Everyone could see the anger in Qin Huairu's eyes. Even Sha Zhu, who wasn't very bright, noticed it.
"Yu Li, did I say something wrong just now? Why do I feel like Qin Huairu suddenly hates Hua Zi?"
Yu Li was also quite speechless about her husband. Having lived in the courtyard for so long, Yu Li naturally understood everyone's personalities, and Qin Huairu was just too jealous.
"Tell Hua Zi when you go back tonight, so he won't be caught off guard. Also, apologize to the person when you get back. They suffered this undeserved misfortune entirely because of you."
Hearing his wife's words, He Yuzhu nodded guiltily. Over the years, because he hadn't been brainwashed, his mind had gradually returned to normal. He slowly began to see the true colors of the people in the courtyard.
Sha Zhu knew that Qin Huairu was a very cunning woman. So when he got home that night, he specifically sought out Wei Hua and told him what had happened that day.
When Wei Hua heard Sha Zhu's words, he just smiled and didn't take Qin Huairu seriously at all.
If Qin Huairu wants to scheme against me, let her try, as long as she's not afraid of death. Back home, she and Yang Tao continued to pretend to be poor, since their family's grain supply was so short.
If they didn't perform well in front of everyone, it might arouse suspicion. Therefore, Wei Hua and Yang Tao maintained their act for almost a week.
Even when Sha Zhu's wife and children were discharged from the hospital, he didn't bring anything. He just went over to say hello. But even so, he still received a red egg.
Wei Hua felt that Sha Zhu and Yu Li were worth associating with. Xu Damao in the courtyard was also acceptable. At least for now, Xu Damao hadn't shown any hostility towards him.
Not only were they not hostile, they often mingled with him. They frequently shared their observations about the steel rolling mill. The Liu brothers were also quite nice; although they weren't very good at interpersonal relationships, they would help him if he needed anything.
As for the other people in the courtyard, they were far inferior. Especially the elderly care group and the Yan family, they were simply not worth associating with; in their eyes, there was nothing but scheming.
With the Lunar New Year fast approaching, while Wei Hua was still figuring out how to fool everyone, the police station and the neighborhood committee brought the Jia family into Wei's house.
“Comrade Weihua, last time Jia Zhangshi and Jia Geng destroyed more than 20 jin of your grain, now I will return the grain in the Jia family’s grain register to you.”
Upon hearing Wei Hua's words, Yang Tao quickly retrieved the grain ration book from her home. Soon, the Jia family's grain was transferred to the Wei family. Facing the officials from the neighborhood committee and the police station, Jia Zhangshi and Bang Geng didn't dare utter a single word.
Even Qin Huairu only dared to shed tears on the sidelines, constantly lamenting how pitiful she was. But both the people from the neighborhood committee and the police station saw through Qin Huairu's true nature. After transferring the grain, they left the courtyard with Jia Zhangshi and Banggeng.
A few dozen yuan and twenty kilograms of grain is already a huge sum. Especially during times of food shortage, it could very well lead to starvation.
At first, they didn't arrest Jia Zhangshi and Bang Geng because they were both seriously injured, and even if they were to be arrested, they would have to wait until they were discharged from the hospital.
"Qin Huairu, your mother-in-law and son are going to prison for theft. Your mother-in-law was sentenced to five years and your son to three years. You need to quickly pack some clean clothes for them today and send them over before the New Year, otherwise they won't even have any clean clothes to change into."
The police officers from the local station weren't discussing things with Qin Huairu; they were informing her. After speaking, they led the two people, who looked as if they had been reincarnated, out of the courtyard.
After watching the two of them leave, Qin Huairu breathed a sigh of relief. With them gone, she would have one less burden. Qin Huairu had essentially given up on the idea of sticking to sticks now.
Even Qin Huairu didn't know what use Bang Geng was anymore. First, he broke his leg, then he was struck by lightning, and now he's in jail. When he gets out, he won't be able to find a wife or a job. As for going back to school, forget about it; schools simply won't accept someone like him.
Now that she's been arrested, Qin Huairu actually feels a sense of relief; at least she can catch her breath. But the thought of her family's grain being allocated to Wei Hua's family makes her feel uneasy.
Back home, all he could think about was how to get these things back. Without food, he wouldn't be able to have a comfortable New Year. He didn't have much money or much food; if he didn't find a way to get something, he and his two daughters would have to go hungry this New Year.
Back home, Qin Huairu dared not steal again for the time being. She realized the consequences of stealing were far too great—so great that she was still paying Wei Hua money back.
At this moment, Qin Huairu missed her former appearance immensely. If she still had her former beauty, why would she have to worry about these things?
This suddenly reminded Qin Huairu of Xu Damao, who was notorious for his lust. Among the residents of the courtyard, only Xu Damao had a weakness that made him relatively easy to manipulate. In order to get through this year smoothly, Qin Huairu had no choice but to scheme against Xu Damao.
In order to scheme against Xu Damao, Qin Huairu deliberately brought her cousin, Qin Huaiyan, all the way to the vicinity of the courtyard house. Delivering goods to the door was out of the question. But bringing her cousin back to the courtyard house meant she couldn't possibly scheme against the others there.
To deal with someone like Xu Damao, all you need to do is give him a sliver of hope, and he'll swarm like a fly. The real challenge is letting him know his cousin is here, and that she wants to find a good husband.
It is said that to look beautiful, one should wear mourning clothes. Qin Huairu even took out the mourning clothes she had worn for Jia Dongxu and made her cousin cry on the way back from the courtyard.
Xu Damao would never dare to seduce a normal woman, because if people found out, the consequences would be dire. But if she were a widow, Xu Damao would definitely be tempted.
With his intentions carefully laid and the woman caught off guard, Xu Damao had no reason not to take the bait. Seeing a woman crying on the street, especially one dressed in mourning clothes, sparked his interest. He wouldn't dare seduce a normal, respectable woman. But a widow like this was easy; even if something serious happened, she would usually endure it.
Seeing Qin Huaiyan sitting by the roadside crying alone, Xu Damao, her caring older brother, went over to her. A tragic story, slowly unfolded in Xu Damao's ears under Qin Huairu's guidance.
The story features a difficult mother-in-law, a gambling father-in-law, a husband who died young, and a troublesome brother-in-law.
She had just been kicked out by her husband's family after his death. Upon hearing that Qin Huaiyan was homeless, Xu Damao had an idea. He immediately took Qin Huaiyan out for a good meal, then discarded her mourning clothes and managed to sneak into a nearby hotel.
It must be said that Xu Damao is indeed capable; he managed to get a room booked without a letter of introduction.
Even though Xu Damao was cunning and treacherous, he never imagined that Qin Huairu had been spying on him all along. As soon as Qin Huaiyan opened the curtains, Qin Huairu started causing a scene at the hotel. Because they hadn't followed proper procedures, the hotel staff didn't dare make a fuss and could only take Qin Huairu to a guest room.
Xu Damao was caught red-handed by Qin Huairu and her men. Seeing Qin Huairu arrive with her men to arrest him, and seeing Qin Huaiyan crying beside Qin Huairu, even if Xu Damao were stupid, he would know he'd fallen for a honey trap. He was now like meat on a chopping board, at Qin Huairu's mercy.
If looks could kill, Qin Huairu would have died a thousand times over. To resolve the matter as quickly as possible, Xu Damao had no choice but to order the hotel staff to leave immediately.
The hotel staff, seeing that the two knew each other, guessed what was going on. To avoid trouble, they left the room.
"Qin Huairu, what exactly do you want?"
"You ask me what I want, but why don't you ask how you treated me back then? You ruined my reputation, so it's not too much for me to scheme against you once!"
But Qin Huairu's response was a slap in the face.
"Qin Huairu, you'd better not go too far. Don't forget you have two daughters. And your two children are still in the yard. If you don't want them to become corpses, you'd better not make exorbitant demands. I'll remember this grudge. If you hadn't tried to scheme against me last time, how could I have done such a thing? From beginning to end, it was you, Qin Huairu, who was scheming against me."
Hearing Xu Damao's words, Qin Huairu felt somewhat helpless. If they weren't struggling to make ends meet, who would want to do such a thing?
After considering the Xu family's financial situation, Qin Huairu helplessly held up two fingers. It wasn't that Qin Huairu didn't want to ask for more, but the Xu family's current financial situation wasn't particularly good. Given their circumstances, they probably couldn't even come up with 500 yuan. Asking for too much might tempt Xu Damao to take desperate measures.
"I don't have a single cent over 100 yuan. Take it or leave it, we'll fight to the death if necessary."
Hearing Xu Damao's words, Qin Huairu looked at her cousin, then at Xu Damao beside her, and finally held up five fingers.
"150 yuan. If you agree, go home and get the money. If you don't agree, then you'll go to jail! You earn more than 30 yuan a month now. Once you go to jail, you'll have nothing left."
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