Courtyard House: Starting with a 28-inch motorcycle

Before the words were even finished, the person had already grabbed firecrackers and run into the yard.

As soon as I pushed open the courtyard gate, I saw Jia Zhangshi squatting in the snow, teaching me how to use a stick to make a twist.

He glanced at her stove: the cured pork was hanging densely, the braised pork hock was glistening with oil, and even the cabbage stalks were neatly cut—this New Year's Eve dinner was truly sumptuous.

After the firecrackers were set off and the smoke had not yet dissipated, He Yuzhu clapped his hands and turned to go back into the house.

He stood before the kang (a heated brick bed), cleared his throat, and said, "Farewell to the old year, welcome the new spring! I wish Grandma a long and healthy life, growing more and more energetic with each passing year; I wish Yushui (Grandma's birthday) success in her exams, so many universities she'll be spoiled for choice; I wish Xiao'e (Grandma's daughter) joy every day, with dimples appearing on her cheeks!"

The old lady beamed from ear to ear: "Good! Good! Grandma is also looking forward to you holding a chubby little boy soon, so your salary will double next year!"

Lou Xiao'e blushed instantly and gave him a reproachful look.

He Yushui smiled and said, "Like Grandma, I wish you all your dreams come true!"

Before the laughter in the room had subsided, the courtyard gate was pushed open with a "bang," and Yang Chengyi stepped in, enveloped in a chill.

"Uncle, I need to talk to you about something."

He Yuzhu stood up: "You guys eat first, I'll be right back."

The two turned into a corner of the backyard one after the other, their footsteps crunching through the snow.

"Have you figured it out?" He Yuzhu asked.

Yang Chengyi nodded, his voice deep and resolute: "Uncle, as long as I can support this family, I will do whatever you ask."

"Selling alcohol," He Yuzhu said succinctly. "I've thought of everything for you: sales channels, pricing, and errands."

He pulled out crumpled pieces of paper and explained in detail, one by one—which alley had few liquor shops, which dockworkers liked to drink, and whose child could read and help with bookkeeping…

"Tomorrow you go to the old locust tree and get ten catties of wine. I'll give you four mao per catty. Whether you sell it more or less depends entirely on your ability. I won't take a single penny."

Yang Chengyi felt a surge of warmth in his heart: the cheapest bulk liquor right now costs six mao (0.6 yuan) and requires grain coupons; when his mother was still alive when he was a child, he often carried a gourd and went to the distillery with his father.

He reached out and gripped He Yuzhu's wrist tightly: "Uncle, I believe you!"

This doesn't need to be explicitly stated—if he really causes trouble, he'll take responsibility himself and will never implicate anyone else in the slightest.

He Yuzhu patted him on the shoulder: "Alright, Uncle's going back to have a family reunion dinner with the elders. You should head home too!"

Back inside, steaming hot soup and dishes were rising from the bed, and the family sat around the kang (a heated brick bed), laughing and chatting noisily.

……

New Year's Day

Workers returned to the factory one after another, all waiting for the announcement from the publicity department.

At noon, a loudspeaker blared, causing the paper windows to tremble slightly.

"Attention all employees! The following notice is hereby issued: Starting this month, the monthly salary for temporary workers is 14 yuan; Level 1 fitter: 27.5 yuan; Level 2: 36.5 yuan; Level 3: 42.5 yuan; Level 4: 51.5 yuan; Level 5: 63.5 yuan; Level 6: 76.5 yuan; Level 7: 89.5 yuan; Level 8: 104.5 yuan! Applications for skill level assessments will be accepted starting at noon today. Results will be announced in one week, and the notice will be simultaneously distributed to all workshops!"

As soon as the words were spoken, cheers erupted throughout the factory area—a pay rise! And you could even sign up for an upgrade on the spot!

People walked and talked, their steps light as if they were stepping to the beat of a drum, heading straight for their respective workshops.

He Yuzhu went straight into the cafeteria and found Director Zhang.

"Director, I'd also like to apply for the performance evaluation."

"Okay, I'll go to the kitchen and call people right away. Give me the registration list. We'll have a unified exam tonight, so we can't let everyone miss dinner during the day."

"Then I'll go back to the workshop first, and come to your door to wish you a Happy New Year tonight."

"Don't wait until tomorrow!" Director Zhang waved his hand. "The exam is tonight. You go ahead and do your thing."

He Yuzhu had barely stepped into the kitchen a few minutes ago when Director Zhang stormed in, clutching a list, and loudly announced, "Anyone who wants to take the exam, register with He Yuzhu!"

He Yuzhu took the pen and quickly wrote down the names of the three people: himself, Ma Hua, and Liu Songgui.

After closing up shop at noon, Lou Xiao'e found herself at the kitchen door, her eyes sparkling: "Zhu Zi, we've raised our prices too! Now it's seventeen yuan a month!"

"I have an assessment tonight. Are you going home first, or will you wait for me to leave together?"

"I'll go back first, and on the way, I'll get some vegetables for Yushui to take back with me."

After exchanging a few more words, He Yuzhu urged her to hurry up: "Be careful of the slippery road."

He himself led five people straight to the logistics department—more people meant more hands, less effort in collecting supplies, and no need to run back and forth until their legs were worn out.

Qin Huairu has learned a great deal from Yu Wenyan over the past few months. She picks things up very quickly and is more adept at adjusting machine tools than many experienced workers. Her finished product qualification rate is also consistently higher than that of more than half of the people. She was the first to sign up for this technician assessment.

In just over a hundred days, the technicians taught us step by step, and even a clumsy bird was able to flap its wings.

Yi Zhonghai and Liu Haizhong also rolled up their sleeves and filled out the registration forms diligently.

……

Just after 10 a.m.,

Yang Chengyi led his two younger brothers to clean the empty wine bottles that Yang Chunfa had saved up in the early years in the yard one by one—they agreed that each of them would be paid five cents a day, and the money would be settled on the spot that night.

He turned and strolled to the old locust tree, lifted the straw mat, took out the old wine jar left by He Yuzhu, and then took out his tools such as a funnel and a ladle. He quickly filled two bottles, sealed the caps, and then went out with his work in hand.

Last night, He Yuzhu casually mentioned, "I'm buying some wine today," and he started to think: these days, people are scrambling to get a drink, but wine tickets are more precious than paper.

He went straight to the scrap metal recycling station, first taking two bottles of cheap liquor to knock on Old Wang's door—not to earn a few extra cents, but to make a connection so that he could secretly keep any empty bottles in good condition for himself in the future.

"Uncle Wang, would you like some wine?"

Old Wang squinted at the boy, then snorted, "Little brat, what are you doing getting involved? Get lost, don't get in my way!"

Yang Chengyi wasn't annoyed. He smiled and twisted open a bottle, handing it over: "Take a sniff, take a small sip. If it doesn't taste right, I'll turn around and leave."

Old Wang, with some skepticism, uncorked the tattered cloth, and as soon as he brought it close to his nose, his eyebrows shot up – it smelled wonderful! Much more mellow than dried melon wine; after taking a sip, his tongue tingled slightly, his throat warmed, and he smacked his lips and nodded repeatedly.

"Alright, I won't ask where you came from, just name your price."

"Six mao, no coupon needed." He paused, "This is the price of dried melon wine, and my wine is five mao more per jin. I'm really not ripping you off."

Old Wang's eyes lit up: "Can you spare two jin tomorrow?" He planned to keep one jin for himself and resell it for seven mao. Just by smelling it, you could tell it was made from pure grain, and it would be in high demand.

"Yes! But you'll have to spare me some high-quality empty bottles."

"Okay, it's a deal!"

The second bottle was inspected in the same way. Old Wang nodded vigorously and counted out 1.2 yuan, stuffing it into Yang Chengyi's hand.

Yang Chengyi casually borrowed a bamboo basket, picked out dozens of empty bottles in good condition, and carried them home heavily.

The current second aunt peeked out and asked in surprise, "Xiao Yi, where did you find so many bottles?"

"I picked it up on the street," he shook his head. "I was just killing time anyway, so I thought I'd save up some pocket money."

I bought fifty bottles for 25 cents each, each weighing just over 30 pounds. As soon as I got home, I urged my two younger brothers to wash them, then gave them another 10 cents to divide among themselves. I carried two shiny empty bottles straight to the old carpenter. We were short of soft cloth strips at home, so I needed to get some corks to seal the wine.

I traded two bottles of good wine for another dollar and two jiao, and casually picked up some scrap wood to take home—the stoppers were finally made.

Then, he went around to the neighbors he used to know from when he used to buy liquor, and asked in a low voice, "Uncle, would you like a drink today?"

For the last two bottles, he specifically went to the Xidan vegetable market during the closing hours, and would approach any middle-aged woman carrying a shopping basket: "Auntie, want some wine? Take me home so my husband can have a taste. I guarantee it's not watered down!"

After a day's work, he earned more than a dollar, more than his father earned in half a month as a temporary worker. What's even better is that several customers immediately decided, "From now on, deliver the wine directly to my house!" This guy was bold and meticulous, and that very night he planned it out: prepare twenty pounds tomorrow, bring in more regular customers, and deliver to their homes regularly, which would be both reliable and worry-free.

As soon as the workers finished their shift in the afternoon, Factory Director Yang, Director Zhang, and Qin Aidang were already sitting in the canteen, waiting to be judges. They wouldn't test the communal cooking—that was the canteen cooks' job; they were focused on He Yuzhu's private kitchen skills.

The highest-ranking chef in the factory is level six, equivalent to level three fitter, with a monthly salary of 42.5 yuan; the top chef in the state-run restaurant is level three, equivalent to level six fitter, with a salary of 76.5 yuan; the most elite chefs are in the state banquet kitchen, where a level one chef is equivalent to level eight fitter, with a salary of 104.5 yuan.

He Yuzhu knew perfectly well that all three leaders had a sweet tooth for Sichuan cuisine. Without batting an eye, he served them braised pork, Mapo tofu, and twice-cooked pork—this was called catering to their preferences.

If the judges prefer local Shanghainese cuisine, forcing them to eat a plate of boiled fish, no matter how delicious, will make them frown. Following their taste preferences will naturally lead to higher scores.

The three of them finished their meal in a flash, and immediately stamped and signed He Yuzhu's work permit. The next morning, the finance department would report it, and the personnel department would issue a new permit.

The fitter assessment is a separate process: it involves many people, complicated procedures, and slow statistics. The list has to be posted all over each workshop, and then the workshop director has to sign it before a new certificate can be issued.

He Yuzhu packed up the leftovers, wiped the stove until it gleamed, and hummed a little tune as he walked home—his salary would be forty-two yuan and fifty cents from now on, and he'd be set. To climb higher? He'd have to leave the factory and try his luck in a state-run restaurant.

He was quite content. The couple's combined official wages amounted to fifty-nine and fifty cents, which wasn't as high as the old man's, but their grain coupons, oil coupons, and cloth coupons piled up and surpassed his.

……

Just as He Yuzhu reached the entrance of the courtyard, Yang Chengyi stopped him with a smile: "Uncle, here are four pieces. I'll take twenty jin tomorrow. I'll settle the bill here every night from now on."

He Yuzhu nodded, feeling relieved: This child is indeed trustworthy; I didn't misjudge him.

"Okay, I'll wait for you at the usual place. Here, there's some freshly cooked tofu in the box. Take it home and eat it, don't be shy with your uncle."

Yang Chengyi grabbed the food box and ran home in a flash.

He Yuzhu pushed open the courtyard gate, where Lou Xiao'e was waiting for him with hot steamed buns in hand: "They're still piping hot. How did the exam go today?"

"You still don't believe me?" He laughed as he picked up a piece of meat. "It's easy! Hungry? While it's hot."

Before he finished speaking, Lou Xiao'e had already ladled out a bowl of meat soup and taken it to the old lady's room. Yang Chengyi then ran back, handing over the empty food box with both hands: "Uncle, thanks! I'll bring you some pork bones tomorrow."

"Good lad, you're a true friend!" He Yuzhu patted him on the shoulder. "Go home now."