In the courtyard, only Sha Zhu's attitude was somewhat ambiguous. It wasn't quite right to say that Sha Zhu was part of the retirement group, but he also seemed to have some issues with Liu Haizhong and the others.
Even though Sha Zhu isn't part of the retirement group, he always helps Qin Huairu whenever she approaches him. Even though Sha Zhu knows the Jia family is at fault, when a person's stance is skewed, their views and values change.
Seeing that Sha Zhu was constantly helping the Jia family, Liu Haizhong naturally grew increasingly displeased with him. Yan Bugui, on the other hand, didn't deliberately target Sha Zhu. In Yan Bugui's eyes, practical benefits were more appealing than hatred.
Whenever Sha Zhu returned with a lunchbox, Yan Bugui would chat with him for a while. If Sha Zhu gave Yan Bugui something, that was fine. But if Sha Zhu dared not give him anything, Yan Bugui would definitely target Sha Zhu for a period of time.
Sha Zhu was also quite helpless about this situation. His own lunchbox was somewhat shady. If things escalated, it wouldn't do him any good, so Sha Zhu would always give Yan Bugui a little something. Even if it was just a scallion or two, Yan Bugui wouldn't cause trouble.
Yan Bugui was relatively easy to please; he was content with just a few things. But the Jia family was never satisfied, no matter what they did. The Jia family didn't have much savings to begin with, and with Jia Dongxu constantly spending money, their savings were quickly depleted.
Madam Jia could only make Qin Huairu constantly act pitiful in front of Sha Zhu. At first, Qin Huairu was somewhat unwilling, after all, she was a married woman.
But as the family's financial situation worsened, Qin Huairu had no choice but to do this. Given her husband's condition, it wouldn't be better for at least two or three months.
Given the Jia family's financial situation, without the help of others, her son might have gone hungry. Even though doing so wouldn't be good for her reputation, Qin Huairu had no choice but to do it.
If it were anyone else, Sha Zhu could ignore it. But faced with Qin Huairu's request, Sha Zhu simply couldn't refuse. Originally, Sha Zhu only brought a little food, but now he's bringing more and more things.
The Jia family was like a bottomless pit; no matter how much Sha Zhu helped them, they could never be satisfied. Sha Zhu, who had just been promoted, didn't dare go too far. Sometimes he had to use his own money to buy things to help the Jia family.
Sha Zhu, who was not well-off to begin with, became even worse off after being involved with the Jia family. For the sake of her child, Qin Huairu had no choice but to continue to demand money from Sha Zhu.
If it were just Qin Huairu, it wouldn't be so bad. But there's also a deaf old lady in the courtyard. Yi Zhonghai isn't having an easy time either. Besides empty talk, he's unwilling to put in any real effort.
With wages drastically reduced and most of the family's money gone, the Yi family's situation is predictably dire. This has led the deaf old lady to set her sights on Sha Zhu, this seemingly easy prey.
Because of their past relationship, the deaf old lady would wait for Sha Zhu to return at the gate of the courtyard. Every time Sha Zhu returned, the two of them would rush to greet him.
Although Qin Huairu took most of the basic necessities, the deaf old lady still occasionally managed to acquire something. This gradually led the deaf old lady to resent the Jia family.
However, her elderly relative, Yi Zhonghai, had a very ambiguous relationship with the Jia family. Even if the deaf old lady wanted to scheme against the Jia family, she dared not act on it. If she offended Yi Zhonghai, it would be a loss that outweighed the gains.
In order to have a treat, the deaf old lady would ask Sha Zhu to cook her something nice. Sha Zhu could tolerate it once or twice, but no one could stand it if it happened too often.
Unfortunately, Sha Zhu had received favors from many people in the courtyard a few years ago. The deaf old lady and the others had also given Sha Zhu a little something in the past in order to scheme against him.
Even if Sha Zhu couldn't really lose out, he had no choice but to agree. But it was a hardship for He Yushui. Sha Zhu could eat at the steel mill, but He Yushui had no income. Sha Zhu had given everything away, while He Yushui sometimes had to go hungry.
This made He Yushui somewhat resentful. She felt that her brother didn't care about her at all, preferring to give the family's food to others rather than give it to her.
If it weren't for Qin Huairu, the tea master, He Yushui would probably have turned against her brother long ago. Because He Yushui lost her mother at a young age and had received kindness from Qin Huairu, even when Sha Zhu gave things to Qin Huairu, He Yushui never harbored any hatred towards her.
She foolishly believed that the Jia family was pitiful and that it was only right for her brother to repay their kindness. It wasn't until He Yushui was starving and prepared to go to the deaf old lady's house for some food that she realized her family had been tricked by others.
When winter vacation started, He Yushui returned to the courtyard house. Since Shazhu still had to go to work, He Yushui had to eat lunch alone at home.
But when He Yushui was about to make lunch, she found that there was no food at home. With no other option, He Yushui could only run to the backyard, where the two families with the best relationship with her family lived.
He Yushui had originally planned to have a casual meal at the Jia family's house, but before she even entered, Jia Zhangshi started swearing. He Yushui knew Jia Zhangshi very well, and with Qin Huairu covering for her, she didn't pay any attention.
Since we can't go to the Jia family's house for a free meal, we'll go to the deaf old lady's house for a meal.
"Grandma, we're out of food, and my brother hasn't come back yet. I'll have lunch with you."
"My dear granddaughter, you said you wanted to buy me something delicious to eat. That's wonderful! I haven't had anything good to eat in ages. You don't need to buy too much, just a roast duck will do. A cheap imitation would be best."
"Grandma, you misunderstood. I meant I'd like to come to your house for lunch."
"What did you say? You invited me to your house for dinner tonight. That's wonderful! I'll definitely be there on time, old lady."
Seeing the deaf old lady still pretending to be crazy, He Yushui's mood plummeted. He Yushui never expected that the deaf old lady who called her brother her grandson every day would refuse to even feed her.
He Yushui, who was able to get into a vocational high school, was naturally not unintelligent. He Yushui knew that the deaf old lady wasn't actually deaf; she just didn't want to talk to her.
She didn't want to talk to him, and there was no point in him continuing to talk. He Yushui could only leave the deaf old lady's house in disappointment.
After leaving the deaf old lady's house, He Yushui couldn't help but look at the Jia family again. He Yushui discovered that the Jia family's living conditions were actually better than her own. The Jia family was even eating mixed noodles for lunch, while she was basically eating cornmeal.
Even with her dull mind, He Yushui noticed many suspicious things. To verify her suspicions, she secretly went to the deaf old woman's doorstep. She discovered that the old woman had taken out a large basket of steamed buns from under the table.
He Yushui glanced at it and found that there were at least a dozen steamed buns in the half-basket. But the deaf old lady had so much food, yet she wouldn't give her even one.
The thought of the deaf old woman being so heartless brought tears to He Yushui's eyes. After glancing at the deaf old woman and the Jia family, He Yushui returned home, tears streaming down her face.
After crying at home for a while, He Yushui wanted her brother to see their true colors. To prevent her brother from having his food eaten by others, He Yushui went directly to the gate of the steel mill.
After Sha Zhu came out, He Yushui went straight up to him. Seeing his sister's aggrieved look, Sha Zhu knew that his sister must have something to tell him.
"What's wrong? Where did you suffer this time? Tell your brother what's wrong."
"Brother, do you really think the deaf old lady and Sister Qin are good people?"
Hearing his sister's words, Sha Zhu hesitated. Before Wei Hua's incident, Sha Zhu truly believed they were all good people. But what happened recently had left Sha Zhu somewhat astonished.
"Rain, why would you say such a thing?"
He Yushui didn't answer her brother's question. Instead, she took the lunchbox from his hand and ate it as she walked until she finished. Only then did she return the lunchbox to her brother.
“I didn’t eat lunch today, and we’ve run out of food at home. I wanted to go to the Jia family’s house or the deaf old lady’s house for something to eat, but neither of them was willing to give me anything.”
“If they didn’t have anything to eat, I wouldn’t have said anything. But do you know what I saw? The deaf old lady had half a basket of white flour buns hidden in her house. The Jia family was also eating two boxes of flour buns. Only we were eating cornmeal and mixed grain cornbread every day.”
Hearing his sister's words, Sha Zhu was stunned. He didn't doubt her. He knew his sister well enough to know what kind of person she was. Although she was a little simple-minded, she rarely lied.
The thought of the Jia family's past attempts to sow discord made Sha Zhu even more uncomfortable. But then he thought of his beloved, and he hesitated again.
“Rain, I know all that you’re saying. Have you forgotten how we survived when we were suffering? If it weren’t for the help of our neighbors in the yard, we would probably have starved to death long ago.”
"Do you still remember that winter in 1953? If it weren't for Sister Qin taking out a few cornbread buns from her bosom, my brother and I wouldn't be where we are today. Sometimes it's better to be a little oblivious. When you have the ability to help others, it's not a bad thing to help them a little."
"Don't worry about me, you little brat. I know everything, I just don't want to call them out on it. Looks like you're starving, bro. I'll go buy you a roast duck now, and we'll eat before we go back."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com