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

"Stop arguing! Can't you two siblings talk things out? Rain, your brother has a short temper, why are you arguing with him?"

He Yushui glanced at her sideways: "Who are you? What business is it of yours what I have with Sha Zhu?"

Her tone was full of disdain, "Isn't it all your fault that Sha Zhu turned out this way? You're just a slut, what are you pretending to be a good person for?"

Qin Huairu was stunned. She never expected He Yushui to say that to her.

"You...you, He Yushui, how could you say that to me? It's so hard for me to raise three children alone, and we're short of food..."

Qin Huairu burst into tears.

"He Yushui, you've gone too far!"

When Sha Zhu saw Qin Huairu crying, his mind went blank. He jumped forward and raised his hand to slap He Yushui.

"Silly Zhu, you want to fight?"

Li Weidong stepped forward.

Sha Zhu trembled when he saw Li Weidong.

"Qin Huairu, you say you're having difficulties? Ha, are you really having difficulties?"

Li Weidong sneered, "Your family receives several hundred yuan in compensation. You get twenty-seven yuan and fifty cents a month, five yuan per person for a family of five. How can you not survive?"

"The Jia family used to have savings. And this fool gave you money. Did you get the lion's share of his salary?"

"You're lacking food? What you're lacking is refined rice, flour, and plenty of meat, isn't it?"

Qin Huairu stood there stunned, the disguise on her face suddenly torn off.

"Who says her family is struggling? They earn a little over five yuan a month, which is enough to live on."

"Shazhu has to put in twenty yuan every month!"

"Plus the lunchbox I brought back for dinner, I even saved money on dinner."

"That old man keeps asking us to donate money, it's fucking ridiculous..."

Yi Zhonghai huddled in the crowd, listening intently, originally waiting to find a weakness in Li Weidong before making his move. Little did he know that the fire would spread to him instead.

"Alright, alright, everyone go home and go back to cooking."

Yi Zhonghai stepped forward and waved his hand, "Zhu Zi, really, why are you arguing with your own sister? Can't you sit down and talk it out?"

He then turned to He Yushui: "Yushui, you were wrong too. How could you talk about Qin Huairu like that? Apologize, and this matter will be over."

He Yushui sneered, "Apologize? On what grounds? What did I say wrong?"

"Even before Jia Dongxu died, Sha Zhu started bringing meals to their house. How many years has that been? It started when I was a child and can remember things from then on."

Why did he specifically give it to your family?

Qin Huairu stared blankly at He Yushui, only then realizing that this usually quiet girl was not as simple as she seemed.

"Zhu Zi is kind-hearted; he saw that our family was having a hard time..."

Qin Huairu quickly offered an explanation.

"Pah! Everyone in the hospital knows what's going on; it's just that no one wants to expose it."

He Yushui said, "Now it's all good, He Yuzhu is openly working like a slave for your family!"

"He Yushui, you...you just wait! I won't give you the money, let's see what you do then!"

He Yuzhu roared.

"You can apply for rainwater allowance at the factory, and they'll deduct a portion directly from Sha Zhu's wages. It'll be ten yuan a month, and the factory will definitely approve it."

Li Weidong said calmly, "We'll keep deducting it until she turns eighteen."

Sha Zhu and Qin Huairu were completely dumbfounded. Li Weidong's words had ruined their entire plan.

"Li Weidong, aren't you supposed to be magnanimous? Then why don't you raise He Yushui!"

Sha Zhu panicked.

"A monthly salary of four hundred is definitely enough to support rainwater harvesting."

Li Weidong maintained his nonchalant tone, "But we still have to go to the factory to get that money from Yushui."

"She's saving the money herself, to use as her secret stash when she gets married."

Yi Zhonghai gritted his teeth, grabbed Sha Zhu, and started walking back. Qin Huairu quickly followed.

"Silly Zhu, if you dare to break down my door, I'll call the police."

He Yushui shouted, "I won't listen to mediation in this courtyard."

Sha Zhu stumbled; he had indeed considered smashing the door, but now he dared not move.

The three of them arrived at Yi Zhonghai's house. Inside the main room of Yi Zhonghai's house, the ceiling fan was whirring, and Banggeng, Xiaodang, and Huaihua were all inside.

"Never mind, let's go to the old lady's."

Yi Zhonghai glanced at the three children.

The floor fan in the deaf old woman's room was also made by Yi Zhonghai himself. He had secretly saved up several more and sold them on the black market. He would make them piece by piece, then quietly bring them back to assemble them. A fan could sell for seventy or eighty yuan on the black market, which was almost a month's salary for him.

"That brat has turned the yard into a complete mess!"

Yi Zhonghai gritted his teeth and cursed, "Look at the Yan family and the Liu family, they've been thrown into chaos by his instigation."

"But we can't do anything about him."

Sha Zhu said angrily, "When he goes to the cafeteria to get food, I'll make sure he doesn't get what he deserves."

Yi Zhonghai cursed under his breath.

"Zhu Zi, go back and cook. Where's the meat I asked you to buy?"

The deaf old woman had a half-smile on her lips.

"Grandma, I forgot. I'll definitely bring meat to show my respect to you tomorrow."

Sha Zhu looked extremely embarrassed.

Qin Huairu couldn't stand it any longer and said, "Then I'll go home and cook first; the three children are still hungry."

After saying that, she hurriedly slipped away. The silver dollar that Sha Zhu had given her was now in her hand. Qin Huairu knew perfectly well that the money was intended for the deaf old lady to buy meat.

As for how Sha Zhu will explain himself later, that's not her concern.

Sha Zhu sheepishly returned to his own home.

His stomach started growling as soon as he entered the door, and he realized he hadn't cooked yet. He opened the flour bin and saw that the ten pounds of cornmeal he had bought yesterday was completely gone, not even a crumb remained.

"That little brat didn't leave me a single bit."

Sha Zhu muttered to himself.

Of course he knew who took the cornmeal. Who else could it be but that kid Banggeng! Just thinking that half of that cornmeal ended up in Qin Huairu's stomach made Shazhu feel it was all worth it.

He rummaged through the kitchen and found only two potatoes and three eggplants he'd brought home from get off work. Sha Zhu stewed them all together in one pot, then poured in half a jin of loose liquor. That would be their dinner for tonight.

As for the lunchboxes brought back from the factory, Qin Huairu had already taken them.

Not only that, she also extorted five yuan from Sha Zhu. Sha Zhu had boasted that he was bringing really good food tonight, but it turned out to be just some bland, overcooked dishes. Qin Huairu managed to squeeze five yuan out of him as compensation.

No sooner had Sha Zhu left than the deaf old lady said to Yi Zhonghai, "Zhonghai, carry me out for a bit."

"I'll go find someone to deal with Li Weidong."

Yi Zhonghai was stunned for a moment. He wanted nothing more than to chop Li Weidong into seventeen or eighteen pieces, but the thought of getting involved in such a matter terrified him.

"Grandma, isn't this a bit inappropriate?"

Yi Zhonghai pondered for a moment, "That kid's causing too much trouble. If something really happens, the police will definitely turn the place upside down. How about I think of a way to make it look like he died accidentally? I have connections in the factory."

The deaf old woman shook her head: "He's not like Jia Dongxu; he's not so easy to kill. Your skills are even better than his; this has no chance."

Yi Zhonghai quickly lowered his voice: "Grandma, there are some things you can't say carelessly. What if someone hears you?"

"Back when I ventured to Northeast China, you were still wearing open-crotch pants."

The deaf old woman looked at him with disdain, "Carry me out, I'm looking for someone."

"No, it really won't work."

Yi Zhonghai gritted his teeth and lowered his voice, "Don't do anything reckless, or something bad might happen, and Zhuzi will be in trouble too."

He could only use Sha Zhu as a shield. The old lady doted on Sha Zhu the most, and anything she said would work.

Sure enough, the deaf old woman's eyes changed: "That's right, we can't implicate Zhu Zi. We need to think of a safe way."

She paused for a moment, then added, "By the way, Zhonghai, hurry up and find a wife for Zhuzi."

"He and that young widow are all lovey-dovey, it's outrageous. I know why you're after Jia Dongxu, isn't it because you want her to give you a son..."

"It's not the right time, it's really not the right time."

Yi Zhonghai quickly interrupted, "Jia Dongxu is no good. It's a pity Huairu is with him."

"I want Zhuzi and Huairu to be together. That way, we'll have someone to take care of us when we're old. What will we do if Zhuzi brings home someone who doesn't listen to us?"

"You don't need to worry about no one taking care of you in your old age. But what about me?"

The deaf old lady frowned, her face wrinkled like a walnut shell.

"No, Zhu Zi can't marry that young widow."

Yi Zhonghai sighed: "Grandma, do you think I want to get my hands dirty? There's nothing I can do, Zhuzi has taken a liking to Huairu. Don't worry, her family has a heavy burden, I'll help if I can."

Just then, a delicious aroma of meat wafted over. The deaf old lady immediately lost her appetite for the conversation.

"This little brat, he doesn't even offer me a bite of the good food."

She swallowed hard. "Zhonghai, go get me some meat."

"Grandma, what time is it? Where are we going to get meat? We can't get to the delicatessen without a receipt."

Yi Zhonghai shook his head.

He was even more reluctant to spend money. He needed to save the money for his retirement. He could accept feeding the deaf old lady coarse grains, but he wouldn't spend a lot of money on her.

"I have meat coupons and two yuan left. Buy me a pig's head, the fatty kind!"

The deaf old woman said through gritted teeth.

At this moment, Liu Weidong's family was preparing to eat. Rabbit meat and pheasant meat were stewing in an iron pot, and a few potatoes were also peeled and thrown in.

The large pot on the stove was steaming hot, and a ring of golden cornbread was stuck around the rim of the pot.

"Brother Dong, this cornmeal is so fine, it's almost like wheat flour."

Lin Yurou said in surprise as she kneaded the dough.

"Hmm, it doesn't upset my throat."

Li Weidong said with a smile, "The corn husks have all been removed."

"I don't want yellow cakes, I want white flour cakes."

Xiao Xi pouted, looking unhappy.

Xiao Xi tilted her head back, beaming, and replied, "You wish! You've only been eating good food for a few days. Didn't you enjoy eating wild vegetable pancakes just as much?"

Lin Yurou chided from the side.

Xiao Xi raised her little face defiantly: "That's different! I have a brother now!"

Li Weidong smiled and coaxed her, "Okay, I'll add more wheat flour for Xiaoxi later. Actually, cornmeal tastes pretty good mixed in too."

As he walked to the door, he bumped into Liu Guangtian and Yan Jiefang whispering together.

"Are you two moving in tonight?"

Li Weidong asked casually.

Yan Jiefang quickly chimed in, "That's right, Brother Dong! We were just thinking of going to buy a straw mat, a towel, a washbasin, and stuff like that."

The two planned to buy earthenware pots; they were cheap, only a dime each. Although they were fragile, they wouldn't break if handled carefully. Many of their neighbors used one of these.