Courtyard House: Starting with a 28-inch motorcycle

"...Okay, I'll tell her tonight."

Startled by Yi Zhonghai's shout, Jia Zhangshi's face immediately fell, and she replied indifferently, "Oh, Master Yi, are you here to give orders?"

Yi Zhonghai glanced at them, his brows furrowing, his tone heavy as if weighed down by a stone: "Don't throw a tantrum! If you mess this up, I won't get involved in anything concerning the Jia family from now on!"

"Hmph, fine! Got it!" She turned and left, flicking her sleeve without even glancing at him.

In her heart, she had already cursed Yi Zhonghai over and over again—an old widower with unsteady legs, yet he was putting on airs? If it weren't for the fact that she was currently relying on him to back her up, act as a bridge, and pass on messages in the yard, who would have the patience to look at his wrinkled face!

But she had to keep a straight face. She had originally agreed to spend half a day with him at the hospital, bringing him soup and water, and showing him concern, but now she felt like she was flying and just wanted to sneak back to her own house to catch her breath.

"Old Yi, there's still soup simmering on the stove, and the baby's waiting to be fed. I'm leaving now!"

Before he finished speaking, he picked up his lunchbox and turned into the corridor.

Yi Zhonghai stared at her back and gritted his teeth—good heavens, she came to freeload a meal, but her bowl was deeper than his, her chopsticks were used more frequently than his, and she even stole half a salted duck egg from him before leaving!

Zhengyang Gate.

As soon as He Yuzhu stepped out of the courtyard, his heels shuffled in this direction.

His daughter is almost two years old, and who knows when she'll open her mouth and call him "Dad"? Just thinking about it makes his heart flutter.

When he arrived at Xue Ru Silk Shop, he lifted the curtain and saw that the counter was empty; he couldn't find Chen Xue Ru anywhere. He didn't make a sound, only paused briefly, and then turned and left—afraid of gossip. Nowadays, the neighbors gossiped that it was not easy for her as a widow raising a child, and when the neighborhood committee came to her door to persuade her to remarry, she didn't even raise an eyebrow and firmly refused.

Since no one was in the shop, he pondered for a moment, then turned and went to the tavern. If no one was there either, they were probably resting.

Sure enough, as soon as I pushed open the door, I immediately saw the figure by the window: she was dressed in a cheongsam with a neatly tailored waist, and she had just taken a sip of wine before putting it down.

"Huizhen, don't be so conservative in business. The tavern's revenue has dropped drastically in the last six months, and it's only thanks to a few regular customers that it's surviving. If this drags on, the accounts will look bad, and then it'll all fall on your shoulders as the private manager—do you really want to see it go bankrupt?"

Chen Xueru smiled and spoke, her fingertips lightly tapping the rim of her glass, her tone soft yet sharp.

Xu Huizhen's face stiffened slightly. For the past two years, she had always been overshadowed by Chen Xueru. At first, she didn't take it seriously, but as the rumors spread, it felt like a grain of sand was stuck in her heart, causing a dull ache.

But the tavern was, after all, a joint public-private enterprise; how could her word carry weight? She lowered her voice and said, "The business operations need to be discussed with the public manager. If she comes to talk to you later, you'll have to give her a definite answer..."

"Oh, no thanks, no thanks!" Chen Xueru waved her hand with a smile. "I acknowledge you, Xu Huizhen, not some company manager. If she comes? I won't take the bait."

What she wanted was never cooperation, but submission. As long as Xu Huizhen was willing to come to her door, even if she only said a few kind words, she would have to admit defeat.

Xu Huizhen was fully aware of the situation, so she remained inactive.

But lately, things have been really tough—Chen Xueru, under the guise of "medicinal wine therapy," has quietly opened a shop in the Zhengyangmen Old Folks' Quarter, stealing away most of their customers. People are buying "medicinal tonics," not "Erguotou" (a type of strong Chinese liquor), so there's no evidence to support her claims, and no one to sue. Mediation is everywhere, but if you really take it seriously, the whole street will have to close down and reflect on its practices.

The patrons now sigh as soon as they walk in: "Where has that flavor gone? Where has that fragrant, warming medicinal wine that made you feel so comfortable all over gone?"

In truth, Chen Xueru was also tired of it—she had earned almost all the money she needed, having received over 100,000 yuan from Elena alone. The thicker her savings account became, the emptier her days felt. Every day, she had to deal with various acquaintances asking for "some medicinal wine" or "a couple of bottles," and she was sick of hearing it all.

If Hsu Hui-chen is willing to give her an answer, she'd be happy to back down; but if she wants to take over, she'd better bow her head first before speaking.

"I'll be waiting for you..."

Before she could finish speaking, the chair next to her sank. She instinctively frowned, but when she turned her head to the side, a smile instantly spread across her eyes, impossible to hide.

"Hey, isn't this Director He? The harsh winds of Northeast China haven't dampened your spirits at all—how long has it been since we last met?"

She suppressed her joy, but the reproach in her voice was like sugar coated with vinegar, both sweet and sour. Life was peaceful, but the absence of a person under the lamp at night, and the lack of response when the child called for his father, was ultimately a worry in her heart.

"I just got off the train and brought back two pieces of top-quality leather. You're so skillful, make one for my daughter and one for my daughter-in-law!"

He Yuzhu chuckled and replied, his voice warm and gentle. Upon hearing this, Chen Xueru lost all interest in dealing with Xu Huizhen. She immediately pulled out a few bills and slammed them on the table: "Huizhen, my friend has arrived. Let's stop here for today and talk more another day!"

He got up and left, and He Yuzhu naturally followed, bowing and clasping his hands in greeting to Xu Huizhen and Cai Quanwu. The moment he entered the room, his heart skipped a beat—Cai Quanwu's eyebrows and features were exactly like a younger version of He Daqing, only less slick and more honest.

He made a mental note of it, intending to find He Daqing and get to the bottom of it later.

Just as the two figures disappeared through the doorway, Xu Huizhen lowered her voice and gestured towards Cai Quanwu, who was pouring wine into a jar: "Hey, did you see that just now? Chen Xueru seemed to treat that Director He... a little differently."

Cai Quanwu was taken aback, his hand frozen in mid-air: "Why is it different?"

Xu Huizhen shook her head, her voice even softer: "She never lets anyone get close to her, but today, the moment that person sat down, her face lit up—do you think there's something else going on?"

"You can't say things like that carelessly, or you'll get into trouble."

Cai Quanwu put down his wine spoon and gave serious instructions. The neighborhood committee kept a close eye on widows remarrying. After Xu Huizhen married him, Chen Xueru became the most conspicuous "unmarried woman" in Zhengyangmen, and all eyes were already fixed on her.

However, Chen Xueru remained unmoved by the neighborhood committee director's persuasion, her attitude almost cold and indifferent. She had just transferred her daughter's household registration back, and remarriage was encouraged rather than forced. After several unsuccessful attempts to persuade her, the neighborhood committee wisely gave up.

But if rumors spread that she was having an ambiguous relationship with any man, the director would immediately come to investigate—the people in the Zhengyangmen area are known for their seriousness and don't tolerate any ambiguity.

Not to mention that if these words were to leak out of Xu Huizhen's mouth, the two families would probably break off relations on the spot, with no room for reconciliation.

"I know what I'm doing; it's just pure guesswork, don't take it seriously..."

Xu Huizhen waved her hand and stopped talking about it, turning her attention to the jar of medicinal wine that Chen Xueru had mentioned a couple of days ago.

Meanwhile, Chen Xueru didn't bring He Yuzhu back to Xueru Silk Shop at all. The old married couple, reunited after so long, had no time to think about anything else.

She knew that it was extremely difficult for He Yuzhu to spend the night away from home, so she cherished every moment they spent together—but he was incredibly virile, leaving her completely exhausted every time, and it would take her two or three days to recover.

Once inside the courtyard house near Zhengyang Gate, He Yuzhu went straight to the west room, picked out several gift boxes that had been prepared beforehand, and handed them to Chen Xueru with a smile: "Xueru, these are for you and the children, see if you like them..."

"We haven't seen each other for a year, let's cook a good meal first!"

He glanced up and saw it was only past noon, then smiled and nudged the table, saying, "Wait a little longer, it's not lunchtime yet..."

"Stop pretending to be confused, you know perfectly well what I mean."

Chen Xueru's eyes sparkled, glistening with moisture, making one's heart itch. He Yuzhu immediately understood, and chuckled as he leaned closer: "Then today, I'll have to serve our Boss Chen well..." Before he finished speaking, he had already grabbed her plump and soft waist, lifted her up steadily, and walked towards the bed in the inner room.

Before long, the sound of the bed frame trembling and the quilt rustling could be heard from inside the room.

He didn't stop until the sun was setting and it was almost lunchtime; he let Chen Xueru rest against the pillow for a while, then tied on an apron and went into the kitchen.

Chen Xueru had wanted to see her daughter today, but Chen Zihui was being held tightly in her grandmother's hands. This time, Chen Xueru had specifically instructed her mother to keep a close eye on her, and even when her daughter was washing clothes, the old lady stood by and stared intently.

When her child turned five or six, the public-private partnership was about to end, and she could no longer work as the private sector manager, so she simply stayed home to take care of her child.

I really can't see her today, otherwise her mother would definitely come in with her, which would make the situation even more awkward.

So He Yuzhu focused all his attention on Chen Xueru, preparing a hot meal. The two ate leisurely and sat on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed) chatting casually. Chen Xueru suddenly remembered that she felt sticky, and since there was a large bathtub in the room, she said she wanted to take a bath.

After the water boiled, they both got into the tub. But as they soaked, their hands started to wander to places they shouldn't have touched. Before they finished their bath, they were already on the bed.

After several rounds of exertion, Chen Xueru was so exhausted that she could barely keep her eyes open and fell into a deep sleep. He Yuzhu didn't get up either, but instead pulled her into his arms and dozed off with her. There was too much time in the afternoon, so they couldn't go to Bai Danyu's place and would have to postpone it until next week.

He gave all four mink pelts to Chen Xueru, asking her to finish sewing two of them so he could pick them up next week and deliver them to Bai Danyu as well.

One was as bright and fiery as fire, the other as shy and gentle as spring. Chen Xueru and Bai Danyu each had their own unique charm, and he couldn't help but love them both. But if he had to choose who made his heart itch more, it would be Bai Danyu, who was afraid of being overheard, biting her lip tightly, but her body was trembling honestly. Just thinking about her made him want to tease her, coax her, and bully her.

But today, it didn't happen in the end.

In the evening, Qin Huairu returned to the courtyard house after get off work, and Jia Zhangshi immediately came up to her and told her all about Yi Zhonghai calling her to the hospital.

After a moment's thought, Qin Huairu asked Jia Zhangshi to cook first, while she went to the hospital.

Upon hearing that she was to be in charge of cooking, Madam Jia's face immediately fell, and her voice rose: "The daughters-in-law of the Jia family don't cook for their own husbands, but instead serve outsiders?" "Unfaithful to women!" "Disgracing the family!" She bombarded them with accusations one after another.

Qin Huairu's head was buzzing. Helpless, she had to go to the old lady's place to say hello and say that she would deliver the food later before turning around and going home to prepare dinner.