Courtyard House: He Yuzhu started in 1948

Yi Zhonghai was unaware of He Yuzhu's fight until he entered the compound after get off work, while Wang Xiulan knew more about it.

What moved Wang Xiulan even more was the coal core.

"This kid knew fighting was dangerous, so he deliberately distracted Dumpling and rushed in himself."

As Wang Xiulan spoke, she began to wipe away tears: "When I got home, I asked Meihe why he did that. He said that I am the older brother and I can't let my younger brother get hurt. He also said that Brother Zhuzi fed them, taught them how to do business, bought them clothes, and taught them to read. He couldn't bear to see his benefactor get hurt."

"Honey, Meihe and Jiaozi are both good kids, and so are Dayong, Huzi, and Shunzi. Do you think we should adopt one of them? This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. With Zhuzi leading them, these kids won't go astray!"

After hearing this, Yi Zhonghai fell silent and sat down to think.

He had also seen the behavior of those children at the coal mine.

Although these children only benefited from the kindness of He Yuzhu's family, the entire courtyard benefited.

The yard is kept clean and tidy, so the old ladies who are at home no longer need to clean it.

Previously, people in the compound had to fetch "second-class water" from other places. Now, He Yuzhu is in charge of the school, and the children take buckets to the school to fetch water during the students' lunch break. Every household's water tank is filled with the best "sweet water".

Whenever the children see any trash at home, they will take it to the garbage station outside.

They're all good kids!

Yi Zhonghai made up his mind: "Let's adopt them! We'll adopt Coal Core and Dumplings!"

"Shunzi is also good."

"Shunzi is out of the question, he's too old, it wouldn't be appropriate to adopt him..."

Yi Zhonghai made up his mind to adopt a child, but he still needed to consider how to do it.

The best match is someone younger with few family ties, as you won't have to worry about them running away when they grow up.

In fact, Yi Zhonghai knew he was overthinking things, but since adopting children was related to their future, he had to consider it carefully.

……

April 5th.

He Daqing returned home with a full load.

He heard about what happened at home and was satisfied with how He Yuzhu handled it.

Liu Haizhong is just a mid-level worker, what a load of crap he has!

He's obsessed with becoming an official, but he doesn't even consider whether he has the guts to back it up!

That evening, He Daqing and He Yuzhu were calculating the money in their notebooks. They figured that if they sold the supplies they had brought in at the current prices, they could make at least 600 silver dollars in net profit.

Not to mention, prices will continue to rise in the future.

He Yuzhu nodded, quite satisfied with the profits, and he also got a rough idea of ​​how much money He Daqing had.

I've saved up about two thousand silver dollars!

The three brick houses they now live in are the family fortune accumulated by He Yuzhu's grandfather, so He Daqing doesn't need to worry about where to live.

Two thousand silver dollars… He Yuzhu thought for a moment and said to He Daqing, “Dad, I know you have silver dollars, and I don’t want them, but you have to sort them out. These silver dollars might become antiques someday.”

He Daqing didn't believe it: "This thing can become an antique?"

"Look at the price of silver dollars now. Even the government doesn't recognize their legitimacy anymore, so won't the price go up in the future?"

He Yuzhu has only a superficial understanding of collecting. Back when that treasure-hunting blogger on Douyin was popular, he did write a few popular science articles, but at that time most of them were just copy and paste, and he didn't know much about it.

He Yuzhu told him what he knew: the 1930s editions weren't very valuable, but there were autographed editions, commemorative editions, Flying Dragon editions, Jiangnan editions, special person editions...

Especially the Fengtian version and the Guangxu Emperor version. He Yuzhu couldn't say for sure, but as long as you keep these safe, you can't go wrong.

He Daqing listened to He Yuzhu's eloquent explanation and immediately became interested.

He didn't have it, but his dad did.

He Daqing's thinking was similar to that of the older generation; he distrusted banks and hid his money at home. He Yuzhu's grandfather, on the other hand, had quite a few old coins.

"Is it really worth anything?"

"Absolutely worth it!"

He Yuzhu answered with great certainty, "Eighty years from now, a rare coin like this will be very valuable!"

Upon hearing this, He Daqing angrily cursed, "...Go to hell, you bastard...Eighty years from now, even your father will be buried in the ground. What kind of happiness can you expect to enjoy?"

"Father, how can you think like that? It's as if I could gain some advantage."

He Yuzhu patiently explained to him, "You understand the saying 'antiques in prosperous times, gold in chaotic times.' We're in a chaotic world now, but we can't stay in this chaos forever, can we? Once the war is over and there are a few decades of development, everyone will be rich, and won't they start buying and selling antiques and collecting them?"

"Besides, my grandfather left you some property, didn't he? Shouldn't you leave me some? Shouldn't I leave some for my descendants?"

He Daqing sneered, "You're not even going to learn how to cook anymore, what the hell am I supposed to teach you!"

"..."

The father and son were arguing when Yi Zhonghai arrived.

He was clearly preoccupied, and after rambling on for a while, he got down to business: "Brother Daqing, what do you think about me adopting Meihe and Jiaozi?"

He Daqing immediately said, "That's great! I've been wanting you to do this for a while now. Hey... have you thought it through?"

"I've thought it through."

Yi Zhonghai made up his mind, clenched his fist and said, "When you weren't home the other day, I heard Xiulan say that the two kids were willing to risk their lives for Zhuzi and that they are grateful people. They are still young, and it's not good for them to keep wandering around outside."

Upon hearing this, He Yuzhu couldn't help but purse his lips.

What does it mean to be young?

Isn't this exactly what he wanted?

He Daqing was genuinely happy for Yi Zhonghai, but still reminded him, "However, now that you've adopted Meihe and Jiaozi, you can't just take care of them and ignore their other little brothers. These kids are all loyal; the older ones always give the younger ones their food and supplies. If you can't do that, don't blame the kids for being immature if trouble arises."

"I understand, I understand."

Yi Zhonghai is a senior technician with a decent income, so spending more money wouldn't be a problem for him.

At this point, Yi Zhonghai looked at He Yuzhu and said, "Moreover, with Zhuzi (He Yuzhu's nickname) guiding them, the children's minds won't stray from the right path!"

"fart!"

He Daqing immediately became displeased and spat out a curse: "This brat is already eyeing my retirement money."

"hehe."

He Yuzhu smiled and looked at Yi Zhonghai: "Uncle Yi, I'm happy for you that you've adopted a child, but there are some things you should know in advance."

He Yuzhu was very serious, and Yi Zhonghai also became serious.

He Daqing watched from the side and shook his head.

I don't know why, but when my son gets serious, he's just like the manager of Fengzeyuan back in the day, speaking with an air of authority.

"The dumplings are fine, but do you know anything about the situation at Meihe's house?"

Seeing Yi Zhonghai shake his head, He Yuzhu said, "Mei He is young, but he has a sixteen-year-old older sister. Do you know where his sister is now?"

Seeing the blank expressions on He Daqing and Yi Zhonghai's faces, He Yuzhu slowly said, "The Eight Great Hutongs."

"Huh? The Eight Great Hutongs?"

Yi Zhonghai's eyes widened. "What's going on?"

He Yuzhu curled his lip: "What else could it be? It's just the way things are."

Meihe's older sister was named Chunxi. Because of their poverty, their parents passed away in 1946. In order to provide a coffin for her family, Chunxi sold herself into a brothel. She withheld the money for the coffin and gave the rest to the neighbors, asking them to help take care of Meihe.