He Yuyang: The tough eldest brother of the courtyard house

As the train pulled into Beijing Station, it was just beginning to get light. The platform was bustling with people: soldiers in uniform, civilians carrying luggage, and porters pushing rickshaws. The shouts, footsteps, and train whistles mingled together, creating a vibrant and lively atmosphere.

He Yuyang carried the heaviest luggage and walked in front, while her father He Daqing supported her mother Liu Yan, and He Yuzhu held her younger sister Yushui's hand. The family stood at the exit, looking at the unfamiliar city in front of them, their eyes filled with both excitement and trepidation.

"This is Beijing..." Liu Yan murmured to herself, staring blankly at the outline of the city gate in the distance. "It's much bigger than a county town."

"That's right, this is the capital city." He Yuzhu looked around, his eyes sparkling. "Brother, where should we go first?"

"Let's find a place to stay first," He Yuyang said. He had already contacted the office through the military, and they had arranged temporary accommodations for him. "I'll take you to the guesthouse to rest for a while, and then we'll look at some houses this afternoon."

The military guesthouse was located in a small alley not far from the station. It was a neat and tidy courtyard house. They were greeted by a clerk surnamed Zhao, who immediately saluted He Yuyang upon seeing him: "Regimental Commander He, we've been waiting for you. The rooms are all ready—three rooms with a small courtyard. Are you satisfied?"

"Thank you for your trouble, Officer Zhao." He Yuyang returned the greeting, "You're too kind."

"Of course, of course," Officer Zhao said with a smile. "You are a war hero who has made great contributions to the country. This is nothing. Please don't hesitate to ask if you need anything, don't be shy."

After settling in, Liu Yan quickly boiled water for the family to wash up. While they were washing up, He Yuyang took out a map to study—it was a high-precision map he had copied from his spatial storage, marked with the streets and alleys of Beijing, especially the courtyards near Nanluoguxiang.

"Brother, are you really going to look for a house in Nanluoguxiang?" He Yuzhu leaned over to look. "I heard that rich people live there."

"Not entirely." He Yuyang pointed to a spot on the map. "This is the old city area, with many old courtyards. We can find a suitable one." He chose Nanluoguxiang because it was not far from the military office and because he liked the environment—it had the atmosphere of old Beijing but was not as noisy as the city center, making it suitable for his family to live in.

In the afternoon, He Yuyang took He Daqing to the military office to get a letter of introduction, and then headed straight for Nanluoguxiang. The alley was paved with bluestone slabs, and on both sides were courtyard houses with gray walls and gray tiles. The door piers were carved with exquisite patterns. Occasionally, a bicycle would pass by with a "ding-a-ling" sound, startling a few pigeons that had been perched on the wall.

They found an intermediary—actually, he was an old neighbor who had lived in the alley for most of his life. His surname was Zhou, and everyone called him Grandpa Zhou. He knew the neighborhood courtyards like the back of his hand.

"What kind of place are you looking for?" Grandpa Zhou asked as he led them forward, fanning himself with a large palm-leaf fan. "Do you want a big one or a small one? A detached house or a shared apartment?"

"Ideally, it should be a detached house with its own courtyard, for peace and quiet," He Yuyang said. "Three main rooms are fine, with two side rooms, and a yard where we can grow vegetables."

"I know a place, you can go take a look." Grandpa Zhou led them into a deeper alley and stopped in front of a courtyard gate with a sign that read "No. 95". "This is it."

The courtyard gate consisted of two vermilion-lacquered wooden doors, some of the paint peeling off, but the door knockers were polished to a shine. Grandpa Zhou knocked and called out, "Teacher Li, are you home?"

After a while, the door opened, and a head with gray hair peeked out, wearing reading glasses and looking quite spry. "It's Grandpa Zhou! Come in quickly," the old man said with a smile. Seeing He Yuyang and He Daqing, he asked, "And these two are?"

"Let me introduce you. This is Commander He, he just returned from the army and is looking for a courtyard to stay in here. This is his father," Grandpa Zhou introduced with a smile. "This is Teacher Li, he used to be a teacher, this courtyard belongs to him."

"Hello, Teacher Li." He Yuyang and He Daqing quickly greeted him.

"Oh, okay, okay." Teacher Li warmly ushered them inside, "Come in and sit down, have a cup of tea."

The courtyard wasn't large, but it was very well-organized. Directly opposite the gate were three main rooms with carved doors and windows; although somewhat old, their original exquisite craftsmanship was still evident. There were two wing rooms on each of the east and west sides, and in the middle of the courtyard stood an old locust tree, its branches and leaves so lush that they almost shaded half the courtyard.

"I've lived in this courtyard my whole life." Teacher Li poured them some tea, sighed, and said, "My son works in Xiangjiang and insists on taking me to live there, saying the climate is good and suitable for retirement. I couldn't persuade him otherwise, so I thought I'd sell this courtyard."

He Yuyang looked around, already having made up his mind. The location of this courtyard was excellent, not far from the alley entrance, yet very quiet; the house was a bit old, but the structure was intact, and it could be moved into with a little repair; especially the old locust tree, which reminded him of the one in his old home's courtyard, making him feel a sense of familiarity.

"Teacher Li, how much do you plan to sell this yard for?" He Yuyang asked.

Teacher Li pondered for a moment and said, "To be honest, some people have already come to see it, and the prices offered are not low. But I don't want to sell it to those speculators; I want to sell it to an honest family who will take good care of this yard." He looked at He Yuyang, "I heard from Grandpa Zhou that you are a war hero?"

"I just did what I was supposed to do," He Yuyang said modestly.

"Impressive, becoming a regimental commander at such a young age." Teacher Li nodded approvingly. "My son is also a soldier, in the Xiangjiang Military Region. Just like you, he's a good man who protects our country." He paused, then said, "I'll give you a fair price for this courtyard: two hundred Singapore dollars."

The price was much lower than He Yuyang had expected. He knew that such a detached house would sell for at least three hundred yuan in Nanluoguxiang.

"Teacher Li, this price is too low," He Yuyang said.

"It's not low." Teacher Li waved his hand. "I think you're reliable. I trust you with this courtyard. Besides, you're protecting our country, and there's not much I can do. Consider this my contribution to the nation."

He Daqing, listening nearby, quietly tugged at He Yuyang's sleeve—he thought the price was indeed a good deal. He Yuyang understood, knowing that Teacher Li genuinely wanted to help, so he stopped refusing: "Thank you, Teacher Li. We'll buy it."

The two immediately agreed to go to the housing management bureau the next day to complete the formalities. Teacher Li then led them to take a closer look at the house. The main room had wooden flooring, which was a bit loose, but could still be used after sanding. There were some old furniture piled up in the side room, and Teacher Li said they could keep it if they didn't mind. There was also a small kitchen in the corner of the yard, with a sturdy brick stove.

"It's this toilet..." Teacher Li said somewhat embarrassedly, "It's an old-fashioned one, located outside the courtyard, which isn't very convenient."

"It's okay, we can fix it ourselves," He Yuyang said with a smile.

Emerging from the courtyard, He Daqing was still somewhat incredulous: "It's settled just like that? Isn't two hundred yuan too cheap?"

"Teacher Li is a good person," He Yuyang said. "Taking good care of this yard from now on is the best way to repay him."

The next morning, He Yuyang and Teacher Li went to the housing management bureau to complete the transfer procedures. He paid with the new currency from his spatial dimension—currency he had exchanged for gold in his spatial dimension and had prepared long ago. The moment he received the property certificate, He Yuyang felt much more at ease—in Beijing, they finally had a home.

Next, it was time to renovate the yard. He Yuyang didn't hire any workers; he planned to do it himself—he had enough materials and tools in his space, and he wanted to give his family a surprise.

He first settled his family in the guesthouse, saying he would stay in the courtyard for a few days to oversee the workers. Liu Yan was worried and wanted to go with him to help, but he persuaded her not to: "Mom, you should stay in the guesthouse. The rain is still light and you can't leave anyone behind. Dad, Yuzhu, and I will go."

Actually, he wanted to take advantage of his family's absence to completely renovate the courtyard using the materials in his spatial storage. That evening, after He Daqing and He Yuzhu returned to the guesthouse, He Yuyang locked the courtyard gate and began to work.

He first took out wood, lime, paint, cement, and tiles from the space. He planned to replace the wooden floor of the main house with a more durable solid wood floor, repaint the doors and windows, and clean the dust off the carved wood; the side rooms would be converted into storage rooms and a study for rain protection; the ground in the yard would be paved with bluestone slabs so that it wouldn't be muddy on rainy days; most importantly, he wanted to build a toilet in the yard and install underfloor heating—something rare in Beijing these days.

First, he cleared the weeds from the yard, then leveled the ground with cement. Next, he began laying underfloor heating pipes—which he had created using technology from his spatial dimension. The pipes were very thin, buried underground to save space, and connected to a small boiler that burned coal for heating. In a corner of the yard, he built a bathroom, tiled with white tiles, equipped with a toilet and sink, just like a modern bathroom, except that the exterior was walled with gray bricks, making it look harmonious with the style of the yard.

If someone else were to do this work, it would take at least half a month. But He Yuyang had tools from his spatial dimension, knew martial arts, and was very strong, so he was naturally much faster. He didn't sleep a wink all night, and by dawn, the courtyard had been completely transformed.

The next day, He Daqing and He Yuzhu came to help and were stunned by the changes in the yard.

"How...how did this happen?" He Daqing pointed to the paved bluestone slabs. "They were all dirt yesterday."

"I hired a few workers, and they worked through the night," He Yuyang said with a smile. This was an excuse he had prepared beforehand. "They're quick and efficient."

"That was so fast!" He Yuzhu ran to the bathroom door and peeked inside. "Brother, is this a toilet? It looks just like the ones in city restaurants! And how did they set up the heating?"

"We can use it once we burn some coal," He Yuyang said. "The house won't be cold in winter, and we won't have to freeze our hands when we do our homework in the rain."

Over the next few days, they continued tidying up the house. He Yuyang took out new doors and windows from his spatial dimension, replaced them, and painted them vermilion, making them look bright and festive. Solid wood flooring was laid in the main room and waxed until it shone like a mirror. Bookshelves and desks taken from his spatial dimension were placed in the side rooms, all made of solid wood and with an antique style. The kitchen stove was also rebuilt and tiled with white tiles, making it clean and tidy.

He Yuyang also cultivated a small vegetable garden in the yard, took out some vegetable seeds from his space and planted them. He also set up a stone table and several stone benches under the old locust tree for his family to enjoy the cool air and drink tea.

After everything was settled, He Yuyang brought his mother and Yushui over. As soon as Liu Yan entered the courtyard, she was stunned by the scene before her and stood at the door, speechless for a long time.

"Mom, come in," He Yuyang said with a smile.

"This...this is really our home?" Liu Yan asked in disbelief, touching the newly painted door frame. "It's only been a few days, how did it become so beautiful?"

"It's all thanks to my brother!" He Yuzhu excitedly pulled her inside. "Mom, look at this floor, you can see your reflection in it! And this bathroom, it's so clean! There's even heating in winter!"

Rain looked around curiously, and when she saw the vegetable patch in the yard, her eyes lit up: "Mom, can cucumbers be grown here?"

"Sure, Mom will plant it for you later," Liu Yan said with a smile, but her eyes were red—she knew that her son must have put in a lot of effort to make the yard so nice.

He Yuyang led them into the main room. The furniture inside was all taken out of his spatial storage: a mahogany table, four chairs, and a large wardrobe. The style was simple and elegant, yet exuded a sense of composure. "This furniture..." He Daqing thought it looked familiar, "It's the same as the furniture in my house when I was a child."

"I found it at a flea market, and it looks alright," He Yuyang said. He specifically chose this kind of old-fashioned furniture because he was afraid that anything too modern would arouse suspicion.

Liu Yan walked to the window, opened it, and the leaves of the old locust tree rustled in the wind. The shouts of vendors from the alleyway drifted from afar. She took a deep breath, a satisfied smile spreading across her face: "This is so much better than in the county town."

"This will be our home from now on," He Yuyang said, feeling a warmth in his heart as he looked at the smiles on his family's faces. He knew this was just the beginning, and he wanted his family to live a peaceful and happy life in this home.

He Yuzhu ran into the yard, jumping and skipping, touching this and looking at that. Finally, he ran to He Yuyang and exclaimed, "Brother, this house is amazing! It's much better than I imagined! If anyone dares to bully us in the future, I'll throw them out!"

"You think you're so capable?" He Yuyang laughed and patted him on the shoulder. "In this new society, we should be reasonable and not always think about fighting."

"Got it." He Yuzhu chuckled and went back to studying the underfloor heating boiler.

As the sun sets, golden sunlight filters through the leaves of the old locust tree, casting dappled shadows on the bluestone slabs of the courtyard. Liu Yan busies herself in the kitchen, preparing dinner, wisps of smoke rising from the chimney; He Daqing sits on a stone bench, humming a tune as he watches the vegetable garden in the yard; Yu Shui chases butterflies in the yard, her laughter like silver bells; He Yuyang leans against the doorframe, watching all this, feeling utterly at peace.

He knew that there might be storms ahead, but as long as his family was by his side and his home was still there, he was not afraid of anything.

As night deepened, He Yuyang lay in bed, listening to the chirping of insects outside the window. He quietly entered his spatial dimension, and looking at the endless fields and mountains of supplies piled up in the warehouse, he felt more confident. He took some coal from his spatial dimension and added it to the boiler, and soon the room warmed up.

"From now on, this will be our roots," he murmured to himself, a smile playing on his lips.