Courtyard House: Starting with a 28-inch motorcycle

The deaf old lady squinted, her lips curled up, and she smiled so much that the wrinkles around her eyes crinkled – she was delighted by the glistening roast duck and the perfectly balanced pork knuckle on the table.

As people get older, they shouldn't crave such greasy foods, but some people say: "At this age, you should eat whatever you want." She's over sixty; how many more days of comfortable life can she possibly have?

"If you don't mind me bothering you, I'll come to keep you company every month from now on."

Yi Zhonghai smiled and sat down. As soon as he finished speaking, the deaf old lady understood the unspoken meaning—

She's here to ask for advice. As long as her old bones can still be of help, she can have meat every month as usual.

Otherwise, this old woman, who is on welfare, would have a hard time saving up enough food coupons to buy roast duck, let alone roast duck, with just a monthly subsidy of six yuan. Half a duck and a pound of pork knuckle cost at least five or six yuan, which is equivalent to her entire month's food expenses.

The old lady chuckled and replied, "Xiao Yi, our two families live close by; we're practically from the same vine, so we should lend each other a hand."

"Exactly! If everyone in a family has their own agenda, how can they live together? Don't you think so?"

Yi Zhonghai sighed, then changed the subject: "Grandma, what do you think of Yi Zhiliang, that boy?"

The deaf old woman paused slightly, realizing what he was implying—he was indirectly asking her to persuade the older woman. But the words stuck in her throat, difficult to utter.

The meat that Yi Zhonghai brought was delicious, but she relied entirely on her skillful hands to prepare her three meals a day, change her clothes, and mend her clothes.

Her bound feet made it impossible for her to lift buckets of water or scrub clothes. In winter, she would be out of breath even washing two thick cotton-padded coats. The bedding and sheets were all arranged by an older woman.

When the old lady adopted Yi Zhiliang, she was particularly wary of her, fearing that the money Yi Zhonghai sent back would be misappropriated—otherwise, she and the old lady would have lived a much more comfortable life.

Because of Yi Zhiliang's arrival, the old lady's meals were quietly reduced, and she often muttered to herself: He Yuzhu has really changed...

If we had arranged for him to retire early on, and three generations of the family could have lived together in one place, we wouldn't be in this predicament today.

"Grandma, that boy isn't on my side at all. He avoids me like the plague. I will never adopt him, let alone let the name 'Yi Zhiliang' be added to my family's household register!"

Yi Zhonghai stated unequivocally that he wanted a dutiful and considerate elder, but Yi Zhiliang's appearance—with his shifty eyes and back taut like a fully drawn bow—was exactly like an untamed wolf cub, impossible to tame or control.

"Grandma, if the home is in turmoil, all the success outside is meaningless. How can we live with chaos inside?"

Upon hearing this, the deaf old woman paused, her chopsticks hovering in mid-air. After a long while, she slowly put them down, let out a long sigh, and looked at Yi Zhonghai, saying, "Little Yi, if you want to send this child away gracefully without giving anyone cause for gossip, you have to pry open a crack with his relatives..."

Yi Zhonghai's eyes suddenly lit up, and he leaned forward slightly: "Grandma, you mean...?"

"First, find out if he really doesn't have parents. Nine times out of ten, orphans in Beijing got into trouble on their way to find relatives. If this kid can wander around the city, he probably still has relatives here. If you ask around quietly, you might just bump into the real deal."

After the deaf old lady finished speaking, she lowered her head and began to gnaw on the pig's head meat.

The last time he ate meat was when he casually picked up a small packet of braised pork hock while exchanging grain coupons for meat coupons. Today, this roast duck paired with perfectly balanced lean and fatty pork head meat went straight down his throat, satisfying and comforting. Yi Zhonghai also felt relieved—the old saying, "Having an elder in the family is like having a treasure," is truly not an exaggeration; he had cleared up the deadlock in just a few words.

As long as Yi Zhiliang's blood relatives come knocking and are determined to take him back, the neighborhood committee has no reason to stop them. In this day and age, blood ties are an ironclad rule, and there are precedents for similar cases: the year before last, the adopted son from the cotton mill was taken away the very day his maternal uncle showed up.

An older woman had advised him against it long ago, and he had considered it as well. But he kept thinking about those old stories of children who turned on him after being raised—some absconded with their inheritance, some turned their backs on him, and some wouldn't even sweep his grave. He had seen too much of it with his own eyes. How could he dare entrust his later years to a brat who cowered before him? He wouldn't spend a penny of his retirement money, and he would cut back on food as much as possible. If he could actually send him away, he would be extremely grateful.

Now that the deaf old lady had pulled this trick, he finally felt a weight lifted from his shoulders. He figured he could spend some money to have someone investigate thoroughly and probably find out the truth about Yi Zhiliang.

With his mind at ease, he smiled, raised his glass, and clinked it with the deaf old lady's. The roast duck's crispy skin was coated in sauce, and the pig's head meat was tender and chewy. How long had it been since he had tasted this flavor? Right now, he had been demoted to a level five worker, earning just over sixty yuan a month. This meal was a real treat for himself.

"Sister Bai, you rest well, I'm leaving now."

He Yuzhu watched as Bai Danyu's legs trembled slightly, yet he still clung to the doorframe, determined to see him off. He couldn't help but chuckle softly.

After not seeing each other for over a year, they immediately snuggled into bed upon their reunion. Bai Danyu exuded a voluptuous charm reminiscent of a ripe peach, and He Yuzhu couldn't resist. As soon as lunch was over, the two were inseparable, continuing their playful antics until Xiao Baiying rubbed her eyes and got up in the afternoon, at which point he reluctantly stopped.

"Let's hurry up, drive carefully..."

Bai Danyu's cheeks were still flushed and her legs were still weak. He Yuzhu reacted quickly and caught her elbow.

"Sister Bai, go back to your room and lie down! Don't bother with dinner. If you don't get enough rest, you can wash the dishes tomorrow..."

"It's all your fault..."

She gave him a shy, reproachful look, her voice barely audible: "Okay, Yuzhu... you should go back now."

He Yuzhu nodded, turned and left. The alley was bustling with people; bumping into her would be troublesome. Only after Bai Danyu clicked the door shut did he begin to walk, pushing his bicycle towards the street corner.

Just as I stepped onto the pedals, a clear voice called out from behind me—

"Director He?"

He turned his head and saw Yu Li. He was immediately stunned and slammed on the brakes: "Yu Li? What are you doing here?"

"Isn't this the staff quarters of the washing machine factory? A couple of days ago, the leaders needed to make bed sheets, but they were completely lost with the needlework, so they asked me to lend a hand. I just finished collecting the needlework..."

After casually explaining, Yu Li tilted her head and smiled, "Director He, what is this...?"

"I'm here to visit a friend who also lives here."

His heart skipped a beat, fearing she had stumbled upon something, but her tone suggested she was completely unaware. He could only probe calmly, "How are you going to get home later?"

Yu Li smiled and said, "It'll only take a short while by bus..."

Why take the bus? I'll give you a ride.

Her gaze swept over the back seat of his car, a slight tremor running through her heart—the bus route involved two detours, and she'd probably be back by seven or eight o'clock; cycling would only take twenty minutes at most. But what if someone saw them…

"Okay, thank you very much, Director He!"

After a moment's thought, she readily agreed. Since she was currently staying at the He family's house, it was only natural for her to hitch a ride.

"Just call her by her name! You and Xiao'e are good sisters. When I was away from home, I was really grateful that you took care of her. Otherwise, I was afraid she wouldn't have been able to handle it all by herself."

"Don't mention it! If anyone should be thanking someone, it's Xie Xiao'e. I wasn't selected for the factory's housing allocation, and if it weren't for her taking me in, I really wouldn't know where to sleep..."

Before she finished speaking, she had already nimbly leaped onto the back seat. Just as she got close to He Yuzhu's back, a faint fragrance suddenly wafted into her nose—was it soap? No…it seemed more like the shower gel that Lou Xiao'e usually used.

She thought about it for a moment and then stopped thinking about it. Actually, it was Bai Danyu's scent. He Yuzhu brought back quite a bit from Hong Kong Island, and Chen Xueru was using it too.

"The washing machine factory is profitable, and the staff housing project will definitely start in four or five years. You're a veteran employee, so you're almost certain to get a place in the housing allocation..."

He Yuzhu pedaled and chatted as he rode. No one knew better than him how popular this factory was—Zhenghe Group acted as its distributor, and Zhenghe Laundry Factory kept a close eye on the books. As soon as the semi-automatic washing machine, a somewhat trendy gadget, hit the market, it was snapped up: orders were being placed in Hong Kong and Southeast Asia, and even John Bull had his eye on it, sending emails to place orders every few days.

The washing machine factory has been operating at full capacity year after year, with orders piling up so fast that products are loaded onto trucks and shipped out as soon as they come off the production line, leaving no room for inventory. At this rate, the factory will have to be demolished and rebuilt within three to five years; with such strong profits, year-end bonuses are definitely in order.

Having worked there for so many years, Yu Li is considered a veteran of the factory, and if housing is allocated, there's a good chance her name will be on the list.

"He...Zhu Zi, was that leader just now the deputy factory director who assigned me to this position?"

Yu Li wanted to call him "Director He," but she swallowed the words back—calling him by his full name would be too formal, while calling him "Yuzhu" would be too intimate. After thinking it over, she decided to compromise and call him "Zhuzi." People in the courtyard who were close to the He family usually called him that too; it sounded pleasant and didn't overstep any boundaries.

"Yes, he used to be in charge of personnel at the steel rolling mill, and later he was promoted to deputy factory director..."

He Yuzhu didn't elaborate. He was afraid of revealing his affair with Bai Danyu; he also didn't expect Yu Li to suddenly appear in the washing machine factory's cadre building—a place with few people and empty buildings, the factory hadn't really started operating yet, and there were only a handful of cadres, yet she still showed up.

Luckily, I didn't run into anyone I knew, otherwise how would I explain it to Lou Xiao'e when I got back?

He pedaled very fast, and Yu Li had to grab the back of his shirt to keep from being thrown off.

The journey was surprisingly efficient; we arrived at the entrance of Nanluoguxiang in less than an hour, saving half the time compared to taking the bus.

As soon as Yu Li jumped out of the car at the entrance of the courtyard house, she saw Yan Jiecheng lean out of the gate, his eyes wide open: "Yu Li? You...you came back in Sha Zhu's car?!"

"Yan Jiecheng, you want a beating, don't you? Who did you just call out to? Say it again!"

Before Yu Li could speak, He Yuzhu had already roared at her with a fierce look in his eyes. Yan Jiecheng froze on the spot—in terms of status, he was the logistics director of the steel rolling mill, in charge of hundreds of people, a real "big shot"; in terms of fists, one hit from him would leave him bedridden for three days.

He had only seen Yu Li nimbly jump out of He Yuzhu's car, her movements natural and intimate, and in a moment of anger, he lost his temper and acted rashly; now, after being scolded by He Yuzhu, his mind cleared instantly, and he dared not retort.