Siheyuan: The happy life of a little chef

Qin Huairu came out of Jia's house and went to the backyard, where she happened to meet Yi Zhonghai who was also coming out of the backyard.

Yi Zhonghai greeted him: "Huai Ru, where are you going?"

Qin Huairu didn't want to say anything more to Yi Zhonghai: "Uncle, I'm going to Li Jianjun's house to see Xiaodang and Huaihua."

After saying that, he left without stopping.

When Yi Zhonghai saw Qin Huairu's departing back, he guessed that she was going to Li Jianjun's house for dinner. He heard it in the backyard just now.

When I got home, the aunt brought out the meal and two red eggs.

Yi Zhonghai was envious when he saw the red eggs. Why didn't he have a child? Even a daughter would be fine!

The aunt saw Yi Zhonghai staring at the red egg and knew what he was thinking: "It's all my fault. I didn't give you a child."

Yi Zhonghai said, "Why are you saying that? If you hadn't saved me, I would have died. It's good for us to be like this, but we need to hurry up with the plan for retirement. I find that Qin Huairu is drifting further and further away from us."

The aunt was curious: "What does it have to do with Qin Huairu going further and further away from us? We are looking for Sha Zhu to take care of us in our old age."

Yi Zhonghai sighed: "Shazhu is too impulsive, and he has already lived his life like that. Do you think he can take care of us when we are older?"

Auntie thought about it and agreed: "You mean to let Qin Huairu take care of us in our old age? But will Jia Zhang agree? She is not someone who is easy to talk to."

Yi Zhonghai thought for a moment and said, "What do you think if Qin Huairu marries Sha Zhu, the two of them can take care of us together in our old age?"

The first lady looked surprised: "But will Sha Zhu agree to marry Qin Huairu? Will Jia Zhang agree to Qin Huairu remarrying?"

Yi Zhonghai stood up, closed the door and whispered, "Jia Zhang is afraid that Qin Huairu will remarry because she is afraid that no one will take care of her in her old age. When the time comes, I will persuade Sha Zhu to take care of her in her old age and let her marry Qin Huairu to Sha Zhu. In this courtyard, Sha Zhu only listens to Qin Huairu."

The auntie knew that only Qin Huairu could persuade Sha Zhu: "But what about the old lady? She doesn't like Qin Huairu very much."

Yi Zhonghai said indifferently: "It's already this time. Shazhu doesn't even have a girlfriend now. Who else can he marry if not Qin Huairu? Besides, he has always liked Qin Huairu."

The aunt was also worried about the elderly care issue, but she didn't want to ask about the details: "Okay, do whatever you want."

Yi Zhonghai saw that the old lady didn't say anything and opened the door and continued eating.

Qin Huairu came to Li Jianjun's house to help with cooking, and soon Li Jianjun came back.

Everyone sat together to eat, and Han Chunyan asked, "Jianjun, has Auntie Wang delivered the red eggs?"

Li Jianjun said as he fed Xiao Dang, "I gave it to him when I went out to buy roast duck just now."

Lunch ended in laughter. Qin Huairu felt that this was what home was like. The family talked and laughed together and would not quarrel over whether the food was good or not. She looked at Li Jianjun with envy and admiration, but quickly concealed her feelings.

The time soon came to night.

Yi Zhonghai came to Sha Zhu's house and said, "Zhu Zi, I want to ask you something."

Shazhu still respected Yi Zhonghai: "If you have anything to ask, just tell me. I will never refuse if I can do it."

Yi Zhonghai pulled Sha Zhu to sit down: "It's not my business, it's your business."

Sha Zhu scratched his head and said, "Uncle, what's wrong with me? I've been pretty honest lately."

"You misunderstood. I was talking about your partner. What did the matchmaker say?" Yi Zhonghai corrected.

When he heard about the blind date, Sha Zhu felt sad: "Forget about it. Since Wang the matchmaker failed, other matchmakers are unwilling to introduce me. Uncle, you said my conditions are not bad, why is it so difficult to find a wife?"

Yi Zhonghai thought, of course it's difficult, Xu Damao and I have put in a lot of effort, but I can't tell you: "Zhu Zi, I thought of someone, what do you think of Qin Huairu?"

When Sha Zhu heard Qin Huairu's words, he was confused: "Sister Qin is good, but she is a widow. I haven't been married yet. You always ask me to help her family, but she doesn't like me. I always give the lunch boxes to Jia Zhangshi."

Yi Zhonghai advised, "Zhu Zi, you are not young anymore. Look, Li Jianjun has a child, and Xu Damao is married. Aren't you anxious? Qin Huairu is no worse than Han Chunyan and Lou Xiao'e. What's wrong with being a widow? As long as she can give birth to children, it's fine. Look, Qin Huairu has given birth to three children. She is a good fertile woman."

Sha Zhu thought about it and it was true. Isn't the purpose of marrying a wife to have children? Besides, Qin Huairu is so beautiful: "Master, do you agree with me, Sister Qin? Do you agree with Sister Qin, Jia Zhang?"

Yi Zhonghai thought for a moment and said, "Well, Zhuzi, let's take a leave tomorrow while Qin Huairu is at work. I will take you to find Jia Zhangshi and persuade her to settle this matter."

Sha Zhu showed a shy look: "Listen to the uncle, I have liked Sister Qin for a long time."

Yi Zhonghai was relieved when he saw Sha Zhu's expression: "Buy some vegetables tomorrow, I'll invite Jia Zhang over, and we'll discuss it."

Sha Zhu patted his chest and said, "Just wait and see."

Yi Zhonghai returned home and lay on the bed, thinking back to the time he saw Qin Huairu at noon. He felt a surge of heat in his heart that could not be shaken off.

Suddenly Yi Zhonghai thought that if Qin Huairu could give him a child, it would be a relief to his ancestors. Then, letting Sha Zhu raise the child would be the best of both worlds, with someone to take care of him in his old age and someone to help raise the child.

As for divorcing Auntie, it was impossible. He didn't care about his reputation. Besides, he had real feelings for Auntie and only wanted Qin Huairu to help him have a child.

Once people have ideas, those ideas are like a flood that cannot be stopped.

The next day, everyone went to work. Yi Zhonghai asked Sha Zhu for half a day off, and Sha Zhu went out to buy some meat early in the morning.

The aunties in the courtyard saw that Sha Zhu did not go to work and came back with meat. They thought that Sha Zhu was going on another blind date today and they all started discussing whether Sha Zhu could succeed this time.

After lunch was ready, Yi Zhonghai came to Jia's house and asked, "Sister-in-law, have you eaten yet?"

Jia Zhang rolled her eyes and said, "The steamed buns are still there. Do you want to eat them?

Yi Zhonghai saw the steamed bread on the table and said awkwardly, "Why are you eating this? Come on, Sha Zhu made a delicious meal and asked me to invite you over for dinner."

Jia Zhang didn't ask why she was invited to dinner, as long as there was something delicious, it was fine: "Why didn't you tell me earlier? Let's go, what are you standing there for?"

Jia Zhang ran faster than Yi Zhonghai. When she arrived at Sha Zhu's house, she didn't say anything. She just sat down, picked up the chopsticks and started eating.

Yi Zhonghai and Sha Zhu hadn't talked much after they sat down when the half pound of meat they bought went into Jia Zhang's stomach.

Jia Zhang muttered, "There's no sincerity in inviting people to dinner. Who can eat such a small amount of meat?" After saying that, she picked up a steamed bun made of two grains of flour and started to eat it.

After hearing this, Sha Zhu was furious. Just as he was about to lose his temper, he was pulled back by Yi Zhonghai. Then he remembered that he had told Jia Zhang about Qin Huairu.

Jia Zhang looked at the two of them while eating: "What? You need help from me? I'll tell you, my family has no money and no food. Okay, tell me, what do you want from me?"