I, Yan Jiefang, will live to 2025 in this courtyard house.

"Who is it? I'm already asleep. We can talk tomorrow."

He Yushui's impatient voice rang out; she disliked almost everyone in the courtyard.

"Rain, that is me."

He Yuzhu's somewhat deep voice drifted into the side room.

There were some noises coming from inside the room, and then the lights came on.

"Brother, what brings you here? Are you hungry? There are two steamed buns made from two kinds of flour in the cupboard. Let me heat them up and give them to you."

He Yushui looked at her brother, who looked dejected, and her heart softened. She quickly ushered him into the house.

Then, she opened the cabinet, took out the only two golden-brown steamed buns, and placed them on the coal stove by the wall.

He Yuzhu walked into the warm house and closed the door behind him, shutting out the cold outside.

He sat on a stool to the side, watching his sister busy herself, his eyes slightly moist.

He hadn't eaten dinner in a long time since he moved to the gatehouse.

The aroma of the mixed-flour steamed buns and the warmth of the room gradually warmed his cold heart.

Tears fell silently down his face.

"Brother, what's wrong?"

He Yushui turned around and saw that her brother was crying. Her heart tightened, and she asked him worriedly, her voice becoming much louder.

In her memory, ever since her father left without saying goodbye in 51, her older brother has shouldered the burden of the family on his young shoulders, and he has never cried no matter how difficult things have been.

What's wrong with me today?

"No, it's nothing."

He Yuzhu wiped his face haphazardly with his sleeve.

It took me a while to calm down.

Seeing that her brother was much better, He Yushui quickly poured some hot water into the basin, wrung out a towel, and handed it to He Yuzhu to wipe his face.

"Brother, what's wrong? Tell me what's wrong, we siblings will face it together!"

He Yushui hung the towel on the washbasin stand and poured a glass of water and placed it on the table.

Only then did he sit opposite He Yuzhu, staring into his eyes and asking a question.

He Yuzhu took a sip of water to moisten his throat before finally revealing his previous thoughts and concerns.

He Yushui did not immediately respond after hearing her brother's words.

She took the steamed buns that had been baked on the stove, put them in a bowl, and placed them in front of He Yuzhu:

"Brother, have something to eat first. I'll think about it and tell you how to handle this."

Actually, her first reaction upon hearing what her brother had said earlier was not happiness, but worry.

She had also heard the story of the substitute plum for the peach.

But considering that the sun is still high in the sky and they live so close to it!

No demons or monsters can manifest themselves!

Then slowly let go of your worries.

She was fully aware of all the scheming and plotting within the courtyard.

This matter concerning my brother is actually quite easy to resolve.

All these problems will be solved as long as he gets married.

But the thought of her brother's previous demanding requirements for his wife gave her a terrible headache.

She does have a classmate named Yu Haitang who is very beautiful and would definitely meet her brother's requirements.

But she's in high school, with a bright future ahead of her, how could she possibly be interested in her brother?

There's another classmate named Zhang Shuqin who's also good, but she has the same problem: she's in high school and not old enough.

Hopefully, this time his change of heart will be more thorough.

Otherwise, she would have no choice but to seek help from Yan Jiefang.

After eating a hot steamed bun, He Yuzhu felt much warmer all over.

He stood up and put the bowl of steamed buns into the cupboard.

He wouldn't eat the rest; he'd save it for his sister's breakfast tomorrow.

Back in his seat, Sha Zhu noticed that his sister's brows were tightly furrowed.

He also began to worry. He knew this was a troublesome matter, but he didn't expect that even his clever sister couldn't handle it.

Thinking of this, he was filled with regret and slapped himself hard across the face.

"Brother, why are you hitting yourself?"

He Yushui quickly grabbed Sha Zhu.

"Rain, it's all my fault. I've caused such a big problem, and even you can't think of a solution."

Sha Zhu was filled with remorse and kept blaming himself.

"Brother, solving your problem is actually quite simple, it's just..."

He Yushui was about to finish speaking when Sha Zhu interrupted her.

His face was full of anxiety.

"Rain, have you come up with a solution? Tell me quickly!"

Seeing him like this, He Yushui knew that he was indeed trying to solve the problem.

That makes things much easier.

Then she went on to explain her solution:

"As long as you get married quickly and bring home a wife, all your problems will be solved!"

Sha Zhu was taken aback and quickly asked:

"I also want to get married soon, but I've been on several blind dates and nothing has come of it."

Now, the local matchmakers, Wang and Li, run away whenever they see me, and I don't know what to do.

He Yushui rolled her eyes:

"Brother, are you really stupid or just pretending? Can't you see something this obvious?"

Sha Zhu looked puzzled:

"Rain, what are you saying? I don't understand."

He Yushui shook her head, but still began to explain:

"Can't you see it? Those times, either an old lady was talking badly about you behind your back, or Qin Huairu was deliberately trying to sabotage your blind date by bringing up other things!"

Afterwards, I told you several times, but you wouldn't listen at all! You even said I was meddling!

"what!"

He Yuzhu stood there, stunned, thinking back to the scene in his mind, and it seemed that it really was true!

These people are truly wicked!

No wonder one couldn't have children and the other became a widow; they both deserved it!

"Hmph, now you know what's going on, right? There aren't many good people in our courtyard!"

He Yushui snorted coldly.

"Rain, what should I do? I can't really be a bachelor forever, can I?"

Sha Zhu stared anxiously at his younger sister.

"It's not that there's no way, it just depends on whether you can meet my requirements."

"Is there really a way? Tell me quickly."

He Yushui stopped beating around the bush and stated her requirements directly:

"First, you can't be too picky about your wife's appearance. There are certainly many beautiful women in the world like Qin Huai, but would you be a chance?"

As she spoke, she pointed to Sha Zhu's hair and clothes.

"Secondly, tidy yourself up. Look at your greasy hair and clothes! If you walked down the street, people would think you just fled from some famine!"

Sha Zhu wiped his greasy hair, his hands and head covered in oil, and then looked at himself, noticing that he was indeed covered in oil.

He smiled somewhat embarrassedly.

He Yushui rolled her eyes again.

"Third point, let's talk about it after you've taken care of yourself."

As she spoke, she took out a small stack of bills from her inner pocket, counted out a few, and pushed them in front of Sha Zhu.

"Here's three yuan, a haircut ticket, and a bath ticket. Take them. We'll talk about the rest when I get back tomorrow."

I absolutely must get a proper haircut and shower tomorrow, otherwise all this effort will be for nothing!

He Yuzhu hesitated for a moment, but still reached out and took it.

He's practically penniless now and desperately needs these things.

"Alright, it's getting late, bro, you should go back and get some rest. Remember to wait for me at the school gate tomorrow afternoon."

Oh, and whatever you do, remember to get a letter of introduction from the factory for your marriage! Whether it's useful or not, just get it first!

He Yushui was somewhat afraid of the people in the courtyard, especially Qin Huairu and Jia Zhangshi, who were likely to cause trouble.

"Okay, I'll be going now."

Sha Zhu opened the door and walked outside.

"Snap!"

A figure fell to the ground not far in front of him.