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

Chapter 85 Xiao'e's Joy

At the end of April, He Yuzhu returned home from get off work. As soon as his tricycle pulled into the courtyard, he heard Lou Xiao'e humming a song coming from the main room. He pushed the door open and went in. Xiao'e was sitting in a grand chair, fanning herself with a lab report in her hand, her chin slightly raised, and her eyes narrowed into two curved slits.

"Brother He, come here."

He Yuzhu walked over, and she shoved the test results into his hand. He looked down at them twice, and when he looked up, his mouth was stretched to his ears. He picked her up and spun her around twice.

Lou Xiao'e patted his shoulder, urging him to put her down quickly, as she was dizzy. He Yuzhu quickly and gently placed her back on the chair, squatted down beside her, and held her hand, unable to suppress the smile on his face.

"It's been over a month." Lou Xiao'e tapped his nose with the lab report. "From now on, you'll sleep alone every night. I can finally get some rest."

He Yuzhu's smile froze instantly; his expression shifted from ecstatic joy to a bitter look in the blink of an eye. "He's only been eating meat for a few months, and he's already going to become a monk?"

Lou Xiao'e looked at his pitiful expression, leaned back in her chair, and laughed for a long time while clutching her stomach. Finally, she said seriously, "Brother He, you should find someone else. I'm serious. One isn't enough, two will do. But the person you find must be approved by me first. No shady characters can enter the He family."

He Yuzhu looked up at her. He had heard this several times since they got married, and he had always thought it was just a joke between husband and wife. But today, Xiao'e's eyes didn't hold a trace of mischief when she said it, so he wasn't sure. He asked her softly if she was serious.

Lou Xiao'e felt a bittersweet feeling as she watched his cautious manner. For the three months since their marriage, He Gege had treated her like a treasure; even Yu Shui said that now that he had a sister-in-law, he no longer cared for his sister.

Her husband devoted himself entirely to her, but their marital life wasn't going well. She was no match for him, and this pregnancy was hard-won. She touched her belly and nodded.

"It's true. Brother He, you can go look for it without worry. I'm not joking."

He Yuzhu stood up, pulled her into his arms, and kissed her forehead. "There's no rush. How about I send you back to your parents' home for the next two months? Everyone says you need to be extra careful during the first three months, and I'm not good at taking care of pregnant women. It'll be safer if your mother takes care of you."

Lou Xiao'e buried her face in his chest and nodded.

That evening, He Yuzhu rode his tricycle to take Lou Xiao'e back to the Lou residence. Tan Yali looked at the test results again and again, holding her daughter's hand tightly for a long time.

Lou Bancheng, with a cigarette between his fingers, listened to He Yuzhu's words, his lips trembling several times before he finally managed to suppress them. He then turned around, took out some good wine, and said, "Let's celebrate properly tonight."

After the meal, He Yuzhu asked Tan Yali about dietary restrictions for pregnant women. Tan Yali explained them one by one, which foods should be avoided and which should be eaten more often.

He took out a piece of paper and wrote it down, filling a whole page, saying he would come over to deliver soup every other day. Tanya Li said it wasn't necessary, she had everything at home, and he could just come over and cook whenever he had time.

From that day on, He Yuzhu's life became more structured. During the day, he would work at the supply and marketing cooperative and then come home to teach Ma Hua and Ma Qiang how to chop vegetables. The next day, he would go to Lou's mansion to cook, bringing two apprentices with him so they could learn by helping out.

He would cook at the high-ranking leader's house once every ten days, always bringing his apprentice with him. The leader's wife praised Ma Hua for being honest and hardworking. Before going on business trips, he would always go to Lou's residence to report to Xiao'e first.

It was mid-July in the blink of an eye. He Yuzhu recalled that at the end of this month in his previous life, Beijing was completely flooded by a torrential rainstorm that was the worst in decades.

The area around Nanluoguxiang is low-lying, and in some places the water is so deep that it reaches up to the thigh, estimated to be about 80 centimeters.

He rode his three-wheeled motorcycle around the alley, surveying the main gate of the courtyard and the surrounding terrain. There were many cracks in the outer wall, perfect inlets for rainwater. He twisted the throttle and headed straight for the steel rolling mill.

Li Huaide was sitting in his office reading documents when He Yuzhu knocked and came in. He put the documents down. "Brother He, what brings you here?"

He Yuzhu sat down opposite him. "Brother Li, do me a favor. Have the engineering department come to my courtyard and plaster the wall with cement. Build a 1.2-meter-high brick wall around the main gate and the moon gate, and block the sewers with wooden stakes."

Li Huaide's teacup froze in mid-air. "Build a wall? You're going to build a wall around a perfectly good door? How are you going to get in and out?"

"The humidity has been abnormally high since the start of the dog days of summer this year, it's as stuffy as a steamer. I've read a lot of local chronicles, and based on the rainy season patterns in North China over the past few decades, in years with such unusually hot and humid weather, there will definitely be heavy rainstorms at the end of July or the beginning of August. Beijing hasn't had a major flood in many years, but I'm afraid this year is inevitable."

He Yuzhu took out a cigarette and handed one to Li Huaide. "Brother Li, this is your chance to make a name for yourself in the factory. Seize it."

Li Huaide took the cigarette, lit it, and tapped his fingers on the desk for a while. "Okay, the engineering department will go tomorrow. I'll have the logistics department prepare more sacks and sand, so that if there really is a big flood, we won't be caught off guard."

A few days later, flood barriers were built at the main gate and the moon gate of the courtyard, and He Yuzhu used temporary steps to enter and exit every day. Lou Xiao'e was sent back to her parents' home by him, and the tricycle was locked in the courtyard and no longer ridden. He had Ma Hua place a lot of sandbags in the corner of the wall, and also prepared two long wooden planks as backup.

Li Huaide also came over to take a look. He squatted down at the main entrance and measured the height of the wall with a ruler, saying it was 120 centimeters. He said that if the floodwaters reached that height, Beijing would be completely ruined.

The scoundrels in the courtyard were all laughing behind his back, but Old Li from the middle courtyard was the first to come and ask. On the day the construction team started working with bricks and cement, he rushed over to ask He Yuzhu as soon as he got off work.

"Zhu Zi, what's going on with all that noise?"

"Uncle Li, there will be a heavy rainstorm at the end of July and the beginning of August. The rainfall this year will be heavy. Go back and raise the grain and bedding, and find some sandbags to block the door tightly. Also, build a low wall around the main house in the middle courtyard and have the construction team do it. Let those people in the courtyard say whatever they want. Move in with me at the end of the month. The three south rooms are still empty. I will bring my apprentice's family over then."

Old Li knew that Zhu Zi never did anything without being sure of success, so he didn't ask any more questions and went home to prepare.

He Yuzhu looked at the courtyard outside the moon gate. When the rainstorm came, all the people in the courtyard who were watching the spectacle would be soaked in water, and the house would have to keep catching the leaking roof. Even food would be a problem.

He went to the high-ranking leader's house again and repeated what he had said to Li Huaide.

The top leader took off his glasses, wiped them, went to his study to make a few phone calls, and when he returned, his face was a little gloomy. He said that the comrades from the meteorological bureau also reported that this year's data was incorrect, and that it was better to believe it than not.

That evening, the top leader returned to the Ministry of Industry and convened an emergency meeting, proposing flood prevention and control measures. He ordered advance inspections of drainage systems in all factory areas and organized flood prevention efforts. Special attention was given to electrical safety in the power distribution rooms. Given the urgency of the situation, even Li Huaide's father-in-law, who usually held differing political views, provided strong support and cooperation.