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

Lai Changming sat in the village committee office for a while, greeted Tian Jiawang, and then left the office. The driver who had come with him also wanted to take some things back, and seeing Lai Changming leave, he followed him out. Tian Jiawang immediately packed up the things, saying, "Zhuzi, you've come all this way! Why go to all that trouble?!"

He Yuzhu said, "You and the old Party Secretary are both my elders. Shouldn't I, as the one on the night shift, offer you something as a token of my respect?! Don't forget to give the accountant a share."

Tian Jiawang smiled and said, "Don't worry! I know what I'm doing!"

He Yuzhu continued, "I heard that the higher-ups are planning to implement a communal dining system. Every household in the village will eat together. Uncle, let me give you a heads-up. Every village has hardworking people and lazy people. Even though we'll eat together, the portions will be tiered. If the hardworking and the lazy eat the same amount, many people will be unhappy. Besides, food is precious; we can't waste it."

Tian Jiawang said, "I heard some rumors when I went to a meeting in the county a few days ago."

He Yuzhu continued, "Before the Lunar New Year, when I came here myself, I brought you some scrap metal. You can store this scrap metal in the village committee's warehouse for now. Next year, you'll know what use this scrap metal is."

Tian Jiawang said, "Zhuzi, if you're coming before the New Year, come on the 22nd of the twelfth lunar month. We'll be returning by boat that day."

"Hey!" He Yuzhu responded, took out a cigarette case from his pocket, pulled out two cigarettes and handed one to Tian Jiawang, then asked, "Uncle, come over before the New Year, I'll bring over some extra cloth and brown sugar. Everyone can have a good New Year."

It was quickly past 11:00 AM when Tian Jiawang called He Yuzhu and his group to his home. The fishing village had little else, but every household had plenty of seafood drying in the sun. Tian Jiawang had his wife prepare a simple country-style meal for He Yuzhu and his group. Just after 12:30 PM, the bell at the dock rang. Soon after, fishing boats began to return to shore one after another.

Lai Changming and his driver went to the dock and saw baskets of fish, shrimp, crabs, and cuttlefish being unloaded from the boat. Lai Changming and the others' eyes lit up. After weighing, Lai Changming followed Tian Jiawang and Tian Shuilai to the village committee. About half an hour later, Lai Changming emerged from the village committee with a broad smile, followed by Tian Jiawang and Tian Shuilai, who then called on the villagers to help load the truck.

He Yuzhu sat at the entrance of the village committee, smoking a cigarette as he watched the goods piled higher and higher on the two trucks. He thought to himself, "Luckily, they don't crack down on overloading these days. Otherwise, with this much stuff, the fines would be unbearable."

There's strength in numbers. In just over twenty minutes, all the seafood was loaded onto two trucks. He Yuzhu greeted Tian Jiawang and Tian Shuilai, then got into the first truck. After a while, once Lai Changming was in the second truck, He Yuzhu told the driver to start the car.

They hadn't loaded much on the way there, so they drove fast. But on the way back, the trucks were loaded way too much. They were lucky to avoid any accidents; expecting to drive fast was a joke. After a frantic rush, the two trucks arrived outside Beijing around 6 PM.

When Lai Changming saw He Yuzhu's truck suddenly stop, he assumed there was something wrong with it. Lai Changming immediately told the driver to stop. He Yuzhu got out of his truck and walked to Lai Changming's truck, saying, "Section Chief Lai, it's still early. Let's wait here for another hour before heading into town!"

Lai Changming immediately understood He Yuzhu's meaning and said, "Okay! We'll wait here for an hour. We'll take the stuff to your institute's cold storage later."

He Yuzhu said, "Section Chief Lai, the branch office should also get a cold storage facility! Keeping things stored in our station isn't working! What if other units find out and come to our station begging for donations? Our station chief is too weak; he can't handle it. Besides, our new deputy station chief just transferred from the military. You also came from the military; you know the power of camaraderie. Don't cause trouble for our station if things go missing."

Lai Changming replied with a smile, "Don't worry! The branch office's cold storage is already under construction. It should be ready in seven or eight days at most. It won't just keep storing things at your station." Then, changing the subject, he said, "Zhu Zi, I heard you bought quite a bit of dried goods last time?!"

He Yuzhu replied, "That's right. Last time, we borrowed a lot of grain from our brother unit to exchange for seafood. Their unit is big and doesn't lack money, but they lack food. So, the goods were used to pay off the grain debt."

Lai Changming continued, "You're quite the hunter, aren't you? When are you going to lead a team into the mountains?"

He Yuzhu said with a bitter face, "Section Chief Lai, please spare me! Now the entrances to the mountains are guarded by militia from various villages. It's not as easy to get into the mountains as it used to be. If you really want to get meat, take advantage of the cold weather and organize people to hunt in the deep forests of Northeast China."

Lai Changming quickly considered the options and decided that this deal was worth doing. As for who to send on the hunting trip, he would discuss it with the branch office leaders later.

More than an hour passed in the blink of an eye. Seeing that it was almost dark, He Yuzhu got into the truck. Not long after, the two trucks entered Beijing one after the other. Just after eight o'clock in the evening, the two trucks pulled up into the Nanluoguxiang Police Station. Ye Guoliang, who was reading a newspaper in his office, heard the sound of brakes and immediately put down his newspaper and came out. Seeing the mountain of seafood piled up in the back of the truck, a look of surprise appeared on his face.

After getting out of the car, Lai Changming walked up to Ye Guoliang and said, "Old Ye, did you receive the notice from the branch office?!"

Ye Guoliang said, "The cold storage is ready. Just unload your things and put them in." He then instructed, "Remember to lock the door after you leave the cold storage. Take the key with you, so you don't have trouble explaining if anything is missing."

Lai Changming smiled and agreed, "Alright! We'll do it your way. Could you please find a few comrades to help unload the truck?"

He Yuzhu said, "Chief, my mission is complete. I'll head back now!"

"Go ahead! You'll have half a day off tomorrow! Come and report in this afternoon!" After saying that, Ye Guoliang called over a person on duty to unload Lai Changming and the others from the car.

Around nine o'clock in the evening, He Yuzhu returned home. After parking his bicycle, he went to the kitchen. He Daqing, who had gotten up to use the bathroom, heard the noise, went into the kitchen, and saw He Yuzhu cooking. He asked, "Why are you back so late?!"

He Yuzhu said, "I went to Tianjin. On the way back, the car was too full, so I couldn't drive fast and came back late."