Courtyard House: Starting by inheriting the tradition and suppressing the barbarians.

Time is like an arrow, the sun and the moon are like a shuttle.

The old locust tree in the courtyard withered and then turned green again, then turned yellow again.

In the blink of an eye, the calendar turned to 1973.

Four years have passed since Sha Zhu froze to death on that snowy night.

In this forgetful age, the death of a cook who has no descendants is like a stone thrown into an abyss.

It was completely forgotten without even a response.

The main room in the courtyard where Sha Zhu once lived, filled with the aroma of cooking and meat.

Because there were no direct relatives to inherit it, it had already been taken back by the neighborhood committee.

Two faded, white seals were pasted on the door, and the lock was rusty.

It was like a strange, tightly closed eye, coldly watching the desolation that filled the courtyard.

The once bustling Hongxing Courtyard now appears dilapidated and gloomy.

However, amidst this desolation...

The Li family's backyard presented a completely different scene.

......

In the early morning, sunlight shines on the carefully manicured flowers and plants in the backyard.

A black Hongqi sedan slowly pulled up at the entrance of the alley.

The driver jogged in and respectfully took the briefcase from Li Xuan's hand.

"Dean Li, the Ministry of Health's car is already waiting for you."

"You will still be the moderator for today's seminar."

Li Xuan wore a well-tailored Zhongshan suit, which made him appear even more refined and dignified.

In recent years, his status in the medical field has been at its zenith.

Thanks to several miraculous rescues and outstanding contributions to the prevention and control of several epidemics.

He is now not only the honorary president of Hongxing Hospital, but also a specially appointed expert of the Ministry of Health, enjoying special government allowances.

In this special era, he is a golden brand, a living talisman.

"Let's go."

Li Xuan nodded lightly and glanced back at Hua Youlin, who was teaching children to read in the courtyard.

The year after Sha Zhu died, Li Xuan and Hua Youlin got married.

Hua Youlin gave birth at the beginning of this year, and her belly grew bigger day by day.

She stopped working and went home to be a wife and mother, taking care of her husband and children.

The two are a perfect couple, admired by everyone in their circle.

Li Xuan got into the carriage and sped away.

Behind him, several passing neighbors stared longingly at the car, their eyes practically overflowing with envy.

"Look at Li Xuan, that's what it means to live a decent life!"

"Yeah, and look at those guys in our department... tsk tsk, they're just not comparable."

......

Those people the neighbors were talking about were currently living a life worse than death.

Next to the garbage station at the entrance of the alley.

An old woman with gray hair and a face full of wrinkles.

He was hunched over, holding a broken broom, struggling to sweep up the coal ash and rotten vegetable leaves on the ground.

She was wearing an old cotton-padded coat covered in patches, the cuffs worn so badly that dark cotton fibers were showing through.

When the cold wind blew, she shivered all over and coughed violently from time to time.

How could this be a woman in her forties?

Looking at her from behind, you could easily believe she's sixty.

This is Qin Huairu.

Without Sha Zhu, who was always there to provide blood packs, and without the leftovers brought back by the cafeteria chef.

The Jia family's world had long since collapsed.

To support Jia Zhangshi, who is paralyzed in bed, and her two growing daughters.

Qin Huairu had no choice but to do the hardest and most tiring work.

She was assigned to sweep the streets by the neighborhood office. She had to get up before dawn every day, and after sweeping the streets, she had to go to the freight yard to carry heavy bags.

Those hands, once delicate and used to seduce men, are now covered in calluses and cracks, as rough as tree bark.

That face that once held its former allure, the face that drove Sha Zhu mad...

Now he is full of hardship and sorrow, and the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes are so deep that they could trap flies.

"Qin Huairu! This area isn't clean! Two cents off!"

An inspector from the neighborhood committee rode by on his bicycle and pointed to a patch of ice that hadn't been swept clean, shouting.

"Hey! Don't deduct! I'll scan it right away! I'll scan it right away!"

Qin Huairu panicked and humbly bowed her head to beg for mercy.

Two cents—that's the cost of breakfast for the whole family!

She lay on the ground, trying to pick at the piece of trash frozen to the ground with her hands, until her fingernails bled.

Passersby pointed and whispered.

No one knew that this old woman, who looked like a beggar, was once the most beautiful woman in this courtyard.

......

I finally made it to noon.

Qin Huairu dragged her tired body back to the courtyard house.

As soon as they entered the courtyard, they heard Jia Zhangshi's indistinct cursing coming from inside the Jia family's house.

"I'm starving... I'm starving... Qin Huairu... you slut... aren't you coming back yet..."

Qin Huairu numbly pushed open the door.

A stench, a mixture of feces, urine, and mold, hit me.

The room was dark, and Jia Zhangshi lay sprawled on the bed, the bedding so black that its original color was no longer discernible.

Because no one takes care of her, she often soils the bed.

"Mom, stop scolding me, I'll cook right away."

Qin Huairu spoke mechanically as she walked to the stove.

The rice jar was long gone, with only half a bag of moldy sweet potato flour remaining.

Qin Huairu scalded the sweet potato flour with boiling water, stirred it into a pot of dark porridge, and brought it to Jia Zhangshi's bedside.

"Why is it this again?"

"I want to eat meat! I want to eat white flour steamed buns!"

With a wave of her hand, Jia Zhangshi knocked the bowl to the ground.

The scalding hot paste splashed all over Qin Huairu.

Qin Huairu was neither angry nor cried.

She just stared quietly at the mess on the ground.

Then he squatted down, picked up the pieces little by little with his hands, and put them into his mouth.

"If you won't eat it, I will."

As Qin Huairu chewed on the sweet potato noodles mixed with dirt, tears finally streamed down her face.

She thought of Sha Zhu.

She remembered the man who would always hand her the lunchbox with a silly grin and say, "Sister Qin, eat it while it's hot."

If Shazhu were still alive... if she hadn't been so greedy...

But there are no "what ifs" in life.

Only cold reality and endless regret remain...

......