Courtyard House: Starting with a 28-inch motorcycle

Granny Wang blocked their way: "You two should save yourselves a living! Liu Yan is a hopeless case, her mother is shameless, and she's even worse—she'll end up dead in the street and no one will even claim her body!"

He left grumbling and cursing, refusing to take the three yuan.

Su Yu turned back into the room, where Xiao Yulan was sitting on the edge of the bed, her ears red and her fingers twisting the hem of her clothes.

"You haven't eaten yet, have you? Have some porridge while it's hot." He handed you a bowl. "Tomorrow afternoon, I'll take you to town to buy new clothes."

Yulan took the bowl, sipped it slowly, and quietly raised her gaze to his eyes and brows.

Su Yu turned around, took out twenty yuan from the cabinet, and stuffed it into Xiao Yulan's palm. Her tone was light but firm: "Take it, keep it close to your body. When I'm out working, you can go to the market or stroll around the county town if you want."

Xiao Yulan's fingers twitched, and she gripped the hem of her clothes tightly, refusing to take it.

Su Yu handed the money forward, her voice lowered, but without a trace of anger: "From now on, you have the key to this house. You're in charge of everything, from firewood and rice to household items. I'll handle the storms outside, but you're in charge of the kitchen."

She hesitated before accepting it, her fingertips still trembling slightly. Su Yu then opened the cabinet door and pointed to the contents—coarse noodles, dried noodles, several packets of brown sugar, and two cans of malted milk powder and a packet of biscuits that Liu Mei and Li Yudong had given her a couple of days ago, all neatly stacked in the corner.

"You can eat these grains and sweets however you like, whenever you want. I don't crave sweets, but you have to keep an eye on the wild grapes in the yard for me: bring them in as soon as it gets cloudy, and spread them out to dry on sunny days, so they don't get ruined by the rain."

Before she could finish speaking, Xiao Yulan suddenly rushed forward, hugging his neck tightly. Her shoulders trembled violently, and her sobs finally burst forth like a floodgate that had been blocked for a long time. Apart from her grandfather, no one had ever treated her like this—unguarded, untesting, laying bare their family's wealth, placing their trust in her completely, and cherishing her as a living, breathing person.

Su Yu gently patted her back, his voice soft and gentle: "My little fairy, if you cry again, your eyes will swell up like walnuts. Be good, wipe your face—I promise you, the good days are yet to come, this is just the beginning."

She cried until she was exhausted, curled up on the edge of the bed, as quiet as a weary kitten. Su Yu unwrapped a piece of candy and put it into her slightly open mouth, then bent down and blew out the oil lamp. The room darkened, with only a sliver of light seeping in through the crack in the window. He thought to himself: he had to quickly exchange the sorghum and corn piled up in the storage space for cash, and then buy some eggs, lard, and red dates to give her a proper make-up.

He made two trips to the county town in the past few days, but he still couldn't find the sign for the black market grain and oil shop.

As dawn broke, Su Yu started cooking, making a pot of thick sweet potato porridge and steaming two cornbread buns. He brought them into the room and sat down on the edge of the bed: "Lie down a bit more. Eat breakfast while it's hot. Once the grapes are dried, help me cook lunch. Don't see me off; I'll be back on time. This afternoon, I'll take you to the county town to buy fabric to make new clothes."

Xiao Yulan only peeked out from under the covers with her eyes, her ears were bright red, and she responded with a soft "Mmm" in a voice barely audible.

Upon arriving at the assembly point, after roll call, just as he was about to collect his farm tools, Su Guang grabbed his arm, dragged him to the wall, and scolded him in a low voice: "Are you stupid? Xiao Yulan's health is so poor, she'd fall apart carrying water, and strain her back lifting a basket. You want to marry her and treat her like a goddess? Break off the engagement immediately! Get your grain coupons and money back, not a single penny less!"

Su Yu looked directly at her third uncle, her tone calm yet like a nail driven into the ground: "Third Uncle, a person has to stand by their word. When I was six years old, I was squatting at the village entrance eating candy, and I pointed at her and said—I would marry her someday. If I don't keep my word, what kind of person am I?"

"You..." Su Guang choked on his words, stamping his foot and sighing, "You used to say you wanted to pick stars from the sky when you were little! Now you can't even fix a light bulb!"

Su Yu smiled, her eyes shining brightly: "I just love her."

Su Guang was stunned for a moment before waving his hand and saying, "Alright, alright... let her rest for a couple of days and go cut pig feed for the team. She'll get five work points a day."

—This was already a subtle move: cutting pig feed was always a job done by seven- or eight-year-old children, and usually only four work points were awarded.

……

The three men took hoes, rakes, and a bag of rapeseed and headed straight for the plot of land they had turned the day before. Su Yu squatted down to demonstrate: sow the seeds evenly, cover them with a thin layer of soil, and run your fingers along the furrows as if writing lines of small characters. After finishing, he stood up, picked up his hoe, and walked towards the neighboring plot that hadn't been dug yet. Sowing four-tenths of the land and digging six-tenths—since the educated youth were newcomers, he intentionally left them the easier tasks, fearing they would be exhausted in two days.

With him leading the way, the other plots of land were quickly finished. All that was left was to sow the seeds. When he returned home at noon, Xiao Yulan had already set the table: a pot of thin porridge with distinct grains of rice, a few pieces of soft, powdery potatoes floating on top, and tender green shepherd's purse and purslane floating in the broth.

"Did you go up the mountain to pick wild vegetables?"

"I was bored, so I wandered around the foot of the mountain and dug up half a basket." She looked up at him, a hint of caution in her eyes, "You... don't like to eat this?"

"It's not that I don't love you." He picked up a piece of wild vegetable with his chopsticks and chewed it crisply. "It's just that I'm worried about your safety. A couple of days ago, we encountered a wild boar at the old forest farm. Its tusks snapped off tree branches as thick as a bowl. From now on, you'll stay by the front door. Those few rows of wild vegetables outside the fence will be enough for you to pick for three days."

"Oh..." She nodded, then asked, "Are you going to work on the west slope this afternoon?"

"Clearing the ditches. Your third uncle has arranged a job for you—cutting pig feed with some children, five work points a day."

"Then I'll go this afternoon."

"Rest for a couple of days first." He reached out and touched her wrist; it was so thin it was rough to the touch. "You've only had two days of proper meals, and you're still as thin as a reed. Pack your things, and come to town with me this afternoon."

"it is good."

After resting for about half an incense stick's time, Su Yu stood at the village entrance, hoe in hand, waiting for Liu Mei and Li Yudong. The three met up and headed towards the ditch on the west slope. The autumn floodwaters had receded completely, and it was time to clear the silt before the spring floods—once the water rose, people couldn't even stand steadily, let alone dredge the mud.

He jumped into the ditch, shoveling up the black mud with a basket, one scoop at a time, and passed it up. The two stood on the bank, building a low embankment with the wet mud, picking up small, jumping fish and shrimp along the way. Occasionally, a foot-long crucian carp would surface at the bottom of the ditch. Su Yu had already prepared two wooden buckets coated with tung oil and placed them on the bank. He had loved doing this work since he was a child—cleaning the ditch for a day, if he was lucky, could yield seven or eight meals of fresh fish. The two educated youths came empty-handed, clearly novices who had never been in the mud before. Su Yu knew they would bring their own buckets tomorrow.

The three men finished work as the sun began to set. According to the rules, each person would receive six work points, and those who hadn't finished would continue the next day. Cleaning the entire main canal would take at least another ten days.

Before leaving, Su Yu picked up a bucket: "Take the fish and shrimp back with you. There are many people in the educated youth compound, so share this little bit, and it'll be enough for everyone to have a meaty meal." Three or four pounds of live creatures were thrashing about in the bucket, their silvery scales shimmering. He wasn't greedy for the freshness—he remembered the kindness of the person who gave him the malted milk powder.

Liu Mei, head bowed, rubbed the hem of her clothes, her face flushed red: "Comrade Su, we've been just splashing mud on the side...you've done all the heavy work, we really can't take this fish..."

Li Yudong waved his hand and said, "We have supplies where we are, much better than yours. You can keep it to improve your meals."

"Don't push it." Su Yu smiled and pushed the bucket forward. "Fish wilt if they're out of water overnight, they won't be fresh. Bring your buckets tomorrow, we still have to work together for more than ten days."

The two then took the bucket. Su Yu escorted them all the way to the entrance of the educated youth compound, but didn't go in. He waited outside for them to return the empty bucket. He turned and strode to the paddy field ridge, rolled up his trousers, and waded into the water to catch loaches. After returning home and changing his clothes, he took Xiao Yulan's hand and went out. Just as they reached the big tree at the village entrance, Li Yudong was squatting down, helping him watch over the bucket of lively loaches.

"Comrade Su, what brings you into town?"

"Visiting relatives." He blinked, picked up the loach and shook it. "They love to eat this, so I specially brought some over."

—He's not afraid of gossip. If you're so capable, why don't you go to the city and find a relative who loves to eat loach?

Su Yu carried a bucket of fish and shrimp in his left hand and a bucket of loach lightly bobbed on his right shoulder as he walked ahead; Xiao Yulan followed diagonally behind him, the hem of her skirt gently lifted by the wind, talking all the way, and before they knew it, they had entered the county town.

Two militiamen wearing red armbands leaned against the entrance of the supply and marketing cooperative. When they saw him, they didn't even raise their eyelids—this man delivered loach to the state-run restaurant every day, and today they even tried the braised version, which was so delicious that it made their tongues curl.

Upon seeing Su Yu, the waiter immediately came forward, leading him around to the back of the kitchen. He quickly weighed the item, calculated the bill, and handed over the money: "Eight yuan exactly, here you go!"

Su Yu: "These fish and shrimp were caught from mountain streams and ponds, they're so fresh they'll make your eyebrows fall off! Director Zheng, please try some first. If you like it, I'll bring you a few more pounds the day after tomorrow."

Director Zheng: "Oh dear, I can't accept this! Let me give you some extra money!"

Su Yu: "I haven't thanked you yet for helping me get the loaches into the restaurant last time. Taking money from you? That would be embarrassing! You can try them first. If you like them, I'll send you another basket the day after tomorrow."

Director Zheng laughed heartily, patted Su Yu's shoulder heavily, picked up the bamboo basket and poured the contents into the enamel basin, water droplets splashing everywhere: "Alright! You go ahead with your work, this is just what I'm looking for, I'll place an order with you!"

Su Yu ordered a serving of glistening, fragrant braised pork from a state-run restaurant and carefully wrapped it in a willow-woven wooden bucket. Xiao Yulan sat quietly on a bench in the lobby, twisting the hem of her clothes with her fingers, her eyes constantly gazing towards the door.

"Come on, the department store is still open. Let's go buy some new clothes!"

Xiao Yulan immediately stood up and followed closely beside Su Yu. The two of them moved with lightning speed and arrived at the building entrance in just a few minutes.

"Comrade, could you please take that blue cotton jacket down and let her try it on?"

Su Yu held the clothes up to her shoulder and waist, measuring them back and forth—nowadays, since trying on clothes is not allowed, it's already a rare sign of the shop assistant's enthusiasm to let someone measure them by hand.

He picked out two outer shirts, a pair of corduroy trousers, and a snow-white Dacron shirt. A set of cloth ration coupons cost 15 feet, and 30 feet cost 6 yuan. The cloth ration coupons plus the money were not to be reduced by a single penny.

With the money and tickets settled, the two carried the paper bag home. Along the way, Xiao Yulan's brows furrowed slightly, and her lips turned pale.

"Worried about spending money? I earn it all so you can spend it!"

"But... enough for the two of us to eat for about half a year."