Courtyard House: A Leisurely and Contented Life

Riveting is a special trade. While other trades process plates, profiles, wires, and pipes according to drawings, riveters are responsible for laying out, splicing, and assembling the parts. They are in charge of directing the construction of metal components, which is different from other trades.

As a level four riveter, his monthly salary is 75.8 yuan. If he is promoted two levels to level six, he can catch up with Yi Zhonghai's 99 yuan. With subsidies, he can earn 102 yuan, which is definitely a high income.

When he asked, Aunt Liu reluctantly put down her chopsticks: "Okay, if there are no problems on your end, we'll meet tomorrow."

"It'll work." Yang Jianye nodded, then asked with a smile, "Auntie, should I prepare something?"

Aunt Liu wanted to offer a few more words of advice, but after glancing at the bowl of braised pork on the table marked "Just a little bit," she thought for a moment and said:

"Just prepare some snacks, and if you can get some sunflower seeds and milk candy, put some out too, girls like those."

"Okay, I understand. I'll ask for leave tomorrow morning and start preparing."

Qin Huairu, who had been hiding under the windowsill swallowing her saliva, quietly left. Yang Jianye had asked someone to arrange a marriage for her, and she was going to go on a blind date.

This……

How can this be good?

Qin Huairu's heart was pounding.

She was thinking of finding an opportunity to ease the tension with Yang Jianye and introduce her cousin from her hometown to him so that they could become family and help each other out.

Before she could make up her mind, Yang Jianye had already arranged a marriage for her.

What should we do?

After seeing Aunt Liu off, Yang Jianye was unaware that he had caught the eye of the pretty widow.

Thinking about the blind date I'm going on tomorrow, and how we'll get married if it goes well, I'm actually a little excited.

Having been a bachelor for over thirty years in his previous life, all he wanted in this world was to find a wife, have a few children, and live a peaceful life.

As for the mess in the yard, what does it have to do with him?

When my parents passed away, people in the courtyard would hide if they could, and those who couldn't would lend a hand.

When he was starving, no one offered him any help, so their relationship was naturally not good.

Fortunately, there was the system, which prevented him from becoming the first transmigrator to starve to death and disgracing his predecessors.

Now that I'm living a good life thanks to the system, I don't have to pretend to be friendly with the "beasts" in the yard anymore; it's better to just ignore them.

"Jianye".

Yang Jianye, who was about to go back to his house, was stopped by someone. He turned around and saw that it was Yi Zhonghai, the moral exemplar, who had come to find him. How rare!

"Yi Gong, is something the matter?"

Yang Jianye deliberately referred to him as "Engineer Yi" to indicate their colleague relationship.

Yi Zhonghai frowned, knowing perfectly well that the kid harbored resentment.

When the Yang family had their accident, all the compensation money was used for medical treatment, but the person couldn't be saved. Yang Jianye was so poor that he couldn't even afford to eat, and no one in the courtyard offered him any help.

This was done unfairly, so it's normal to feel resentful.

But he's made it through now. A real man should be broad-minded and let go of this little thing.

"Jianye, we all neglected you before. We didn't expect your family to be so poor you couldn't even afford to cook. This old man apologizes to you," Yi Zhonghai said. "But you, you didn't even say a word when you were out of food. If you had asked, who would have let you go hungry?"

Upon hearing this, Yang Jianye laughed on the spot. As expected of a moral exemplar, he managed to portray "almost starving to death" as him not asking for help in just a few words.

When he paid the hospital bills, he emptied his pockets in front of everyone; he didn't cook at home for three days, not even a cigarette was lit, were the people in the yard blind?

He stopped Sha Zhu in the middle courtyard to borrow grain, and Jia Zhangshi made such a big fuss to snatch the lunchbox. Are the people in the courtyard deaf?

How did these deaf and blind creatures survive?

"Yi, I'll head back now, I have to work tomorrow!"

Yang Jianye was too lazy to waste his breath on that beast, so he went straight into the house and slammed the door shut.

Yi Zhonghai stared at the shaky, broken door, his face grim and terrifying.

But he still had his pride, so he hesitated, shook his hand, snorted, and walked home.

"Sir, who made you angry?"

When Sha Zhu, who had just returned, saw his gloomy face, he asked with a smile.

Yi Zhonghai glanced at the lunchbox in Sha Zhu's hand and his expression softened a bit: "Who else but that kid Yang Jianye? A man with such a petty mind will never amount to anything."

Upon hearing him mention Yang Jianye, Sha Zhu looked somewhat embarrassed and said with a forced smile, "Well... Jianye hasn't had it easy either."

"Not easy?" Yi Zhonghai scoffed. "Is it not easy for him to earn 75.8 yuan a month?"

Sha Zhu was filled with envy. Yang Jianye had only been working for three months, yet his one month was equivalent to two and a half months of his own work.

"Being educated is still advantageous. I must let my sister finish her studies; she'll definitely earn more than Yang Jianye in the future."

Seeing that Sha Zhu didn't respond, Yi Zhonghai felt bored and sighed, "Alright, you're tired too, go back and rest."

"Oh, please take care."

Sha Zhu was carrying a lunchbox home when, just as he reached the door, the curtain across the hall was lifted, and Qin Huairu, her face flushed, swayed over. Her seductive manner was more alluring than a ripe peach, and with just one glance, she had Sha Zhu completely under her thumb.

"Silly Zhu, you're back. What did you bring today?"

Qin Huairu glanced at the lunchbox, her eyes fixed on it.

"Sister Qin, the factory manager is treating us to a meal today. He left us all the good stuff, fish and chicken. Look..." Sha Zhu opened the lunchbox, and a delicious aroma wafted out.

In the past, Qin Huairu would definitely have been drooling.

But after smelling the aroma of my neighbor's freshly stewed braised pork, the cold leftovers suddenly didn't smell appetizing anymore.

"Silly Zhu, if it weren't for you, I really wouldn't know what to do... I'm going back now."

"Yes, hurry up, it won't taste good if it gets cold. Give the hamburger a good nourishing meal."

After watching Qin Huairu enter the house, Sha Zhu, who had been grinning foolishly, turned around and walked back.

When I got home, all that was left were a few coarse grain buns. "Oh well, I'll just have to make do with that!"

He cooked some cabbage, added two drops of oil and some coarse salt, stirred it a few times with chopsticks, broke open the hard cornbread and soaked it in the mixture, then slurped it down.

I was full, but the taste was... well, let's just say it wasn't good.

But Sha Zhu didn't care. He was just a cook; how could he let himself go hungry?

I'm already full from tasting the dishes every day when I cook, so I don't need this extra bite.

Thinking of the half-eaten steamed fish and roast chicken left in his lunchbox, he swallowed hard, lay down on the bed, closed his eyes, and dreamed of nothing.

At Qin Huairu's house, Jia Zhangshi and Bang Geng were eating with their mouths full of oil.

The half-fish was gone in just a few bites. Jia Zhangshi even smashed the fish bones clean, leaving not a single scrap of meat behind; she also sucked on the roast chicken until the bones were almost white before reluctantly putting it down.

"Mommy, Xiaodang wants to eat meat." Xiaodang, who was not full, sucked on his fingers, drooling.

Suck, suck, suck...

After licking her oily fingers clean, Jia Zhangshi rolled her eyes and said, "What are you eating, you worthless thing... There's still some bone left."

"Mom!" Qin Huairu was furious. This was her own granddaughter, did you think she was feeding a dog?

Seeing the fire in Qin Huairu's eyes, Jia Zhangshi finally shut up.

She hugged her crying daughter and comforted her, "Little Dang, Mom will make you chicken soup tomorrow. Chicken bone soup is delicious."

After all that talk, I still couldn't bear to throw away those bones. Even though they were sucked clean, once they were stewed until tender, the oil and juice from the bone fragments could still be used to make a pot of soup.

When Xiao Dang heard there was chicken soup, she swallowed hard, stopped crying, and nodded obediently: "Xiao Dang wants to drink chicken soup."

The chubby boy, having eaten his fill, lay down on the kang (a heated brick bed) with a contented look on his grandmother's face.

In his mind, as long as his sister had something to eat, that was enough; he barely had enough to eat himself, so how could he give her any?

What a waste of money! Eating too much of this little ingrate is such a waste. He's learned all of his grandma's "survival rules" since he was a child.

After feeding the "vampire," the house finally quieted down.

Nothing happened that night. By the time the sun rose, news of Yang Jianye's blind date had spread throughout the courtyard. Auntie San had run into Aunt Liu the night before and asked her about it. Aunt Liu told her the truth.

Matchmaking isn't something shameful; there's nothing to hide about it.

So the three aunties waited at the door early in the morning, asking everyone they met, "Jianye's going on a blind date today, I wonder whose daughter it is?"

Every morning, every household had to empty their chamber pots. Since there were no public toilets in the courtyard, people had to go to the outhouse on the street. This back and forth would spread the word far and wide.

Yang Jianye is having breakfast at home right now: two steamed eggs and two steamed white flour buns. Hey, that's lavish, isn't it!

He sat in front of the earthen stove and waited, then opened the system and checked in.

[Ding! Signed in for three consecutive days this week and received five pounds of braised beef, a box of White Rabbit milk candy, and a roasted lamb leg.]

Looking at the reward, Yang Jianye slapped his thigh with joy: "We're really lucky to have this today!"

He took out the braised beef, which was piping hot and steaming. He cut off a piece the size of a duck egg for breakfast and put the rest back into the system's warehouse. The cooked food provided by the system was delicious. According to Yang Jianye, "even the chefs at state banquets are only this good."

As for the system warehouse, anything belonging to Yang Jianye can be stored there, regardless of temperature; it will never spoil once it's put in.

The braised beef from earlier will still be hot when you take it out next time, just like it was freshly braised.

Last time he tried putting an ice pop in there, and when he took it out three days later, it was so hard it could be used to crack walnuts...

In his words, the warehouse was like a freeze-up of time and space.

Upon arriving in this world, first, my father died and I had to hold a funeral, then I had to run around trying to get my mother medical treatment, and later I almost starved to death because I couldn't afford to eat. Fortunately, the system came to my rescue in time.

After starting his shift at the factory, improving his skills, and settling in, he encountered Aunt Liu who came looking for him: "Jianye, do you want a wife?"

The girl introduced by Aunt Liu is a full-time employee at a food factory, earning 39.6 yuan a month. She comes from a family of farmers for three generations, and her father is an accountant in the supply and marketing cooperative. Her family background is impeccable, and her looks are also flawless, except that her buttocks are not big enough.

These days, people believe that "big butts are good for childbirth," but nine out of ten people with big butts are strong and robust, while those who are thin are disliked because they think that being skinny and weak means they can't do any work.

Getting a wife just means more mouth to feed and more labor.

Yang Jianye's aesthetic sense comes from his previous life, and he has no interest in the standards of this era.

He wants a wife who is slim and good-looking; given his circumstances, a wife is someone he wants to cherish and enjoy.

........

Yang Jianye stacked the last blue-and-white porcelain bowl into the cupboard. Hot water dripped from between his fingers onto the cutting board. Sunlight filtered through the crabapple trees in the courtyard, casting dappled patterns on the old slogan "Prepare for War and Famine".

He wiped his hands, locked the cupboard, and stuffed the key into his close-fitting canvas bag. Ever since the system was activated, he hadn't left anything of value at home.

In those days when poverty was considered a virtue, human nature couldn't withstand the test. He still remembered how Jia Zhangshi taught her grandson to steal petty things.

From inside the courtyard came Jia Zhangshi's scolding voice: "You little brat, stealing the neighbor's eggs! Are those edible?"

Yang Jianye paused for a moment, but without turning around, he unlatched the gate and left the courtyard.

Under the pomegranate tree in the front yard, Yan Bugui was pacing back and forth with his hands behind his back. When he saw Yang Jianye come out, his beady eyes lit up and his face crinkled with laughter: "Jianye, I heard you're on a blind date today? Which family's daughter is she?"

"Introduced by a matchmaker, I've never met her before." Yang Jianye leaned against the door frame, clutching an aluminum lunchbox issued by the factory, which contained two flatbreads made by his mother before she passed away.

"Hey, you've got some nerve!" Yan Bugui clicked his tongue, his eyes darting around like abacus beads. "You've taken a liking to someone and you're already planning to get married?"

"If you like someone, you can get married." Yang Jianye immediately understood what Yan Bugui was planning. In those days, getting married was simple. The matchmaker would say that you were compatible and meet once. If you liked someone, you could get a marriage certificate in less than a month. The bride price was five or ten yuan. If you were poor, you could get two boiled eggs or some cornmeal.

His monthly salary was 75.8 yuan, which was considered a high salary in Beijing. It wouldn't be right for him to get married without having two tables of food. Yan Bugui was definitely thinking about the "wedding candy".

"The banquet..." Yan Bugui rubbed his hands, "Shouldn't we leave it to Sha Zhu to handle? How many tables are we planning to set up?"

Yang Jianye glanced at him, his face serious: "The higher-ups have issued a document, urging us to be thrifty and avoid extravagance." He pointed to the sky, "But don't worry, Third Uncle, there will definitely be wedding candy."

"Then we'll have to pack plenty!" Yan Bugui immediately chimed in. "We have a lot of family members, don't be stingy and only give us one or two!"

"Two or three for each person, no doubt about it." Yang Jianye replied casually, glancing at the clock on the wall. It was 7:40. If he didn't leave soon, he would be late for the steel mill.

He picked up his lunchbox: "See you later, Uncle. I still have to go to the factory."

Watching Yang Jianye's retreating figure, Yan Bugui happily went back into the house and shouted, "Old woman! It's done! We'll have wedding candy for Jianye's wedding! Two or three pieces each, all set!"

He turned his head and muttered to himself, "I hope I don't get late and get fined. Fifty cents is enough to buy half a pound of cornmeal..."

As Yang Jianye walked along the alley toward the steel rolling mill, more and more figures in blue overalls joined him. The wave of workers in 1971, like small streams converging into a great river, surged toward the factory area.

Hongxing Steel Rolling Mill has more than 10,000 employees and dozens of workshops, but he doesn't know many people outside of his own workshop.

Since taking over as a fourth-level riveter, he was promoted three levels in three months. Everyone in the factory praised Old Yang for having such a good son. It's a pity that his father passed away before he could enjoy his retirement.

Upon entering the factory, Yang Jianye didn't go to the special workshop; instead, he went to Director Zhang's office first.

He knocked on the door, and Director Zhang was frowning at the blueprints. Seeing him, he looked up and smiled, "Engineer Yang, what's up?"

"Director Zhang, I have a blind date today and would like to ask for half a day off."

Director Zhang waved his hand: "Approved! To hold you back on something like this would be embarrassing, wouldn't it?"

He pointed to the "Technical Expert" certificate on the wall, which Yang Jianye received last month. "With your skills, who knows who will be the director for whom in the future!"

"Thank you, Director Zhang!" Yang Jianye handed over a "Daqianmen" cigarette, saying, "It's a wedding gift for you, sweets and cigarettes."

After leaving the factory, Yang Jianye went straight to the supply and marketing cooperative.

In the ready-to-wear section, there were several Dacron shirts displayed in a glass cabinet. The saleswoman was a middle-aged woman wearing blue cloth arm sleeves, who was knitting a sweater with her head down.

"Comrade, do you have medium-sized white polyester fabric?"

"Where are the cloth coupons?" The older woman asked without looking up. "Four feet three inches, not an inch less."

In 1971, a Dacron shirt required 7 feet 5 inches of fabric. If you didn't have enough fabric coupons, you couldn't buy it even if you had the money.

Yang Jianye pulled out the cloth coupons he had saved for three months from his canvas bag. His mother had been reluctant to use them before she passed away and had saved them all for him.

"We have tickets."

The older woman then got up and took out a shirt from the counter, the collar still smelling of mothballs: "Seven yuan and eighty cents, cloth coupon for 4 feet and 3 inches, keep the coupon."

Yang Jianye held the shirt up to his body. The crisp fabric clung to his arms, highlighting his strong wrists. This was a "luxury item" in 1971. Wearing it on a blind date, the girl would surely take a second look, right?

He touched the wedding candy in his pocket—fruit hard candy—which he had bought yesterday from the factory store for 50 cents a pound.

Yan Bugui wanted "two or three per person," so he had to buy two extra pounds.

As for Jia Zhangshi, after the marriage, he plans to install a lock on the gate in the courtyard to prevent the old lady from corrupting the children.

Being a sales clerk at a supply and marketing cooperative was a highly lucrative job, and everyone had to curry favor with them.

After looking at the clothes, Yang Jianye turned his attention to the bicycle.

Yang Jianye first asked about the regular Dacron fabric, but the woman said they were out of it. He immediately followed up, "Then... what about the non-regular ones?"

Seeing his simple attire, the older woman frowned slightly and said in a condescending tone, "Exported and then re-imported, Tiantan brand, fifteen yuan and fifty cents, want it?"

Five yuan is a strong laborer's food ration for a month, yet a shirt costs fifteen yuan and fifty cents? Yang Jianye didn't even blink: "I'll take it!"

He readily pulled out his cloth coupons and money coupons. The sales clerk's eyes flashed with surprise as he checked them, and he turned around to fetch the goods.

Unpacking the package, a crisp white shirt came into view, with "Exquisite Craftsmanship" and "Made in China" embroidered on the inside of the collar. Yang Jianye smiled self-deprecatingly. This was a system reward, and no matter who checked, he had a clear conscience.

"Yang Jianye, don't get carried away!" he whispered to himself. "I just want to get married peacefully and live a quiet life. Everything has to be done slowly."

After calming himself down, he walked to the bicycle locker and handed over his precious bicycle ticket.

"Comrade, I'd like to see a bicycle."

The sales clerk took the ticket, saw that it was a Phoenix 18, and her eyes lit up: "Wow, you're an expert! Phoenix 18, two hundred and nineteen yuan."

"Here you go." Yang Jianye remained calm and composed.

"Would you like to inspect the car yourself?" the salesperson asked politely.

Yang Jianye waved his hand: "No need. The factory quality inspectors are more professional than me. Surely a supply and marketing cooperative wouldn't sell substandard products, would it?"

This polite yet respectful compliment made the salesperson's smile much more genuine.

"You seem to know your stuff! Just push the bike away, and I'll throw in a tube of chain oil as a bonus!"

"So generous!" Yang Jianye smiled, cupped his hands in greeting, stuffed the chain oil into his pocket, and pushed his gleaming bicycle away.

The process of obtaining the license, registering the vehicle, and stamping the seal cost another 12 cents.

This trip to the supply and marketing cooperative is finally complete; next stop, head straight to the vegetable market.

Upon arriving at the market entrance, he secured the new vehicle to the railing with a large iron chain, checked the coupons in the system's warehouse, and found that he still had about a hundred kilograms of meat coupons left, which was enough.

Weigh out an old hen and select a plump crucian carp, preparing to make braised crucian carp for dinner.

Yang Jianye carefully tucked his tickets and walked deeper into the market.

"Come and see the fresh river shrimp!"

Upon hearing that there were shrimp, Yang Jianye's eyes lit up, and he immediately went over. Each of the fresh river shrimp was a handful long, and he picked out twenty in one go, paying two yuan plus seven liang of meat coupons.

This price isn't cheap, and you have to be lucky; it's not available every day.

There was fish and shrimp, along with a freshly bought old hen, braised beef from the warehouse, braised pork belly, milk candy, chocolate, melon seeds, fruit...

Yang Jianye weighed the options and said, "It's alright, I guess!"

He hung the old hen, fish, and live shrimp on the back of his bicycle, got on, and hurried back.

We agreed to meet at noon, so I'm going back to get ready now; my blind date should be here soon.

It wasn't mealtime yet, and only the elderly, weak, sick, and disabled remained in the courtyard. As Yang Jianye pushed his cart to the gate, three elderly women who were cooling off were astonished. Was this young man trying to ruin his life?

Why did you buy so much delicious food?

"Jianye, are you entertaining your blind date?"

"Ah, it's our first meeting, we should be a little more formal," Yang Jianye replied with a smile, pushing his cart towards the central courtyard. "I'll go back and pack up first, Auntie, you can rest."

Upon arriving at the Intermediate Court, Jia Zhangshi, having heard the commotion, peeked out from behind the window again.

She saw chickens, fish, and river shrimp hanging on the back of Yang Jianye's bicycle, which made her grit her teeth in anger: "That damned Yang Jianye, eating so well every day, does he think he's some kind of landlord? And he even wants to get married? Even if he does, it'll be a divorce!"

Yang Jianye had no time to pay attention to her and started preparing the ingredients as soon as he entered the door.

He carried the rooster with its legs tied, found a basin for killing the chicken, hooked the rope with his fingers, pinched the comb with his thumb and forefinger, stretched the chicken's neck straight, and with a swift stroke, the scalding chicken blood "splashed" into the basin.

Once the chicken stopped hopping around, he hung it on the windowsill outside the door and turned to prepare the fish and shrimp.

He planned to boil the river shrimp and dip them in a little aged vinegar and sesame oil; as for the braised crucian carp, he had a cooking card given to him by the system, so home-style cooking was no challenge for him.

Yang Jianye took out the soybean oil provided by the system, heated the oil in a wok, cooked the fish until it was half-cooked, and then plated it. When the person was almost there, he flipped it over in the wok, which made the flavor penetrate even more thoroughly.

Next, prepare the shrimp by removing the heads and veins, and arrange them in a bowl for later use.

I had just stepped outside to pour out the chicken blood when I saw Banggeng squatting under the windowsill, holding the basin of chicken blood.

"Banggeng, what are you doing?" Yang Jianye shouted, startling Banggeng, who quickly let go of his hand: "I...I'm just helping you pour out the chicken blood."

Yang Jianye was tall and strong, even more robust than Sha Zhu. When Bang Geng was caught red-handed, how could he not panic?

"No need, I'm going to make chicken blood cubes from this blood. Go back!" Yang Jianye picked up the basin, hooked the rope on the chicken leg with his finger, turned around and went back into the house, slamming the door shut.

Banggeng slunk home, where Jia Zhangshi stood with her hands on her hips, cursing, "You damned brat, you wouldn't even spare a drop of chicken blood! Your future is bleak!"

"Exactly, it's not much better!" Bang Geng echoed.

Little Dang, who was squatting and playing inside, couldn't understand what the adults were cursing. She just thought it was great that Uncle Yang's family had meat to eat. If she could have a bite, her mouth would water. Whenever there was meat in Jia Zhangshi's family, she and her precious grandson would eat it first. Little Dang could occasionally get a little meat soup. Qin Huairu didn't even get to lick the plate clean; her daughter licked it all clean.

At noon, Aunt Liu arrived a few minutes late, followed by a young woman who was frail and kept her head down, making it impossible to see her face clearly.

"Is it possible to get this thin?"

"Whose daughter is this? Aunt Liu is so unreliable." The second and third aunts huddled together and followed to see what was going on.

In their eyes, this girl was definitely no good: putting aside whether she could have children, with her health, she might become a walking pharmacy and be a burden for the rest of her life.

The three aunties were already making plans in their minds: when Aunt Liu introduced Yang Jianye to a potential partner before, the partner was treated to a meal of braised pork; this time, the meeting would be even more extravagant, with chicken, fish, and shrimp served.

If I were to introduce him to someone myself, it couldn't be any worse than this!

As the saying goes, "One who stays near ink gets stained black." Having spent half his life with his third uncle, he's now being schemed against by his third aunt.

Aunt Erda was also thinking: She had a niece who was about to get married. She could introduce her to Yang Jianye and make him a relative so that he could help her family. With his high salary, he would only have two people after getting married, so how could he possibly spend all of it?

Each with their own thoughts, Aunt Liu led the girl through the door.

"Yang Jianye, don't get carried away!" he whispered to himself. "I just want to get married peacefully and live a quiet life. Everything has to be done slowly."