Courtyard House: The Road to an Industrial Power

The next morning, he went to the steel mill to ask for leave, and then took his younger sister He Yushui, who was on vacation at home, and bought train tickets to Baocheng. He wanted to find his father, He Daqing, and get to the bottom of things.

The old streets and alleys of Baocheng are intricate and complicated. It took me most of the day to finally find He Daqing in an inconspicuous little restaurant.

At that moment, He Daqing was busy in the kitchen wearing an apron when he saw his children suddenly appear.

The spatula in his hand fell to the ground with a clatter, his eyes wide with shock: "Rain...rain stream? Rainwater? What are you doing here?"

"Why are you here?"

He Yuzhu's pent-up resentment exploded instantly. He stepped forward, grabbed He Daqing by the collar, and punched him in the chest.

"Why did you leave without saying goodbye back then? You abandoned my sister and me in the courtyard house, leaving us to suffer so much!"

He Daqing clutched his chest, coughed a few times, and his eyes reddened: "I didn't abandon you! I had my reasons!"

He Yushui quickly pulled her brother aside, saying, "Brother, let Dad explain himself first."

After the restaurant closed, He Daqing took his children to his residence and told them the whole truth about what happened back then.

It turns out that He Daqing was a successor of the Tan family cuisine when he was young. Tan family cuisine was a dish favored by high-ranking officials and nobles back then, so it could be said that he was associated with officialdom.

Yi Zhonghai had long coveted his skills and wanted to keep him firmly in the courtyard house so that he could take care of him in his old age.

But as the political movement intensified, Yi Zhonghai, fearing that He Daqing's official background would cause trouble, conspired with the deaf old woman to threaten him.

"Either leave the courtyard house voluntarily and never come back, or we'll report you for associating with powerful people and make you regret it!"

"I was forced into this situation!"

He Daqing sighed.

"I originally wanted to take you with me, but Yi Zhonghai said it would be safer for you to stay in the courtyard, and he promised to take good care of you. After I arrived in Baocheng, I sent money back every month on time, and he passed it on to you siblings. How could I abandon you?"

He Yuzhu and He Yushui were stunned.

They had never received a single penny from their father since they were children, and they thought their father had really abandoned them.

"You said you sent money? We haven't seen a single penny!" He Yuzhu said excitedly.

He Daqing pulled out a thick stack of remittance slips from the box. The dates and amounts were clearly marked, and the payee was He Yuzhu.

"Look, this is all the evidence! I've been sending fifteen yuan every month without fail! That old bastard Yi Zhonghai must have embezzled the money!"

When the truth came out, the brother and sister were both angry and resentful.

He Yuzhu immediately decided, "Dad, come back to the courtyard house with us! Let's settle accounts with Yi Zhonghai! He not only lied to you, but also embezzled our child support payments. We can't let this go!"

The next day, He Daqing returned to the 95-square-meter courtyard house with his children.

As soon as he entered the courtyard, he went straight to Yi Zhonghai's house and kicked open the door, shouting, "Yi Zhonghai! You get out here!"

Yi Zhonghai was drinking tea in the courtyard when he saw He Daqing suddenly appear, so startled that he dropped his teacup.

"Old...Old He? Why are you back?"

"Why can't I come back?"

Enraged, He Daqing stepped forward and grabbed Yi Zhonghai by the collar.

"Back then, you conspired with that deaf old woman to threaten me into leaving, and you even embezzled the child support I gave for my children. You have no conscience!"

Yi Zhonghai tried to argue, "Old He, you've misunderstood. I didn't embezzle your money. It's...it's because the children are young, and I was keeping it for them!"

"custody?"

He Yuzhu stepped forward and took out the remittance slip.

"We haven't seen a single penny of the money listed here! Tell me, where did the money go?"

The neighbors heard the commotion and gathered around.

In front of everyone, He Daqing recounted in detail Yi Zhonghai's threats and embezzlement of child support payments, and even produced remittance slips as evidence.

"I never imagined Yi Zhonghai was this kind of person! He's so selfish!"

"No wonder Yuzhu and his sister had such a hard childhood; he embezzled their child support payments!"

"You can never truly know a person's heart just by looking at their face. They always act so upright, but they actually do such things behind your back!"

The murmurs rose and fell, and Yi Zhonghai's face flushed red and then turned deathly pale.

Knowing he could no longer hide it, he could only plead, "Old He, I'm sorry, I was confused for a moment. I'll pay you back, I promise!"

"return?"

He Daqing sneered and punched Yi Zhonghai in the face, causing his nose to bleed profusely.

"The child support payments from all these years, plus interest, must be paid in full! And you threatened me back then, ruining my life—that debt must also be settled!"

Yi Zhonghai was beaten so badly that he begged for mercy repeatedly.

In the end, Yi Zhonghai had no choice but to admit defeat.

He went home and rummaged through his belongings, piecing together the money he had embezzled over the years, including interest, totaling 860 yuan, and handed it all over to He Yuzhu.

Looking at the money, He Daqing's eyes reddened: "This is what I owe you. I will definitely make it up to you in the future."

He Yuzhu took the money, feeling a mix of emotions.

He looked at the disheveled Yi Zhonghai and said coldly, "Yi Zhonghai, from now on, our two families have nothing to do with each other! Don't even think about messing with me anymore. Dream on if you think I'll take care of you in your old age!"

Yi Zhonghai covered his swollen face, slumped to the ground, and couldn't say a word.

The neighbors looked at him with disdain, and no one took him seriously anymore. The prestige he had painstakingly built up over the years completely collapsed.

Xu Damao hid on the outskirts of the crowd, watching Yi Zhonghai's miserable state, secretly pleased with himself, but dared not utter a sound for fear that his own dirty deeds would also be exposed.

Lin Weidong stood aside, thinking that Yi Zhonghai's fate was entirely his own fault.

He Daqing's return not only resolved the misunderstanding between He Yuzhu and his sister, but also allowed Sha Zhu to completely get rid of Yi Zhonghai's entanglement, thus putting an end to a matter on his mind.

When He Daqing returned this time, he met He Nannan and Qin Huairu. Seeing that the He family was getting better and better, he decided to stay and find a job at the state-run restaurant.

In the days to come, he planned to make it up to He Yushui and her brother.

After this incident, Yi Zhonghai basically stopped showing up at the courtyard house for a while, going home and locking the door after get off work.

He would occasionally help some impoverished households in the courtyard, and Lin Weidong also heard that he now delivers rice and noodles to some families of martyrs in the neighborhood.

Lin Weidong knew that this was definitely the idea of ​​the deaf old woman, but he didn't intend to sabotage it because those poor families had indeed received help from Yi Zhonghai, regardless of his motives.