Love in the Courtyard: Starting with Engineers

In Sha Zhu's room, he sat alone on a small stool, a bottle of Erguotou (a type of Chinese liquor) in front of him. The old wound on his wrist throbbed with pain, making him grimace, but he still tilted his head back and gulped down a large mouthful of liquor. The spicy liquid burned his throat, but it couldn't suppress the frustration in his heart.

Li Yu's indifferent gaze in the hospital was like a thorn stuck in his heart.

He knew he could never get revenge on Li Yu in this lifetime, but he was still unwilling to accept it.

"Squeak—"

The courtyard gate was gently pushed open, and a slender figure stood at the entrance, backlit, so her face was not visible.

Sha Zhu squinted his drunken eyes, shook his head, and thought he was seeing things.

As soon as the man entered the house, the wine bottle in Sha Zhu's hand fell to the ground with a "clatter," spilling wine all over the floor.

"rainwater?"

The person who came was He Yushui. In recent years, she had hardly returned to the courtyard house.

He Yushui's gaze fell on Sha Zhu, and her heart clenched.

The older brother before me is no longer the spirited cook he once was.

Her temples were streaked with white, and her hands, especially, were withered and hung limply at her sides, a sight that was heartbreaking.

The resentment from back then, those thoughts of "he didn't care if I lived or died," suddenly vanished the moment I saw those crippled hands.

Sha Zhu hurriedly stood up, hesitated for a long time, and finally managed to stammer out, "I'm back."

Seeing his appearance, He Yushui felt a lump in her throat, but in the end she just nodded: "I came back to visit."

The brother and sister sat there for some time before Xiao Dang and Huaihua's voices came from outside the courtyard gate.

"Dad! We're back! We bought your favorite braised pork hock!"

The two sisters carried their vegetable baskets into the house. When they saw He Yushui inside, they were stunned for a moment, and then a surprised smile appeared on their faces.

Xiao Dang was the first to react, exclaiming, "Auntie! You're back!"

Huaihua also came over and obediently called out "Auntie".

Looking at their graceful figures, He Yushui's tense lips finally softened a bit, and she reached out to pat Xiao Dang's head: "You've all grown so much."

Xiao Dang replied with a smile, "My sister and I are both in junior high school."

At this moment, Xiao Dang whispered, "I'm in the second year of junior high."

Xiao Dang then said, "Auntie, please sit down! Let's go cook!" After saying that, she pulled Huaihua into the kitchen.

Before long, the aroma of food filled the room. Braised pork knuckle, stir-fried vegetables, and tomato and egg soup filled the table.

Sha Zhu opened a new bottle of Erguotou, poured a glass for He Yushui, and filled his own glass as well.

At the dinner table, Xiao Dang and Huaihua chattered about school, and the atmosphere in the room finally warmed up. He Yushui occasionally chimed in with a word or two.

After lunch, Xiao Dang and Huaihua dutifully cleared away the dishes and took them to the kitchen to wash them. Only the two siblings remained in the house.

He Yushui was silent for a moment before finally speaking, "I want to go to Baocheng."

Sha Zhu looked up at her with some confusion.

"I want to see Dad. For so many years, I've always wanted to know why he didn't come back back then, why... he didn't want us."

These words struck Sha Zhu like a stone.

He Daqing, this name had been buried in his heart for decades. He had hated, resented, and even contemplated. Years ago, his father had left with the widow Bai, abandoning him and his sister; only he knew the bitterness in his heart.

Sha Zhu remained silent for a long time before nodding heavily: "I'll go with you."

The next morning, before dawn, Sha Zhu and He Yushui boarded the train to Baocheng.

After a journey of more than ten hours, we finally arrived in Baocheng.

Following the address in their memory, the two made several turns and finally found the courtyard of the White Widow's house from back then.

When Sha Zhu arrived at the gate, he stepped forward and kicked the gate hard. Unexpectedly, the gate opened with a "creak".

A woman in her sixties was sitting on the threshold of the courtyard picking vegetables when she saw the two people suddenly barge in. She was so startled that she dropped the vegetables she was holding onto the ground.

Sha Zhu looked at her, his eyes filled with complex emotions: "The White Widow?"

The woman looked up, saw Sha Zhu's face clearly, and a hint of panic flashed in her eyes.

She stood up, rubbing her hands, and stammered, "You...who are you?"

"I am He Yuzhu, and this is my sister He Yushui. Where is my father? Where is He Daqing?"

The white widow's eyes darted around: "He...he left a long time ago, he hasn't been in Baocheng for many years, I don't know where he went."

He Yushui stepped forward. "Really? If we're not allowed to see He Daqing today, we'll call the police right now."

The white widow hesitated for a long time before finally sighing, "Alright, alright, come with me."

Following the white widow into the inner room, a strong smell of medicine wafted over us. Lying on the bed was an old man, skin and bones, with gray hair, a sallow complexion, and one leg curled up, clearly broken.

Hearing footsteps, the old man slowly opened his eyes. When he saw Sha Zhu and He Yushui, tears instantly streamed down his face like beads from a broken string.

"Pillar... rainwater"

Sha Zhu and He Yushui were shocked and looked at the old man on the bed.

He Daqing, lying on the bed, sobbed uncontrollably, "I'm so sorry... I'm so sorry to you two siblings."

He Yushui walked to the bedside, looked at her father's miserable state, and still gritted her teeth to ask, "Dad, why did you leave back then? Why haven't you even sent a letter all these years?"

He Daqing wiped away his tears, panting, and said intermittently, "Back then... back then I left with Widow Bai because the deaf old woman and the others threatened me. They wanted to report me for cooking for high-ranking officials and wealthy people, but I sent money to the courtyard house every month, asking Yi Zhonghai to collect it and pass it on to you..."

"Yi Zhonghai?" Sha Zhu and He Yushui were both stunned.

Widow Bai added from the side, "Yes, back then, Brother He saved every penny he could and sent the money back home every month."

"Later, Brother He broke his leg while working on a construction site and could no longer work. Without income, he stopped sending money." "We thought that once you received the money, you would at least write back to us, but you never did. Da Qing assumed you no longer recognized him."

"Then why didn't you let my dad see us the first time we came?"

The white widow said, "There's nothing I can do. If you were to see Yi Zhonghai and the deaf old woman, do you think you could let your father go?"

Sha Zhu and He Yushui stood there, their minds buzzing.

It turned out to be the case.

Sha Zhu trembled with rage: "That old bastard! I knew I hadn't seen a single penny back then! Turns out he embezzled it all!"

He Yushui's tears also fell, her heart filled with mixed feelings.

He Daqing looked at them and asked, "By the way, where's Yi Zhonghai? You should go call the police and have him arrested!"

Sha Zhu took a deep breath and said, "He's dead."

"Dead?" He Daqing was stunned.

Sha Zhu gritted his teeth and said, "He killed an old woman, got arrested, and was sentenced to death. Dad, you don't know, he's a complete bastard! He lied to all of us!"

He Daqing's eyes widened, and after a long pause, he angrily exclaimed, "That bastard! That beast!"

In the end, He Daqing did not return to Beijing with He Yuzhu and his sister. He is now here with Widow Bai taking care of him.

After leaving He Daqing a sum of money, the two siblings said they would send him living expenses every month from now on.