Siheyuan, my new life

The deaf old lady knew very well that in the days after his wife's death, He Daqing had often secretly gone to the Eight Great Hutongs. Several other men in this courtyard also frequented the place, with the two who went there most often being Xu Fugui from the back courtyard and Yi Zhonghai from the middle courtyard.

Although she was called a deaf old lady, her hearing was exceptionally sensitive, even surpassing that of many ordinary people. The reason she pretended to be deaf was that when she encountered something she didn't want to hear or pay attention to, she simply pretended not to hear it.

One summer night, the deaf old lady overheard Xu Fugui and his wife arguing. She remembered that Xu Fugui had drunk a lot that day and didn't return until the middle of the night. His wife, Liu Lanhua, found another woman's long hair and smell on him, which led to the argument. Xu Fugui was definitely drunk when he revealed that most of the men in the courtyard had been to the Eight Great Hutongs. He had run into Yi Zhonghai and He Daqing several times, and he also said that he had heard from the women in the Eight Great Hutongs that Yi Zhonghai was all show and no substance, but this guy was addicted to it and would go there every five or six days.

Actually, given the deaf old lady's background, she didn't care too much about men occasionally having casual affairs outside. However, she couldn't stand the fact that the men living in the courtyard at No. 95 often went to the Eight Great Hutongs to fool around.

It should be noted that among the three, Yi Zhonghai's wife is considered to be very virtuous. Apart from not giving Yi Zhonghai any children, she is absolutely perfect in every other way. She serves her husband wholeheartedly every day and has the bad reputation of being a barren hen. In the old society, a woman's inability to have children was a huge sin, and many families would divorce their wives because of this.

But was it really true that Yi Zhonghai's wife was infertile? Of course, the deaf old lady knew the answer to this, and Yi Zhonghai later learned that he was infertile as well. However, this hypocrite, for the sake of his reputation, tacitly accepted that his wife should take the blame for him, while he went out to have affairs and had illicit relationships with both the Jia family mother-in-law and daughter-in-law. In the end, he was completely fooled by the vixen Qin Huairu from the Jia family, and as a result, he was disgraced and imprisoned. He truly deserved what he sowed.

Xu Fugui's current good life is largely due to his wife, Liu Lanhua. The deaf old lady had some connections with the elders of Lou Bancheng's family, so she knew quite a bit about Xu Fugui and his wife's affairs. If it weren't for Liu Lanhua, the personal maid of Lou Bancheng's third concubine, Xu Fugui would probably have died the day Lou Bancheng changed drivers. After all, during the time Xu Fugui drove Lou Bancheng's car, he learned more or less about some of the Lou family's shady dealings. The simplest way to ensure that the secrets were not leaked was to kill him. Lou Bancheng was no saint; he had a lot of blood on his hands. If Lou Tanshi hadn't pleaded for him, Xu Fugui's grave would have been overgrown with weeds long ago.

As for He Daqing, although his wife had long since passed away, every normal man has needs. However, when he thought of his obedient and sensible little girl, who had died young because of an accident while giving birth to his child, the deaf old lady wanted nothing more than to punish He Daqing, the culprit. But before the little girl died, she held his hand and begged him to take care of the He family, especially the baby girl who was still in swaddling clothes. How could the deaf old lady let the little girl die with her eyes open? Therefore, she could only grit her teeth and agree.

However, when the deaf old lady learned from Xu Fugui and his wife's argument that He Daqing also frequented the Eight Great Hutongs, she felt very sorry for the little girl. Therefore, from then on, she hardly treated He Daqing well. She only liked Zhuzi, a somewhat simple-minded boy, very much. As Xiaoyushui grew up, she looked more and more like the little girl who had passed away. Every time she saw Xiaoyushui, she would involuntarily think of the little girl who had accompanied her for many years. Therefore, she was also very indifferent to Xiaoyushui.

Out of kindness, he took in Mr. and Mrs. Yi Zhonghai, who were hiding at the gate of the courtyard house at No. 95. At the time, he saw that Mr. Yi Zhonghai looked honest and kind, and his wife seemed quite agreeable. So he contacted the manager of Lou's Steel Rolling Mill and arranged for Mr. Yi Zhonghai to work there. From then on, Mr. Yi Zhonghai's wife would come to the backyard almost every day to clean, wash, or cook for him. He found that she was efficient, hardworking, and most importantly, her manners were to his liking. So he let her take care of his daily life. After all, as she got older, the deaf old lady clearly felt that she really needed someone to take care of her.

Previously, whenever He Daqing cooked meat dishes, he would have Zhu Zi send a portion to the backyard. When he visited the deaf old lady himself, he almost never looked well, but he would still go to the backyard every three to five days.

After the deaf old lady entrusted Yi Zhonghai's wife with taking care of her daily life, He Daqing went to the backyard less and less often. Only Zhuzi would run to the deaf old lady's room in the backyard to play for a while whenever he was in the courtyard. Of course, he also ate a lot of the snacks and food prepared by the old lady.

In the past two years, a series of events have occurred, which have allowed the deaf old lady and He Daqing to reconcile. She has finally accepted Xiaoyushui, this poor child. Now, the deaf old lady's house is lively almost every day. During the day, she is accompanied and cared for by Widow Xue, who lives in the backyard. In the afternoon, Xiaoyushui comes home from school and goes straight to the backyard to study. After finishing her homework, the little girl tells the deaf old lady about the interesting things that happened at school that day. When He Daqing and his son come home from get off work, they go straight to the backyard to cook dinner. Then the four of them sit around the eight-immortal table, eating and chatting, allowing the deaf old lady to experience the joy of family life.

The reason I suddenly brought up the matter of him remarrying with He Daqing tonight was because I heard it from Widow Xue. Several matchmakers in the neighborhood who specialize in arranging marriages were asking the old women in the courtyard about He Daqing.

With her experience, the deaf old lady was naturally able to keenly sense that something was amiss. Clearly, someone was after He Daqing, and it was very likely that the woman in the household who was inquiring about He Daqing was a young widow.

The deaf old lady really didn't want He Daqing to marry a widow with a child. After all, Dorgon was such a hero back then, but he ended up falling into the hands of a widow.