Wei Hua, bored at home, was speechless upon overhearing the conversation between the Jia mother and son. He never imagined that anyone in the world could be so shameless.
Given the Jia family's circumstances, they could never starve if they were willing to work hard. Yet, they chose to live this way. However, Liu Guangtian and Liu Guangfu weren't as foolish as Sha Zhu.
With Yi Zhonghai completely crippled, plotting against the Liu family won't be so easy. Although Liu Haizhong is ambitious for officialdom, he's certainly intelligent enough; otherwise, he wouldn't have become the second-in-command of the courtyard house. The courtyard house is likely to become quite lively in the future.
The thought of the conflict between the Liu and Jia families made Wei Hua eagerly anticipate what would happen next.
Wei Hua had a relatively good impression of the Liu brothers. It was the two brothers who carried him home; otherwise, the original owner of this body would probably be dead long ago.
Compared to the other people in the courtyard, Wei Hua had a higher opinion of them. They weren't as calculating as the Yan brothers. It was normal for them not to provide for Liu Haizhong in his old age.
Who would take care of someone who beats them every day in their old age? Don't tell me it's a matter of course to care for your parents in their old age. You'll never know how miserable those brothers are until it happens to you.
Who could accept a father who beat them from childhood, and who didn't hold back when he hit them, often leaving them seriously injured? In Wei Hua's memory, the Liu brothers had been beaten by Liu Haizhong several times, requiring them to stay in bed for ten days to half a month to recover.
In this situation, it's already quite kind of them not to draw their swords against each other. If it were me, I probably would have fled the Liu family long ago.
Since he owed them a favor, he had to repay it. Since he didn't have any relatives anyway, Wei Hua decided to sell them his two jobs at a lower price when they reached a certain age. Thinking about this, Wei Hua fell asleep.
When Wei Hua woke up the next day, the courtyard was covered in a thick white blanket. Feeling the chill, Wei Hua put on a thick cotton-padded coat. Feeling a bit cold in the courtyard, Wei Hua carried the stove and other items into the space.
As soon as he entered the space, Wei Hua took off his clothes and started eating hot pot all by himself.
No one else in the courtyard had their own private space. Even in the coldest weather, Huang Xiaojuan had no choice but to leave the courtyard despite the biting wind.
In order to get to Yi Zhonghai's hometown as soon as possible, Huang Xiaojuan had to quicken her pace. She arrived at the station and boarded a bus bound for Yi Zhonghai's hometown.
Meanwhile, Sha Zhu, unusually, had changed into clean clothes. To make a better impression on the woman, he even styled his hair in a slicked-back look. After getting ready, he went out and bought a lot of nice things.
Since it snowed today, Sha Zhu decided to make a hot pot at home. He went back to the yard and started preparing the ingredients for lunch. He Yushui wasn't idle either; she started helping tidy up the rooms early in the morning.
While tidying up the room, he kept an eye on the door. Seeing the Yu sisters dressed so beautifully, he immediately invited them into his home and quickly made them both a cup of hot tea.
"Brother, what are you standing there for? Come over here quickly."
“Brother, you’ve met Haitang before. This is Haitang’s older sister, Yu Li.”
"Sister Yu Li, this is my brother He Yuzhu, a chef in the kitchen of the steel rolling mill."
"Hello, Miss Yu."
"Hello, Brother He."
"You and your sister, sit down quickly! I'll go and bring over the hot pot I've prepared, and then we can eat hot pot and chat."
Sha Zhu was a little shy on his first blind date. After saying that, he quickly ran to the kitchen and brought out all the prepared food.
Since it was their first time, He Yushui was getting anxious for them. She even stomped on her brother's feet several times, but no matter how hard she tried, he didn't react at all.
"Sister Yu Li, don't let my brother's quiet demeanor fool you. He's usually quite talkative. But today, I don't know what's wrong with him; he hasn't said a word."
"Don't listen to this brat's nonsense! I just don't know what to say. Let's ignore this brat and eat first."
Hearing Sha Zhu's words, Yu Li shyly picked up a piece of mutton, dipped it in the sauce in her bowl, and put it in her mouth.
"Brother He, your cooking is really good. I haven't had such delicious mutton in a long time. My mom's cooking is not as good as yours."
Hearing Yu Li's words, Sha Zhu's face beamed with a smile. While Sha Zhu might not be good at other things, when it comes to cooking, he could talk about it for three days and three nights.
"If you like to eat, come to my house often. I can't speak for other things, but when it comes to cooking, there aren't many people who can cook better than me. Even the leaders in our factory say that my cooking skills are pretty good. Don't let my recent promotion fool you; I've already started cooking for myself."
"Just tell me what you want to eat. I'll make whatever you want. For example, if you want the lamb to not have a gamey smell, all you need to do is..."
Watching her older brother talk on and on, He Yushui knew the matter was almost settled. She could already see the answer on Yu Li's face. To avoid disturbing them, He Yushui deliberately kept serving Yu Haitang food, giving them ample time to talk.
While they were eating hotpot, Huang Xiaojuan brought Yi Zhonghe back to the courtyard house. Yi Zhonghe was startled when he saw his cousin's appearance.
"Cousin, you were perfectly fine last year, how did you become like this? What happened this past year? Why is your body like this? Especially this thing that looks like a tortoise shell, how did you get it?"
Upon hearing his cousin's words, Yi Zhonghai was momentarily at a loss for words.
"Your cousin has done too many bad things, and he got struck by lightning last month. Everyone else is fine, but he got criticized like this."
"Don't be fooled by the marks on his face; he's actually in much worse shape than you see. His leg was broken yesterday, and we don't even know if he can walk now."
"The main reason I called you here is to borrow money from you. Our family's money was eaten by rats last time, and the rest was used by your cousin to help the widow in the backyard. Now we don't even have money to compensate others."
"Huang Xiaojuan, are you doing this on purpose? If you keep this up, we'll die together."
"So what if I die! Do you really think I, Huang Xiaojuan, am afraid of you? You have the nerve to do such a shameful thing, so can't I even speak up?"
Upon hearing Huang Xiaojuan's words, Yi Zhonghai even contemplated murder. He knew his reputation was completely ruined. He wondered how his hometown would talk about him from now on.
“Zhonghe, your sister-in-law should have told you before I came. I want to borrow 300 yuan from you, with interest twice as high as the market rate. If you can’t pay it back within three years, my job will be yours.”
“Cousin, you’ve put it this way, it would be unreasonable for your younger brother not to lend you the money. However, even close brothers should keep their accounts clear, so we must draw up a written agreement beforehand. And both of you must put your fingerprints on this agreement.”
Upon hearing that she needed to put her fingerprint on the document, Huang Xiaojuan immediately objected. She didn't know who would receive Yi Zhonghai's salary in the future, and if she put her fingerprint on it, she would have to repay the money herself.
“I’m not your sister-in-law, I’m your cousin’s punching bag. And I’m a barren old hen, what right do I have to put my fingerprints on this? If you want to find your cousin’s wife, you can go to the backyard, that’s your real cousin’s wife.”
"You two brothers should resolve your own family matters. Whether or not to lend money is your family's business, what does it have to do with me, an outsider?"
"Huang Xiaojuan, how long are you going to keep making a scene?"
"Yi Zhonghai, should I take your cousin to the courtyard house and ask him about the dirty things you've been doing there? I need your approval to spend even a little money. You won't let me eat anything nice, and even if I buy some meat, you'll send it to the backyard. Shouldn't the signature on this document be from the Jia family's daughter-in-law?"
"You used to send good things to the Jia family every day. Tell me, who exactly is your wife? When it comes to spending money, you send Zhang Xiaohua, but now that you need to borrow money, you make me sign and put my fingerprint on the document. Do you think that's appropriate?"
“Zhonghe, I can make the decisions regarding the Yi family. As long as I sign, this IOU will be valid.”
Hearing Yi Zhonghai's words, Yi Zhonghe did not force Huang Xiaojuan to sign and put her fingerprint on the document. After Yi Zhonghai finished writing the IOU, Yi Zhonghe took out 300 yuan from his pocket, then put the IOU back, carefully checked it to make sure it was correct, and then put the IOU into his pocket.
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