Courtyard House: Starting with a 28-inch motorcycle

"Hey, it's nothing!" He Yuzhu waved his hand. "Go to his house and cook for the relatives."

Turning his head, he saw that Ma Hua's empty seat was still there. He frowned and asked, "Where's that kid? The sun's high in the sky and he still hasn't shown his face?"

Master Liu scoffed, "I took a day off! I asked Director Zhang for a day off to accompany Liu Lan to the countryside to deliver the betrothal gifts."

He Yuzhu sneered inwardly: Good thing you got away quickly! Otherwise... humph!

Old Zhao, who was kneading dough nearby, suddenly interjected, "What a coincidence! Yesterday, as soon as Ma Hua opened his mouth, Director Zhang's face darkened, and he launched into a tirade!"

He Yuzhu was taken aback: This kid has been here for over a year and hasn't even asked for sick leave, so why did he get scolded as soon as he opened his mouth?

Master Liu couldn't hold back and burst out laughing: "I could have kept it to myself if you hadn't brought it up! But hearing about it makes me want to slap my thigh!"

He Yuzhu was completely bewildered: "What exactly happened?"

Master Liu and Master Zhao exchanged a glance, immediately becoming interested, and began to perform on the spot—

Ma Hua (rubbing his hands): "Director Zhang, I'd like to take a day off tomorrow..."

Director Zhang (raising his eyelids, his gaze sharp as a knife): "Oh? You're something else—tell me, how many times has this happened?"

Ma Hua (looking bewildered): "I just want to take one day off..."

Director Zhang (sneered): "Playing dumb? I saw with my own eyes that your cuffs were covered in wheat grains and your trouser legs were stained with mud—do you think I'm blind about the dowry thing?"

MCA (panicked): "I...I'll just ask for leave!"

Director Zhang (slamming his fist on the table): "You're being stubborn, aren't you? Tomorrow at the factory-wide meeting, you'll go up there and give a self-criticism!"

Ma Hua (stomping her feet in frustration): "No, no, no! It's just that I secretly ate a cold steamed bun a couple of days ago! I'll pay for it! I'll pay for it right away!" As she spoke, she actually started wiping away tears.

Director Zhang (with an even deeper sneer): "Steamed bun? I'm talking about your new clothes! You dare to play the switcheroo right under my nose? Just you wait! I'll call the security department right now, and you can argue with them!"

The other cooks nearby were immediately thrown into disarray—this was no joke! If the security department were to be alerted, they would likely be in trouble! Everyone crowded around, trying to smooth things over and offering ways to save face, managing to quell the commotion right there by the stove.

Director Zhang finally believed that the clothes were indeed lent to Ma Hua with He Yuzhu's approval.

Director Zhang sighed and pointed at Ma Hua's nose: "Watch your mouth from now on, and stop sneaking around eating steamed buns! You kid, you're really putting me in a difficult position—if I'm being too harsh, he just offered me a cigarette; if I'm being too lenient, you've already tricked his apprentice over a steamed bun, where do I put my face now?"

He Yuzhu leaned against the door frame, watching as about twenty workers took turns acting out a "catching thief" scene, as if he were watching an open-air theater. He shook his head inwardly: These people must be so bored they're practically growing weeds in their bones. How many times have they rehearsed? They act more convincingly than it's the real thing.

He Yuzhu rolled his eyes and didn't reply.

Factory Director Yang suddenly pushed the door open and rushed in.

"This year's factory anniversary performance will feature your bunch of clowns from the canteen!" Factory Director Yang burst out laughing before he finished speaking.

The words had barely left his mouth when everyone scattered like startled sparrows. Caught red-handed slacking off, who dared to even breathe loudly? They frantically flipped pots, wiped the stove, and sorted vegetable leaves, even the dishcloth flicking out of their wakes.

Factory Director Yang walked straight up to He Yuzhu, patted him on the shoulder, and pulled him out of the kitchen.

"I left in such a hurry yesterday that I left you there. I'm really sorry," the factory manager said sincerely. "Please don't hold it against me."

The factory manager personally came to apologize, so how could He Yuzhu dare to be stern? He wasn't an unreasonable hothead; the manager had no intention of ignoring him.

"Don't mention it!" He Yuzhu grinned. "I should thank you for forgetting me—at least I got to experience the 'leadership treatment' for a while."

After exchanging a few polite words, Factory Director Yang waved and left. He Yuzhu turned around and went back to the stove, getting back to work with the oil, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar.

Master Liu leaned closer and lowered his voice: "Master He, the factory manager didn't find anything wrong with you, did he?"

"I'm praising you!" He Yuzhu winked.

Everyone in the kitchen understood immediately—it sounded like a compliment, but it was actually a death knell. Who didn't know that Ma Hua was constantly being "praised" by He Yuzhu? Everyone immediately sped up, chopping meat twice as fast, and even their hands were splashing water while washing vegetables.

When getting lunch—

Worker A, chopsticks dangling from his mouth, said, "Have you heard? Qin Huairu's machine malfunctioned yesterday, and she was taken to the hospital. She's probably seriously injured."

Worker B frowned: "How is it? Is it alright?"

"My leg is in a cast, so I won't be able to run for a few days. Luckily, I didn't injure any bones or tendons."

"Sigh... Her family was already struggling to make ends meet, and now this is making things even worse."

"That's right! We just saw Xu Dajun off, and now... sigh!"

He Yuzhu listened, but his hands didn't stop. He steadily scooped up the food, one spoonful at a time, and then let it go, not taking it to heart.

As I entered the compound after get off work in the evening, just as I stepped over the threshold, Uncle San greeted me: "Shazhu! Uncle Yi is calling a compound-wide meeting. Put your things down and hurry over!"

Every household brought out their small stools and flocked to the open space in the central garden.

From afar, one could see Qin Huairu sitting next to the three old men, her right foot wrapped in a snow-white cast, Huaihua in her arms, and Xiao Dang holding Banggeng's hand. The family was as silent as an old painting.

An old man cleared his throat: "There's only one thing today—Qin Huairu's family is in trouble, and now she's suffered a work injury. The workshop investigated and found that she was partly to blame for the injury. The factory will only reimburse her medical expenses and won't cover anything else. She can only return to work after she recovers. So please lend a hand, give money if you have it, or contribute food if you have it, to help her and her children get through this difficult time."

Uncle Er immediately chimed in, "A close neighbor is worse than a distant relative. If you lend a hand today, others will remember your kindness tomorrow!"—Before he finished speaking, he had already straightened his back, as if afraid that no one would miss a glance at him.

He Yuzhu sneered inwardly: Who came up with this idea? It's brilliant!

Anyone can spout a few nice words.

The old man had already clipped his pen to his breast pocket, spread his notebook out on the table, and unscrewed the ink bottle cap: "Those who donate money or grain, come here to register! Remember it clearly, so that when the children grow up, they will know the kindness of the neighbors."

The crowd fell silent.

No one moved, and no one uttered a sound. The air was so thick you could hear the insects chirping.

……

Seeing that no one was taking the lead, Qin Huairu lowered her eyes, twisting the hem of her clothes with her fingers, her face ashen as if covered with a layer of old cotton wool.

Seeing that things weren't going well, an older man decided to step forward himself. He pulled out five yuan and shoved it into the younger man's hand: "I'll take the lead and donate five yuan. Everyone should donate what they can; donating more or less is not mandatory."

Once it started, some people turned around and ran home to carry rice, while others took out banknotes and held them in their hands, hesitatingly moving forward.

Xu Damao swaggered over and pulled out a dollar: "I'll donate one dollar."

Seeing that the time was right, He Yuzhu didn't hesitate and raised his voice: "Bang Geng, when you grow up, remember your mother's suffering! Third Uncle, I'll donate two yuan!"

He spoke frankly, but secretly thought: "These two yuan are enough to buy three pounds of pork belly."

Qin Huairu held the locust flower in her arms, holding Xiao Dang's hand in one hand and Bang Geng's hand in the other. Every time someone came, she would lower her head and whisper "thank you," her voice as soft as a feather falling to the ground.

After they had donated enough, the three older women and the one older woman helped her up on either side and slowly walked her home.

After everyone dispersed, He Yuzhu passed by Jia Zhangshi's door and saw her radiant face and brisk steps, and inwardly he scoffed:

He spent the whole day working for others, what else could he do?

Looking back, I did a rough calculation: there were more than 30 households, with a total of about 100 jin of grain and a little over 20 yuan in cash.

If the factory keeps getting "injured" every few days, what's the point of working?

Madam Jia was keeping watch by Qin Huairu's bedside, bringing her water and tucking her in, busy as a bee, showing no signs of fatigue despite being over fifty years old.

Although Qin Huairu was lying down, she continued to receive her salary; plus this pile of rice and flour money, it was more substantial than a month's salary.

He Yuzhu went back inside to start a fire and cook.

While I was cooking, He Yushui pushed the door open and came in.

"Brother, I heard Sister Qin fell and injured herself at the factory?"

"Don't even mention it, this time the injury was well worth it."

"Brother! What are you saying... Is it easy for Sister Qin, a single woman, to support the whole family?"

"Easy? One injury she suffers is equivalent to a full month of working at the factory. Do you think it's easy or not?"

He Yushui was taken aback: "What do you mean, bro?"

"Anyway, you should—stay away from this family." He Yuzhu was too lazy to explain any further.

"Brother, what nonsense are you talking about!" He Yushui's voice was tense. "When Brother Weiguo was alive, he helped us buy tickets and borrow money without hesitation! His family just had a disaster, and this is how you treat him? You weren't like this before!"

"And when I was in school, I was short of money for books, and people lent them to me without hesitation—we can't be ungrateful!"

He Yuzhu: "There are some things I just can't explain to you. I already donated the money; last time she came to borrow grain, I carried a bag of flour to her house without saying a word; and I've paid off Jia Weiguo's debt in full. Once you graduate and start working, how you want to help her is your business—but her family and I can only be nodding acquaintances as neighbors. She's a widow, and I'm an unmarried man. If we get too close, the neighbors will gossip and chew you up to dust."

He Yushui didn't reply, but kept eating the rice in her bowl, her heart churning. Lately, her brother seemed like a different person, cold and unapproachable.

She didn't believe in the idea of ​​"out of sight, out of mind"—her brother and Wei Guo used to be like brothers, sitting at the courtyard gate drinking a couple of ounces of tea and chatting for half the night. But now, she couldn't get involved in this matter, and she was too lazy to argue anymore. Arguing would only hurt the bond between her own flesh and blood.

The dining table was so quiet you could hear the soft clinking of chopsticks against the rim of the bowl. Both of them buried their heads in their food, neither speaking a word.

After finishing her meal, He Yushui put down her chopsticks, turned around and went out the door, heading straight for Qin Huairu's house.

"Sister Qin, I'm still in school and short on money. This is just one yuan. Please keep it; it's a small token of my appreciation."

"Oh, thank you for the rain! Would you like to sit down and have some hot soup before you go?"

"No, I just ate at home. I hope you get well soon."

She gently closed the door and walked heavily back to her room without looking back.

How could He Yuzhu dare get involved in this mess? Once he reached out, he might never be able to pull his hand back. Besides, her two kids were as slippery as monkeys; anyone who got involved would be doomed!

……