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

48

Brother Long is gone, his death was shrouded in mystery.

Xiao Dang and Huaihua clutched the hem of their clothes, their palms sweaty.

That lump of flesh in my belly must be removed.

If they don't take it, the child will be born without a father, and their lives will be ruined.

Even if you take action now, it will be much harder to find a partner later.

Who would want to marry someone who's been married twice?

The girl?

Not to mention these "second-hand houses"

Someone had just died there.

The curses outside the courtyard were like knives, and Qin Huairu slammed her fist on the table, her face turning blue from shouting.

They both hunched their necks and even held their breath.

There's no room for discussion when it comes to abortion.

But what if you finish playing?

What should we eat tomorrow? How do we pay the rent?

Before, when I followed Brother Long, I wore silk, went shopping, and rode in cars.

Now you're going back to washing dishes at a small restaurant?

Just thinking about it makes my nails dig into my palms.

Sha Zhu rubbed the back of his neck and said, "Huai Ru, you can't raise a child like this..."

He glanced at her stomach and lowered his voice, "I advised you to keep a closer eye on her a few days ago. Dating is fine, but you have to set some boundaries, right?"

"fart!"

Qin Huairu yanked off the pot lid, steam rising directly into his face. "When Brother Long was all alive and kicking, who would have thought he'd suddenly turn cold? He got married—isn't it even worse now?"

Sha Zhu stood there, mouth agape, stunned.

Xiao Dang rolled her eyes: "Stop pretending to be a saint! Mind your own mess, will you?"

Huaihua nodded, a rare occurrence for her: "That's right! The restaurant is about to go out of business. Instead of figuring out how to change the menu, why are you staring at us every day?"

Sha Zhu's Adam's apple bobbed: "Bad business? Whose fault is it? It's all because you two secretly swapped out the cheaper goods and got caught by the Food and Drug Administration three times!"

Sha Zhu slapped his thigh: "Why do you always take your anger out on me?"

Jia Zhangshi rolled her eyes: "Whose fault is it? Who told you to burn the pan because your hand was shaking!"

Qin Huairu waved her hand dismissively: "Alright, alright! Stop babbling!"

He pressed down on his shoulder with his hand, the movement was very practiced, like pressing down on a disobedient dog.

But in her eyes, he was still an outsider.

No matter how much work you do, how hot the soup you serve, or how dirty the floor you clean, you can't get through the door to her heart.

Sha Zhu rubbed the back of his neck, his throat dry: "Bang Geng has been hanging out with Xu Damao a lot lately..."

Before she could finish speaking, Qin Huairu yelled, "He's fixing motorcycles! How respectable!"

"Decent?"

Sha Zhu almost burst out laughing. "A car repair stall at the alley entrance, shrouded in smoke and fire, what kind of respectability is that?"

He rubbed his fingers together, his fingernails still stained with the black grime from cleaning the stove yesterday.

My chest feels tight, like it's stuffed with a damp rag.

He had personally witnessed Banggeng stealing parts from the factory three times.

Xiao Dang tore up his newly bought notebook, and Huaihua poured chili sauce into his lunchbox—all for fun.

Jia Zhangshi went even further, hiding the bankbook under the pickled vegetable jar while he was asleep.

The most heartbreaking thing is that Qin Huairu's belly is getting bigger every day.

He stared at the raised curve, his hand hovering in mid-air, not daring to touch it.

I'm afraid that if I touch it, I'll hear my bones cracking.

If the child is a boy, let's name him Zhuzi (Pillar).

The name has been decided long ago, and it will be written on the household registration on the day of birth.

He turned around and turned on the tap, splashing water on his hands.

The sound of flowing water drowned out the sigh.

Just bear with it a little longer, it'll only be a few more days.

As soon as the delivery room door opened, he grabbed his bag and left.

This time, there's no turning back.

Xu Damao's motorcycle factory was lit up all night, with the machines humming incessantly.

The Phoenix brand motorcycles were going crazy, and they were so anxious that they got blisters on their lips.

But that hurdle is something I just can't get over.

Banggeng squatted at the workshop entrance, taking a deep drag on his cigarette: "Who's familiar with Fengwu Factory?"

Several workers rubbed their sore shoulders and looked at each other.

My cousin works there doing spray painting.

My childhood friend is a quality inspector.

"Brother Jia, what happened?"

Banggeng slapped his thigh: "Assemble bearing number 213! Just copy their homework, isn't that enough?"

The entire room fell silent for three seconds.

The old fitter coughed twice: "Lock the blueprints into the safe and weld it to the wall."

"Take it!"

Bang Geng waved his hand, shouting, "Give me the money! More money! Double it!"

No one said a word.

He kicked the metal bucket: "Fine, I'll go myself!"

The gates of the Fengwu factory were tightly shut, and a security guard blocked their way, asking, "Who are you looking for?"

"Aunt Lou."

Banggeng laughed heartily, "She recognizes me."

The security guard squinted at the young man, his hand resting on the walkie-talkie.

Bang Geng waved his hand and strode inside.

The security guard quickly reached out to stop him: "Mr. Lou left work long ago!"

"Hey, how come you don't know anything?"

Banggeng's eyes darted around. "Aunt Lou told me to wait for her here!"

The two security guards exchanged a glance, their hearts pounding.

"Don't believe me? Aunt Lou and I grew up together!"

He patted his chest confidently, "Her father was a director of an old steel rolling mill, which was later renamed a television factory!"

"After her divorce, she went south to make her way in the world, and now she's back to help with development!"

"We have a business meeting today. Can you take responsibility if things get delayed?"

The security guard's face turned pale.

If it were someone you really knew, you could just pack your bags and leave with a single word.

Bang Geng shoved the person aside with his arm and walked through the gate with his head held high.

A security guard reluctantly followed him in, keeping a close watch on him without even leaving the office.

Banggeng cursed under his breath.

If you can't shake off its tail, how are you going to flip things over?

But the security guard stood there, not daring to raise his hand.

After racking his brains for a while, he finally came up with an idea: "Aunt Lou is probably stuck in traffic, I'll go take a stroll around the workshop!"

"I'll go with you!"

The security guards immediately followed.

This kid's eyes are darting around, looking here and there; he doesn't look like someone who's going to stay put.

The workshop gave him a sense of relief—there wasn't anything valuable there, just motorcycle parts and assembly lines.

Little did he know, what Banggeng was eyeing was the blueprints behind these parts.