Courtyard Houses: Starting with the principle of hard work paying off

Chapter 251 Two chickens, living like emperors

"Sigh, I'm getting old, my alcohol tolerance isn't what it used to be..."

Having said what needed to be said and done what needed to be done, Xu Fugui pretended to be unable to hold his liquor and said to Xu Damao, Shazhu, and Li Hongbing in the room, "Damao, you take good care of Shazhu and Hongbing. I need to go back to my room and rest for a while."

Hongbing, Shazhu, you young people should chat more and build rapport.

"Dad, let me help you back."

Seeing this, Xu Damao quickly got up to help Xu Fugui back to the house, but Xu Fugui nimbly moved aside and avoided Xu Damao's help, saying, "No need, I'm not so drunk that I can't walk, and it's just next door. You stay here and entertain Shazhu and Hongbing well, and don't be impolite."

Obvious.

Xu Fugui deliberately made an excuse to leave, wanting to hand over the main stage to these young people. After all, he was not of the same generation as Sha Zhu and Li Hongbing, and there were some topics that were not easy to discuss.

All that he's doing today is mainly to pave the way for Xu Damao.

On the one hand, it resolves the past grievances between him and Sha Zhu, removing obstacles to his future blind dates, finding a partner, and living together.

on the other hand.

It's about creating opportunities for Xu Damao and Li Hongbing to get closer, to communicate and interact more, which will always be beneficial in the future.

Xu Damao is no longer a child, and Xu Fugui can't always keep an eye on him. He clearly has the idea of ​​gradually letting go and allowing Xu Damao to start taking charge on his own.

As soon as Xu Fugui left, Xu Damao and Shazhu relaxed and soon put their arms around each other's shoulders, starting to call each other brothers.

This scene left Li Hongbing, who was quietly eating his food, somewhat amused and exasperated.

Seeing them calling each other "brother" so often, anyone who didn't know better would think they had a very good relationship in the past.

I don't know.

Any one or two things they did to each other in the past would be enough to make them mortal enemies for most ordinary people.

Let's start with Xu Damao.

During the period when He Daqing was on the run, Xu Damao repeatedly used this incident to provoke Shazhu, which was more than just rubbing salt into the wound.

Especially later, when Sha Zhu went on blind dates, Xu Damao slandered and spread rumors, ruining Sha Zhu's reputation everywhere.

He embellishes true stories with exaggerated details, and makes false stories mysterious and vague, intentionally misleading others. He exaggerates things that are true and alludes to things that are not true.

It's a mix of truth and falsehood; they just keep telling stories in different ways.

Several times, Xu Damao was caught red-handed by Sha Zhu, and in the end, he was given a good beating, and that was the end of it.

If it were anyone else, they would have already caused a huge uproar and fought to the death.

However, Sha Zhu never held back when he attacked Xu Damao, often resorting to underhanded tactics, showing his ruthlessness and cruelty.

It's hard to say who benefited; more often than not, it was a lose-lose situation.

The key point is that they enjoy doing it.

In the original drama, Xu Damao's infertility, even if it was due to a congenital reason, could not have been unaffected by the constant blows he suffered from Sha Zhu since childhood.

However, neither Sha Zhu nor Xu Damao has realized any of this yet.

otherwise.

They could never be sitting here so harmoniously, calling each other brothers and drinking and chatting.

As for Xu Damao's dirty tricks, Sha Zhu had secretly used them on Xu Damao as well, but compared to the current Xu Damao, he was better at hiding his tricks and was almost never caught in the act.

Xu Damao's evil is blatant.

Or rather, Xu Damao's methods are still too immature and naive. He is often caught red-handed, and even his underhanded methods have become obvious.

Just like this time, they stirred up trouble between Jia Dongxu and Sha Zhu.

Sha Zhu, on the other hand, exudes a sinister and cunning aura. Sometimes he may seem "foolish" and slacker, but in reality, he is quite shrewd.

Although Xu Damao is two years younger than Shazhu, he is already twenty-two years old, and he didn't just start going on blind dates this year.

However, in terms of both reputation and the outcome of blind dates, it was similar to that of the previous Sha Zhu.

Many people, both inside and outside the steel mill, knew about all the bad and harmful things Xu Damao had done.

Xu Fugui knew that this was probably the work of He Daqing and his son Shazhu, but he hadn't caught them in the act and didn't have any substantial evidence, so he couldn't do anything about it.

The key point is that it was his own son who started this whole thing.

Furthermore, Xu Damao had been caught red-handed by Sha Zhu for defaming and damaging Sha Zhu's reputation, and not just once.

If Xu Damao were to go to his door to reason with him, he would only be humiliating himself.

Everything has its consequences.

This is why he wanted to take this opportunity to help Xu Damao and Shazhu truly reconcile and stop them from continuing to sabotage each other.

I can't stand it anymore!

Whether Sha Zhu is single or not, or whether he can find a wife, Xu Fugui doesn't care, but he can't let Xu Damao follow Sha Zhu's old path and cause their Xu family line to end.

In many people's eyes, those who have no offspring rarely have a good ending.

Just look at Yi Zhonghai and you'll know.

Such a vivid example is right in front of us.

Even if this is a special case of courting death.

Watching Sha Zhu and Xu Damao drink one cup after another until they were both drunk, Li Hongbing couldn't help but chuckle.

Although neither Sha Zhu nor Xu Damao are novice drinkers, nor are they the type to pass out after just one or two drinks, their alcohol tolerance is clearly still lacking. They are at least quite far from the seasoned drinkers of the original story.

"Uncle Xu, it's getting late, I'm going to head back now."

As Sha Zhu and Xu Damao collapsed onto the table, Li Hongbing decided not to stay any longer and drink alone. He went outside and called out to the room where Xu Fugui was.

"Hey, it's still early, let's have a couple more drinks."

Xu Fugui, who had originally gone back to his room under the pretext of being drunk, rushed out of the room as soon as he heard that Li Hongbing was leaving and tried to persuade him.

"No, Uncle Xu, let's do it another time!"

Li Hongbing smiled and said, "Although it's not cold yet, you should still be careful. Help Damao back to bed so he doesn't catch a cold tonight and get sick again."

Xu Fugui, who had originally wanted to persuade Li Hongbing again, was stunned when he heard what Li Hongbing said.

Turn around and look.

Upon discovering that Sha Zhu and Xu Damao had collapsed onto the table inside the room, he was furious.

He said he hadn't heard any noise from Sha Zhu and Xu Damao, and that Xu Damao was clearly entertaining him inside, yet he made him come out to say goodbye. As the host, Xu Damao didn't stop him at all, and apparently just got him drunk.

Seeing Xu Damao's "disappointing" behavior, his father, Xu Fugui, didn't know whether to be angry or scold him. "Sigh~"

Helpless, Xu Fugui sighed and said apologetically to Li Hongbing, "Hongbing, I'm really sorry, this... I'll have Da Mao prepare another table of good wine and food another day, and I'll make sure you drink to your heart's content."

Xu Damao was already so drunk that Xu Fugui couldn't force him to stay, but he extended another invitation.

Faced with Xu Fugui's invitation, Li Hongbing did not agree but instead said directly, "Uncle Xu, my alcohol tolerance is average, but I had a great time today. Thank you and Da Mao for your hospitality."

Li Hongbing's words left Xu Fugui speechless.

Before he left, Li Hongbing had already drunk several glasses of wine, and he must have drunk some more afterward. Now he's acting like nothing happened, and even Xu Fugui, a seasoned drinker, can't tell how deep he's gone.

to be frank.

Aside from their own family, probably no one in the entire courtyard knew exactly how much alcohol Li Hongbing could drink.

the reason is simple.

Li Hongbing rarely drank with the people in the courtyard, and no one had ever seen him drunk, so naturally no one knew anything about him.

As Xu Fugui called Tao Cuilan over, the two prepared to help Xu Damao back to bed. Li Hongbing, seeing that Shazhu was still drunk there, simply said, "Uncle Xu, Aunt Tao, please take good care of Xu Damao. I'll take Shazhu back with me."

No sooner had he finished speaking than Xu Fugui was horrified to see Li Hongbing reach out and grab Sha Zhu by the collar, lifting him up like a sack of cotton.

Others may not know, and Xu Fugui cannot imagine, what kind of power and control it takes to achieve such effortless mastery.

Don't let Sha Zhu's short stature fool you; he has a large frame and is quite fleshy, so he's naturally not light.

Especially now that Shazhu is drunk, he needs much more strength than when he is sober.

Xu Fugui and Xu Damao are both projectionists, while Shazhu and Li Hongbing are both cooks. Due to the demands of their professions and jobs, their strength far surpasses that of ordinary people.

Xu Fugui knew that he already had considerable strength, but he still couldn't achieve what Li Hongbing had.

I can't even imagine it.

Seeing Li Hongbing easily carry Sha Zhu away, Xu Fugui, who had a new understanding of Li Hongbing's strength, couldn't help but feel even more awe.

……

the other side.

Li Hongbing never expected that his unintentional action would cause Xu Fugui to have so many thoughts.

Fortunately, the fabric of Sha Zhu's clothes was of decent quality, otherwise they wouldn't have been able to withstand his lifting.

"Brother Hongbing, what's wrong with my brother?"

As Li Hongbing dragged Sha Zhu back to the Intermediate People's Court, He Yushui, upon discovering the situation, rushed over, her face full of worry.

He Yushui knew that the Xu family was holding an apology banquet today, and that Sha Zhu was going to attend. Li Hongbing was also present. Originally, she wasn't worried, but seeing Sha Zhu come back like this, it was hard not to overthink it.

"It's nothing, your brother just had a few too many drinks and got himself drunk."

As Li Hongbing spoke, he dragged Sha Zhu into the house.

He Yushui is not as skinny as he was in the original drama because her family always had plenty of oil and meat when He Daqing was around. However, she is still young and can't handle Sha Zhu at all. Since Li Hongbing has already brought her here, he might as well go all the way.

The room was quite clean.

However, given Sha Zhu's slovenly and carefree personality, this was clearly He Yushui's doing.

After putting Sha Zhu to bed, Li Hongbing said to He Yushui, who was taking off Sha Zhu's shoes, "Yushui, I'm going back now."

"Brother Hongbing, thank you for bringing my brother back. I appreciate your help today."

Upon seeing this, He Yushui quickly expressed her gratitude.

"It's easy."

Li Hongbing waved his hand and turned to leave.

back home.

Chen Xueru, who was telling Li Jianwu and Chen Jiwen a story, quickly put down the storybook, got up, made a cup of honey water, and brought it over to Li Hongbing with a smile, "How much did you drink?"

"Not much."

Despite not being drunk at all, Li Hongbing took the honey water meant to help him sober up from Chen Xueru's hand and retorted, "Besides, don't you know how much I can drink?"

"I know you can hold your liquor, okay?"

Upon hearing Li Hongbing's words, Chen Xueru gave him a slightly flirtatious glance.

At this time.

Chen's mother brought over a basin of water with a herbal foot bath packet, and said to Li Hongbing with a smile, "Hongbing, it's getting late, soak your feet quickly so you can get some rest."

The herbal packets in the foot bath were specially prepared by Li Hongbing for foot soaking, and they worked quite well.

Having read some books on medicinal cuisine and traditional Chinese medicine, and through frequent practice, Li Hongbing's TCM skills have progressed from beginner to a basic level.

I wouldn't dare make any grand promises about other things, but I have no problem treating minor illnesses and getting foot bath medicine packs.

"Mom, I can do these myself, you don't need to do them yourself."

Having his mother-in-law bring him water to wash his feet might seem prestigious and show off his status in the family, but Li Hongbing didn't feel any sense of superiority from it; he only felt the warmth of mutual care among family members.

"Anyway, I have nothing to do, so I might as well just sit around doing nothing."

Upon hearing this, Chen's mother chuckled, as if she had thought of something and was afraid of people gossiping about Li Hongbing, so she said, "Next time I'll have Xue Ru bring it over when I'm done."

After all, he is an elder. Even if he does these things willingly, if someone with ulterior motives sees this and makes a fuss about it, and then accuses Li Hongbing of disrespecting his elders, that would not be a good thing.

"Mom, you're just spoiling Hongbing. Am I your daughter or your daughter-in-law? You're so biased!"

Although Chen Xueru complained, she felt no dissatisfaction or real resistance to her mother's words.

Yes, but it's mostly just frustration and jealousy, and a daughter acting coquettishly in front of her mother.

Although Chen Xueru is a very opinionated person with progressive modern ideas, in front of Li Hongbing, she prefers to be a devoted wife and mother, and enjoys this kind of life.

After enjoying a relaxing foot bath, Li Hongbing didn't wait for Chen Xueru to do anything; he proactively poured out the foot bath water himself.

Although Chen's mother and Chen Xueru were willing to take care of and serve him, and Li Hongbing was practically an emperor at home, he did not become arrogant because of this and did not treat them as servants.

The night is getting darker.

One by one, the lights in each household in the courtyard were turned off, and Li Hongbing was no exception.

After a passionate encounter, Li Hongbing embraced Chen Xueru, whose skin was as white as snow, and kissed her forehead with immense satisfaction. The two quickly fell asleep.

(End of this chapter)