Courtyard House: The Road to an Industrial Power

He Daqing was off work today, so he went to meet up with his former fellow apprentices. Now he walked into the courtyard house, reeking of alcohol.

As soon as I entered the courtyard, I saw Widow Li washing her hands by the tap.

Today she wore a pale white polyester shirt and navy blue pants. Her hair was neatly combed and shiny, making her look much more glamorous than usual.

He Daqing's eyes lit up, and he couldn't help but step forward to greet her: "Young lady, you look so beautiful today, who are you waiting for here?"

Widow Li feigned modesty, brushing her wet hair with her hands and saying softly with her head down, "I was just waiting for you. I thought it would be nice and cool in the park, so I thought I'd ask you to go for a walk."

"If you're free, why don't you come with me for a walk?"

He Daqing was overjoyed and quickly nodded, "Great! I'm free anyway, I'll show you around."

The two walked side by side into the Temple of Heaven Park, strolling slowly along the stone path.

Widow Li would occasionally glance at He Daqing, her eyes filled with a hint of resentment: "Brother Daqing, you know, life isn't easy for a widow like me."

"Now we live off the old lady's meager allowance. Before, it was just the old lady alone, but now we have her too."

As she spoke, Widow Li deliberately wiped her eyes and sighed, "Alas."

"I don't know how I'm going to get by, but luckily the old lady is kind-hearted and took pity on me, giving me a place to stay and two meals a day."

"But what should we do after this?"

He Daqing felt a pang of pity as he listened.

He knew about Widow Li's difficulties and had long harbored feelings for her, but he had never dared to express them directly.

"You've really had a tough time."

He sighed, his tone tinged with a hint of uncertainty, "Have you considered finding someone else?"

"I have thought about it."

Widow Li stopped and looked up at He Daqing, her eyes filled with expectation. "But where is it so easy to find the right person? I just want to find someone honest and kind to me, someone we can live a good life together."

As she spoke, her gaze lingered on He Daqing's face for a long time, her meaning all too clear.

He Daqing's heart pounded, and his face flushed.

He did like Widow Li, but when he thought of He Yuzhu and He Yushui at home, as well as Qin Huairu, he was troubled.

In particular, He Yuzhu had witnessed Li the Widow's behavior before, so he often warned He Daqing that something was wrong with him.

In the original novel, He Yuzhu only showed his intelligence in front of Yi Zhonghai and Qin Huairu, but he was quite intelligent in front of outsiders.

Therefore, He Daqing knew that He Yuzhu had always treated Widow Li very badly, always saying that she had impure thoughts. If he were to be with her, He Yuzhu would definitely not agree.

"this……"

He Daqing hesitated, not daring to agree directly. "Sister, let me think about it. This is no small matter. I need to ask the children what they think."

Seeing that he wasn't taking the bait, Widow Li grew anxious. She deliberately showed displeasure on her face and turned to walk away.

"Forget it, I know you don't care about me either, just pretend I never said that."

"Hey, little sister, don't go!"

He Daqing hurriedly chased after him, feeling both anxious and conflicted.

"That's not what I meant. I really like you, but what about the children..."

"Children? Can children take care of you for a lifetime?"

Widow Li stopped in her tracks, and said with a hint of grievance in her voice, "Brother Daqing, all I want is to find someone I can rely on. Is that too much to ask?"

"If you truly care about me, you should think about me, instead of always worrying about what the children think."

He Daqing was speechless after hearing her words, and his heart was even more conflicted.

Looking at Widow Li's aggrieved appearance, his heart began to waver, but when he thought of the children's possible objections, he dared not nod easily.

Seeing that he was still hesitating, Widow Li made up her mind that she had to take him down today!

She suddenly reached out and ruffled her hair, then abruptly pulled open her shirt collar, revealing her undergarments. Immediately afterward, she shouted loudly in her surroundings, "Help! Someone's harassing me!"

Her voice was high-pitched and loud, instantly attracting the attention of the people strolling around.

Everyone gathered around and, seeing Widow Li's disheveled hair and clothes, and then looking at He Daqing standing helplessly to the side, they immediately understood what was going on.

"What's going on? Is this man being a harasser?"

"Look how pitiful this woman is, her hair is all messed up and her clothes have been torn."

"To act like a hooligan in broad daylight, how dare they!"

Several hot-blooded young people in the crowd couldn't stand it anymore, rushed forward, grabbed He Daqing's arm, and pressed him firmly to the ground.

"You scoundrel! How dare you bully a woman!" a tall young man shouted angrily.

He Daqing was pinned down and unable to move. Shocked and furious, he cried out, "No! You've got it wrong! I didn't do anything indecent! She did it herself!"

"You dare to argue!"

Widow Li rushed forward, pointing at He Daqing's nose and crying out.

"Brother Daqing, I trusted you so much, how could you do this to me? I was completely devoted to you, but you tried to take advantage of me. How could you do this to me?"

"I didn't! Don't listen to her, everyone, she's doing it on purpose! We're dating, she's just trying to force me to marry her!"

Someone asked in disbelief, "Dating? Can dating be like this?"

"Yes, we are indeed dating. She just confessed her feelings to me, and I didn't agree immediately, so she got anxious and did this on purpose!" He Daqing quickly explained.

At this point, Widow Li cried even harder: "Don't believe his nonsense! We're not dating at all. I just wanted him to go shopping with me, and he started touching me inappropriately!"

"I'm just a widow, life is already hard enough, and now he's bullying me like this. What's the point of me living?"

People around them were talking about it. Some believed He Daqing's words, while others sympathized with Widow Li's plight. For a moment, they even started arguing.

Seeing that the time was right, Widow Li leaned close to He Daqing, who was pinned to the ground, and whispered threateningly, "He Daqing, I'll ask you one last time, do you agree to marry me or not?"

"If you don't agree, I'll call the police today and make you eat peanuts."

He Daqing looked at the angry crowd around him, then at Widow Li's sinister expression.

He knew that if he didn't agree today, Widow Li would definitely not let it go, and he would really be disgraced, and might even be forced to eat peanuts.

In this day and age, acting like a hooligan might get you kicked out of the party.

He Daqing hesitated for a moment, but finally gave in: "I...I promise you."

Upon hearing this, Widow Li immediately smiled. She straightened up and said to the surrounding crowd, "Everyone has misunderstood. Actually, we are husband and wife. We just had a quarrel over a small matter. I shouted for help in a moment of agitation. Please forgive me."