Courtyard House: Starting with a 28-inch motorcycle

He Yuzhu immediately understood: this wasn't a family reunion, but a trip to take the child away.

The orphanage initially adopted Zhiliang simply because the child was handsome and they felt a connection with him. Although they knew that the mother and son had come to Beijing to stay with relatives, the orphanage had already exhausted all possible leads—they asked the neighborhood committee to conduct door-to-door inquiries for several months, but in the end, they had to give up.

Now that the household registration is settled, and the child has been growing up under the care of an older woman for several years, even calling her "Mom" in a clear and sweet voice, how can she just take her away like that?

"Yuzhu, please help me... I was wrong before, but now I'm only focused on raising Zhiliang! I'm so sorry..."

The middle-aged woman was so flustered that she couldn't speak coherently; right now, she only had He Yuzhu to rely on.

He Yuzhu reassured him in a deep voice, "Don't worry, the adoption procedures are all in order. Zhiliang is your biological son. It's a done deal, and no one can change that."

"But they really are Zhiliang's relatives! The one leading them is his cousin..."

The older woman said this, but in her heart she still held onto the old saying: blood is thicker than water, and no one is closer than the other. She wasn't the only one with this thought; eight out of ten neighbors thought the same way.

But He Yuzhu, with his sharp eyes, quickly noticed something was off about this group—they seemed restless, their words riddled with inconsistencies, suggesting they had ulterior motives. He lowered his voice and said, "Don't panic. Their intentions are suspicious; they may not really be here for the children. When the street office director arrives, tell the truth, without embellishing or concealing a single word."

After saying that, he looked down at Yi Zhiliang. The child had only been in school for a short time, and the new clothes he was wearing were bought with ten yuan plus a few feet of cloth coupons. His entire outfit cost at least thirty yuan.

His small hands gripped the hem of the older woman's clothes tightly, his knuckles white, his eyes fixed on the doorway, as if afraid he would be kidnapped if he let go. Even if the neighborhood committee director stepped through the door, he knew where to hide and whose arms to snuggle into.

As soon as He Yuzhu stepped out of the courtyard gate, the group of people turned around in unison, their eyes slicing over him like knives—their ribs were still slightly numb from being subdued by him earlier.

One of the men, a middle-aged man with a fierce expression, stepped forward, his voice so loud it made the walls tremble: "Comrade, I'm picking up my nephew, what right do you have to stop me? Even if you're an official, you can't just cover up everything!"

This person had clearly figured out He Yuzhu's background. Someone who could develop such a fierce appearance during the years when food rations were scarce was definitely not a law-abiding individual.

"Yes! Does that give officials the right to act arrogantly?"

"Sue him! Go to the factory and report him! Let's see if the leaders are above the law!"

"Sue! Uncle, we must sue! City people bullying country people is an outrage!"

The crowd immediately joined in the commotion, chattering away as if He Yuzhu had robbed their ancestral graves.

"Tell them? Hurry up! I'm afraid you won't come! Don't know the way? Let that level 5 fitter over there show you. Hongxing Steel Rolling Mill, remember that—I'm He Yuzhu, don't go to the wrong place!"

He Yuzhu suddenly raised his hand and pointed, his voice booming like a bell, instantly silencing the entire audience.

"Louderity doesn't give you the upper hand! Where's your letter of introduction? Where's your proof? Show it to me! You think you can just lead people away with your mouth? I could say the mud on your shoes was stolen! Listen up—the security team is on their way, one person, one ID, on the spot, no one can get away with this!"

Upon hearing this, the crowd fell silent for a moment. Everyone suddenly realized: these people had been shouting "relatives" as soon as they entered, but from beginning to end, neither their household registration book nor the letter of introduction stamped by the commune had ever been shown.

Old Wang was the first to react, immediately chiming in, "Exactly! Where's the letter of introduction? He says he's a relative, but if I said I'm his uncle, would you believe me?"

"Could this be child abduction?"

The faces of everyone in the courtyard suddenly darkened. In those days, human traffickers targeted children, stealing them and transporting them out of the city. Of those they found, only one in ten survived. The neighbors would grit their teeth whenever they talked about it.

"Who said they're Zhiliang's relatives? Show us the evidence!"

"It looks like Uncle San... Teacher Yan?"

Upon hearing this, Yan Bugui broke out in a cold sweat and hurriedly waved his hands, "Everyone has misunderstood! I heard it from Lao Yi. I only asked a couple of questions casually at the time, and Lao Yi patted his chest and guaranteed it, so I didn't investigate further... It really has nothing to do with me!"

If they are really labeled as human traffickers, the Yan family will likely be vilified and unable to hold their heads up in this area.

Seeing this, Yi Zhonghai quickly tried to salvage the situation: "I've checked the letter of introduction; it was indeed issued by the commune on the outskirts of Beijing, that's right..."

There was a letter, but only one, held by that burly man. Why would the commune issue seven or eight letters of introduction for people to enter the city? The whole thing seemed strange.

The leader of the Li family turned pale. He was trembling with fear after being confronted by He Yuzhu's questions, especially when he heard that the security team was really coming. He panicked and blurted out, "You wait! I'll report you! I think you're the human trafficker who tried to kidnap my nephew to sell for money!"

Before the words were even finished, someone in the courtyard couldn't help but burst out laughing—having been neighbors with the He family for so many years, they had never gained the slightest advantage, but everyone knew that the He family's life was unique in the entire courtyard.

In his early years, He Yuzhu was a second-level cook, earning a higher salary than a seventh-level fitter. Later, he became the canteen director and then the logistics director. Although his current salary is confidential, it is clear to everyone that he has long surpassed an eighth-level fitter by leaps and bounds.

Why would a family like that need to steal children to make money?

He Yuzhu curled his lips into a sneer, raising his hand to point directly at the middle-aged man from the Li family: "I'll say it again—if you want to sue, go ahead! If the factory won't handle it, go to the district; if the district won't help, the city will! I'm upright and honest, what am I afraid of? It's the guilty ones who dare not stand before the government!"

As soon as these words were spoken, a chorus of agreement immediately arose from all around. In those days, the government was like heaven; if you had any problems, going to the government was always the right thing to do!

No sooner had He Yuzhu finished speaking than the young man from the Wang family arrived with the street office's security team, accompanied by the newly transferred Deputy Director Zhang. Upon hearing that He Yuzhu had sent someone to call for him, he volunteered without hesitation to handle the situation personally.

"What are you all doing here? What happened?"

Deputy Director Zhang pushed through the crowd into the central garden, his brow furrowed as he raised his voice to ask. He had only brought four security guards with him, and although they each carried a gun, with such a large group of people in front of him, no one could be sure what would happen if things really got out of hand.

"Director He, you're the one who sent us, right? Please tell us what happened?"

Yi Zhonghai took a step forward, about to speak, but Deputy Director Zhang didn't even glance at him. His gaze fell directly on He Yuzhu, and his tone was crisp and decisive.

He Yuzhu didn't hesitate, stepping forward and speaking in a clear voice: "Director Zhang, a few years ago, Aunt Zhang from our neighborhood—who is also Yi Zhonghai's wife—adopted a child from the orphanage. Director Wang personally handled the paperwork back then. Today, this group of people suddenly showed up, claiming to be Yi Zhiliang's cousin's family, and insisted on taking the child away. But they have neither a letter of introduction nor any other proof—I suspect they are child traffickers!"

Deputy Director Zhang's face darkened, his gaze sweeping over the Li family like a knife. He then demanded sharply, "Where's the letter of introduction? Where do you live? You claim to be relatives, where's the proof?"

Li Degan—Yi Zhiliang's cousin—pale slightly, hesitated, then pulled out a yellowed piece of paper and handed it over, explaining with a dry laugh, "Sir, this is a letter of introduction from the commune... As for other documents, it's been too long; they wouldn't have survived. But this child is truly my nephew!"

"You saying yes doesn't count." Deputy Director Zhang's tone suddenly turned cold and hard. "Without any evidence, you just point at a child and call him 'my nephew.' If all the neighbors come to claim kinship, what will our neighborhood committee do? Will we even be able to keep our word?"

He looked down and examined the letter of introduction closely: it was indeed issued by a commune in the suburbs of Beijing, with a clear red stamp, but the signature only listed Li Degan's name.

"Are they all from the same commune as you?"

Li Degan nodded sheepishly: "Yes, yes, they're all fellow villagers. When they heard my nephew had been found, everyone was eager to help..."

Deputy Director Zhang stared at him and said, word by word, "Comrade, I must remind you—you need to provide solid evidence to prove that you are indeed this child's uncle. Otherwise, this constitutes a mob abduction, a very serious matter!"

"Oh, boss, don't worry, I have it! I really have it!" Li Degan hurriedly pulled out another piece of paper, which Yi Zhonghai had secretly given him—it was a clue left by the orphanage back then, with the old address written by Yi Zhiliang's birth mother printed on it.

"Look, this is my old address in the city. But things got tough, so I went back to the countryside..."

Deputy Director Zhang took it and examined it; the address was clear, and the orphanage's official seal was genuine. He turned to the older woman, his tone softening, "Ma'am, have you come over to take a look too?"

The older woman hesitated, then instinctively looked at He Yuzhu. Seeing this, he had no choice but to step forward: "Director Zhang, let me do it. I accompanied Aunt Zhang when she applied for adoption years ago."

"Okay, Director He, you can identify it."

He Yuzhu took the document and glanced at it, his mind immediately clear—he had seen this address with his own eyes years ago. But the more he confirmed it, the more suspicious it seemed: if Li De truly cared about his nephew, he would have set out to find him long ago. Why wait until the child had spent almost a year in the orphanage and several more years with Aunt Zhang before finally showing up? Even more suspicious was that out of more than a dozen orphanages in Beijing, how did he manage to find this one? If it weren't for Yi Zhonghai's secret guidance, who would know where the child came from?

He raised his eyes, his tone calm: "Director Zhang, there's nothing wrong with the note itself. But there are two things we need to clarify: First, we need to take Li Degan to that address in person to verify his identity with the neighborhood committee and his old neighbors; second, Yi Zhiliang's household registration has already been settled, and the child has long since started calling Aunt Zhang 'Mom'—is it proper to insist on taking him away now?"

Deputy Director Zhang frowned as he listened.

The adoption procedures were finalized, and several years have passed, but this person just had to jump out and cause trouble today, clearly trying to make things difficult.

"Okay, I'll take him to verify his identity first. Director He is right, secondly, we'll discuss this after his identity is confirmed."