Looking at the black dog, which was as big as a calf, the young man couldn't help but shiver and quickly hid behind Brother Liu.
"Brother Liu, this dog can understand human speech."
"What do you think? You're talking badly about someone's owner behind their back. No wonder the dog bites you."
Seeing the man's cowardly appearance, Xiao Hei glanced at him contemptuously, then turned and ran back into the yard.
"That's so clever!"
"Kid, learn your lesson and don't talk badly about others behind their backs anymore."
"I didn't say anything."
"You've described someone's first wife as being on her second marriage, and you haven't said anything bad about her?"
"I...I didn't know."
Hehe~
On the other side, after the couple entered the courtyard, they went straight to the central courtyard. The narrow, crowded, and dilapidated courtyard made Li Chu feel very oppressed, as if he couldn't breathe properly.
"Hey, Brother Chu, Sister-in-law, you're here too!"
Just as the two of them were getting confused about who was whose, a voice came from behind.
"Chunmei, you came today too?"
"Yes, sister-in-law, I happen to be on vacation these two days. Zhu Zi told me that this old man and woman used to be quite nice to him and Yu Shui, so I came over to help them out."
Where is your third child?
"They didn't let him come; his two older sisters are taking care of him at home."
"Chunmei, is this Uncle Yi's house?" Li Chu pointed to the house Cui Chunmei had just come out of.
"Oh right, look, I've been so busy talking, come on in."
Li Chu looked at the obviously illegally built house in front of him with some doubt. He remembered that in the original story, the old man never built a house.
"Chunmei, who's here?"
At that moment, He Yuzhu's voice came from inside the room.
"Zhu Zi, it's Brother Chu and his wife who's here."
"Woof~"
"Oh, and two dogs too."
Ding Qiunan chuckled and patted the head of the little black cat beside her leg: "You're everywhere."
Cui Chunmei smiled as she looked at the two dogs. Having seen so many, she was no longer afraid of them. Sometimes she felt they were like children who hadn't grown up.
"Brother Chu, sister-in-law, come in quickly, what are you doing standing at the door?" He Yuzhu lifted the curtain and came out, still wearing burlap.
"This courtyard has changed so much, I can't even find the door." Li Chu shook his head and walked into the house.
Originally, except for the rear building, which lacked natural light during the day due to its orientation, all the houses in this courtyard now look the same after they added this extension. In broad daylight, it's unbearable to stay inside without the lights on, but it's perfect for sleeping, as you don't even need to draw the curtains.
After passing through the added-on house and entering the original house, a musty smell, combined with the smell of burning coal and the smoke from the cigarettes, hit Ding Qiunan, almost choking her. Li Chu, on the other hand, was a little better; he just frowned slightly and then acted as if nothing had happened.
The people who were discussing something inside saw the couple follow He Yuzhu in, and those who were sitting stood up to greet them.
This scene surprised the steel mill union representative and the neighborhood committee member surnamed Zhang. After listening for a while, they learned that the two who had just arrived used to live in this courtyard, but they moved away after buying a house elsewhere.
"Second Uncle, Third Uncle, where are First Uncle and Auntie?"
Liu Haizhong knew what Li Chu was asking and explained, "They couldn't bring him back from the hospital. Old Yi's hometown isn't near Beijing, and there's no land around here to bury him. Besides, the country is now promoting cremation, so..."
Sigh~ After hearing this, Li Chu sighed silently in his heart. The old man probably never imagined that he would end up with nothing but bones.
What's going on with Yi Ping'an now?
As the group was talking, Qin Huairu led her two daughters in. Upon seeing Ding Qiunan, she quickly came over and greeted her warmly.
After putting down what they were carrying, Xiao Dang and Huaihua apologized to the people inside and left.
The two of them still had to go to work at the restaurant. After all, it wasn't their relative who died. Even if Xu Damao could grant them leave, they would feel embarrassed. Qin Huairu also wouldn't allow them to take leave frequently because of this matter. It was enough that she was here to help.
Li Chu turned his head to look at the three women chatting together, feeling a little curious. Did Qin Huairu really have no hostility towards Cui Chunmei at all?
“Dr. Li, you must have heard about that brat’s affair. Now that he’s been taken away by the police, we can only wait and see how they handle it. You didn’t see it, did you? I don’t know how Old Yi raised his son. He squandered all the family’s savings and doesn’t have a single penny left. If it weren’t for the factory providing funeral expenses, Old Yi and his wife wouldn’t know where they would have gotten the money for their cremation.”
"No way?" Li Chu's first reaction upon hearing Liu Haizhong's words was that it was impossible.
But when he saw the expressions on everyone's faces in the room, he knew that his second uncle wasn't lying.
"Dr. Li, Old Yi's bankbook is right here. There's definitely no money left in it." Yan Bugui waved a bankbook in his hand.
"Sister Qin, what does Yi Ping'an do all day? How come he spends so much money?" Ding Qiunan asked in a low voice.
"Who knows? That guy leaves early and comes home late every day. If that woman hadn't come looking for him, no one in the neighborhood would have known what he's been doing all day."
"How could this happen? Why doesn't he find a proper partner?"
"I had a relationship at the factory, but I don't know why we broke up later."
"Just find someone else. He has a regular job, his retirement pension isn't low, and he owns a house. He should be able to find someone easily."
No anti-theft
"Sigh~" Qin Huai sighed, her face full of bitterness, and said, "Who can understand what young people are thinking these days? My bastard is still the same, completely out of touch."
"Didn't you say you were in your hometown? Why have we lost all contact with you?"
“Qiu Nan, I won’t lie to you. Three months ago, he wrote a letter home saying he was going to the south with a friend to try his luck, and then we haven’t heard from him since. My mother-in-law cried so much that she went blind in one eye.”
Ding Qiunan then noticed that Aunt Jia wasn't in the room; she was always the one who loved to join in the fun.
“Don’t worry, my son Li Chu said that the South has been developing very fast in the past two years. It’s good for the child to go out and try his luck. Maybe he will come back as a big boss in two years.”
"What boss or not, I just hope he can be safe and sound."
Cui Chunmei only said a few words at the beginning, and then sat and listened. She knew that Qin Huairu was her husband's ex-wife, whom he had divorced not long after they got married.
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