How could He Yushui not be happy to hear her brother's words? Seeing his sister so happy, Sha Zhu also knew that he hadn't given her enough care during this time.
Upon arriving at Bianyifang, he picked out the fattest roast duck for his younger sister. To make up for the lack of food he had given her recently, Shazhu also bought He Yushui a lot of other food.
Seeing how much delicious food her brother had bought for her, while he stood by watching her, He Yushui couldn't help but think of that winter in 1951.
Her older brother took her to find their father. But that bastard He Daqing refused to see them. She and her brother spent the whole night outside; it was her brother who held her and kept her from freezing to death.
This same simpleton had raised her for seven whole years. Thinking about how she had harbored resentment towards him not long ago, He Yushui felt a pang of guilt.
"Brother, why did you treat these people in the courtyard like this? I thought you didn't know anything, but I didn't expect you to know everything."
“Rain, since you’ve said that, I won’t hide it from you anymore. When Dad left, he didn’t leave us anything. I remember I was only 16 when he passed away. I was out collecting scraps with you by myself. Back then, nobody looked down on us. I did a lot of foolish things in the courtyard to support you.”
“I’ve stolen a lot of things to get food. Don’t be fooled by how tough everyone talks. Nobody ever reports it to the police. Even when people know I’m the thief, they just curse at me.”
"Do you think others don't know I stole it? Actually, everyone knows perfectly well. We have to accept this favor, so even if others take advantage of us, I'll just pretend I don't know."
“I know about the Jia family’s situation. I just got a permanent position and I already earn more than 30 yuan a month. Jia Dongxu has been a permanent employee for more than four years, how could he be poorer than my family?”
"Do you remember that winter? It was when we were starving and couldn't take it anymore. It was Sister Qin who stole five cornbread buns from her house that helped us get through that time."
"So even though the Jia family has been taking advantage of us, I've never cared."
"I know Sister Qin is a good person. It's just that the Jia family mother and son went too far. The reason Sister Qin did this is because of the Jia family mother and son."
"Now that Jia Dongxu is like this, how can I bear to let Sister Qin suffer alone?"
"I admit I've neglected you these past few days. I'll never let you go hungry again. From now on, I'll give you extra money and receipts every month."
Hearing her brother's words, He Yushui didn't know what to say. He Yushui knew her brother wasn't telling the truth. But what could she do about it?
To prevent her brother from making the same mistake again, He Yushui decided to introduce him to a potential partner. Once her brother was married, Sister Qin would no longer be able to influence him.
But when He Yushui thought of the deaf old lady behind her, she felt somewhat uneasy.
"Brother, the Jia family's situation is somewhat understandable, after all, they helped me. But why are you so respectful to that deaf old lady? I don't remember her helping us at all."
"And she also bullied Brother Weihua. Uncle Wei and Aunt Wei used to help us a lot."
“Rain, you’re still young. There are some things you don’t understand. Uncle Wei and Aunt Wei did help us, but didn’t others help us too? Tell me, which side should I take in this matter? All I can do is remain neutral, because no matter which side I take, we’ll offend the other. So no matter what Sister Qin says, I haven’t done anything.”
"You don't need to worry about the courtyard house anymore. Just focus on your studies. Although I'm not very educated, I don't want my sister to go through the same thing."
Hearing her brother's words, He Yushui wisely shut her mouth. However, her desire to find a sister-in-law for her brother grew stronger.
Seeing that his sister had stopped asking him questions, Sha Zhu joined in the battle to devour the food. After they had eaten and drunk their fill, Sha Zhu took his sister back to the courtyard house.
Because Sha Zhu came back late today, both the deaf old lady and Qin Huairu had already gone home. They weren't really destitute; why would they stay here waiting for something? What if something happened to Sha Zhu? They'd have to wait for nothing all day.
Even Yan Bugui has returned home. Staying outside for too long in the dead of winter can easily lead to a cold. And getting a cold is definitely not worth it.
Since Sha Zhu and He Yushui had eaten out, there was some food left in one of Sha Zhu's lunchboxes. In the morning, Sha Zhu heated it up and ate it for breakfast.
To prevent his younger sister from going hungry, Sha Zhu handed over the money and receipts he had prepared to He Yushui in advance.
“Take the money and receipts and go buy some things yourself. I have to go to work at noon, so I won’t be able to come back to cook for you. You’re already 16 years old this year. If you don’t learn to cook, I wonder how you’ll find a husband in the future.”
"Okay, okay. Come home early today, I have a surprise for you tonight."
Sha Zhu didn't care at all when he heard his sister's words. In Sha Zhu's eyes, He Yushui was still that naive little girl.
He Yushui was unaware of her brother's intentions. She took the money and ration coupons to buy some grain. After returning the grain to her home, He Yushui locked the door. Confirming everything was alright, she left the courtyard house, not wanting to have any further contact with the strange and supernatural beings there.
In order to find herself a gentle and virtuous sister-in-law, and also to have someone to keep her brother in check, He Yushui thought of her best friend, Yu Haitang. Yu Haitang had an older sister who seemed to be only a few years younger than her older brother.
Having formed an idea, He Yushui went directly to her best friend. He Yushui knew she was too young to act as a matchmaker, and no one would take her words seriously.
With her birthday approaching, He Yushui had an idea. To achieve her goal, she deliberately moved her birthday forward by a day or two.
Upon arriving at Yu Haitang's house, He Yushui immediately invited Yu Haitang's sisters to celebrate her birthday at her home that weekend. At first, Yu Li disagreed, but she couldn't resist He Yushui's persistent pleading. After Yu Li agreed, He Yushui left the Yu family home immediately.
"Haitang, what's wrong with your classmate? Why does she insist on inviting me to her birthday party? I'm not even that close to her, why does she insist that I go?"
"What else could it be? It's because you're beautiful, sister. I heard she has an older brother, so it must be her brother who has taken a liking to you."
"The so-called birthday celebration was just a pretext. My main purpose was to introduce you two."
Upon hearing her sister's words, Yu Li's face instantly turned bright red.
"You brat, you knew your classmate had this idea, so why didn't you say so sooner? Now that I've agreed, it's not good for me to go, and it's not good for me not to go either."
"What's there to be embarrassed about? If you like each other, then date; if not, just treat it like having a meal. Does he think he can force you?"
"I heard his brother is a cook at a steel rolling mill. He's already been promoted and earns over 30 a month. His conditions aren't great, but they're not bad either. If you really don't like it, I'll come back for you."
Hearing her sister's words, Yu Li hesitated. It wasn't that she was afraid He Yuzhu wasn't good enough for her, but rather that she was afraid she wasn't good enough for He Yuzhu.
Which young girl doesn't dream of love? In this era, workers have a fairly high social status. Who wouldn't want to marry a man with a job? Especially if that man also has a skill to support his family.
Seeing that her sister hadn't refused, Yu Haitang knew that her sister had agreed. As for how things would unfold, she'd find out in a couple of days.
Anyway, she wouldn't lose out. In a couple of days, she'd finally have the face cream she'd always dreamed of. If it weren't for this face cream, Yu Haitang wouldn't have betrayed her sister.
Sha Zhu, who lived in a courtyard house, learned when he got off work that his younger sister had arranged a marriage for him.
"You brat, you're so young and you're already doing this kind of thing."
"Brother, you're already 23 this year. If I don't help you, who will? I even spent a box of face cream on this. You'd better work hard this weekend."
"Sister Yu Li is absolutely beautiful, and she's hardworking and diligent. Most importantly, her character is impeccable. If you don't seize the opportunity, someone else will snatch her away before long. No matter how good someone else's wife is, she's still someone else's wife."
Hearing his sister's words, Sha Zhu blushed slightly. He hadn't expected his secret to be discovered by his sister. To avoid the embarrassment, Sha Zhu went straight into the bedroom.
Looking at his room, Sha Zhu decided to tidy it up first. It's not just women who have romantic fantasies; men are also full of them. It's not that Sha Zhu didn't want to find someone, it's just that his circumstances were poor before.
Upon suddenly learning that a girl was coming to visit in a couple of days, Sha Zhu finished tidying his own room and started tidying up other places. Qin Huairu had long been forgotten by Sha Zhu.
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