Courtyard House: My Wife is Xu Huizhen

He recognized the new shoes He Yuzhu was wearing; they were made by Qin Huairu. Yet Qin Huairu denied ever having seen He Yuzhu.

Could there be an affair between the two of them?

Come to think of it, Qin Huairu and her son Dongxu had only met twice, they had just gotten married, and hadn't even consummated their marriage yet.

Although she was pregnant with Dongxu's child, she might still be a woman who couldn't control her lower body. He Yuzhu gave her some benefits and she followed him.

Otherwise, how do you explain that He Yuzhu was wearing shoes made by Qin Huairu?

Thinking of this, Granny Zhang was furious. It was all Qin Huairu's fault that Dongxu was reported and imprisoned. If it weren't for wanting to get married, why would he have encroached on someone else's house?

"You vixen, tell me, have you hooked up with Sha Zhu?"

These words completely stunned Qin Huairu. Before she could explain, she was caught off guard by Granny Zhang's large hand.

Having just been slapped twice by He Yuzhu, Granny Zhang was extremely angry and showed no mercy when she struck.

A heavy slap landed directly on Qin Huairu's face.

Qin Huairu hadn't been doing well lately and was feeling weak. She was completely unprepared for the slap and was knocked to the ground.

Unfortunately, someone nearby threw half a brick onto Qin Huairu's stomach.

Qin Huairu suddenly felt a churning pain in her stomach, so intense that she urinated in the pain.

She felt that she had indeed lost control of her bladder.

Granny Zhang was still cursing and swearing on the side, with no intention of helping him up at all.

Aunt Yi saw Qin Huairu come in, and the argument between the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law happened in an instant. By the time they left her house, Qin Huairu was already lying on the ground.

When they got closer, they saw that the area under Qin Huairu's thighs was wet.

Upon closer inspection, it was clearly not water, so why did it smell of blood?

"Oh dear, why are you bleeding?"

Granny Zhang was startled and stopped cursing. She said in a panic, "I only hit her once."

"Alright, stop talking, let's get her to the hospital quickly," Aunt Yi said hurriedly.

Then he sighed heavily, thinking how unlucky Qin Huairu was.

She finally got pregnant, but her husband went to jail, and now her mother-in-law has slapped her so hard that she lost the baby.

He Yuzhu only learned about Qin Huairu's miscarriage the next day when he heard others talking about it.

Then, counting on his fingers, he realized that this child was not a "bang geng" (a term used to describe a child born in the early 1960s). After all, if this child had been born normally, he would have been 15 years old by 1965, so how could he still be in elementary school?

Then I stopped caring, but I haven't been able to go back to the courtyard house for a while now.

He Yuzhu relaxed. He had been in this world for almost half a year and, through his own efforts, had developed superb cooking skills. He was proud of all of this, as it was all achieved through his own hard work.

Now that he has a shop, he can guarantee a comfortable life. His master and mistress also help take care of his younger sister. He is also looking after the beautiful and youthful Xu Huizhen, waiting for her to blossom. He just needs to wait for her to come of age. He Yuzhu believes that this little girl, Xu Huizhen, will never escape his grasp.

Just as he was thinking about which day to set for the wedding, Xu Huizhen came over from the front and shouted, "Brother Zhu, what are you doing lying here again? And you're smiling so lewdly, what are you thinking about?"

He Yuzhu straightened up and glared at him: "You're the one who looks lewd when you smile."

"Pah, you're asking for it." Xu Huizhen walked up to He Yuzhu, patted him on the shoulder twice, then quickly took two steps back and said with a smile, "An old man from your courtyard is coming up ahead. Are you going to go and greet him?"

"Hywood?"

"Yes, and she brought a pretty little girl with her, she looks about your age." Xu Huizhen's tone suddenly turned sour.

Then, with eager eyes, she asked, "Did I come here for a blind date?"

He Yuzhu reached out and slapped him: "Who wants to go on a blind date? Absolutely not, I'm only 16."

Then he chuckled and asked, "But why does your voice sound so sour to me?"

Xu Huizhen's pretty face instantly turned as red as an apple, and she said shyly, "No, you're just talking nonsense."

She reached out to hit him again, but He Yuzhu had already run ahead. Xu Huizhen covered her burning cheeks, her heart pounding like a deer.

He Yuzhu arrived at the main hall, where Xu Wude, Xu Zhaodi, and Xu Damao were sitting at a table drinking tea. He stepped forward and said, "Oh, isn't this Uncle Xu? What brings you here?"

"Zhu Zi is here, come and sit down, let me have a cup of tea with you." Xu Wude greeted He Yuzhu warmly, as if there was no unpleasantness between the two.

Xu Wude was annoyed for a while, but when he thought about how Yi Zhonghai and Liu Haizhong were both cheated out of 100 while he only got 50, he felt much better.

I had thought about getting it back before, but after two unsuccessful attempts, I gave up.

Although He Yuzhu's main products are Niulanshan liquor and braised meat, Xu Huizhen also provides tea. They do business with the locals, providing whatever they need.

"Oh, so you brought the two of them to the night market?"

After asking, He Yuzhu sat down and greeted the two siblings. Xu Zhaodi was alright and could say a few words with a smile, but Xu Damao just snorted and turned his face away, ignoring them.

He Yuzhu didn't take it to heart and started chatting with Xu Wude.

"Yes, we had nothing else to do, so we brought the two of them to this night market for a stroll."

Night markets in Beijing typically start operating at night and stay open until midnight, and many people have a habit of strolling through them when they have nothing else to do.

The reason why He Yuzhu chose to settle in Yandaixie Street was because it was the oldest commercial street in Beijing.

Yandai Xiejie was first built in the Yuan Dynasty and continued in the Ming Dynasty. It was most prosperous and bustling during the Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China. During the Qianlong period, it was renamed Gulou Xiejie. At the end of the Qing Dynasty, it was renamed Yandai Xiejie.

It stretches from Di'anmenwai Street in the east to Xiaoshibei Hutong and Ya'er Hutong in the west. Its main advantage is its excellent location. It is situated in the northeastern part of Xicheng District, north of Di'anmen, in front of the Drum Tower, and north of Qianhai Lake in Shichahai. These are all relatively prosperous areas in Beijing.

Although the street is only 230 meters long, the buildings on both sides are elegant and simple, with a strong Ming and Qing traditional style. The front shop and back residence format also presents the ancient style of the city and fully demonstrates the rich traditional style of Beijing.

Back then, the tobacco industry in Beijing was thriving because the Manchu people living in the northern part of the city loved to smoke dry tobacco and water pipes. In the past, cigarettes were not popular; instead, people preferred to use tobacco pouches. People who lived on the sloping shoulders of their children started to run vintage shops and began selling vintage items.

During the late Qing Dynasty, there were many tobacco shops here. In addition to selling tobacco pipes of various sizes, water pipes, and snuff bottles, they also sold tobacco leaves, such as Guandong tobacco, dry tobacco leaves, and orchid tobacco.

In addition to these, there were antique and calligraphy shops, framing shops, paper shops, watch shops, pawnshops, general stores, pastry shops, tofu shops, various service industries, and local snacks. The most important one was the night market, which was then called the ghost market.

He Yuzhu took a liking to this storefront at first sight, mainly because it was located on the most bustling street around Shichahai.

In this place, as long as you have the skills, there shouldn't be any possibility of losing money in business.

Moreover, Tianzao offered a relatively favorable rent, and after only one month, they have established a foothold here.

He Yuzhu said, "That's great. This market mainly deals in antiques and calligraphy. Is Grandpa Xu looking to find some bargains?"

"I'm just looking, I don't have that kind of spare money!" Xu Wude said with a smile.

Xu Damao suddenly interjected, "Wasn't all the money in the family swindled away?"

Xu Wude reached out and slapped Da Mao on the back of the head: "You talk too much. Drink your tea."

He Yuzhu wasn't angry yet, and seeing this, he couldn't say much more, since no one had specifically named him. However, He Yuzhu made a note of Xu Damao's name and would settle the score later.

After drinking tea for a while, Xu Wude took out his money to pay for the tea, but He Yuzhu politely declined and didn't charge him for the tea.

Xu Wude said, "Zhu Zi, if you're free, shall we go for a walk together?"

He Yuzhu had visited the night market here before. Most of the stalls sold daily necessities, which He Yuzhu would not buy. There were also many stalls selling antiques and jewelry, but he didn't know anything about them and just looked at them without ever handling them.

After a slight hesitation, Xu Zhaodi said, "Since we're free tonight, let's go take a look together."

"Alright, I'll go with you."

Xu Damao snorted again, and his father slapped him, instantly making him behave.

Hulwood turned to him and said, "Pillar, how much do you know about antiques?"

"I don't know how to do this. I've been practicing flipping the wok all this time, I haven't had time to play this game."

“Let me tell you, these antiques are really interesting. Your grandpa has been immersed in this field for many years and has done some research on them,” Xu Wude said with some pride.

"Really?" He Yuzhu said with a smile. He didn't seem to have ever seen him collect antiques before.

"Of course it's true. My dad is amazing. Last time he bought a piece of porcelain for 18 yuan and then sold it to Taikoo Zhai, making a profit of several tens of yuan."

Xu Zhaodi said with a smile.

"Then let's go, I'll go and take a look too."

The four of them went out, and Xu Huizhen, looking somewhat angry from behind the counter, grabbed a rag and started wiping vigorously.

Yandaixie Street is not wide, with stalls on both sides. In the middle of the stalls is a kerosene lamp with a glass cover. They sell all kinds of things: daily necessities, second-hand furniture, clocks, glasses, antiques, and calligraphy and paintings.

Xu Wude might actually have some skill; he could talk about each of the three antique stalls with them, which He Yuzhu thought showed he was quite capable.

At first, I was a little confused and wondered why Xu Wude would approach me. I guessed that he might be setting a trap for me and taking advantage of my ignorance.

But judging from his appearance, it doesn't seem like it. Could I have guessed wrong? Was Xu Wude just tired from walking and came over for a cup of tea, wanting to ease the tension between us?

Xu Damao was very displeased with himself, but he was much more friendly with his classmate Xu Zhaodi, and they could chat intimately.

After walking for a while, Xu Wude said, "Zhu Zi, when it comes to antiques, it's all about having a good eye. You have to understand that most of these stall owners are laymen, just country bumpkins. They're not very skilled and often mistake good items for ordinary modern antiques. That's where I often manage to find bargains."

He Yuzhu asked, somewhat puzzled, "Then why don't they just sell to these antique shop owners?"

Xu Wude laughed and retorted, "They also want to make money. If a piece of porcelain from the Tang Dynasty is told to be from the late Qing Dynasty, would you sell it or not?"

He Yuzhu was somewhat surprised: "Is this industry really that shady?"

"That's because you ran into someone who doesn't know the ropes. They're ruthless. Unless you're an insider and can tell at least 70-80% of the time what an antique is from, you'll get scammed. Besides, what they say might actually be true. Nobody can say for sure."

"Is that so? It seems that you need someone to guide you in this line of work."

"That's right. Don't let my job as a film projectionist fool you; I'm quite knowledgeable about antiques."

Xu Wude spoke with a hint of arrogance. As he spoke, he arrived at a stall and suddenly whispered, "Zhu Zi, we're really lucky today. We're going to make a fortune. This stall has some Ming Dynasty porcelain."