Courtyard House: Starting with a 28-inch motorcycle

The factory's second-phase expansion is in full swing and will be able to absorb even more workers in the future. All of this proves that this reform pilot project has hit the beat of the times; the path of urban-rural integration and urban-rural integration is feasible and will be successful.

With the college entrance examination approaching, Guyun Duck Farm expanded its recruitment again, hiring 1,200 people at once. When the news reached the county, several cadres in charge of agriculture and industry were stunned, their words stuck in their throats—it had only been a few months? He Yuzhu hadn't even warmed the chestnuts in his hand yet, and Wangjia Village had just finished collecting payments for its first duck sale. If this momentum continued, it would probably overturn the old almanac in the mountain valley!

The events in Guyun Town had long become the "living news" of the entire county. While everyone said they were just watching the excitement, they were also on edge, keeping a close eye on what was happening: the news that the villagers were going up the mountain to prune and protect the chestnut forest had barely been released when a new batch of truck purchases was quietly put on the agenda.

That day, a large truck adorned with red ribbons and colorful decorations roared into the factory area. Two large silk peonies, each the size of a bowl, were tied to the front of the truck, attracting men, women, and children to chase it for half a street. This was the first truck in Guyun Town that truly belonged to the town! The workers clapped their sweaty hands loudly, and even the old man who had been squatting by the wall in the sun stood up shakily with his cane, his eyes shining.

At the moment, no one knows how to drive this iron machine, so the county transportation team sent two experienced drivers to the factory to train apprentices. They taught two clever young men selected from the factory, one named Li Mancang and the other Zhao Xiaoshuan, by following the truck during the day to memorize the routes and by drawing driving diagrams on an oilcloth at night.

……

On the morning before the college entrance examination, the truck came to a steady stop at the village entrance. Forty-seven young men, carrying canvas bags and enamel mugs, stood in a row, their eyes fixed on He Yuzhu. Some felt a lump in their throats, while others quietly wiped away tears.

He Yuzhu patted the truck bed, his voice low but each word striking a chord: "I hope you pass the imperial examination with flying colors, and I also hope you remember—these past few months, it was you who, with your hoes and buckets of water, turned the soil of Guyun Town into something gleaming."

After the applause subsided, he waved his hand: "Get in the car!"

The truck stopped at the east gate of the county town—the streets and alleys were narrow and winding, and this behemoth couldn't turn around. Outside the examination hall, crowds surged, so the truck simply parked next to the grain station on the outskirts of the town. For the three-day examination period, it stood guard there, like a silent ox, punctually picking up and dropping off these young people heading to distant places.

It wasn't until he saw off the last group of examinees that He Yuzhu suddenly remembered Lou Xiao'e. These past few months had felt like being whipped along; he had barely caught his breath when he spread out some letter paper, dipped it in ink, and carefully wrote down the address, stuffing it along with the town's newly installed phone number into the envelope. The letter simply said everything was going well, asked how the children were doing, and hoped she would call him as soon as she received it.

Two weeks later, a thick stack of letters piled up in the factory office—fifty-three university admission notices from more than twenty universities both inside and outside the province. When Wang Sanni rushed out of the crowd clutching the red admission notice from the Normal University, tears streamed down her face. She stood on tiptoe, held the notice above her head, and choked out, "I want to go back to the mountain village to teach girls to read, so they won't have to walk in my mother's old shoes anymore—books really can break the stone of life."

On payday, the factory gave each person an extra five yuan. Chen Yan personally escorted the educated youth to the train station. Before the train whistle sounded, dozens of hands clasped tightly, some shoulders trembling, others burying their faces in their companions' shoulders. These past few years—scrambling for steamed buns by the stove, repairing duck sheds on rainy nights, chopping firewood in the cold winter—had long since forged them into blood relatives.

Before boarding the train, they surrounded Chen Yan and bowed deeply: "Thank you, Secretary He, for arranging tutoring! Thank you, Gu Yun Town, for taking us in!" As their figures disappeared at the end of the platform, traces of undried tears and lingering words of advice still floated on the platform.

In early August of the lunar calendar, Guyun Town underwent a complete transformation: county roads were opened, and cement roads wound around the mountainside like silver ribbons; the duck farm expanded to 2,300 people, with ten production lines running day and night; the newly built hatchery produced an average of 8,000 chicks per day; chickens and ducks croaked in 21 villages, and even the edges of the fields were planted with honeysuckle and salvia miltiorrhiza, these "walking banknotes".

While technicians from the Provincial Academy of Agricultural Sciences provided on-site guidance, He Yuzhu received an urgent telegram from the Organization Department: he was to immediately go to the Second Party School for further study. Before leaving, he entrusted all the town's affairs to Chen Yan and An Ping—the two had just been appointed as the town's Party Secretary and Mayor, respectively. He climbed up the chestnut slope, pointed to the green chestnuts covering the mountain, and said to Chen Yan, "I've taught you all the roasting methods. The heat should be judged by the color of the smoke, and the aroma by the crackling sound. Have An Ping keep a close eye on the sales channels at the supply and marketing cooperative. Try selling ten tons first, and if that doesn't work, then adjust the supply."

Having taken care of everything, he boarded a green train heading north. He had thought he would settle down in this land for two years, but a transfer order abruptly turned the unfinished chapter to the next page.

As soon as He Yuzhu stepped out of the town government office building, he was enveloped by a dense crowd. Thousands of faces were turned upwards, their eyes red-rimmed, their lips moving but no sound coming out. An elderly woman in a blue cloth jacket tremblingly handed him a bag of freshly roasted chestnuts, her hands covered in cracks.

He Yuzhu's throat bobbed, but he ultimately didn't utter a word of farewell. An Ping stepped forward, her voice clear and gentle: "Folks, don't cry—Secretary He isn't gone. He's carrying our chestnuts, duck eggs, and medicinal herbs to help more people secure their livelihoods! Our lives are just beginning to improve; we should hold our heads high and move forward—when he returns, we'll see wider roads, brighter lights, and louder sounds of reading!"

He turned and waved to the crowd. A few strands of white hair fluttered in the wind, and several elderly people raised their hands to wipe away tears, waving their withered arms vigorously at him. He Yuzhu gritted his teeth, climbed into the jeep, and the wheels kicked up a cloud of yellow dust as they headed straight for the county town.

In front of the county government guesthouse, Yan Xudong led a group of cadres in a line to see He Yuzhu off. He gripped He Yuzhu's hand tightly: "Guyun Town's road repair funds this year account for one-third of the county's total—this money was earned from pecks in the duck shed, from peeling chestnut shells, and even more so from the calluses on the soles of your feet!"

As the train slowly started moving, the region had already dispatched seven research teams to Guyun Town. They came with notebooks, recorders, and a bellyful of questions, hoping to find a replicable path to survival from the sounds of ducks quacking, the aroma of roasted chestnuts, and the newly paved cement roads.

At the exit of Kyoto Station, Lou Xiao'e stood quietly, holding Xiao Wu's hand. He Yuzhu saw her at a glance, rushed over in three steps, and pulled her into his arms.

"You've had a hard time at home."

Lou Xiao'e ran her fingertips across his sun-tanned, brownish cheeks and sighed softly, "You're quite lean and wiry, but your face is so dark, it looks like you just crawled out of a charcoal kiln."

Lou Yue jumped onto his back with a "whoosh," her little legs swinging back and forth: "Daddy, did you bring any pecans? And wild berries too?"

"I've got them all with me. I'll peel them for you when we get home."

Pushing open the villa's gate, the house was quiet.

Lou Xiao'e smiled and pointed outside the door: "The eldest, second, and third sons all went to university, and Aijun got two into his school; the fourth son is practicing his cooking skills at a restaurant; and this little rascal is just lazing around at home eating melon seeds."

He Yuzhu took out several bags of chestnuts and bamboo baskets of wild fruits from his luggage—some of which he himself did not know the names of, having been picked in the dense forest before leaving, with the fruit peels still covered in morning dew.

Lou Yue grabbed a purplish-red wild fruit and stuffed it into her mouth, squinting her small eyes, her cheeks puffed out, looking completely blissful.

Lou Xiao'e feigned anger: "You little glutton, do you even know how to give your dad a bath? Your grades are at the bottom of the class, I wonder who you took after!"

Lou Yue giggled, "Just like my mom!"

Lou Xiao'e raised her hand as if to hit her: "I don't have a lazy bone like you!"

While they were joking around, Lou Xiao'e suddenly remembered something: "Oh right, Gu Yun Duck went on sale at the Kyoto Department Store yesterday, and the line to buy it stretched half the street! The packaging is much more elaborate than the one you sent last time, with green hills and clear waters printed on the box, and even the lid is embossed with gold."

He Yuzhu: "Now we've made steady progress, and the packaging has become more sophisticated. The taste is still the same, but we've added several kinds of snacks to go with drinks."

Lou Xiao'e: "After this training, will you be sent abroad again?"

He Yuzhu: "There's no conclusion yet; we'll have to wait until graduation to see the outcome."

Lou Xiao'e: "How long will it take to learn?"

He Yuzhu: "I heard it's a whole year, to brush up on cultural knowledge and learn some basic economics."

These words were all told to He Yuzhu by Zhang Huaqiang's brother-in-law over the phone. He was able to be transferred back this time thanks to Director Qiao's mediation—just so it would be convenient for them to meet and chat often. After all, they had worked together for over ten years; they were no longer just colleagues, but brothers.

He Yuzhu: "How's business at the store?"

Lou Xiao'e: "It's much more prosperous than before! Sister Peng Mei helped us get our individual business licenses, so now we can set up our stalls and hang up our signs openly."

He Yuzhu: "Individual business license? It's extremely valuable these days. She must have talked herself hoarse and run herself ragged."

Lou Xiao'e: "I don't know the specifics, but there are more and more stalls on the street—those educated youth who have just returned to the city have no work unit to take them in, so they have to set up their own stoves. Although they occasionally get yelled at by the urban management officers, it's not like in earlier years when they would overturn the stalls and take down their equipment at the drop of a hat."

It's a helpless situation: you can't force people to beg for food, can you? But nowadays even begging is illegal.

……

He Yuzhu followed Lou Xiao'e toward the restaurant, with Lou Yue leading the way on her bicycle, glancing at him every few steps as if afraid he would fall behind.

As soon as he entered, Xiao Si froze on the spot, his eyes lighting up: "Dad! When did you get here?"

He Yuzhu: "I just landed today and stopped by to see you. How's your schoolwork going? Why do you prefer helping out at the shop?"

Lou Mancang: "My mom gives me a dollar a day for pocket money. I feel more at ease with money in my pocket. As for my grades, they're so-so, but I can keep them stable."

This one yuan was deducted directly from Lou Xiao'e's share of the profits. Ma Yuanchao's and his salary were entirely paid by their parents. Behind the counter stood a strange young woman, pretty and neat, whom He Yuzhu had never seen before.

It wasn't lunchtime yet, and the restaurant was empty. As soon as Ma Hua saw He Yuzhu, she rushed out from the kitchen and grabbed his shoulder: "Master! I've missed you so much—you've gotten tanned and thinner!"

He Yuzhu: "You little brat, still trying to do things all by yourself?"