Siheyuan: Xu Damao's New Life

Time soon came to the rest day, and the punishment results of Banggeng and Jia Zhang were announced. Taking into account that Banggeng was still young and was instigated by his grandmother Jia Zhang, the detention center gave him a lighter punishment. He was only detained in the juvenile detention center for half a month and no record was kept.

Jia Zhang instigated his underage grandson to steal things, which was extremely bad and he had a history of stealing chickens, so Jia Zhang was sent to the Northeast Reclamation Farm for three years of labor reform. However, considering that Jia Zhang's leg had not yet healed, he needed to be temporarily detained in the detention center for one and a half months, and then sent to the Northeast for labor reform after his leg healed.

When the news came, Qin Huairu almost fainted again, but fortunately it was only Jia Zhang's punishment that was more severe, and Banggeng would only be imprisoned for half a month and would be able to come back.

Actually, Qin Huairu had consulted the police station about the letter of apology, but Jia Zhang was a repeat offender and had been sent to prison for the second time. The letter of apology would not have much effect on her. Qin Huairu even secretly hoped that her mother-in-law would be sentenced to a heavier sentence, and it would be best if she would not be able to come back for eight or ten years!

As for Bang Geng, the police station had already given him a break because of his young age. Even with a letter of apology, he would still be sentenced to at least half a month in prison. Plus, she knew that Xu Damao disliked their Jia family, so she didn't bother asking Xu Damao for a letter of apology.

Sha Zhu was very happy today, as today was the day for his blind date with Qin Jingru. He got up early in the morning and began to clean the house. Then he took out a Zhongshan suit that had been at the bottom of the box and put it on. He also polished his leather shoes that he hadn't worn for a long time until they were shiny.

After Sha Zhu packed up, he planned to go to the market to buy some food. Sister Qin said that she would treat Qin Jingru well at noon, so he could show off his cooking skills. If he went too late, the good things would be gone. Sha Zhu happily hummed a song and pushed the cart out of the compound, but he didn't know that his hometown had been stolen by Liu Guangfu.

Qin Huairu instructed, "Jingru, did you remember everything I told you? You have to be close to Shazhu, but not too warm or too cold. When Shazhu asks you what you think of him, just say he's not bad, but you need to think about it."

Qin Jingru asked back: "Sister, why is this happening? Didn't you say you would introduce me to someone? Why are you letting me keep them hanging? We rural people can't do things like this!"

"Well, don't worry about it. I, your sister, have my own arrangements." Qin Huairu complained in her heart. She couldn't say that I wanted to use you to keep Sha Zhu hanging and take advantage of him!

Qin Jingru couldn't persuade her cousin and had to temporarily agree, but she was thinking about when her lover's father would come back. By then, as long as things were settled, she could go home and get married, and there was no need to rely on others like now.

Not long after, Sha Zhu came back on his bicycle with an old hen and more than a pound of meat tied to the handlebars, and some newly bought vegetables in the cloth bag.

"Hey, Second Uncle didn't go fishing today?" Sha Zhu was in a good mood today and took the initiative to talk to Yan Bugui.

"It's Zhuzi. It's too hot today and I'm too lazy to move. I'm just watering the flowers. Why did you buy so many things?" Yan Bugui said.

"Hey, isn't Sister Qin going to introduce her cousin to me? Today we're officially having a blind date, so I should buy some good things to treat her." Sha Zhu said proudly.

"Oh, so that's it. You are indeed not young anymore, and it's time for you to get married. Then Second Uncle wishes you a successful blind date."

"Okay, thank you for your good words. Let's not talk for now. I have to go back early to cook." Sha Zhu hummed a little tune and pushed the cart back to his home.

Liang Ladi, who was making clothes at home, heard the conversation between Sha Zhu and Yan Bugui clearly. She was very grateful for Sha Zhu's care for her family and she also saw how good he was to her children, so she had some good feelings towards Sha Zhu, but only a little. Sha Zhu was going to have a blind date at noon today, so her children should not go to Zhu's house to make trouble.

Liang Ladi called the children over when she thought of this. "Da Mao, I'll give you a few cents. Take your brothers and sisters to play in the alley. Your uncle Zhuzi is going on a blind date today. Don't go to his house and cause trouble for your uncle."

"Okay, Mom." Damao took the fifty cents given by his mother and ran to the supply and marketing cooperative with his younger brothers and sisters.

Liang Ladi watched the children run away and continued to make clothes. Her salary is not low now, even higher than many men, and the welfare benefits of the bicycle workshop are very good, basically every month they secretly give some benefits to the workers. It was worth it that she had to persuade the old director of the welding workshop for a long time before the old director agreed to let her transfer to the bicycle workshop.

As soon as Shazhu got home, he started to get busy, washing and cutting vegetables, and he also had to stew the old hen first. If the heat was not enough, the old hen would not be soft.

Qin Huairu had seen Sha Zhu coming back a long time ago, but she still waited until the time was almost right before bringing Qin Jingru and Xiao Dang to Sha Zhu's house.

"Hey, Sister Qin, Sister Jingru, you are here! I have prepared everything. I will just fry two more dishes later. I still need to watch the stewed chicken soup. I'll call Yu Shui over to chat with you first." Sha Zhu enthusiastically moved two chairs for the two to sit down, and then went out to call Yu Shui.

Qin Jingru looked at Sha Zhu's house. Although she had seen Sha Zhu in the yard, this was her first time at Sha Zhu's home.

"Sister, Brother Zhuzi's house is much more spacious than yours. His sister even has a room! When his sister gets married, all the rooms will belong to Brother Zhuzi." Qin Jingru said.

"This is the main house in the central courtyard of Zhuzi's house. It was where the owner lived in the past, so of course it's spacious." Qin Huairu felt a little jealous when talking about the house. The baby in her belly is about to be born. It's okay if the child is small, but when the child grows up, it will really be too small to live in.

In fact, she wanted to buy the house so that she could pass it on to Bang Geng in the future. But her mother-in-law stopped her and said why spend that much money when they were living well now! In the future, Bang Geng could take over and the house would still be theirs.

At this time, Sha Zhu and Yu Shui walked in together and heard the two sisters talking. Sha Zhu said with a little pride: "This house of ours was bought by my father at a high price, and we have the title deed. Fortunately, we moved in early, otherwise we would not have been able to get the main house."

He Yushui glanced at Qin Jingru. This silly girl is still thinking about the house. You were sold by your sister and you are still helping your sister count the money. However, on the surface, she was still chatting with the two of them enthusiastically.

It was half past eleven and the chicken soup was almost ready, so Sha Zhu quickly started cooking. Soon, a plate of fried pork with peppers and a plate of spicy and sour shredded potatoes were on the table. Next came cold tomatoes and smashed cucumbers, and finally twice-cooked pork and stewed chicken soup.

"Okay, today is the day of Jingru and I's blind date. Let's eat quickly and we'll talk after we're done." Sha Zhu said generously with a wave of his hand.

Qin Jingru couldn't help herself and picked up a piece of chicken and started eating. She hadn't eaten meat for more than half a year, and when she came to her cousin's house, she only ate some meat soup left over by Jia Zhang and Bang Geng.

"The pillar pot is really good." Qin Jingru said vaguely.

"Of course, I'm not bragging. This is a skill passed down from my family, and I've even formally become an apprentice." Sha Zhu said proudly.

Everyone quickly devoured the food, and Qin Jingru was so full that she had to rub her belly.

"This is the most filling meal I've had in the past few years. Brother Zhuzi's cooking skills are really not exaggerated!"

"Of course, who doesn't know me in this area? Besides my salary, I make five dollars a time cooking banquets, and I can also bring back a lot of things."

Qin Jingru was really moved by these words. As the saying goes, even in a famine, the cook will never starve. This is not just talk.