Courtyard Houses: Starting with Li Yunlong's Comrades-in-Arms

Just then, the sound of a car engine came from the alley entrance, growing louder as it approached, and came to a steady stop in front of the No. 95 compound. The lively laughter and chatter inside the courtyard subsided, and several pairs of eyes turned towards the gate.

The car door opened, and Yao's mother got out of the back seat first. Then, she turned to the side and helped Yao Qingwan out of the car. Yao Qingwan was wearing a loose light gray coat, and her belly was already quite protruding, but she held onto her mother's hand and walked steadily towards the courtyard gate.

Liu Erhe stopped what he was doing abruptly, quickly got up and strode forward, shouting back towards the east wing as he went, "Mother! Sister-in-law is here!"

After walking a few steps to the courtyard gate, Liu Erhe rubbed his hands together, looked at Yao Qingwan, and said with a hint of helplessness, "Sister-in-law, didn't I say you didn't need to come all this way? Your belly is so big, what if something happens to you on the way!" He then turned to Yao's mother, his tone filled with the concern of a junior and a hint of reproach, "Aunt, you shouldn't have stopped her either."

Yao Qingwan smiled, her voice calm: "It's alright, it's only a twenty-minute walk, not far at all. How could I not come to my sister-in-law's baby's one-month celebration?"

Before she finished speaking, the curtain to the east wing was already lifted. Wang Xiuhe stepped across the threshold in a few strides and walked quickly to Yao Qingwan. Her gaze lingered on Yao Qingwan's protruding belly for a while, her brows furrowed slightly, and her tone was filled with a mother's unique concern: "Oh dear, you're so heavy-chested and you still came all this way! Come in, come in, don't stand outside."

As she spoke, she stepped aside to clear the doorway, then turned and nodded to Yao's mother, calling her "Mother-in-law," and reached out to lightly support Yao Qingwan's other arm. Wang Xiuhe and Yao's mother, one on each side, steadily led Yao Qingwan into the east wing.

Liu Erhe stood at the door for a few more seconds before turning around and walking back to sit down again at the table under the old locust tree.

He had barely sat down, and before he could even pick up his teacup, Xu Damao leaned over and whispered, "Brother Erhe, isn't Brother Liu coming back today?"

Liu Erhe picked up his teacup, took a sip, and shook his head as he put it down: "I can't come back. I'm on a business trip. I've been gone for more than twenty days."

Xu Damao said "Oh" and nodded, a smile on his face, but the light in his eyes dimmed noticeably.

Sitting beside him, Jia Dongxu was thinking about something else entirely. He had originally planned to take advantage of his meeting with Liu Yuheng today to ask him to help Qin Huairu find a stable job.

Since Qin Huairu married into the Jia family, she has never had a proper job. She only takes on odd sewing jobs at the neighborhood office, earning a pitifully small income.

His mother, Jia Zhangshi, had a sharp and nagging tongue, constantly complaining that Qin Huairu earned too little and ate too much. If Qin Huairu had a stable job with a monthly salary of a few dozen yuan, his mother's mouth would finally shut up.

He thought about it for a long time before making this decision. He used to feel he wasn't familiar with the Liu family and couldn't bring himself to ask. But seeing Liu Erhe's family prospering, Liang Fangfang getting a job at the supply and marketing cooperative, and Liu Yixuan being pampered by his whole family, his hesitation faded day by day. Today, he finally mustered the courage to come, only to find Liu Yuheng hadn't shown up.

Jia Dongxu lowered his head, his fingers tracing the rim of the teacup twice. He sighed inwardly, thinking that this matter would have to be postponed for a while longer.

Meanwhile, in the east wing, Yao Qingwan had just sat down on the edge of the kang (heated brick bed) when Liang Fangfang quickly sat up, moved the little Qingyan in her arms to the side to make room, and said in a somewhat urgent tone, "Sister-in-law, please sit down!"

As she spoke, she glanced to the side again. Qin Huairu had already stood up, pushed the stool under her back forward, and moved to a position against the wall. She nodded to Yao Qingwan.

Yao Qingwan smiled at Qin Huairu, thanked her, and slowly sat down on the stool.

Her gaze fell on the swaddled baby wrapped in a floral cotton quilt in Liang Fangfang's arms. Her expression softened, and she bent down to examine the baby closely for a while. The little one was awake, its bright black eyes darting around, its little mouth slightly pouting, as if it were savoring something.

Yao Qingwan looked at it for a while, then straightened up, a warm smile on her lips: "It's grown up, and it's even fairer than when I saw it at the hospital last time."

As she spoke, she turned around, took a cloth bag from Yao's mother behind her, opened it, and revealed a tin can with a label that read "milk powder".

She handed the can to Liang Fangfang and said with a smile, "The supply and marketing cooperative in the compound just received a batch of milk powder the day before yesterday, and I brought a can for this child. Keep it as a backup, in case you don't have enough milk at night, so you don't have to go through the trouble in the middle of the night."

Liang Fangfang looked down at the tin can, paused for a moment, then quickly pushed it back, saying, "Sister-in-law, no need, no need! I have enough breast milk. Look at this baby, he sleeps several long naps a day and is well-fed. I don't need this." She paused, then glanced at Yao Qingwan's belly, her eyes filled with genuine concern. "Keep it. You're about to give birth too, you'll definitely need it then. Don't worry about me."

Yao Qingwan didn't take it back, but pushed the jar towards her again, saying calmly, "You keep it, I have more. A couple of days ago, the wife of one of Yu Heng's old comrades came to visit me and brought me two jars. I have enough here, you keep this one, in case the kids get really fussy one day, you can use some to tide you over."

Liang Fangfang declined a couple more times, but Yao Qingwan insisted, and the tin can was placed steadily on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), as if its ownership had already been decided.

Liang Fangfang looked down at the jar, then looked up at Yao Qingwan, and finally stopped pushing it away. She reached out and took the jar, gently placing it on the shelf next to the kang cabinet, and said softly, "Thank you, sister-in-law."

Yao Qingwan waved her hand and said nothing more.

Everyone in the room could hear every word of their conversation clearly.

An older woman leaning against the door stared at the tin can for several seconds, then looked away, glanced down at her rough fingers, and mumbled something in her throat without saying it aloud.

When she gave birth, she didn't have enough breast milk, and the baby cried incessantly from hunger, wailing all night long. She would carry the baby and walk back and forth in the room until her legs went numb, but there was nothing she could do. Back then, let alone formula, even a sip of thick porridge had to be saved. The rice water was so thin you could see your reflection in it, and the baby would be hungry again in no time after drinking it.

She tried making porridge with flour, but all-purpose flour was incredibly expensive, and she had to think long and hard before buying it. If only she had a can of that milk powder back then…

Qin Huairu stood against the wall, her gaze falling on Yao Qingwan, then on the milk powder can, and that indescribable feeling welled up in her heart again.

"The Liu family is indeed the Liu family; they produced a capable person like Liu Yuheng." Someone murmured from a corner.

No one answered, but no one refuted either. The room was quiet for a moment, except for a soft whimper from Xiao Qingyan in her swaddling clothes before she fell into a deep sleep again.