, "Huairu, give Mom a dollar so she can go to the bathhouse and have a good wash." Then Jia Dongxu walked to the cabinet, opened it, took out the canned meat that the factory had given him last year as welfare, which he hadn't been willing to eat, and handed it to Qin Huairu, saying, "Mom's back, let's add some dishes."