Sha Zhu's Rebirth in the Courtyard: Starting with Hitting Someone in the Head

Chapter 115 The Birth of the Locust Flower

At the end of March, spring arrived, and the old locust trees in the alley sprouted new buds. Qin Huairu was due to give birth on Sunday, and as usual, Jia Zhangshi invited a midwife to her home. Banggeng and Xiaodang both gave birth at home, and this one was no exception.

Qin Huairu lay on the kang (a heated brick bed) tossing and turning for a while, and the midwife sweated more and more as she wiped her body, her hands starting to tremble.

"The baby is in the wrong position, feet down. Get to the hospital immediately, or you and the baby will both die!"

Madam Jia's face paled, but she remained defiant: "The first two were both born at home, why can't this one? Try again!" The midwife grew anxious: "This is a matter of life and death, how dare I evade your question!"

Lying on the kang (a heated brick bed), Qin Huairu gritted her teeth and squeezed out a few words: "Mom... please..."

Banggeng ran out and banged on the door, shouting for help. Everyone in the yard was home, and they hurriedly carried Widow Qin to the hospital.

He Yuzhu heard the commotion in the courtyard, a strange smile on his face. Blood type testing is required before a cesarean section, and Qin Huairu's blood type would be recorded at the hospital.

The next day he went to the steel rolling mill.

Li Huaide was looking at documents in his office when he heard a knock on the door. He looked up and He Yuzhu pushed the door open and sat down in the chair opposite him.

"Brother He, what brings you here?"

"Brother Li, I have something to tell you." He Yuzhu pulled his chair forward. "Jia Dongxu's wife had a difficult labor yesterday and was hospitalized. She gave birth to a daughter via C-section."

Li Huaide put down the document and waited for him to continue.

"I suspect that none of these three children are Jia Dongxu's." He Yuzhu lit a cigarette. "Jia Geng's hair is a bit curly, Jia Dongxu's hair is straight, and Qin Huairu's hair is also straight. Old Jia's hair is also straight. Where did this curly hair come from?" He flicked the ash from his cigarette. "And Xiao Dang, everyone says that daughters resemble their fathers, but she doesn't resemble them at all."

Li Huaide leaned back in his chair, his gaze toward He Yuzhu was strange.

"Brother Li, we can deduce the blood type of children from their parents' blood types." He Yuzhu put a cigarette in his mouth. "Jia Dongxu's file has his blood type recorded, and the hospital where Qin Huairu had her C-section will test her blood type. You can go and take a look."

Li Huaide remained silent for a while, then looked at him and asked, "Why did you expose this?"

"I'm going to get revenge on them. Don't ask why." He Yuzhu's voice was calm. "Brother Li, it's better if you handle this. Letting me expose this won't do you any good."

Li Huaide understood, picked up the phone on the table, and asked the personnel and labor department to check Jia Dongxu's file. The result was type B. "I'll go to the hospital to offer my condolences this afternoon."

Li Huaide took eggs and brown sugar to the hospital. Jia Zhangshi was waiting in the ward when she saw the factory director arrive in person; she quickly stood up to offer him a seat. Li Huaide said a few words of comfort and then went to the neonatal ward to see the baby.

The nurse was registering information in a notebook when he pulled out his work ID and sternly demanded that she give Qin Huairu's newborn daughter a blood test. After receiving the type A blood result, he questioned the nurse in detail about blood type inheritance. Finally, he gave the nurse some food coupons and told her to keep it a secret, as this was a serious matter.

Li Huaide stood at the entrance of the neonatal ward for a long time, his brow furrowed. Brother He was right; this child wasn't Jia Dongxu's.

He returned to the factory and asked the union members to go to the hospital to "visit the bereaved families and, incidentally, give Banggeng and Xiaodang a physical examination." When Jia Zhangshi heard that it was arranged by the factory and that she had the gifts in hand, she happily returned to the courtyard to bring the children up.

Three lab reports lay before Li Huaide. The first child was blood type A, the second blood type O, and the newborn girl was blood type A. Blood type B and blood type O cannot produce blood type A. Of the three children, at least two were definitely not Jia Dongxu's.

Li Huaide folded the three test reports neatly, lowered his voice, and said, "Don't make a fuss yet." He then went to the adjacent courtyard with his briefcase.

He Yuzhu was sitting under the pomegranate tree, brewing tea. Shen Zhixia was carrying He Xiao around the yard, and He Xiao was looking up and reaching for the new buds on the pomegranate tree, making little noises.

Li Huaide came in and sat down on the stool.

"Checked. Qin Huairu is blood type O, Bang Geng is blood type A, Xiao Dang is blood type O, and the newborn one is blood type A."

He Yuzhu picked up the enamel mug, took a sip of tea, and said nothing.

"When are we going to make our move?"

"After the locust flowers bloom for a full moon."

Li Huaide frowned slightly. He Yuzhu placed the jar on the table and said calmly, "Brother Li, we need to show some humanitarian concern. Widow Qin just had a C-section and hasn't recovered yet. If we announce it now, she won't be able to handle it. Let her rest and recover properly before we talk about it. Anyway, you have the evidence; she can't escape it."

Li Huaide looked at him and couldn't help but shake his head. He didn't say anything, but in his heart he thought, "This kid talks about humanity, but he's really ruthless when it comes to revenge."

"Okay, let's wait for the full moon."

On the day the locust tree blossomed its full moon, Jia Zhangshi was still at home cursing: "Another money-losing brat! I told you to abort it, but you wouldn't listen..."

Banggeng and Xiaodang each held a bowl of cornmeal porridge and squatted on the doorstep to drink it.

Qin Huairu sat on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed) holding a locust flower. Her baby was already a month old, but her mother-in-law was still cursing, saying that she had killed Dongxu.

In the evening, people returned home from get off work. Li Huaide led a few members of the union into the front yard, and the people in the yard, seeing this commotion, all followed to see what was going on.

Madam Jia was sitting by the door sewing shoe soles when she saw Li Huaide and his men approaching menacingly. She stood up, her smile still lingering: "Director Li, what are you doing here...?"

Li Huaide didn't look at her, and walked to the door of the west wing to let Qin Huairu come out.

He stood at the door, his voice loud enough for everyone in the courtyard to hear: "Comrade Qin Huairu, someone has reported your qualifications for the substitute position. The factory recently checked the files, and Comrade Jia Dongxu's physical examination showed he has type B blood, while your blood type registered at the hospital is type O. The one-month-old baby girl's blood test showed she has type A. The union also gave Banggeng and Xiaodang physical examinations; Banggeng is type A, and Xiaodang is type O."

He paused, then continued, word by word: "Type B and Type O cannot produce a type A child. Of these three children, at least two are not Jia Dongxu's offspring."

The courtyard fell silent. Yang Ruihua's pestle dropped into the basin, splashing water everywhere. Liu Haizhong stood in the middle courtyard, quickly taking notes in his notebook—these were the key points. Yan Bugui stood limping by the passageway door, his lips twitching slightly. Xu Damao stood outside the crowd, his eyes wide.

Jia Zhangshi's expression shifted from bewilderment to fury. She turned around, grabbed Qin Huairu's shoulders, and shook her violently: "Speak! Say this child is Dongxu's! Speak!"

Qin Huairu was shaken like a falling leaf, her face covered in tears. She shook her head desperately, unable to utter a single coherent sentence.

Banggeng stood at the door and saw his grandmother hitting his mother. Tears streamed down his face. He went up to Jia Zhangshi and grabbed her clothes, crying, "Grandma, don't hit my mom." Xiaodang peeked out from the door frame, not knowing what was going on, and started crying too.

Madam Jia released Qin Huairu, collapsed to the ground, and wailed, pounding the floor tiles: "Dongxu! Look what your wife has done! You died so unjustly! You risked your life to raise another man's child, and they lied to you your whole life! Dongxu—"

After her wailing subsided, Li Huaide announced the factory's decision: Qin Huairu did not meet the eligibility requirements for a survivor's position, and her eligibility was revoked immediately. Her household registration was readjusted, her survivor's pension was suspended, and her position was taken over by Jia Zhangshi.

Jia Zhangshi sat on the ground, her face streaked with tears and snot. Hearing that she would be taking over the post, her sobs choked. She looked up at Li Huaide, her mouth opening and closing, but she couldn't utter a single word. The post her son had risked his life for had ultimately fallen to her.

After saying this, Li Huaide left with his men. The people in the courtyard stood there again, chattering amongst themselves. From inside the Jia family house came the sound of Bang Geng crying, and Qin Huairu's intermittent cries of pain.

He Yuzhu leaned against the gate of the courtyard, lit a cigarette, and slowly finished it. Old Li, holding an enamel mug, asked softly, "Zhuzi, is the play over?"

"It's not over yet." He Yuzhu lit a cigarette for him. "This is just the beginning."