Courtyard House: New Life, New Silly Zhu

Chapter 88 Borrowing a Bicycle

"Xiaofang, do you think we should set up two tables in the yard?" He Yuzhu asked Yang Lifang as she took the measurements.

Yang Lifang nodded, her hands still moving as she measured, and said, "When I heard you say that before, I thought the people in the courtyard didn't like you, but since those three old men have said so today, let's set up two tables."

After speaking, Yang Lifang looked up at He Yuzhu and said, "Brother Zhu, what do you think?"

"I was overthinking things before and didn't consider the feelings of your family. After hearing what the three uncles said yesterday, I'm actually very conflicted and don't know what to do," He Yuzhu sighed.

He Yuzhu began to recount his inner turmoil, such as Yi Zhonghai's favoritism, the matter of him being approached before, and the various people, big and small, in the courtyard.

"People like Brother Zhu are everywhere. You just don't want to bother with social niceties," Yang Lifang said with a smile.

"But how can one simply avoid these social obligations in life?" He Yuzhu said with a wry smile.

Yang Lifang smiled and looked at He Yuzhu: "Then from now on, we'll listen to what they say, and pretend we didn't hear what they say."

"Yes, we'll listen to the good stuff, but we won't listen to the bad stuff," He Yuzhu said with a smile.

"But, Brother Zhu, how's it going with finding a matchmaker?" Yang Lifang asked, her face full of anticipation.

Seeing Yang Lifang's expectant look, He Yuzhu looked embarrassed and said, "Well, not yet. I'm planning to look for someone again in the next couple of days."

"Oh, I see. You'd better hurry up, or you'll miss something important," Yang Lifang urged. She had seen He Yuzhu bring all the furniture over to be painted today and thought he had already found a matchmaker, but he hadn't, so she was getting a little anxious.

Getting married and getting engaged are major events that cannot be taken lightly. Often, a matchmaker is consulted to choose an auspicious date.

Seeing Yang Lifang's appearance, He Yuzhu quickly promised to go find a matchmaker on Friday.

Time passed day by day, and tasks were accomplished one by one.

On Friday evening, He Yuzhu arrived at Ganshui Hutong.

He knocked on the door and called out from outside, "Is Aunt Zhang home?"

A moment later, the door was opened, revealing a smiling face; it was Aunt Zhang.

"Oh, who is it? It's Sha Zhu!" Aunt Zhang laughed.

He Yuzhu smiled and said, "Aunt Zhang, I didn't mind you calling me 'Silly Zhu' before, but I need to talk to you about something today. After it's done, don't call me 'Silly Zhu' anymore."

Aunt Zhang was taken aback for a moment, then realized what she meant and her face lit up with joy. She quickly welcomed He Yuzhu inside, saying, "Alright, alright, come in quickly."

After He Yuzhu entered the house, he sat down in a chair, while Aunt Zhang went straight back into the house and took out a thick notebook filled with names and birth dates.

"From what you were saying earlier, are you looking for a wife?" Aunt Zhang said with a smile as she flipped through the notebook in her hand. "Tell me what kind you want, and I'll find you one that I guarantee you'll be satisfied."

He Yuzhu chuckled smugly, "Aunt Zhang, I actually already have a boyfriend."

Aunt Zhang stopped what she was doing, looked at He Yuzhu, and sized him up from head to toe.

"Zhu Zi, you can't just pick any wife. You have to find someone who's a good match," Aunt Zhang said seriously, assuming that He Yuzhu had just picked someone randomly.

He Yuzhu didn't hide anything and said directly, "Aunt Zhang, my girlfriend's name is Yang Lifang. You should know her, right?"

"

"Yang Lifang, I know two people named Yang Lifang, but one is a widow and the other is a saleswoman at the supply and marketing cooperative." After saying this, Aunt Zhang glanced at He Yuzhu.

She felt that He Yuzhu was not good enough for a sales clerk at the supply and marketing cooperative, so she didn't say anything to avoid embarrassing him. However, Aunt Zhang still said, "Yuzhu, I think that widow is quite nice, it's just that she has a hard life. Why don't you consider other girls?"

He Yuzhu was taken aback when he heard this. He didn't expect that Aunt Zhang thought his partner was a widow.

He Yuzhu was so angry he almost jumped up. This was something that couldn't be said carelessly. "Aunt Zhang, you've misunderstood. My girlfriend isn't a widow. She's Yang Lifang, a saleswoman at the supply and marketing cooperative."

Aunt Zhang looked surprised; she hadn't expected Yang Lifang to be He Yuzhu's girlfriend.

"Are you with Yang Lifang?" she asked, her tone filled with disbelief.

"Yes, we're together now. Aunt Zhang, could you please come with me to their village and put in a good word for me, maybe arrange an engagement or something?" He Yuzhu said with a smile. He even seemed a little smug.

"Okay, okay, I'll go check the date right away." Aunt Zhang quickly agreed and immediately took out the almanac to look at it.

A moment later, Aunt Zhang said earnestly, "Zhu Zi, I checked the almanac. The 25th of this month is auspicious for engagement. What do you think?"

He Yuzhu didn't think much of it, nodded, and said, "Okay, that's the date. Thank you, Aunt Zhang. By the way, Aunt Zhang, I wanted to ask what things we need to prepare for the engagement?"

Aunt Zhang laughed and said, "That's easy. Just bring some money, a carton of cigarettes, two bottles of wine, and a piece of meat."

These things were pretty much what his second uncle had said, so He Yuzhu stood up, nodded, and said, "Okay, thank you, Aunt Zhang. I'll be going now."

As soon as He Yuzhu stepped out of the courtyard gate, Aunt Zhang closed the gate and muttered to herself, "This child, I don't know how he did it, tsk tsk tsk, he managed to win over such a good girl."

Meanwhile, Xu Damao, who had just returned from the countryside, also learned from his younger sister Xu Xiaoling about He Yuzhu's upcoming marriage.

Upon hearing this, Xu Damao frowned, thinking to himself, "Shazhu is getting married? The sun must have risen in the west!" He subconsciously glanced in the direction of He Yuzhu's house in the middle courtyard, his unease intensifying. This kid's been so quiet; could he have really struck gold?

Absolutely impossible. That girl must be blind. Otherwise, why would she fall for He Yuzhu?

Suddenly, a thought struck him: Oh no! With Sha Zhu's shamelessness, he'll definitely come to borrow my bicycle for his wedding.

No, I absolutely can't lend it to him, Xu Damao thought to himself, and then a plan came to mind.

He hurried to the entrance of the Intermediate People's Court, looked towards the He family's house, and found that He Yuzhu had not returned yet. Overjoyed, he immediately turned around and left the Intermediate People's Court, pushed his bicycle out of the courtyard, and rode his bicycle to the factory.

He Yuzhu returned to the courtyard house and ran into Xu Damao, who was also returning. Xu Damao, seeing He Yuzhu, smiled and said, "Hey, silly Zhu, I heard you're getting married?"

"Yes, what's wrong, Sha Mao? Is there a problem?" He Yuzhu said as he tried to walk into the courtyard.

Xu Damao quickly followed up with a smile and said, "No problem, no problem, I just wanted to congratulate you."

After saying that, he was about to walk forward, but He Yuzhu stopped him and said with a smile, "Silly Mao, don't go, let's talk."

Upon seeing Xu Damao, He Yuzhu suddenly remembered something.

Xu Damao grinned mischievously and said smugly, "Shazhu, let me tell you, I've already returned my bicycle to the factory."

After saying that, Xu Damao left triumphantly, leaving He Yuzhu alone with a wry smile, having just remembered this problem.

That silly Mao really learned his lesson after being burned once. Looks like I'll have to think of a way to borrow another one.

I hadn't thought about this issue before and hadn't paid much attention to it, but now that I think about it, I realize it's causing some trouble.

Thinking of this, He Yuzhu turned around and went home. Since he couldn't borrow Xu Damao's bicycle, he would have to think of another way.

Actually, there was another bicycle in the yard, which belonged to Uncle San. However, He Yuzhu dared not lend it to Uncle San. He was afraid that if he damaged it, Uncle San would definitely hold him accountable, and he wouldn't know how much he would have to pay in compensation. So He Yuzhu gave up on Uncle San's bicycle.

However, He Yuzhu came up with a solution: he would go to the steel rolling mill's bicycle shed and borrow a decent bicycle if he found one.

The next day at noon, as soon as He Yuzhu finished his work, he rushed to the bicycle shed at the steel rolling mill and found that there were quite a few bicycles in the shed. Some of the bicycles were in good condition, and some were even rusted.

He wanted to borrow a bicycle from a coworker who was about 80% new, but he knew it was a risky proposition. After all, bicycles are very important to everyone, and most people wouldn't lend them out. Now he just had to see if he had the nerve to do it.

He thought about it, but he still decided to give it a try. After all, he could take the bus to his engagement, but he couldn't take the bus to his wedding.

"Zhu Zi, what are you doing here?"

Just then, a voice came from behind. He Yuzhu stopped to check his bicycle and turned around. It turned out that the person was Old Zhang.

"Old Zhang, what brings you here? Have you eaten? Want to grab something at the third canteen?" He Yuzhu asked with a smile, extending an invitation.

Old Zhang stepped forward, shook his head, and laughed, "No need, I've already eaten. By the way, Zhu Zi, what are you doing? Some workers saw someone here and thought it was a thief, so they came to our security department to check."

Hehe, He Yuzhu chuckled dryly and explained, "It's partly my fault. I'm getting married, so I wanted to borrow a bicycle for the wedding procession. That's why I came over to check it out. I'd like to borrow it again later."

"Oh, I see. It's alright then. But, Zhu Zi, you're not being fair. You didn't even tell us you were getting married," Old Zhang laughed.

"Hehe, Lao Zhang, it's not that I didn't want to tell you, it's just that I wasn't planning on having a banquet, so I didn't say anything," He Yuzhu explained.

Old Zhang was a little surprised to hear this and said, "Zhu Zi, if you're not holding a banquet, what about the gift money? You can't just not accept it."

"We won't accept gifts. How can we accept gifts if we didn't hold a banquet? Don't you think so?" He Yuzhu said with a smile.

Old Zhang shook his head and said helplessly, "Zhu Zi, you really are something. If you don't accept it now, what will you do later? You can't just not go to other people's weddings and banquets."

This is indeed a problem, but He Yu has his own plans. He said, "Old Zhang, don't worry, I know what I'm doing."

He Yu knew he had an idea. Old Zhang didn't say anything more, nodded and said, "Alright. Zhu Zi, I'll be going now."

Old Zhang turned back halfway and said, "Zhu Zi, it's not easy to lend your car. This car is very valuable, and most people don't lend it to others. Other cars belong to the government, and you need to apply to borrow them." After saying that, Old Zhang left.

He Yuzhu was left alone, pondering what Lao Zhang had said: "Do I need to apply for a government vehicle?"