Just as Sha Zhu was loading coal, Yi Zhonghai strolled back with his hands behind his back.
He's been in a good mood lately. Although his apprentice was injured at work, it's fortunate that he survived.
He himself will soon be giving his second public sharing session in the workshop.
With the foundation laid last time, we can anticipate the sensation after the class resumes; the original venue will likely be insufficient.
At that time, his fame will spread at an alarming rate.
Now, just responding to people's greetings at the cafeteria makes his arms ache; imagine what it would be like if classes started again.
As Yi Zhonghai walked along, pondering, he passed by Sha Zhu's door and heard a noise coming from inside. He turned his head and saw Qin Huairu sitting in Sha Zhu's room, and he couldn't help but frown slightly.
From beginning to end, Yi Zhonghai believed himself to be the most impartial elder in the courtyard. Hearing the laughter and conversation coming from inside the house, he felt that things were getting out of control.
He couldn't help but sigh inwardly. Anyone in this courtyard who wasn't blind could see that Sha Zhu had feelings for Qin Huairu.
This has been going on for many years.
Nobody took it seriously at the time.
Qin Huairu is a charming young wife; who wouldn't like her? There are plenty of suitors. Even Yi Zhonghai couldn't help but take a second look; everyone has an appreciation for beauty.
But after Qin Huairu gave birth, fewer men, young and old, joked about her in the courtyard.
When Qin Huairu and Jia Dongxu had just gotten married, even Liu Haizhong would make a few jokes whenever they met, making Qin Huairu blush and stay up for a long time.
As they had more and more children, the matter subsided.
Only those two young lads, Sha Zhu and Xu Damao, are shameless and always behaving improperly.
Xu Damao liked to verbally take advantage of Qin Huairu, while Sha Zhu was slightly less adept, occasionally trying to grope her, but he never missed a chance to help the Jia family.
Nobody took it to heart. Since Qin Huairu and the Jia family hadn't said anything, they didn't bother to get involved.
Sooner or later, these two young men will get married, and everyone thinks that they will settle down after marriage.
But who would have thought that Jia Dongxu would run into trouble at this crucial moment!
That would be a bad thing.
Yi Zhonghai's heart skipped a beat when he thought of this.
He coughed a few times on purpose, then walked towards the door of Sha Zhu's house.
"Hey, Huai Ru, Zhu Zi, what are you doing?"
Sha Zhu chuckled and hurriedly stood up, saying, "It's Uncle Yi! Sister Qin's family is short of coal, so I'm getting her some."
Yi Zhonghai looked at Qin Huairu and said after a moment's thought, "Huairu, although it's good for neighbors to help each other, we should also be mindful of the impact, after all, Dongxu is still lying at home."
Qin Huairu also got up from the stool at this time, her face flushed, and said in a low voice: "Uncle Yi, I know. I just came to borrow coal and went inside to chat with Zhuzi for a bit."
Upon hearing Yi Zhonghai's words, Sha Zhu immediately objected. "What's wrong with him? He's being so nice to me, why is he taking advantage of me?"
"Uncle, I meant well, how come you've twisted my intentions? I, Sha Zhu, have done nothing wrong."
Sha Zhu picked up the basket. "How about this, let Sister Qin go to your house to get the coal. You're a perfectly respectable person in the yard, and no one will gossip if they see you like this. Is that alright?"
Yi Zhonghai's face darkened, and he felt a chill run down his spine. He had only recently reconciled with Sha Zhu, and his words earlier had indeed been a bit harsh.
He quickly tried to cover it up, saying, "Zhu Zi, what are you doing? And Huai Ru, I absolutely didn't say anything about you two. I was just worried that there were too many people in this courtyard and bad rumors might spread, which would have a bad impact on you two."
“First of all, look at Dongxu. He’s injured and unable to work, and Huairu has to endure the gossip and rumors.”
"Furthermore, Zhu Zi, you're a young man who will eventually get married and have children. If someone makes up a few things at this time, even if you have a matchmaker, it will fall through. Every family that hears this will back out!"
After Yi Zhonghai finished speaking, he glanced at the two men.
Sha Zhu was still a little indignant: "Uncle Yi, I didn't have any other thoughts. I just saw that Sister Qin's family was really in a difficult situation, and I thought I would help them if I could. It's really not as complicated as you say, and I didn't think about so many other things."
Qin Huairu blushed and whispered, "Uncle Yi, Zhuzi is indeed a good man. He has always helped our family. If you hadn't spoken up, I wouldn't have imagined that things would be so serious."
Yi Zhonghai sighed: "Of course I believe you two are good people, but outsiders may not see it that way. If someone else sees you two hiding in the house chatting and laughing, what will they say when they go out?"
"Let's not talk about others, take Xu Damao for example, who knows what kind of rumors he'll spread, it'll definitely be worse than what I'm saying, Zhuzi, do you believe me?!"
Others may not know, but when Yi Zhonghai uses Xu Damao as an analogy, Sha Zhu will definitely believe it.
Seeing that Sha Zhu's attitude was not as firm as before, Yi Zhonghai sighed again: "Zhu Zi, you should think more about the impact when you do things in the future. I'm doing this for your own good. Otherwise, why would I say this and offend people? I'm treating you two like family, you know!"
"Uncle Yi, please don't say anymore, we've remembered it all."
Qin Huairu's neck turned red, and she wanted to escape as soon as possible. "Zhuzi, thank you for the coal. I'll be going now."
After saying that, Qin Huairu hurriedly left with the coal in her basket.
Sha Zhu watched Qin Huairu's departing figure, his heart filled with helplessness, while Yi Zhonghai stood aside, lost in thought.
"Want to come to my place for something to eat?"
Seeing that Sha Zhu had come to his senses, Yi Zhonghai said.
Sha Zhu shook his head absentmindedly: "No, Uncle Yi, the rain will be back soon, and besides, the food is all ready, so I won't bother you."
"Alright then."
Yi Zhonghai nodded, then pulled his foot back after taking a step out and closed the door behind him.
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