Siheyuan: At the beginning, I can integrate everything!

This year, in the end, passed by in a daze.

On the second day of the Lunar New Year, the snow outside was falling like goose feathers, and the wind felt like knives on our faces.

Inside the courtyard, all the doors were closed, with only the occasional sound of children laughing and the sizzling of cooking coming from the room.

The aroma of meat, pork cracklings, and scallions from stewed cabbage wafted out through the cracks in the door.

Intermediate People's Court.

The house of Shazhu was bustling with activity.

He is now the deputy director of the No. 1 canteen at the Red Star Factory.

Not only did his salary increase, but at the end of the year, when the factory gave out benefits, he could choose the best meat and vegetables first.

On the second day of the Lunar New Year, he invited Ma Hua and several other close coworkers to his home.

On the table sat a pot of glistening braised pork and a large, tenderly stewed carp.

There was also a pot of radish soup made with pork ribs, bubbling away and wafting its aroma all the way to the roof.

"Master, this toast is for you! If it weren't for you, I'd still be washing scallions by the sink right now!"

Ma Hua held his wine glass, his face flushed, his eyes filled with gratitude.

Sha Zhu laughed heartily, picked up his wine glass, and drank it all in one gulp.

"Why are you saying all this, we're brothers! Eat up, this is top-quality pork belly that I got through the black market!"

Laughter filled the room.

The Jia family, separated by only a wall, was as cold as an ice cellar.

The newspapers pasted in the cracks of the window rustled loudly in the wind.

Qin Huairu, wrapped in an old, patched-up coat, sat on the cold, hard edge of the kang (a heated brick bed).

In the broken iron pot in front of me, there was a half-pot of clear soup with hardly any rice in sight, and a few pieces of frozen, blackened cabbage stalks floating in it.

This is the feast the Jia family is having today.

On the kang (heated brick bed), Jia Zhangshi's crippled finger was still throbbing with pain.

Wrapped in a tattered quilt, she looked like a starving mother wolf, her eyes fixed on the direction of Sha Zhu's house.

"That damned idiot Zhu...aren't you afraid of choking on such good meat!"

Madam Jia swallowed a mouthful of sour saliva and muttered curses.

"They used to bring us all the good food, but now that he's a nobody, he's turned his back on us!"

Qin Huairu felt a pang of bitterness welling up inside as she listened to her mother-in-law's curses.

She looked at Xiao Dang and Huaihua, who were emaciated from hunger, and then thought of Bang Geng, who had just been released from the juvenile detention center and was still a bit dazed due to a brain injury.

Tears streamed down my face uncontrollably.

The rich aroma of braised pork in Shazhu's house was so enticing, it was like a hook.

He scratched her nearly empty stomach again and again.

"Mom, I...I'll go and beg Zhu Zi."

Qin Huairu wiped away her tears and stood up.

"It's the Lunar New Year, Dongxu just left, and Banggeng is in this state now. Zhuzi can't possibly forget all the old feelings he had for them, can he?"

She was still unwilling to give up, hoping that a few tears could bring back her former "long-term meal ticket".

Madam Jia didn't say anything, but rolled her eyes, which was taken as tacit agreement.

Qin Huairu picked up a rough porcelain bowl with a large crack.

She looked at her pale, haggard face in the cold water, took a deep breath, and pushed open the door to go out.

Amidst wind and snow.

Braving the bitter cold, Qin Huairu slowly made her way to Sha Zhu's doorstep.

She deliberately pulled her collar down to make herself look more fragile and helpless.

"Pillar……"

Qin Huairu stood at the door, her voice mournful and pitiful, as if she were weeping blood.

"I know I shouldn't be bothering you during the Lunar New Year..."

In the room.

Silly Zhu, who was playing a drinking game with Ma Hua, suddenly stopped what he was doing when he heard the sound.

The smile on his face vanished instantly, and his brows furrowed tightly.

Ma Hua also put down his wine glass and looked at his master with some concern.

Sha Zhu stood up, strode to the door, and opened it with a creak.

When Qin Huairu saw Sha Zhu come out, she quickly squeezed out even more tears.

She held up the broken bowl in her hand and looked at Sha Zhu pitifully.

"Pillar, I don't ask for anything else..."

"The family is so hungry that they can't even afford to eat. Xiao Dang and Huaihua are crying from hunger."

"Bang Geng suffered so much inside, his mind isn't working properly now."

Qin Huairu choked up, her voice trembling.

"You...you could at least give me two pieces of the bones you left over, and make some soup so the kids can taste the meat."

These words were so poignant that they brought tears to the eyes of all who heard them.

If it were the old Sha Zhu, let alone just bones.

Even if it's just a pot of untouched braised pork on the table, he'll serve it to her without hesitation.

But now.

Sha Zhu looked at Qin Huairu's tear-streaked face.

All that came to mind was her vicious face, calling me a "big fool" and a "childless person" behind my back.

And there were all those despicable things she did, like instigating Bang Geng to steal chickens and dogs.

"Qin Huairu".

Sha Zhu spoke coldly, his voice devoid of any warmth, even carrying undisguised disgust.

"Stop with your stupid tricks."

He turned around and strode back into the house.

Qin Huairu thought that Sha Zhu had softened and was going to get the meat, and a hint of wild joy flashed in her eyes.

however.

next second.

Sha Zhu carried the half-cooked bone broth to the door.

He looked down at Qin Huairu.

Under Qin Huairu's expectant gaze.

Sha Zhu suddenly swung his arm!

"Splash—!"

The broth was piping hot and fragrant with meat, with a few large bones mixed in.

It was poured directly onto the snow at Qin Huairu's feet!

A few drops of oil even splashed onto Qin Huairu's worn-out cotton shoes.

Qin Huairu screamed and took two steps back in fright.

She looked up in disbelief, staring blankly at Sha Zhu.

"Pillar...you..."

"Pah!"

Sha Zhu spat fiercely onto the pool of bone broth.

"Qin Huairu, you better listen up!"

Sha Zhu pointed at the bones on the ground, his voice as sharp as an ice blade in the dead of winter.

"I, He Yuzhu, will feed this bone to the big yellow dog at the alley entrance!"

"I'll just fall into the gutter!"

"I will absolutely not give this to you Jia family, you ungrateful wretches!"

He looked at Qin Huairu's pale face and a cruel sneer curled at the corner of his mouth.

"Dongxu died, that was his fate. Banggeng went to jail, that was what you taught him to do!"

"Don't try to play the victim with me by bringing up dead people and children!"

"I was blind before, and you made a fool of me."

"Now, I'm awake!"

Sha Zhu stepped forward, his eyes sharp as if he wanted to devour someone.

"Don't you dare dirty my doorstep again!"

"roll!"

"Bang!"

With a loud crash, the wooden door slammed shut, causing the snow on the door frame to fall in a flurry.

Qin Huairu slumped down on the cold snow, completely dumbfounded.

She looked at the few pieces of meat and bones on the ground that were still steaming.

My stomach was convulsing violently.

But she didn't even have the courage to reach out and pick it up.

Humiliation, despair.

It engulfed her like a tidal wave.

Her most prized method was used against the now fully awakened Sha Zhu.

It turned into a complete joke!

Qin Huairu turned her head away, looking utterly dejected.

My gaze passed over the central courtyard and landed on the tightly closed door of the east wing of the front courtyard.

Through the crack in the door, she could vaguely see the warm firelight shining through.

She knew that the five-and-a-half-year-old baby was sitting comfortably inside.

She enjoys a life of luxury and absolute protection that she could never achieve in her lifetime.

Jealousy and hatred made her bloodshot eyes almost bleed.

She wanted to grind her teeth to powder!

At this time.

Outside the backyard of Hongxing Courtyard.

In that alleyway piled with clutter.

A figure wearing a tattered green military uniform, emanating a nauseating stench of feces.

He was acting suspiciously, like a mouse.

They sneaked back quietly.