Siheyuan: He Yuzhu's New Life

In the autumn of 1961, He Yuzhu was twenty-six years old, a cook in the cafeteria at Hongxing Steelworks, earning a monthly salary of 37.5 yuan. In those days, that was an exceptionally high income.

His parents had died young, and his younger sister, He Yushui, was attending technical school. He lived in the rear courtyard of this quadrangle, in a two-room home.

His circumstances were pretty good, so why did he have only a little over ten yuan in savings?

His memories provided the answer.

Qin Huairu, the widow whose husband had died, lived with her mother-in-law and three children. The family of five survived on her 27.5-yuan salary, and she was always