Love in the Courtyard: I'm Silly Zhu's Older Brother

He Yutong, an internet middle manager worn down by the 996 grind, dies of sheer fury after staying up all night watching Love in the Courtyard, only to transmigrate into the role of Silly Zhu's older brother.

The year is 1956. Their father, He Daqing, has just run off with the Widow Bai, abandoning his three children. Before him stands eighteen-year-old Silly Zhu, the sucker who will one day be exploited by the whole courtyard, now itching to go confront his stepmother. Behind him is his thirteen-year-old sister Yushui, timidly asking, “Big Brother, what are we going to do now?”

He Yutong looks at the courtyard's scheming elders and takes a deep breath.

No System, no golden finger, just a mind hardened by life's beatings and an intimate knowledge of everyone's secrets in the courtyard.

In this life, he has only three things to do: keep Silly Zhu's hands in check, protect the He family's money, and make sure everyone plotting against him ends up empty-handed.

Second Uncle wants to carve up their property? He'll fight him head-on. First Uncle wants to steal the credit and win them over? He'll humiliate him in front of everyone. Qin Huairu? Sorry, Jia Dongxu is still alive, so she's just an ordinary neighbor.

From apprentice at Fengze Garden to entrepreneur after Reform and Opening Up, from being bullied by the whole courtyard to moving out in a car, He Yutong spends forty years leading his younger siblings in a graceful comeback.

And Silly Zhu finally goes from a lustful soft touch and a sucker to a man who can stand on his own.

This is a story about protection, growth, and cutting ties. No System, no romantic entanglements, just real ability and a clear head.

See how the eldest He brother holds on to his principles in this supposedly loving courtyard.