Thinking back on the absurd things he had done, He Daqing was filled with regret. But now that it had already happened, there was no use in regretting it. The cause he had sown was now bearing fruit, and He Daqing could only helplessly accept this fact.
He Yuzhu had time only in the mornings and evenings; the rest of the time he had to do other things. Moreover, He Yuzhu harbored resentment towards He Daqing. Although he took care of He Daqing in the hospital, he wasn't very attentive.
It's said that there's no filial piety at the bedside of a chronically ill patient. In the first month or so, He Yuzhu took good care of Yu Li, but as Yu Li was about to give birth, He Yuzhu didn't have much time and had to go to the hospital every day.
In the end, the task of taking care of He Daqing fell to He Yushui. He Yushui didn't have as much patience as He Yuzhu. He Yushui herself was pregnant, now seven or eight months along; under these circumstances, it would be a miracle if she didn't find someone to take care of her, let alone He Daqing.
Aside from bringing meals to the hospital every day, He Yushui basically didn't care about He Daqing's affairs. Fortunately, He Daqing's health gradually improved. Now, he can manage to go to the toilet by himself, holding onto the railing.
There was no need to worry about meals; He Daqing could eat by himself as long as the food was placed aside. Seeing that He Daqing's health had improved, He Yushui left some money and receipts and left the hospital. She then settled down in the courtyard to rest and prepare for her pregnancy.
It's said that great ups and downs reveal a person's true colors. It was only then that He Daqing realized the importance of his children. But by the time He Daqing truly understood this, he was already in prison.
When He Daqing was sent to prison, He Yuzhu delivered a few sets of clothes to him, and from then on, he never cared about his father again. Even if he wanted to, he didn't have the ability.
Since her divorce from He Daqing, Ma Xiaorong hadn't visited him even once. Now that He Daqing was finally imprisoned, Ma Xiaorong had actually come to the courtyard house again.
Having grown accustomed to a comfortable life, Ma Xiaorong was completely unaccustomed to hardship. Although Ma Xiaorong wasn't arrested, all of her family's money was confiscated.
With such a major incident occurring at the hotel, Ma Xiaorong, as the wife of the culprit, won't be able to escape unscathed so easily.
Perhaps because she had taken advantage of Sha Zhu in the past, Ma Xiaorong now wanted to try her luck at the courtyard house again. In the past, Ma Xiaorong was at least Sha Zhu's stepmother, and Sha Zhu had to give He Daqing some face. Now that the He family had been ruined by Ma Xiaorong, even if Sha Zhu had the best temper, he couldn't possibly tolerate Ma Xiaorong.
Seeing that Ma Xiaorong actually dared to come to the courtyard house, he grabbed Ma Xiaorong's clothes and threw her out of the courtyard house.
"Get the hell out of here! You've ruined the He family like this, and I'm already being lenient by not holding you accountable. How dare you even come to the courtyard house?"
“Zhu Zi, I used to be your stepmother. How could you treat me like this? Do you think I wanted to become like this? This whole thing is all that bastard He Daqing’s fault.”
“If He Daqing hadn’t done this, how would I have had the power to let him harm you? If it weren’t for He Daqing, I wouldn’t be in such a miserable state.”
“I saved so much money for my four children, but it was all confiscated because of He Daqing. I even lost my job because of He Daqing. Shouldn’t you take responsibility?”
Hearing Ma Xiaorong's words, everyone in the courtyard burst into laughter. They hadn't seen such a shameless person in a long time.
"I wasn't the one who ate and took things; it was He Daqing who wanted to do it. I don't need to elaborate on bringing lunchboxes. It's been a tradition of He Daqing's for a long time. It's just that after I got pregnant, she brought more than before."
"With He Daqing arrested, what do you expect me to do? Are you suggesting I go to jail with He Daqing? What will happen to these four children if I go to jail?"
"I've been ruined by He Daqing, shouldn't you take responsibility for me? I have no job and no food. If I don't come to you, who else can I come to?"
Hearing Ma Xiaorong's twisted logic, even Sha Zhu was speechless for a moment. After a long pause, Sha Zhu slowly came to his senses.
"Get out of here right now! If you don't get out, I don't mind breaking your legs. If you hadn't been there inciting He Daqing, even if you were mentally unstable, you wouldn't have done something so outrageous."
"Haven't you ruined our family enough? We used to live such a good life, look at what our family has become now."
"You guys caused me to lose my job as the cafeteria manager. You ruined my sister's happy family. My salary is now less than half of what it used to be. I wish I could tear you to pieces."
"If you don't leave, you stay here and see what I do to you. If you don't believe me, you can ask me how I got my nickname. If I didn't have a wife and kids, I'd be way better off than you."
Hearing Sha Zhu's words, Ma Xiaorong remained completely unmoved. No matter how Sha Zhu might retaliate against her, it couldn't possibly be worse than what she was in now.
If it were just me alone, I could grit my teeth and persevere, but I also have four children to support.
"If you've got the guts, kill me. Otherwise, I'm not leaving."
After Ma Xiaorong finished speaking, she sat down with her four children at the entrance of the courtyard house, looking like she was prepared to stay there for a long time.
When others saw Ma Xiaorong, they couldn't help but think of Jia Zhangshi. Ma Xiaorong's behavior was remarkably similar to Jia Zhangshi's.
This kind of thing hadn't happened in the courtyard for a long time; everyone else was just watching the spectacle. Sha Zhu wouldn't actually lay a hand on a woman.
Seeing Ma Xiaorong loitering at the entrance of the courtyard house, he simply went back inside. If Ma Xiaorong dared to cause trouble at his house, Sha Zhu was ready to take action.
Seeing that Sha Zhu was completely ignoring her, Ma Xiaorong started throwing a tantrum outside the courtyard house. Since the area outside the courtyard house was a public space, no one could do anything about Ma Xiaorong's outburst.
At first, everyone was interested in watching the spectacle, but after a while, they lost interest. Seeing that no one was paying attention to her, Ma Xiaorong simply took her child and went straight into the courtyard. As for going to Sha Zhu's house to cause trouble, Ma Xiaorong didn't have the guts.
Ma Xiaorong and Sha Zhu have nothing to do with each other anymore. If she hadn't divorced He Daqing, Ma Xiaorong would have had a reason to cause trouble for Sha Zhu. But now, not only is she divorced from He Daqing, she's also had an abortion. Going to Sha Zhu's house to cause trouble would be asking for a beating.
The reason Ma Xiaorong came to the courtyard house was simply because she couldn't make ends meet anymore. Unfamiliar with other places, she had no choice but to try her luck at the courtyard house.
Upon arriving at the courtyard house, Ma Xiaorong immediately lay down under the eaves of Sha Zhu's house. She tossed aside her bundle and sat down with the four children.
Judging from their appearance, they had no intention of leaving anytime soon. Sha Zhu's family didn't take Ma Xiaorong seriously either, and even started eating in front of Ma Xiaorong and her family of five.
Seeing Sha Zhu eating with his children in front of her, how could Ma Xiaorong and her four children bear it?
"Zhu Zi, we used to be family. How can you really bear to watch me and my four children go hungry?"
Before Sha Zhu could speak, He Yushui spoke first.
“What is there for us to be reluctant to do? We would love to tear you to pieces. If it weren’t for you, our family would not have ended up like this. If it weren’t for you, I would not have ended up in such a miserable state.”
"You can continue to play the victim here and see if we'll pity you and your five children. Even if you starve to death here, we won't give you a second glance."
Seeing the hatred in He Yushui's eyes, Ma Xiaorong knew He Yushui wasn't joking. But if she left like this, where could she go?
Seeing that her four children were starving, Ma Xiaorong had no choice but to ask the other people in the courtyard for help, hoping they could get her some food.
So she took her four children and went from house to house begging. If it were anyone else, Wei Hua might have given them something. But Ma Xiaorong had a grudge against Sha Zhu, and she had a good relationship with Sha Zhu's family, so Wei Hua didn't give them anything.
Someone like Ma Xiaorong, once given food, will only stay in the courtyard house indefinitely. To avoid future trouble, Wei Hua could only pretend not to see or hear anything and live his own quiet life behind closed doors.
Seeing that no one in the courtyard was willing to help her, Ma Xiaorong had no choice but to take her four children and huddle under the eaves of Sha Zhu's house.
It's said that good deeds are rewarded and evil deeds are punished. Not long after, a heavy rain began to fall. The torrential rain and strong winds quickly soaked Ma Xiaorong and her four children.
Seeing that the rain wasn't going to stop anytime soon, Ma Xiaorong could only keep knocking on Sha Zhu's door, hoping that Sha Zhu would let her in.
"Zhu Zi, please let us in to take shelter from the rain! You're the only person I know well in the whole courtyard. Don't worry, as soon as the rain stops tomorrow, I'll take the children and leave."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com