Courtyard House: He Yuzhu started in 1948

"He still couldn't escape the fate of being 'Silly Pillar'... Why couldn't he have come back a day sooner?"

He Yuzhu was very frustrated... He was He Yuzhu, and he wasn't He Yuzhu.

Yesterday and before, He Yuzhu died while being chased by soldiers and mocked by his father and the people in the compound. The current He Yuzhu is a self-media account author who hit the jackpot in 2025.

When he learned that he was in the world of the TV series "Full House of Love" and that he had become He Yuzhu, who had just been given the title of "Silly Zhu", he was both happy and sad.

The good thing is that it's early 48, and I still have a chance to escape the fate of being exploited. The bad thing is that my father, He Daqing, has already called me a "fool".

Despite his sadness, He Yuzhu resigned himself to his fate and tried to summon a cheat code... Others who transmigrate have cheat codes, or at the very least, a 1-cubic-meter personal space. As a transmigrator, it's reasonable for him to have a cheat code, right?

However, that didn't happen... He Yuzhu had no choice but to give up the idea of ​​taking shortcuts; he would have to walk the road ahead step by step.

It is now March of 48, and there are still about eleven months before the army enters Beiping.

We need to find a way to make some money before the army enters the city, and we can't let anyone know.

He Yuzhu wasn't very familiar with the historical trends of the next twenty or thirty years, as that period of history was hard to find online. However, before his time travel, He Yuzhu had read many online novels from the 1950s, especially those about the history of courtyard houses. He was very clear about the historical trajectory of these stories, as well as figures like Yi Zhonghai, the Moral Celestial Venerable.

He Yuzhu wants to escape his life of being exploited and wants to live comfortably for the next thirty years. He needs to combine his own strengths and advantages to make a plan for the future.

He could no longer be a carefree cook like he was in his previous life; this was not what he wanted.

The first step is to gild the statue, which will be very important in the next thirty years.

Secondly, one should break out of their current social circle and elevate their status to a higher level, becoming someone that the people in Courtyard No. 95 can look up to, so that they will no longer dare to leech off them.

Those beasts who constantly attack the entire compound, as described in previous online articles, are not suitable for this era.

Should we use the law to punish beasts?

Unrealistic.

People's legal awareness is very weak now. Even if a new world is formed, it will be more constrained by morality and values.

law?

That's something you only use when you meet an official, but everyone's afraid of officials these days, so they tend to handle things behind closed doors. If you forcefully take someone to meet an official, you'll be ostracized at home and at work.

Creating a golden body requires opportunity. To break out of the current circle, He Yuzhu has two choices. One is to wait... He is only thirteen years old now. The army will not enter Beiping City until February 3rd of next year. It is not impossible for him to join the army after the army enters the city.

Another path is through education, which is He Yuzhu's greatest advantage.

Although He Yuzhu wasn't a good student and had forgotten most of the knowledge he learned in school after entering society, his learning ability remained.

After thinking it over, I realized that studying is a better fit for me.

I can study at home first, and then go to high school when the time is right, and then go to university... Even if it's not Tsinghua or Peking University, I can still go to a worker's or peasant's university.

"Then let's study..."

He Yuzhu thought about it and then drifted off to sleep.

……

The next day, He Yuzhu was woken up by He Daqing, who was holding his younger sister, and asked to steam buns to sell.

He Yuzhu's mother died from postpartum hemorrhage when she gave birth to He Yushui. He Daqing became both father and mother to her. However, raising a child takes time, and He Yushui is only one and a half years old now, which is the time when she needs someone to take care of her.

Helpless, He Daqing had no choice but to resign from Fengzeyuan and go home to take care of his daughter. He would make steamed buns or large banquets at home and cook for wealthy families to earn some money.

Fortunately, He Yuzhu is thirteen years old and looks like a little calf, which can help He Daqing share some of the pressure. Now, He Yuzhu is in charge of steaming the buns, while He Daqing just observes and guides from the side.

The current He Yuzhu has no cooking skills and usually orders takeout. But after he transmigrated and took over He Yuzhu's memories, making steamed buns became a piece of cake for him.

Kneading dough, soaking scallions and ginger in water, removing pork skin and mincing meat, frying seasoning oil, mixing filling... Relying on the original body's muscle memory, He Yuzhu put the buns into the steamer in just one hour.

Of course, He Yuzhu was not only making steamed buns, but also breakfast for the three of them.

Pickle some scallions, pour the leftover oil from making steamed buns over the scallions, add salt and soy sauce, boil water and cook the noodles... and breakfast is ready.

He Daqing watched for a while, then stopped. Although his son wasn't very bright, he was a genius when it came to cooking. He could now handle white dishes with ease, and the next step was to have him learn how to cook red dishes.

He Daqing already has a plan for He Yuzhu's future. The world is in chaos now, but even in chaos, cooks will not go hungry. He Yuzhu is not very bright, but he has an innate talent for cooking. Let him be a cook in peace from now on.

Even in a chaotic world, how can a cook go hungry?

After finishing the noodles and cleaning up the dishes, the steamed buns are ready.

He Yuzhu packed the buns into a wooden box, ready to take them out to sell.

He Daqing, standing nearby, couldn't help but remind him, "Don't be so stupid as to accept counterfeit money anymore. If you see someone with a gun, run! You silly boy... you can make more steamed buns, but if you lose your life, our He family line will end!"

"understood."

He Yuzhu responded and then went out to sell steamed buns.

The courtyard now resembles the characters in TV dramas; it's the "dormitory" compound that steel mill owner Lou Bancheng prepared for his steel mill employees.

Lou Bancheng is his current name. Before he became wealthy, he didn't even have a proper name. When he was an apprentice in a steel factory, he was called Lou Ergou. Later, he gradually became wealthy, and the steel factory became one of the largest in Beiping. He was said to have enough wealth to buy half of Beiping. That's when he became known as Lou Bancheng. As for the name Lou Ergou, very few people called him that anymore.

As He Yuzhu stepped out of his house, the memories in his mind gradually unfolded. He muttered to himself as he walked: "If Lou Bancheng were to be in the future, he would also be a figure on the pig-slaughtering list."

But what does this have to do with me?

He Daqing is just a cook. Going back three generations from He Yuzhu, no one has owned land. If classification is done in the future, they will definitely be three generations of hired farmers. No one is more legitimate than him.

In the courtyard, many neighbors get up to do housework, mostly older women and young girls. The men in the family have all gone to work, leaving the older women and young girls to clean the house. If they have the chance, they will do some odd jobs together to supplement their family income.

When the old women get together, they chat about everyday things. When they see the steamer hanging in front of He Yuzhu, and then think about how He Yuzhu was chased all over the yard by He Daqing after receiving counterfeit money, they all laugh so hard their teeth bulge out.

"Silly Zhu...stop accepting counterfeit money!"

"Zhu Zi, did your dad let you sleep in yesterday?"

"Silly Pillar..."

Hearing the repeated calls of "Silly Zhu," He Yuzhu silently memorized their names.

I won't argue with you calling me Sha Zhu now, but once I'm out of this social class, will you still call me Sha Zhu?