Siheyuan (traditional courtyard house): Don't touch my parents!

Chen Shuxiang knew all too well how difficult those days were—cotton was more precious than gold.

The cotton clothes and quilts at home are taken apart, washed, and then sewn back together, becoming thinner and thinner with each washing and sewing process.

Even so, it was still much better than many other families, at least they still had cotton at home.

This was only because she had prepared enough when she got married; otherwise, it would have been insufficient long ago.

"It's safer to go to a place that sells baby formula; they'll definitely have ready-made baby clothes there," He Yuzhu insisted.

"Do you have any money on you? I'll give you some. Don't bother buying new clothes from the tailor shop, just buy some cotton and fabric. If you have extra money, I'll make you a new outfit too. Look at your clothes, they're patched up so many times."

"Just give me five silver dollars." He Yuzhu had no idea about current prices and casually gave a number.

"Five dollars? I'll give you ten! If you can't buy anything, come back quickly—I know you're good at fighting, but the world outside is not safe these days, there are people carrying guns everywhere, so don't wander around recklessly."

"I understand, Mother," He Yuzhu replied, but he knew perfectly well in his heart: "I have plenty of guns. Even if everyone in the family is equipped with two guns, it will still be more than enough."

His trip was a spur-of-the-moment decision.

He had just entered the house and saw his mother gently rocking his little sister when he suddenly remembered that he should retrieve the cradle he had received from signing in.

While we were at it, we also brought home items such as tiger-head hats, thick cotton coats, and soft cotton quilts. However, cotton was not easy to obtain and it was bulky and took up a lot of space.

With a few silver dollars in his pocket, He Yuzhu pushed open the door and went out.

He happened to see Jia Dongxu squatting at his doorstep brushing his teeth. As soon as he saw him, Jia Dongxu snorted coldly in dissatisfaction and then spat the mouthwash hard on the ground.

He Yuzhu glanced at him indifferently and walked towards the hanging flower gate on his own.

Immediately behind him came Jia Dongxu's low mutter: "Is that idiot Zhu going out? When he comes back, I'll see if he's brought any more goodies."

Upon hearing this, He Yuzhu couldn't help but chuckle – this Jia Dongxu truly never learns from his mistakes, never showing any remorse.

After leaving the hospital, he strolled leisurely around Nanluoguxiang.

But he didn't go to Black Sesame Alley, where ten people had just died and who knows what kind of chaos it was in.

He planned to glance towards Jiaodaokou, lest something go wrong there right after he had just sent the person back, and all his efforts to save the person would have been in vain.

On the way, he encountered two groups of patrolling policemen—whom the locals secretly called "Black Dogs."

He kept his head down and walked silently, and the police only glanced at him casually.

Seeing that his clothes were patched upon patched, he was obviously a poor boy who couldn't make much money, so I didn't bother to look at him or ask any more questions.

When He Yuzhu reached the main intersection, he looked up and realized that the shop was a general store, which was still open.

There were no police officers patrolling or standing guard at the entrance, and he couldn't tell whether there were plainclothes officers or sentries lurking nearby.

After confirming that there was nothing amiss, he immediately turned and left.

These days, it's not easy to be a lazy street urchin; he wasn't holding a broken bowl and pretending to be a beggar.

Besides, although his clothes were patched, they were clean and tidy, and it was obvious at a glance that he was not a beggar on the street.

Upon arriving at courtyard number 95, he immediately took out a cradle, cotton-padded clothes, cotton quilts, tiger-head hats, rattles, bibs, and other items as soon as he entered the gate.

After much difficulty, he managed to stuff the large items such as quilts and cotton-padded clothes into the cradle, then he carried the cradle and walked into the yard.

It wasn't that he didn't want to carry it, but his small, still-developing body, with its thin arms and legs, made it difficult to lift and move.

As soon as I entered the central courtyard through the hanging flower gate, I saw Jia Dongxu crouching suspiciously outside his kitchen window, secretly tinkering with something.

Immediately afterwards, Jia Dongxu reached his hand through the window, as if to take something, and quickly stuffed it into his clothes.

He Yuzhu immediately shouted, "Jia Dongxu, what are you doing at my kitchen window!"

Startled, Jia Dongxu instinctively stuffed the object he was about to hide into his pants instead.

The next second, Jia Dongxu turned around and ran back home, but his foot slipped and he fell heavily to the ground with a "thud".

At this moment, He Yuzhu heard Yi Li's voice coming from inside the house: "Jia Zhangshi, what are you doing in someone else's kitchen? Didn't you come to see the Qing Dynasty's daughter-in-law?"

"It's alright, it's alright, I won't watch anymore, I'll go back first." Jia Zhangshi hurriedly replied, then rushed out of the He family's kitchen, pushed open the He family's door, and ran back home.

As it turned out, she was even more unlucky than Jia Dongxu. She didn't even notice her son lying on the ground, tripped over him hard, and fell forward uncontrollably, landing hard on her stomach.

She lay on the ground groaning for a long time, but couldn't get up.

He Yuzhu was stunned by the absurd scene before him, and wondered to himself: What exactly did this mother and son steal from his home?

Just then, Xu Damao rushed out of the house from the backyard, shouting at the top of his lungs, "Brother Zhu, you're finally back! I've been looking for you twice!"

He had actually wanted to come and find He Yuzhu for a long time, but Jia Dongxu had been guarding the door, so he didn't dare to come out of the backyard easily.

He dared not provoke Jia Dongxu, fearing that the other party would beat him up without warning.

Upon hearing He Yuzhu's voice, they immediately dashed over.

He Yuzhu stopped immediately as soon as he stepped out of the hanging flower gate.

All that could be seen was Jia Dongxu sitting awkwardly on the ground, and Jia Zhangshi lying on the ground in embarrassment; the scene was extremely comical.

Upon seeing this, Xu Damao suddenly burst into laughter: "Oh my god, that's hilarious! Jia Dongxu, were you so scared by Brother Zhu's shout that you wet your pants? Oh dear, you even have diarrhea, hahaha!"

"Xu Damao, are you looking for a beating?! I didn't even pull down my pants!" Jia Dongxu subconsciously reached down to touch his buttocks and was completely stunned.

It turned out that the mother and son had just stolen eggs from the He family. The two eggs that Jia Dongxu had hidden in his crotch were crushed to pieces when he sat down on them.

"Hahaha, still dare to deny it? I saw it clearly!"

"You little poop-prone bastard, you were scared out of your wits by Brother Zhu, from now on we'll just call you Poop-Prone Xu!"

"You're asking for it! You're the one who's soiling your pants, you're the one who's soiling your pants!"

Enraged, Jia Dongxu immediately got up from the ground and chased after Xu Damao.

Sticky egg yolk dripped down the cuffs of his trousers, leaving an embarrassing yellow stain on the cold snow.

"Hehe, you still say you don't? Look down at your feet."

Xu Damao made a funny face at him, then turned and ran quickly to the backyard.

As soon as they rushed into the Xu family's gate, they immediately bolted the door shut, making it tight and secure.

Jia Dongxu hadn't run more than a few steps when he heard Jia Zhangshi's heart-wrenching cries behind him:

"Dongxu, come back quickly and help your mother up! Ouch, it hurts so much!"

"Mother, are you alright?"

Jia Dongxu then suddenly remembered that in his panic, he had tripped his mother and made her fall so hard.

Mainly, the fall on his bottom had left his head buzzing, followed by a barrage of sarcastic remarks from Xu Damao.

He was so angry that he forgot everything else.

When he hurriedly helped Jia Zhangshi up from the ground,

Jia Dongxu immediately noticed a yellow stain on his mother's front.

It was obvious that the egg hidden in his arms was also crushed.

The true owner of these items stood quietly not far away, coldly watching the mother and son.

Jia Dongxu was both ashamed and anxious, his face flushed red. He hurriedly helped Jia Zhangshi and they slunk home.

The ground was covered in yellow egg yolk.

Seeing the mother and daughter looking so disheveled and utterly humiliated, He Yuzhu smiled silently.

He looked up and saw Yi Li standing at his door.

He Yuzhu quickly stepped forward and greeted her politely, "Hello, Aunt Yi."

"Zhu Zi, where did you get this cradle? Can you carry it? Let me help you."

Li Guihua glanced at the cradle on He Yuzhu's shoulder, a hint of envy flashing in her eyes, and then quickly spoke up.

She wasn't envious of the objects themselves, but rather of the person who had raised such a capable and sensible son.

He Daqing wasn't home, so it was obvious that He Yuzhu had managed to get all these things back by himself.

Recalling He Yuzhu's behavior when Zhuzi's mother gave birth, she couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness.

"No need, Aunt Yi, I can carry it myself."

"Quick, come inside, I'll open the door for you."

Seeing that he refused to help, Li Guihua quickly stepped forward and pushed the He family's gate open completely for He Yuzhu.

He Yuzhu strode into the house, and Li Guihua gently closed the door behind her before following him inside.

Entering the inner room, He Yuzhu gently placed the cradle on the kang (a heated brick bed), a smile on his face as he spoke:

"Mother, I'm back."

When Chen Shuxiang saw her son bring back so many things, her eyes were full of gratified smiles, but a hint of worry was also hidden in them.

"How much stuff did you bring back? You must be exhausted. Did you run into any bad guys along the way?"

Chen Shuxiang asked three questions in a row, each one filled with concern.

"It's okay, everything went smoothly the whole way, it's just that these things are a bit difficult to carry."

"Sister-in-law He, your son Zhuzi is really capable. Look at all the good things he brought back, all for the rain."

Li Guihua, with a hint of unspeakable bitterness, stood behind He Yuzhu and said.

Chen Shuxiang, however, didn't seem to mind at all, and replied with a gentle smile:

"His father arranged all of this in advance; he just went to run an errand."

As she spoke, she winked mischievously at He Yuzhu.

He Yuzhu chuckled: "It's just running errands. I'm all grown up now, this little thing is a piece of cake for me."

After saying that, he carefully took the items out of the cradle one by one.

Li Guihua originally thought it would just be a cradle and a quilt.

Inside, there were brand new clothes and an adorable tiger-head hat.

They kept taking things out one after another, leaving her dumbfounded.

He kept repeating to himself:

"He Daqing is truly capable; in this day and age, where can you get so much high-quality cotton?"

The clothes and blankets were all made to order; how much did that cost?

"I don't know either; the Qing Dynasty has always been in charge of managing things outside."

Chen Shuxiang was also slightly surprised.

She didn't know exactly how much money her son had spent.

Judging by the thickness of the quilt and clothes, there must have been at least three or four pounds of cotton in total.

Moreover, the outer fabric looks to be high-quality pure cotton.

"The Qing Dynasty was truly capable."

Now that things have come to this, Li Guihua can only sigh with such heartfelt emotion.

"Was it Jia Zhangshi who just left my house?"

Chen Shuxiang did not want to continue this topic.

She was already feeling uneasy about Yi Zhonghai asking her to buy things last night.

"Yes, it seems they even stole a few eggs from your house."

"Why is this Jia Zhangshi so incorrigible? Isn't she afraid that after I finish my postpartum confinement, I'll give her a good slap across the face?"

"Sigh, she's the type who never learns from a bad experience; it's not the first time."

"We have to teach her a lesson. We all live in the same courtyard. How can we allow a thief to be hiding there?"

I'll talk to the old lady in the backyard later.

"Let's not tell the old lady. What if... what if they really kick them out? Where would they go then?"

Li Guihua hesitated before offering her advice.

"Don't worry about this. Humph, I'll teach that stupid woman a lesson she won't forget."

Otherwise, wouldn't they just steal silver and money in the future?

It's only because things are chaotic outside now; if it were before, she would have been sent to the jail long ago.

By the way, I heard my son Zhuzi shouting at that kid outside. Was he involved too?

Chen Shuxiang understood that Li Guihua wanted to downplay the matter, but wouldn't that embolden Zhang Ruhua, who would surely dare to come again next time?

"Yeah, he was in a hurry to hide the eggs, so he stuffed them in his crotch."

As a result, he slipped and fell hard on his bottom, smashing everything, with yolk dripping down his trouser leg.

Xu Damao, that kid, has such a sharp tongue; he gave him the nickname "Crossed-up Xu."

He was being chased and beaten just now, but that kid was quick to escape.

He Yuzhu couldn't help but laugh as he spoke.

Chen Shuxiang and Li Guihua also laughed.

Xu Damao's mouth was indeed very sharp, but Jia Dongxu certainly didn't learn good things from Jia Zhangshi.

Now he looks like a cunning, lazy, greedy, and slippery fellow.

After laughing and chatting for a few more minutes, Li Guihua got up to say goodbye.

Of course, Chen Shuxiang lightly brushed off the milky smell by saying it was to "help with lactation".

She had completed the task Yi Zhonghai had assigned her, and found nothing unusual at the He family's residence.

That Zhang Ruhua probably didn't get anything good either, otherwise she wouldn't have only stolen a few eggs.

Meanwhile, back at the Jia family's house, Madam Jia Zhang was sulking.

Others might try to steal a chicken but end up losing the bait, but she got caught red-handed not only trying to steal eggs.

In the end, they also lost a pair of cotton-padded trousers and a cotton-padded jacket.

These days, who has enough to eat? Everyone only has one cotton-padded coat.

The raw eggs smelled fishy and sticky, so my cotton-padded clothes and trousers had to be washed immediately.

These past few days, only one of her and her son can go out; the other has to stay in bed.

Jia Dongxu was so angry that his cheeks puffed up, looking just like a toad that had exploded with rage.

Xu Damao gave him such an awful nickname that almost everyone in the hospital heard it.

"Mom, what's going on? I just said I didn't want to take it, but you insisted I take it."