In fact, Qin Huairu learned of the trouble at home noon, not until evening. When she arrived at the cafeteria at noon, she found that Sha Zhu was not there, so she started asking around, but no one knew anything.
As soon as work resumed in the afternoon, some of the workers who lived in the courtyard houses or nearby areas and went home for lunch spread the word to the factory. Sha Zhu and Qin Huairu were both celebrities, so the news spread like wildfire throughout the steel rolling mill.
"Have you heard? Sha Zhu found a teacher outside."
"I heard that Qin Huairu was the first to find someone, and Sha Zhu followed suit. They each did their own thing and spent a lot of money."
"That's outdated. Now both of you are getting a divorce. Ah, never mind, Qin Huairu is coming."
Right next to Qin Huairu, her fellow workers were all gossiping about her behind her back. It wasn't until a female worker who was on good terms with Qin Huairu finally asked her about the truth that Qin Huairu found out.
I didn't think much of it before, but now that I think about Sha Zhu's unusual behavior lately, such as leaving early and returning late every day, liking to dress up, and appearing with me less and less in public, those are definitely signs of a scumbag who has changed his mind.
Thinking about how she had worked so hard for her family and children, transforming from a charming widow whom everyone loved into a plump middle-aged woman, Qin Huairu felt a pang of grievance, and tears streamed down her face. Unable to continue her work, Qin Huairu asked her team leader for leave and ran out of the factory gate.
"Section Chief Wang, this Sha Zhu is probably in trouble. Are we going to have to go out on patrol again?" The security officer looked at the swaying headlights and smiled at Wang Xin.
"I don't care if he gets into trouble or not, I'm just afraid he'll get beaten up and we won't have any food in the cafeteria tomorrow," Wang Xin replied.
Qin Huairu rushed back to the courtyard house and saw Sha Zhu lying on the bed as soon as she got home. After suffering emotional trauma that morning, he didn't go to the cafeteria and simply lay in bed contemplating life.
He discovered that he truly felt no passion for Qin Huairu, not even the motivation to engage in sexual activity; he often just went through the motions. This didn't fit his carefree, unrestrained, and freedom-loving personality at all!
"I want a divorce! I want to pursue my own love!" This thought haunted his mind like a demon.
"Shazhu, why didn't you go to the cafeteria today!" Qin Huairu looked at Shazhu lying on the bed, her anger rising. She thought, "What kind of man couldn't I find? Why did I have to marry such a simpleton?"
"Ah, Qin Huairu, is it time to get off work?" Sha Zhu was startled by Qin Huairu, thinking it was time to leave work.
"Hehe, Qin Huairu, is that all you call me? Before, it was Huairu, Huairu. Who are you thinking about now? Is it that vixen surnamed Ran?" Hearing her called by her name directly, Qin Huairu could no longer suppress her anger.
"What nonsense are you talking about? That's Teacher Banggeng. Besides, what relationship do I have with her? Don't tarnish her reputation," Shazhu said.
"That kind of person is a teacher? She knows you have a wife, yet she still gets so close to you. Are all the men in the world dead? Why did she fall for you?"
"A woman like her would have been drowned in a pig cage twenty years ago," Qin Huairu cursed.
"What do you mean? What's wrong with me? Why don't you like me?" Sha Zhu stubbornly started arguing with Qin Huairu about this.
"Fine, now you admit it. Silly Zhu, I'm going to tear that woman's mouth apart today." Seeing Silly Zhu speaking up for Ran Qiuye, Qin Huairu knew that Silly Zhu had probably really changed his mind.
He was helpless against this man, but Qin Huairu could handle that delicate young girl.
After saying that, she picked up a pair of scissors from the kitchen, slammed the door, and left.
At first, Sha Zhu didn't react when he saw Qin Huairu leaving; but when he saw the scissors in her hand, Sha Zhu knew something was wrong, that this woman was about to do something big, so he jumped up and rushed outside.
But upon closer inspection, there was no one outside; they had all run away incredibly fast.
"Where's Qin Huairu? Has anyone seen her?" Sha Zhu shouted to his neighbor.
"He just went out and headed west," the neighbor said.
Sha Zhu ran outside, but he still hadn't seen Qin Huairu when he was almost at school. Had she already arrived? Sha Zhu thought to himself, "This is bad."
Sha Zhu used all his strength to run frantically towards the school, hoping that the school gatekeeper could stop Qin Huairu.
"Grandpa, have you seen Qin Huairu go in?" When he arrived at the school and didn't see her, Sha Zhu could only ask the gatekeeper breathlessly.
"Silly Zhu, you're here so early today, but Teacher Ran is still teaching." The gatekeeper had gotten quite familiar with Silly Zhu these past few days and knew the kid's tricks, so he joked.
"Stop with the small talk, I'm asking if you've seen Qin Huairu." Sha Zhu didn't have time for anything else and asked again.
"I don't know who Qin Huairu is, but I can tell you that no one else has entered the school so far. So you can rest assured, no one is going to compete with you for Teacher Ran," the gatekeeper kindly reminded him.
"Really no one went in?" Sha Zhu asked again, still not convinced.
"There's really no one here. Here's what we'll do, Sha Zhu, you give me a pack of cigarettes a month, and I'll give you all the information on the people who went in to see Teacher Ran, how about that?" The gatekeeper grabbed Sha Zhu and started making a deal.
"One pack of cigarettes a month, go ahead and rob me. Two packs every three months, take it or leave it." Upon hearing that Qin Huairu hadn't gone to school, Sha Zhu suddenly became interested in the business in front of him and started bargaining.
"Deal!" The gatekeeper didn't waste any time and confirmed the deal directly. Then he searched Sha Zhu and found a pack of cigarettes on him as a deposit.
Sha Zhu was worried that he had run too fast and left Qin Huairu behind, so he waited at the gate and chatted with the gatekeeper about Ran Qiuye.
You wouldn't believe it until you talked to them; it turns out there are quite a few people eyeing Ran Qiuye.
According to the security guard, there were school teachers, government officials, and department store salespeople—all of them were quite well-off.
"Silly Zhu, I'm not trying to be mean, but among all these people, you're the one with the worst conditions," the gatekeeper said.
"What nonsense are you talking about? I'm the deputy director of the canteen, a deputy section-level cadre. With my salary and the money I make from cooking outside, I earn about 100 yuan a month. How many people can compare to that?"
Sha Zhu stood at the gate asking the gatekeeper for information and then bragging until the students left school.
Upon seeing Ran Qiuye, who clearly had a problem with him and was ignoring him, Sha Zhu knew that haste makes waste, so he didn't attack and only told her to be careful these next few days.
Carrying the two children back to the courtyard, I saw Qin Huairu washing clothes in the middle courtyard.
"Qin Huairu, where did you go? I've been looking for you everywhere," Sha Zhu asked.
"Heh, you thought I was going to settle scores with your little lover? That's what I thought at first, but as soon as I walked out, I realized that you guys were in the wrong. If there was a problem, I would have just gone to the security department."
"If I go and hit her myself, wouldn't that just land me in jail?"
Faced with the intelligent Qin Huairu, Sha Zhu was no match for her and could only stand aside and laugh foolishly.
"Stop laughing, there will be a hospital-wide meeting later!" Qin Huairu said.
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