Courtyard House: Starting with a 28-inch motorcycle

As soon as the news came out, the entire technical department was fired up, and several university professors also threw themselves into piles of blueprints and worked through the night to solve the problem.

People have to work hard, so the canteen has to provide food. They can't work on an empty stomach when they're working overtime at night, so steamed buns and porridge are always available. He Yuzhu even personally made three kinds of pickled vegetables, which were salty, fragrant and crispy. One bite with the porridge and it's like opening your head.

Li Huaide and Factory Director Yang took a bite and immediately decided, "We must prepare more of this! It's incredibly delicious with rice!"

Even the professor, who usually eats like he's picking through grass, ate two bowls of porridge.

He Yuzhu simply handed over the recipe, and the canteen emptied out more than twenty jars, which were then filled to the brim, and from then on, it became the standard dinner.

Each factory leader took a portion home, so they could have breakfast. This saved them from having to fight for a hot meal in the canteen at night.

That day, He Yuzhu was holed up in his office, engrossed in a newly borrowed book—a little-known resource about massage.

I thought this kind of skill would be added to the medical skill tree, but as soon as I opened the first page, the system popped up a new skill prompt!

His eyes lit up, and he immediately took it back to read carefully.

My massage skill is currently only at level two, and there are too few related books, so I can only slowly accumulate experience. As for the benefits of reaching the maximum level, that remains a mystery for now.

"I'll try it out with Chen Xueru or Lou Xiao'e later," he thought to himself. "You can't see the results of this kind of work until you actually try it. But level two is too weak; I need at least level three to be considered presentable."

Just as I was pondering this, there was a light knock on the door.

"Pillar?"

Upon hearing the voice, He Yuzhu immediately got up, opened the door, and grinned, "Sister Bai."

Bai Danyu pushed the door open and closed it behind her. After standing still, she sighed softly and looked at He Yuzhu. After a long while, she finally spoke: "Zhuzi, why didn't you say earlier that those two ginseng roots were so precious? I feel so bad about it."

"Sister Bai, you're being too polite," He Yuzhu frowned, her tone immediately turning serious. "If you keep being so particular, I'll really get upset. What's the point of bringing up money for Uncle's medical expenses? Why are you being so formal with me?"

He didn't really care at all. The ginseng he had now was like radishes or cabbages to him. In a year or two, thousands upon thousands of old wild ginseng plants would sprout up in his space, enough to weigh tons. Giving a couple to relatives and friends would be a simple matter of a click of a finger.

It's like someone earning tens of thousands a month, who has to apologize repeatedly and feel uneasy if a friend lends them two dollars, fearing they'll owe a huge favor.

He knew Bai Danyu's intentions were good—she was grateful and knew her limits. But to him, it was just a small favor.

"Okay, Zhu Zi, I won't say anything more." She smiled, her voice softening. "If you ever need anything in the future, just ask, and I'll do my best to help you. Oh, by the way, this is your favorite tea. I brought it all for you this time, without even keeping the box."

As she spoke, she took out a beautifully packaged box of tea from her bag. She had specially gone back to her father's place and brought back all the tea stored at home.

He Yuzhu took the tea box and grinned, "Then I won't stand on ceremony with you. I'm running out of tea leaves and have almost exchanged all my cigarette and alcohol coupons."

Those who knew him well knew about his habit—exchanging tea and cigarette coupons for alcohol coupons. This wasn't unusual in the factory; as long as it wasn't excessive, no one would take it seriously. After all, some people prefer tea, and some prefer alcohol; everyone has their own preferences, and there's nothing wrong with that.

However, while others drink alcohol simply to drink, he buys alcohol... to make medicinal wine.

Just then, there was another knock on the door. He Yuzhu got up and opened the door, where Li Huaide's secretary was standing.

"Director He, the factory manager from our sister factory is coming to do some research at noon. Deputy Factory Manager Li, please arrange to receive them. This is the warehouse approval slip."

"Okay, I got it. Don't worry, it won't cause any problems." He Yuzhu took the note, glanced at it, and understood.

Four people eat, but there are enough ingredients to make eight dishes. Now that the steel mill is doing well, the vegetable supply is sufficient, and the standard of hospitality has also risen accordingly.

After seeing his secretary off, he turned to Bai Danyu and smiled, "Sister Bai, come over and get your lunchbox after get off work. It'll help Xiao Baiying recover, so you won't have to cook when you get home."

"Okay," Bai Danyu replied softly, her face slightly flushed.

The fact that she frequently came to collect her lunchbox made it sound like a married couple. Fortunately, she always avoided being seen and took it quietly, so no one noticed. The security department certainly wouldn't be watching the personnel department head investigate such trivial matters.

Suddenly, a thought struck her. She looked up at him and tentatively asked, "Zhu Zi, do you... want to get married? How about I introduce you to someone?"

As she spoke, her gaze never left his face.

He Yuzhu waved his hand and shook his head with a smile: "Never mind, Sister Bai, I'm engaged. We'll hold the ceremony next year."

"Huh?" Bai Danyu was taken aback, her eyes instantly changing, and her voice tightening. "When did this happen? How come you've never mentioned it before?"

"It was arranged during the Chinese New Year, by the Lou family. We weren't old enough to get a marriage certificate yet, so we didn't tell anyone."

She suddenly felt a tightness in her chest, but she forced a calm expression: "I was thinking of connecting you with a nurse or doctor in the healthcare system... but it seems that it's not my turn now."

He Yuzhu scratched his head, smiling somewhat helplessly: "What a coincidence, isn't it? But thank you for remembering me, Sister Bai. I'm really touched, haha."

Bai Danyu didn't want to talk about this anymore. Her gaze shifted, and she caught sight of the massage book on the table. She quickly changed the subject: "Zhu Zi, you're learning massage?"

"Yeah, I've got nothing else to do anyway." He nodded. "I think this is quite similar to traditional Chinese massage. I know a little bit myself, so it'll be easy for me to learn. If you're ever tired, Sister Bai, I can give you a massage to relieve fatigue and stress."

"Okay, then I won't stand on ceremony with you." She forced a smile, said a few more words, and then excused herself, saying she had something else to do.

After get off work in the afternoon, Bai Danyu had composed herself and came to pick up her lunchbox as usual, her movements natural, as if nothing had happened. This was something she had promised, and she couldn't go back on her word. But she knew in her heart that from now on… she would have to gradually back down.

-

One evening.

As agreed with Chen Xueru, He Yuzhu headed straight for the two-courtyard house near Zhengyangmen as soon as he left the factory. With a flick of his wrist, he retrieved 300 jin of medicinal wine from his spatial storage and placed it quietly in the house, waiting for Chen Xueru and Elena to arrive.

Before long, Chen Xueru led Elena to the door.

As soon as she stepped into the courtyard, Elena's face immediately lit up with a smile: "He Yuzhu, you've finally given your word! We'll have to work together for a long time from now on—after drinking your wine, I really can't swallow any other wine."

He Yuzhu's medicinal wine has a smooth taste, a powerful aftertaste, and a strong nourishing effect. It's a perfect combination of color, aroma, taste, and efficacy, so it's no wonder Elena is envious. As long as this batch of goods is shipped back to White Bear, she's guaranteed to make a profit.

"There will be plenty of opportunities for cooperation," He Yuzhu said with a smile as he welcomed her in, pointing to six small wine jars in the corner of the room. "You can order from me in Hong Kong next year. Here, three hundred catties, each jar labeled with its name and effects. Would you like to try a sip?"

Elena's eyes lit up, and she nodded repeatedly. Then, she changed the subject: "Three hundred pounds is too little, I want a thousand pounds!"

"Impossible." He Yuzhu shook his head directly. "You know how scarce our liquor is. I have to use top-quality base liquor to brew it, and it needs time to settle. This is all we have now. We can only supply large orders next year."

Elena frowned slightly, feeling unwilling, but she understood that he truly had no stock. No wonder he had refused to sell before—he genuinely couldn't produce any.

She stopped pestering them and instead tried each wine in turn. One sip was crisp and sweet, with a lingering aftertaste; her fatigue vanished instantly, and she felt completely revitalized. Her eyes lit up, and she couldn't resist wanting another drink, but He Yuzhu stopped her.

How can you talk business when you're drunk?

The weights were always accurate; He Yuzhu never cheated. The transactions were completed solely within the courtyard; how the goods were transported and disposed of outside was entirely Elena's responsibility. With her connections, this little bit of trouble was nothing to her.

What followed was a price-cutting battle. He Yuzhu started with a firm price of 25 yuan per jin, and casually laid out all sorts of precious medicinal herbs for making medicinal liquor.

She doesn't need to know these things—having the ingredients but no recipe will still result in a bitter brew.

Elena was unwilling to give up and desperately tried to lower the price. After a long negotiation, they finally agreed on a price of twenty-two yuan after Chen Xueru persuaded them.

To everyone's surprise, Elena readily agreed. He Yuzhu was stunned—he had originally planned to haggle a bit longer, until it was twenty yuan, but she had already agreed.

The money arrived quickly, and Elena had all the wine taken away. As she left, she affectionately linked arms with He Yuzhu, smiling and reminding him, "Let me know as soon as you have more stock, darling~"

This scene made Chen Xueru feel a pang of sadness.

In the stillness of the night, after their tender moment, He Yuzhu spoke softly, "Xueru, let's take three thousand five hundred to buy a house, is that enough?"

Chen Xueru's cheeks flushed, her eyes glazed over, as if she were still lost in the tenderness of the moment. After a long while, she came to her senses: "Three thousand five hundred is enough. I've got my eye on two apartments; the sizes and locations are both good. When are you free? Let's go transfer the ownership together."

One of the sets was put up by Pianye. That man frequented the tavern and had long intended to sell it.

A while ago, Chen Xueru wanted to lower the price to buy the film, but the filmmaker was not happy. After He Yuzhu persuaded her a few times, she simply bought it at the original price, and threw in a bottle of good wine, and smoothed things over with kind words.

If it were just a single courtyard house, she might not have cared so much. At most, she would have used it as a warehouse, and incidentally, to annoy her nemesis, Xu Huizhen.

But things are different now—next to Master Pian's courtyard, there's another two-courtyard siheyuan (traditional courtyard house) for sale. Chen Xueru made up her mind: buy them both! Use the outside as a storeroom, clean up the inside, and keep it for her and He Yuzhu to spend the night occasionally.

She was determined to win this deal.

The image already flashed in her mind: she carrying the medicinal wine, strolling into the tavern, raising her glass to Xu Huizhen with a smile: "Come on, shall I treat you to a drink?"

After hearing her finish speaking, He Yuzhu pulled her into his arms: "No need to transfer it to my name, just put it in your name. We're practically family..."