Siheyuan: He Yuzhu since 1958

When Yan Bugui and his wife were discussing which furniture to replace, He Yuzhu returned home. He Yuzhu had just sat down when He Yushui came in from outside. He Yuzhu looked at the frowning He Yushui and asked with a smile: "What's wrong? You were fine just now, why are you unhappy now?!"

He Yushui said, "Brother, I just heard your conversation. It's so expensive, how about we not change the furniture first?!"

He Yuzhu laughed and said, "Little girl, why do you think so much?! Our family doesn't need this little money. The reason why your brother and I renovated the house is to shut up those shameless people in the yard. If we save the money and don't use it, some people will shamelessly come to borrow money. Should you lend it to him?! Or not?! If you lend it to him and he pays it back, it's nothing. But what if he doesn't pay it back?!"

After listening to what He Yuzhu said, He Yushui scratched his head, as if he understood and as if he didn't understand. Anyway, he felt that his brother was right.

After dinner and cleaning the house, He Yuzhu sent He Yushui away. He closed the door, drew the curtains, and lay down on the bed. Not long after, there was a knock on the door.

"Who is it?!" He Yuzhu asked, but when no one answered, he was worried that Qin Huairu would cause trouble. He Yuzhu walked to the window, opened the curtains and saw the deaf old lady standing at the door. He Yuzhu asked, "Old lady, what's the matter so late?!"

The deaf old lady asked: "Zhu Zi, is there anything to eat?!"

He Yuzhu replied, "I'm sorry, old lady. We've finished all the food we cooked tonight. Why don't you go ask the second uncle, the third uncle, or other families in the courtyard?"

"Wait!" Just as He Yuzhu was about to close the window, the deaf old lady stopped him.

He Yuzhu asked: "Is there anything else?!"

The deaf old lady said, "Zhu Zi, your uncle is in trouble and your aunt is gone. Can I live with your family?!"

He Yuzhu said, "Old lady, I don't have a regular get off work schedule and I don't cook often. You should live with other families!" After saying that, He Yuzhu closed the window quickly.

The deaf old lady sighed and muttered, "I'm old! I'm useless! They all start to dislike me!" Then she walked to the backyard with her cane. In fact, the deaf old lady had already eaten. She deliberately chose this time to find He Yuzhu, just to try whether He Yuzhu could take care of her in her old age. Since He Yuzhu's way was not feasible and other people in the courtyard were unreliable, the deaf old lady could only rely on herself.

In fact, He Yuzhu had thought about the deaf old lady since he came back from Baocheng after meeting He Daqing. If the deaf old lady didn't come to plead for Yi Zhonghai, He Yuzhu would have no problem taking care of her in her old age because of her age and the house in her backyard. If she came to plead for Yi Zhonghai, then there would be nothing to say. He couldn't be so magnanimous as to provide for his enemy in his old age.

Although He Yuzhu didn't want to provide for the deaf old lady, someone had already set his sights on her. In fact, Jia Dongxu and Qin Huairu had already spotted the deaf old lady when she appeared at the door of He Yuzhu's house. After listening to the conversation between the deaf old lady and He Yuzhu, Jia Dongxu suddenly felt, "Although Yi Zhonghai's house is nice and in the middle courtyard, it may not be easy for He Yuzhu to take out the things that have entered his hands. The deaf old lady is old and she won't live for many years. If I help her with her old age, and after she dies, her house will belong to him, then this deal can still be done." After thinking it through, Jia Dongxu looked at Qin Huairu next to him, and Qin Huairu also looked at Jia Dongxu. The couple looked at each other and immediately understood each other's ideas.

Qin Huairu said, "Dongxu, I heard from an aunt that the deaf old lady is very greedy and picky. Do you think we can afford to support her?!"

Jia Dongxu pondered for a few seconds and said, "I think we can support her. Judging from the old woman's appearance just now, she probably hasn't eaten yet. Take some food over and test her attitude. When you come back, make a decision."

"Hey! I'll go right away!" Qin Huairu responded, ran to the stove, poured the remaining cornmeal paste in the pot which still had some residual heat into a bowl, took a steamed bun with two grains of flour and a plate of pickles and went out.

Jia Dongxu watched Qin Huairu enter the backyard, and he breathed a sigh of relief, muttering: "Without Yi Zhonghai, I can still live a good life!" Then Jia Dongxu looked at Banggeng who was playing nearby. The more Jia Dongxu looked, the more he felt that he saw the shadow of Yi Zhonghai in Banggeng, and then he remembered some rumors he had heard recently. The smile on Jia Dongxu's face disappeared instantly, and questions kept coming to his mind. Jia Dongxu originally planned to visit his mother today, but he overslept and could only go next Sunday. When he saw his mother, Jia Dongxu planned to tell his mother about Banggeng and wanted to hear his mother's opinion.

Qin Huairu went to the backyard, put the bowl of porridge on the window sill, and knocked on the door of the deaf old lady's house. The deaf old lady, who was sitting on the bed sighing, heard the knock on the door, came to her senses, and asked, "Who is it?!"

Qin Huairu responded: "Old lady, I am Dongxu's wife."

When the deaf old lady knew who was knocking on the door, she frowned and muttered to herself, "What is she doing here?!" Then she reacted instantly and thought to herself, "It's good to have someone to take care of me!" Then she called out, "Dongxu's, the door is not locked, come in!"

"Hey!" Qin Huairu carried something, pushed the door open with her foot, walked into the room, and said with a smile: "Old lady, I guess you didn't eat dinner?! I brought it to you. My food is not very good, so please make do with it."

The deaf old lady got out of the car, leaned on her cane, walked to the table, pulled the cord, and the light came on. The deaf old lady saw the food on the table, although she was not very satisfied, but it was better than nothing. However, the deaf old lady was not in a hurry to eat. She looked at Qin Huairu and said straight to the point: "Dongxu's family, if I am not mistaken. You brought these meals here today to test me, right?!"

Although Qin Huairu felt a little embarrassed, she still kept a smile on her face and said, "Old lady, it was the uncle and his wife who took care of you. The uncle was Dongxu's master. Now the uncle and his wife are gone. We are still here. We want to take over the responsibility of taking care of you."

The deaf old lady sat down and said, "I have eaten more salt than you have eaten rice. I know what you two are thinking, even if you don't tell me. Since you are willing to support me in my old age, this house will belong to you after I am gone. But I have a promise. Let's try living here for three months first. If three months works, we can continue living like this. Then I will ask the people from the street office to notarize it and make a written agreement. If it doesn't work, we will just part ways."

"Okay!" Qin Huairu agreed without thinking, and then said: "But old lady, I am going to give birth next month. Please forgive me if I can't take good care of you during my confinement period."

The deaf old lady nodded in agreement and said, "I understand this!"

Qin Huairu said, "Old lady, take your time to eat. Put the food aside after you finish eating. I will come to clean it up tomorrow morning. It's getting late. I'm going back first!"

Watching Qin Huairu leave, the deaf old lady muttered, "This woman is not simple. There are so many daughters-in-law in the whole courtyard, and I'm afraid no one can compare to her. I don't know what kind of shit luck the Jia family has to marry such a daughter-in-law. It's a pity. If this woman was born a hundred years earlier, she would probably be an extraordinary person." Then the deaf old lady thought of being involved in the Jia family, which she had rated as a jinx, and smiled bitterly unconsciously. Let's talk about the future later! So the deaf old lady didn't think much about it and picked up her chopsticks to eat.