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

"There's still about half a year until the New Year. Around November or December, I'll go into the mountains and hunt some wild game. After all, this is their first time back since Xiao Ran and I got married. We should make sure they eat and drink well." With that, He Yuzhu pulled a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, unpacked it, took out two, handed one to Song Zhaohong, lit one for himself, took a couple of puffs, and then said, "I heard Fourth Brother wrote that he's getting married?!"

Song Zhaohong was taken aback, then asked, "Who told you this?!"

He Yuzhu replied, "Who else could it be?! My wife. Your sister!"

Song Zhaohong scratched his head and said, "I really didn't know about that. I'll ask my mom later. Oh, right! I went to a meeting at the bureau yesterday and heard that Director Song is being transferred to the ministry. Our old director will be taking over his position."

He Yuzhu said, "This is great news!"

"Ring! Ring!" Just then, the telephone on his desk rang. Song Zhaohong answered the phone and said, "Nanluoguxiang Police Station, this is Song Zhaohong!"

"Xiao Song, it's me!" Zhang Qiang's voice came from the other end of the phone.

Song Zhaohong asked, "Director Zhang, what's the matter?!"

Zhang Qiang asked, "Is that kid He Yuzhu in your office?!"

Song Zhaohong looked at He Yuzhu and said, "He's here!"

Zhang Qiang ordered, "Let him answer the phone!"

"Yes!" Song Zhaohong responded, handing the phone to He Yuzhu and saying, "Director Zhang is looking for you."

He Yuzhu answered the phone and said, "Director Zhang, you called me?! What's up?!"

Zhang Qiang said, "You come to me right now. I have a mission for you."

"Yes!" He Yuzhu replied, hung up the phone, looked at Song Zhaohong, and said, "Director Zhang wants me to come over, saying there's a mission."

"Then hurry up and go!" After sending He Yuzhu away, Song Zhaohong's brows furrowed unconsciously. He thought to himself, "What kind of mission is this?! Why is he being called over in such a rush?!"

Twenty minutes later, He Yuzhu appeared at Zhang Qiang's office door and knocked. Hearing the knock, Zhang Qiang called out, "Come in!"

He Yuzhu pushed open the office door and walked in, asking, "Director Zhang, you wanted to see me?!"

"You've come at the right time! These two are comrades from the Ministry of Commerce in charge of equipment procurement; they're looking for you." After saying this, Zhang Qiang said to the two men from the Ministry of Commerce, "This is He Yuzhu."

He Yuzhu was taken aback for a moment, then said, "Comrades, what can I do for you?!"

"My name is Du Jiang, and this gentleman next to me is Comrade Mi Donglai. Comrade He Yuzhu, we purchased a batch of advanced Western equipment. However, this equipment was seized after arriving in the port city. We have tried many connections but have been unable to get it released."

He Yuzhu said, "Comrades, you must have the wrong person. You have no way to help, and I have even less to help."

Du Jiang said, "Comrade He Yuzhu, please let me finish. The site where that batch of equipment was stored belongs to the Lou family. We found out that you once saved the life of Lou Zhenhua's daughter, Lou Xiao'e."

He Yuzhu said, "That happened a long time ago. I had completely forgotten about it if you hadn't mentioned it. You're not trying to get me to use this favor to get them to give you the equipment, are you?!"

Mi Donglai said, "During the Spring Festival, a change occurred in the Lou family, and Lou Zhenhua returned to take charge of the Lou Group. During this period, the Lou family's companies developed rapidly. They not only have factories, but also a fleet of ships."

He Yuzhu interrupted, "This doesn't seem to have anything to do with me."

Zhang Qiang glared at the two men and said, "Zhu Zi, they want you to go to Hong Kong to make a trip and help them build a relationship with the Lou family."

"Director Zhang, everything else is negotiable, but I really can't handle this. You'd better find someone else! If there's nothing else, I'll be leaving now!" With that, He Yuzhu turned and walked out.

"Wait!" Du Jiang called out to He Yuzhu, saying, "Comrade He Yuzhu, just tell us what your concerns are. We will definitely do our best to help you solve them."

"No worries! Don't waste your time here. I have work to do, so I'll be leaving now!" With that, He Yuzhu walked to the office door, opened it, and went out. The moment he closed the door, He Yuzhu thought to himself, "At a time like this, asking me to go to the Lou family would be giving them leverage! I'm not that stupid! I wonder how Xiao'e is doing now?! To be honest, sometimes I really want to sneak over there and see her."

Watching the office door close, Zhang Qiang said, "Gentlemen, you both heard what Comrade He Yuzhu said. I won't repeat it. To be honest, it's really useless for you to go to him. You'd be better off finding someone in Beijing who used to have a good relationship with Lou Zhenhua and asking them to put in a good word for you. That might be more effective than He Yuzhu doing it."

Du Jiang and Mi Donglai exchanged a glance. Mi Donglai said, "Let's go back and talk to our superiors first. If that doesn't work, we'll come back to ask Comrade He Yuzhu for help. We'll also ask Director Zhang to put in a good word for us then."

Zhang Qiang said, "Don't come to me with this. I can't help you with this! You'd better find someone else!"

Actually, Du Jiang and Mi Donglai both knew what the wind was blowing. They came to see He Yuzhu today with a gamble, hoping for the best, but it wouldn't matter if it didn't work out.

After Du Jiang and Mi Donglai left, there was a knock on Zhang Qiang's office door. Zhang Qiang called out, "Come in!"

He Yuzhu returned, pushed open the door, and walked in. As he closed the office door, he said, "Director Zhang, you're really underhanded! You dug such a huge pit for me to fall into!"

Zhang Qiang said, "I didn't expect them to send you to Gangcheng to find the Lou family. If I had known earlier, I wouldn't have called you here!" Then he asked, "Why are you back again?!"

He Yuzhu asked, "Weren't the previous purchases all going smoothly?! Why were they detained this time?!"

Zhang Qiang said, "It's because things went too smoothly the last few times that they let their guard down." Then, changing the subject, he continued, "I've heard about the Lou family from your uncle. During the New Year, some things happened within the Lou family. Lou Zhenhua regained control of Lou's Group and became chairman. But the one who truly runs the Lou family is Lou Xiao'e. And you know what? Lou Xiao'e is quite something! She's got her brothers completely under her thumb. And to prevent those old-established families in Hong Kong from marrying her in order to acquire the Lou family, this girl somehow got pregnant with someone's child. And she even used this opportunity to declare that she would never marry again."

"She's pregnant?!" A golden light flashed in He Yuzhu's eyes. At this moment, He Yuzhu began to think about how to safely go to the port city to see Lou Xiao'e and the child.