Chapter 1390: Chapter 1391: The Little Widow of the Courtyard 118 Just as everyone was waiting for the results, Zhao Lei appeared at the courtyard with Xiao Min, carrying big bags and small packages. Old Feng and his wife were busying themselves in their little vegetable garden at the front courtyard, and when they saw Zhao Lei and his wife, they didn’t react immediately. Looking at them with all those bags, their first thought was, could it be a new neighbor has moved into the courtyard? Just as he was about to ask, Zhao Lei greeted him proactively, “Hello, Old Feng. The vegetable garden is thriving well.” Old Feng didn’t expect the other party to recognize them, and upon taking a closer look, exclaimed, “Zhao Lei?” “You guys have returned?” Zhao Lei nodded, “Yes, we’ve come back.” “Staying in the Capital City to work?” “Yes, staying in the Capital City to work.” After a few pleasantries, Zhao Lei and Xiao Min headed towards the central courtyard. Old Feng watched the couple, “Since the restoration of college entrance exams, Zhao Jun’s family’s days have gradually improved.” Grandma Feng nodded, “Yes, back then Zhao Guihai wanted to calculate against them, but look at them now.” “I wonder how Zhao Gui is doing over in the Western Region.” In the blink of an eye, Zhao Gui has been away from the Capital City for years. “Do you think with the restoration of the college exams, Xiao Jian from their family will return?” Grandma Feng still remembered the little boy, who, if he had stayed in the Capital City, would have been better off than going to the Western Region. Old Feng didn’t know about these things; ever since Zhao Gui left the Capital City, he has had no contact with anyone here, and everyone is in the dark regarding his situation. When Zhang Yu saw Zhao Lei and his wife, although a bit surprised, she wasn’t overly shocked, having heard them mention earlier that they might return to work in the Capital City. “You came back, how come there was no notice?” “By the way, are you staying at home or elsewhere?” Zhang Yu knew they were busy with work, sometimes so busy that it felt like the day and night would turn upside down. “The research institute allocated us an apartment, in the Tube-shaped Building.” Zhao Lei and his wife weren’t too satisfied with that kind of housing. But as of now, the houses everyone is getting are basically like that. Ah, the Tube-shaped Building, Zhang Yu couldn’t say anything bad about it; many people would practically break their heads to get one. “Can Xiao Xi and them stay there if they go?” Zhang Yu couldn’t say it wasn’t suitable, considering they’re the children’s parents. “We’ve thought it through. If we aren’t busy, we’ll come back home every day, but if we are, we’ll stay at the Tube-shaped Building.” “As for Xiao Xi and them, I think they’ve adapted to living with you, Mom.” “Alright.” Seeing Xiao Min agreeing with this, Zhang Yu consented wholeheartedly. “Remember to come back when you’re not busy; in the past, it was all recommended whether you could go to university.” “Now that the college entrance exams are back, surely many will strive to study hard and aim to get into university.” “As an old lady, I’ll watch over them and take care of logistical support, but as for studying…” In the past, Xiao Yi the uncle was the main force in this matter. Now that both of them have to go to university, Zhang Yu expressed that, for her as an old lady, the pressure regarding the children’s education was truly overwhelming. “I know, I know.” Zhao Lei knew that when he and his wife were busy with work, research, and for various reasons unable to return to the Capital City, it was Xiao Yi who tutored the children. “From now on, we’ll educate Xiao Xi and them properly.” Zhao Lei understood clearly that the passing down of knowledge was something that absolutely could not be neglected. He considered himself smart; within the courtyard, there wasn’t a single opponent, and even after entering university, he still had great self-esteem. But after entering the research institute, he felt deeply that although he was smart, his colleagues were also intelligent. More importantly, things he learned after entering university were things his colleagues had been exposed to since childhood. This was the gap, a huge gap. He tried hard to catch up with his colleagues, and now, he was barely keeping pace with them. He hoped that if possible, his own children wouldn’t have to work so hard. “The future for Xiao Xi and them requires both their own efforts and your planning.” From Xiao Yi’s occasional remarks, Zhang Yu could be certain the Xiao Family actually had plans for the two children. “I don’t understand any of this; all of you growing up smoothly is all thanks to your efforts.” Zhang Yu said these words genuinely. She hadn’t taken action on many things, yet Zhao Lei on his own had already figured things out. “I’ll just do a good job with logistics.” That’s great, this time her task is just logistics work. It’s relaxed and doesn’t require much brainwork, having a competent son is really the best news. Zhao Lei wanted to say that doing a good job in logistics is really not easy; knowing that Xiao Yi is his brother-in-law, he takes good care of him too. Xiao Yi’s marriage was entirely handled by Zhang Yu, including taking care of Xiao Yi’s wife during her pregnancy, all under Zhang Yu’s care. “Mom, don’t say that; you’re really amazing.” “Yes, Mom, you’re really amazing.” Xiao Min just came back from a bath, feeling really comfortable. “What’s so amazing about me?” Zhang Yu told them to go rest, “I’m going out for a look.” “Now everyone is honest; there are even rural people secretly bringing things into the city to sell.” Zhang Yu often bumped into people coming into the city with small baskets to sell their goods. Whenever she encountered them, Zhang Yu wouldn’t miss out. “It seems we’ve been away during a time of great change.” Follow current novᴇls on 𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹⟡𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮⟡𝙣𝙚𝙩 “Yes, now your mom is directly selling fish.” Zhang Yu occasionally went out fishing, and instead of exchanging for coupons as she did before, she directly accepted cash now. Zhao Lei and his wife returned, and soon with the results out, the family’s four children all passed the score line. For Zhang Yu, 1977 truly was promising news. Even though Zhang Yu remained consistently low-key, having the whole family as university students was a rare occurrence not only in the alley but throughout the Capital City. However, with the evolving times, doing business and making money became a topic of everyone’s conversation, and Zhang Yu’s family was no longer the focus of attention. Zhang Yu didn’t mind such changes; they were all waiting to earn money, then buy apartment buildings and move away. Every time someone moved out, she would find ways to buy the house here. Gradually, almost all of the houses in the courtyard had been bought by Zhang Yu. Only Zhao Gui’s house and the one next to Xue Li’s remained unchanged. Some families’ children had become successful, bought new houses, and took the elderly away. Some sold their house, pooled money with their children to buy a bigger house. Xue Li originally thought that since people around were moving out, Zhang Yu would too; her children were so accomplished it would be normal for them to help her buy a bigger house? She didn’t want to sell because she couldn’t bear to part with the valuables in the house, but seeing others venturing south for business and making big money really urged her. With no capital, she reluctantly agreed to sell the house and use the proceeds as capital to venture south. Zhao Gui’s house was also dealt with by Zhao Jian. His parents had passed away, and after he graduated from university, he ended up in the South. To gather money to buy a house, he sold the Capital City’s house to Zhang Yu. Thus, Zhang Yu smiled until the end, becoming the owner of the vast courtyard.