Chapter Sixty-One: The Exquisite Courtyard

Chen Xin stepped out of the house just as Cheng Jie arrived on her bicycle to find her.

“Sis, what brings you here?” she asked.

“I happened to be passing by, so I thought I’d drop in and see you. Here, these are fresh oranges from work—our unit gave them out, and I brought you some. They taste great.”

Chen Xin glanced at the bag filled with large oranges, still capped with a few green leaves, looking remarkably fresh.

“It’s sweltering lately. You all should stay indoors more. How’s everything at your school? You mentioned wanting to pursue graduate studies last time. I had my husband collect some materials; take a look and see if they’re useful.”

Cheng Jie truly cared for Chen Xin, treating her almost as if she were her own sister.

The two entered the small courtyard, instantly feeling the coolness settle around them. Cheng Jie noticed that Chen Xin had planted several stalks of water bamboo and had dug a winding little trench along the steps, lining the bottom and sides with tiles. The water was about thirty centimeters deep, housing a few goldfish and three pots of water lilies.

“You’ve made this place quite charming. That pond is unique—I should try making one myself.”

Further inside, Cheng Jie saw that outside the kitchen window, a patch had been cordoned off with red bricks, divided into three areas. The outermost section grew scallions and garlic sprouts, the left inside patch held bok choy, and the right side had a type of vegetable Cheng Jie didn’t recognize.

“That’s fragrant greens, seeds I got from the Zhangs to try growing. They taste wonderful stir-fried after blanching,” Chen Xin explained, seeing Cheng Jie’s interest. She pulled up a few stalks, shook the dirt from their roots, and packed them into a bag.

“Homegrown, quite tasty, and it’s convenient when I’m too lazy to go shopping—I just pick whatever’s handy.”

Chen Xin invited Cheng Jie to sit beneath the flower trellis, shaded by grapevines above and with water flowing beneath. The whole courtyard felt much cooler than outside.

“How did you build this pond?” Cheng Jie asked. Turning a stagnant pond into running water, Chen Xin’s creativity brought extra vitality to the yard.

“I raised this side a bit and made sure to tell the builder that the pond bottom needed a slope. Over there, I connected a water pipe and use a pump to draw water out, sending it through a hidden pipe to the filter inlet, where it’s simply filtered before returning to the pond. That keeps the water circulating and purified.”

Chen Xin’s filter was no ordinary device; she had adopted the concept of living water purification, constructing a special stone trough layered with asbestos mesh, charcoal, coarse carbon, sand, and pebbles. Water filtered through the trough entered the filter via a pipe before being returned to the pond below.

For such a simple courtyard fish pond, Chen Xin had invested considerable thought in its design and upkeep.

“I use pond water for irrigating the flowers and vegetables, and sometimes when I buy fish for Zhang Zhang, if we don’t eat them all, I keep them in the pond. It’s really handy.”

Though the house was old and worn, it had a pleasant environment—outside lay a river, and while the courtyard was oddly shaped, its size exceeded most others, offering extra space for vegetables.

After seeing this yard, Cheng Jie became even more interested in Chen Xin’s little villa. She had visited once during renovations, but with so much going on, she hadn’t returned. Now, she thought it must be nearly finished—perhaps it was time to visit?

Chen Xin wasn’t planning to move to the villa yet, at least not until Zhang Zhang was older. This place was more convenient for visiting Grandpa Liu; if she moved, each trip would mean crossing two extra streets and three intersections, raising the risk.

Once Cheng Jie had settled, Chen Xin brought out half a watermelon from the fridge.

“Oh, don’t bother—I eat watermelon every day, I’m sick of it.”

“You’ll want to try mine,” Chen Xin replied, grinning as she carried it to the kitchen, sliced it, and returned with a surprise—the flesh was white!

“What’s this?” Cheng Jie peered curiously. “It looks like jelly?”

“Sort of,” Chen Xin replied. “I made a fruit pudding using milk and lychee, mixed with gelatin, then poured it into the watermelon rind and chilled it. It sets when cold—try it, it should be just right.”

Cheng Jie had eaten pudding before, but never one served in a watermelon rind, and never a white fruit pudding.

“I used milk and crushed lychee for this—sweet and tangy, you’ll like it. There’s a small watermelon in the fridge too; I removed the seeds from the flesh, blended it with gelatin, and poured it back to make a watermelon jelly. Take it home when you leave, for your girl.”

“All right, I won’t be shy. You always have the best treats here. My daughter just wants to follow Zhang Zhang to your house—I think she’ll forget I’m her mother soon!” Cheng Jie joked with feigned complaint.

In truth, she’d be glad for her daughter to stay at Chen Xin’s. Work had been hectic lately, and her husband was away for training for another two and a half months. Her in-laws didn’t want to help with childcare and had gone off traveling, leaving only the housekeeper to help tidy up and look after the little girl.

“I don’t mind them traveling, but couldn’t they wait until their son is home? Even with the housekeeper, the girl is getting mischievous and won’t listen. I’m busy all day, barely setting foot at home, have to review documents, and continue my studies—how can I spare the energy to care for her?”

Cheng Jie’s words grew tinged with frustration as she spoke.

“Why not let her stay here for a while? One child or two makes no difference to me. They’re the same age—good company for each other. I’ll keep an eye on them.”

Cheng Jie considered, then nodded decisively. She’d call her in-laws to discuss it; if no one objected, she’d bring her daughter over the next evening. She’d need to prepare some clothes for her, though the two families weren’t far apart, it wasn’t practical to run home for fresh clothes after every bath.

Chen Xin was at the stage for her internship; she owned her own company and worked as a translator, so getting her internship signed off was easy. Some classmates even asked to intern at her cafe, saying it was a good chance to practice English with foreigners who often visited for coffee and meals.

Chen Xin didn’t refuse, but she didn’t make things too convenient either—especially with Cheng Jie around. For every new hire, whether temporary or permanent, Cheng Jie insisted on meeting them. It wasn’t that she doubted Chen Xin’s judgment, but rather that Chen Xin was young and sometimes too gentle; Cheng Jie preferred to play the ‘bad cop’ herself.

This proved wise—once, an employee started slacking off after only a few days, bullying Chen Xin for her youth and the fact she had a child, even spreading rumors that Chen Xin was someone’s mistress. Furious, Chen Xin decided to fire him, and he tried to get aggressive. Cheng Jie arrived, called the police in front of everyone, and the man was detained for intentional assault.

That day, Song Yi wasn’t at the café—it was his day off. Otherwise, the fired man wouldn’t have dared to attack.

Since then, Cheng Jie visited regularly to keep everyone in check, and Chen Xin willingly handed over personnel decisions, focusing solely on technical and operational matters.