Siheyuan: He Yuzhu since 1958

Just after five o'clock in the afternoon, He Yuzhu rode his bicycle back to the courtyard. Before he even entered the house, he heard the neighbors talking about Qin Huairu. When He Yuzhu learned that Qin Huairu divorced Jia Dongxu and immediately married Sun Quezi, a bicycle repairman, he was surprised. He Yuzhu originally thought that Qin Huairu would not leave the courtyard so easily. He was afraid that she would peel off a layer of skin from Jia Dongxu. But he didn't expect Qin Huairu to leave so easily.

Since Qin Huairu is gone, He Yuzhu has nothing to worry about. No matter what entanglement Qin Huairu had with him in the TV series, it is all in the past. At least for He Yuzhu now, out of sight, out of mind. As of today, the people who had entanglements with him, He Yuzhu, in the TV series, Yi Zhonghai has died, and Yida Ma has left home. Jia Dongxu and his mother are unlikely to return to the courtyard. Qin Huairu has remarried. Now only Xu Damao, Liu Haizhong and his wife, and Yan Bugui and his wife are left.

He Yuzhu pushed his bicycle to the door of his house and just as he took out his house key, the door suddenly opened. He Yuzhu saw He Yushui and asked with a smile: "You came back early today?!"

He Yushui grinned and said, "Now that I have a bicycle, of course I'll be back early!" He Yushui took the initiative to make way. He Yuzhu pushed the bicycle into the door and asked, "How was school today?!"

He Yushui blah blah, telling He Yuzhu about some things that happened on the way to school and after school today. Anyway, in short, her classmates are very envious of He Yushui for having such a loving brother.

"What are you two talking about?!" Huang Ying appeared at the door at this moment. He Yuzhu said, "What else can I say? She rode a bicycle to school today. Her classmates are jealous of her now." Then He Yuzhu changed the subject and said, "Yushui, you have to be more restrained from now on. If someone spots you and steals your things, you won't have time to cry."

Huang Ying agreed, "Yushui, your brother is right. After school, don't hang around outside. Come back as early as possible."

If He Yuzhu said something to her, He Yushui would not take it seriously, at most she would think that He Yuzhu was trying to scare her. But since Huang Ying had spoken, she could not ignore it. After all, Huang Ying's identity as a police officer was more convincing than He Yuzhu's identity as a chef.

Although He Yushui was unwilling, she still nodded obediently and said, "I understand."

He Yuzhu asked: "Don't you have to be on duty today?!"

Huang Ying replied, "Not today. I'm on night duty tomorrow."

He Yuzhu said: "I will bring you some midnight snacks tomorrow."

Huang Ying said: "No need to bother!"

He Yuzhu said, "I can listen to you about anything, except food. You must listen to me. You two can chat, and I'll go cook."

After He Yuzhu left, He Yushui pulled Huang Ying to the bedside, asked Huang Ying to sit down, and then He Yushui's little radio began to broadcast. He first told Huang Ying about school matters, and then told Huang Ying about what he heard in the courtyard after school.

Huang Ying chatted with He Yushui for a while, and then Huang Ying sent He Yushui to do his homework and walked into the kitchen. He Yuzhu, who was busy, heard the footsteps and asked, "Why did you come in?!"

Huang Ying walked up to He Yuzhu and asked, "Is there anything I can help you with?!"

He Yuzhu replied: "You don't need to help here. Just take a rest. If you really can't rest, then just watch from the side and chat with me."

Huang Ying said: "Jia Dongxu was unlucky this time. He encountered a severe crackdown. But our director is quite considerate. He has already reported to the higher-ups and let Jia Dongxu and his mother serve their sentences together."

"That's a good thing!" He Yuzhu echoed, shook the pot twice, put the vegetables into the basin, washed the pot, and asked while making the next dish: "How long will Jia Dongxu be locked up?!"

Huang Ying replied, "It's hard to say. But I don't think it will be short." Then she asked, "I heard that the Jia family's house is vacant?!"

He Yuzhu said, "I guess so! In the whole courtyard, except for my house, Yi Zhonghai's house, the deaf old lady in the backyard, and Xu Damao's house, all other houses are public housing. The factory has posted a notice today that Jia Dongxu has been fired. Since he has been fired, the factory will not rent this house to him anymore."

Huang Ying said, "I am still living in the single dormitory of the institute. Tomorrow I will give the institute a call and ask for the house to come over."

He Yuzhu said hurriedly: "You don't have to go through so much trouble. Just marry me, isn't that enough?"

Huang Ying's face instantly turned red when she heard He Yuzhu's words. She stretched out her hand and twisted He Yuzhu's waist, saying in a tender voice, "I told you not to talk nonsense!"

He Yuzhu said, "Yingzi, it's impossible for one person to have all the good things in the world. We should know how to be content. You can take the west wing. It's fine to live there now. When we get married, there will be gossip. There's an old saying that goes 'Three people make a tiger, and nothing makes a lot of trouble.' I don't want your work to be delayed because of these trivial matters in the future."

After hearing what He Yuzhu said, Huang Ying smiled with satisfaction and said, "You've passed the test." Then she asked, "When are you going to marry me?!"

He Yuzhu was slightly stunned, then came to his senses and asked, "Have you figured it out?!"

Huang Ying replied: "I figured it out!"

He Yuzhu said, "It would be best if we get the certificate tomorrow and get this done. But I can't make the decision on this matter alone. I have to listen to you."

Huang Ying thought for a moment and said, "I've been busy lately. I'll be busy until the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month. How about we get married on the 25th of the twelfth lunar month? The 27th of the twelfth lunar month is the beginning of spring. We can invite relatives and friends to have a meal together and get married. What do you think?!"

He Yuzhu quickly agreed, "No problem?! I'll listen to you! We'll get the marriage certificate on the 25th, and hold the banquet on the 27th." He then said, "Give me a number in advance for the people you want to invite so I can prepare the dishes. On my side, there are only my master's family and my grandfather's family, so there will be at most two tables of people."

Huang Ying replied, "I only have some uncles and colleagues from the institute. There are about two tables of people." Then she asked, "Our two families together have about four tables. Where are you going to put them?!"

He Yuzhu thought for a moment and said, "According to past experience, our steel mill is already on holiday. How about I go to the factory tomorrow to ask. If it is on holiday, we can hold the wedding banquet in the factory cafeteria. There is a large space there, so it will be no problem even if more people come."

Huang Ying readily agreed: "Okay! Just as you say!"

He Yuzhu put the pot aside, rushed to Huang Ying, picked her up, and spun around while shouting, "I have a wife! I have a wife!"

Huang Ying cried out somewhat embarrassedly, "Put me down now!"

At this time, He Yushui poked his head into the kitchen and saw He Yuzhu holding Huang Ying and spinning around. He immediately covered his eyes, then peeked openly through a few gaps between his fingers. After a while, He Yushui saw that there was nothing more to watch, so he retracted his head with an unsatisfied look and muttered, "Sister Yingying is marrying my brother, so I have a sister-in-law now?!" Then He Yushui's eyes lit up instantly.