Courtyard House: Starting with a 28-inch motorcycle

He had already been punished for the "gun-breaking" incident—it was originally a minor matter, but several children of high-ranking officials abused their power for personal gain, and then He Yuzhu reported it to higher authorities, making the situation uncontrollable. As a result, three police officers and a deputy director were all dismissed; the three children were detained for half a month and expelled from school. This punishment was fair: the blame for abusing power should ultimately fall on the person in charge.

After the three are released, they'll most likely be transferred out of Beijing—being kicked out before finishing university means their path to becoming cadres is basically over. Trying to force their way back through connections? Difficult. He Yuzhu and several rivals are watching closely; anyone who dares to make a move will be immediately exposed. Unless they truly risk their lives and achieve some merit in the third-tier cities, they might not be able to turn their fortunes around.

These words came from Li Huaide's father-in-law, and He Yuzhu was finally relieved. Still not entirely at ease, he carefully reminded He Yushui: "Don't wander off at night, and make sure the door is locked securely."

Once the matter was settled, he took the initiative to visit the leaders who had spoken up for him and cooked a traditional home-style meal for them. Everyone ate with beaming smiles, and even the notoriously strict Director Zhang from the Foreign Trade Department, upon hearing that he was the one who cooked, surprisingly didn't refuse. Normally, he would simply walk away if someone else invited him to a meal; but he truly couldn't bear to refuse He Yuzhu's cooking—he agreed on the spot with a smile, and even insisted on getting a jar of sauce that could be stored for a long time, saying that it tasted best when wrapped in pancakes.

The relationship stabilized, and life returned to normal.

After resting at home for two days, He Yuzhu found an excuse to "cook for someone" and went to Chen Xueru's place first. His daughter was still there. This time, he patiently played with the child for the whole afternoon, and laughter never stopped.

But if he wants Lou Xiao'e to accept Chen Xueru and her daughter, he still has to wait. Not now; he has to wait until the storm before the reform and opening up has passed—back then, the momentum was too strong; they even dared to break into the general's mansion, and the young revolutionaries had long lost their sense of propriety. If he can cover it up, he'll cover it up for now.

Once things calmed down, he would probe little by little. But before that, he needed to win over Lou Xiao'e's heart. He already had a plan in mind: warming her with his body would be more effective than talking to her.

The two were too physically weak, and Lou Xiao'e was always the first to surrender. Whenever he pretended to be weak or uninterested, her guilt would slowly grow.

This method is a bit unethical, but right now, he really can't think of a second way.

A few days later, he found another excuse, greeted Lou Xiao'e, and then went straight to Bai Danyu's house.

As soon as the door opened, Bai Danyu's bright, watery eyes stared straight at him, even more eager than his own. He Yuzhu's heart fluttered at the sight, and he almost pulled her into his arms right there in the living room.

Hearing that Bai Ying had been safely delivered to her maternal grandparents' house, he could no longer restrain himself. He picked up Bai Danyu and carried her quickly into the inner room.

Bai Danyu gave a soft snort, her cheeks flushing, and said in a low, reproachful voice, "Yuzhu... the food isn't ready yet?"

"It's only ten o'clock, Sister Bai. Eat after you've finished exercising; that way your appetite will be better..."

Soon, a suppressed panting filled the room. The walls of the old house were thin, so she could only bite her lip tightly, covering her mouth with one hand and clutching the fabric of his shirt with the other. A few soft moans still escaped her lips occasionally—thankfully, there was a wall between them, so they couldn't be heard clearly from outside.

Afterwards, Bai Danyu collapsed in his arms, her face burning hot, her body weak, and she almost fainted; fortunately, she held on, otherwise that out-of-control soft call would surely have aroused suspicion from the neighbors.

If her affair with He Yuzhu were discovered, Bai Danyu would never be able to hold her head high again; knowing that he already had a family, she still insisted on getting together with him.

Let alone outsiders, even her own family would never agree!

"Yuzhu, your dad came to the factory to see me a couple of days ago, asking if I could arrange for two people to work there—it seems to be...your relatives."

Bai Danyu hesitated for a moment before speaking. Although He Daqing had specifically instructed her not to let her son know before leaving, her relationship with He Yuzhu was no longer that of ordinary colleagues. She was polite to He Daqing only because he was He Yuzhu's father; if it were anyone else, given her decisive and efficient manner in the factory, who would dare to approach her easily?

It was He Yuzhu's gradual approach and warming of her heart that made her lower her guard and truly accept him.

"Two people? I don't have any relatives in Beijing! Those two...could they also be surnamed Bai?"

He Yuzhu frowned, his face immediately darkening. He knew perfectly well what was going on—the He family line had long since died out, so where did all these distant relatives come from? He Daqing was jumping out to offer people this way, and doing so discreetly; he was probably up to no good.

Bai Danyu thought for a moment and said, "He didn't say it explicitly. I only said I needed to think about it some more, I didn't agree on the spot. Yuzhu, if you're really not willing, I won't force you—the factory recruits apprentices every year, and the number of openings is actually quite limited..."

"Ignore him." He Yuzhu waved his hand, his tone decisive. "You know my dad. He got cocky after just a couple of days of peace, and he's really taking advantage of people. Just tell him you can't do it, and I'll deal with him later."

He didn't want to appear weak in front of Sister Bai, but He Daqing was really clueless. Years ago, fearing being labeled as having a "bad class background," he fled to Baocheng overnight. He Yuzhu turned a blind eye because of his age. Later, he spent money and pulled strings to get him transferred back to Beijing, arranging a job and buying him a house, taking care of everything.

Now look what's happened, they've turned around and are making things worse again, even coming directly to Bai Danyu's place?

Wait a minute—what makes He Daqing dare to approach Bai Danyu? Last time they met, he only referred to her as a "friend." How dare this shameless old man ask his son's friend to send two people to the washing machine factory?

Could it be... that he has already realized his relationship with Bai Danyu?

"Don't worry about this, just pretend it never happened," He Yuzhu said in a low voice. "I'll talk to him about it myself later."

If he really came for Widow Bai's two sons, then he should just pack his bags and go back to Baocheng! He shouldn't have been soft-hearted in the first place and agreed to He Yushui's request—to let He Daqing live with Widow Bai in Baocheng to retire, which would have been much more peaceful.

Go if you want, don't go if you don't want to. Just want some peace and quiet. How wonderful!

After saying this, He Yuzhu got up and went into the kitchen, quickly preparing a hot meal; Bai Danyu then boiled water to wash herself. Now with the new stove, water boils very quickly, bubbling in just a few minutes, so even in the sweltering heat of December in Beijing, one can comfortably take a hot bath.

After the two had eaten and drunk their fill, Bai Danyu blushed and changed the sheets in the afternoon—even she herself was secretly shocked.

After tidying up, He Yuzhu sat at the Bai family's house for a while longer. When no one was around, he quietly slipped out. The lesson of being caught by Yu Li last time was still fresh in his mind, so this time he was extra careful, with sharp ears and eyes, able to detect the slightest movement. No one could watch him silently.

After leaving the Bai family's house, he pushed out his bicycle and pedaled home; passing by the supply and marketing cooperative, he bought a box of snacks, spending one grain coupon and five yuan.

He also loves mung bean cakes, which are sweet, soft, and chewy. Although they can't compare to the fancy ones I make myself, they're presentable enough as a gift.

But when he turned into the courtyard, the front yard was empty and deserted; but once he entered the middle yard, he saw a large crowd gathered there – even the residents of the back yard had squeezed in, as well as many neighbors from the outer yard.

Even more jarring was the sight of a group of people blocking his doorway, shouting at the top of their lungs:

"Zhang Shufen! Hand over my nephew! His mother is gone, he should be raised by me, his uncle. Who do you think you are?"

"Yes! Give my cousin back!"

Five or six men stood at the gate, all male, the youngest being seventeen or eighteen years old. Their voices were deafening as they pointed at the He family's gate and shouted insults. Yi Zhonghai tried to smooth things over, but his words were drowned out by the noise before he could finish speaking.

It was Old Wang and his son who stood guard by the door with wooden sticks, their brows furrowed and eyes stern, which kept the group from forcing their way in.

"What are you yelling about!"

A sharp shout rang out, and the courtyard fell silent instantly. The sound was so loud that even the sparrows on the nearby trees fluttered away.

Everyone turned around at once and saw that He Yuzhu had returned. Some people smirked and immediately adopted a look of watching the show.

Yi Zhonghai's face stiffened—he was the one who had orchestrated this whole thing: to have Yi Zhiliang's uncles take the child away while He Yuzhu was away. Who would have thought he'd return right on time!

He Yuzhu rushed forward in three strides, reached out and pulled, and the men who were shouting the loudest were caught off guard, slipped, and stumbled backward, falling into a heap with a "thump" and looking utterly disheveled.

"What?!"

"Damn it! He dares to lay a hand on me? Bro, beat him up!"

Seeing their brother fall, the two young men beside him immediately turned red with rage and lunged at him. But no matter how strong their country brute force was, in He Yuzhu's eyes they were nothing more than reckless donkeys—a slap that sent one of them spinning in place, a kick to the back of his knee, and the man cried out "Ouch!" and fell to his knees, clutching his stomach and gasping for breath.

If He Yuzhu hadn't shown mercy, that kick would have kept him bedridden for three months.

He swept his gaze coldly around the room, his voice like ice shards hitting the ground: "Blocking my doorstep and causing trouble, and you even dared to strike first? You've gone too far! Xiao Wang, go to the neighborhood committee and call the security team!"

Old Wang's son replied with a "Okay!" and took off running, disappearing in the blink of an eye.

Yi Zhonghai shouted anxiously, "Wang family boy! Come back! This is a family matter, no need to involve the government!"

But the kid's ears were stuffed with cotton; he didn't even turn his head and had already run out of the alley.

He Yuzhu knew in his heart that this matter was probably related to Yi Zhonghai again—otherwise he would have gone back to his house to eat melon seeds and watch the show; he glanced at Yi Zhonghai, picked up his snack box, and turned to leave.

The people from the neighborhood committee hadn't arrived yet, so he needed to find out the whole story first!

"Yuzhu, you're finally back!"

Lou Xiao'e's face turned pale with anger as soon as he entered. She hurriedly said, "A group of people suddenly appeared outside, claiming to be Xiao Zhiliang's relatives. As soon as they came in, they started shouting that they wanted to take him away. They even got into a scuffle with an old lady! They almost tried to forcibly take him, but luckily the old lady was quick-witted and grabbed Zhiliang, pulling him into our house, which prevented them from succeeding..."