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

Chapter 74 Deduces the Truth

In early June, He Yuzhu returned from Shanxi. During this two-month trip, he visited Tianjin, Hebei, Shandong, and Shanxi several times, and his storage space contained hundreds of tons of grain, including flour, millet, corn flour, and sorghum.

More than 30 tons of pork and mutton, fresh seafood piled up like a small mountain, and several thousand kilograms of various high-end dried goods.

When he returned to the supply and marketing cooperative, Director Zhou called him into his office and took out a document with a red stamp from his drawer.

Official appointment letter (with red headings): Deputy Section Chief of the Supply Department of the Supply and Marketing Cooperative, at the deputy section chief level.

Director Zhou said with a smile, "Zhu Zi, your monthly salary is over eighty yuan, and with the travel allowance, it can be over a hundred. You're the only one in the whole company who has opened up all the procurement channels outside the region. You did a great job for the company in Qingdao. From now on, you'll be in charge of the supply department's procurement plans, external transfer contracts, and railcar applications."

He Yuzhu took the appointment letter, read it twice, folded it, and put it in his pocket. "Thank you for your guidance, Director." He pulled two packs of premium-quality Zhonghua cigarettes from his pocket and pushed them over. "Has my bicycle arrived yet?"

Director Zhou leaned back in his chair, took a sip of tea, and a smile appeared in his eyes. "Locked in the warehouse, dark green. You're lucky; that's the only batch of domestically produced women's cars you got. Even department store managers had to wait in line. I only managed to snag one through old connections at the head office."

He Yuzhu thanked him and left the office, then went to the warehouse to get his cart. It was a Phoenix brand, with a dark green curved beam and chrome handlebars that gleamed in the sunlight, each spoke shining brightly.

He carefully mounted the bicycle on the back of the three-wheeled motorcycle and rode home.

Yu Shui had just come home from school, her schoolbag still slung over her shoulder, when she saw that dark green bicycle and her mouth dropped open.

She put her schoolbag on the ground, ran over and circled the tricycle several times, touching the handlebars with her fingers, and gently pressed the bell, which rang out with a crisp sound.

"Brother, you really bought it!"

"I got it through connections. My brother promised to buy it for you, so I had to keep my word. Give it a try."

Yu Shui pushed his bicycle out of the main gate of the courtyard, straddled the seat, pushed off, and the dark green bicycle sped away in the alley.

She rode her bike around the alley a few times, her face flushed and her forehead covered in fine sweat. When she came back, she put one foot on the ground and stopped at the door, called out to He Yuzhu, "Brother, I'm going to find my sister-in-law," turned the handlebars, and rode off into the distance.

He Yuzhu stood at the door watching the bicycle turn out of the alley, then shook his head. That girl, she didn't even eat.

After dinner, Lao Li came over, and the two sat under the pomegranate tree. He Yuzhu handed him a Zhonghua cigarette.

Old Li took a couple of puffs and leaned back in his chair. "Zhu Zi, Qin Huairu is pregnant. These past few days, Jia Zhangshi has been bragging in the courtyard again, saying that the Jia family has had another baby, and that her daughter-in-law's belly is fertile. She even said that having two children is a blessing, and that she'll have another one next year to make it three."

He Yuzhu sneered a few times.

"Did Qin Huairu go back to her parents' house for a while?"

Old Li nodded and turned to look at him. "Zhu Zi, you weren't even on a business trip, how did you know?"

He Yuzhu didn't answer. He mentally compared the timelines and realized it was exactly the same as in his previous life. Qin Huairu hadn't been able to conceive a second child for several years. She went back to Qin Family Village for a few days and soon became pregnant after returning.

Jia Zhangshi is still singing her high-sounding tune. Let her sing; when the truth is revealed, she'll get what's coming to her.

The next morning, He Yuzhu started his three-wheeled motorcycle and headed towards Changping. As he approached Qinjiacun, several bolts of cloth and a basket of fresh ribbonfish appeared in the sidecar.

He twisted the accelerator and entered the village. He first showed the village party secretary his supply and marketing cooperative credentials, saying that he was the deputy head of the supply department of the Dongcheng Supply and Marketing Cooperative and had brought some cloth and seafood to exchange for eggs and cured meat from the village.

After checking the documents, the village secretary's eyes lit up when he saw the gleaming ribbonfish in the truck bed. "Section Chief He, please have a seat. I'll call someone for you."

Soon, the area under the old locust tree at the village committee was filled with people. Young women, married women, and old ladies all came, chattering around the tricycle. Someone squeezed through the crowd to reach out and touch the ribbonfish, his hand immediately feeling the cold, fishy smell. He turned around and excitedly told the person next to him that the ice hadn't melted yet.

He Yuzhu carried the cloth onto the bench, laid out the ribbonfish, and shouted at the top of his lungs, "Eggs and cured meat are fine too, I'll trade them at market price!"

The villagers hadn't eaten Shanghai fish in ages; they'd only seen it once, at the temple fair. This was fresh ribbonfish, and it was incredibly plump. Everyone rushed home to get eggs, while some carried cured meat and squeezed into the queue.

As He Yuzhu changed the goods, he scanned the crowd, his gaze sweeping past the women at the front and down to the young men at the back.

A little further back in the crowd, a young man in his late twenties stood under the old locust tree, wearing an old gray cloth shirt with the cuffs rolled up to his elbows, revealing his muscular forearms, tanned light brown by the sun.

He had regular facial features, a straight nose, and was taller than the people around him. He had curly hair and his skin was slightly fairer than the surrounding farmers.

He Yuzhu's heart skipped a beat. The appearance of Xiao Dang in his previous life matched this person's face shape and eyebrows. Especially his curly hair, which was just like a stick.

It's definitely him.

After the exchange was completed, He Yuzhu rolled up the remaining scraps of cloth and handed them to the village chief's wife, asking her to clean the fishy smell off the sidecar.

He took out two packs of Daqianmen cigarettes, pulled the village chief aside, and the two squatted on the edge of the well to smoke and chat about the fields for a while.

He Yuzhu gestured with his chin towards the old locust tree. "Whose son is that? He looks quite dashing."

The village chief glanced back. "You mean Qin Gang? He's from Qin Dashan's family at the east end of the village. His parents died a long time ago, and his aunt raised him. He went to junior high school and can read and write, so he's considered a scholar around here. He has a wife and two kids. He's also a good worker, earning a lot of work points in the production team."

He Yuzhu flicked his cigarette ash and didn't ask any more questions.

Qin Gang was educated, had a wife and children. He was clean-cut and stood out among the farmers.

Qin Huairu's family home was next to this distant relative's, and the two had known each other since childhood. Banggeng was his, as was Xiaodang, whom she had just become pregnant with. Three years later, during the most difficult time, Qin Huairu came to her parents' home to bring money or ask for grain, and that's when she became pregnant with Huaihua.

These three ingrates all belong to Qin Gang.

On the way back, the three-wheeled motorcycle bumped along the dirt road, the hot wind blowing into his collar. He Yuzhu, with a cigarette dangling from his lips, went over the thread in his mind again.

Jia Dongxu was cuckolded three times, and died without ever knowing he was raising other people's children. Jia Zhangshi's grandson, heh heh, was actually a bastard.

There's no rush to expose this. It's 1957 now, and Huaihua hasn't even been born yet. We'll wait until 1962 when Widow Qin gives birth to the so-called posthumous daughter, and then we'll unleash this huge bombshell.

The Jia family, which Jia Zhangshi always talks about, will be completely destroyed. What will happen to Widow Qin then? Those three ungrateful widows will definitely be gossiped about for the rest of their lives.

Just thinking about it is exciting.

After finishing his cigarette in the wind, He Yuzhu flicked the cigarette butt into the ditch by the roadside, turned the accelerator harder, and the three-wheeled motorcycle sped forward a long distance.

He kept this a secret, telling no one. He was waiting for Huaihua to be born in 1962.