Su Ruyi continued, "Just tell me when you want to leave this courtyard. You can leave anytime; I absolutely have no intention of locking you up here."

Su Qiushi thought for a moment:

"How about you bring me in every day when you come in to study, and then take me out after you've finished studying and seen the patients?"

I'll cook while you study.

I'll cook a lot at once, since the food in this kitchen will always be steaming hot no matter how long it sits.

This way, I can cook all three meals a day at once, saving me a lot of time.

Su Ruyi smiled and said, "So you can save a lot of time to read in the study?"

Su Qiushi nodded: "You understand me best, Doctor Su."

Su Ruyi smiled and said, "Grandpa, I'll call you Grandpa, you can call me Ruyi."

Su Qiushi immediately repeated, "Those who understand me are Ruyi."

After the two reached an agreement, they finally finished their meal happily.

Su Qiushi went to wash the pot, while Su Ruyi was once again called out by the patients outside.

That evening, Su Ruyi laid out bedding for Su Qiushi in another empty guest room in the courtyard, and Su Qiushi was finally settled in, no longer having to make do with sleeping on the soft couch in the main hall.

The next morning, taking advantage of Su Ruyi's illness, Su Qiushi said he wanted to go out for a walk, so he left the space and walked out of the courtyard.

He arrived at the entrance of the educated youth compound and happened to run into Sun Shengtian.

Everyone went to work. But Sun Shengtian pretended to have a stomachache in order to avoid working.

After doing a few chores, he clutched his stomach and asked for leave. He was walking towards the educated youth compound, bent over and clutching his stomach.

"Hey! Young comrade!" Su Qiushi called out to Sun Shengtian.

When Sun Shengtian saw that the old man was a stranger and dressed rather elegantly, he stopped and straightened up: "Grandpa, are you looking for someone?"

Su Qiushi smiled and said, "Young comrade, I'd like to ask you something."

As he spoke, Su Qiushi handed one of the cigarettes he had just bought to Sun Shengtian.

Sun Shengtian took the cigarette and his eyes lit up when he saw that it was a good one.

He sniffed it familiarly, casually tucked the cigarette behind his ear, and patted his chest, saying, "Ask away with confidence. There's no one in Dingjiatun that I, Sun Shengtian, don't know!"