The Courtyard House: Xu Damao's Aunt is the Queen of Women

The Sha Zhu siblings were taken away by Xie Dabiao.

Yi Zhonghai and Qin Huairu had just returned from get off work when they happened to witness this scene.

The two men's expressions changed drastically. Just as they were about to ask, Sha Zhu forced a smile and said, "Uncle, Sister Qin, don't worry. The comrades from the Social Education Corps have already said that the falsification of class background was the work of that old beast He Daqing. It has nothing to do with me and Yu Shui. We won't implicate anyone. We're just going to give a statement and we'll be back in a bit."

"..."

Is this a question of whether or not to practice guilt by association?

Yi Zhonghai was anxious; his heart was pounding in his throat, and large beads of sweat were dripping from his forehead in the dead of winter.

They just gave out so much hush money this morning, over two hundred to the hospital staff and one hundred to Xu Damao.

Money is a small matter; he doesn't need these measly sums.

Even though Sha Zhu's background was corrected and his future was ruined, he didn't care.

What made him feel uneasy and terrified was that if the truth about the He family's falsified background was exposed, He Daqing would definitely be arrested.

4000 million. He extorted a full 4000 million from He Daqing from the deaf old woman, which is equivalent to 4000 yuan.

This is illegal; you'll go to jail for it!

Seeing Yi Zhonghai sweating profusely with anxiety, Sha Zhu was deeply moved. His eyes reddened, and two streams of tears rolled down his cheeks.

The old man was genuinely kind to me, and I will definitely take good care of him in the future, and see him off in his old age!

Qin Huairu also burst into tears, her face streaked with tears.

Seeing his worried and anxious expression warmed Sha Zhu's heart.

He Daqing, you abandoned your children and ran off with a widow, leaving us siblings in such a terrible state.

But so what?

I, He Yuzhu, am upright and self-reliant, never relying on heaven or earth. I am a person of integrity, upright in conduct and conduct, and have never done anything against my conscience. I am unparalleled in loyalty and righteousness, filial to my elders, and helpful to the weak.

I don't rely on underhanded methods; I only rely on my solid skills to earn the genuine kindness of so many good people!

It was worth it, it was worth it in this life.

He Yushui watched coldly. She didn't believe that Yi Zhonghai and Qin Huairu were worried about their older brother. They were probably worried that the falsification of his background would cause him to lose his job and he wouldn't be able to work for them anymore.

Sha Zhu grinned, revealing a gap with two missing teeth, his smile so wide that his eyes disappeared, and the creases at the corners of his eyes were squeezed together.

"Uncle, Sister Qin, let's go back inside! It's cold outside."

Xie Dabiao didn't waste any more time. He waved his hand and left with Sha Zhu and He Yushui.

Qin Huairu wiped away her tears and whispered, "Zhonghai, what should we do? What if Shazhu loses his job..."

Yi Zhonghai was in a bad mood and had no time to comfort Qin Huairu.

"I'll give you more money later, okay? Would I let our son go hungry?"

After saying something casually, Yi Zhonghai turned around and strode into the room to discuss countermeasures with the deaf old lady.

……

West Courtyard.

When Liu Hao and Ye Juan got home, the first thing they did was to light a fire.

The coal in the stove was still burning. I opened the damper, added some broken coal, and blew it with a manual blower for a while. The fire was strong. Then I added two honeycomb briquettes to burn and used tongs to transfer them to the square iron stove in the main room.

The temperature in the house rose quickly, becoming warm and cozy.

The little queen took off her cotton coat, and her tight black turtleneck sweater outlined her figure perfectly, making Liu Hao feel hot all over.

"Is it pretty?"

The little queen spun around and winked at Liu Hao.

At this moment, Liu Hao also took off his heavy coat, revealing a fitted cotton long-sleeved shirt. His broad shoulders and narrow waist made the little queen dazzled.

She opened her arms and walked over to hug Liu Hao's waist, tilting her head up and softly calling out, "Brother Yudi~"

Holy crap, you dare to flirt with me like this at home?

Liu Hao's eyes were bloodshot. He dropped the fire tongs, picked up the little queen in a princess carry, and strode into the room.

"Oh dear, Brother Tang, hurry up! Stop kissing me! I can't wait any longer. Let's get straight to the point."

"..."

An hour later, Liu Hao walked out of the room feeling refreshed, stretched, hummed a song, and went to the kitchen to start cooking.

I'll just have something simple to eat tonight: braised pork with vermicelli and sweet and sour pork!

First, wash the rice thoroughly and put it on the stove in the main room to cook. Put the vermicelli in a basin, pour in hot water to soak, and take out a piece of pork with alternating layers of fat and lean meat to start cutting.

Knock, knock, knock—the sound of knocking came from the door.

Liu Hao put down the kitchen knife, went outside to the side door, reached out and unlatched the wooden latch, and opened the door.

Ye Xi was pushing a bicycle, with a leather suitcase strapped to the back seat.

"Oh, Sister Xi is back from get off work."

Ye Xi adjusted her glasses and said softly, "I finished work early today, so I went home on the way to pick up my luggage. I'll officially start working at the East Fourth Branch tomorrow."

"Uh, isn't it after the New Year?"

Ye Xi looked at Liu Hao with a smile, her eyes filled with both joy and admiration.

"Thanks to you, you taught me to solve the Poincaré conjecture and so many other computational problems, which directly promoted me to Level 3 Assistant Researcher and allowed me to join the Chinese Academy of Sciences ahead of schedule to be in charge of a major research project."

Liu Hao wasn't surprised at all, and said with a smile, "Congratulations, Sister Xi! How much is your salary?"

"..."

Ye Xi's delicate lips twitched slightly. Her brother-in-law's personality was a perfect match for her younger sister's; they were both greedy for money.

"With subsidies, it'll be around 160!"

Liu Hao gasped in surprise; this was the treatment of a division chief!

"Hiss... Big sister, please come in, please come in. It's cold outside, don't catch a cold."

As he spoke, Liu Hao chuckled and took the bicycle from Liu Hao, pushing it inside.

Ye Xi shook her head and smiled faintly, then followed Liu Hao inside.

As Ye Xi entered the main room, she saw Ye Juan, with a rosy complexion and radiant spirit, walking out of the room. Her legs were still a little weak, and she was walking unsteadily.

"Juan'er, what's wrong?"

Ye Juan blushed, thinking to herself that it was fortunate that she only had to do it once, otherwise, if her older sister came back and Liu Hao and she were still there... well, that would be quite awkward.

"Uh...it's nothing! I thought you weren't coming back today!"

"Huh? Your suitcase!"

Seeing Liu Hao come in carrying a suitcase, Ye Juan asked in surprise, "You moved in today?"

Liu Hao raised an eyebrow and said, "Sister Xi is starting work at the East Fourth Branch tomorrow, as a Level 3 Assistant Researcher, with a salary of 160 yuan!"

Upon hearing this, Ye Juan was overjoyed and greeted Ye Xi with a beaming smile, acting just like a little eunuch.

"Oh my, ma'am, you've got a promotion! You must be tired from riding your bike back. Let me massage your legs!"

"..."

Ye Xi took off her heavy cotton coat and handed it to Ye Juan, saying irritably, "You're just eyeing my salary, aren't you? Get out of here, it's disgusting to look at you. From now on, I'll give you fifty yuan a month for pocket money."

"Good, good, good, eldest sister is so generous and kind."

Ye Juan hugged the cotton coat, gave it a thumbs up and praised it enthusiastically, her face almost frozen with a smile.

Fifty a month, six hundred a year!

Tsk tsk, Liu Hao and I could afford to raise three or five kids in the future!

"Liu Hao, what are you standing there for? Go cook! Your older sister has worked hard all day, make her some scrambled eggs to nourish her!"

"..."