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

23

When the deaf old woman saw his left arm in a cast around his neck, her eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. She quickly asked, "Silly Zhu, what happened?"

"Don't even mention it. I got a bicycle, and on the way back from Lou Xiao'e's house, someone intercepted it. I got into a fight with that bastard."

He Yuzhu spoke so casually.

"How did you get robbed? And you, when someone was beating you up, didn't you just run away? Was your life more important or your car?"

The deaf old lady scolded him, but her face was full of anxiety.

He Yuzhu placed the dishes on the table one by one. "Of course the car is more important, it cost over a hundred yuan. I'm fine, just my right hand isn't very convenient, so I had someone else make the food for me, and we'll eat together."

The deaf old lady felt a pang of sadness seeing him so badly injured yet still thinking about his car.

"You idiot, you really are an idiot! Cars and people are secondary!"

She was cursing, but in her mind she was wondering: Was it Fang Chengxuan who did it, or Xu Damao?

Looking up and not seeing Lou Xiao'e, he asked again, "Where's Lou Xiao'e? I haven't seen her anywhere."

The deaf old lady picked up a piece of food, glanced at He Yuzhu, and suddenly asked a question.

He Yuzhu was seething with anger, wishing he could rush out and beat someone up right now. He gritted his teeth and said, "It's all because of Xu Damao! He called Xiao'e a piece of trash that was given away for free. How could I fucking tolerate that? I punched him twice."

"As a result, this kid made a scene at the law enforcement office, demanding that Xiao'e return the betrothal gifts. They told us to handle it ourselves."

"I didn't want him to cause trouble, so I had to pay him back. But I didn't have any money in my pocket. Xiao'e could only go home to her parents. Her parents were furious when they heard that. They looked at me like I was trash and took her away."

"They even declared—'Three turns, one ring, plus one hundred yuan—only if we have all that can we get married. Otherwise, Xiao'e can forget about coming back.'"

He Yuzhu felt a tightness in his chest whenever he talked about the way the old couple from the Lou family looked at him.

That kind of contempt, that kind of disdain, was as if he were some kind of trash dug out of a garbage dump. If Xiao'e hadn't been standing by his side and protecting him, he probably would have been cursed to the point of being reduced to ashes long ago.

Is he really that bad?

He Yuzhu kept thinking about this, but he couldn't figure it out no matter what.

After listening, the deaf old woman sighed and said nothing more. She turned around, climbed into the bed, and pulled out a small, palm-sized black wooden box.

"This box contains what I've saved up over the years. It's more than enough to make three sets of toys and a cigarette, with some left over."

"Don't bother buying anything yet. Just take this money and send it to the Lou family to bring Xiao'e back so they can live a good life."

The deaf old lady pushed the box in front of He Yuzhu.

"Go quickly. How can a wife stay at her parents' house all the time? Besides, your hand is still injured, someone needs to take care of you. Go on."

He Yuzhu looked down at the box, and knowing to some extent that he shouldn't take the money, he quickly waved his hand, "Grandma, I can't take this money! You keep it for yourself!"

"I'm just an old woman, I can't take anything with me when I die. You're the only grandson I've watched grow up, he'll be yours sooner or later, won't he? Take this and go bring Lou Xiao'e back to me right now."

The deaf old lady was genuinely afraid that Xu Damao would ruin the marriage she had worked so hard to arrange.

He Yuzhu was also thinking about Lou Xiao'e, and his heart was itching with longing. Looking at the black wooden box, he reached out his hand but didn't push it back.

"Grandma, consider this money a loan. I'll definitely pay you back once my hand heals and I'm earning money!"

As He Yuzhu spoke, he could no longer hide his joy. The thought of bringing Xiao'e back filled him with energy.

"I'll go right now!"

He stood up, holding the black wooden box, looking extremely anxious.

The deaf old woman waved her hand: "Go on, go on. Silly Zhu, stop causing trouble and live a good life with your wife."

He Yuzhu smiled at the deaf old lady, completely unaware of any other meaning in her words, and simply replied casually, "Don't worry, old lady, once I bring Xiao'e back, I will definitely treat her well."

The deaf old woman watched his back disappear through the door and let out a long sigh.

She suddenly felt a little unsure—was it right or wrong to try to match Lou Xiao'e and Sha Zhu?

Fang Chengxuan had said that a long time ago.

Xu Damao has plenty of ways to deal with He Yuzhu if he wants to.

As darkness fell, the streetlights were still off.

He Yuzhu stood at the door of Lou Xiao'e's house and knocked a few times.

"Xiao'e, are you home?"

In the room.

The Lou family of three had already packed their luggage and planned to leave the country overnight.

Mr. Lou looked up, his brows furrowed: "Did you tell him?"

Lou Xiao'e shook her head: "No."

She pursed her lips, her eyes slightly reddening: "Dad, Mom, I'll go out and talk to him."

"Explain clearly?"

Lou's father lowered his voice and his face darkened.

"If you tell him we're leaving, do you think he won't make a scene?"

"If this gets out of hand, our whole family won't be able to leave."

He looked at his daughter, his tone hardening slightly.

"Did you discuss your marriage to He Yuzhu with us?"

"Don't you even use your brain? What's your relationship with Xu Damao that would allow you to stay with He Yuzhu so peacefully?"

"Yes, you two have registered your marriage."

"Did he give a single penny as a betrothal gift?"

"no."

"On the contrary, because of you, I even had to pay Xu Damao's dowry."

"All things considered, you don't owe him anything."

After speaking, Lou's father took a breath.

"Girl, don't do anything foolish at this crucial moment."

"If you stay, not only will you have a hard time, but He Yuzhu won't fare any better."

He paused, then lowered his voice and said, "If you leave, he'll be safer."

Lou Xiao'e bit her lower lip, tears welling up in her eyes.

When she agreed to marry He Yuzhu, she did have some ulterior motives.

But she did think about living a good life with him.

But given the current situation...

She took a deep breath and said to herself: If I leave, Xu Damao won't keep staring at Sha Zhu.

Lou's mother glanced at Lou's father, and the two of them sighed.

Lou's father spoke up: "We don't want to see He Yuzhu."

"You have thirty minutes."

"It's time for us to set off."

"Think about it yourself, how did you and he get us into this situation?"

"Once the news leaks out, nobody will be leaving."

After saying this, Lou's father pushed his wife into the inner room.

Lou Xiao'e closed her eyes, wiped her eyes, and opened the door.

She stood at the door, not letting He Yuzhu into the house.

"Silly Zhu, what are you doing here?"

He Yuzhu didn't realize anything was wrong.

He raised the black wooden box in his hand, his face beaming with a bright smile.

"Xiao'e, the deaf old lady heard about our situation and lent me some money to use as a betrothal gift."

"I'll take the gift money to my parents-in-law right away."

"Pack your things and come home with me?"

His eyes shone as he said this.

Lou Xiao'e looked at him, and tears welled up in her eyes.

Lou's father, hiding inside the house, looked completely dejected.

Lou's mother slammed the door and came out, her face as black as the bottom of a pot.

"Borrow money? He Yuzhu, how dare you even ask that?"

Her voice rose, "You want my daughter to go back with you and fill this hole for you?"

"The betrothal gifts were brought in, then Xiao'e took them back, and finally they're returned to you—do you think this is magic?"

As Lou's mother spoke, she grew increasingly angry, her chest heaving violently.

"Xiao'e, it's not that I look down on him. Look at yourself, what's so good about him?"

"After working in the steel mill's kitchen for so many years, earning only forty yuan a month, you can't even save enough for a dowry. What are you after if you're with a man who has no savings?"

"Did you buy it because he's dirt poor?"

Lou's mother took a breath, her voice becoming even harsher.

"And you, you dared to get the marriage certificate without asking for a dowry—have you lost your mind?"

"He's a grown man, didn't he ever think to visit me and your father first? Didn't he know to prepare betrothal gifts before coming to our door?"

"And what's with this talk of a sincere heart?"

"I think he's just a clueless greenhorn who doesn't know anything!"

"Get out—get out now!"

Lou's mother snatched the box from Lou Xiao'e's arms, shoved it into He Yuzhu's hands, and gritted her teeth: "You've completely disgraced the Lou family."

He Yuzhu was completely stunned by her barrage of insults.

His ears were ringing; his mother was speaking too fast for him to discern what exactly she was criticizing him for.

He just stood there, dumbfounded.

"Xiao'e..."

He turned to Lou Xiao'e for help.

Lou Xiao'e bit her lip and said in a low voice, "Shazhu, you go back first. Give the money back to the deaf old lady. She lives alone, and it's not easy for her to have any money."

Be careful on the road.

As soon as she finished speaking, Lou's mother pulled her into the house.

The door slammed shut with a bang.

The door slammed shut, but the anger in Lou's mother's chest hadn't subsided. She, who had always seemed so elegant, was now completely unable to control her temper.

"Xiao'e, Mom doesn't mean to make things difficult for you."

"But He Yuzhu is really unreliable."

"If he had any sense at all, how could he have worked in the steel rolling mill for so many years without saving a single penny?"

"Don't tell me he's kind and helps others—who helps others and ends up empty-handed themselves?"

"Look again at what happened after you decided to marry him? Isn't this enough to determine whether a man is reliable or not?"

"Yes, you dragged He Yuzhu to get the marriage certificate. But doesn't he have any opinions of his own?"

"If he had come earlier, even if he had borrowed some money to scrape together a betrothal gift, I would have thought he was a decent person. But look at what he's done! Has he ever made a decision on his own?"

Lou's mother spoke earnestly.

"I originally thought that deaf old lady in your courtyard was a sensible person, but now it seems she's not so great after all."

"Why would she suddenly try to match you two up? Doesn't she know that He Yuzhu and Xu Damao are mortal enemies? Once you two are married, do you think Xu Damao will let it go?"

326

"Alright, the three of us will leave tonight and cut all ties with that place. I don't think there's a single good person in that place."

Lou's mother kept muttering to herself.

Lou Xiao'e's eyes reddened, and as she listened, her heart gradually cleared.

Before, all she could think about was how to get back at Xu Damao. When the deaf old lady was trying to match her with He Yuzhu, she had considered it—she had been married once before, what kind of man could she possibly find? Besides, according to the old lady and the people in the courtyard over the years, He Yuzhu was indeed quite good.

But now, after hearing her own mother's explanation...

She suddenly realized that there was a reason why He Yuzhu was called "Silly Zhu." This man was truly clueless.

That's why he's a regular employee at the steel mill, a great cook, yet he can't save any money and can't even find a wife.

All those years of money flowing in like water, in the end, my pockets were emptier than my face. Where did all the money go? Who did I give it to?