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

"Dad! Aunt Liang!" He Yuzhu returned home, walked into the living room, greeted He Daqing and Liang Wanping, and was about to go back to his room when Liang Wanping eagerly asked, "Zhuzi, how did your blind date go?! What did the girl think of you?!"

"It's alright!" He Yuzhu replied casually, then said, "Dad, Aunt Liang, I'm going back to my room to rest for a while."

Seeing He Yuzhu flee in disarray, He Daqing couldn't help but laugh and said, "This silly boy has finally come to his senses." After saying that, He Daqing picked up the large tea mug and took a delicious sip of water.

Liang Wanping said, "Honey, now that Zhuzi has a girlfriend, the wedding will be soon. Shouldn't we get someone to clean up the house next door?"

He Daqing said, "It's time to clean it up. But let's not get involved. Zhu Zi is a stubborn kid. Let him do whatever he wants! Anyway, that kid has plenty of money. As for other things, we can deal with them after he tells us."

"Brother!" Just as He Yuzhu was about to go back into the house, He Yushui poked her head out from her room and looked at He Yuzhu with a smile.

He Yuzhu asked, "When did you and Xiaoling get back?!"

He Yushui replied, "We came back after dinner." Then she asked, "Brother, how far have things progressed between you and Teacher Song?!"

He Yuzhu asked with a smile, "Want to know?!"

He Yushui nodded heavily and replied, "I want to know."

"I'm not telling you!" With that, He Yuzhu pushed open the door and went inside with a haughty look on his face.

He Yushui stared at He Yuzhu's room for a few seconds, then came to her senses and muttered, "My brother, is this how you discard someone after they've served their purpose?! That's so unfair!" With that, He Yushui went back into her room and slammed the door shut in a huff.

He Yuzhu walked to the bedside, threw himself onto it, and stared blankly at the ceiling. Images from the past few years flashed through his mind. He Yuzhu never imagined that through his various actions over the years, he had completely transformed the entire courtyard world. Some people who would have had peaceful and happy endings were either dead or gone to the far northwest to dig sand.

Lost in thought, He Yuzhu drifted off to sleep. About half an hour later, He Yuzhu seemed to have a nightmare. He jumped out of bed. Wiping sweat from his brow with his sleeve, He Yuzhu muttered, "How could I have such a dream?!" Just now, He Yuzhu dreamt that Old Jia, along with the ancestors of the Jia family, was beating up Yi Zhonghai in the afterlife.

After a while, He Yuzhu recovered and glanced at his watch. He couldn't help but exclaim, "Oh dear! Time to make dinner!" He then quickly got out of bed and rushed out of the room. Entering the kitchen, he saw He Daqing already busy preparing dinner. A bright smile immediately spread across He Yuzhu's face as he asked, "Dad, what are we having for dinner tonight?!"

He Daqing replied, "What can we eat these days?! Cornmeal porridge, steamed buns made from a mixture of corn and water, homemade pickled vegetables with freshly steamed cured meat. Not many vegetables, but enough to fill you up!"

He Yuzhu chuckled and joked, "Dad, this isn't like you at all."

He Daqing replied, "I'm like a skilled cook without rice! I want to cook something delicious too, but I need the ingredients! Do you think I'm a god?! That I can conjure things up out of thin air?!"

He Yuzhu said, "You're not a god, but you're a master chef!" With that, He Yuzhu walked to the cabinet, took out a basket full of eggs, and said, "There are still eggs here! We adults can skip them. Yushui and Yukun are growing. We can't let them go hungry."

He Daqing was stunned for a moment, then asked, "Where did you put the eggs?! I didn't see them just now!"

He Yuzhu replied, "They're right there in the cupboard! There are not only eggs, but also sausages."

"Hey! That's strange! I just searched the whole cabinet, and there was nothing inside. How come there are eggs and sausages in there when you come?! Did you conjure them up out of thin air?!" He Daqing said, looking He Yuzhu up and down.

He Yuzhu laughed and said, "Isn't this to prevent outsiders from breaking in and stealing things?! When the cabinet was made, I had someone make a hidden compartment. The things are stored inside, so you can't see them from the outside." With that, He Yuzhu opened the hidden compartment in front of He Daqing. He Daqing finally relaxed and said, "I thought you were a god! I almost kowtowed to you!"

He Yuzhu said with a smile, "You can kowtow if you want! I'll just bring my grandparents' photos, sit over there, and you can kowtow to me however you like."

"You little brat! You think you can take advantage of your dad? No way!" He Daqing retorted, taking the eggs and sausage, and said, "I happen to have some leftover rice from last night. I'll make some golden fried rice for Yushui and Yukun!"

"Do whatever you want! I'm not going to see it or be bothered!" With that, He Yuzhu left the kitchen. Seeing He Yuzhu's reaction, He Daqing chuckled and muttered, "This kid's getting more and more mischievous. I wonder who he takes after?!"

Nothing happened that night. The next morning, after breakfast, He Yuzhu rode his bicycle to take He Yushui and Xu Xiaoling to school. After they entered the school gate, He Yuzhu saw Song Ran standing by the gate. He Yuzhu pushed his bicycle over to Song Ran, took two lunchboxes from his bag, and handed them to her, saying, "I got up before dawn to make this. Try it and see if it suits your taste. Just tell me what you want to eat next time." Then he asked, "Your mother didn't give you a hard time yesterday, did she?!"

Song Ran smiled and replied, "No!" Then she asked, "When are you coming to my house for dinner?!"

"I'll go whenever you want! Whenever you want me to go, I'll go." With that, He Yuzhu took out a piece of chocolate from his pocket and put it into Song Ran's pocket.

Seeing that He Yuzhu was about to take something out, Song Ran smiled and asked, "What else do you have in your bag?!"

"There's nothing left!" He Yuzhu replied sheepishly, adding, "It's getting late, time for class. You go inside first! You and Yushui can come to my house for dinner tonight. I'll cook you something delicious!"

Song Ran said shyly, "Isn't it a little inappropriate to go to your house so early?!"

He Yuzhu said, "Practice makes perfect. In any case, let's go and familiarize ourselves with the place first."

Song Ran hesitated for a moment, then nodded and said, "Okay! School ends at 3:30 this afternoon. You come pick us up."

"Okay!" He Yuzhu readily agreed.

"Then I'm going back to school!" After saying that, Song Ran turned around and walked into the school gate.

He Yuzhu watched Song Ran's retreating figure, a look of reluctance on his face. Just as He Yuzhu was about to ride away, Ye Guoliang's wife called out, "Zhuzi!"