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

Wang Caixia pushed open the creaking wooden door, put the bulging cloth bag on the ground, and breathed a long sigh of relief. Her three-year-old daughter was squatting on the ground playing. When she saw her mother return, she immediately opened her little arms and rushed over.

"Oh, my little darling!" Wang Caixia squatted down, hugged her daughter, and kissed her on the cheek.

Just then, her lover came out from the inner room. He was wearing faded blue overalls, with some sawdust still clinging to his shoulders, clearly having just come home from get off work.

"So much stuff?" Wang Caixia's husband looked at the cloth bag on the ground in surprise, walked over and rummaged through it. "Cabbage, radishes, potatoes... and rice and noodles? How much did this cost?"

Wang Caixia straightened up, untying her scarf as she said, "Money? I didn't spend a penny. This was a gift from someone to Director Li. He said he had too much at home to eat, so he had a few people at the guesthouse share it." There was a hint of pride in her voice. "I'm a squad leader, so naturally I got a bigger share."

Her husband crouched down and carefully examined the contents of the bag. His eyes lit up: "This millet is good, the grains are plump..."

"What are you standing there for? Can't you help put things away?" Wang Caixia suddenly raised her voice, impatiently interrupting him. "Are you just leaving me to do all this?"

Wang Caixia's husband was stunned for a moment, then quickly got up, picked up a cloth bag, and walked towards the kitchen: "I'll clean up right away, I'll clean up right away."

Wang Caixia sat down on the only chair in the room, poured herself a glass of warm water, and slowly drank it. Her daughter nestled beside her legs and whispered, "Mommy, I'm hungry."

"Wait a minute, Mom will cook after resting for a while." Wang Caixia patted her daughter's head, but her eyes were fixed on her husband who was busy in the kitchen.

His wife carefully took out the dishes one by one, searching for a suitable place to store them in the cramped kitchen. This room, less than twenty square meters, was the most ordinary one in the courtyard, with the kitchen simply a corner separated by a curtain. Despite this, Wang Caixia kept it neat and tidy.

"Caixia..." A hesitant voice came from the kitchen, "There are so many dishes, can we send some to my parents? We can't possibly finish all of this."

Wang Caixia's face immediately darkened. Ever since she was promoted to supervisor at the guesthouse, she had become increasingly impatient with her husband. A first-class carpenter in a small furniture factory with only a hundred or so employees, his monthly salary was meager, and he couldn't even afford a decent apartment, having to squeeze into a large courtyard with his parents. She was growing increasingly dissatisfied with her husband.

"Oh, so you're quite filial," Wang Caixia said sarcastically, glancing sideways at her husband. "You're so concerned about your parents, but why don't you ever think about mine?"

Her husband poked his head out of the kitchen, a fawning smile on his face: "I've been thinking about it. I'll take these things to my father-in-law tomorrow."

"Alright, alright," Wang Caixia waved her hand impatiently to interrupt. "Go take some cabbage and that sorghum flour. Don't touch the millet; I need it."

"Okay, okay." He nodded repeatedly, carefully took out two cabbages and a small bag of sorghum flour from the bag, glanced at the golden millet, swallowed, and ultimately did not dare to take more.

As he left with his things, Wang Caixia added, "Come back for dinner soon."

"Okay," he replied, gently closing the door behind him.

The daughter looked up at her mother and asked, "Where did Daddy go?"

"Go deliver the groceries to your grandparents." Wang Caixia lifted her daughter onto her lap. "Mommy will make you millet porridge with brown sugar tonight, okay?"

"Really?" The daughter's eyes lit up immediately, and she jumped excitedly in Wang Caixia's arms. "I love brown sugar millet porridge the most!"

Seeing her daughter's happy expression, Wang Caixia's resentment subsided somewhat. She planned to send half of the remaining millet back to her parents' home tomorrow to make them happy too. The other half would be enough for the three of them to eat for several days.

That evening, after her husband returned home, the family of three ate a simple dinner. The millet porridge was thick and sweet, and their daughter's little face was rosy from eating it. Wang Caixia's husband felt a surge of warmth in his heart as he looked at his daughter's satisfied expression, but that warmth quickly cooled when he saw his wife's indifferent expression.

After the lights were turned off, on the narrow bed, Wang Caixia's husband listened to his wife's even breathing. He hesitated for a long time before carefully reaching his hand out from under the covers and gently placing it on Wang Caixia's shoulder.

Wang Caixia stiffened, then slapped his hand away: "I'm tired after a long day, I'm not interested."

He awkwardly withdrew his hand, turned to face the wall, and stared into the darkness. He remembered when they first got married; Caixia was gentle and considerate, always smiling even when life was hard. Everything changed after she became the class monitor. She started to complain about his job, about how little he earned, about this tenement building...

He sighed softly and closed his eyes.

The next morning, in the office.

Wang Caixia was in front.

Li Jing'an stood behind her.

He instructed, "I'll come by twice these next two days, once in the morning and once at noon. Keep a close eye on things. If anything happens, write it down and we'll talk about it when I get back."

Li Jing'an turned to look at Wang Caixia, who was still slumped over the table.

"I'll tidy this up in a bit, then I'll be going."

Seeing Li Jing'an open the door, Wang Caixia quickly dragged her aching body and put on her clothes.