Courtyard House: New Life, New Silly Zhu

"Brother, are you making braised pork this morning?"

After washing up, He Yushui smelled the aroma of braised pork coming from the kitchen in the courtyard very early on.

As soon as she entered the kitchen, she couldn't wait to ask her brother.

"Rain, I'm not trying to be mean, but don't you even look at what time it is? Breakfast? Lunch is more like it."

Although He Yuzhu also slept until this time, it did not stop him from teaching his younger sister.

"Oh, brother, isn't it Sunday? I don't have to study, so I'll sleep in a little longer. Are you making lunch, brother?" He Yushui said to her brother in a coquettish tone.

This gave He Yuzhu goosebumps all over his body.

"Stop, Yushui, don't do that, it's too strange. Also, this meat isn't from our family; an old man asked me to cook it and deliver it to the old lady in the backyard," He Yuzhu explained simply.

Then, after thinking for a moment, he said to He Yushui, "How about this, since you're free, you can make some dough, and I'll roll it into noodles later. We'll have noodles for lunch."

Upon hearing this, He Yushui didn't waste any words. She rolled up her sleeves, scooped out flour from the flour jar, and mixed it with some cornmeal to make a two-in-one dough.

After He Yuzhu finished cooking the meat, he slapped and stretched the dough that He Yushui had kneaded.

A bowl of ramen was ready in no time. Then, the broth from the braised pork was poured over it, and a few more pieces of meat were added. The noodles were done.

"Alright, Yushui, you eat first. I'll take this meat to the backyard for the old lady." He Yuzhu said and left without paying any attention to He Yushui.

He Yushui then began to enjoy the bowl of noodles with relish.

When we arrived in the backyard, we saw the old lady sitting in a recliner, basking in the sun.

"The old lady is really enjoying herself today, basking in the sun here."

The old lady had already seen He Yuzhu, and when she saw him come in, she smiled and said...

"It's Zhu Zi. You haven't been to the old lady's place for a while."

"Grandma, what are you saying? I've been busy, haven't I?"

To be honest, He Yuzhu was a little annoyed. After all, he didn't have any special relationship with the old lady, so why did he come to her place for no reason?

"Alright, alright, now that Zhuzi has a job, he's a pillar of the family. When are you planning to get married? You must bring your granddaughter-in-law to my place so I can take a look."

As soon as the old lady finished speaking, He Yuzhu immediately noticed that there was something ambiguous about her words.

What does "granddaughter-in-law" mean? It means you want to bring her to meet you, to show her who she is.

"Grandma, what are you saying? Well then, the noodles have been cooked for a while now, and they'll get soggy if we don't eat them soon." He Yuzhu didn't reply, but carried the noodles into the old lady's back room, put the noodles on the table, and invited the old lady into the room.

"Alright, it's been a while since I've had noodles made by my eldest grandson. I've missed it so much!"

The old lady's words were getting more and more outrageous, and she was pushing her luck. He Yuzhu didn't want to indulge her anymore.

"Grandma, that's not right. If you want to eat, why don't you ask an older woman to cook it for you? Today, an older man bought the meat and asked me to cook it and bring it over."

The old lady, who was about to sit down, paused, but did not show it and continued to sit down.

"You're just an ordinary woman, how could I possibly have such good cooking skills as you? I can't cook dishes as delicious as yours, and I just wanted my grandson to keep me company and chat," the old lady said with a smile.

"Grandma, what are you saying? Alright then, you can continue chatting with your grandson. I'll head back now. Goodbye." He Yuzhu gave a forced smile and turned to leave.

Don't think you can be my grandma just because you're old. My grandma is already dead.

The old lady, who was eating noodles, froze in place, staring blankly at He Yuzhu's departing figure.

What's wrong with this kid today? Logically speaking, they used to have a good relationship, so this shouldn't be happening.

With a frown, the old lady pondered, but her hands never stopped moving as she picked up pieces of meat and ate them, while also putting bites of noodles into her mouth.

He Yuzhu was a little confused. In his memory, their relationship wasn't that good. What was the old lady thinking?

Oh well, things will work themselves out. The most important thing now is to go back and eat my lunch; those noodles have really gone soggy if they stay there too long.

Yi Zhonghai stood at his window and saw He Yuzhu go to the backyard and return shortly after. Frowning, he watched as He Yuzhu went back inside, then opened his door, went out, and walked towards the backyard.

As soon as I entered the backyard, I saw the old lady slumped over the table eating noodles.

"Grandma, you're eating," Yi Zhonghai said, sitting down opposite the old lady.

The old lady looked up at Yi Zhonghai: "Old Yi, what's wrong with this pillar? It feels different from before."

"Grandma, you noticed it too?" Yi Zhonghai's tone was also somewhat strange.

"Old Yi, I may be old, but I'm not aging at heart. My eyesight may be failing, but my mind is sharp. I can still see this obvious change in Sha Zhu. Tell me, has something happened?"

"Grandma, nothing really happened. The only change is that Zhuzi went to work at the factory as a cook. But I feel like our relationship has become much distant. Sometimes when we're at work together, he won't even acknowledge me unless I call him." Yi Zhonghai frowned.

"Did you offend him before?" the old lady asked.

"How could I? Given their family's situation before, why would I offend them? I gave them every penny of the money his father sent. Not only did I not offend him, but he actually did me a favor, don't you think?"

Seeing that she couldn't get any information out of him, the old lady sighed.

"Since you don't know what's wrong, Lao Yi, you should talk to Zhu Zi more often and try to build a relationship with him."

Upon hearing the old lady's words, Yi Zhonghai frowned even more deeply.

"Grandma, I just don't understand why you take this pillar so seriously. Dongxu will take care of me in my old age; there's no need to create any more trouble, don't you think?"

Not only that, but even if He Yuzhu were to make braised pork and deliver it to the backyard today, he would actually be reluctant.

"Old Yi, you and your husband have taken care of this lonely old woman for so many years, I should think about your future too. Your apprentice is really useless. Don't look at Zhu Zi now, but in the end, he is still kind-hearted, much better than Dong Xu."

"But I think Dongxu is a good person too. He's not only honest, but he's also filial to his mother. His family is harmonious, and I think it would be good for him to support my husband and me."

To be honest, Yi Zhonghai looked down on He Yuzhu.

His mother died when he was young, and his father ran away when he grew up. He also hit people at the drop of a hat.

He really looked down on such a reckless and unruly person.