Courtyard House: Starting with a 28-inch motorcycle

Without vanity to back her up, she no longer followed others to the square to play the flute and show off, nor did she pay attention to those gossipy hooligans; before even graduating, she was already planning how to help her mother support the family. He Wenyuan was more opinionated and had a sense of justice than her sister, unlike He Wenhui, who revolved around her younger brother her whole life and became a "brother-supporting demon".

She knew that true help wasn't about playing the victim, but about stabilizing their lives step by step.

He Wenyuan: "Mom, I'll give you ten yuan every month from now on. Don't be stingy, use it to buy some eggs and pork liver to nourish your body."

But then I thought, my mother is used to being frugal and she's reluctant to spend money even if I give her some. Why don't I bring the groceries home every day and let her cook? After all, we can't just throw the food away, can we?

He Wenyuan: "Mom, let me do the grocery shopping! I go to the market with the boss's wife every day, the stall owners all recognize me, and I'm good at bargaining."

Yu Qiuhua nodded. She couldn't stop the child from showing his good intentions, nor could she bear to.

He Wenyuan opened her textbook to review her lessons—something she did without fail every day when she caught her breath. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw her mother sitting under the lamp weaving, her fingers flying, the cotton thread winding between her fingers, and her heart warmed: she had to buy her mother a new dress.

He Wenyuan: "Mom, when I get paid this month, I'll take you to the department store to pick out two outfits—the ones with thicker fabric, so you can stay warm."

Yu Qiuhua: "Okay, I have seven or eight cloth coupons in my drawer, enough for you to choose from!" She smiled, fine lines appearing at the corners of her eyes, her voice light and cheerful.

As dawn broke, He Wenyuan had already washed up. She took a shortcut to the store and ran into Wu Xiaoying—Wu Xiaoying was off duty yesterday, and she had bought the groceries by herself.

When she arrived at the shop, Wu Xiaoying had already finished her morning market duties and was making pancakes with her husband at the stove. Seeing her enter, Wu Xiaoying wiped her hands, and the two walked side by side toward the market.

Back at the shop, she hopped on her bicycle and headed straight for the train station. After running around for half a month, she knew the route so well she could do it with her eyes closed: her shouts grew louder and louder, and she was no longer shy or hesitant at the beginning; every word she uttered exuded energy.

With her sweet face, warm smile, and soft yet crisp voice, she had already earned a good reputation at the train station. With the start of the new semester just around the corner, she had no intention of repeating a year—she had to save up for train fare, tuition, and daily expenses; and if she gritted her teeth, she would also buy herself a brand new, shiny flute.

He Wenhui brought her two younger brothers to take Li Jianbin to school. He Wenyuan spotted his sister at a glance, called out "Sister!", and waved to Wentao and Wenda. The two didn't even look up and went straight behind a pillar.

Only He Wenhui, arm in arm with Li Jianbin, approached with a smile. He Wenyuan frowned slightly but didn't say much. He simply lowered his head and neatly packed up the roujiamo (Chinese hamburger), his movements swift and efficient.

He Wenhui: "Weren't you doing well working at the restaurant? Why are you selling steamed buns here?"

He Wenyuan: "It's also the boss's business, he gets paid 50 cents a day. Sister, are you taking Jianbin to register for work?"

She used to think Li Jianbin and her sister were a match made in heaven; both were college graduates, and their conversations and knowledge seemed quite respectable. But now she'd long since seen through it all: a man's reliability doesn't depend on his education level, but on whether he dares to shoulder responsibilities and is willing to endure hardship. Life isn't all romance; it has the foundation of daily necessities. Of course, finding a college graduate would be even better—after all, graduation means a stable government job with a secure future.

He Wenhui: "Wenda! Wentao! Are your eyes on the top of your heads? Can't you see your second sister?"

Wenda scoffed, "This kind of job is so embarrassing, it's like making a fool of yourself at the train station. What would I do?"

Wen Tao didn't say anything, but the corner of his mouth twitched and his eyes slanted, his meaning was clearer than words.

He Wenyuan's face darkened instantly, but he didn't lose his temper on the spot—the line behind him was very long, and the customers were all waiting to get their steamed buns. He didn't have time to play along with their act.

He Wenyuan: "Jianbin, try this sauce, it's our special blend! Sis, hurry up and go inside, the train won't wait."

Li Jianbin took the package and nodded with a smile, "Thanks, Wenyuan! Wenhui, you can stay here and chat for a while, I'll be going now."

He Wenhui: "Have a safe trip! I'll help Wenyuan pack up his stall, so I won't see you off."

The two sisters chatted as they sold their steamed buns, and before long, they were all sold out. Wentao and Wenda had long since disappeared, finding it too conspicuous to stand there.

He Wenhui: "I'll treat your colleagues to dinner next month after I get paid—I'm leaving now, those two rascals have probably run off somewhere again."

He Wenyuan's face turned ashen, and he swallowed his anger.

This is a skill he learned from Liu Hongchang: the time some thugs caused trouble, Liu Hongchang smiled and offered cigarettes and reasoned with them the whole time, only handing them over when the police arrived.

Liu Hongchang once said, "If I take action today, you can forget about opening the door tomorrow. Either things will be stolen every day, or glass will be broken daily. If you smile at everyone, you won't lose anything; but if you say one harsh word, you'll offend someone."

What is life? It's a bunch of messes you can't get rid of; you can't avoid them, you can only accept them with a smile.

The more anxious, resentful, and aggrieved you are, the more your life will sink.

Getting angry is one day, and getting through it with a smile is another—so why not choose the latter?

Of course, fate won't let you off the hook just because you smiled; things might get even harder. But you have to learn to pat yourself on the shoulder and tell yourself: Okay, I can still move forward.

He Wenyuan just couldn't understand: how could earning money through hard work to support himself become a shameful thing that he couldn't be told to do?

Must one stretch out their hand and wait for others to give them alms in order to be considered decent?

Does one have to be like them, clinging to He Wenhui like parasites to be considered "respectable"? He Wenyuan felt increasingly frustrated—when did her own younger brother become so twisted and spineless? She couldn't make sense of it at all.

Does she think someone can just casually make a sarcastic remark and expect her to give up the job she's been holding onto for so long? No way.

……

Half a month has passed in the blink of an eye. Today is the big day of Director Hou's son's wedding, and the banquet is scheduled for Liu's Restaurant. Last night, chicken, duck, fish, meat, dried goods and fresh vegetables were all piled up in the backyard, enough for more than forty tables. The cured meat alone hung on an entire wall.

Just as dawn was breaking, a handwritten wooden sign was erected at the shop entrance: "For wedding banquet only today. No walk-ins please. Thank you for your understanding."

Steam billowed from the kitchen, and two large steamers borrowed from the second canteen were emitting plumes of white smoke. Liu Hongchang wiped his sweat as he pondered: After this is done, I need to quickly order a new steamer to keep in the shop for future use.

Everyone was dressed in brand-new blue work clothes, looking clean and neat. Only Gao Xiaocui and He Wenyuan were wearing light gray short-sleeved uniforms. They were in charge of the hall, not the kitchen, but only greeting guests, announcing seats, and serving tea.

"Hongchang! Have you prepared all the dishes for the fast food?" Just after ten o'clock, Liu Yunchang rode his tricycle through the gate with a clanging sound.

"It's already cooked!" Liu Hongchang called out, then turned to Jiang Ting, who was tossing the food in the pan, and shouted, "Tingzi, is the lunchbox packed securely?"

"All done!" Jiang Ting deftly picked up four aluminum lunch boxes, stacked them in the back of the tricycle, jumped on, and followed Liu Yunchang straight to the construction site.

At 1:00 PM sharp, guests began to arrive. The newlyweds stood at the door, their eyes crinkling with smiles, shaking hands and exchanging pleasantries with each guest. In less than half an hour, all eighty tables on both floors were full.

A steward dressed in a dark blue Zhongshan suit with a red silk flower pinned to his chest strode up to He Wenyuan: "The first round of ten hot dishes is ready; it's time to serve them!"

He Wenyuan turned and rushed into the kitchen, standing on tiptoe and shouting towards the stove, "The dishes are ready—the first batch is all served!"

Before she finished speaking, several young men who ran errands for the Hou family filed in carrying trays. Wang Shufang moved with lightning speed, grabbing the first steamed pork ribs that had come out of the pot, placing them steadily on the tray, and delivering them in the blink of an eye.

Ten dishes were served in quick succession, and as soon as the guests took a bite, they all nodded in approval: "The cooking is perfect!" "I'm definitely booking this place for my daughter's wedding!"

The second group of guests had just taken their seats when the dishes were served in one swift motion. At 4:50 p.m., the last table was cleared, and the staff wiped the tables, swept the floor, and put away the dishes with even greater efficiency than usual.

Director Hou and his wife pulled Liu Hongchang aside: "The old man kept praising the food, especially the Eight Treasure Duck! Forty tables, as usual, forty bottles of Fenjiu liquor, you can calculate the bill."

"It'll be four hundred and forty yuan in total—eight yuan per table for the banquet, and three yuan per bottle for Fenjiu, the same price as in the department store. You can give me four hundred and thirty-eight yuan, I'll round it down by two yuan," Liu Hongchang replied with a smile.

The wedding banquet brought in a little over a thousand yuan, with the hosts paying for the food themselves. However, the Liu family turned down all walk-in customers for the entire day. Normally, they could earn three or four hundred yuan by closing time, without having to work non-stop. Taking on this wedding wasn't about the immediate profit, but about paving the way for the future: opening an "all-inclusive wedding planning service," handling everything from wedding photos, MC, and car fleet to the banquet and wedding favors—today's event was a litmus test, a stepping stone.

Director Hou nodded and pulled out a stack of brand-new ten-yuan bills: "Here, count them."

Liu Hongchang didn't refuse; he meticulously sorted out, counted, and verified each bill. He felt at ease only after the money and goods were settled—it's better to be a little timid now than a gentleman later; nobody wants to be talked about behind their back later.

Seeing that the shop was tidied up, He Wenyuan immediately took down the wooden sign at the entrance. It was dinnertime, and the factory across the street had just finished get off work, so a large flow of people poured in.

"Xiao Cui, I'm going to the market on my bike. You can hold off on this for now!" Before she finished speaking, she had already mounted her bicycle and sped off with a "clink." A few minutes later, she returned carrying three baskets of vegetables, only a third of the usual amount.

As soon as they entered, seven or eight diners were already seated by the window, flipping through the menus. He Wenyuan poured the dishes onto the cutting board, rolled up his sleeves, and joined Gao Xiaocui in greeting the customers and taking their orders.

Liu Hongchang rubbed the back of his neck, shook his head with a wry smile—he had hoped to get a break today, but He Wenyuan had left the door wide open, forcing customers in. The kitchen staff, however, were quite happy: more people meant more fun, the boss would earn more, and his end-of-month wages wouldn't be reduced; if the shop went out of business, where would they find such reliable work?

Everyone kept working, but the corners of their mouths were all turned up.

I was busy until after 8 p.m., and two regular customers still strolled in.

"I'm so sorry, we've sold out of vegetables today. Come back tomorrow and I'll give you a 20% discount!" He Wenyuan said with a gentle smile and a clear voice.