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

Upon hearing the sound, the young man who had been kneeling inside immediately got up and went outside.

"Auntie, what brings you here?"

"Xiao Wang, I've heard about this. Please accept my condolences." The person who came was the mother of the young man's girlfriend.

"Auntie, I'm so sorry to have come all this way after all this." When Wang's mother saw her son's girlfriend's mother, she quickly went out to greet her, but she was a little puzzled—why did she come alone? Wasn't her boyfriend's father here?

The visitor exchanged pleasantries, then looked at the young man from the Wang family with an embarrassed expression. Afterward, as if having made up her mind, she said, "Young Wang, I won't beat around the bush. Let's speak frankly. Let's put your affair with our daughter aside for now."

"Huh? Auntie, why?" the young man asked immediately.

"It's like this, the main problem is that your family has caused too much trouble. To be honest, my daughter's workplace and my husband's workplace have both had talks with their leaders, asking us to persuade you. But how can we persuade you? You're not even married yet, what right do we have to advise you? Right? The main issue is that the marriage isn't legally arranged. So our family has decided to postpone the wedding until things are resolved, okay?"

"Auntie, then..." The young man wanted to ask about his partner's attitude, but was interrupted by the person who came.

"Xiao Wang, I know what you mean. My daughter feels the same way." After saying that, the man turned and left without saying anything more.

In stark contrast to the Wang family's miserable state, the Li family, located just a few dozen meters away on the back street, was bustling with activity.

The small living room was packed with people, even the small stools by the door were occupied. Li Jing'an's uncle was warmly greeting the guests, while the brothers Li Jingtang and Li Jingting were busy offering cigarettes and pouring water. Li Jing'an's aunt and her daughters-in-law were busy in the kitchen in the yard.

It seemed like there was a happy occasion at home, but actually there wasn't. It was all leaders from the farm who had come to visit the Li family all at once.

Li Jing'an's uncle had never encountered such a situation before and was startled. He quickly made arrangements and then instructed his wife and daughter-in-law to cook and buy groceries, and even kill the two laying hens. After all, these leaders hadn't come empty-handed; they were all very polite and approachable, showing concern for Li Jing'an, as if worried that the injury on his face might have some lasting impact on his life.

Li Jing'an's uncle's family had never experienced such treatment before; the sudden change caught them off guard. Some well-informed and quick-witted neighbors also joined in under the guise of visiting the sick. Before long, several neighboring families had gathered, bringing their own stools and tables, and the women joined in the cooking. Watching this lively scene, Li Jing'an's uncle even thought back to his son's wedding—back then, even the farm leaders hadn't come all at once, and the neighbors hadn't been so hospitable.

Then, Li Jing'an's cousin came out of the living room and looked into the kitchen. A group of women were plucking chicken feathers at the kitchen door, and the sound of stir-frying could be heard from inside.

Just then, someone else came in through the door. He quickly greeted them and invited them inside. He then glanced at the sky, about to turn and go back inside, when his gaze stopped in a certain direction—the direction of the Wang family's house. The smile on his face vanished rapidly, his eyes filled with complex emotions. He lowered his head in thought for a moment, then looked up and called out, "Mother of my child!"

"Yes!" came a reply. Li Jing'an's aunt rubbed her hands together as she stood up, wiping them on her apron. The smile on her face, still fresh from the compliments, faded slightly. Seeing her husband's serious expression, she wondered what was wrong and quickly went over to ask, "What's wrong?"

"Um, how much money do you have at home?" Li Jing'an's uncle asked.

"Why are you asking this?" His aunt frowned, not understanding why the man suddenly asked this. But she still answered, "There are still a little over three hundred left at home."

"Go and get two hundred dollars."

"What's wrong?"

"Just go when I tell you to, stop talking nonsense!" Li Jing'an's uncle frowned and reprimanded him sternly.

His aunt opened her mouth, but seeing how serious the man was, she didn't dare ask any more questions and turned back to her bedroom. A short while later, she came out with a handkerchief in her hand and placed it directly into the man's hand: "Here, it's all here, exactly two hundred."

Li Jing'an's cousin looked at what he was holding, nodded, and then called into the house, "Jingting, come out here!"

"What's wrong, Dad?" Li Jingting emerged from the house with a big smile.

"Come here." His father pulled him aside, stuffed a handkerchief containing money into his hand, and said, "Go to the Wang family right now and give them this. There are two hundred yuan inside."

"Huh? Dad, what's going on?" Li Jingting was completely bewildered by this question. His family had just had a conflict with the Wang family, resulting in one of the Wang family members being dead and the other injured. Why was he showing up at their door? Wouldn't they just kick him out? He'd probably get a beating.

"Just go when I tell you to, stop asking so many questions!"

"I'm not afraid of anything else, but what if he doesn't accept it?" Li Jingting asked.

"Not accepting? If they're not accepting, then it means we can't get over this hurdle."

Li Jing'an's cousin watched his youngest son leave with the money, his eyes narrowing as he thought to himself: "I hope they're sensible enough to accept the money. Otherwise, things will be even more complicated when Jing'an returns."

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.

Tokyo, Japan.

"What's going on? Why is lunch so lavish today?"

Li Jing'an, supporting his back, slowly moved from the room to the hotel restaurant. He saw the inspection team gathered around several tables laden with various delicacies and several bottles of expensive red wine. Li Jing'an looked puzzled and asked...

"Minister!" The entire delegation stood up to greet him as soon as he appeared. Li Jing'an nodded in acknowledgment, and the liaison officer quickly stepped forward to explain:

"Minister, here's the thing. I just asked the hotel, and they said that today's meal was arranged by Komatsu and people from Sumitomo Corporation. They also said that from now on, we'll stick to this standard, and all our expenses at the hotel will be paid for by them."

"Sugar-coated bullets, comrades! Sugar-coated bullets!" Li Jing'an looked at the table full of delicacies with a pained expression. "They all have ulterior motives!"

The members of the Ministry of Metallurgical Industry's inspection team looked at each other, none of them daring to touch their chopsticks. After Li Jing'an said that, who would dare eat? The bombshell was already flying.

"Minister... are we still going to eat?" The external liaison officer looked at Li Jing'an with a troubled expression.

"Eat, why not eat?" Li Jing'an waved his hand. "How many atrocities did the Japanese commit in China back then? It's only right and proper for us to eat their food."

He paused, his expression turning serious: "But comrades, you must stay alert and not fall into other people's traps. We'll start our inspection tour of various factories tomorrow, so don't let this little bit of food and drink have a negative impact. Always remember the purpose of this trip."

As they were talking, Li Jing'an suddenly felt a pain in his back and quickly twisted his body.

"Minister, what's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?" the external relations officer quickly came over to ask.

"Sigh, it's an old problem, don't you know? I can't get used to these soft beds in capitalist countries. It's mainly because my back isn't as flexible as theirs—they can bend down, but I can't."

Li Jing'an waved his hand: "Alright, that's all I have to say. You guys eat first. The receptionist just called to say that a senior executive from Xiaosong wants to talk to me about something. I'll go check it out. You guys eat."

After saying that, he supported his back and walked towards the elevator.

"Minister, won't you eat something?" the liaison officer asked from behind.

"I'm not eating anymore. There's so much food, it doesn't look appetizing at all. Never mind, you guys eat." Li Jing'an waved his hand without turning his head and slowly disappeared at the end of the corridor.