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

Entering the courtyard, Song Zhaohong pointed to a house not far away and said, "This is the house my work unit allocated to me." After saying that, Song Zhaohong pushed his bicycle to the window of the east wing, parked it, took out his key, unlocked the door, pushed it open, and led Kong Lianqing inside, saying, "The east wing has three rooms, the adjacent wing room, the east wing room in front, and the small courtyard connecting the east wing room all belong to us."

Kong Lianqing said, "The house your company allocated to you is quite large!!"

Song Zhaohong said, "According to my rank, I should be allocated a tenement building. But all the tenement buildings are full now. If you want to live in one, you have to wait. When I went to report to the branch office, I ran into a former comrade-in-arms. He told me he didn't want a tenement building, but a courtyard house, and he was willing to increase the size a bit. Song Ran's girlfriend's family lives in the area ahead. I've heard Song Ran talk about the layout of her house. I think a courtyard house is quite nice."

Kong Lianqing looked through the entire east wing and asked, "Brother Zhaohong, this house is really nice. But it feels like something's missing!"

Song Zhaohong said, "This house underwent major renovations recently. The exterior and interior don't really need much alteration. I plan to have someone build a kang (heated brick bed) in the south room, and construct a set of cabinets. Then, I'll create a study in the north, and use the middle room as a living room. I plan to enclose the courtyard connected to the east wing. I intend to convert the east wing into a kitchen and bathroom. This courtyard house is great in every way, except the toilet is inconvenient."

Kong Lianqing said, "Doing it this way will cost a lot of money. Do you have enough money?!"

Song Zhaohong replied, "That's enough! I've saved up all my allowances over the years, and I haven't touched my demobilization pay. Besides, my parents gave me five hundred yuan, which is enough to cover not only the cost of repairing the house, but also the cost of a sewing machine, a radio, and a watch."

Kong Lianqing asked, "When do you plan to start working on the house?!"

Song Zhaohong replied with a smile, "Once we've set a date, I'll find someone to arrange a house."

Kong Lianqing replied shyly, "Who wants to marry you?!"

At this point, Song Zhaohong took advantage of his thick skin and said, "If you don't marry me, who do you plan to marry?!"

"Shameless!" Kong Lianqing spat lightly at Song Zhaohong, then unconsciously snuggled into his arms.

Song Zhaohong froze instantly. After a few seconds, he regained his senses, embraced Kong Lianqing, and said, "I will hold your hand and grow old with you."

Kong Lianqing replied, "We made a vow of life and death, of separation and reunion."

Song Zhaohong and Kong Lianqing stayed inside for a while before going outside. Standing in the courtyard, they looked at the house and both broke into bright smiles.

After viewing the house, Song Zhaohong and Kong Lianqing discussed how to renovate it before leaving courtyard number 99. Meanwhile, Ye Guoliang found He Yuzhu in the logistics department office and said, "Yuzhu, your request has been approved by the branch leadership. Tomorrow morning, Lai Changming, the deputy section chief of the branch's logistics department, will take a team with you to the fishing village."

"Okay!" He Yuzhu readily agreed, then asked, "Chief, what time are you leaving tomorrow?!"

Ye Guoliang replied, "Seven o'clock in the morning."

"Oh!" He Yuzhu responded, and said nothing more.

Nothing happened that night. A little after six o'clock the next morning, He Yuzhu washed up, ate a quick bite, and went out. Before 6:45, He Yuzhu arrived at the police station. The people from the branch office were already waiting for him. He Yuzhu parked his bicycle, greeted Yao Qi, who was on duty at the station, and got into the truck parked in the police station yard.

The two trucks left Beijing, where there were hardly any people on the road. They picked up their speed. What normally takes four hours was covered in just three.

Coincidentally, it was Tian Dazhuang again, leading a group of men to guard the village entrance today. He Yuzhu rolled down the passenger window and called out, "Dazhuang!"

When Tian Dazhuang saw He Yuzhu, his eyes lit up immediately, and he said, "Comrade He, why didn't you give me a heads-up before you came?!"

He Yuzhu opened the car door and got out, took out a cigarette, lit it around, and said, "I brought our leader here today." He then asked, "How's the village?"

Tian Dazhuang replied with a smile, "Everything's fine! How could it not be?! The village chief and the Party secretary are both here, and you know the way, so I won't go with you."

"Alright! You guys get busy! I'll take the people into the village first!" After saying that, He Yuzhu got into the truck and told the driver to continue driving into the village.

"Village chief! Party secretary! We have guests!"

Tian Jiawang and Tian Shuilai, who were discussing matters in the village committee office, heard the villagers shouting and ran out of the office. He Yuzhu, who got out of the car, greeted them with a smile, "Uncle Village Chief! Uncle Party Secretary! I'm here again!"

Tian Jiawang said, "I was just talking about you! I didn't expect you to show up!"

He Yuzhu pushed Lai Changming forward and said, "Village chief, Party secretary, let me introduce you. This is my leader, Section Chief Lai Changming."

Lai Changming took out his cigarette case, pulled out two cigarettes, and handed them over, saying, "Village Chief! Party Secretary! Please take care of me in the future."

Tian Jiawang and Tian Shuilai accepted the cigarettes from Lai Changming. Tian Jiawang said, "Section Chief Lai, you're too kind! We're just helping each other out."

He Yuzhu said, "Uncle, let's not stay outside. Let's go inside and talk! And could you find a few people to help unload the truck?"

Tian Shuilai said, "Jiawang, you take the guests inside to rest. I'll organize the unloading!"

"Okay!" Tian Jiawang replied and led He Yuzhu and his group into the village committee.

"Sit down! Sit down! Sit down! Don't be shy!" Upon entering the village committee office, Tian Jiawang gestured for everyone to sit down, personally poured a glass of water and placed it in front of Lai Changming, then said, "The kettle is here, everyone help yourselves! Don't be shy!"

Lai Changming said, "Village Chief Tian, ​​we were very satisfied with the seafood that Comrade He Yuzhu bought last time. So we've come to trouble you again this time. This time we brought 500 jin of refined grains and 3,000 jin of coarse grains. As for the extras, we'll exchange them with you in cash and coupons."

Tian Jiawang said, "We trust you to trade with us! You've come at the perfect time! Our village's fishing boats went out yesterday. They should be back around noon today. We'll return whatever seafood they catch today, no matter how much."

"That's wonderful!" Lai Changming echoed with a smile.

He Yuzhu smiled and took two packages wrapped in newspaper from his shoulder bag, placing them on the desk next to him. He then winked at Tian Jiawang. Tian Jiawang smiled back at He Yuzhu but didn't say anything more. Lai Changming, sitting nearby, observed all of this and thought to himself, "This kid really knows his stuff! He's got the makings of a purchasing agent!"