All the heavens begin with the love in the courtyard.

The big boss was taken aback by He Yuzhu's words and froze on the spot. He stared at the chess pieces on the board for a long time without saying a word. After a while, he took off his glasses, wiped them, looked up at He Yuzhu, nodded, and then smiled.

"Zhu Zi, you've reminded me. It's true that outsiders see things more clearly. I've been too stubborn lately. Yes, sometimes, taking a step back isn't necessarily a bad thing!"

The two had just finished their second game when the boss's wife came in with groceries. He Yuzhu quickly stood up to greet her, played two more games with the boss, and seeing that it was getting late, He Yuzhu said something and went into the kitchen!

He Yuzhu rarely discussed national affairs with the bigwigs, nor did he want to get involved. He knew the saying that too much talk leads to mistakes.

Although I know what will happen next, I am powerless to do anything about it, so I simply say less, see less, and do less.

Looking at the kitchen full of chicken, duck, fish and meat, He Yuzhu's thoughts immediately returned to that.

Chapter 24: One cent each

He Yuzhu spent Lunar New Year's Eve at his boss's house. At noon, he even made a vegetarian chicken dish on the spot, using his newly learned skills.

Unfortunately, only Old Man Su's level was six points, which made He Yuzhu slightly disappointed, but even this level of six points amazed the big boss.

He Yuzhu didn't tell the big boss about Old Man Su's matter. One important reason why He Yuzhu was able to gain the big boss's favor was that he didn't meddle in other people's business and didn't try to climb the social ladder. He never thought about getting any benefits from the big boss.

Being able to know a big shot like that means you don't need any benefits. If you really encounter difficulties, this relationship alone is a guarantee of safety.

The big boss has a good eye for people. He Yuzhu's personality is that of someone who doesn't have much desire. In addition, he now has the soul of a modern person integrated into his body. Therefore, his calm temperament makes the big boss feel very comfortable to be around him.

Moreover, the big boss also thought that some of the ideas He Yuzhu occasionally expressed made a lot of sense after careful consideration.

In the afternoon, He Yuzhu took some time to go to the dilapidated Taoist temple on the outskirts of Beijing. He originally wanted to bring some food to Old Man Yi, but when he arrived, he found that Old Man Yi had already run away and he didn't see a single person.

He Yuzhu originally thought that Old Man Yi was just taking a casual stroll, but he never expected that yesterday's meeting with Old Man Yi would be the last time he saw him.

Years later, he still kept this matter in his heart, but unfortunately, there was no one like Old Man Yi in this world anymore. All that remained was a handwritten copy of "No Cooking When I'm Idle"!

Perhaps "Old Man Yi" is just an alias for him, as if Old Man Yi never existed in this world.

Originally, He Yuzhu didn't want to eat at the boss's place that night, but since he was going back to Qin Huairu's house anyway, he decided not to go back for the time being.

The New Year's Eve dinner wasn't too lavish, just a simple four dishes and a soup, but it was enough for the three of them. At the dinner table, in addition to encouraging He Yuzhu to study more and settle down as soon as possible, the boss also told him to avoid attending gatherings and similar events during this period.

He Yuzhu nodded naturally; he understood what the big boss wanted to express!

After dinner, the boss noticed that He Yuzhu seemed preoccupied, so he asked the driver to take him back. He Yuzhu didn't take the New Year's gifts that the boss had prepared for him. He was all alone, and the gifts would just get moldy at home. In previous years, he would take gifts from Qin Huairu's house, but this year he had no intention of taking them.

So he didn't bring anything home today, only a bag containing a thick cotton-padded coat, which was a gift from the boss's wife.

It started snowing heavily these past two days and has continued for several days. The streets are covered with layers of white snow, and cars have skidded and stalled several times.

These days, every car driver is a professional auto mechanic. Seeing this, He Yuzhu simply told the driver to go home early. It was New Year's Eve, and the driver needed to go home for the family reunion anyway, so he might as well walk home himself.

After the driver thanked him, he started the car and drove away. He Yuzhu tucked his hands into his sleeves, lowered his head, and walked forward.

This night, Lunar New Year's Eve, lacked the neon colors of later generations, but it possessed a unique charm. Occasionally, the sound of firecrackers could be heard, and from someone's courtyard, a rich aroma of soy sauce rose, filling the air and bringing He Yuzhu a rare sense of warmth.

In the dim light, one could see that the streets were covered with various posters, their bright red color standing out against the backdrop of the snow-covered streets, making it seem as if winter was far from over.

After walking for more than twenty minutes, He Yuzhu finally arrived at his courtyard. He shook off the snow water from his clothes before entering the yard.

As I passed by Uncle San's house, I could faintly hear his voice coming from inside.

"Yan Jiefang, you little rascal, put down the peanuts! Each person can only have one spoonful of peanuts, no more than that!"

He Yuzhu smiled, shook his head, and walked towards the central courtyard. As he passed by Qin Huairu's house, he saw that it was brightly lit inside, and he could faintly hear the voices of an old man and a deaf old woman.

He Yuzhu paused for two seconds, sighed helplessly, and ultimately did not go any further. Instead, he turned and walked towards Qin Huairu's house.

As I said before, in this day and age, you can distance yourself from people you don't want to associate with, but don't be too aloof, or you'll seem very unsociable.

I had promised to have a meal with everyone today, but I didn't participate. Although I had mentioned it to the old man, now that I'm back, I should at least go and tell him.

He Yuzhu pushed open the door, and a group of people who were chatting around a fire inside greeted him with smiles as he entered.

When Qin Huairu saw He Yuzhu enter the room, her eyes lit up, and she quickly stood up and said.

"Oh, you busy person, you finally know to come back! Have you eaten? There are still some dumplings left, I'll cook them for you."

As she spoke, she affectionately stepped forward, wanting to pat the snowflakes off his body, but He Yuzhu quickly stepped back and waved his hands repeatedly.

"Sister Qin, please continue to warm yourself by the fire. I've already eaten, so I came to check on the old lady!"

He pretended nothing had happened, walked past Qin Huairu, and stood in front of the deaf old lady, bowing deeply.

"Grandma, I wish you a Happy New Year! May you live to be 199!"

The deaf old lady smiled, her eyes narrowed, and said in a strange manner.

"I don't like hearing that. Are you calling me an old bastard?"

"Oh my, my old grandma! You're the old turtle, so I'm the little turtle!"

An old man took a chair from the side and handed it to He Yuzhu. He Yuzhu quickly took it and put the bag containing his cotton coat at the door.

As soon as I sat down, I saw Banggeng act as if nothing had happened, quickly run to the door, rummage through my bag, open it and see that it was a cotton-padded jacket. He immediately threw it down in disappointment and ignored it.

He Yuzhu watched all this with a cold eye, while Qin Huairu gave a mock reprimand.

"Hey, don't go through your silly uncle's bag. If you want something, why don't you just ask your silly uncle? Do you think he won't give it to you?"

Qin Huairu's words were three parts teasing and seven parts seductive. Her son, who had a habit of taking He Yuzhu's words at the same time since he was a child, quickly understood what Qin Huairu meant.

He quickly led his two silly younger sisters, Xiaodang and Xiaohuaihua, and followed the pole towards him.

Before He Yuzhu could react, the three kids were already kneeling in front of him.

"Uncle, we wish you a Happy New Year! May everything go well for you and may all your wishes come true. Here's your red envelope!"

Looking at the little devils, apart from Bang Geng's face which is so annoying no matter how you look at it, Xiao Dang and Xiao Huaihua were actually quite cute when they were little.

Especially Xiao Huaihua, with her innocent little eyes blinking at him, made him feel that he should have a daughter someday.

Well, it's the Lunar New Year, and He Yuzhu couldn't very well lecture his child in front of so many people, so he could only helplessly pull out a wad of banknotes from his pocket.

When Qin Huairu saw the stack of banknotes, her eyes lit up at first, but soon she was dumbfounded.

He Yuzhu didn't waste any words. He took out three one-mao notes, one for each person, one mao each!

The kids didn't expect He Yuzhu to be so stingy today. They looked at each other, not knowing what to do.

Although a dime is a lot of money these days, He Yuzhu used to give these three ungrateful brats at least a dollar each. Giving them only a dime on New Year's Eve is a bit unreasonable.

Even Qin Huairu had already planned to have her children ask He Yuzhu for a few yuan to supplement the family income, but she didn't expect that they would only get one cent each.

He Yuzhu pretended not to see it, put away the money, and turned to the deaf old lady.

"Grandma, it's getting late. Let me carry you back to rest!"

"Good grandson, all right!"

He Yuzhu completely ignored Qin Huairu's family, bent down, carried the deaf old lady on his back, and walked out. When they reached the door, he turned back and said to an old man.

"Uncle, could you please bring me my cotton-padded coat later?"

After saying that, he pushed open the door and walked out, leaving Qin Huairu with a blank look in her eyes...!

As they stepped outside, the deaf old lady hugged He Yuzhu's neck tightly and whispered something in his ear with a smile.

"My dear grandson, you did a good job just now. Remember, a little kindness is appreciated, but too much kindness breeds resentment. From now on, when you help her family, you have to do it this way!"

"Alright! Grandma, you're so sensible!"

Indeed, in this compound, the only one who truly understands this principle is the deaf old lady.

Even an old man was fooled by Qin Huairu's pretense. Her family may be poor, and others may give her some charity, but if she takes charity for granted, then she should get lost!

Chapter 25: A Strand of Black Hair

In He Yuzhu's eyes, those three ungrateful brats were worth only a penny.

After He Yuzhu left, the old man saw that the scene was a bit awkward and felt embarrassed to stay any longer. He stood up, said goodbye to the old woman, and left. Before leaving, he also took the cotton-padded coat that He Yuzhu had left at the door.

Seeing that everyone had left, leaving only Qin Huairu's family, Qin Huairu lowered her head and dejectedly tidied up the things on the table.

The squinty-eyed old woman was furious when she saw the three little devils still holding a dime, and she snorted.

"You know, this silly Zhu, he used to be so welcoming to our family, but these past two months, why has he been avoiding us? He used to be so good to the three kids, what's wrong with him now?"

Qin Huairu kept her head down, wiping the table without saying a word. Her mother-in-law, seeing that Qin Huairu didn't respond, became even more irritable and spoke in a sarcastic tone with a hint of reproach.

"You think I don't know what you're thinking? Let me tell you, as long as I'm here, don't even think about bringing a man home. Do you think I'm in your way and interrupting your good time? Sha Zhu used to help our family so much, wasn't it all just to do 'that' with you? Now that he's not helping anymore, it's understandable. After all, he's already thirty this year, and if he keeps waiting, it'll be a long time before he's done it!"

Qin Huairu was so upset by her mother-in-law that she didn't know how to vent her anger and could only silently endure it. She tried to control her tears, but she couldn't. With a sob, she put down her teacup, ran into the inner room, lay on the bed, and cried loudly.

He Yuzhu carried the old lady back to her room, helped her to bed, and then carefully closed the door before going to Uncle Yi's house to retrieve his own cotton-padded coat.

An old man spoke to him earnestly, saying that Qin Huairu's family was indeed in difficulty, and if he could help, he should, since they had been neighbors for decades.

What else could He Yuzhu do but reluctantly agree?

But even if we were to offer assistance, now wouldn't be the time. Over the years, I've helped her family enough. That cross-eyed old woman with her fat head and big ears doesn't look malnourished at all.

In two more years, when her family's savings have been almost completely depleted, if things really come to a desperate situation, I can give them some food. That would be purely a neighborly favor, and wouldn't involve anything else.

He Yuzhu originally wanted to take a good rest during the Spring Festival, but the compound started to make a fuss again, and the noise was quite loud.

On the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, Lou Xiao'e returned to the compound from her parents' home. As she passed the middle courtyard, she ran into Qin Huairu, who was coming out of it.

When Qin Huairu saw Lou Xiao'e carrying large and small bags, her heart jumped into her throat. She rushed forward to help, shouting loudly as she did so.

"Xiao'e, you're back from your parents' home!"

Lou Xiao'e was a little puzzled as to why Qin Huairu was speaking to her so loudly, but she didn't think much of it and chatted with Qin Huairu with a smile.

Lou Xiao'e was unaware that it was Qin Huairu's voice that caused chaos in Xu Damao's house in the inner courtyard. Xu Damao hurriedly urged Qin Jingru, who was just about to pick up her bowl and chopsticks to eat, to shout.

"Jingru, hurry back! Why is that woman Lou Xiao'e back so early?!"

Qin Jingru put down her chopsticks in a daze, looked at the food that hadn't been eaten yet, and sat there motionless with a sense of grievance.

Seeing this, Xu Damao was both angry and anxious. He quickly took out a stack of banknotes from his pocket. He originally wanted to count out a few dollars, but in his anger, he counted a few bills and simply stuffed them into Qin Jingru's hand, saying something as he did so.

"Go back with your sister first. Don't worry, I'll get the divorce sorted out within a month at most!"

Qin Jingru was a naive little money-grubber. Seeing that she had at least five or six yuan in her hand, she immediately forgot her earlier unpleasantness. In addition, Xu Damao had promised to divorce her within a month, so she happily counted the money.

When Xu Damao saw her ignorant and naive appearance, he immediately grabbed her and kicked her out of the house.

Seeing that it was about time, Qin Jingru stuffed the banknotes into her pocket and turned back to give them a word of advice.