Courtyard House: He Yuzhu started in 1948

He Yuzhu gave He Daqing face and let him beat him up a few times. After all, He Daqing had paid for it and put in the effort, so it wouldn't be a loss for him to get a little benefit.

After all, it's a big deal; He Daqing might even have to pay for his own funeral.

Besides, he's the father, so isn't it only natural for him to beat his son?

But He Daqing got addicted to hitting him and wouldn't let go, so He Yuzhu couldn't stand it anymore.

Taking advantage of others a couple of times is one thing, but isn't that enough?

You run, he chases... but before he catches them, Yi Zhonghai arrives. Seeing He Daqing and He Yuzhu's state, he looks utterly bewildered: "What happened to you two?"

"It's nothing!"

He Yuzhu and He Daqing answered in unison, and then they clearly divided their tasks. He Daqing stepped forward and pulled Yi Zhonghai away, while He Yuzhu took the opportunity to hide the silver dollars.

Don't flaunt your wealth.

Even the best relationships can fall apart over money.

"Why would I leave? You two have been having this fight for ages. I'm here to bring you some cloth."

Yi Zhonghai won't leave. Ever since a bunch of kids came to He Daqing's house, his relationship with He Daqing has become much closer. Although Yi Zhonghai goes to work every day, Wang Xiulan helps take care of the rain and spends all day observing the children's behavior.

Sensible, obedient, and loyal.

Although their family was unfortunate, they lived well and smiled every day thanks to Tianzao's care.

What a wonderful child!

Every evening, Wang Xiulan would whisper in Yi Zhonghai's ear, praising how sensible this child was and how diligent that child was, and how eager they were to work. Now, she didn't even have to do the housework of cleaning the yard, making things much easier than before.

Upon hearing this, Yi Zhonghai felt a strong urge to adopt a child as soon as possible.

But a voice inside him said, "Wait, wait a little longer, observe a little more."

Adopting a child is a major life event.

Don't rush it!

Although he kept telling himself to wait, he didn't stop. Every now and then, he would send some noodles, meat, or cloth. Yi Zhonghai was skilled and earned a high salary at the factory. He and his wife weren't people who spent money recklessly, so they had plenty of money. Sending them things every now and then didn't affect his life.

What Yi Zhonghai needed was to take this opportunity to build a good relationship with those children.

"Look at you, you're just wasting money."

He Daqing looked at Yi Zhonghai with disdain, pretending to be helpless: "Those are all good kids, what's wrong with adopting one? Forget it, I won't try to persuade you, let's go inside and talk."

Zhu Zi must have hidden the money, right?

When he got home, he saw that the bag containing the money was still there, but the open mouth contained soybeans and peanuts. He Daqing was slightly relieved and said to Yi Zhonghai, "Let's have a couple of drinks, Zhuzi... go buy some vegetables."

Yi Zhonghai then said, "Let Yushui and Xiulan sleep together tonight, and we two brothers can make do for the night?"

"That works too! Anyway, Yushui is close to her younger siblings."

This is to deepen the relationship further, to the point of sharing a bed!

He Yuzhu said he didn't want to watch and went to get some snacks for the two brothers.

A simple smoked platter, with small sausages, braised large intestines, and the usual peanuts at home. I'll also buy some freshly made dumplings to eat after they finish their drinks.

The two brothers didn't have much of a conversation; they either talked about things at the factory or whose family had the best food. But this time, He Yuzhu joined them.

While He Yuzhu went shopping, Yi Zhonghai clinked glasses with He Daqing and took a sip of chrysanthemum liquor.

Among the baijiu (Chinese liquor) in Beijing, Erguotou is the most famous, but older people prefer Juhua Bai or Fenjiu.

Erguotou is rugged and unrestrained, and you can enjoy a hearty drink. However, the old people in the capital city all like to put on airs and shout "authentic" at the top of their lungs. Erguotou seems too down-to-earth and lacks a bit of refinement and elegance.

Chrysanthemum White is one of the three famous white wines of Beijing. Chrysanthemum White, Lotus White, and Fu Niang White are the three famous white wines of Beijing. Fu Niang White disappeared the earliest. Lotus White used to have a winery built near the Summer Palace, but it also closed down due to war. Only Chrysanthemum White has been in continuous production.

Chrysanthemum white wine was originally reserved for the imperial court. After the fall of the Qing Dynasty, the Renhe Hotel in Haidian, which produced chrysanthemum white wine, was bestowed upon Zhen Xiufeng and his descendants. As a result, it has been passed down to this day and is deeply loved by the people of old Beijing.

He Daqing didn't buy the Chrysanthemum White wine himself. When he cooked for wealthy families, they would give him two bottles of wine as a gift, either Fenjiu or Chrysanthemum White wine, so He Daqing never lacked wine.

The two buddies drank until midnight, but He Yuzhu wouldn't wait that long. He finished his dumplings early and went to sleep, half-asleep, listening to He Daqing telling Yi Zhonghai to recognize him as his godson.

I don't believe a thing!

I can't even be bothered to serve my own father, so what do you, Yi Zhonghai, have to offer?

When they woke up the next morning, He Yuzhu had already wrapped the buns. He Daqing was awake, and He Yuzhu went to work at the Fifth Middle School, leaving everything at home to He Daqing.

He had been drinking yesterday and was still a little dizzy. Looking at the steamed buns he was going to make, He Daqing shook his head, made himself a strong cup of tea, and then started steaming the buns.

It seems I really need to find an apprentice.

Remembering what He Yuzhu had told him, He Daqing decided to set his sights on Tian Zao's underlings.

Shunzi and Jiaozi are a good match.

But should we choose them?

He Daqing also hesitated.

It's like advising Yi Zhonghai to adopt a godson; when advising others, they're eloquent and articulate, but when it comes to themselves, they become fussy and indecisive.

He Yuzhu didn't care about any of that and continued to follow the plan.

After he finished cooking, he went to the library to read. He didn't rush to read other books, but instead picked up a newspaper to read first.

There are many newspapers in Beiping now, such as Pingming Daily, Xinmin Daily, Guomin Xinbao, Shen Bao, Yishi Daily, Ta Kung Pao, Beiping Daily, and so on.

There are also many newspapers specializing in education.

Of course, there are also tabloids that rip people off, but there's no need to subscribe to those; the Fifth Middle School won't waste money on that.

After the victory in the War of Resistance against Japan, there were more than 100 newspapers in Beiping (Beijing). If all of them had been subscribed to, the Fifth Middle School would have gone bankrupt long ago.

But there are some newspapers that you absolutely must subscribe to.

For example, the Pingming Daily and the Education Daily.

The newspaper was arranged vertically, which made it uncomfortable for He Yuzhu to read. Moreover, it used traditional Chinese characters, which He Yuzhu did not recognize completely. However, he could still read it fluently by combining it with the context.

He Yuzhu also suffers from the problem of forgetting how to pronounce certain characters. Some characters look familiar, but he just can't remember how to pronounce them.

After reading a few newspapers, it's time to make lunch.

He went to read the newspaper in the afternoon, and after he had finished reading, he went to make dinner. However, he did not stay to clean up today. After finishing dinner, he told Zhang Tianyong that he was going home.

He was going to find Tian Zao to discuss the matter of storing supplies with her.

If you arrive late, Tianzao will have already gone home.

This was the first time Zhang Tianyong had heard He Yuzhu say he wanted to go home early, so he asked, "Is something wrong? Do you need any help?"

"It's not my problem, it's the school's problem."

He Yuzhu thought for a moment and then told half of the plan he had discussed with He Daqing. He only mentioned storing supplies, but did not mention that they would go out and buy them themselves: "It's like this, I sometimes hear some broadcasts and hear people on the street spreading rumors. There's a war going on right now, and the world is in chaos. I was thinking of finding a place to store some food, but I can't find a suitable place, so I thought I'd ask a few acquaintances."