Courtyard House: My Wife is Xu Huizhen

Tian Zao smiled and said, "So business must have been pretty good yesterday, otherwise you wouldn't have come all the way here so early in the morning to sign the lease agreement."

"My sister is my mentor, so of course I wouldn't hide anything from you. Business is indeed doing well, and I can make a living without any problems."

He Yuzhu wouldn't have said that to anyone else, but this was no stranger; he could clearly feel Tian Zao's care for him.

"Sister, I'd like to invite you, your husband, and my senior classmates to dinner tonight."

"Okay, then let's do it tomorrow night. I'll try your cooking. I have something to do tonight."

"Okay, sis, then it's settled."

After asking a couple of questions to confirm that business was going well, Tian Zao led He Yuzhu to another room, which should be the housing management office. They successfully completed the rental procedures and He Yuzhu paid a year's rent.

After hesitating for a moment, although exchanging gifts is a common practice, these leaders were all from military backgrounds, so He Yuzhu decided not to act recklessly.

Holding the lease agreement, He Yuzhu breathed a sigh of relief; now he was at ease.

Having already taken a few days off, He Yuzhu didn't mind extending it by one day. He returned to the tavern, first teaching Xu Huizhen how to braise meat, and then doing carpentry.

In the morning, my teacher's wife brought two women to the interview. As expected, my teacher's wife had a good eye and found two women who seemed clean and tidy. Their main task was to make steamed buns and clean up the house.

After He Yuzhu nodded, even his master's wife stayed to help. Busy as they were, He Yuzhu made five more tables and some benches in one day.

These materials were prepared in advance; the only requirement now is that they are usable. No varnish was used; the raw wood was used directly.

Use it first, then replace it gradually later.

The master's wife said, "Zhu Zi, your carpentry skills are quite good. When Jin Yan gets married, you can make a set of furniture for her."

Hong Jinyan, who was helping out, blushed and scolded, "Mother, what nonsense are you talking about? I won't marry anyone. I'll stay home and take care of you in your old age."

"You silly child, I have your older brother, why would I need you to support me in my old age?"

Ye Xiangqun is only one year older than Hong Jinyan. The two were childhood sweethearts who grew up together. Otherwise, Hong Henian would not have taken Ye Xiangqun under his wing as an apprentice, as he was already a prospective son-in-law.

However, their relationship is not yet confirmed. They will discuss marriage after Ye Xiangqun has mastered the skills of a chef.

"That's right, I think Brother Ye is great. Sister Jin Yan, I promise to make your furniture beautiful and make you have a splendid wedding."

He Yuzhu's teasing made Hong Jinyan even more embarrassed. She couldn't hit her own mother, so how could she not hit this junior brother?

Hung Chin-yen reached out and slapped her, scolding, "I'll tear your stinking mouth apart and teach you a lesson for talking nonsense."

He Yuzhu chuckled as his senior sister slapped him a couple of times to vent her anger. Just then, he heard someone outside shouting that they were selling ice cream, so he quickly ran outside and said, "Sister, don't be angry. I'll buy you some ice cream."

As soon as he ran out of the tavern, he saw a middle-aged man carrying a white painted wooden box in the distance.

The wooden box wasn't big, only about a foot square. A middle-aged man walked around shouting "ice cream and popsicles!" as he sold them.

At that time, bicycles were too expensive for ordinary people to afford, and they couldn't ride bicycles to sell ice cream, so they had to carry them on their backs and call out to sell them.

There are 8 people in the shop now, and He Yuzhu spent 4 cents to buy 8 milk ice creams.

The cheapest popsicles cost only one cent each, so He Yuzhu certainly wouldn't be stingy and buy those cheap ones.

Upon returning, they first gave one to their master's wife. Sister Jin Yan glared at them and also took one. After everyone shared the food, they continued working.

He Yuzhu returned to the courtyard house and slept at the tavern every night. He had to move all his clothes and other belongings from home there.

As soon as I entered the main gate, I saw Granny Zhang coming from the hanging flower gate, cursing, "Damn vixen, she bewitched my stupid son, why doesn't she just die?"

He Yuzhu asked with a smile, "Old Lady Zhang, who are you cursing? Which vixen has bewitched your son?"

Granny Zhang glared at her and shouted, "What's it to you?"

Then he stormed out the door in a huff.

He Yuzhu had a guess: could it be that he was calling Qin Huairu a vixen?

Previously, he had only casually suggested that Jia Dongxu give a false report, saying that the two had already slept together. If Jia Dongxu dared not to marry her, the girl would sue him.

With questions in mind, He Yuzhu entered the courtyard and saw Aunt Yi chatting with a very pretty girl under a tree in the middle courtyard.

Hearing footsteps, the two turned around. Who else could it be but Qin Huairu?

Chapter 82 Getting on Track

Qin Huairu is only 18 years old this year, a beautiful and vibrant young woman in the prime of her life.

She has a classic oval face with a pair of captivating eyes. Her watery eyes casually glance over, and her tender gaze seems to have hooks in it.

This made He Yuzhu somewhat itchy to try it.

Although Tian Xiu is beautiful, she lacks a certain charm and allure, which explains why Jia Dongxu was willing to go against his own mother to marry Qin Huairu.

He quickly shifted his gaze downwards to avoid being captivated.

Her snow-white neck, towering and undulating breasts, and the fitted Liuyang silk summer cloth revealed her slender waist. Although she was sitting on a bench, her long, slender legs were still very eye-catching.

She's such a seductive little vixen.

Aunt Yi introduced, "Zhu Zi, this is your brother Dong Xu's wife, her name is Qin Huai Ru."

Then he turned to Qin Huairu and said, "This is He Yuzhu, who lives in this main room. We all call him Zhuzi."

Qin Huairu stood up and said with a smile, "Hello, it's nice to meet you."

He Yuzhu really wanted to say, you're celebrating too soon.

However, it wasn't anything earth-shattering; he simply said, "Hello."

After a pause, she couldn't help but say, "You can't be sure if you're pregnant right now, so it's best not to sit on this small stool; it might hurt your stomach."

Qin Huairu was stunned for a moment, then blushed deeply.

She was determined to marry into the city and become a worker's wife. She happened to be on a blind date with Jia Dongxu and immediately fell in love with the handsome and extraordinary Jia Dongxu.

However, the Jia family's situation was somewhat special. Her mother-in-law looked down on her because she was a girl from the countryside, but she had her eye on Jia Dongxu. After discussing it, she decided to lie to her mother-in-law and claim that the two of them had already slept together.

No one else was talking nonsense, but He Yuzhu brought up Qin Huairu's pregnancy as soon as they met, making Qin Huairu so embarrassed that she didn't know what to do.

Aunt Yi quickly stood up and said, "Zhu Zi, what are you yelling about? Why are you making such a fuss?"

"Fine, I won't say anything more, okay? Since you've already done it, can't I even say a few words? Besides, I haven't said anything. If I were really pregnant, I wouldn't be able to sit on this little stool anymore," He Yuzhu said with a grin.

"You..." Aunt Yi didn't know what to say.

Just as He Yuzhu said, if you are pregnant, you can't sit on a small stool that's not even a foot high, because your thighs will dig into your belly.

But Qin Huairu isn't pregnant, and besides, it's rather presumptuous of He Yuzhu, a young man, to say such things.

It seems a bit frivolous.

The family relationship is not good right now, and Aunt Yi felt that He Yuzhu was mocking them.

But right now they're afraid He Yuzhu will tell Granny Zhang about their lies, which could break up Jia Dongxu and Qin Huairu's marriage.

Aunt Yi was a little unhappy at the moment, but she didn't dare to blame He Yuzhu too much, lest she anger him and make him do something she didn't want to see.

After a moment's pause, Aunt Yi said, "Alright, Zhu Zi, just say less. Why aren't you at work today?"

"I'll tidy up the house."

He Yuzhu was too lazy to argue with her, so he opened the door and went into his own home to clean it up.

If you don't live there every day, it gets dusty, so you have to come and clean it every three to five days.

After all, we don't live here every day. If we don't come over often, we're afraid that Granny Zhang might cause some trouble if we stay too long.

After packing up her clothes and quilts into a large bag, she saw Yi Zhonghai storming in angrily: "He Yuzhu, how can you be so wicked, spouting nonsense in front of Qin Huairu?"

"Who's talking nonsense? I was just kindly reminding her to sit on a higher stool from now on."

He Yuzhu asked with a grin, "Uncle Yi, I'm a little short on cash lately, could you lend me another two hundred yuan?"

Yi Zhonghai's eyelids twitched in shock, and he said in a flustered voice, "Where would I get money? I lent you all the money I had before."

"Really do not have?"

Yi Zhonghai pretended to be aggrieved and said, "It's true, there really isn't."

"Then I'm going to have a chat with Granny Zhang."

"Wait a minute."

Yi Zhonghai was terrified, seeing that Granny Zhang had already accepted Qin Huairu as her daughter-in-law.

If He Yuzhu were to go to Granny Zhang and spout nonsense, wouldn't that ruin the marriage?

The worst part is that He Yuzhu himself came up with this idea, which is really infuriating.

Yi Zhonghai calmed himself down and decided to stall for time. He said, "Zhu Zi, your grandpa really doesn't have any money right now, but I'll borrow some from my coworkers tomorrow, okay?"

"Alright, it's settled then." He Yuzhu hadn't expected such an unexpected surprise.

Yi Zhonghai had a terrible headache. He really didn't want to lend the money. He had already become the big shot in the management department, how could he let Sha Zhu extort him?

I must think of a way to deal with this; I absolutely cannot borrow money again this time.

He Yuzhu packed his things, carried his luggage out, tied it to the back of his bicycle, and headed west to the tavern to prepare for the evening's business.

In the east wing, Yi Zhonghai, Aunt Yi, Jia Dongxu, and Qin Huairu sat around a round table. Yi Zhonghai recounted how He Yuzhu had extorted money from them.

Q: "Think of a good way to deal with this. It would be too infuriating to lend him money again."

All four of them tried hard to think of the situation. This was completely different from the previous incident where Jia Dongxu was arrested for using his meridian-connecting parts. That incident had reached the level of a crime and was very serious. But this was just a white lie told to Granny Zhang, so it wasn't worth lending He Yuzhu money.