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

"Hey!" He Yuzhu followed Ma Huaimin to the office, took the slip of paper to the finance department, and handed it to Sister Sun, the finance manager of the institute.

Sister Sun took the note, checked it on the abacus a few times to make sure there were no problems, then opened the drawer, took out a stack of money, counted out the corresponding cash, and said, "Zhu Zi, count the money and then sign here."

He Yuzhu picked up the money, carefully counted it, and after confirming there were no problems, signed his name in the payee column. After Sister Sun put away the ledger, she said, "Zhuzi, thanks to you, kid. Otherwise, the food in our station wouldn't be so good. And we can all share some things every now and then."

He Yuzhu said, "Sister Sun, you're flattering me! I've only been in the purchasing business for a long time, so I know a lot of people. There's nothing else to it."

Sister Niu, who was sitting at the desk next to Sister Sun, said, "Zhu Zi, my younger brother saw me taking ribbonfish (some places call it hairtail) home yesterday. He's the head of the logistics department at Beijing University. He wants me to make some connections with you."

He Yuzhu said, "Sister Niu, it's not that I'm not giving you face. I know what your brother is thinking. You've seen what I brought back; the branch office is going to take away most of it. If the branch office finds out I helped other units with procurement, wouldn't Director Zhang punish me?! Besides, they have the right to procure. They can just go to a fishing village in Tianjin and buy all the seafood from that village, and the problem will be solved! If they're worried about having too much stuff to transport back, they can cooperate with the city's transportation company."

Sister Sun chimed in, "Niu Li, Zhu Zi has already fed you right to your mouth. Don't you know how to do it?!"

Sister Niu immediately realized what was going on and said with a smile, "Zhu Zi, thank you! I'll talk to my brother about it later."

"Zhu Zi!" Just then, Ye Guoliang's voice reached He Yuzhu's ears. He Yuzhu walked out of the finance office and asked, "Uncle Ye, you were looking for me?!"

Ye Guoliang shouted, "Come to my office!"

"Oh!" He Yuzhu responded and obediently walked into Ye Guoliang's office, closing the office door behind him.

Ye Guoliang gestured for He Yuzhu to sit down and said, "Zhuzi, you did buy a lot of seafood yesterday. But the branch office took two-thirds of it. Just now, five or six other places called wanting a piece of the pie. Could you make another trip to Tianjin?!"

"Go again?!" He Yuzhu feigned a troubled expression and said, "Uncle Ye, I haven't treated you unfairly! You can't just trick me like this, can you?!"

Ye Guoliang asked, "How did I cheat you?!"

He Yuzhu said, "The higher-ups are cracking down on speculation and profiteering. I just went to Tianjin yesterday and brought back so much seafood. I'm going again today. What will people think?! If something goes wrong, you, the director, will at most get a warning. I might even lose my job. Let whichever unit wants seafood get it themselves. Besides, it's not like we're the only ones with purchasing rights!" Then He Yuzhu changed the subject and continued, "Uncle Ye, do you know why they can't buy anything?! It's because their purchasing agents want to cut corners. They've driven down the purchase price. People in the countryside may have low levels of education, but that doesn't mean they're stupid. They can compare prices and know who's right to give to." Then, fearing Ye Guoliang wouldn't believe him, He Yuzhu showed him the purchase certificate issued by Tianjia Village.

Seeing the purchase price, Ye Guoliang hesitated for a moment. Then, in front of He Yuzhu, he picked up the phone on his desk and called several companies with whom he had good relationships. After making a round of calls, Ye Guoliang's gaze towards He Yuzhu changed. Ye Guoliang put down the phone, gave He Yuzhu a thumbs-up, and said, "You've really made me proud!"

He Yuzhu, seemingly unconcerned, said, "Uncle Ye, to be honest, no one gets rich without windfall gains, and no horse gets fat without night grazing. It's impossible for a purchasing agent not to make a profit. But I, as a purchasing agent, have principles. Whatever price the agency gives me when I buy things from the countryside, I'll pay the farmers the same price. If you want to make money, go hunting yourself. This is earning money through your own abilities; there's no shame in it, and I'm not afraid of what others will say."

Ye Guoliang said, "Zhuzi, there are still more than two months until the New Year. Could we buy a lot of things before the New Year so everyone can have a prosperous holiday?"

He Yuzhu said, "Uncle Ye, there are plenty of black markets in our area. Why go to all this trouble?"

Ye Guoliang glared at He Yuzhu with annoyance and said, "How can a mere station chief like me decide to crack down on the black market?! We must follow the orders of our superiors."

"Alright! Since you've put it that way, I guess I'll have to do the hard work. But let me be clear from the start: don't let me go through all that trouble to get these things and then you turn around and give them away. Don't blame me if I apply for a transfer then." With that, He Yuzhu put away the purchase certificate, said goodbye to Ye Guoliang, and left Ye Guoliang's office.

After He Yuzhu left, Ye Guoliang couldn't help but laugh, muttering, "Little brat, you've grown wings, daring to threaten me now?!"

He Yuzhu left Ye Guoliang's office, stayed in the logistics section's office for a while, then greeted Ma Huaimin. Just as he was about to go out for a walk, he saw Song Zhaohong entering with Secretary Dong from the branch's personnel department. Secretary Dong also saw He Yuzhu and greeted him with a smile, "Yuzhu, are you going out?!"

"Oh?! Secretary Dong, what brings you here today?!" He Yuzhu said, taking out a cigarette case from his pocket, pulling out a cigarette and handing it over.

Secretary Dong noticed the white box of cigarettes in He Yuzhu's hand and said with a smile, "Isn't your institute short of a deputy director?! I've brought someone over today." He then introduced, "Yuzhu, let me introduce you!"

He Yuzhu hurriedly said, "Secretary Dong, please don't introduce him! I know him. He's my third brother-in-law!"

Upon hearing that He Yuzhu and Song Zhaohong had this connection, Secretary Dong immediately laughed and said, "Since you two know each other, I won't say any more." He then asked, "Is your Director Ye here?!"

He Yuzhu replied, "In the office!"

"Alright! I'll take him there first to find your director." With that, Secretary Dong led Song Zhaohong toward Ye Guoliang's office.

Watching the two figures disappear into the distance, He Yuzhu sighed and muttered, "Well, I won't be able to leave the house this morning!" With that, He Yuzhu returned to his office.

Seeing He Yuzhu come in from outside, Ma Huaimin asked, "Didn't you go out?! Why are you back so soon?!"

He Yuzhu said, "A deputy director has arrived. I guess there will be a meeting soon, so I came back."