A few days passed in the blink of an eye. The onlookers in the courtyard had their stools and melon seeds ready, waiting to see what would happen. But He Daqing didn't play by the rules and remained silent.
The neighbors in the compound only saw He Daqing taking his daughter out early and returning late every day, and they had no idea what he was doing.
Gradually, no one paid attention to these things anymore, and He Daqing was happy to be free. This was exactly the effect he wanted. With you all watching him every day, what was the point of him doing anything?
He Daqing has been quite busy these past few days. He first went to the subdistrict office to transfer his files back and get his grain ration book, which will give him a fixed amount of grain from now on.
Afterwards, I visited some old friends and acquaintances, telling them that I was back and that they could come directly to me for any banquets or other business.
Given his current status, he definitely can't get into any work unit, and he still needs to support his family, so he has to find a way to make a living!
With his culinary skills, I believe he could easily earn as much as he does at his company by taking on odd jobs every month.
It's the weekend again, and He Daqing is planning to treat a few people to a meal, so he started making arrangements early this morning.
"Shazhu, go and invite your master later. Be respectful to him, and buy the groceries on your way back."
After He Daqing finished speaking, he took out a few tickets from his pocket and handed them to Sha Zhu.
These tickets were all bought by He Daqing on the black market. Otherwise, with a monthly ration of two taels per family, there would be no need to host a banquet. Everyone is like this now, and it's an open secret.
Sha Zhu took the ticket, glanced at it, and said with a grin.
"Dad, you'd better take it easy, or you might get set off by someone again."
"Go away, go away! Who would dare to do that? Damn it! Unless he doesn't want to stay in this compound anymore. Besides, I don't have a job, I'm just a street urchin, what impact would it have on me!"
He Daqing, with a nonchalant look on his face, said indifferently, "At worst, we'll just throw caution to the wind and do whatever we want. Who's afraid of who?"
"Alright, alright, you're so capable! I'll go right now, but I'll need you to go and make the trip for the few people the courtyard needs to invite."
"I understand. You'd better hurry up! Don't be too late, or you won't be able to buy any good meat."
"Dad, just you wait and see! Who am I? I'm just a cook. You're telling me a cook can't buy good meat? Are you kidding me? Do you really think I'm just a cook who does nothing?"
Sha Zhu said with a smug look on his face.
Sha Zhu has been in a better mood these past few days. Since He Daqing came back, the family has regained its pillar of support, and the people in the courtyard are much more polite to him.
Seeing the changes in his son, He Daqing felt gratified; his silly boy had finally grown up.
She was thinking about when to find a wife for her son. If it weren't for that incident, she might already be holding her grandson.
However, finding a wife for her son now would be extremely difficult, given his social status and family background. If all else fails, he could just go to the countryside to find one!
What a deep sorrow!
In fact, He Daqing's worries were unnecessary. He didn't know that in the original story, Sha Zhu didn't marry a woman who had been with a woman for many years until he was over forty, and he still couldn't have any children. He had been a helper to her for the rest of his life.
If he knew all this, I wonder what he would think!
After Sha Zhu left, He Daqing sat alone at the table, silently considering these issues.
Unbeknownst to him, a burning pain came from between his fingers, and He Daqing subconsciously dropped the cigarette butt in his hand.
Rubbing his aching fingers, He Daqing couldn't help but give a bitter smile.
"Oh well! Let it be. Children and grandchildren have their own destinies. Perhaps it's just not meant to be. Let's see what fate has in store for this silly boy!"
After figuring things out, He Daqing suddenly stood up and shouted towards the room next door.
"Honey, I'm going to the front yard. Do you want to come?"
Hearing the shouts, He Yushui happily ran out of the room.
"Wherever Dad goes, I'll go."
"Alright! Let's go, let's go to your Uncle Sun's house first."
"Great! Perfect timing to visit Sister Zhenghong."
The father and daughter closed the door and walked towards the front yard.
...
In the front yard of the Sun family's house, Lin Wencui, who had just finished her housework, saw several children playing and started to nag.
"You guys should really get back into the swing of things. School starts in a few days. Stop being so unserious all the time. Get ready and see if you need anything."
After Mom spoke up, the group stopped arguing. Sun Zhengguo smiled but didn't say anything. Sun Zhenghong stuck out her tongue, made a face, and then fell silent.
Only Sun Zheng'an, that stubborn kid, muttered to himself from the side.
"Mom, we've packed everything up, so we've got nothing to do."
Upon hearing this, Sun Zhengguo's heart skipped a beat. This silly younger brother was going to cause trouble! Before he could even make a run for it, Lin Wencui had already exploded.
"All packed up, huh? Nothing to do, huh? No wonder you have time to flirt! Since you two have nothing to do, then..."
Is Old Sun home?
The sound at the door was like heavenly music, saving the three siblings from their tragic fate.
Who is it?
Lin Wencui asked, but now that someone had arrived, she couldn't bother arguing with the child anymore.
Before anyone could answer, He Daqing had already walked in with his daughter.
"Hello, Auntie! Hello, Brother and Sister!"
He Yushui said obediently.
"Hmm! Rainwater is such a good boy! You're such a good child," Lin Wencui praised.
"Hello, Uncle He!" x3
"Yes! You two are really good at raising children. Look at these kids, they're all so successful."
He Daqing also praised him generously.
Sun Dajiang was organizing documents in his room when he heard someone calling for him, so he quickly came out of the room.
"It's Lao He! Please sit down. Zheng Guo, go make some tea, let's sit down and talk."
"No, no! Old Sun, I have something to say and I'm leaving right away, don't make it so complicated."
He Daqing quickly stopped him.
"Alright, then tell me what it is?"
Sun Dajiang asked.
"It's nothing serious, I just wanted to invite Lao Sun out for drinks at noon to thank you for taking care of the siblings while I was away."
Sun Dajiang knew that, as for taking care of them, he really didn't do much. It was mainly because the children were close. However, since they had already come to his door, he couldn't refuse them.
"Okay, I wouldn't call it taking care of you, but I'll definitely go if you, Lao He, treat me to a drink."
Seeing that Sun Dajiang had agreed, He Daqing decided not to linger any longer.
"Alright, I'll be going now. I need to inform the two gentlemen that Yushui can play here for a while!"
"Don't worry, go ahead and do your work! We'll keep an eye on her."
After saying that, Sun Dajiang escorted He Daqing to the door before returning to the house.
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