If even the Ma family is in this situation, then the other two families are even worse off; their lives are quite miserable right now. Seeing others living a life of luxury, the two families can only try their best not to think about it.
But Huang Xiaojuan secretly went to the Wei family alone. This time, everyone who went out received about thirty or forty catties of meat. The Wei family received the most meat, since Wei Hua had done the most work.
Whether for her own sake or for her child's, Huang Xiaojuan wanted to try going to Wei Hua's house.
"Hua Zi, I'm sorry to bother you two during the New Year. I'm here mainly to exchange some meat or bones with you. You got so much meat the day before yesterday, could you exchange some meat or bones for me?"
“My child suffered a lot in the past few years, and I want to make up for it. But I don’t have enough receipts, so I want to exchange something else with you.”
Hearing Huang Xiaojuan's words, Wei Hua didn't refuse. As long as she wasn't deliberately trying to take advantage of him, Wei Hua was quite generous.
This wasn't just true for Huang Xiaojuan; it was similar for all the neighbors in the courtyard. As long as they weren't deliberately trying to take advantage of him, Wei Hua would try his best to help whenever he could. Helping others was helping himself. After all, they were just ordinary neighbors, and those who tried to harm him had all met their just deserts.
How much meat and bone do you want?
"Take more if you can, take less if it's inconvenient. Just take what's best for yourselves first."
Upon hearing Huang Xiaojuan's words, Wei Hua immediately took out three or four pounds of meat. Then he took a scale, weighed the meat, and handed it to Huang Xiaojuan.
"It weighs three and six jin in total. Just give me money or something else of value according to its worth!"
Huang Xiaojuan was clearly not doing this for the first time. After taking out 3.5 yuan, she took out a receipt for about 1 or 2 mao.
That way, even if someone wants to report it, they can claim it was a barter transaction. They can simply say that the item they wanted to exchange was too valuable, and they had to make up the difference with some money.
Seeing that Huang Xiaojuan was about to take the meat back, Wei Hua handed her the bone in his other hand.
"There's still a pound or two of bones here, mostly pig's head and other bones, not much meat. If you don't mind, take them back and make soup for your child!"
Upon hearing Wei Hua's words, Huang Xiaojuan immediately took the bone. Seriously, why would people in this era dislike pork bones? Even without much meat, they could be used to make soup.
After saying thank you a few times, Huang Xiaojuan carried the meat and bones back to her home.
Before long, the smell of meat wafted from the Ma family's house in the middle courtyard. This immediately made the Yan and Liu families in the front courtyard somewhat uneasy.
The Yan and Liu families had considered reporting Wei Hua, but they knew it would be futile. As long as Wei Hua didn't sell the meat on the street, it wouldn't be a big deal. Besides, Huang Xiaojuan had traded other things for it, so this was essentially just a barter transaction.
This is how everyone lives their daily lives. If anyone dares to report it, they will almost certainly become everyone's enemy.
Once this kind of thing is investigated, everyone's life will be ruined. Because sometimes they will swap unwanted things for things they want.
Seeing that the Ma family had started eating meat, the Liu family in the backyard immediately set to work. They might not be able to get meat from others, but this time both Liu Guangtian and his brother participated, and they definitely got the most meat.
In any case, the two brothers each received two portions of meat. And since they weren't burdened with much food, they couldn't possibly finish it all.
Gu Chunyan immediately grabbed a few yuan and ran out of the courtyard. As soon as she arrived at the courtyard where the Liu brothers lived, Gu Chunyan started talking nonsense, but no matter what she said, the Liu brothers ignored her.
Gu Chunyan had no choice but to pay them to exchange for some meat. For the sake of the money, the Liu brothers didn't refuse. Anyway, the three of them couldn't finish more than 50 jin of meat.
After giving Gu Chunyan four or five pounds of meat, they continued preparing the New Year's Eve dinner. Although the meat cost money, eating meat was ultimately a good thing. In order to have a good meal, Gu Chunyan immediately took the meat back.
She went straight into the kitchen as soon as she got back. These days, Gu Chunyan hadn't been living a very good life. Now that she had four or five pounds of meat, Gu Chunyan wanted to have a prosperous New Year.
He marinated half the meat and started cooking. Just then, an uninvited guest appeared at the entrance of the courtyard. Upon smelling the aroma emanating from the courtyard, the person quickly headed towards the central courtyard.
He had just reached the Intermediate People's Court when he stopped, looking at Sha Zhu's house, and tears slowly streamed down his face. Such a grown man, it was hard for anyone not to notice him.
When Sha Zhu saw the person in front of him, his eyes reddened slightly. He immediately ran over, followed by He Yushui.
Upon seeing her father return, He Yushui burst into tears. A girl's emotions are far more complex than a man's.
When Yu Li saw her husband and sister-in-law crying with this man, she knew that this was their father, He Daqing, her father-in-law whom she had never met.
Although she didn't know why her father-in-law had left the courtyard house for Baoding, he was still her father-in-law. And he still sent ten yuan back every month. For that alone, she should take good care of him.
In order to make a good impression on her father-in-law, Yu Li immediately took her two children and went over.
"Dad, why didn't you write a letter before you came back? I'm all better now, and I, Zhuzi, will pick you up at the train station."
"Xiao Chen, quickly call him Grandpa."
Hearing his mother's words, He Chen looked at He Daqing curiously, but still called out "Grandpa" in a childish voice.
It is said that grandparents love their grandchildren more. When Hearing his grandson calling him, He Daqing immediately focused his attention on He Chen and then hugged He Chen in his arms.
"You must be Grandpa's eldest grandson, He Chen, right? I never imagined that my grandson would grow up so much in just 12 years since I passed away."
Upon hearing He Daqing's words, Sha Zhu and He Yushui quickly invited him into the room, and He Yushui even brought out a stove.
Sha Zhu didn't chat with his father because there were still a few dishes to prepare in the kitchen. Anyway, his father was back, and they could chat anytime he wanted.
After preparing the New Year's Eve dinner, Sha Zhu and Yu Li served the food and also took out a bottle of wine.
Looking at the food on the table, He Daqing was somewhat incredulous. He couldn't believe that life in Beijing was so good now. The courtyard was filled with the aroma of meat.
If I had known I could live this kind of life in Beijing, I shouldn't have gone to Baoding in the first place.
"Zhu Zi, I didn't expect you guys to be living such a good life now. There are three meat dishes and so many pure meat dumplings for the New Year's Eve dinner."
“Even landlords couldn’t afford this kind of life before. Today, my son and I will have a good drink together.”
“Dad, we don’t usually live this well. The reason we have such a good life is all thanks to Weihua taking us to the mountains a few days ago to set up some traps. Last time, the five of us caught more than 200 catties of meat. Otherwise, we would be lucky to have even one meat dish.”
Upon hearing Wei Hua's name, He Daqing immediately recalled everything about the Wei family.
"Oh, it's Hua Zi! It seems Hua Zi has been doing quite well these past few years. Has he become a hunter now?"
Upon hearing He Daqing's words, Sha Zhu immediately poured his father a glass of wine. Then he talked about Wei Hua.
He Daqing never expected that Wei Hua's parents were dead. He also never imagined that Wei Hua would become so successful.
However, He Yushui couldn't hold back any longer. If she didn't ask the question on her mind, she felt like something was stuck in her heart.
"Dad, can you tell us why you abandoned us and ran off to Baoding with the White Widow?"
He Daqing, who had just taken a sip of wine, almost choked. Looking at his family, he had no choice but to explain the reason.
“It’s not that Dad wants to abandon you and run away alone, it’s just that Dad has a reason to leave. At that time, the country had just been established and the policies were unstable.”
“Our He family has produced imperial chefs, and my father also worked for the Japanese. Back then, the deaf old lady told Yi Zhonghai that the neighborhood committee was investigating me. So I had no choice but to go to Baoding with Widow Bai. By going to Baoding with Widow Bai, I could become a son-in-law; otherwise, I wouldn’t even be able to solve my identity problem.”
Upon hearing that the matter was indeed related to the deaf old woman and her brother, He Yuzhu and his sister even considered desecrating the corpses of the deaf old woman and Yi Zhonghai.
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