Courtyard House: Starting with a 28-inch motorcycle

"I've already eaten, brother." She looked up and smiled, but her gaze fell on the aluminum lunchbox in his hand. She blinked, "Huh? This lunchbox...didn't you say you wouldn't bring it anymore?"

"Special circumstances." He Yuzhu put the lunchbox on the table and grinned. "Now I have to serve a bunch of polar bears their meals. My off-duty time is unpredictable, so the boss gave me special permission to prepare some food in advance to fill my stomach."

Otherwise, if I stay hungry until nine o'clock every day, I'll definitely get a stomach hemorrhage.

He lifted the lid, and a rich aroma burst forth. Steam rose, the rice glistened, and the vegetables were glistening and tempting—it was freshly taken from the Vitality Space, warm and fragrant, almost bewitching.

"I've already eaten, here's some left for you to have a little something to satisfy your craving," he said casually, grabbing a cold steamed bun and starting to eat it.

In fact, he only had a few bites in the cafeteria, how could he be full?

He Yushui wasn't actually hungry, but the aroma immediately made her stomach betray her reason.

Without saying a word, she grabbed a pair of chopsticks, picked up a piece of sweet and sour pork ribs, and put it in her mouth.

"Mmm... Brother! This is so delicious!" Her eyes lit up, her cheeks puffed out, and her words were slurred.

"That's right." He Yuzhu smiled smugly, chewing on a dry steamed bun without stopping his boasting, "With my skills, who in the whole of Beijing dares to claim second place? I wouldn't even dare to say I'm first, for fear of being called arrogant."

He paused, then added, "I might bring this thing back every day from now on."

You should eat dinner first, then bring it to school for lunch tomorrow, so you don't have to suffer in the cafeteria.

He Yushui was tempted upon hearing this.

She really didn't want to eat the bland, tasteless food from the school's large pots, but if she brought a lunchbox every day, the whole class would watch—that would be too prestigious.

But she immediately frowned: "Brother, what if the leftovers go bad?"

"You still don't trust your brother?" He Yuzhu sneered. "The food I cook won't spoil even after three days."

It will still smell wonderful even after a year, let alone just one night.

This sounded outrageous, but she actually believed it.

After all, my older brother's cooking is not exactly conventional.

He Yushui nodded and pushed the lunchbox back to him: "Then you can keep it for now, just give it to me tomorrow morning."

The middle school she attended had a cafeteria where the staple foods were cheap, but the side dishes were... well, let's just say they weren't great.

Ever since He Yuzhu spoiled her palate, she had never touched the cafeteria's stir-fried dishes again, only buying a steamed bun or rice to eat with the meat she brought from home—but now, with this "divine lunchbox," her status among her classmates is probably going to take off.

After He Yuzhu finished eating the last bite of rice, He Yushui went back to her room to rest.

After tidying up the dishes, he rolled up his sleeves and went to his workbench in the corner of the courtyard. His carving knife flew, and wood chips flew like snow.

Two tiny objects, no bigger than the palm of one's hand, quickly took shape—a small pavilion with upturned eaves and a wooden tiger with bared teeth, their lines smooth and their expressions lifelike.

Someone had mentioned to Lao Wang before that carving Buddha statues and auspicious themes is the most popular and can fetch a high price, with collectors even vying for them.

He Yuzhu frowned upon hearing this and waved his hand in refusal.

Are you kidding me? Don't even touch those feudal superstitious things. If you actually do it, aren't you just setting yourself up for disaster? If word gets out and people accuse you of promoting superstition and restoring the old order, you'll never be able to clear your name, no matter how hard you try.

He preferred to sculpt figures of warriors charging into battle, exuding toughness, righteousness, and a strong sense of spirit.

Besides, his craftsmanship is so exquisite that even without any gimmicks, people would still be eager to buy his products.

The city of Beijing is so big, Panjiayuan is always busy buying goods. If they set up a stall in another place, they might become a hit.

The wood carving is finished. The Wang family's son will come to pick it up early tomorrow morning and clean the house spotlessly while he's at it—this business is both worry-free and respectable.

After finishing all that, it was still early, so he stretched his wrists and practiced Tai Chi twice in the yard.

With steady punches and long, even breaths, after completing a set of punches, a fleeting image of the system notification "Experience Points +1" flashed through my mind.

He wiped away his sweat, poured a basin of cold water over himself, felt refreshed, and went straight to sleep.

In summer, it's not too difficult to take a cool shower; but in winter, apart from going to a public bathhouse, who can afford to use hot water at home? He Yuzhu used to be careless, going three days without washing and getting covered in grease, but not anymore—in this second life, he has long since made up his mind: to live a decent life, to live with dignity.

Otherwise, if he smells bad and has cloudy eyes, he won't be able to find a wife, and even the neighbors will avoid him.

Now he is clean and tidy, and people say, "This man is reliable and dependable." If he were still as slovenly as before, he would probably be worse than a fifty or sixty-year-old man.

I need to tidy up that empty room next door sometime and turn it into a place for storing odds and ends and taking a shower.

With the rain getting heavier, she needs a private place to take a bath; we can't always make her make do with whatever's available.

-

"Director Zhang, where's that chef from yesterday? Today's breakfast... is so different."

Early in the morning, Sharif had just taken a bite of a wonton when his brows immediately furrowed.

It wasn't that the taste was inedible, but compared to yesterday's meal, it was like heaven and earth.

Director Zhang shook his head with a wry smile: "I'm sorry, Sharif."

Yesterday, your meal was cooked by Deputy Director He from the canteen of the Third Steel Rolling Mill. He's only in charge of lunch and dinner; he also has a bunch of other things to manage, like the greenhouse.

He only learned later that He Yuzhu was not only the mainstay of the canteen, but also the actual operator of the agricultural project.

Asking someone to cover their midnight snack is already asking too much; if they also take their breakfast, that's not asking for help, that's exploitation.

Even servants in wealthy families in the past were not treated like this.

It's true that cooks are in a service position, but they shouldn't be treated like slaves.

Moreover, He Yuzhu is now a legitimate cadre, with a deputy position title and clear details about his treatment and rank.

"What a pity... With such culinary skills, I really want to see him make a complete breakfast." Sharif clicked his tongue, his words laced with sarcasm. "Especially that jelly yesterday, it was as smooth and tender as pudding, I still think about it now."

Unlike these wontons, which were barely edible.

Director Zhang understood his implied meaning and chuckled, "When you see Deputy Director He later, you might as well ask him yourself."

As long as he's willing, no one will stop him.

He paused, then added meaningfully, "Deputy Director He has always been very respectful to his 'friends'."

He's the kind of person who loves making friends.

The subtext is obvious: You want to eat his cooking every day? Fine, you'll have to show some sincerity first.

He Yuzhu was unaware of this matter.

He had just finished inspecting the canteen's hygiene and was about to take a look around the greenhouse when he was pulled away by Instructor Zhang from the Ministry of Agriculture.

Inside the greenhouse, in addition to the twenty or so workers who take care of it daily, there is an elderly man wearing a faded blue cloth shirt.

He was thin and slightly hunched, but his eyes were surprisingly bright.

He Yuzhu recognized him immediately and blurted out, "Professor Wang? What brings you here? You're... Instructor Zhang's teacher?"

"Hahaha!" The old man laughed heartily. "Xiao Zhang is a student I trained. It's his good fortune to be able to practice here." He looked around, his gaze falling on the neatly arranged vegetable shelves. He nodded repeatedly. "Your greenhouse is beautifully set up! When you came to me with your plan, I knew you were serious."

I can't believe you actually managed to do it in such a short time!

Instructor Zhang, who was standing to the side, was stunned—he had no idea that his mentor and Deputy Director He knew each other so well.

Professor Wang patted He Yuzhu on the shoulder and said seriously, "Xiao Zhang is here to provide guidance, but I know what's going on."

"With your level of expertise, if we're really talking about agronomy, I wouldn't be able to teach you for more than a few days before I'd have to call you master."

"You flatter me," He Yuzhu said, waving his hand with a smile, but thinking to himself: If I had your solid foundation, I wouldn't be relying on the system to get by.

He genuinely respected the old professor in front of him—his skill was the result of a lifetime of hard work, something that couldn't be bought with just a data panel.

"Yuzhu, Xiao Zhang mentioned hybrid breeding to me, but he didn't explain it clearly enough."

So I want to ask you in person—take me over later to see the wheat and rice you grow.

If it's really as miraculous as Xiao Zhang says, then it's not just your achievement alone; it could very well be a major event that changes the course of our nation's destiny.

Professor Wang spoke calmly, but a hint of undisguised seriousness lingered between his brows.

At this moment, China, despite its reputation as a major agricultural country, is actually at a difficult juncture of transformation.

The blueprint for industrialization has long been drawn up, but the foundation is too weak and the start was too late; even a complete industrial system has not yet been established.

Key technologies rely on support from white bears, and talent development is in dire need.

When repaying foreign debts, agricultural products were used as collateral in the entire process.

Grain, cotton, oil, and tea were transported out of the country by truckload, while the local people were struggling to make ends meet. This led to the rule of rationing each household with coupons.

If we can truly achieve a breakthrough in increasing grain production, it will be more than just a matter of filling our stomachs—the national food supply will be more secure, the pressure of foreign debt will be alleviated, and the entire country's development pace will be accelerated significantly!

So when Xiao Zhang ran over to report, his face flushed and excited, Professor Wang's first reaction was disbelief.

He thought the kid was bragging again.

Only after Xiao Zhang patted his chest and swore that he had seen it with his own eyes did he rush over that very night to check the actual situation.

"Professor Wang, please come with me." He Yuzhu's tone was calm, but he was already overjoyed inside. "I was also wondering why anyone would plant wheat and rice by the roadside. But when I looked, the ears of rice were quite dense, unlike ordinary varieties, so I just brought two plants back with me."

This journey allowed me to reiterate the theories I had previously discussed with Instructor Zhang.

The three walked and talked, and soon arrived at the 200-square-meter test site.

Under the moonlight, the wheat seedlings stood tall and green, with broad leaves and a solid root system.

Without saying a word, Professor Wang squatted down, dug through the soil with one hand, and carefully examined the soil moisture and root development, not even missing the moisture and color of the soil.

His eyes were sharp as knives, as if he wanted to etch every inch of detail into his mind.

After watching, several professional questions were posed in succession, to which He Yuzhu answered fluently.