Courtyard House: A Leisurely and Contented Life

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The entrance to the department store was bustling with people, coming and going.

The men were all dressed similarly, mostly in work clothes. These days, wearing work clothes is a status symbol; the only thing more prestigious than work clothes is a Zhongshan suit. The women, however, were all quite different. Some wore work clothes, some wore plaid shirts, and others wore floral maxi dresses or cheongsams. These women were quite something; they attracted attention wherever they went. Those little flowers on their maxi dresses were truly vibrant!

Once inside the department store, the sheer variety was overwhelming. Furniture, mirrors, clothes, watches, scarves, silk pajamas, cheongsams, appliances… everything you could imagine, and even things you couldn't, was there.

Yingzi, arm in arm with Yang Jianye, looked around happily. They stopped in the general merchandise section.

"Jianye, shall we buy a steamer for the house?"

Li Ying was delighted to see the brand-new, gleaming silver steamer. Yang Jianye was always busy with work and came home late, so Yingzi thought that with this steamer, she could put the food on the stove to keep it warm, so he could have a hot meal when he got home. Also, with it, she wouldn't have to keep the stove burning all the time; it was too wasteful to have both the stove and the hearth burning in the house.

"Okay, I'll buy one."

Yang Jianye still had those coupons for pots and pans. They weren't from the sign-in bonuses, nor were they his own; they were left over from his family. Every year, urban residents and workers had quotas for daily necessities and household goods, and the coupons they received could be used to buy or exchange items. Some were exchanged at home, some were saved, and some were taken to the market or the black market to make a little money. The ones Yang Jianye had were saved up by his family, originally intended for his wedding, but now they were actually coming in handy.

Seeing that he had a ticket, Yingzi walked towards the counter.

"Comrade, let me take a look at that."

Squeezing through the crowd, Yingzi pointed to the steamer she had her eye on. The saleswoman, with a stern face, brought the item to the counter, lifted the lid, removed the steamer basket, took out the bottom rack, then tilted the inner wall outwards for you to see, before putting the rack back, placing the steamer basket on top, and closing the lid—that was it! That was the whole process of just looking; no one was allowed to do anything themselves.

Judging by appearance, the inner diameter is about 25 or 26 centimeters. It has two layers and a steamer basket, enough for four or five people. After getting married, couples have to consider the future when buying things, so that it can still be used when they have children, then it's not a waste.

Li Ying glanced at Yang Jianye, and only after he nodded did she ask, "Comrade, how much is this pot?"

"Ten yuan and four mao, aluminum, 25cm, do you have a receipt?"

Taking the ticket from Yang Jianye, Li Ying handed it to him, saying, "I have a ticket, I have a ticket. I'd like to take another look."

If you have a ticket and want to buy it, now that you've got it, take a good look at it and there shouldn't be any problem. But you have to be careful though, if you drop or bump it, no matter what you thought about it, it's yours!

"Jianye, what do you think?"

They disassembled the pot, felt the inner wall; it was so smooth and pleasant. Li Ying liked it, and Yang Jianye naturally had no objections: "We'll take this one."

For ten yuan and four cents, plus a ticket, this pot was theirs. There was nothing to wrap it in; you just tied it with a rope and carried it.

Yang Jianye carried the pot, and Li Ying linked arms with him as they continued strolling. At the front, Yang Jianye spotted a handmade cheongsam shop. The door was open in the center, behind which was a screen, and on either side were large glass display cases, each containing two cheongsams of different colors and styles.

Seeing Yingzi pausing to admire the cheongsams in the display case, Yang Jianye pulled her inside.

"Jianye, Jianye..." Just as they were about to enter, Yingzi stopped him, shaking her head and saying, "Let's not buy this, it's too expensive. Besides, I have nowhere to wear it. If you want to buy it for me, let's go to the front and take a look. I think those cotton coats are quite nice."

Yang Jianye stood rooted to the spot, turned back to look at her and laughed, "Okay, stop pulling me, let's go inside and take a look, alright?"

"No, no, no." Yingzi knew him well enough! If he went in, he'd definitely come out carrying something, and that wouldn't do. Handmade cheongsams were too expensive; they weren't something the average person could afford. Each one cost at least twenty or thirty yuan. How much did this family's cooking pot cost? She probably wouldn't have bought it if it weren't for wanting to warm food for Yang Jianye. A decent iron pot cost only three to five yuan; ten yuan and forty cents could buy two or three, and even then, you needed coupons. Where would we get silk or cotton coupons?

Yingzi's reminder startled Yang Jianye. He had forgotten about it; he didn't actually have any silk or linen coupons. He glanced around the warehouse, then asked, "Would silk be alright?"

Now it was Yingzi's turn to be dumbfounded. Is silk okay? Absolutely! And the price is reasonable too, a hundred or so yuan wouldn't be much!

Seeing her standing there dumbfounded, Yang Jianye yanked his arm and scurried into the cheongsam shop. By the time Yingzi tried to call out again, he was already behind the screen. She stamped her foot, both pleased and annoyed, and followed him in, swinging her arm.

After passing the screen, the clamor outside, like a bustling market, subsided. A tailor in a long gown came forward to introduce the shop; his service was miles ahead of anything outside.

The space isn't large, only about seven or eight square meters. Various fabrics are displayed in the curved, partitioned wall cabinets: "We have the most complete selection of fabrics here, just take a look..."

Two chairs were placed in the middle of the semicircle, with footrests underneath. Turning around, you would find that the back of the screen was a large mirror, reflecting people clearly and precisely.

Yingzi felt a little embarrassed after hearing what the master said, so she quickly took two steps to Yang Jianye and tugged at his sleeve: "Let's go quickly, I really don't want to."

"That won't do. Look how beautiful this silk fabric is," Yang Jianye pointed, and the tailor behind him spoke up.

"You have a good eye. This is fabric from Nanchong, top quality. It's only 8.94 yuan per foot."

hiss--

Yingzi's legs were trembling. Eighteen dollars and ninety-four cents a foot? That's twenty-six or twenty-seven dollars a meter. Just buying the material would cost thirty or forty dollars. Add in the labor and craftsmanship, and it would cost sixty or seventy dollars, right? It's not a hundred dollars, but sixty or seventy dollars isn't cheap! That's her husband's monthly salary.

"I think this is a good fit, Yingzi. Why don't you have a craftsman take your measurements?" Yang Jianye said, pulling her towards the middle.

Yingzi was completely stunned, shaking her head anxiously, but she didn't dare to speak, afraid of embarrassing her husband. She was pushed onto the footstool, the tailor's measuring tape already prepared.

"Raise your hand, let's just buy this one. From now on, I'll do whatever you say, okay?"

Seeing him standing there with a grin, waiting patiently, and hearing his kind words of persuasion, Yingzi felt reassured. "Buy it! If the man's happy to buy it for me, then I'll buy it. If he's happy, I'm happy too. Besides, this is a good thing that most people could only dream of; to keep putting it off would just seem like I'm being pretentious."

"Then it's settled, just this one." Li Ying wanted his guarantee.

"Okay, you decide." Yang Jianye nodded in agreement.

Emerging from Wangfujing, Yang Jianye carried large and small bags, a simple, "whatever you want" grin on his face.

Li Ying linked arms with him, her eyes sparkling, teasing him with a mix of reproach and delight, "Who was it that swore they'd listen to me? Why the sudden change of heart?"

Yang Jianye grinned, offering no rebuttal. After all, he'd gone back on his word. To argue now would be truly foolish.

A radio, leather shoes, a white shirt, and a pair of polyester women's trousers—these items added up to quite a bit of money. As for the custom-made cheongsam? That's a wait; I'll pick it up in three days. The money was paid, a total of seventy-six yuan and eighty-three cents. Not a single penny of discount; the tailor works for the government and doesn't have that authority. If it were three cents short, I'd have to pay the difference myself, and nobody's happy about that.

As they walked back arm in arm, Li Ying carried her little leather shoes and white shirt, muttering with heartache, "Spending over two hundred yuan on just one trip is too wasteful. I'm never coming here again."

Yingzi was truly heartbroken! Over two hundred yuan—these days, if you just asked anyone on the street, who wouldn't be shocked by that amount? Especially since it was her own family's money; her heart was clenching. But then, looking up at her husband's strong, resolute profile, Yingzi's eyes narrowed into slits like crescent moons. She must have accumulated a great deal of good karma in her past life!

Upon arriving at the parking area, they unlocked the bikes, called out to the woman watching the parking lot, and rode back. Carrying all those bags and packages was inconvenient. Actually, Yang Jianye had originally planned to take Yingzi to Donglaishun for hot pot, but then he thought about how much they'd already spent that day, and worried that his wife would be heartbroken and sleepless that night. He then abandoned the idea, deciding to come back another time.

What is money? It's a piece of junk, just there to serve us. What's the use of having a lot of money if you have no one around and feel empty inside?

Meanwhile, in the courtyard, Sha Zhu, who had gone to the market, returned home with chickens, fish, and a few other vegetables. He immediately started cooking, making quite a racket.

Inside the old man's house, Yi Zhonghai heard the commotion and was about to go out when an old woman stopped him: "Are you trying to drive Zhuzi down the road to becoming your enemy?"

Yi Zhonghai glared at him: "What did I do to him?"

"You know very well that what happened this morning isn't over yet. If you go and cause trouble for others, I think not only Jianye, but even Zhuzi will have to start calling him Lao Yi."

Yi Zhonghai's brow furrowed, and he shouted, "He wouldn't dare!"

An older woman sat up abruptly: "Why wouldn't he dare? I told you what you wanted, but you insisted on doing things your own way. Is this a blind date for you or for a pillar? The pillar has laid everything out clearly; he's made it perfectly clear that once we're married, we'll live together, he'll take care of you in your old age, and you can raise the children. Isn't that great?"

Seeing Yi Zhonghai with his head down and silent, the middle-aged woman's heart softened again, and she whispered, "Why did you have to make such a scene?"

Yi Zhonghai looked conflicted, finally revealing his true feelings: "What if he changes his mind? What if he finds a wife who doesn't want to take us both with her?"

The middle-aged woman was stunned by his words, muttering, "No way?"

"Why not? You don't know what kind of person that idiot Zhu is, but do you? He's easily influenced and stubborn! Someone like him, if he really finds a decent wife, wouldn't she have him completely under her thumb? It's fine if she's good, but if she's not, forget about relying on him to support you in your old age, you might not even see her again. Don't forget, he's He Daqing's son!"

In one breath, Yi Zhonghai spilled all his scheming. It wasn't that he wanted to scheme; he had no choice but to. With Sha Zhu's personality, if his wife pleased him and treated him well, he'd give her his heart without hesitation. The reason Yi Zhonghai had been able to control him all these years was because of the small favors he'd done for Sha Zhu and his siblings when they were young, which Sha Zhu remembered. Otherwise, with that stubborn, muddle-headed brain, how could he expect him to listen to his uncle? Just look at his attitude towards Liu Haizhong and Yan Bugui, and you'll know whether it'll work out or not. Back in this courtyard, only Yi Zhonghai could keep him in check.

An older woman sat on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), thought for a long time, and then said quietly, "But you can't do that! Who knows, maybe she'll find someone good to be with?"

Yi Zhonghai remained silent, thinking the old woman was too naive. She always thought that anyone she picked up on the street was a good person, but what if they weren't? Where would he find another simpleton like Sha Zhu to take care of him in his old age? Yi Zhonghai couldn't afford to gamble, nor did he dare to! So, he wanted to wrong Sha Zhu and make him do things his way.

Unfortunately, people aren't buying his act anymore.

However, Yi Zhonghai also knew that the old woman was right. Even if he went now, he would only provoke Sha Zhu into acting recklessly, and wouldn't be of much use. He needed to think of a way to get someone else to go.

A thought flashed through Yi Zhonghai's mind, and he remembered Widow Qin; she was the only one around.

"You stay home, I'm going out for a bit." Yi Zhonghai picked up twenty jin of cornmeal from the cupboard, turned around and left the house.

Seeing him carrying things, the older woman knew what was going on. She opened her mouth as if to call him back, but in the end, she lowered her hand and sighed helplessly, "Oh, it's all my fault..."

If only she could give Old Yi a son or daughter.

As they walked to the central courtyard, Yi Zhonghai heard Sha Zhu humming a little tune inside. He sang while preparing food, without wasting a moment.

With a snort, Yi Zhonghai walked straight towards the Jia family's house. Reaching the door, he called out, "Widow Qin, are you home?"

"Who is it?" Qin Huairu answered, her hands still wet, clearly having been working inside. Seeing it was Yi Zhonghai, carrying a flour sack, Qin Huairu's expression changed slightly. She asked, "Uncle, what brings you here?"

Sensing Widow Qin's cold attitude, Yi Zhonghai knew she was just being temperamental. But he was confident; he was carrying twenty pounds of cornmeal!

"Widow Qin, I have something to tell you." The old man meant that she should invite him inside, as it wasn't convenient to talk at the door.

Qin Huai seemed not to understand, wiped her hands on her apron, and said directly, "Then please speak, I'm listening."

Yi Zhonghai frowned, already feeling displeased. But he needed their help, so he had to lower his stance. He glanced back at the house across the street, saw the door was closed, and thought, 'So be it, they can't hear me anyway.'

"So, you know about Zhu Zi's blind date, right?"

As soon as Yi Zhonghai spoke, Qin Huairu guessed his intentions. Who in the courtyard didn't know about what happened with those three this morning? The old man's criticism of Aunt Liu had caused quite a stir. Why take your anger out on Shazhu instead of Aunt Liu? Besides, Jianye and Yingzi didn't do anything to you. At best, it's just being talkative; at worst, it's ruining your reputation. Jianye will definitely make things difficult for you later. There are quite a few people in the courtyard waiting to see you make a fool of yourself!

"I know, I've heard about it," Qin Huai replied calmly.

Yi Zhonghai lifted the flour sack and said, "I'd like to ask you to tidy up Zhuzi's house so that his daughter won't laugh at us."

In the past, Qin Huai would have readily accepted the bag of flour with a smile and agreed without hesitation. He would then make sure to show his face at Sha Zhu's house when the person arrived. If they didn't finish the meal, all the food would be theirs.

But now, Qin Huai didn't even glance at the bag of flour: "You should take it back! It's not appropriate for a widow like me to be cleaning for someone in a man's room. If you have nothing else to do, sir, I'll go back to my room."

After saying that, without waiting for Yi Zhonghai to speak, she lifted the curtain and went into the room.

Yi Zhonghai stood at the door, carrying a sack of flour, looking completely bewildered. This wasn't how the script was supposed to go! How could Qin Huairu refuse? How could she not agree? Twenty pounds of cornmeal, and she still thought it wasn't enough?

Yi Zhonghai still didn't understand the situation and was even less willing to believe that Qin Huairu had really changed her personality. Like most people, he felt that this person could only get worse and could never get better.

A person should have some kindness in their heart and less scheming in order to live a truly fulfilling life.

Yi Zhonghai returned with a head full of questions. Yang Jianye and Yingzi entered the courtyard chatting and laughing. As they walked in, they saw Xu Damao emerge from the doorway.

"Oh, you've bought things again?" Xu Damao said sarcastically, looking at the things the two were carrying.

Ever since he started talking about getting married, Yang Jianye has been buying a lot of things for the house. Every few days, he brings home several items. The brand-new cast-iron stove had barely been heated through when he brought back a radio. What's he showing off?

"Just some odds and ends," Yang Jianye replied casually, without even lifting his eyelids.

Once the two entered the Intermediate People's Court, Xu Damao spat out a curse: "You'll get what's coming to you sooner or later."

He cursed a couple of times, feeling relieved. Xu Damao squatted down outside the courtyard gate, just to keep watch. What for? What else could he be doing but waiting for someone to come to him!

Didn't Yang Jianye take Sha Zhu to see Aunt Liu today? Sha Zhu got news this afternoon and seemed quite satisfied. This made Xu Damao extremely envious, and he kept scheming how to get some benefits out of it.

At first, he planned to steal the girl's thunder. He'd embellish Sha Zhu's scandalous affairs and tell the girl, then date her himself. But then he thought, no way, Aunt Liu's around! Speaking ill of Sha Zhu to her face would be a disgrace, wouldn't it? Besides, he probably forgot what Aunt Liu did. She was a top-notch hand in the neighborhood committee; if he said anything out of line, he might get dragged in for a reprimand. And if that affected the factory's work, who would he complain to?

Then I thought again, this Aunt Liu could introduce a good one to Sha Zhu. My own conditions are even better than Sha Zhu's—I'm a projectionist at the Red Star Steel Mill. If I tell her, won't she introduce me to someone even better? Then I'll outshine Sha Zhu's wife. Hey, how satisfying would that be?

Xu Damao would be even happier if he could outshine Yang Jianye's wife, Li Ying, as well.

It's settled then. I'll intercept Aunt Liu... ugh... I'll corner Aunt Liu and ask her to arrange a blind date for me. I'll find a woman even better than Li Ying's and Sha Zhu's girlfriends. Won't those two be green with envy then?