Courtyard House: Starting with a 28-inch motorcycle

The woman immediately stood up and darted out of the courtyard gate, her steps as light as if she were stepping on a spring.

An old man picked up the two children and turned to ask He Yuzhu, "Silly Zhu, figure out the amount for child support. We can't let Comrade Liu Lan suffer."

He Yuzhu rubbed his hands together: "She didn't mention it, I'll ask her tomorrow."

An old man grinned and said, "I'll go with you! In a couple of days, we'll go back to Liu Lan's hometown with her to meet relatives and exchange gifts!"

No sooner had the words left her mouth than an older woman burst through the door like a whirlwind, carrying a can of malted milk powder, panting and laughing: "You must be dreaming... but this can is heavy, it's the real deal!"

The two of them, one in front of the other, carried the child and ran home, their footsteps making the blue bricks tremble.

Back home, the malted milk powder had just been dissolved and the milky aroma hadn't even dissipated when an older woman hugged her daughter and asked, "Honey, what name are you going to give the baby?" — Only after the words left her mouth did she realize that the way she addressed the child had changed; she used to call him "old man," but now she just blurted out "his dad."

An old man chuckled and stroked his stubble: "We'll name our son Yi Jiye, and you can decide on our daughter."

An older woman lowered her head and kissed the little face in her arms, her voice as soft as cotton: "Let's call her Fangfang, it sounds festive."

An old man looked at the light streaming in through the window and let out a long sigh of relief: "From now on, we have something to look forward to."

An older woman gently patted the child's back, then suddenly looked up and asked, "What happened? Tell me quickly."

An old man lowered his voice: "Thanks to Sha Zhu for thinking of us! He asked his colleague Liu Lan to find us a child to take care of in our old age in the countryside... Who knew they'd give us a pair!"

The older woman nodded repeatedly: "Shazhu's kindness will be remembered for a lifetime! From now on, these two kids will have to call him brother."

An old man patted his pocket: "I'll bring some snacks to thank Comrade Liu Lan tomorrow. You take the child to the neighborhood office to register their household registration, don't delay."

An older woman held Fangfang tightly in her arms, her eyelids drooping, but she held on tightly, refusing to let go: "Okay! Don't worry about things at home, I don't even want to sleep."

Then he remembered something and slapped his thigh in frustration: "Oh dear! Why didn't I buy those two padded jackets from the supply and marketing cooperative today? I've been saving up cloth coupons for three years! I should have listened to Sha Zhu and prepared them in advance!"

……

He Yushui stepped into the courtyard, her voice clear and bright: "Brother! It's all over the place—they say you started a relationship and then abandoned your wife and children, and some woman came knocking on our door with her baby! Where are my two nephews? Bring them out so I can see them!"

It turned out that no one stopped Liu Lan when she came in carrying the child, and she left alone. The old ladies at the entrance of the alley were eating melon seeds and gossiping about it.

He Yuzhu picked up a piece of pickled radish with his chopsticks and said slowly, "Nephew? Gone. But my uncle's family has gained a pair of children."

He Yushui was taken aback: "Huh? Tell me quickly! My mouth is sealed tight!"

He Yuzhu slammed the spatula on the stove: "It's not like it's anything shady—I asked my colleague Liu Lan to help an old man in his hometown find a child to take care of him. Who knew that without saying a word, they would send over a pair of twins."

He Yushui said "Oh," feeling relieved: it turned out to be a warm-up. She was happy for the older woman—she could stand up straight now, and who would dare say she didn't have a son? He was her own flesh and blood!

She put down her chopsticks and ran to the backyard.

"Hey auntie! I've come to see my younger brother and sister!"

An older woman whispered, "She just fell asleep and cried herself to sleep. Don't wake her."

He Yushui squatted by the bedside, reaching out to touch Fangfang's little hand, but the older woman immediately pressed her wrist gently: "Don't move her yet, let her sleep soundly."

After chatting for a while, He Yushui suddenly remembered: "I don't have class tomorrow, so I'll knit a sweater for the two kids."

The older woman smiled and nodded, "Then I'll have to trouble the rain."

The next day

He Yuzhu had just stepped out of the courtyard gate with his lunchbox when he saw an older woman holding a baby in each arm, gently rocking them to sleep under a locust tree, humming a tuneless melody. An older man squatted beside her, his eyes crinkling with laughter, and reached out to take the child. The woman immediately dodged to the side, laughing and spitting at him, "You're too rough, don't scare them!"

Whenever they bumped into neighbors taking an early morning stroll, an older woman would always pull the two children forward, introducing them with great enthusiasm: "My son, my daughter!" Those who heard this would be dumbfounded—wasn't everyone saying that Sha Zhu had adopted them? How come they're her biological children now? Uncle San was probably kept in the dark, just spouting nonsense.

An old man pushed his bicycle alongside He Yuzhu toward the factory, the wheels making a soft thumping sound as they rolled over the bluestone pavement.

He Yuzhu lowered his voice: "Uncle, I've taken care of things with Liu Lan. I slipped her ten yuan, but she keeps taking leave, and I'm afraid it won't be easy for her to ask Director Zhang for help."

An old man waved his hand confidently: "It's all prepared! I asked Liu Lan to give Director Zhang a small gift while she's at it. That way, things will be settled smoothly."

An old man happened to bump into Liu Lan at the factory gate. He immediately went up to her, patted her on the shoulder, and shook her hand, thanking her warmly.

He Yuzhu seized the opportunity to ask, "Have you brought up the child support issue with them?"

Liu Lan smiled and said, "They said ten or twenty yuan is fine, they're not picky."

The old man immediately shook his head: "How can we be so hasty? I'll take a day off tomorrow and go with you to check the place out!" Before he finished speaking, he had already stuffed the wrapped paper package and a few bills into Liu Lan's hand.

Liu Lan weighed the weight in her hand and readily agreed, "Sure! I'll go with you again."

The three dispersed as soon as they entered: the old man turned towards the workshop, while He Yuzhu and Liu Lan headed towards the canteen.

Liu Lan didn't stop, heading straight for Director Zhang's office. She handed over the canned food and snacks the old man had given her, untouched, and quickly handed him a leave slip. Director Zhang flipped through the attendance book, frowned, and said, "You can take leave, but two yuan will be deducted from your salary according to the rules—this is the fifth time this month."

Liu Lan nodded in agreement, thinking to herself: deducting two yuan, I'll make a net profit of eight yuan, it's worth it!

……

At lunchtime, the area in front of the food stalls was crowded with people. He Yuzhu, wearing a white apron, was busy running around the window.

An old man rushed to the window, his voice booming, "Shazhu, give me three servings of meat dishes and six steamed buns!"

He Yuzhu immediately saw through the scheme—the old man was always frugal, eating vegetarian food with cornbread every meal. Judging from the amount of food he was carrying today, he was probably taking it back to nourish his child.

He quickly stopped him: "Sir, the child has a delicate stomach and hasn't had any oily food in years. Eating too much meat all at once might upset his stomach!"

Upon hearing this, the old man, his hand still hanging in mid-air, abandoned his steamed bun, turned and strode out, hopped on his bicycle, and pedaled straight towards the courtyard.

Today is the most triumphant day for this middle-aged woman.

As soon as it was light, she hoisted Fangfang onto her back, held Xiaobao in her arms, and greeted everyone with a beaming smile, saying, "My Dabao and Erbao!"

First, they registered their household at the neighborhood office, then plunged into the vegetable market. The elderly couple clutched their saved meat coupons, grain coupons, and cloth coupons, carefully selecting items along the way—seeing their child looking pale and thin, they felt heartbroken and smacked their lips, so they gritted their teeth and spent a dime to buy a pork bone to make soup at home; at the supply and marketing cooperative counter, they carried back three cans of malted milk powder in one go, and also bought cloth to make clothes and milk candy, their hands full, even the back seat of their bicycle was piled up like a small mountain.

Just then, I bumped into three elderly women at the entrance of the market. The two of them walked and chatted, laughing and talking all the way back to the courtyard.

The three women stared wide-eyed: not out of envy for the children—they had four babies crying for food; they were genuinely astonished—they used to count every drop of soy sauce when adding it, but today they were like completely different people! Looking at their own husbands' meager salaries, compared to the old man's, it was like there was a moat between them.

Just as I reached the courtyard gate, I suddenly heard a loud "ding-a-ling" behind me. An old man on a bicycle braked sharply in front of me, sweat beading on his forehead: "I finally made it!"

The older woman was taken aback: "Jiye's father, what you're doing..."

The third auntie rolled her eyes silently—even the way she addresses people has changed, tsk!

Without a word, the old man took Fangfang and tucked her into his arms, saying, "Shazhu told me that the child has been hungry for a long time and shouldn't eat too much meat, her stomach can't handle it!"

The three of them chatted and laughed as they walked inside, and the three older women offered to help carry the things to the door of the older woman's house.

An older woman quickly tore open the paper package, grabbed a handful of milk candies, and stuffed them into the hands of a younger woman, thanking her sincerely and earnestly.

The three aunties happily pocketed the candy and left, immediately thinking about steaming a couple more egg custards that night.

An older woman turned to an older man and said, "The old lady is very knowledgeable; I'll go ask her!"

The old man nodded repeatedly: "Go quickly and come back soon, don't let your two little darlings go hungry!"

Carrying the newly bought malted milk powder, she hurried to the old lady's house and told her everything about the child's condition.

The old lady heard about it yesterday and was overjoyed—Sha Zhu's move had truly filled the couple's hopes for the rest of their lives.

She slowly opened her eyes: "Make some clear bone broth and feed it to the baby for three or four days. Once the baby's appetite has improved, then you can add meat. Sha Zhu is right. If the baby swallows it whole, he'll definitely get dehydrated! Don't overeat either; eating until you're seven-tenths full is the safest bet."

The woman readily agreed, "Okay! I'll go back and cook it right away, and bring you the first bowl!"

The old lady nodded with a smile, her head bobbing up and down as she drifted off to sleep again.

As soon as the old lady entered the courtyard, she saw an old man sitting on the threshold, bouncing the little baby on his lap and making him giggle. His face was radiant with a light he had never seen before.

A warmth welled up in her heart, and as she walked towards the kitchen, she muttered, "The old lady is so sensible! I'll go make some soup right now!"

When dinner was served, the two children shoveled food into their small bowls, eating with great relish. The two elderly people smiled so broadly their eyes narrowed into slits and their mouths stretched almost to their ears.

As the bowl emptied, an older woman reached out to take it away, but an older man quickly stopped her, saying, "Fangfang's mother, it's a blessing that the child can eat!"

She quickly explained the old lady's instructions.

An old man slapped his forehead: "Oh dear! I completely forgot!" When he was young, he was so hungry during the famine that his stomach was practically sticking to his back. Once, he ate half a dead rabbit and almost burst his stomach—this memory is etched into his bones!

When Xiao Bao saw that there was no food left, he burst into tears. An older woman quickly took out two wooden duck carvings to comfort him.

An old man, while ladling soup, said, "I'll stir-fry some sliced ​​meat for dinner tonight, you can have a couple of drinks with Sha Zhu; save the rest, I'll take it to meet his relatives tomorrow!"

The woman smiled and nodded, then turned to busy herself at the stove.