Courtyard House: She got anxious when He Yushui wasn't licked.

In He Yuzhu's room, the deaf old lady finished eating the meat. With her stomach full of oil, she felt much better. When she went back, the aroma of meat from Wang Lin's house didn't tempt her as much.

He Yuzhu was lying in the room when he heard Qin Huairu washing clothes outside. Feeling itchy, he got up, opened the door, and went out.

Qin Huairu was washing clothes in the yard. She saw Sha Zhu come out but ignored him, which made her somewhat angry.

He Yuzhu could tell that Qin Huairu was angry. In order to coax her, he went over and stood next to her, trying to start a conversation: "Sister Qin, are you doing laundry? You're so diligent."

While washing clothes, Qin Huairu replied, "If you're not diligent, you'll starve."

He Yuzhu smiled and promised, "Tomorrow, I promise all the lunchboxes will be yours. I won't give any to anyone else who wants them."

Qin Huairu felt a little better after hearing He Yuzhu's words, but she still wasn't enthusiastic towards Sha Zhu.

"Silly brother, I'm back. Is there any food?"

He Yushui returned pushing her bicycle; she felt like she was starving.

The two people who were chatting saw He Yushui return. Qin Huairu immediately changed her expression and greeted him with a smile, "Yushui is back. Are you tired?"

He Yuzhu walked over and said, "Let me cook you a bowl of noodles."

He Yushui was displeased when she heard that noodles were being cooked, and asked, "Don't you bring your lunchbox home every day? Where's today's lunchbox?"

Without hesitation, He Yuzhu replied, "The old lady ate today's lunchbox."

He Yushui clearly didn't believe this answer. She would rather believe that Qin Huairu's family ate the lunchbox than believe that He Yuzhu gave it to the deaf old lady.

Seeing He Yushui staring at her, Qin Huairu stopped washing clothes and said, "Yushui, I didn't get my lunchbox today either. The deaf old lady really ate it."

He Yushui didn't know what to say, so she could only make do and say, "Then cook me a bowl of noodles."

He Yuzhu nodded and went back to cook a bowl of noodles for He Yushui. But when he got to the kitchen, he found that the noodles he had bought a few days ago were gone. He was immediately embarrassed and scratched his head, saying to He Yushui, "The noodles are gone. I probably forgot to buy them. Maybe I should go to Uncle Yi's house to borrow some noodles."

"Silly brother, could the noodles have been stolen?" He Yushui asked. She remembered that He Yuzhu had indeed bought noodles a couple of days ago, so how could they be gone? He Yuzhu wasn't home for meals, so they must have been stolen.

"What do you mean by stealing? Maybe that kid Banggeng saw the noodles while playing and took them home to give to his grandma." He Yuzhu said this without any anger, and even thought Banggeng was filial.

"Silly brother! Bang Geng is stealing!" He Yushui looked at He Yuzhu in disbelief. These words actually came from He Yuzhu's mouth. Didn't he think of why Bang Geng would take from his house when others didn't?

"Don't talk nonsense, how much can a handful of noodles be worth?" He Yuzhu immediately became unhappy.

"You... Wang Lin is right! Just keep spoiling that ingrate." He Yushui got angrier and angrier, and simply turned and went to the backyard.

"What a ungrateful brat!" He Yuzhu thought that Bang Geng was quite good, and he would focus on cultivating him in the future.

He Yushui knew that He Yuzhu wouldn't listen to her, so she angrily ran to the backyard to find Wang Lin.

Wang Lin was eating when there was another knock on the door. When he opened the door, good heavens, it was He Yushui again. Was she here to freeload again?

He Yushui angrily told Wang Lin about what had just happened.

Inside the house, Fang Yue listened to He Yushui's account and interjected, "It seems your silly brother is quite poisoned. He's protecting him like this. He obviously treats Banggeng like a son."

He Yushui sat on the sofa and looked at Wang Lin for help, asking, "Wang Lin, is there any hope for my brother?"

"There's no good solution for now." Wang Lin shook his head. He Yuzhu's brainwashing was too deep; there was no saving him unless he himself discovered the true nature of Qin Huairu's family, but that required careful consideration.

“I’ll come home early every day from now on, and I’ll eat the lunchboxes that Sha Ge brings by myself, instead of giving them to Qin Huairu’s family. What do you think of that?” He Yushui came up with a good idea.

“The idea is good, but you may not be able to beat Qin Huairu.” Wang Lin didn’t think He Yushui was a match for Qin Huairu, otherwise she wouldn’t have been brainwashed by Qin Huairu over the years.

"This won't work, that won't work, what should I do?" He Yushui was getting anxious; she was only now realizing the seriousness of the situation.

Wang Lin stroked his chin and said, "Let's do it your way first. If it doesn't work, we'll think of something else. As long as we stop your brother Sha Zhu from bringing lunchboxes back, Qin Huairu will eventually be exposed."

He Yushui thought about it and felt that Wang Lin was right, so she nodded in agreement and said, "Okay, I'll listen to you."

"Wait a minute! What's with this overwhelming sense of a devoted husband and wife? Has He Yushui changed her ways? Or is she going to be her own lapdog?"

Wang Lin was somewhat surprised. What was wrong with He Yushui lately? Why was she suddenly so eager to please him when he wasn't trying to win her over?

Chapter 84 Qin Huairu's attempt to intercept Chen Amao is thwarted.

Wang Lin didn't think much of He Yushui's free meals; after all, it's just a mouth, how much food can it eat?

It wasn't until Wang Lin witnessed He Yushui eat two large bowls of rice that he secretly glanced at her stomach. It wasn't bulging, so he wondered where all the food had gone. Her appetite was truly enormous.

He Yushui showed off a large bowl of rice. She had never eaten such delicious food before, and she rarely praised Wang Lin, saying, "It's so delicious. If I weren't so full, I would eat another bowl of rice now."

Wang Lin stared at the large bowl in deep thought. He had eaten two large bowls and was still not satisfied. You have to know that this was a large bowl. Even an adult man might not dare to show off two large bowls, let alone a woman like He Yushui.

Fang Yue was also stuffed. She complained to Wang Lin, "It's all your fault. You made me eat too much. My stomach is a little bloated now."

He Yushui made an even more shocking statement: "Wang Lin, you got me pregnant."

Wang Lin exclaimed in astonishment, "He Yushui, we can eat whatever we want, but we can't say whatever we want. If this gets out, will I, Wang Lin, still be able to live with myself? Will I still be able to get married?"

He Yushui realized she had misspoke and quickly corrected herself, saying, "What I meant was that your cooking is so delicious, even better than my silly brother's. You'd have a bright future if you became a chef."

"A cook? I'd never be a cook in my life." Wang Lin felt a headache coming on just thinking about cooking for a large group of people every day. How could anyone be so desperate as to become a cook? Wouldn't being a purchasing agent be better?

"Brother Lin's cooking skills mostly rely on seasonings, right?" Fang Yue remembered that Wang Lin always added some seasonings when cooking, which was probably the secret to his delicious food.

"I'll see through you but not say anything. Do you still want to eat something delicious next time?" Wang Lin rolled his eyes at Fang Yue.

"Eat!" Fang Yue chuckled.

Wang Lin instructed Fang Yue, "Take good care of the two divine beasts for me tomorrow. This is the last long trip before the New Year."

Fang Yue patted her chest and assured him, "Don't worry, Brother Lin, I'll take good care of those two mythical beasts for you. They'll come back still plump and healthy."

Wang Lin nodded in satisfaction. With Fang Yue around, he wouldn't have to worry about the two divine beasts getting hungry or cold. With their parents gone, his two younger sisters were his only family, and he couldn't afford any mishaps.

He Yushui asked in surprise, "Wang Lin, are you going on a long trip?"

Wang Lin thought that He Yushui didn't know about the long trip, so he said, "Yes, I'm going on a long trip with my colleagues from the factory tomorrow. It's almost Chinese New Year, and the factory needs pork to make everyone have a good year. I happen to have a way."

Upon hearing that Wang Lin had connections, He Yushui pressed on, "Then can you buy meat?"

Meat is also in limited supply during the Lunar New Year; even if you have money and ration coupons, you may not be able to buy a lot of meat.

"There's definitely meat." Wang Lin knew why He Yushui asked that; she simply wanted to buy more meat to have a good New Year.

"Could you buy more for our family too?" He Yushui asked expectantly.

"You can manage on your own, but your silly brother will most likely give the meat to Qin Huairu's family. Are you sure you can eat all the meat you buy?" Wang Lin's words were a reminder to He Yushui that she should be even more wary of Qin Huairu, this bloodsucking white lotus, at the end of the year.

"That's right!" He Yushui thought about it carefully and it seemed that what Wang Lin said made a lot of sense. Even if she bought a lot of meat, He Yuzhu would just use it to give to others. So it was better not to buy any meat at all, at least no one would have any to eat.

"How about this, I can buy you some extra meat, but you have to keep it here and eat it slowly. Just prepare the money and tickets, consider it me helping you out as your friend." Wang Lin generously offered He Yushui a suggestion.

"Wang Lin, you're so kind!" He Yushui rushed towards Wang Lin after hearing this, almost biting him in the face.

Fortunately, the car was brought to a stop in time.

Otherwise, the atmosphere would be somewhat awkward.

Looking at the drastically changed He Yushui, Fang Yue felt a pang of bitterness. If He Yushui had improved, would Wang Lin have accepted her?

Wang Lin never even considered that possibility. His relationship with He Yushui was simply that of friends in the same courtyard. As for romantic relationships, Wang Lin would never fawn over anyone, not even in this lifetime.

The more He Yushui looked at Wang Lin, the more outstanding he seemed, a thousand times, ten thousand times better than Zhang Hao. She began to regret listening to Qin Huairu's family and deliberately making things difficult for Wang Lin. What a load of rubbish!

If Qin Huairu knew that He Yushui had begun to change, would she start to devise other plans?

Time flew by at Wang Lin’s house, and before you knew it, it was around nine o’clock. Even though He Yushui didn’t want to leave, she had to.

Chen Amao packed up the leftovers and left with He Yushui.

When they returned to the front yard, Qin Huairu, like a scouting thief, stopped Chen Amao. She put on a pitiful look and said, "Little brother Amao! Is that leftover food in your hand? We're starving at home, could you give your sister some of today's leftovers?"

"This isn't food." Chen Amao instinctively protected the basin in his arms. This was his daily wage, and he would never give it to Qin Huairu.

"Sister Qin, this is what Amao earned by working for Wang Lin. How dare you ask for it back?" He Yushui was quite surprised. Qin Huairu actually didn't even spare Chen Amao, or rather, she didn't spare the food in Chen Amao's arms.

"Rain! I have no choice. I have three children to feed and a mother-in-law to take care of. No matter how much I try to save, I can't make ends meet!" Qin Huairu started crying again, her voice sounding so pitiful that it made everyone feel like she was really crying, as if she were telling the truth.

In reality, Qin Huairu's family didn't lack food, but her appetite had become too picky, and it's easy to go from frugality to extravagance but difficult to go from extravagance to frugality.

He Yushui listened to Qin Huairu's words and felt they were half true and half false, so she asked, "Isn't your monthly salary enough to support your family?"

Last time, Wang Lin said that Qin Huairu's monthly salary was 27.5 yuan.

Qin Huairu would never admit to any of this. She cried and said, "Yushui, you don't know how expensive firewood and rice are until you're in charge of the household. My monthly salary is seventeen yuan and fifty cents. There are five people in my family, and we have a monthly food ration. My half-grown son is eating me out of house and home. The three kids' appetites are growing bigger every day. I don't know what to do."

When He Yushui heard that Qin Huairu's monthly salary was seventeen yuan and fifty cents, she asked in return, "Didn't Wang Lin say that your monthly salary was twenty-seven yuan and fifty cents?"

Qin Huairu was stunned for a moment, then immediately said, "My goodness, if I earned 27.5 yuan a month, I'd be laughing in my sleep. I'm just a level 2 fitter, how could I earn such a high salary?"

Jia Dongxu, who died in the factory due to a misoperation, was also a level-two fitter. Qin Huairu took advantage of this by replacing Jia Dongxu. Fortunately, she was under Yi Zhonghai's protection, which allowed her to live such a carefree life.

"Really?" He Yushui was somewhat skeptical of Qin Huairu's words, because her intuition told her that Qin Huairu was lying.

As for why he lied to her, it might be just as Wang Lin said: Qin Huairu is a very bad person who only wants to leech off you.

Qin Huairu looked at the leftovers in Chen Amao's hand with lingering hope. She had been eyeing them for a long time; the shredded meat and ribs looked so tempting!

He Yushui said to Chen Amao, "Amao, hurry home, it's getting late."

Chen Amao slipped past Qin Huairu and made a quick getaway.

"Brother Amao!" Qin Huairu turned around, unwilling to give up, and tried to grab Chen Amao.

"Sister Qin." He Yushui stopped Qin Huairu directly and said, "It's getting late, hurry up and go back to rest. It's dark, don't wander around aimlessly."

Qin Huairu could only watch helplessly as Chen Amao carried the leftovers back home, blocked by He Yushui.

This was such a good opportunity, but He Yushui didn't help her. Qin Huairu, with tears in her eyes, questioned He Yushui, "Yushui, if you're not going to help me, fine, but why are you stopping me? Can you bear to see my three children crying for food?"

He Yushui didn't expect Qin Huairu to be so good at moral blackmail. If it were the previous He Yushui, she would probably feel guilty, but when she remembered what Wang Lin said, her guilt turned into anger, and she asked back: "You know what kind of situation A Mao's family is. His father is disabled, his mother is just a temporary worker, and he has older brothers and sisters. It seems that his family is even poorer than yours."

These words left Qin Huairu speechless. Her family was indeed much better off than Chen Amao's. At least she was a regular worker, while Chen Amao's family only had Chen Amao's mother sweeping the streets as a temporary worker with a very low monthly salary.

Seeing Qin Huairu standing there in a daze, He Yushui didn't intend to continue arguing with her. Having eaten and drunk her fill, she prepared to go back and have a good night's sleep.

Qin Huairu watched He Yushui return, her eyes darkening. She turned to look at the backyard, gritting her teeth and muttering to herself, "It must be Wang Lin! I wonder what kind of spell he cast on He Yushui to make her change her ways."

Having failed to intercept her on the way, Qin Huairu could only return empty-handed.

If Wang Lin knew what was happening, he would definitely applaud and cheer, thinking that all his persuasion had finally paid off and He Yushui had finally understood.

As soon as He Yushui returned to the side room, she locked the door, drew the curtain, and sat down in a chair, lost in thought.

Recalling Qin Huairu's actions just now, it seemed to really show that she was a two-faced person. She actually asked the even poorer Chen Amao for food, which completely refreshed He Yushui's worldview.

"No, I can't just watch my silly brother jump into the fire. Qin Huairu is definitely not a good person! Wang Lin has seen through it all, so I can't continue to be kept in the dark by them. I have to fight back." He Yushui clenched her fists. She was determined to stop her silly brother from seeing Qin Huairu, to ruin their secret meetings, and to sever all ties between them.