Courtyard House: Starting with a 28-inch motorcycle

Within two minutes, the earth rumbled, and several wild boars charged straight at you, crashing through the bushes. If anyone had fallen to the ground, they would have had to wait for the right moment to collect their bodies—their tusks were like curved blades, leaving a bloody gash with every graze, more brutal than a scythe.

The wild boar charged furiously at the edge of the pit, and in the chaos, it tripped and fell into the trap. After waiting for more than an hour without any reinforcements, Su Yu finally jumped down from the tree—wild boars are masters of feigned retreats and surprise attacks, so he dared not be careless.

He led several male educated youths down into the pit, tied the wild boar's four hooves with hemp rope, and together they dragged it to the ground before quickly filling the trap. Once the stench of blood dissipated, wild boars would never approach the area again.

Taking the machete handed to him by the educated youth, Su Yu quickly gutted the meat, neatly cutting it into several large pieces. He tossed the machete aside and didn't care what happened next—how the meat was divided, who got which piece, he didn't care at all. Since he wasn't involved, he wouldn't be implicated if anything happened.

If someone reports him and implicates him, he can simply shrug and say, "I didn't take any money, nor did I share any meat. Why didn't you call me when you were sharing?"—confident and airtight. If nothing happens, people will remember this kindness for a lifetime; either way, he won't lose out.

After dark, the educated youth compound was so quiet that only hushed laughter could be heard. No one made a loud noise, but every face was beaming—each person had received several dozen kilograms of meat that day, and Liu Mei had taken all ten pheasants, voluntarily asking for less meat.

Wu, the educated youth: "This batch of wild boar meat weighs a full four hundred catties. There are thirteen of us, so each of us gets exactly thirty-one catties. We'll clean the offal first and cook it tonight to share. The remaining meat strips need to be air-dried and preserved—how to handle them, whether to marinate or smoke them, is entirely up to each individual; I don't care."

But two rules must be upheld: first, the meat must never be sold for money; second, no one is allowed to utter a single word about it in front of Su Yu. They didn't even try to take a piece of the meat; they simply didn't want to get involved in this mess. If anything goes wrong, we'll take the blame ourselves. But nobody wants trouble, so keeping this to ourselves is the safest option. Su Yu is reliable—we saw it clearly in the raisin incident: he's lived in the village for so many years and hasn't taught a single farming tip to an outsider, so he certainly won't divulge a single word this time.

Everyone nodded in agreement. Who would be foolish enough to announce something like this? Did they have a death wish? Besides, all these years their families have been supporting them through hardship; now that they can finally give back, who would risk losing their livelihood? And if good things come along, will they even get a chance? This is the smart way to live. Before, if you wanted a treat, you could just rely on food coupons sent from home to go to a state-run restaurant and order a plate of stir-fried meat; but now, which family has any surplus food coupons to squander?

My heart felt warm, as if I had met an honest person.

……

The next few days were peaceful, and the educated youth didn't go up the mountain; they obediently followed the team to work. The wild fruits in the mountains had long been picked clean, and Su Yu didn't step into the woods again.

When Xiao Yulan returned from work at noon, she took some food to her maternal grandfather's house, leaving no food for Su Yu in the kitchen.

As soon as he stepped into the courtyard, he noticed that the padlock on the kitchen door had been pried open, the sheet metal twisted and sticking up, and he could hear rustling sounds of someone rummaging through drawers and cabinets inside. Su Yu bent down, picked up a sturdy locust wood stick from the ground, and crouched down, moving along the wall to the kitchen doorway—Su Jiang was squatting by the stove, frantically rummaging through the rice container.

He leaped up with a powerful push, and the stick, whistling through the air, slammed into Su Jiang's back. Su Jiang cried out "Ouch!" and fell to the ground, his face covered in soot from the stove.

Su Yu: "Did you pick the lock? Who sent you?"

Su Jiang: "Third Brother! It's me! I saw that no one was home and was looking for something to eat... After the family division, my eldest brother and the others didn't get enough work points, and their food rations were pitifully small. Mom has been cooking thin porridge every day to keep her alive, and I'm afraid she won't make it until the summer harvest when the new grain is distributed—isn't she desperate for food?"

Su Yu: "Didn't your mother tell you that I'm not your biological third brother?"

Su Jiang: "Third Brother, we grew up together, practically naked. This bond can't be faked, can it?"

Su Yu: "Then tell me, what kind of brother does picking locks? Couldn't you wait for me to come back and knock on the door? Out of consideration for our past relationship, I'll let it go with a beating today; but if your mother sent you here, you'd better make it clear now—otherwise, after I'm done beating you, I'll have to take you to the brigade headquarters."

He deliberately frowned. Xiao Si was always timid, and a little scare would surely expose him; anyway, he couldn't escape this beating.

Before he finished speaking, Su Yu had already replaced the stick with a thinner willow branch, whipping it while interrogating him about whether someone was behind it.

Su Jiang clutched his backside and cried out, "I really came all by myself! Nobody told me to! I was so hungry my stomach was practically sticking to my back!"

Su Yu's heart stirred slightly—in the original story, this kid wasn't really a bad seed: after finishing his studies, he returned to his hometown and brought him canned food; later, after establishing himself in the city, he insisted on taking him to live with him in his old age. Although he himself was stubborn and refused to go, his intentions were genuine.

Su Yu took a breath: "Little Fourth, Third Brother is hitting you for your own good. If you don't correct your ways today, you'll really fall into a quagmire later, and it will be too late to cry."

Su Jiang sobbed, "I know, Third Brother... but there really isn't a single grain of rice in your pot. I got beaten, and my stomach is still growling."

Su Yu sighed: "Sigh, you didn't know your own strength when you said that—this beating wasn't to vent my anger, but to teach you a lesson: you can't touch other people's things, not even a needle or thread."

Su Jiang wiped away his tears: "But I thought of you, you're my third brother, that's why I came! Go ask around in the village, have I ever stolen a single penny from anyone?"

Su Yu waved her hand: "Alright, you can't steal from anyone. I was originally planning to save these pancakes for a midnight snack, but I'll give them to you to tide you over tonight. If you have time, help your third brother catch loaches; you can have two pancakes a day, all you can eat."

Su Jiang immediately straightened his back: "Alright! Don't worry, Third Brother, I'm an expert at catching loaches, I'll go right now!"

Su Yu paused, then stared into his eyes and asked, "You really didn't have your second aunt send you?"

He needed to find out the truth—if it really was her doing, then there was no need for further contact.

Su Jiang shook his head: "Really not! I had a huge fight with her! Third Brother, you were separated from your family before you even got married, and you raised Xiao Wu and me single-handedly. Even if you're not her biological child, she can't be so mean! When we were little, you always volunteered to do the chores around the house, but she turns on you faster than flipping through a book... I couldn't stand it, so we argued several times. Xiao Wu misses you too, and cried so much that she soaked several pillows, but she absolutely refused to let her come."

Su Yu sneered inwardly: "Starve a filial son to death, fatten up a rebellious son"—these words, spoken here, are like knives stabbing at one's heart.

In the original story, Wang Guifen's four children were indeed filial to their parents until old age, and lived a stable and respectable life. But that had nothing to do with Su Yu—he had paid every penny of child support, the original owner Su Qiang hadn't been eating and drinking for free in her house, and Su Yu had no obligation to pay off the original owner's debts.

Years ago, Su Guang had separated Su Yu and Xiao Yulan's household registrations. Once they reached the required age, they could obtain their certificates at any time. The two were already two separate households with no issues.

Su Yu waved her hand: "Let's not talk about the past. Your mother truly loved you all. Fill these two small wooden buckets with loaches; give one of the three cakes you have each day to Xiao Wu."

We exchange our labor for food, and neither of us owes the other anything.

Su Jiang readily agreed: "Alright, Third Brother, I'll go right away!"

Su Yu raised her voice and added, "If you dare to pick my lock again, I'll beat you without hesitation."

Su Jiang shrank back, "I wouldn't dare, Third Brother!"

He wolfed down a pancake, grabbed two empty buckets, and ran off. Just outside the hospital gate, Professor Li, leaning on his bamboo cane, strolled slowly to Su Yu's small house.

Professor Li raised his hand and knocked on the door. Su Yu opened the door to greet him. Professor Li tilted his head towards the grove of trees next to them, and Su Yu nodded and followed him.

The two ventured deeper into the woods. Professor Li glanced around to make sure no one was watching before lowering his voice and speaking closer: "Xiao Su, this is a letter we all wrote home together. We're asking you to help us mail it. If any packages arrive from home in the future, please also accept them and sign for them. It's all clearly written in the letter—no one was willing to help us before, but now we can only trouble you."

Su Yu nodded: "It's nothing, I'll go to the post office this afternoon. But I need to go through the letter first, in case there's anything that shouldn't be written, I'm sorry I can't help you."

Professor Li smiled frankly: "It's all just everyday stuff, not a single word is superfluous. Just keep reading."

Su Yu took the letter, turned around and walked back into the house, opening each letter and reading it carefully. He wasn't one to pry into others' private affairs, but if things went wrong, he wouldn't be able to explain himself no matter how hard he tried—he had sent the letter himself, and if he claimed to know nothing about it, who would believe him? Helping others was fine, but he absolutely couldn't get himself involved; the deeper he sank into the quagmire, the harder it was to extricate himself.

Helping them might actually help you build some solid connections in the future; however, a slight misstep could lead to total ruin and endless regret. It's true that fortune favors the bold, but behind that "boldness" lies steadiness, precision, and ruthlessness, not recklessness or gambling with your life.

Every letter was flawless: the opening was respectful and solemn, and the closing greetings were appropriate, all in the most proper way of writing at the time; the content was also plain and natural, just chatting, reporting that everything was alright, and casually mentioning, "We're missing some things here, could you send some over if it's convenient for you?"

Su Guang caught a glimpse of Su Jiang bending over, digging in the mud ditch, on the dirt road at the village entrance, but didn't even lift his eyelids. These two cousins ​​had picked up this habit from who knows where; loaches are fishy and coarse, neither filling nor satisfying, so what's the point of catching them?

Xiao Wu, Su Yu, ran to find Su Jiang to go home for dinner. Just as she reached the edge of the field, she saw her fourth brother crouching down, feeling around in the puddle.

Su Yu: "Fourth Brother, what are you doing bending over here catching loaches? The oil jar at home is almost empty, what are we going to fry for you to eat?"

Su Jiang: "Xiao Wu, do you want to eat some shortbread?"

Su Yu: "Who wouldn't want that? You really do?"

Su Jiang: "That's right—this is something only the two of us are allowed to know. If word gets out, all the pancakes Third Brother has will be snatched up by others, and we won't even have a chance to get any!"

Su Yu: "Third Brother, are you really willing to trade cakes for loaches?"

Su Jiang: "Shh—I'm only telling you this once! If you want to eat, we'll do it together; if you don't want to eat, turn around and leave, pretend I never opened my mouth."

Without a word, Su Yu kicked off her cloth shoes, rolled up her trousers to her thighs, and followed Su Jiang, still somewhat skeptical, as they worked in the mud for an hour. The two of them, carrying wet bamboo baskets, walked one after the other to the entrance of Su Yu's courtyard.