Siheyuan's Silly Pillar has been replaced by someone else

Sha Zhu owed those beasts one thing in his entire life: the house for the deaf old lady.

Everyone said that Yi Zhonghai cared for the deaf old lady until her death.

Logically speaking, the deaf old lady's house should belong to Yi Zhonghai.

On her deathbed, the deaf old lady gave the house to Sha Zhu, but not to Yi Zhonghai.

Sha Zhu took the house, which meant he owed Yi Zhonghai a huge favor.

With this as an excuse, Yi Zhonghai could legitimately boss Sha Zhu around as his godfather.

If Sha Zhu doesn't listen to him, then he's heartless and ungrateful.

He Yuzhu wants to start with the house, to break the sense of guilt that Sha Zhu feels towards the courtyard house, especially towards Yi Zhonghai.

"First of all, even if Sha Zhu had given up the deaf old lady's house, Yi Zhonghai still wouldn't have been able to keep it."

"Why? The old lady said that she originally wanted to give the house to an old man, no, to Yi Zhonghai. It was Yi Zhonghai who gave it to me."

Yi Zhonghai also told me that the Jia family has many members, and if I gave the house to Banggeng, Banggeng would agree to let Huairu marry me.

Xu Damao said dismissively, "You gave him the house, but did he agree to let you marry Qin Huairu?"

"Shut up."

"I'm not going to shut up, so what?"

The two started arguing again.

Qin Jingru couldn't stand it anymore: "All of you shut up! Anyone who doesn't shut up, I'll slap them."

The two immediately became obedient.

Qin Jingru turned to He Yuzhu with a smile and said, "Go on, why couldn't Yi Zhonghai keep the house?"

He Yuzhu was curious as to why she had moved out with Xu Damao, but now was not the time to talk about it, so he put it aside for the time being.

"Don't forget, Yi Zhonghai is childless and old."

Do you think it's not hateful for someone who has no descendants to occupy so many houses?

Putting everything else aside, neither Liu Haizhong nor Yan Bugui would agree to this.

Xu Damao slapped his thigh, attracting everyone's attention.

"That's not true. When Liu Guangtian, Yan Jiefang, and others got married, Liu Haizhong and Yan Bugui both visited Shazhu."

He was rebuffed by Sha Zhu at the time.

The two sought help from Yi Zhonghai, who then forced Sha Zhu to apologize.

Sha Zhu couldn't stand his attitude and said, "What do you know? Back then, nobody in the entire courtyard paid any attention to you."

Xu Damao said nonchalantly, "I admit nobody pays attention to me, but don't forget Jingru. Jingru told me all of this."

Qin Jingru nodded: "It was indeed me who told Da Mao. At the time, my sister was still reluctant and complained to me about Yi Zhonghai."

"It's clearly Sha Zhu's house, why should we apologize to them?"

At that time, Sha Zhu's salary was all in Qin Huairu's hands.

As everyone knows, once it's in Qin Huairu's hands, it belongs to Qin Huairu.

Yi Zhonghai forcing Sha Zhu to treat everyone is no different from forcing Qin Huairu to treat everyone.

It's normal for Qin Huai to be reluctant to part with it.

Xu Damao said smugly, "I understand now. If the house is given to Yi Zhonghai, he will definitely not dare to keep it; he can only rent it out."

He's afraid that once the house is rented out, he won't be able to get it back.

So he gave the house to Sha Zhu, making Sha Zhu take the blame for him.

"That idiot Zhu is a complete moron. He's clearly just a scapegoat pushed onto him, yet he's so smug about it, like a clown."

Sha Zhu glared at Xu Damao, and slowly, resentment appeared in his eyes.

These principles are not complicated; once someone points them out, Sha Zhu will understand.

He Yuzhu concluded: "Therefore, giving up the house was definitely not out of good intentions."

Sha Zhu took the blame for him.

Also, I remember you said that the houses in the courtyards all belonged to deaf old ladies, right?

Xu Damao was taken aback: "Who told you that? I don't remember saying that."

“That’s not important, just tell me if it’s true or not,” He Yuzhu interrupted Xu Damao.

He obtained all of this from Sha Zhu's memories, but he was simply shifting the blame onto them.

Xu Damao guessed that it was Sha Zhu who said it, so he didn't pay attention: "The courtyard house does indeed belong to the deaf old lady."

Later, when the People's Liberation Army entered the city, the deaf old lady somehow got to know the leaders of the Military Control Commission and donated her house to the Commission. The Military Control Commission then arranged for some homeless people to move in.

Furthermore, they persuaded the neighbors in two nearby courtyards to merge with the siheyuan (traditional courtyard house).

Why are you asking these questions?

Sha Zhu looked at He Yuzhu curiously: "Yeah, why are you asking this? Does the deaf old lady giving me the house have anything to do with this?"

He Yuzhu said definitively, "There is indeed some connection. Since the deaf old lady owns a courtyard house, it means she is a wealthy person."

Such a fine courtyard house must belong to either remnants of the Manchu regime or relatives of the Kuomintang.

"Impossible!" Sha Zhu exclaimed excitedly. "The old lady was a martyr's family member, and she even gave straw sandals to the Red Army."

"Pfft."

Xu Damao and his wife couldn't help but laugh.

Xu Damao pointed at Sha Zhu: "The thing I regret most in my life is that I treated you, you big idiot, as my enemy."

Haven't you watched any TV series about the Long March?
How could a deaf old woman with bound feet deliver straw sandals to the Red Army?

Sha Zhu opened his mouth, his face full of embarrassment.

Before television, few people knew about the history of the Long March.

He took that explanation seriously.

But things are different now; televisions are practically ubiquitous. His family has had one for a long time.

He himself had also watched the TV series "The Long March".

He naturally knew where the Red Army was operating.

And what about the deaf old lady?

As his grandson, the deaf old lady told him personally that she had never left Beijing in her entire life.

How did someone who had never left Beijing manage to deliver straw sandals to the Red Army?

If sending straw sandals was a sham, then the matter of the families of martyrs goes without saying.

When the deaf old lady was alive, her family never saw a plaque recognizing her as a martyr's family member.

Later, when the government conducted its statistics, they didn't come to the courtyard house to inquire about it.

Why did you lie to me?

He Yuzhu found the deaf old lady disgusting and didn't mind smearing some dirty water on her.

"It might not be a scam."

Sha Zhu's eyes held a glimmer of hope, though it was unclear what he was hoping for.

Xu Damao didn't believe it at all: "Impossible. That old hag can't do anything except favor Yi Zhonghai and Sha Zhu."

Qin Jingru said curiously, "Both of you shut up. Let Xiao He speak."

He Yuzhu said with a smile, "There were two groups of people on the Long March at that time."

One group is naturally us, and the other group…

Xu Damao's eyes lit up: "Yes. It must be. The deaf old lady's son must be."

I told you, the deaf old lady wasn't a good person, and neither was her son.

Qin Jingru asked, "What about the straw sandals?"

He Yuzhu said, "The straw sandals were given to her son. After her son was arrested, the straw sandals naturally ended up in the hands of the Red Army."

Qin Jingru looked somewhat shocked, as if she couldn't believe it.

Xu Damao, however, had no doubts whatsoever, his tone laced with mockery.

"So that's what she was referring to. According to this theory, she really did make a contribution to the establishment of the country."

I'd feel bad for not awarding her a third-class merit.

Anyone could hear the disdain in Xu Damao's tone.

Sha Zhu, who always acted as a dutiful grandson to the deaf old lady, did not defend her this time; his eyes were full of contemplation.

His initial respect for the deaf old lady was never out of any familial affection.

After all, during the two most difficult years after He Daqing left, the deaf old lady didn't take care of him.

It was only after the news of the martyr's family came out that he truly began to respect the deaf old lady.

Later, under the persuasion of the deaf old lady, this respect transformed into familial affection. (End of Chapter)