Courtyard House: Become Stronger Through Blind Dates

The world is finally peaceful again~

He Yuzhu looked at He Daqing, whose expression was constantly changing, and cut straight to the point: "He Daqing, since you are determined to start a new family with Widow Bai here, then the family in Beijing needs to be properly divided up."

"Dividing the family property?" He Daqing looked up abruptly, as if pricked by a needle. "I'm not dead yet, what family division? Who gave you the right to talk about dividing the family property?"

He Yuzhu scoffed, completely ignoring his comment, and instead turned to Officer Wang for confirmation: "Comrade Wang, I'm sixteen this year. Does He Daqing still have any unfulfilled obligations to me in terms of raising me?"

Officer Wang pondered for a moment. In this era, the legal provisions for defining the age of adulthood are indeed vague, but the general understanding and judicial practice tend to favor eighteen years old.

He nodded, supporting He Yuzhu's statement: "In He Yuzhu's case, theoretically, his parents should indeed bear his living expenses until he can live independently, which is usually considered to be until he is eighteen years old."

He Daqing panicked and hurriedly defended himself, saying, "How could I not make arrangements? I paved the way for him! Before I left, I gave him a job at the steel mill's canteen. He can take over the job as soon as he goes, and with a monthly salary of several hundred thousand, isn't that enough for him to live on?"

He Yuzhu was taken aback upon hearing this, as this was information not present in the original owner's memories.

It seems that He Daqing wasn't entirely a scoundrel; he did leave a way out for his son. Unfortunately... according to the original drama, this way out was blocked by Yi Zhonghai.

Upon seeing He Yuzhu's expression, He Daqing immediately understood and burst into a rage, cursing, "Yi Zhonghai, you son of a bitch, he didn't even tell you this? What is he trying to do?"

"Alright, what's the point of saying all this now!" He Yuzhu interrupted him directly, not wanting to hear his impotent rage any longer. "I'm learning well from my master at Emei Restaurant, but I haven't mastered the skills yet, so I don't plan to go to the factory as an ordinary cook for the time being."

"I'm talking to you about child custody and the division of assets right now, so stop rambling!"

He stared at He Daqing and said bluntly, "Just say it straight. Are you still thinking of keeping those three main rooms in Beijing as a backup plan? So that when you get old and Widow Bai and her son can't be relied on anymore, you can come back with the houses to blackmail me and force me to take care of you in your old age?"

When He Daqing's secret was exposed, his face flushed, his eyes darted around, and he stammered, unable to speak.

"I'm too lazy to argue with you about all that."

He Yuzhu's tone was slightly impatient as he directly offered his solution: "Here's what we'll do: transfer the three main rooms to my name. I'll keep the small side room for you, Yushui, as a memento. If you ever want to retire in Beijing, you'll have a place to stay and won't have to sleep on the streets."

"I'm sixteen now, and I'll be eighteen in two years. I don't want much. Just give me 100,000 yuan a month for living expenses, which will be 2.4 million yuan in two years."

"This money is a one-time settlement for your responsibility to support me for the last two years. The debt is settled, and we have nothing to do with each other anymore."

He Yuzhu changed the subject, saying, "After all, you are my biological father. When you get old and can't move anymore, I will not shirk my responsibility to support you. All of this can be written into the agreement."

He Daqing was completely stunned, looking at He Yuzhu as if he were a stranger. These were the words coming from his simple-minded, foolish son.

A chill ran down his spine, and he shivered violently, blurting out, "Who...who are you? Where's my son, Shazhu? Where did you take him?"

He Yuzhu's heart skipped a beat, realizing he had overdone it and aroused He Daqing's suspicion.

But he showed no sign of it on his face. Instead, he gave me a look as if I were a fool, and said in a mocking tone, "Who am I? I'm He Yuzhu, whom you forced to grow up overnight!"

"Dad ran away with someone, we lost our home, my sister is left unattended, and a pack of wolves and tigers are eyeing us in the yard... If I don't hurry up and learn to be shrewd, am I just going to wait to be devoured until there's not even a bone left?"

He Daqing stared blankly at the aged face that resembled his own, then lowered his head dejectedly and said in a hoarse voice, "Fine... I... I promise you."

Seeing this, Officer Wang handed over paper and pen.

He Yuzhu took the document and quickly wrote two mediation agreements.

One document concerns the issue of He Yushui's upbringing, while the other concerns the relationship between him and He Daqing.

He Daqing glanced at them briefly, signed his name on both agreements, and then pressed his bright red fingerprint on them.

After carefully checking that everything was correct, He Yuzhu folded his copy of the agreement and put it into his inner pocket.

He walked up to He Daqing and looked at He Yushui, who was still in He Daqing's arms, her eyes red like a little rabbit.

He reached out and gently rubbed the little girl's head, saying, "Rain, look, your brother has found your father for you."

"Dad promised that he would take care of you from now on and would never abandon you again. From now on, you will live with Dad and Aunt Bai."

"Remember what I said. If she or her two sons dare to bully you or make you suffer, keep it to yourself. When I come to visit you next time, secretly tell me, and I'll beat them up for you, understand?"

He Yushui hugged He Daqing's neck tightly, looking at her brother and then at her father, her little face full of conflict and reluctance. With a sob in her voice, she asked, "Brother, where...where are you going? Aren't you coming with us?"

He Yuzhu laughed and said, "Of course, brother is going back to Beijing. If Yushui misses home and wants to go back for a visit, just let Dad take you back."

"My brother still needs to learn cooking from the chef at the restaurant. Once he becomes a great chef and earns a lot of money, he'll buy Yushui lots and lots of new clothes and delicious food."

Compared to her brother, whom she rarely sees, He Yushui clearly has a deeper dependence on her father.

Hearing that her brother had important things to do, she was sad, but she still nodded obediently and buried her face in He Daqing's neck.

He Daqing held his daughter, his emotions a jumbled mess, unable to utter a single word.

He Yuzhu stood up, looked at He Daqing's appearance, shook his head, and said, "Don't think I'm forcing you. If you have a son with Widow Bai in the future, I won't take any of those three main rooms. I'll give them all to him."

"What a pity, you weren't destined for it..."

After saying that, He Yuzhu stopped looking at He Daqing's instantly pale face and turned to Officer Wang, saying, "Comrade Wang, things are almost done. I'm going out for some fresh air so I don't get angry again if I see that widow Bai later."

"Once they finish all the formalities here, He Daqing will give me the money he promised, and then I'll buy a ticket and go back to Beijing."

Officer Wang looked at the boy in front of him, his eyes filled with a complex and indescribable meaning.

He patted He Yuzhu's shoulder heavily and said in a low voice, "Zhuzi, go back! Learn your craft well and live a good life."

He Yuzhu nodded, said nothing more, and strode out of the reception room.

"You have a good son!" Officer Wang said to He Daqing, his tone filled with undisguised regret.