Courtyard House: Starting with a 28-inch motorcycle

Back in the courtyard, Jia Zhangshi was stir-frying meat with a spatula, oil sizzling and popping, the aroma of meat mixed with the smell of caramel wafting into people's noses. Several pairs of eyes peeked out from behind the windows of the neighboring houses, their Adam's apples bobbing up and down, their saliva almost dripping onto the doorsteps.

As soon as He Yushui saw her brother and sister-in-law enter, she rushed over: "Brother! Sister-in-law! What good things did you bring today?"

Lou Xiao'e smiled and shook her food box: "The cafeteria didn't have stewed meat, they just gave me some pork cracklings. I almost couldn't get in line, I had to ask someone to wait an extra five minutes to get some."

As He Yuzhu took off his coat, he asked, "Have you managed to scrape together the tuition for the start of the semester?"

"All done early! I even earned an extra three yuan." She counted on her fingers, "Today an old lady stuffed two yuan into my hand, asking me to help her sew two summer clothes. She said the sewing machine was running smoothly, and she wouldn't accept payment—she practically forced it on me!"

High school tuition was twelve yuan, not a lot, but not a little either. He Yushui made thirteen pieces of clothing in thirteen days, earning fifteen yuan. Her hand speed was astonishing, even to the experienced tailors. Talent is something that can't be acquired by staying up all night or honing your needlework.

A set of clothes earns five cents, and two sets a day means that you can't stop stepping on the sewing machine and can't blink while watching the fabric—most old tailors can only manage one and a half sets a day at most.

The original owner was such a blockhead! Such a clever younger sister should have gritted her teeth and bought a Butterfly brand sewing machine long ago. It would have been convenient, respectable, and could have been used as part of her dowry when she married into her husband's family.

He Yushui counted on her fingers: "There are still three days until school starts. If I make six more items, I can earn three yuan more."

He Yuzhu picked up a piece of green vegetable with his chopsticks: "Don't go hungry at school. Your brother and sister-in-law will give you twelve yuan a month. Pay attention to your studies, eat lunch at school, and don't bother going back and forth."

"Brother—I knew it, you love me the most!" Before she finished speaking, she had already jumped onto He Yuzhu's back, wrapping her legs tightly around him and refusing to get off.

He Yuzhu smiled bitterly to himself: It's not that I care about you; it's that I'm too lazy to cook...

"Put your hands down! Eat! I still need to steam egg custard and make bone broth for the old lady—to supplement calcium and nourish her body!"

Lou Xiao'e took the food box and heated up the food; He Yuzhu turned and walked to the backyard.

As soon as I opened the door to the woodshed in the backyard, I bumped into Yang Chengyi squatting against the wall, gnawing on a cornbread bun, holding a large, shiny bone in his hand. This kid brings bones here every few days; I don't know what method he used, but the supply and marketing station actually reserves some for him.

The first time, Yang Chengyi sneaked into the pork station with his homemade corn liquor in his pocket. He saw a man in a white coat coming out to relieve himself and immediately shouted, "Comrade, want to buy some liquor?"—treating the man like he was there to buy meat, and enthusiastically promoting how mellow and strong his liquor was. If the man hadn't been an alcoholic, he would have been taken to the police station on the spot.

The two men slipped into a small shed at the entrance of the alley, took a couple of sips of wine, and Butcher Zhang's eyes lit up, his tongue practically curling up. After another round of boasting and rambling, he immediately made a decision: one jin of wine a day, two mao a jin, in exchange for a large pork bone, without fail.

After securing twenty regular customers, Yang Chengyi stopped taking the risk of hawking his wares. He knew that three or four of them were middlemen, but so what? As long as the wine sold, who cared whether it was resold or hoarded? Now he took forty catties of wine from He Yuzhu every day, and distributed twenty catties directly to several dealers, making a steady living.

Earning eight yuan a day, he felt at ease as he touched the bills in his pocket: That's enough, don't bite off more than you can chew.

One of the men traded coarse grain for wine. Yang Chengyi was overjoyed and slapped his thigh – he had money but couldn't buy grain coupons, and now both grain and wine were secured. The two agreed to meet every night after ten o'clock in the grove west of the city, exchanging grain and wine without anyone noticing.

Recently, his family has been having bone broth with every meal, which has amazed the neighbors: "Is Chunfa back to normal? Are you finally going to give your child some nourishment?" But who doesn't know that two pounds of coarse grains for a bare bone? It's not filling, there's no meat in it, and the broth is so thin you can see your reflection in it—but these days everyone agrees on one thing: if you're full, that's nutrition; if you're not full, no matter what kind of soup you drink, it's all for nothing.

He Yuzhu glanced at Yang Chengyi and sighed inwardly: This kid has potential; he's honest and clever. He's sold forty jin of liquor in just eight days. He thought it would take a full month to establish himself. Indeed, it's not that the times lack smart people, it's that opportunities haven't been presented to us.

Just as he was pondering this, Yi Fangfang, clutching a piece of marbled pork belly, cried out "Brother, brother!" and crashed into his arms, shoving the meat towards his mouth. He Yuzhu turned his head away, and she pouted, about to cry; before she could catch her breath, Yi Jiye charged at her with a candy wrapped in a candy wrapper…

He Yuzhu finally understood why He Yushui had been avoiding Yi Zhonghai's house lately—these two children, once they were full, were frighteningly enthusiastic. He wondered if it was because Yi Zhonghai had taught them well; as soon as they finished chewing a bite of meat, they turned around and ran home, pulling out two white steamed buns and stuffing them into their arms. He Yuzhu was dumbfounded, finally understanding how Aunt Yi had managed to accumulate all that fat.

"Ouch! Spare me! Spare me!" He turned and ran.

Two little tails followed him, one holding a piece of meat and the other a handful of candy, chasing him all over the yard.

"Go ahead and feed Lou Xiao'e! I surrender! I really can't take it anymore!"

But Lou Xiao'e was completely ignored; she didn't even glance at her. Instead, she turned and knocked on He Yushui's door, calling out in a childish voice, "Sister, I've brought you candy!"

He Yushui waved her hand through the door panel, even though the door latch was locked.

Regardless of whether you say you've eaten or not, they insist on stuffing it into your mouth by hand before they're satisfied. Their stubbornness is truly chilling.

Within two minutes, Aunt Yi arrived carrying a blue-and-white porcelain bowl, the steaming fish soup emitting white vapor: "Xiao'e, drink a couple of sips while it's hot, this fish soup is good for you."

Lou Xiao'e's heart skipped a beat: This fish... could it be that it was bought from her second uncle Yan Bugui again?

I was right – during these few days of holiday, Yan Bugui went "fishing" every day, and he was so worried that he almost broke his fishing rod.

Lou Xiao'e declined, saying, "Auntie, I just finished eating, and my stomach is still bulging."

Jiye grabbed the rim of the bowl: "Mom! Give it to my brother! Don't let outsiders drink it!"

Aunt Yi chuckled and poked his forehead: "Silly boy, this is your sister-in-law!"

Turning around, the two little ones ran off to knock on He Yushui's door again.

He Yuzhu chatted with Aunt Yi for a while until she took one child in each hand and slowly strolled home, humming a little tune, before the courtyard finally quieted down.

Only then did He Yushui dare to tiptoe out the door.

He Yushui: "Brother, they're absolutely terrifying! My stomach is about to burst, and they keep stuffing it into my mouth. Aren't they afraid of eating Uncle Yi into poverty?!"

He Yuzhu raised an eyebrow: "Have you ever seen them feed other people like this?"

He Yushui shook her head.

He Yuzhu scoffed, "Just now, even your sister-in-law wanted a sip of fish soup, and they almost made her soften by their crying—they've never offered a single bite to an outsider! You think you can freeload off their family? No way, that's just wishful thinking."

He Yushui sighed, "I always time my visits perfectly, making sure they've just finished eating before I dare to show up. Otherwise? Humph, I won't let you go until you're so full you can't walk! Throwing tantrums and rolling around on the ground is a common occurrence; who can stop me?"

He Yuzhu was speechless. These past few days he had been busy running around to his workplace and rushing to finish his work, and he hadn't actually stepped into the Yi family's doorstep. He had relied entirely on his sister to run errands to deliver things.

……

The brother and sister chatted for a long time, but their message was the same: to get Lou Xiao'e to share the burden.

He Yushui blinked: "Brother, from now on, let your sister-in-law deliver things. I've already sewed the clothes, so you can have her take them; and this bag of candy is a gift from my classmate thanking me for altering her skirt. Since you won't be home at noon, have your sister-in-law take some to the old lady, and also give a few pieces to Aunt Yi's house."

Lou Xiao'e stood there, her hair disheveled by the wind—she wondered to herself: those two kids are clearly kind and lovable, so why are they so scared as if they've seen wolves?

He Yuzhu glanced at her sideways and nodded to himself: This is good. With three people sharing the burden, the pressure is immediately reduced by half.

Lou Xiao'e, carrying the clothes and candy wrappers, turned and walked towards the backyard.

When she came back, she had a smile on her face—the old lady praised her for being "well-mannered." The two children were not very close, but as soon as their mother offered them candy, they immediately turned away, squatted on the ground, kicked their legs, and rolled around, refusing to listen to anyone's advice.

As soon as Lou Xiao'e finished speaking, He Yuzhu shook his head inwardly: You're too soft-hearted. You expect them to be familiar with you? Just wait, one day you'll be begging for mercy. He Yushui is a living example—

He himself occasionally goes there to freeload a meal, and people there are as hot as if it were New Year's Day; but He Yushui goes there every day, and what kind of life is that? It's clearly a living hell under the "sugar-coated bullets".

…………

Xu Damao, carrying two bottles of wine, swaggered into Liu Haizhong's house.

Liu Haizhong was puzzled: This kid took the initiative to come to my door, it must be for something important.

Upon seeing the liquor bottle, he immediately shouted, "Guangqi's mom, quickly stir-fry some peanuts! I want to have a good chat with Damao!"

Once the two were seated, they clinked their glasses and started talking non-stop.

Xu Damao took a sip of his drink and clicked his tongue, saying, "Uncle, to be honest, with your level five fitter skills, I would have been a workshop foreman long ago!"

Liu Haizhong sighed, "Hey, Da Mao, I won't beat around the bush—there's no way! Today's assessment failed again, and we'll have to wait another six months for the next one."

Xu Damao leaned closer: "I had dinner with Director Lin today, and he specifically mentioned you: 'Liu Haizhong in our institute is the backbone of a hundred or so people. Everyone trusts him; he's highly skilled and a good person!'"

Liu Haizhong beamed with joy upon hearing this, and the gloom on his face dissipated considerably.

"What did Director Lin say?" he asked urgently.

Xu Damao paused, then lowered his voice: "Director Lin said that your skills are impeccable, and you have a knack for managing people, but... you're not very good at handling interpersonal relationships, and you're too 'straightforward' in your dealings with people. To put it bluntly—you lack a bit of humanity."

Liu Haizhong was taken aback, scratched his head, and asked, "What does 'humanity' mean? Da Mao, explain it to this old man."

Xu Damao drawled, "This..."

Liu Haizhong patted him on the shoulder: "Don't worry! Once I become the team leader, you'll get plenty of benefits!"

Xu Damao's eyes lit up: "Then I'll be frank—if you want to move up a step, you'll have to look after me more in the future."

Liu Haizhong patted his chest and said, "Absolutely! As soon as I take office, Second Uncle will be yours! I heard about Yan Bugui's mess—he can't keep it going."