Courtyard House: Starting with a 28-inch motorcycle

"I deliver live loaches to the restaurant every day, netting nine yuan and eighty cents—you hear this but keep it to yourself, don't let a word of it to anyone! Let's quietly make our lives enjoyable, so her stepmother can see: Yulan is living a better life than they ever dreamed of since she left that family! Come on, smile for your third brother—tomorrow I'll buy you face cream, make your face rosy and your fingers soft, so she'll be so angry she can't sleep at night!"

Xiao Yulan's ears burned, she lowered her head and bit her lower lip, and didn't say another word.

Just as Liu Yan arrived at the village entrance, she was leaning against her own courtyard gate chatting with someone when she spotted Su Yu and his wife returning with large and small bags.

Su Yu walked straight ahead without looking to the side; Xiao Yulan lowered her eyes and quickly followed.

"She's only been married for a day, and her family's already nowhere to be seen? They've raised a thankless wretch who still knows how to wag his tail!"

Su Yu paused, slammed the bucket on the ground, turned and glared at her, her voice as deep as a stone: "Watch your mouth! What do you mean by 'ungrateful wretch'? Have you ever been sincere with her? Don't you know why she even entered this family? If you dare utter another word, think twice before you speak—I'm not Yulan, you can't just take advantage of me!"

Liu Yan choked on her words, her face turning pale and then red. This guy was no pushover! He'd just married her, and he dared to turn on her the moment he stepped in. To make matters worse, she'd already given her brother twenty yuan of the money Su Yu had sent, and now she couldn't return it; and she was clutching those fifty jin of returned grain, refusing to let go of them no matter what.

Su Yu took a half step forward, her voice not loud, but like a nail driven into the ground: "Now she's a member of the Su family. You think you can control her? You'll have to ask me if my fists will allow it! If I ever hear you gossiping about her, your two sons are thick-skinned, aren't they? Why don't you go ask those two from Wang Guifen's family how many times they've been punished?"

He grabbed Xiao Yulan's wrist and turned to leave. His own woman, and her stepmother dared to interfere? Even if her own father stood up and pointed fingers, Su Yu would still make him bow down and speak. He'd hit her, so what? Who in the village didn't know the Xiao family had "sold" their daughter to him? No dowry, no betrothal gifts, her family wasn't even worthy of crossing the threshold—Su Yu wasn't going to tolerate this. Besides, his third uncle was the village clerk; if things really escalated, a simple "young people bickering" would smooth things over.

……

Su Guang had just come out of the brigade headquarters when he overheard a few words. His gaze swept over Xiao Dong like a knife. Xiao Dong felt a chill run down his spine. Su Guang now protected Su Yu like the apple of his eye: his elder brother had been in the army for over ten years, sending money every month to support them as they grew up, and then disappeared without a trace. The whole family assumed he had died; who knew he would leave behind such a bloodline. Su Guang had been desperately hoping he would carry on the family line—if the Xiao family dared to interfere, he would be betraying the kindness his elder brother had shown him back then.

Looks like we need to give them a talking-to. The reservoir construction site is short of strong laborers, and this couple would be perfect for it.

Su Yu pulled Xiao Yulan into the house; her face was already streaked with tears.

"What are you crying for? If she tries to get close to you again, Third Brother will take care of her!"

"I'm so happy... God has finally opened his eyes and sent me to your side." She choked back tears and threw herself into his arms, her shoulders trembling slightly.

"Hurry up and eat the meat, I need to go to the fields to catch loaches."

"One person can't finish it... Third Brother, you should have a bite too."

"You can eat it in two meals; I already had some at the restaurant."

"If you don't eat, I won't touch my chopsticks either."

"Okay, have something to eat first, leave me two pieces—Third Brother still needs to earn money for your rouge."

"Oh God, I should be thanking you for sending this person into my life." Su Yu's heart burned with warmth: How could she bear to see such a gentle person suffer even a little more?

He found a small bucket of lively loaches on the ridge of the field, and it was already dark when he got home. Half of the braised pork was left on the table, and Xiao Yulan was sewing his worn-out trouser hem by the light of an oil lamp, with an old, faded quilt lying next to her.

Su Yu picked up two pieces of meat, pretended to eat them, turned around and put them in the kitchen cupboard, then came out and said, "Make myself two pairs of cloth shoes first. It's not cold now, and I'm actually quite comfortable wearing this tattered jacket to go out in the fields. Look, the soles of your shoes are all worn through."

"Okay, I understand."

"Get some rest, don't wait for me. I'll lock the door when I leave, the key is with me, open it yourself when you come back."

Today I finally made it into town and got close to the black market. Tonight I need to sneak in and see what rare items they have, and maybe finish off that batch of grain while I'm at it.

Xiao Yulan nodded. Su Yu locked the kitchen and living room doors, pushed open the door, and walked briskly towards the county town.

After leaving the village and passing through a grove of low pine trees, as we approached the county town, two dark figures suddenly emerged from behind the trees and blocked the road.

One of them lowered his voice and said, "Five cents, entrance fee."

Su Yu took out a coin and handed it over, and the two made way for each other.

He slipped inside and found the black market to be more spacious than he had imagined—the room was bustling with people, yet so quiet that only the rustling of clothes could be heard; the buyers and sellers squatted in the corners, their voices barely audible. In the original story, Su Yun secretly sold her homemade rice cakes here, earning every penny of her hard-earned money, which she split 50/50 with Su Yu.

There are very few people selling grain here; they mostly sell a few kilograms at a time. However, there are a few people squatting in the corner, quietly exchanging grain coupons, cloth coupons, and industrial vouchers...

Su Yu walked around the area and found that the goods here were no less than those in the market, and the variety was even more diverse and complete.

Next to the stall were two pork cutting boards, bright red and glistening with clear marbling—if you said they weren't secretly transferred from the supply station, even a ghost wouldn't believe it.

She walked straight up to a man selling grains, squatted down, and lowered her voice: "Brother, do you want some fine grains? Three hundred catties, all plump new grains, not a single shriveled one."

The man glanced at her, his Adam's apple bobbing, before he managed to squeeze out a whispered sentence: "One cent a pound."

Su Yu nodded: "Okay, come with me."

The man quickly handed the stall over to his companion, reached behind his waist with his right hand, and quietly tucked a short dagger into it. Then, crouching low, he followed Su Yu out of the black market and into the depths of the woods.

Su Yu pushed aside a few clumps of dead branches, dug out a burlap sack hidden among the tree roots, untied the knot, and shook out a corner for him to inspect the goods.

The man took out a pocket flashlight, carefully scanning the grains of rice. He repeatedly rubbed them, smelled them, and weighed them in his hand. After a while, he pulled out three ten-yuan bills from his pocket and handed them over with trembling fingers.

He could hold a hundred pounds in one go. He had worked as a sack carrier at the grain bureau before, so he could tell the quality at a glance. He carried a knife on his back to prevent Su Yu from setting a trap to rob him, but he was also afraid of missing out on such a real deal—wealth has always favored the bold.

"My name is Wang Quan. From now on, I'll only come to you for grain. The price is fair and honest, and I'll treat everyone fairly, young and old."

"it is good."

Su Yu turned back to the black market, casually weighed out two jin of pork belly, and left. She'd come today to investigate—the original owner had no memory of a black market, only having glimpsed the words between the pages of a book.

Her steps were light on the way home. With oil and salt, and meat, Xiao Yulan's weak body, weakened by hunger, would soon recover—she had been surviving on wild vegetable porridge and bran gruel for years.

Pushing open the door, she went straight to the kitchen, sliced ​​the fat into thin slices, and simmered it over low heat, the oil sizzling and popping out; she diced the lean meat, sautéed it until fragrant, added some sauce, and stir-fried it until caramelized, saving it for breakfast the next morning.

Suddenly, a soft voice called from inside the house, "Third Brother... is that you back?"

Hearing the crackling sound from the stove and smelling the long-lost aroma of meat, Xiao Yulan couldn't help but lift the covers and sit up to ask.

Su Yu pushed open the door, took out his key, unlocked it, and helped her slowly move to the kitchen. In the dim light of the kerosene lamp, she leaned against the stove, and he fed her spoonful by spoonful of hot diced meat.

"Eating too much at night is bad for your stomach. You can make it up properly at noon tomorrow. Don't mention what we ate at home to anyone—if they ask, just say we had porridge and shepherd's purse."

Xiao Yulan nodded: "Not even to relatives?"

Not a single word can be omitted.

"Okay, I've got it."

She slowly walked back to her room to rest. Su Yu casually lifted the bamboo tray and glanced at the grapes drying on the wooden board—the skins were already slightly wrinkled; she would dry them into raisins tomorrow at noon.

As dawn broke, Su Yu started cooking a pot of thick rice porridge. She quickly ate a couple of mouthfuls, picked up the old wooden bucket, and headed out the door, closing the gate behind her as she went, towards the meeting point at the east end of the village.

Everyone had already gathered. Secretary Liu was standing on the earthen slope speaking: The reservoir construction site is short of manpower, and we urgently need to send a few strong and healthy men to fill in for a while.

Su Guang glanced around and said in a loud voice, "Xiao Dong and his wife haven't had their turn yet, so this time it'll be their family." Before he finished speaking, he called out the names of eight more strong young men.

Liu Yan glared at Su Yu, but could only grit her teeth—the village's rotating support system was an ironclad rule, and when it was her turn, she couldn't find fault; but she knew in her heart that today's list was clearly aimed at her. Logically, one person from each family should suffice, but Su Guang insisted that both of them go.

Secretary Liu frowned and interjected, "She has elderly parents and young children to support, she can't get away. Captain Su, could you spare another one?"

Su Guang paused for a moment, then waved his hand: "Alright, since the clerk has asked, I'll arrange another one."

Liu Yan's expression finally relaxed. Su Guang's move was just a prelude—would he really send her to the reservoir? She'd earn thirteen work points a day there, but she'd have to be tough. Xiao Dong's frail body probably wouldn't last three days. I heard the work period is a whole month.

After receiving their hoes, shovels, and carrying poles, the trio headed towards the riverbank where they had worked the day before. Today, both of them carried small wooden buckets—the fish soup they had eaten last night was so delicious that they had smacked their lips in delight. Su Yu knew that with a dozen or so people at the educated youth settlement, a pot of soup made from two or three pounds of small fish, and even a few sips of oil, was considered a rare treat.

……

Today's harvest was bountiful; their buckets were overflowing with green-shelled river shrimp. Su Yu kept all the small fish, but gave them all the shrimp. The two grinned and laughed all the way back to the village entrance.

Su Yu carried the bucket home and saw Xiao Yulan sitting under the eaves sewing shoe soles from afar. The needle and thread moved nimbly between her fingers, but her eyes kept looking towards the courtyard gate.

"Clean these fish at noon, coat them with a thin layer of flour, and fry them thoroughly when I come back in the afternoon. Then I'll take them to exchange for money."

"Third Brother... he's selling things illegally now, they'll arrest him."

"Don't worry, I have connections."