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

The Jia family's courtyard house.

Qin Jingru was sitting on a small stool, guarding the Jia family's small coal stove, holding a stove hook in her hand, occasionally reaching in to rummage through the ashes.

As Qin Huairu tidied the bed in the room, she turned to Qin Jingru, who was tending the stove outside, and said:

"Let me tell you, Qin Jingru, if you can't reach an agreement this time, then don't expect me to introduce you to anyone else. You might as well go home and farm."

"Jingru, just listen to your sister and give Shazhu a good chance. Think about it, you're just a country girl, while Shazhu is a proper chef at a steel mill. The fact that he's interested in you is already a huge advantage for you, so what are you complaining about? Isn't this all for your own good?"

Jia Zhangshi, who was sitting on a chair sewing cloth shoes, also stopped her work and began to persuade Qin Jingru.

Qin Jingru pouted and replied sullenly, "I know, so please stop talking about me."

Qin Huairu came out of the inner room, washing her hands as she continued her tirade:

"You actually found out? You were sold out and you didn't even know it, you believe everything people say. It's only because Sha Zhu is our neighbor that they were willing to go on another date with you. You really think you're some kind of rich girl, that they can't live without you?"

"Don't you think about it? If Sha Zhu really announced that he was willing to marry a country girl, his doorstep would have been worn down by suitors long ago. How could you possibly have a chance?"

Madam Jia then spoke up to persuade him:

"Your sister is right, Jingru. Besides being young and pretty, what else do you have to offer? You know what the situation is like in the countryside now. There aren't many unmarried young men in the city who don't care about their household registration. Who would want to marry someone from the countryside? Rural residents don't have food rations. There aren't many people who would be willing to marry you and support you steadily. Shazhu has such good conditions, you should pay more attention to him."

Qin Jingru lowered her head and replied softly, "Yes, I understand, Auntie."

"You should really think about this."

Qin Huairu picked up a cloth bag and slung it over her shoulder, then poked Qin Jingru's forehead hard before continuing, "I'm going to work. Mom, remember to bring in Li Jing'an's bedsheets that are hanging out to dry outside, I'll take them to him when I get back."

Madam Jia, sitting to the side, replied, "Oh, just go to work without worry. I'll make sure you put the bed sheets away properly. If Li Jing'an goes back to his courtyard today, I'll just deliver them to him. You don't need to keep thinking about it."

Qin Huairu waved her hand: "No need, you don't need to make a special trip to deliver it."

After saying that, she solemnly instructed Qin Jingru, who had been keeping her head down and remaining silent, "Think carefully about what I said."

After saying this, Qin Huairu left for work.

Qin Huairu's footsteps faded into the distance. Qin Jingru then raised her head, stared blankly in the direction her cousin had left, then turned back and whispered to Jia Zhangshi inside the house.

"Auntie, it's not that I'm afraid of anything else, it's just that I'm afraid Sha Zhu is stupid, just like his name suggests."

Madam Jia immediately curled her lip and waved her hand in rebuttal: "Shazhu isn't stupid! Humph, that's just a nickname, something his dad called him since he was little. Let me tell you, in this alley, there aren't many people more shrewd or better at handling things than Shazhu!"

"Well, I also have my doubts... He's so much older than me, and he looks so much older than I am," Qin Jingru pouted, replying reluctantly.

"Hey, you've actually become picky!" Jia Zhangshi put the half-sewn insole on her lap, glared at Qin Jingru, and then, as if suddenly remembering something, said, "Jingru, I know you're definitely not reconciled, but you have to understand, you're from the countryside, you have no household registration and no job. What kind of family can you choose? At this point, it's them choosing you, not you choosing them. If you had a proper job, even if it wasn't permanent, just a temporary one, you could hold your head high and be selective. But right now, you have nothing."

"Aunt Jia, you're right." Qin Jingru instantly wilted, put the stove hook on the ground, rested her chin on her hands, and gazed into the distance, sighing with longing. "You know what? I really envy my sister. She has a job that's clean and easy. I wish I could have a job like that."

Looking at her hopeful expression, Madam Jia secretly smiled calculatingly and said lightly, "There will be an opportunity."

Qin Jingru didn't take this ambiguous statement to heart at all. She remained sitting on the small stool, her eyes fixed on the city, lost in her own daydreams.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

dong dong dong.

"Who is it?" Engineer Wang walked towards the door with a puzzled look, wondering who could be coming at this hour. Who could it be so early in the morning?

"Who is it?" Su Liting's voice came from the bedroom.

"I don't know, I'll go check," Wang replied as he walked, reaching out to pull out the door latch and yanking open the door.

"Ah, Director Li, what brings you here?" Engineer Wang was stunned for a moment. Looking at Li Jing'an, who was smiling and squinting outside the door, his lips trembled and he asked in a flustered manner.

"Haha, what, can't I come?" Li Jing'an said, squeezing in casually. "Wasn't this something I discussed with Liting? We're having lunch with the school leaders today to discuss her seniority. What, Liting didn't tell you?"

"Ah, I said, I said it." Engineer Wang's face was stiff as he watched Li Jing'an swagger into the house, still in the motion of opening the door, and he didn't come to his senses for a long time.

"Who is it? What's wrong?" Su Liting's questioning voice came from the bedroom again.

"It's me, your brother Li." Upon hearing the voice, Li Jing'an walked straight towards it without saying a word.

Wang Gong suddenly came to his senses, quickly closed the door behind him, and hurried back inside, smiling obsequiously as he said, "Leader Li, Director Li, please sit here, I'll get you some water."

Wang tried desperately to lead Li Jing'an to a chair in the living room, but Li Jing'an acted as if he hadn't heard him at all, continuing to walk straight towards the bedroom.

Seeing this, Engineer Wang panicked and was at a loss. He could only follow behind Li Jing'an step by step, opening his mouth but not knowing how to stop him.

Li Jing'an stood directly at the bedroom door, casually resting one hand on the door frame, his gaze calmly looking into the room.

Inside the room, Su Liting was slowly applying face cream in front of the dressing mirror by the bed. Through the reflection in the mirror, she immediately saw Li Jing'an standing at the door, and a gentle smile immediately spread across her face. She turned around and spoke in a sweet voice.

"Hey, Brother Li, why are you here so early? What time is it?"

"Haha, how could I not care about your business?" Li Jing'an walked straight into the bedroom without stopping. "I just wanted to come early to discuss the lunch gathering with you in more detail. Besides, as the old saying goes, the early bird catches the worm."

He walked inside, completely ignoring the bewildered Engineer Wang behind him. Engineer Wang's face was full of anxiety; he opened his mouth as if to stop him, but dared not utter a single word. One hand remained frozen in mid-air, caught in a dilemma.

But Li Jing'an had only taken two steps when he seemed to suddenly remember something, stopped, and turned back towards Engineer Wang.

Upon seeing this, Engineer Wang seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. He managed to force a stiff, ingratiating smile, but the next second, Li Jing'an walked up to him and slammed the bedroom door shut with a loud bang.

Wang, standing outside the door, maintained his awkward, apologetic smile. Facing the closed door, his face alternated between pale and flushed, and his hand, which had been frozen in mid-air, slowly and limply fell to his sides.

From inside the tightly closed bedroom door, one could hear Li Jing'an speaking slowly.

"Wow, it smells so good! Tell me, is this the scent of the face cream you're using, or your natural scent?"

Immediately afterwards, Su Liting's soft giggles echoed from inside the room as she responded gently:

"Brother Li speaks so sweetly, it's just like the smell of face cream, really."

"Oh, that's not necessarily true. I don't think it's face cream at all; it's clearly your unique body fragrance."

As soon as she finished speaking, Su Liting's light, uncontrollable laughter rang out again in the room, her words intimate and ambiguous.

Wang, standing outside the door, stared intently at the tightly closed door. His face flushed and paled in turns, a mixture of embarrassment and frustration on his face. It was as if all his energy and spirit had collapsed in an instant, leaving him weak and powerless.

He slumped over, slowly moved to the chair in the outer room, and plopped down heavily, his head hanging limply. A feeling of bitterness, frustration, and helplessness choked him, making it hard to breathe.

"Here, let me apply it for you."

"Oh—where did you put it?" Su Liting's voice carried a coquettish complaint, but the end of her tone was filled with an irrepressible smile, soft and sweet.

"It's too slippery! Look, it slid down as soon as my hand touched it. You can't blame me for that, can you?" Li Jing'an lowered his voice and chuckled twice, his tone deliberately teasing.

"You're so mean."