Siheyuan: Traveling through Cai Quanwu, pretending to be Uncle Shazhu

When Auntie heard Yi Zhonghai asking about Jia Zhang's situation, she frowned and recalled.

After thinking for a long time, the aunt suddenly remembered something and said uncertainly:

"I have seldom been in contact with people in the courtyard recently. I just heard from people in the courtyard that there is a wealthy relative of the Jia Zhang family in the city, and they got in touch with him some time ago."

"Also, one time when I went to take care of the deaf old lady, I ran into Old Liu's wife in the backyard. She mentioned that Jia Zhang had not returned home several nights. It was said that she had gone to that relative's house."

When Yi Zhonghai heard what the old lady said, he thought about it for a moment and immediately felt that there was something fishy.

If we were to ask who in the courtyard is most familiar with the Jia family’s situation, it would be none other than Yi Zhonghai.

I have been dealing with the Jia family since Old Jia. Although I know the situation of the Jia family like the back of my hand, I can at least say that I know them inside and out.

But I have never heard Lao Jia mention it.

If there really was such a rich relative, even if Old Jia was too embarrassed to visit him when he was alive, given Jia Zhang's personality, she would have gone to visit him long ago after Old Jia passed away.

Why should he beg me to accept Jia Dongxu as his apprentice after Old Jia died?

The more Yi Zhonghai thought about it, the more he felt something was wrong.

"If the Jia family really had relatives in the city, it would have been impossible for Old Jia not to mention it when he was alive. There must be something fishy going on."

"And Jia Zhang, there's no way she can go back to the countryside."

After pondering for a long time, Yi Zhonghai came to the conclusion that Jia Zhang's return to her hometown did not stand up to scrutiny.

"I don't know about that. Since you came in, and I have to take care of the old lady, I have rarely come into contact with people in the hospital."

"What if the relatives on the Jia Zhang side are not aware of this?"

In response to what Yi Zhonghai said, the aunt said she had no idea.

However, Auntie expressed her own opinion on the matter of Jia's relatives.

"Impossible. Old Jia has already told you about Jia Zhang's background. If Jia Zhang hadn't used some tricks, how could Old Jia marry a country girl like Jia Zhang?"

Recalling what Lao Jia said to him after drinking when he was alive, Yi Zhonghai denied the aunt's statement.

"Forget it. Now is not the time to ask about this. Let's wait until the storm has passed."

"When I get a chance, I'll find Dongxu and ask him what's going on."

Seeing that the lady didn't know the inside story, Yi Zhonghai didn't ask any more questions.

If someone wants to hide it, naturally the aunt won't know.

"Then do you still want to eat?"

After Yi Zhonghai finished speaking, the aunt did not continue to argue with him.

"No more eating, clean up, take a shower and go to bed. It's really not a life for a human being in there."

Yi Zhonghai rejected the kindness of the auntie. He just wanted to have a good rest.

"Row."

When the aunt heard what Yi Zhonghai said, she didn't force him and started to clean up the dishes.

……

Yi Zhonghai's return has added a lot of topics to the Siheyuan.

Over the next two days, the entire courtyard, including several neighboring courtyards, were discussing Yi Zhonghai's affairs.

However, apart from those who have nothing to do and discuss Yi Zhonghai, other people who work should still do what they are supposed to do.

At the beginning, Yi Zhonghai wanted to make some contact with the people in the courtyard, but when he saw that the neighbors saw him as a vicious snake and tried to avoid him, he kept a low profile. Except for going to the street office in the morning and evening, he stayed at home all the time and did not go out.

Yi Zhonghai couldn't shrink back, which gave everyone less topics to talk about.

Time flies, and several days pass.

"Why has Jia Dongxu's house been closed these days? Where has he gone?"

That day, Cai Quanwu and his friends were eating at the table when Sha Zhu suddenly started talking about the Jia family out of curiosity.

In the past, after get off work, Sha Zhu and Jia Dongxu would often meet on the road and go home together.

However, on the way home from get off work these few days, Sha Zhu never met Jia Dongxu.

At first, Shazhu thought Jia Dongxu left quickly and came back early.

But when Sha Zhu came back, he found that the door of the Jia family was always closed, and there was no sign of Jia Dongxu and his wife, which aroused Sha Zhu's curiosity.

"Oh? Is there anything else?"

Cai Quanwu became interested after hearing what Sha Zhu said.

During this period of time, his mind has always been on Yi Zhonghai, and he really didn't pay attention to the situation of the Jia family.

"Yes, I didn't run into Jia Dongxu on my way home from get off work these few days, and when I came back I found that their doors were all closed."

Sha Zhu shared his discovery.

When Cai Quanwu heard what Sha Zhu said, he started to think about it.

Just as I was thinking about it, He Yushui beside me replied, "I know."

When Sha Zhu heard He Yushui say that she knew, he thought she was lying and said unhappily, "You just play around all day, what can you know?"

He Yushui heard Sha Zhu's bad tone and said unconvincedly: "I just know it."

Cai Quanwu saw that He Yushui didn't seem to be lying, so he asked with interest: "Oh, Yushui, you know, then tell me."

When He Yushui heard Cai Quanwu asking her, she looked at Sha Zhu provocatively, and then said, "When I was playing that day, I heard them say that Qin's wife took Banggeng to the countryside to visit his grandmother."

"Stop talking nonsense like that."

"Even if Qin Huairu is not here, what about Jia Dongxu?"

"It's impossible for Jia Dongxu to go back to the countryside. I haven't seen him in the yard these days."

Sha Zhu didn't believe what He Yushui said.

But now Sha Zhu's way of addressing Qin Huairu has changed.

When Cai Quanwu first came, Sha Zhu always called her Sister Qin. Later, after being corrected by Cai Quanwu, he started calling her Sister Qin or Sister Jia.

Since we got married, we gradually started calling each other by our first names.

"Forget it if you don't believe it."

"And how do you know Jia Dongxu hasn't come back?"

Seeing that Sha Zhu didn't believe him, He Yushui said angrily.

After saying that, he started eating.

But Xiao Wu was not interested in this matter. She was not familiar with the Jia family and had never even spoken to them.

Only Cai Quanwu and Guan Jiaqi looked at each other after hearing He Yushui's words, and roughly guessed where Jia Dongxu and his wife had gone.

However, neither of them said it in front of Sha Zhu and the others.

"Zhu Zi, Yu Shui is right. Jia Dongxu will be back in the evening." Cai Quanwu confirmed what He Yu Shui said.

Cai Quanwu and the Jia family lived next door to each other, so naturally the news of Jia Dongxu's return home could not be hidden from Cai Quanwu and the others.

"That's strange. Why haven't I seen him in these few days?" With Cai Quanwu's testimony, Sha Zhu naturally believed it, but he was just wondering why he hadn't seen Jia Dongxu.

Cai Quanwu heard what Sha Zhu said but did not explain it to him.

As for the fact that Jia Dongxu and his wife were not in the hospital, Cai Quanwu thought it was probably because of Yi Zhonghai.

Ever since Director Wang came, people in the hospital kept their distance from Yi Zhonghai.

Jia Dongxu and his wife are not stupid. If they were in the yard, they would naturally not be able to escape from Yi Zhonghai.

Instead of doing this, it is better to just hide away and cut off contact with Yi Zhonghai.

In order to avoid Yi Zhonghai, Jia Dongxu naturally would not come back so early.

This will naturally reduce the chance of running into people.

Calculating the time Jia Dongxu would come back at night, Cai Quanwu couldn't imagine that Jia Dongxu must have been going out early and coming back late every day during this period, so it would be strange if Sha Zhu could run into him.

Since Sha Zhu could discover the abnormality of the Jia family, it was impossible for Yi Zhonghai to not feel it at all.

"Wife, do you think Dongxu and the others are hiding from us on purpose?"

Yi Zhonghai was having dinner with an old lady at home when he suddenly put down his chopsticks and asked a question that was buried in his heart.

It’s no wonder that Yi Zhonghai had such an idea. How could such a coincidence happen in the world? He had just come out, and the next day, Jia Dongxu and his wife rarely showed up in the courtyard.

He said he was going to the countryside to visit Jia Zhang, but this can only fool fools.

Even if Qin Huairu brought Banggeng back to the countryside, why is there no sign of you, Jia Dongxu?

Auntie could naturally sense Yi Zhonghai's problem, but she was afraid of irritating Yi Zhonghai, so she didn't say it out loud. Instead, she comforted him:

"You may be overthinking."

"I talked to Huairu that day and asked Dongxu to accompany me to pick you up, and Dongxu agreed immediately."

"Besides, Dongxu comes back every night, so he's not hiding from us."

The fact that Jia Dongxu came back at night could definitely not be hidden from anyone, so it’s not surprising that an old lady knew about it.

Hearing what the aunt said, Yi Zhonghai couldn't help but doubt himself, wondering if he was too sensitive to some things after he got out.

So, Yi Zhonghai said:

"You make sense. I'll get up early tomorrow and ask Dongxu what's going on."