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

A little after four o'clock in the afternoon, Song Ran, along with He Yushui and Xu Xiaoling, had just reached the entrance of courtyard number 95 when they saw Song Zhaohong walking towards them. Song Ran called out, "Third Brother!"

Song Zhaohong walked up to Song Ran, glanced at the house number, and asked, "He Yuzhu lives here?!"

Song Ran nodded and asked, "I heard you got an apartment?!"

Song Zhaohong replied, "They've been separated. It's in the courtyard at number 99 up ahead."

"Oh!" Song Ran responded, then asked, "Are you going home?!"

Song Zhaohong said, "The institute gave me three days off. I'll go back and stay for two days." Then he asked, "Is there anything they want me to bring you?"

Song Ran shook her head and said, "I have everything, no need to bring it."

"Okay! I'll go first then!" After saying that, Song Zhaohong was about to walk past Song Ran.

"Wait!" Song Ran called out to Song Zhaohong, saying, "Brother, it's inconvenient to take a car now. Why don't you ride my bicycle back? When you go to work, just give the bike to Zhuzi."

Song Zhaohong thought for a moment, then took the bicycle from Song Ran and said, "Then I won't be polite!"

Looking at Song Zhaohong's retreating figure, He Yushui asked, "Sister-in-law, who is he?!"

Song Ran replied, "He's my third brother. He's your brother's direct supervisor now."

"Oh no! My brother is doomed!" He Yushui silently mourned for He Yuzhu for a few seconds.

Song Ran laughed and said, "Your brother isn't afraid of my third brother at all! Come on! Let's go inside and see what delicious food your brother has made for us today!"

As Song Ran led He Yushui and Xu Xiaoling into the central courtyard, Xu Damao's voice reached their ears. Hearing her brother's words, Xu Xiaoling covered her face with her hands, somewhat embarrassed. Seeing Xu Xiaoling's reaction, He Yushui couldn't help but laugh, saying, "Xiaoling, Damao is so funny!!"

Xu Xiaoling sighed and said, "He's my own brother! My own flesh and blood! Not someone I adopted!"

Song Ran smiled and went into the kitchen. Xu Damao, who was chatting animatedly, paused for a few seconds upon seeing Song Ran, then greeted her, "Sister-in-law's here?!"

Song Ran asked, "I heard you went on a blind date today. How did it go?!"

Xu Damao replied, "The situation is quite good!"

"That's good!" Song Ran agreed, then looked at He Yuzhu and asked, "What delicious food are you making today?!"

He Yuzhu said, "I bought a lot of seafood in Tianjin yesterday. While it's still fresh, I'll cook you a meal." Then he said to Xu Damao, "Have your parents come over later too."

Xu Damao said excitedly, "Brother Zhu! I've been waiting for you to say that. I'm going back now, I'll come back later." With that, Xu Damao dashed out of the kitchen.

He Yuzhu looked at Xu Damao's retreating figure and couldn't help but laugh.

Song Ran asked, "What are you laughing at?! Why are you so happy?!"

He Yuzhu said, "It's nothing! I was just thinking about the blind date he told me about. That kid's really something." With that, He Yuzhu took a small bowl, put a few pieces of freshly cooked yellow croaker in it, and handed it to Song Ran, saying, "Try it, is it good enough?!"

Song Ran took the small bowl, picked up a fish, and bit into it. The tender fish meat, coated in the fragrant batter, instantly filled her mouth. Her eyes sparkled, and she couldn't help but exclaim, "Delicious!"

Seeing Song Ran's adorable expression, He Yuzhu smiled happily and said, "It's delicious, eat more later." Then he asked, "Did you eat the food I brought you for lunch?!"

Song Ran nodded emphatically and said, "That knife fish is quite delicious. It just looks like it uses a lot of oil."

He Yuzhu said, "The weather is alright now, but it will go bad if left out for too long. Just eat it as a snack for the next few days. I'll make you some more in a while."

Just as Song Ran was about to speak, He Yushui walked in and asked, "Brother, what delicious food are you making?! I can smell it from inside the room!"

"You! Don't try to fool me. I know what you're thinking even if you don't say it!" After saying that, He Yuzhu picked up another small bowl next to him, put half a bowl of fried yellow croaker in it, handed it to He Yushui, and instructed, "Don't just eat, hurry up and finish your homework!"

"Oh!" He Yushui responded, and eagerly took the bowl to share the food with Xu Xiaoling.

After He Yushui left, Song Ran took a stool and sat down next to He Yuzhu, watching him cook.

In the blink of an eye, more than an hour had passed. It was a little past five in the afternoon. Song Zhaohong had just arrived at the gate of the compound on his bicycle when he ran into Kong Lianqing, who was returning from get off work. Song Zhaohong greeted Kong Lianqing and, almost without thinking, asked, "Are you free tomorrow?!"

Kong Lianqing thought for a moment and replied, "I have a meeting in the city tomorrow morning, but I'll have time at noon." Then she asked, "Why are you asking this?!"

Song Zhaohong said, "My workplace has allocated me an apartment. I'd like to take you to see it."

"Okay! Meet me at the entrance of the Municipal Labor Bureau at noon tomorrow!" After saying that, Kong Lianqing rode away quickly on her bicycle without waiting for Song Zhaohong's reaction.

As Song Zhaohong watched Kong Lianqing's retreating figure, the corners of his mouth unconsciously curled up. He then rode his bicycle home.

"Dad!" Song Zhaohong walked into the living room and greeted Song Shinian, who was sitting on the sofa reading a newspaper. Song Shinian put down the newspaper and asked, "Is the work arranged?"

Song Zhaohong replied, "It's all arranged! I've been assigned to the Nanluoguxiang Police Station as deputy director."

"Nanluoguxiang Police Station?!" Xu Wenya came out of the kitchen carrying some things and asked, "Zhu Zi seems to be over there?!"

Song Zhaohong said, "I'm currently in charge of logistics and household registration. I'm He Yuzhu's direct supervisor." He continued, "The unit allocated me an apartment. It's right next to He Yuzhu's house. I've arranged to go see the apartment with Kong Lianqing tomorrow."

Xu Wenya chimed in, "That's great!" Then she asked, "How big of an apartment did your company allocate to you?!"

Song Zhaohong replied, "It's the east wing of the central courtyard plus two side rooms. He Yuzhu accompanied me to handle the paperwork. The comrades from the housing management office also allocated me the small courtyard in front of the side rooms. Anyway, the place isn't small."

Song Shinian said, "Old woman, go and get five hundred yuan for Zhao Hong."

Song Zhaohong asked with a puzzled look, "Dad! What do you need money for?!"

Song Shinian said, "When your eldest and second brothers got married, your mother and I gave each of them a thousand yuan. You'll get the same. Here's five hundred yuan for you to fix up the house. We'll give the remaining five hundred yuan to Lianqing later."

Song Zhaohong said, "The house over there was just renovated. All we need to do is add some furniture. It won't cost much."