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

He Yuzhu had just cooked two dishes when He Daqing returned with Liang Wanping and He Yukun. He Daqing parked his bicycle and habitually went into the kitchen, saying as he watched He Yuzhu cook, "Zhuzi, that kid Jia Dongxu has applied to go to another city to support construction."

He Yuzhu replied, "I heard it from Director Wang when I went back to the subdistrict office this afternoon." He then asked, "Why did Jia Dongxu suddenly decide to go to another place to support construction?!"

He Daqing said, "Beijing is Jia Dongxu's place of heartbreak. He actually stayed there quite a bit. His master advised him to go elsewhere and give his environment back to him."

He Yuzhu said, "His master is good! No matter what, he's better than Yi Zhonghai!"

He Daqing said, "Can Yi Zhonghai even be considered a human being?! He only cares about himself."

He Yuzhu asked, "Dad, who did the factory allocate the house to Jia Dongxu's family?!"

He Daqing said, "Jia Dongxu is a decent guy. Knowing his senior brother is still living in the factory dormitory, he sublet his apartment to him." He then asked, "What do the police and the neighborhood committee plan to do about Qin Huairu and her lover?!"

He Yuzhu said, "Qin Huairu is easy to deal with. Her lover is a different story. He's a real oddball. Not long after the Japanese were driven out, he came to Beijing with his family to visit relatives. He inexplicably joined the Military Intelligence Bureau. Originally, the Kuomintang's men were going to take him with them when they left Beijing. But he couldn't bear to leave his parents and Qin Huairu, so he didn't go. The Kuomintang's men thought this kid was good, willing to go undercover, so they gave him some money. Most people spend their money, but this kid hid it all, just watching Qin Huairu marry Jia Dongxu. In the past two years, Qin Shouren has passed on a lot of information to the Kuomintang. If they hadn't arrested him beforehand, their next plan would have been to bomb the steel mill. Qin Shouren wouldn't have escaped this time. Qin Huairu, because she's pregnant, can't eat peanuts (a euphemism for sexual activity), and even if she doesn't go to jail, she'll have to go to the farm for supervised labor. Anyway, her future won't be good." However, He Yuzhu quickly thought of Qin Huairu from the TV series. He Yuzhu involuntarily shuddered. Qin Huairu, for the sake of survival... They're capable of trading one steamed bun for another. Who knows what they might do next? He Yuzhu quickly chuckled self-deprecatingly, thinking to himself, "Whatever happens to Qin Huairu in the future, I won't be able to see it!"

It was a little past six in the evening. Qin Shouren's parents returned home. Upon entering, Zhang Liudi saw the mess the house had been ransacked and couldn't help but burst into tears. Hearing his wife's cries, Qin Yonggen was instantly enraged and roared, "Cry! Cry! Cry! All you know how to do is cry! What else can you do besides cry?!"

Zhang Liudi said, "I told you long ago that Qin Huairu was a scourge. Our son would be ruined by her sooner or later, but you wouldn't believe me! Now my words have come true, haven't they?!"

To be honest, the worst member of Qin Shouren's family was the "good old man" Qin Yonggen. After Qin Shouren joined the Military Intelligence Bureau, he told Qin Yonggen about his situation and even expressed his desire for the whole family to move to Beijing. Qin Yonggen was unwilling, feeling that moving to the city so soon after Qin Shouren became an official would cause trouble for his son. However, he didn't expect the bald man to fall so quickly. Moreover, at that time, Qin Huairu saw that Qin Shouren had money and started an affair with him. Before long, Qin Huairu became Qin Shouren's "white moonlight" (a term of endearment for a woman). Over the years, Qin Shouren had amassed a considerable amount of money, most of which was hidden away by Qin Yonggen.

Zhang Liudi asked, "Husband, what should we do now?!"

Qin Yonggen said, "We can't stay in Qin Family Village any longer. It seems we'll have to go somewhere else."

Zhang Liudi then asked, "Where can we go?!"

Qin Yonggen said, "Go to Shandong Province, to my uncle's place!"

Zhang Liudi wiped away her tears and said, "We need a letter of introduction to go to Shandong Province. Will the village give us one?!"

Qin Yonggen thought for a moment and said, "You tidy up the house, I'll go find the Party Secretary and have a good talk with him."

"Yes!" Zhang Liudi responded and immediately began packing her things.

As soon as Qin Yonggen stepped outside, he saw Qin Hongshan and his family approaching. Seeing their menacing appearance, Qin Yonggen turned and ran without a word. However, he was too slow and was caught by Qin Huairu's older brother, Qin Huaijiang. Qin Hongshan strode up to Qin Yonggen and sneered, "Go ahead and run! Why aren't you running anymore?!"

Knowing he couldn't escape, Qin Yonggen became fearless. He asked directly, "What exactly do you want?!"

Qin Hongshan replied, "What do you want?! Pay up!"

Qin Yonggen said, "I have no money! I'll take your life! Anyway, my son is gone, I have no money, and I have no hope for life!"

Qin Hongshan said, "Don't try that on me." After saying that, Qin Hongshan gave his sons a wink.

Seeing their father's signal, Qin Hongshan's sons immediately pinned Qin Yonggen to the ground and began beating him. Qin Yonggen screamed in pain, but refused to utter a word about paying compensation. After a while, fearing someone might die, Qin Hongshan told his sons to stop.

Qin Hongshan looked down at Qin Yonggen and said coldly, "I'll give you three days! If you don't come up with five hundred yuan to compensate our family within three days, I'll tear down your house!" After saying that, Qin Hongshan left with his sons.

Watching Qin Hongshan's family walk away, Qin Yonggen became even more determined to leave. He struggled to his feet and staggered towards the house of the village secretary, Qian Yongjiang.

"Is the Party Secretary asleep?!" Qin Yonggen walked to the gate of Qin Yongjiang's courtyard and shouted into the yard.

Qian Yongjiang, who was sitting on the kang (a heated brick bed) smoking and lost in thought, frowned involuntarily when he heard the shout. Qin Yongjiang's wife, Lü Yan, said, "It sounds like Qin Yonggen's voice."

As Qin Yongjiang got off the kang (a heated brick bed) and put on his shoes, he said, "I'm going out to take a look!" With that, Qin Yongjiang walked out of the house.

"Who is it?!" Qin Yongjiang walked into the courtyard and asked as he opened the gate.

Qin Yonggen replied, "Secretary! It's me!"

Qin Yongjiang looked at Qin Yonggen and asked, "You're back?!"

Qin Yonggen replied, "I'm back!"

Qin Yongjiang then asked, "What brings you here so late?!"

Qin Yonggen asked, "Secretary, can we go inside and talk?!"

Qin Yongjiang thought for a moment, then stepped aside and said, "Come in!"

Qin Yonggen entered the courtyard and, after Qian Yongjiang closed the gate, said, "Secretary, my husband Shouren has caused this mess. We're too ashamed to stay in the village. Could you please issue us a letter of introduction? I'm planning to take my wife to Shandong Province to stay with my uncle."