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

The eve of the Lunar New Year in 1984 was exceptionally lively.

As reform and opening up deepen, people's wallets have become fuller, and the festive atmosphere of the New Year has become even stronger.

The streets and alleys of Beijing were filled with the crackling sound of firecrackers.

The Li family residence was brightly decorated and filled with a joyous atmosphere.

Li Xuan's family sat around in the warm flower hall, the table laden with delicacies from land and sea.

The second Spring Festival Gala was still playing on TV; it was very lively.

However, the Intermediate People's Court is not far away.

Inside the dilapidated Jia family house, which resembled ruins, there was a deathly silence and cold.

Qin Huairu huddled in that drafty corner.

He was wrapped in a tattered cotton-padded jacket that was stiff, hardened, and smelled rancid.

She's old, too old.

She looked like an eighty-year-old witch, with sparse, gray hair that was tangled and messy.

His face was covered in dirt and chilblains, and those once captivating eyes...

At this moment, the water was as murky as two stagnant pools, only occasionally showing a hint of life when it was stirred.

"It's Chinese New Year..."

"It's Chinese New Year again..."

Qin Huairu mumbled incoherently.

He was clutching half of a moldy steamed bun that was as hard as a rock in his hand.

She found it in the trash can yesterday; it was her New Year's Eve dinner.

"Bang! Smash!"

Just then, a loud firecracker banged from the backyard.

Then came the cheers of the children.

Qin Huairu shuddered, her eyes suddenly becoming fixed.

In a daze, the darkness before my eyes seemed to dissipate.

She saw that the window paper had been replaced with new paper, and a roaring fire was burning in the stove inside the room.

Jia Dongxu sat on the kang (a heated brick bed) laughing, Banggeng was running around on the ground in his new clothes, and Xiaodang and Huaihua were making dumplings around the table.

"Huai Ru, what are you standing there for?"

"Go find Sha Zhu's lunchbox!"

It seemed as if Jia Zhangshi's voice could be heard in my ears.

"I heard Sha Zhu brought four lunchboxes today! They're all full of meat!"

"He said he wants to celebrate the New Year with us! We're in for a treat!"

"Silly Zhu...lunchbox...meat..."

A dreamy smile appeared on Qin Huairu's face.

She suddenly stood up, her movements so agile that she didn't seem like a frail, elderly madwoman.

"Coming! I'm going right now! Don't keep Sha Zhu waiting!"

Qin Huairu carefully tucked the half-moldy steamed bun into her bosom.

In her hallucination, these were freshly steamed white flour buns, meant for Sha Zhu.

Only in this way can we please Sha Zhu and get a lunchbox full of meat in return!

Then, Qin Huairu pushed open the rickety, dilapidated door and plunged headfirst into the swirling snow.

......

The snow outside is falling really heavily.

Snowflakes, as fine as goose feathers, fluttered down, quickly covering the earth with a thick white blanket.

Qin Huairu walked barefoot on the cold snow, yet seemed to feel no cold at all.

She stumbled and ran outside, calling out repeatedly:

"Zhu Zi! Your sister's here to pick you up!"

"Zhu Zi! Don't get cold! Let me warm you up!"

She ran to the moon gate of the central courtyard.

That was the only way to the backyard, and also the place where Sha Zhu froze to death back then.

Suddenly, Qin Huairu stopped in her tracks.

In her view, the empty snowfield ahead was no longer there.

Instead, a kind and honest man was standing there.

He was wearing that greasy chef's uniform, carrying two mesh lunchboxes, and grinning foolishly at her.

"Sister Qin...Sister Qin, I'm here!"

"Sister Qin, it's snowing so heavily, and you still came out to pick me up. You're so kind to me."

"Hehe, we have braised pork and half a chicken today!"

The phantom was so real, so real that tears welled up in Qin Huairu's eyes.

"Zhu Zi...you're finally back...I missed you so much!"

Qin Huairu cried and laughed, reaching out her hands to hug the man.

"Eat it while it's hot... These are steamed white flour buns that your sister made for you..."

With trembling hands, she pulled the half-moldy, blackened steamed bun from her bosom and handed it forward.

But her hand passed through the illusion and only grasped a handful of cold snowflakes.

"Pillar?"

Qin Huairu was stunned for a moment, then her body went limp and she fell heavily onto the snow.

The biting cold finally pierced through that layer of insane illusion.

It was like countless steel needles piercing her bone marrow.

But she didn't want to wake up.

She lay prone in the snowdrift, her face pressed against the cold ground, straining to open her eyes and look ahead.

The phantom is still there.

Sha Zhu was still laughing.

Not only did she see Sha Zhu, she also saw Bang Geng, Jia Zhangshi, and Jia Dongxu...

They were all waving at her and smiling.

"That's wonderful...the family is reunited..."

A strange yet satisfied smile appeared on Qin Huairu's lips.

Her body began to heat up; it was the final burning of her life.

She slowly curled up, like a wounded shrimp, or like a baby returning to the womb.

This posture is exactly the same as the one Shazhu adopted when he froze to death back then.

The wind and snow grew heavier, gradually covering her tattered cotton-padded coat and concealing her life's scheming and sorrow.

......

Early morning on the first day of the Lunar New Year.

Li Xuan got up very early, preparing to take his wife and daughter to pay New Year's greetings to several senior leaders.

As soon as I got near the moon gate of the Intermediate People's Court, I saw a cleaning lady standing in the snow with a look of horror on her face.

"Dean Li! Something terrible has happened! Someone's dead!"

Li Xuan walked over and glanced at them indifferently.

A tattered cotton-padded jacket was visible peeking out from the snowdrift.

Parting the snow, Qin Huairu's bluish-purple, distorted face, yet bearing a smile, was revealed.

She was frozen stiff.

The most ironic thing is...

She was still clutching the half-moldy steamed bun tightly in her arms, as if it were the most precious treasure in the world.

"What a tragedy..."

The cleaning staff sighed, "This place... isn't this the same place as Sha Zhu back then..."

"yes."

Li Xuan nodded calmly, as if he were simply witnessing a fallen leaf returning to its roots.

"This is destiny."

"It began with scheming and ended with absurdity."

"Born in the same courtyard, and buried in the same grave, this can be considered as fulfilling their tragic fate."

Li Xuan turned around and instructed the butler behind him, "Notify the neighborhood committee."

"Buy a cheap coffin and find a place to bury him."

"Don't pollute the earthy atmosphere of our courtyard."

"Yes, sir."

Li Xuan stepped over Qin Huairu's corpse without giving it another glance.

Outside the door, the New Year's sun shines brightly, illuminating the red walls and yellow tiles, making them gleam.

This courtyard house is the site of decades of love, hate, and bizarre behavior.

Finally, with the departure of this last "vampire," a complete chapter has come to an end!

The old era has ended.

......