Courtyard House: Starting with a 28-inch motorcycle

In the guesthouse kitchen, seven or eight large iron pots were set up, steamers were stacked high and smoking, chopping boards were used with deafening force, and the firelight made everyone's faces glow red. Everyone was working hard, as they had to finish before three o'clock in the afternoon so that the meal could start promptly at four o'clock.

At noon, everyone ate a couple of mouthfuls of cold rice to fill their stomachs, then buried themselves in their work until just after three o'clock, when they finally breathed a sigh of relief. In the conference room, the cadres who had just finished the annual meeting had already found their seats, and as soon as the kitchen staff shouted, hot dishes were brought out one after another.

Only after the last dish was removed from the stove did Su Yu pick up her food box and walk home, blending into the crowd.

Two hours before the movie started, he stepped into the courtyard and saw Xiao Yulan, Wu Qun, and Wu Ni, already dressed in brand-new clothes, standing under the eaves chatting and laughing. Wu Ni's newly cut bangs lay neatly on her forehead, making her eyes look exceptionally bright.

Su Yu didn't ask any more questions, and simply nodded to the three of them.

Xiao Yulan greeted them with a smile: "This is my second uncle's daughter. She'll be making matchboxes with us from now on. Daughter, call him brother-in-law."

Wu Ni smiled and said softly, "Brother-in-law."

Su Yu placed the food box on the table: "Here, your dishes."

Xiao Yulan took Wu Ni's arm: "Come on, let's go see a movie! If we wait any longer, we won't even be able to squeeze through the door!"

Su Yu smiled and shook his head: "The tickets are in my pocket—okay, okay, let's go!" He couldn't help but smile as he watched the three of them jumping for joy.

He escorted the three of them to the movie theater entrance but didn't go in himself. The three tickets were forced upon them by Director Zheng; these days, even buying one requires connections. They could usually get tickets, but they'd rather work late into the night than rest.

After waiting a while, the crowd at the entrance thinned out, and Su Yu took out a cigarette and offered it to him. The ticket inspector smiled and pushed open the door, letting him lean against the doorframe to get a better look. Several familiar faces nearby followed suit, standing on tiptoe and craning their necks, completely absorbed in the view.

Even after the movie ended, the three were still chattering away, recounting the plot, their laughter as clear and crisp as wind chimes on the eaves. Su Yu followed behind, listening all the way home.

Wu Qun and Wu Ni had already set the dinner table. Su Yu opened the food box and set up the small stove to heat the dishes.

The moment the box lid was lifted, three pairs of eyes lit up simultaneously—

Xiao Yulan picked up a piece of crispy pork and asked softly, "Who are you entertaining today? Such a lavish meal!"

Su Yu: "No one is treating us specially. Today, the county guesthouse is holding its annual meeting, and everyone has to go for a meal. The leaders instructed us to prepare generous portions so that everyone can take some back with them to enjoy with their families."

Su Yu's hands moved with lightning speed, as if she had oiled them. Braised pork, crispy pork, and cold sliced ​​pork belly were all shoveled into her lunchbox in the blink of an eye. Her efficiency was so great that even the old lady at the supply and marketing cooperative who was snapping up eggs would have to nod in approval. Anyway, everyone at the table was a stranger. Would it be awkward to bump into each other later? She couldn't be bothered to think about it.

Wu Qun often benefited from his superiors' favors; he would always pack up the leftovers and bring them back for everyone to share. These days, just being able to fill one's stomach is a blessing; who cares whether someone else has already touched the food?

……

Time flies, and it was already September 1975. Su Guang brought his three children to register. Su Yun was admitted to high school as she wished, and Liu Yan and Su Jiang were also admitted.

Liu Yan and Su Jiang rode their bicycles back to their village to stay, while Su Yun stayed at Su Yu's house. Su Guang carried forty jin of newly harvested corn and stepped into Su Yu's courtyard.

Su Guang: "Yulan, I'll have to ask you to look after Xiaoyun for the next two years. When she graduates, there will be vacancies in the commune. A high school diploma will make it easier for her to get a job and she'll have more confidence in finding one."

Su Yun paid for her own tuition, and Wu Lanhua had nothing more to say, so she simply let go and didn't care whether Su Yun studied or not.

Liu Yan and Su Jiang had long regarded this place as their second home, and since the beginning of autumn, they had been catching loaches and bringing them over every day—twenty catties a day, four yuan each, which they split equally, while Su Yu sat at home counting the money.

After the two children started school, their families helped out and continued the work. It didn't require much effort; two yuan a day—where else could you find this kind of work? It was more than the commune clerk's salary. The two families often went into the mountains together to check how high the yam vines had climbed and how big the kudzu roots were, and to weed and loosen the soil—this was their last bit of income for the year.

Su Guang also found a way: he led a small team in the village to hunt wild boars, and sold them to Su Yu for six cents a pound, with cash on delivery; he accepted all kinds of mountain goods and wild game. Relying on this "middleman" job, he made a lot of money in just a few months.

Wu Lanhua secretly leaked the news to her family. Su Guang was charging five cents a pound, so her family immediately went up the mountain in the dark to hunt and exchange wild boars for money.

After a month, the family had earned over three hundred yuan. As for who ultimately bought the wild boar, she couldn't be bothered to ask. As long as someone bought it and she got paid, that was enough.

Xiao Yulan stared at the old wooden box, where neatly stacked banknotes were about to overflow, amounting to nearly two thousand five hundred.

Xiao Yulan: "Third brother, let's get a bigger box. This one is almost too big to close."

Su Yu: "Okay, go to the flea market tomorrow and pick one out."

Xiao Yulan was helping Su Yu pack things into a cloth bag—as usual, they were going to deliver packages to the cowshed today. Life there was much more comfortable now: money and food were being sent from home regularly, Su Yu was buying daily necessities for them, and the villagers didn't have time to keep an eye on them. Everyone's complexion was rosy and their bodies were strong.

Wu Qun and Wu Ni practiced their hand speed so fast that they earned a fixed thirteen yuan a month. Their family took twelve yuan and kept one yuan for pocket money.

When Su Yun came home from get out of class, she would often help make cardboard boxes and occasionally teach them to recognize characters and do arithmetic. The three of them did not live together: Wu Qun and Wu Ni squeezed into one room, and after dinner they would voluntarily practice for two extra hours so as not to disturb Su Yun's sleep.

Su Yun lived alone in a room. Su Guang brought her bedding and bed boards over in an oxcart, and delivered her food rations once a month.

As soon as Su Yu's bicycle turned into the village entrance, the men and women surrounded her and started chatting. Every time she came, she would say with a smile, "I'm back to see my third uncle, and I'll also visit Aunt Wang Guifen." She would carry three jin of corn as a cover, and as soon as it got dark, she would turn around and head towards the cowshed.

Wang Guifen beamed when she saw her—in those days, three catties of fine grains were enough to feed a family for several days.

As soon as the people from the cowshed and the educated youth left, Su Yu never set foot in the village again. The villagers praised her behind her back: "Su Yu is such a good girl, she never forgets her roots! She's so kind-hearted towards Wang Guifen, who raised her."

The educated youth are living a comfortable life now: they hunt at least one wild boar or goat every month, and their meals are always delicious. The newcomers are also sensible and never complain. When the wild fruits ripen, they go up the mountain together to pick them, and then make jam, which is sweet and sour.

Every time Su Yu returned to the village, the educated youth would always invite her to stay for a meal, chatting about cooking skills and asking for ways to cook wild vegetables. They had even tried cooking loach a few times, but unfortunately, they hadn't soaked it in enough medicinal wine, so it always had a muddy smell.

After delivering the packages at night, Su Yu rode her bicycle home through the darkness.

The lights were still on in the room, and Su Yun was teaching her two younger sisters pinyin, starting with pinyin.

Time passed by at a leisurely pace, and before we knew it, it was October 1977—the announcement of the resumption of the national college entrance examination was like a thunderclap in spring.

Su Yu invited Liu Yan, Su Jiang, and Su Yun to her home. The three had just graduated and returned to the village, and were still unemployed.

Su Yu: "I got my hands on some math, physics, and chemistry practice exams, and the printing factory printed over two thousand copies overnight. Each of you take seven hundred copies to sell at two cents a copy, and we'll split the profits 40/60—I get four, and you get six."

She had already planned it out: the factory would only dare to accept the order once the notice was issued. Right now, the educated youth had no materials and were in a panic; this exam paper was their lifeline.

Starting in August, the people in the cowshed gradually left—Professor Li took the lead, visiting each person in turn to express his gratitude and leave his address and phone number before departing.

Professor Wang, holding his three children and his wife's hand, his eyes reddening, bowed deeply to Su Yu and her husband: "If it weren't for you sending malted milk powder every month, how could the children have grown so strong!"

As the villagers watched the cars drive them away, they were filled with regret: "If only we had offered them tea and water and tried to get on their good side!"

The three of them took the exam papers, hopped on their bicycles, and set off. On the first day, they went from street to street, and half of the papers were sold. That evening, they rushed back to Su Yu's house to pay the money and settle accounts, then carried the remaining papers back to the village. The next day, they headed straight for a more distant village.

The educated youth rushed to buy them—these weren't ordinary exercises; they were the key to returning to the city. They quickly assessed the situation, filled in any gaps in their knowledge, and the sound of reading aloud echoed throughout the youth settlement.

After selling the papers two or three times, the three of them couldn't sit still any longer. They spread out their papers and buried themselves in studying, determined to get into a good university.

Not long after the exam, the province attached great importance to Yun County's results and sent several investigation teams down to investigate why Yun County had such an outstanding college entrance rate. They were stunned when they found out that there had been mock exams prepared in advance! Although the exam questions were different, the tension, urgency, and learning atmosphere immediately pulled everyone into the zone.

The provincial printing plant immediately approved: print the exam papers for the next college entrance examination as usual! It helps students improve their scores and generates revenue at the same time—isn't printing exam papers as simple as printing calendars?

The village was bustling with celebration as Su Yu, arm in arm with Xiao Yulan, arrived to attend the banquet celebrating the academic achievements of Su Yun and her two companions. Three girls passing the imperial examinations together was, in the old days, equivalent to three scholars from one family, guaranteeing them future pillars of the nation and key figures at the grassroots level—Secretary Su Guangliu grinned from ear to ear, his eyes crinkling with wrinkles, even his hand holding the wine bowl trembling slightly: three golden phoenixes had flown out of his family—it sounded like something out of a play.

The youth quarters were buzzing with excitement. All seven of them had taken the exam, and the lowest score was a college diploma. They rummaged through their belongings, pulling out their best finds—sausages, candied fruit, canned goods, and liquor—and gathered under the old locust tree to set up a long table for a scalding, bittersweet farewell dinner. Tomorrow morning, they would all head to their respective stations, separated by mountains and rivers, with no one knowing when they would meet again.

Wang Guifen had been standing at the courtyard gate, looking around. When she saw people, she immediately came forward, her eyebrows curving into crescents. She polished the two bamboo chairs at the head of the table until they shone, leaving them especially for Su Yu and Xiao Yulan.

After Su Yu and her companion sat down, they sat in a circle around the three "Wenquxing" (a group of scholars known for their literary talent).

Su Yu picked up a piece of braised pork with her chopsticks and put it into Su Yun's bowl, saying softly, "Once you enter the school gates, you must calm your mind, thoroughly study your books, and hone your skills—in the future, you won't just live for yourself, but for more people."

The three nodded in unison, solemnly handing over three yuan each, one yuan thick and warm, like holding a heavy entrustment. After the meal, Su Yu helped Xiao Yulan onto Su Guang's oxcart to return to the city. Xiao Yulan was pregnant, so a bicycle couldn't handle the jolting; the oxcart, though slow, was more stable.

……