All the heavens begin with the love in the courtyard.

Seeing He Yuzhu and Ran Qiuye at the door, Qin Jingru felt guilty and assumed it was something else. The panic in her eyes made He Yuzhu realize he was in trouble and quickly spoke up.

"Um... Qin Jingru, I'm getting married. Here's some wedding candy for your family to share in the joy!"

As she spoke, she took the plate of wedding candy. Qin Jingru breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing He Yuzhu's words and instinctively reached out to grab the candy, but at that moment, Xu Damao's sarcastic voice came from behind her.

"Oh dear, Shazhu, we dare not eat your wedding candy. What if you marry another widow tomorrow? That would be so unlucky. I think you should take the candy back and eat it yourself!"

He Yuzhu couldn't very well slap this old scoundrel in front of Ran Qiuye. This guy was stirring up trouble again, as if he was afraid Ran Qiuye wouldn't know about his little affair with Qin Huairu.

However, seeing Qin Jingru's evasive gaze, He Yuzhu suppressed his anger.

That old scoundrel can only get his momentary satisfaction; let him vent his anger!

Chapter 74: A Hundred Families Rejoice, A Thousand Families Sorrow

He Yuzhu was too lazy to argue with that cunning old man Xu Damao. Since he wouldn't let Qin Jingru take the wedding candy, He Yuzhu didn't linger either. The two turned around and walked towards the central courtyard.

After taking a few steps, Ran Qiuye hugged He Yuzhu's hand and playfully scolded him.

"Why do I get the feeling that you don't seem to hate Xu Damao that much?"

He Yuzhu wanted to wipe away his cold sweat, but he forced himself to remain calm and replied casually.

"It's better to resolve conflicts than to let them fester. Xu Damao is quite pitiful; he had two wives, and neither of them could have children. Why bother arguing with a man like that?"

Ran Qiuye laughed heartily and said nothing more. The two of them walked together toward the Central Court.

Qin Jingru's situation wasn't the most awkward; the most awkward situation was Qin Huairu's. When He Yuzhu arrived at Qin Huairu's door, he just couldn't bring himself to knock.

Ran Qiuye smiled generously, stepped forward and knocked on the door. The door was opened by the squinty-eyed old woman. When she saw He Yuzhu, her face quickly fell, and she put on a dead fish face, not knowing who she was showing it to.

At that moment, Qin Huairu's voice came from inside the room.

"Mom, who is it?"

The squinting old woman didn't speak. Qin Huairu seemed to sense something, took a few steps to the door, and saw He Yuzhu and his wife. Her expression changed several times, but she eventually regained her smile and forced herself to remain calm.

"Congratulations! Are you here to deliver wedding candy?"

He Yuzhu nodded awkwardly.

Qin Huairu glanced into the house and saw that Bang Geng and the others had already gone back to their inner rooms to sleep, before whispering.

"Congratulations! I must have some of your wedding candy. Congratulations, Teacher Ran! I hope you'll take good care of him in the future!"

Ran Qiuye replied with a graceful and generous smile.

"Yes, I will!"

Then, Qin Huairu grabbed a handful of wedding candies, and that was considered the proper etiquette.

He Yuzhu and his companion did not linger, and immediately said goodbye and went to the next place.

As He Yuzhu left Qin Huairu's house, he felt a sweat trickling down his back. He was certain that Qin Huairu was still watching his back, but he couldn't turn back.

Qin Huairu stared at He Yuzhu's back for a long time, her smile remaining, but it seemed frozen, without any change, giving off a strange feeling.

Until the squinty-eyed old woman behind her sighed softly.

"Now you can finally give up, right? That silly Zhu is married now. You'd better have some self-respect from now on!"

The smile on Qin Huairu's face slowly faded. She looked away, didn't reply to her mother-in-law, and turned to walk into the inner room.

They walked around like they were going through a whirlwind tour, distributing some wedding candy to each household and introducing Ran Qiuye to everyone. After half an hour of busy work, they finally finished their visit and returned to their room.

Although this was Ran Qiuye's first time truly visiting He Yuzhu's room—she used to just sit for a bit and leave—she was now the mistress of the house.

Without any hesitation, Ran Qiuye entered the house and began cleaning, boiling water, and making the bed, busy as a bee. He Yuzhu sat at the table, drinking hot tea, watching Ran Qiuye's back, and a warm feeling welled up in his heart, just like the hot tea in the cup.

"Indeed, a family needs a woman, and she needs to be a diligent woman who can grace the living room, cook in the kitchen, and keep the bed warm!"

The more He Yuzhu thought about it, the more he felt that his thoughts were a bit dirty. He put down his teacup, walked to the door, and bolted it. Ran Qiuye turned around and glanced at him, and a blush immediately appeared on her face. She quickened her pace.

He Yuzhu wasn't exactly a novice, but facing this woman in front of him, although she was nominally his wife, the two of them had never actually had any relationship, not even kissing. Moreover, as far as He Yuzhu knew, Ms. Ran had never had a boyfriend.

That's how men are; they carefully protect even the smallest buds of flowers and plants, afraid of accidentally hurting them.

He Yuzhu tiptoed up behind Ran Qiuye, stretched out his hands, slightly nervous, but still stepped forward and hugged Ran Qiuye's slender waist. He could clearly feel the body in his arms stiffen and not dare to move.

He Yuzhu leaned close to her ear and called out, his breathing a little heavy.

"Wife, I love you!"

Upon hearing these words, Ran Qiuye seemed to have made up her mind, and her whole body quickly went limp, leaning against He Yuzhu's chest.

He Yuzhu felt Xiang Yu in his arms, a faint fragrance surrounding his nose. He Yuzhu couldn't help but lower his head and bury it in Ran Qiuye's dark hair.

He Yuzhu's breathing became heavier and his thoughts became more and more filthy. He could no longer suppress the evil fire in his heart, so he picked up Ran Qiuye and, amidst her gasp, pounced on her onto the bed!

"Turn...turn off the lights!"

"Why are you turning off the lights? Wait, why does that sound so familiar?"

"Whatever, I don't want to think about it anymore!"

He groaned and moaned all night until dawn, when He Yuzhu wiped away Teacher Ran's tears before finally falling into a deep sleep.

The Spring Festival of 67 arrived without much surprise or joy. Accompanied by the long-awaited heavy snow, the entire city of Yanjing was covered. Children seemed to never know what sorrow was. On New Year's Eve, many children went to the streets to set off firecrackers after finishing their New Year's Eve dinner.

On New Year's Eve, He Yuzhu and Ran Qiuye had their reunion dinner at Uncle Yi's house. Last year, everyone ate at Qin Huairu's house, but this year, they intentionally didn't invite Qin Huairu's family.

Everyone stayed with the deaf old lady and enjoyed a fairly substantial New Year's Eve dinner. He Yuzhu personally cooked several vegetarian dishes, which made the deaf old lady laugh and chatter.

The only thing missing was the laughter of the children in this big family. He Yuzhu glanced at Ran Qiuye with a mischievous smile. Teacher Ran shyly turned her back to everyone and pinched He Yuzhu's waist under the table.

This year, there is joy in a hundred families and sorrow in a thousand. Whether one's experience is good or bad, only they themselves can truly know.

This year, Qin Huairu's family is destined to be more sorrowful than joyful. Without He Yuzhu's help and Qin Huairu's "lends," their New Year's Eve dinner this year is just cabbage dumplings with noodle soup, lacking the lively atmosphere of previous years.

Xiao Dang and Xiao Kuihua, oblivious to sorrow, clamored for candy, while Bang Geng kept his head down, silently eating the dumplings in his bowl.

The squinting old woman saw that there were still six dumplings left on the plate on the table. With a heavy heart, she poured four of them into Banggeng's bowl. Banggeng didn't refuse, but he didn't say thank you either. Instead, he continued to eat with a cold face, as if someone owed him something.

Qin Huairu's face was also as cold as ice. After finishing the last dumpling in her bowl, she gave one of the two remaining dumplings on the table to Xiao Dang and Xiao Kuihua.

The old woman with the slanted eyes glanced at Qin Huairu, wanting to say something, but in the end she couldn't say anything and could only sigh.

After finishing her meal, Qin Huairu cleared the table. Although the family's finances were not as good as in previous years, they had still managed to buy some candy and melon seeds. Qin Huairu took out a small bag from the cupboard, poured out three candies, and gave them to the three children.

Xiao Dang and Xiao Kuihua each held a piece of candy, pouting, clearly unhappy. However, Xiao Dang looked out the window and saw He Yuzhu's room. Then, an idea popped into his head. He took Xiao Kuihua's hand and said to Qin Huairu.

"Mom, can I go out and play for a while?"

Qin Huairu heard the sound of children setting off firecrackers in the courtyard, but didn't think much of it and nodded.

"Don't play for too long, come back right away to wash your feet and go to bed!"

"Uh-huh!"

The two little girls exchanged a glance and ran off quickly, leaving Banggeng with his head down, not saying a word.

Qin Huairu glanced at her son and sighed.

"Bang Geng, you're in middle school now, you should be more mature. Boys should take responsibility, you shouldn't..."

Before Qin Huairu could finish speaking, Bang Geng stood up impatiently and said something.

"I'm going out to play!"

After saying that, he disappeared from the room, leaving only Qin Huairu's expressionless face.

Chapter 75: The Spring Festival of 67

The old woman next to her glanced at Qin Huairu and said with a hint of reproach.

"He's so young, why are you saying such things to him!"

Qin Huairu remained expressionless, but finally let out a sigh and said nothing more.

Seeing that Qin Huairu didn't speak, the squinty-eyed old woman rolled her eyes and continued working on the cloth shoes in her hands.

During this time, although Banggeng still didn't talk to her much, at least he didn't look at her with hatred every day like before. So she has now resumed her usual program and spends her free time sewing cloth shoes for her precious grandson.

Inside the house, Qin Huairu was operating a sewing machine, while an old woman with slanted eyes was sewing cloth shoes stitch by stitch. The room was dimly lit, and outside the window, the snow was white and boundless. A group of teenagers were lighting firecrackers in the snow, screaming and laughing joyfully.

He Yuzhu and Ran Qiuye had just finished eating and returned to their room. Ran Qiuye was boiling water to prepare for He Yuzhu to wash his face and feet when she spoke to him.

"Zhu Zi, tomorrow is the first day of the Lunar New Year. I want to go home and spend time with my parents. What do you think?"

He Yuzhu was shaving in front of the mirror. He didn't have any particular thoughts about Ran Qiuye's question. He was fine with going to anyone's house, since he didn't have any parents anyway. Maybe in this world, he would have a father. But He Yuzhu wasn't going to accept that old geezer like in the original story. He would just let him fend for himself.

"Then let's go back tomorrow. Anyway, Yushui already said a while ago that he would come on the second day of the Lunar New Year, so we can go back tomorrow night."

Seeing that He Yuzhu understood her, Ran Qiuye immediately smiled happily. When a woman marries a man, material things are only one aspect. Whether the man can understand her and know her is the key to happiness.

Looking at the simple-minded man before her, Ran Qiuye felt a surge of sweetness in her heart. This man was truly a gem; he came from a wealthy family, was capable himself, respected her, and never let her suffer. The only downside was… he… his sexual needs were too strong!

Ran Qiuye's smile instantly turned into a blush, and she quickly quickened her pace. Just then, there was a gentle knock on the door. Ran Qiuye was startled, stopped what she was doing, and listened carefully. Sure enough, someone was knocking on the door.

She quickly got up and opened the door. At first glance, there seemed to be no one at the door. But when she looked down, she saw two little girls, Xiao Dang and Xiao Kuihua, holding hands and looking up at Ran Qiuye.

When Ran Qiuye saw the two little girls, she immediately smiled knowingly, squatted down, and patted Xiao Kuihua's little head.

Did you eat dumplings today?

Xiao Kuihua nodded, but seemed somewhat resistant to Ran Qiuye's pat on the head. The two of them glanced at Ran Qiuye from behind, clearly indicating that they were not yet familiar with her.

Ran Qiuye smiled and called out to He Yuzhu behind her.

"Zhu Zi, these two little girls have come to wish you a Happy New Year!"

After shaving off the last bit of his beard, He Yuzhu stroked his chin, glanced back at the door, and immediately smiled, saying to the two little girls at the door.

"Come in quickly, Uncle Zhu will get you two candy after he finishes shaving!"

Xiao Dang and Xiao Kuihua were obviously more familiar with He Yuzhu. Upon hearing He Yuzhu's words, they immediately took each other's hands and skipped over to He Yuzhu, looking at him with innocent little eyes.

The reason the two little girls came to He Yuzhu's place was naturally because of the habit that He Yuzhu had cultivated in them by feeding and drinking them every year.

The two girls were still young and didn't understand the complicated relationships between the adults. They only remembered that the silly uncle across the street had always been very kind to them, but they couldn't understand why their brother and mother wouldn't let them come.

Among Qin Huairu's family, He Yuzhu didn't have a deep prejudice against the two girls. Although they took care of He Yuzhu after they grew up, they at least respected him. But Bang Geng, that ingrate, was truly an ingrate.

Seeing the two little girls staring at him with their adorable little eyes, He Yuzhu reached out and gently pinched their cheeks. He really hoped that he and Ran Qiuye would have a daughter someday.