Qin Hanshu asked Zhou Chi, "And then? What was Lin Yue'er's reaction?"
Zhou Chi said, "I was just passing by and only saw Lin Yue'er nod. But she seemed quite flustered when she saw me."
Qin Hanshu was unaware of Lin Yue'er's specific situation.
But that person should be someone Lin Yue'er knows.
Even orphans without parents will not be without any relatives.
However, a man who is about the same age as Zhang Lei and asks a seven-year-old girl for money is probably not a reliable person.
Besides, what money could a child like Lin Yue'er possibly have? At most, she might have a few cents of pocket money.
Since that's the case, and the man still has to ask, then he must have asked Lin Yue'er's adoptive parents for the money.
Could it be that Liu Ercui's family has been harassed by some awful relatives of Lin Yue'er?
I've never heard of such a person before. Either this is the first time they've come to my door, or Liu Ercui is completely unaware of what's going on.
Qin Hanshu didn't think about it for long before deciding to tell Liu Ercui about it.
Even if telling Liu Ercui might trigger another argument between the couple, they had to tell her. The longer they delayed, the more Liu Ercui would suffer.
The next morning, Qin Hanshu waited at the door. When Liu Ercui was carrying a basket and preparing to go to buy groceries, Qin Hanshu pulled her into his house.
After the door closed, Qin Hanshu got straight to the point.
However, she didn't share her analysis first; instead, she simply repeated what Zhou Chi had told her the day before to Liu Ercui.
Liu Ercui suddenly realized, "I was wondering... after dinner last night, Yue'er was whispering to him."
Qin Hanshu asked, "Who is that person?"
Liu Ercui thought for a moment and said:
"It must be Yue'er's uncle, right? Zhang Lei mentioned it a long time ago, saying that Yue'er had a biological uncle, but he was a good-for-nothing."
"He loves gambling. When he loses, he drinks. When he's drunk, he beats people. The children in the family have been beaten so badly that they can't even speak properly anymore."
"That's why he didn't feel comfortable letting Yue'er stay with her uncle, so he brought her to my house."
Qin Hanshu said, "Battalion Commander Zhang is truly loyal and devoted to his comrades."
Liu Ercui smiled bitterly, "He's kind and loyal to outsiders, but he makes sure his family suffers all the injustices. At first, Yue'er's uncle wouldn't let him take Yue'er away, and he had to spend fifty yuan to get him to agree. If it weren't for him being such a spendthrift, our family's life would be..."
Liu Ercui sighed.
At first, I thought raising another little girl wouldn't cost much, but when I carefully calculated the expenses, I found it was actually quite complicated.
"So I guess the person who came looking for Yue'er yesterday must have been her uncle."
As she spoke, Liu Ercui frowned in disgust.
"We agreed on fifty yuan to take the person away, and now they're asking for money again? No way! I'm not giving them any more money."
Although Zhang Lei's income is not low, the family's expenses have been high over the years, and Liu Ercui has not saved much money.
Qin Hanshu asked, "Did Battalion Commander Zhang tell you about this?"
Liu Ercui paused, and realized there really wasn't any.
Logically speaking, if it really was Yue'er's uncle asking for money, Zhang Lei should have told her that he was asking her for the money.
Qin Hanshu said, "Could it be that he's afraid to tell you? Afraid that you'll get angry?"
Liu Ercui scoffed, "He wouldn't! In his mind, he's in charge of all the important matters at home, and I'm just his housekeeper."
Why is that?
A bad feeling suddenly arose in Liu Ercui's heart.
Was it really Yue'er's uncle who came to ask for money?
If not, then who is it?
Liu Ercui went to the cooperative with questions in mind.
As she was walking down the street, she encountered a man in a white shirt looking at her.
Liu Ercui was just starting to think the man was unfamiliar when he took the initiative to come over and greet her.
"Are you Battalion Commander Zhang's sister-in-law?"
Liu Ercui looked over blankly, "Who are you?"
"My name is Wang Xiaogang, and I used to be a civil servant for Commander Zhou."
Liu Ercui slapped her thigh and laughed, "It's you! I heard from Xiao Qin that you got into university. Not bad, you're promising."
Wang Xiaogang smiled shyly, "Sister-in-law, you flatter me..."
After exchanging a few pleasantries, the two parted ways.
After a while, Wang Xiaogang turned his head and glanced at Liu Ercui, who was walking briskly.
This woman always looks energetic and full of vitality.
***
"Is everything alright at home? How are your parents' health?"
Everyone was making dumplings together, and Zhou Weiguang was talking to Wang Xiaogang.
“Everything is fine, my parents and siblings are all healthy.” Wang Xiaogang paused, then sighed, “It’s just that I’m quite worried about my personal life.”
Zhou Weiguang said, "That happened so long ago, you should start thinking about finding a partner. Now that you've been admitted to university, you can find someone there."
Wang Xiaogang carefully pinched the edge of a dumpling and said, "It has nothing to do with that. I just don't have that in mind."
Qin Hanshu walked over and said to Zhou Weiguang, "They have their own ideas, so don't worry about them."
Zhou Weiguang shut his mouth.
Suddenly, a shout came from downstairs.
"Liu Ercui—Liu Ercui—you'd better go out and see—there are some rascals causing trouble there—"
Wang Xiaogang asked in bewilderment, "What hooligans causing trouble? What does it have to do with Battalion Commander Zhang's wife?"
Qin Hanshu immediately thought of that person from yesterday.
Liu Ercui and Zhang Lei had already come down and were walking outside.
Qin Hanshu thought for a moment and then followed.
A large crowd had already gathered at the entrance of the residential compound.
Upon seeing Liu Ercui and Zhang Lei arrive, everyone quickly made way for them.
The person in the middle was a middle-aged man, who was lying on the ground crying and wailing.
"The Zhang family is bullying me. They promised to give me fifteen yuan a month before I let them take my Yue'er away, but now they're going back on their word and refusing to give it to me."
Liu Ercui abruptly turned to the man beside her, "What, fifteen yuan?"
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