Siheyuan: I Refused to Move In and Settled at No. 98

After transmigrating to 1965, Lin Yang found himself being urged by Yi Zhonghai to move into the courtyard compound so they could “look out for one another.”

“Lin Yang, your No. 98 courtyard is so desolate. Move in here. There are lots of people in our compound, so it’s lively.”

Lin Yang sneered and went straight back to weld shut the gate of his No. 98 courtyard!

Lively? They just wanted to take advantage of me because I have no heirs!

While the courtyard busybodies were scheming over a few ration coupons and arguing about sharing a single water tap, Lin Yang had quietly built the only modern three-bedroom home in all of Beijing with indoor plumbing, inside his own private courtyard.

The aroma of braised pork wafted three streets away. Jia Zhangshi rolled around by the gate, drooling with envy. Silly Zhu tried to climb the wall? Lin Yang kicked him straight into the cesspit!

“My courtyard is big, but I only live in three rooms. I’ll use the rest of the land to grow vegetables and raise chickens. Nobody’s getting so much as a single hair from me!”

See how Lin Yang, in an era of scarcity, guards his own secret garden and lives as the most envied man in all of Beijing.