Courtyard House: In this life, I have a new home!

8

"I come from the countryside. My husband died young, and I have to support a mother-in-law and three children. If I didn't use my brain, my whole family would have starved to death long ago."

"I don't mean anything by it, I just beg you to have mercy and let Fang Chengxuan spare my life."

As Qin Huairu spoke, she bent her knees and was about to kneel down.

Rong Xinrui looked at her and smiled slightly. She bent down to examine her closely and said, "You cry so well. You look so pitiful and endearing."

"You've practiced before, haven't you?"

Qin Huairu still had tears in her eyes, and she stood there stunned.

"I know what kind of person Fang Chengxuan is. Do you really think I believe the words of a widow who has slept with other men?"

"Is it targeting you?"

"If you don't cause trouble in front of him, with his temper, he won't even bother to look at you."

Rong Xinrui reached out and lifted Qin Huairu's chin.

"You're about to marry the head of the household—what do you think his reaction will be if he knew you just had your IUD removed today?"

The voice was so soft, it sent chills down your spine.

Qin Huairu's pupils suddenly contracted: "You...how did you know?"

"Guess."

Rong Xinrui's eyes turned cold: "Your tricks are really not worth your time. Only a few fools who are greedy for you will be led by the nose by you."

"You've been to a labor camp, haven't you? Are the men there like Sha Zhu and the boss, whom you can just play with as you please?"

Qin Huairu's face was deathly pale.

"Go back now. Don't mess with Fang Chengxuan again. Otherwise, dealing with you will be too easy."

Rong Xinrui straightened up and looked down at Qin Huairu.

Seeing her pale face and dazed expression, he curled the corners of his lips into a smile: "You don't really think I'm some kind of good-tempered, soft-hearted woman who can be easily fooled, do you?"

"Please, people from families like ours have been raised according to the standards of a matriarch from a young age."

"Just because we can do without resorting to tricks doesn't mean we can't."

"I'll let you off this time because he doesn't want me involved in the affairs of your dilapidated courtyard and wants me to have some peace and quiet. If there's a next time, you'll get to taste my skills."

Rong Xinrui pulled Qin Huairu up from the ground and smiled.

Qin Huairu was completely stunned, watching Rong Xinrui turn and walk away, her mind blank, having no idea what had just happened.

"Why isn't she angry?"

"She... even said she was going to teach me a lesson?"

Qin Huairu turned and walked back, feeling utterly dejected. She realized something was completely wrong. Rong Xinrui should have been angry.

Even if he wasn't angry, he should at least show some other emotion so that she could grasp something.

But now...

Qin Huairu returned to the courtyard, her mind in complete turmoil, utterly at a loss.

When Jia Zhangshi saw her enter, she was so angry that she grabbed a broom and started hitting her head with it: "You shameless thing! You disappeared without a trace when I wasn't looking!"

Madam Jia grabbed Qin Huairu by the hair, spitting on her face: "Where have you been gallivanting off to again? Which wild man have you been flirting with?"

"You shameless bastard, you slut!"

Qin Huairu tried to dodge, tears streaming down her face: "Mom, I really didn't, don't talk nonsense."

"You know what happened that day. My husband and I were set up. What could I do? I had no choice but to marry him."

As she spoke, Qin Huairu squatted down on the ground, covered her face, and burst into tears.

Seeing Rong Xinrui today made her feel choked up.

The feeling was like heaven and earth.

She felt like she was standing there naked, making herself a laughingstock.

She couldn't quite put her finger on what it was about Rong Xinrui that made her feel uncomfortable, but for the first time, she felt that the things she had done were both dirty and despicable.

She clearly had no other choice!

She's a woman, supporting a mother-in-law and three children. If she didn't do this, what would her family eat and drink?

Qin Huairu cried her heart out.

People in the courtyard gathered around in twos and threes, all trying to mediate the fight.

"Jia Zhangshi, that's enough. Do you really want her?"

"Qin Huairu hasn't had it easy either. Her husband is gone, and she's supporting you and three children on her own. Without another man to help her, how can she manage?"

People always feel sorry for the one who is suffering.

Qin Huairu didn't dodge this time, letting Jia Zhangshi whip her with a broom, crying so miserably that the neighbors couldn't help but murmur among themselves.

"Jia Zhangshi, stop right there!"

An old man named Yi Zhonghai rushed over from the backyard and snatched the broom from his hand.

"Qin Huairu is your daughter-in-law, that's true. What business is it of yours if she wants to remarry?"

"She's kind-hearted and only puts up with you because of you and the child. Don't be ungrateful. Don't forget, you're just her mother-in-law, not her biological mother!"

Yi Zhonghai tenderly pulled Qin Huairu into his arms, worried that something might happen to the baby in her womb, and asked, "Are you alright?"

Qin Huairu looked up at him, then shook her head: "It's nothing."

Jia Zhangshi was left standing there, and she was furious.

"Qin Huairu, you dare to remarry and see what happens! I'll go to the neighborhood committee tomorrow and make a scene at the factory, let's see if you two can get married then!"

"From the day you married into the Jia family, you became a member of the Jia family! If I don't give in, you're not going anywhere!"

As she spoke, Jia Zhangshi sat down on the ground and began to wail at the top of her lungs.

"Old Jia! Open your eyes! Yi Zhonghai used to call you brother, and now look what's happened—he's shamelessly sleeping with your daughter-in-law!"

"Dongxu! Come back and visit us!"

"Your wife doesn't want you anymore, and she doesn't even want your son! She just left, leaving us, the old and the young, how are we going to survive!"

She sat on the ground, slapping her thighs and howling loudly.

"Qin Huairu, you want to remarry? Only if I'm dead!"

Jia Zhangshi's eyes widened, and she gritted her teeth.

Madam Jia Zhang declared, glancing around at her surroundings: "Anyone who dares to advise me to let her remarry, I'll take my three young children to their house to eat, live, and die. I'm going all out! Heaven, open your eyes and strike these hypocrites down!"

After she made a scene, no one around dared to open their mouths anymore.

Suddenly, Banggeng rushed out of the house.

He glared at Qin Huairu, then at the old man Yi Zhonghai, his eyes bloodshot: "Mom, if you dare marry someone else, I'll hate you for the rest of my life, and I'll never acknowledge you again!"

The smell exploded immediately.

Qin Huairu looked at her son, her chest aching as if it were being squeezed: "Bang Geng, Mom doesn't want to, but Mom has no other way to go."

"What do you mean there's no way to go? You just think I'm a burden! Mom, you choose—him or me?"

Bang Geng raised his hand and pointed directly at Yi Zhonghai.

Qin Huairu's face turned pale.

She couldn't explain it to Banggeng—if she didn't register her marriage with the old man, they would both end up in a labor camp. She herself might be okay with it, but with Yi Zhonghai's personality, would he be willing to accept that?

"Bang Geng, how could Mom abandon you? You're not a burden, Mom really has no other choice."

She squatted down, looking at Banggeng at eye level, and spoke in a soft and gentle tone.

"Trust your mother. Even if I get married, you'll always be number one in my heart."

The stick is too small; it can't hear anything.

When the matter escalated to the law enforcement office, she complied with Yi Zhonghai's wishes. Sha Zhu didn't say anything, but who knows what he was thinking? If Sha Zhu can't be relied on, then the connection with Uncle Yi can't be severed.

"Hmph, you just don't want me anymore! I hate you, you're not my mother, I don't have a mother like you!"

Bang Geng shoved Qin Huairu away, turned around, and ran away crying, disappearing from sight.

Qin Huairu was pushed so hard that she landed on her bottom.

Yi Zhonghai quickly came over: "Qin Huairu, did you fall? Are you feeling unwell anywhere?"

Qin Huairu shook her head: "It's nothing, a stick isn't that strong. It's just..."

She didn't finish her sentence, her mouth full of bitterness.

"This child probably hates me to death. How can I explain this to him?"

She lowered her head, tears streaming down her face.

Madam Jia stood there for a long time, watching the two of them being so lovey-dovey, and she was so angry she felt like her lungs were about to explode.

She rushed over, grabbed Qin Huairu, and pulled her back: "Go home! Don't embarrass yourself in public! I said you're not allowed to remarry, and that means you're not allowed!"

She knew perfectly well—if Qin Huairu got married, who would care about her? Banggeng, Xiaodang, and Huaihua would all be left for her to raise. What could Yang Yuande possibly do with the five yuan he gave her each month?

"Mother-in-law..."

Qin Huairu turned her head and glanced at Yi Zhonghai, who was sitting there.

Yi Zhonghai's face was so dark it looked like ink could drip from it, and his brows were furrowed in a deep frown.

Back at the Jia family home, Jia Zhangshi took out a hemp rope, tied one end to Qin Huairu's wrist and the other end to her own arm, and snorted, "Listen to me carefully, once you're in my family, don't even think about marrying out."

Qin Huairu pursed her lips slightly.

"Mom, you see, in this whole alley, the only people willing to lend us a hand are Uncle and Shazhu. Shazhu is in a labor camp now, and it's uncertain whether he'll be able to help us when he gets out."

"If we offend this old man again, will our family starve?"

Qin Huairu tried her best to soften her words.

"When I worked at the steel rolling mill, 27.5 yuan a month wasn't enough to live on. Now Yang Yuande only gives us 5 yuan a month. What can we do with 5 mouths to feed?"

"Even if I remarry this old man, we'll still live in the same courtyard, won't we? If the children are hungry and come to the door asking for food, am I supposed to lock the door and not let them in?"

Jia Zhangshi clenched the rope in her hand, and began to have doubts.

Qin Huairu can't go back to that job at the steel rolling mill. But if someone else did it, they wouldn't get that 25.7 yuan wage.

"Don't give me that nonsense. What kind of mother-in-law goes to her remarried daughter-in-law's house to freeload? Don't try to fool me. Remarrying? Dream on!"

Jia Zhangshi began to stare intently at Qin Huairu.

Qin Huairu felt extremely uncomfortable under her gaze.

Yi Zhonghai came several times with gifts, but Jia Zhangshi refused to agree to the remarriage.

The matter just dragged on like that.

From that day on, Banggeng acted as if he didn't see Qin Huairu at all, his gaze passing right through her. Xiaodang and Huaihua did glance at her a few times, their eyes timid, but they both avoided her.

Qin Huairu couldn't help but shed tears.

How did she get to this point?

In the evening, Qin Huairu was squatting by the sink, scrubbing a basin filled with Jia Zhangshi's and her child's dirty clothes. She looked up and saw Fang Chengxuan pushing his bicycle over, a net bag of fruit hanging from the handlebars.

She was grinding her teeth.

"Fang Chengxuan!"

The hatred in her heart was like a knife piercing her eyes, and she wrung the clothes in her hands until they were deformed. Suddenly, her eyes flickered.

"If you won't let me have an easy time, then you won't have an easy time either!"