He Daqing, do you know how I've lived these past years?

Upon hearing this, the white widow hurriedly grabbed Yi Zhonghai's hand, which was fidgeting under the covers, and pressed herself against him, asking with seductive eyes:

"My dear brother, please tell me how to solve this."

Hearing the coquettish voice, Yi Zhonghai was enraged, like a dragon unleashed from the sea. He flipped over and, like a chimpanzee, began to pound his chest and stab wildly.

Just then, there was a knocking on the door and urgent shouts from outside:

"Xiaobai, is Xiaobai home? Everyone's at work!"

It turned out that He Daqing had been waiting in the cafeteria for a long time but hadn't seen Widow Bai, so he hurriedly ran over to check.

Upon hearing He Daqing's voice, the white widow gripped Yi Zhonghai's back tightly with both hands.

Yi Zhonghai gave a sly smile, hoisted the two white jade pillars onto his shoulder, and began turning over the soil.

He Daqing called out a few times from outside the door, but when there was no response from inside, he shook his head and left.

Afterwards, Yi Zhonghai, smoking a cigarette, said to Widow Bai:

"Your home isn't in Baocheng, it's so far away, and they don't know anything about Fatty Bai. You'll be safe too. You can also bring He Daqing along. With his skills, supporting your family of three would be a piece of cake. Think about it carefully, Fangzheng, don't you want to marry him too?"

After saying that, he got dressed, opened the door, and left. The widow Bai thought about it and realized it made sense, so she quickly tidied herself up and ran towards the factory.

Yi Zhonghai, who had just returned to the factory, saw He Daqing smoking at the entrance and chuckled as he walked over.

"What are you doing, Great Qing? Here's twenty-two silver dollars, the extra two are interest."

He Daqing was also quite strange; it would be a fool not to take advantage of a good deal.

He happily put the money away and said:

"You're too kind, we're neighbors."

Yi Zhonghai took out a cigarette, lit it, and said:

"We've been neighbors for so many years, like good brothers. If you can lend me money, I won't let you suffer any losses. Come to my house for dinner tonight."

He Daqing hesitated for a moment, then nodded in agreement.

A moment later, He Daqing finally saw the White Widow rushing over, but before she could even speak,

The white widow then grabbed him and led him to a secluded spot, saying:

"Da Qing, I have something to tell you. We were worried about being implicated by my cousin and his family, but now that they've been out of the city with General Yue for so long, I'm thinking we should just go back to our hometown. That way, everything will be fine."

He Daqing also hesitated and said:

"But I have two children at home, I can't abandon them."

The white widow also roared angrily:

"You're about to die, and you're still worried about the child. Do you even love me? I'm telling you now, if you're not coming with me, don't ever come looking for me again."

He Daqing watched the white widow storm off, feeling helpless and unable to express his grievances. He sighed and went back to the canteen to prepare to cook.

When I finished work, I learned from the other kitchen helpers that the White Widow had already left the steel mill.

He looked sickly and carried the rainwater home.

Today, at No. 95 Nanluoguxiang, thanks to Lou Zhenhua's donation, most of the vacant rooms are rented to workers from the steel factory. Due to restructuring, many of the names have changed.

Seeing the dense crowd gathered in the courtyard, He Daqing curiously went over to take a look.

Unexpectedly, a sharp-eyed neighborhood official spotted it.

"He Daqing, only a few of you from the Intermediate Court haven't registered your social class. You need to answer truthfully. If you falsely report yourself as a poor peasant like Yan Bugui from the Former Court, and someone reports you, you'll be punished."

"Here I want to commend Comrade Yi Zhonghai for his courage in reporting wrongdoing and his fearlessness in the face of powerful figures. I hope everyone will learn from him."

He Daqing glanced at the tearful Yan Bugui, then at the piece of paper in front of the street official; the last line read:

Yan Bugui

Ingredients: Small business owners

His mouth suddenly went dry, and he stammered, unable to speak.

Yi Zhonghai, standing to the side, also shouted loudly:

"Manager, you don't know, He Daqing's family are all poor farmers. I've been his neighbor for many years, I know that."

He Daqing panicked, and seeing Yi Zhonghai speak, he hurriedly followed suit:

"Yes, yes. I'm a poor peasant, and my ancestors for three generations have been."

The neighborhood committee member asked in confusion:

"I remember you always said you were a descendant of the Tan family cuisine, which is a top-ranking dish, don't try to fool me."

He Daqing wiped the sweat from his brow and said in a low voice:

"Family tradition, family craftsmanship"

The neighborhood committee member nodded and wrote "poor peasant" after He Daqing's name.

Afterwards, He Daqing specially bought a cup of Shaoxing wine and some cooked food to thank Yi Zhonghai.

The two men were also arm in arm, addressing each other as brothers, and the Qing emperor shouted:

"Yi Zhonghai, my good elder brother"

He ignored Cuilan's loving gaze as she clung to him in the rain. Before, Yi Zhonghai was a dog; now he's a good older brother. How could he eat dumplings?

After finishing his rice wine, he swayed slowly, pulling Yushui aside as he said goodbye, and headed home.

Watching He Daqing leave, Yi Zhonghai, who was also drunk, suddenly sobered up.

A large nose ring slapped Cuilan across the face as someone cursed:

"You bitch, I'm not dead yet, and you're practically glued to He Daqing!"

With that, he kicked Cuilan over, then began punching and kicking her.

Half an incense stick later, Yi Zhonghai spat out a mouthful of saliva and said:

"Tidy up the table and wait for me to come back so I can take good care of you. You've been taking this medicine for so long, it should be having some effect by now."

After saying that, he opened the door and walked towards the backyard.

Liu Haizhong, from the house next door, glared resentfully at Yi Zhonghai as he entered the wealthy old woman's house.

Looking at the class composition list in his hand, he realized that if he hadn't made a fortune as the steward and pulled some strings before it was handed over to change his status from rich peasant to middle peasant, what would have become of Guangqi?

That damned Yi Zhonghai actually covered for He Daqing and didn't help me at all. He deserves to die!

Why does Liu Haizhong hate Yi Zhonghai so much? It turns out that it all comes down to their parents' generation.

Liu Haizhong's father used to be the head guard in the compound, and Yi Zhonghai's father was the head steward. The two had known each other for a while.

Knowing the truth, Liu Haizhong's father forbade his son from playing with Yi Zhonghai, and also subtly hinted that his father was connected to the palace steward. Therefore, Liu Haizhong looked down on Yi Zhonghai from a young age, and Yi Zhonghai also looked down on Liu Haizhong, considering him a good-for-nothing.

However, during the warlord era, their fathers died, and the two were forced to work in steel mills. They survived by clinging to life, supporting each other until Lou Zhenhua took over and established a steel plant, finally bringing them stability.

As soon as Yi Zhonghai entered the wealthy old woman's house, he hurriedly closed the door, knelt down on the ground, and shouted:

"Madam, as you instructed, I have found a way to get He Daqing to leave."

Then he explained his plan, and the wealthy old lady clapped her hands in delight.

"Zhonghai, you're more capable than your father. Keep up the good work, and I won't treat you unfairly."

Yi Zhonghai nodded repeatedly, and then continued:

"Madam, I need to give that widow Bai some money, otherwise she might not take He Daqing away without any proof."

The wealthy old lady also got up and took out more than thirty silver dollars from the wardrobe, giving them to Yi Zhonghai:

“I know Sha Zhu well. Tell Widow Bai that if He Daqing’s child goes to him, she should send him away immediately.”

Yi Zhonghai happily accepted the money, nodded, and took his leave.

……