I feel right at home in the world of the courtyard house.

As dawn broke, a lingering chill still hung in the air of the courtyard, and a layer of frost clung to the windowpanes. Li Jing'an was fast asleep when a rapid knocking broke the morning's tranquility.

He frowned impatiently, put on a coat, went out, opened the door, and saw that Xu Wangshu was standing outside.

Xu Wangshu was wrapped in a tattered thin cotton-padded jacket, the collar of which was worn shiny, and his trouser legs were covered in mud and snow. His face was blue and purple from the cold, his lips were trembling, and he was so shivering that he could barely stand. He had obviously been waiting outside the door for quite some time.

Li Jing'an feigned surprise and quickly stepped aside, saying, "Isn't this Comrade Xu? What brings you here so early in the morning? Come in, come in quickly, it's freezing outside, don't catch a cold."

He ushered Xu Wangshu into the house, turned around and poured her a cup of boiling water, handing it to her with exceptional enthusiasm: "Warm yourself up first, then we can talk about what's going on."

Xu Wangshu held the water glass in both hands, his fingertips stiff with cold, almost unable to grip it. The steam trickled down his throat, barely easing his grip. He raised his bloodshot eyes, his voice hoarse and humble:

"Director Li... I really have no other choice but to swallow my pride and come to you. My wife Jiang Yuebai's file has been at the steel rolling mill for so long, and there's been no response. Without the file being returned, the neighborhood committee can't help us find new jobs, and our family simply can't afford to wait any longer..."

Li Jing'an immediately feigned surprise, his brow furrowing as he asked earnestly, "What's going on? Hasn't Comrade Jiang gone to work yet? I thought she had already reported for duty!"

"No... my wife doesn't want to go to the steel mill, she wants to go somewhere else..." Xu Wangshu said in a low voice.

"What?" Li Jing'an suddenly raised his voice, his face turning serious as he adopted the stern demeanor of a cadre. "Your files have already been sent to the steel rolling mill, which means it's an organizational arrangement. Whether you go or not isn't up to you. You must obey the state's assignment and raise your ideological awareness!"

"Director Li, the factory won't let her go to work, nor will they return her personnel file. They're just dragging this on... Our family really can't afford to wait any longer!" Xu Wangshu's eyes reddened with anxiety, and her voice trembled.

Li Jing'an shrugged, looking helpless and troubled: "Comrade Xu, I understand your difficulties, but personnel transfers at the steel rolling mill are not under my jurisdiction. Even if I wanted to help, there's nothing I could do. You should go home and wait; I'm sure the factory will get back to you."

These words were like the last straw, breaking Xu Wangshu's last hope.

He knelt down with a thud on the cold ground, his knees hitting the brick floor with a dull thud.

"Comrade Li! Please, please help my family! Yuebai and I don't care about the hardship and toil, but our child is still so young! The relief grain from the neighborhood committee will stop sooner or later. If her mother doesn't have a formal job, the child won't be able to register her household registration. Without ration coupons, how will they survive in the future!"

Looking at the man kneeling on the ground trembling, Li Jing'an's face showed a troubled expression. He quickly reached out to help him up, saying, "Oh dear, what are you doing? Get up, get up!"

He sighed insincerely, softening his tone: "I understand your family's situation, but I... I'm not particularly close to the people in the personnel department. I owe them a huge favor for helping Comrade Jiang get that spot back then."

Seeing that Xu Wangshu remained kneeling and refused to get up, her head bowed deeply, Li Jing'an slowly relented:

"Sigh... Fine, I'll just have to swallow my pride and try again for you. How about this, whether it works or not, I'll come to your house in person after get off work tomorrow night and tell you, okay?"

This sentence was like a lifeline.

Xu Wangshu was so excited that he kowtowed repeatedly, expressing his gratitude incoherently. Li Jing'an helped him up and saw him out the door, watching him stagger and disappear into the alley.

In the afternoon, at the Jia family's courtyard house.

Madam Jia then gathered a group of people and led them towards Qin Huairu with a beaming smile. Upon seeing this entourage, Qin Huairu's face immediately darkened.

"Mom!" Qin Huairu said in a low voice, both angry and anxious, "I won't even mention the people you've been bringing to the guesthouse every day these past few days, but why are there so many today? Eight! The guesthouse only reserves three rooms for the day, and you've filled two of them!"

Jia Zhangshi curled her lip indifferently: "Aren't you the only class leader in the guesthouse now? Don't you call the shots in the whole guesthouse? Besides, your guesthouse makes a lot of money, what are these few people compared to that?"

"Mom!" Qin Huairu said sternly, "The guesthouse's rules state that only family members of factory employees are allowed to stay! Where did all of you come from? Give me back the referral fees you collected these past few days!"

Jia Zhangshi immediately feigned ignorance, turning her head away: "What money? Didn't they pay all their room fees to the guesthouse? I didn't take a single penny!"

"You wouldn't do this without some benefit?" Qin Huairu saw through her immediately. "I can find out with just a few inquiries that you charged each person a dime as a referral fee. How much did you get in total? Give it to me!"

Jia Zhangshi didn't reply, and pretended to be stupid with her head down.

Qin Huairu coldly replied, "Fine, you don't have to give it to me. From now on, you'll be in charge of all household expenses, and I'll hand over my salary to you. You'll be in charge of the household."

Upon hearing this, Jia Zhangshi immediately cowered. She dreaded being in charge of the household finances, as the daily chores and household expenses were incredibly tedious. Reluctantly, she took out a neatly folded small handkerchief, unfolded it layer by layer, pinched out two yuan from inside, and handed it over.

Qin Huairu counted them, then looked up and said, "We're still short two cents."

"Please keep the two cents for me..." Jia Zhangshi pleaded softly, "The children have been asking for meat for the past few days, and I want to buy them some."

Qin Huairu looked at her, her heart softened, and she sighed, "Alright, then I'll give you another two mao... never mind, here's four mao. With what you saved, it'll be just enough to buy a pound of meat, and we can have a proper meat meal."

"Yes, yes, yes! Good!" Madam Jia immediately beamed and nodded repeatedly.

Qin Huairu solemnly instructed, "Remember, keep a maximum of four people at the guesthouse from now on. Take it slow and steady. There are too many people and too much gossip in the guesthouse. Although everyone is sharing the money, it's inevitable that people will become envious over time. Everyone knows what's going on. Don't cause me any trouble."

"Okay, whatever you say!" Madam Jia readily agreed.

------

When Xu Wangshu returned home, Jiang Yuebai immediately greeted her with anxious eyes: "How did it go? What did he say?"

Xu Wangshu lowered her head, her voice tired and weak: "He said he didn't know, and promised to ask for us... He'll come over after work tomorrow and tell us in person."

Jiang Yuebai pursed her lips, her fingertips icy cold, her heart sinking deeper and deeper: "Then... what do we do?"

"I don't know either..." Xu Wangshu covered her face, her voice trembling, "If this isn't resolved, you won't be able to go to work, your child won't be able to register their household registration, and without food stamps, you simply can't survive on welfare..."

After a moment of silence, Xu Wangshu gritted her teeth and said, "I'll borrow some more money from my neighbor. He's coming tomorrow night, so I have to make sure he stays for a meal."

Jiang Yuebai's eyes reddened, and her voice trembled: "What if he doesn't do it? Our family... is really going to have nowhere to turn."

"Let's take it one step at a time and get through this first." Xu Wangshu sighed, a tightness in her chest, and she couldn't help but cough violently.

Jiang Yuebai gently patted his back, tears silently streaming down her face. She lowered her voice, filled with utter despair: "It was him... I know, it was him..."

Xu Wangshu stiffened, but couldn't say anything.

How could he not know?

But what can they do?

Powerless, helpless, and with no one to rely on, the entire family's livelihood was in Li Jing'an's hands.

"Even if I don't have money, I have to find a way to give gifts..." Xu Wangshu said hoarsely, "I'll go borrow from all my relatives again..."

"When we first arrived, we had already borrowed from all our relatives, and they still haven't paid us back. They are all ordinary people, how could they possibly lend us any more money..." Jiang Yuebai sobbed softly.

Xu Wangshu was speechless, left only with endless despair and suppressed coughing.