Siheyuan: Xu Damao's New Life

It was around two o'clock in the afternoon when Xu Damao drove back to the courtyard. As usual, he parked his car on the spacious roadside, after all, the alley was too narrow.

Sha Zhu's wedding had ended long ago. The tables, chairs and benches had all been moved back by each family. The makeshift stove in the yard had also been dismantled, and the entire central courtyard had been cleaned very cleanly.

Lou Xiao'e brought her three children to the banquet. For Yu Shui's sake, Lou Xiao'e generously gave a gift of 20 yuan, which shocked everyone.

After all, gifts these days usually amount to only fifty cents or one yuan, and if two families have a good relationship, they would be more generous and give only three or five yuan. The twenty yuan from Lou Xiao'e was indeed too much.

As soon as Xu Damao entered the door, he was stopped by Yan Bugui who was wiping a bicycle.

"Da Mao, something happened in the courtyard!" Yan Bugui said mysteriously.

"Isn't Shazhu getting married today? What could go wrong?" Xu Damao asked with some confusion.

"It happened when Sha Zhu got married! Sha Zhu's father He Daqing came back from Baocheng this morning to attend Sha Zhu's wedding!"

"What? He Daqing is back?" Xu Damao asked in surprise, feeling a little guilty. Xu Damao had heard from his father Xu Fugui that He Daqing was not a good person. When Xu Fugui was still in the courtyard, the two of them could only fight to a draw despite his cunning. What's more, he secretly slept with the other's daughter. He was his cheap father-in-law!

"Yes, the whole family is gathering at Sha Zhu's house for a meeting, and they are acting mysterious."

Xu Damao instantly became interested and was no longer in a hurry to go home. Instead, he took out a cigarette and handed it to Yan Bugui, then lit one for himself and sat on the bench in Yan Bugui's house and started chatting.

At Shazhu’s house in the central courtyard.

He Daqing sat in the main seat with his arms and legs spread out, with He Yushui and Cai Quanwu on his left and right, and Sha Zhu and Liang Ladi opposite him. The four children did not join in as they were sent out to play.

He Daqing and Cai Quanwu, half brothers, have recognized each other after a conversation. In fact, it is not necessary to go through so much trouble. He Daqing knew that this must be his brother as soon as he saw Cai Quanwu's appearance. He Daqing just wanted to hear about his father's past.

As soon as the recognition of relatives was over, He Daqing turned around and looked at Sha Zhu and Liang Ladi. He was very satisfied with Liang Ladi's appearance, but these four children were too many. If Liang Ladi didn't want to give birth to children for Sha Zhu, then the He family would be extinct!

Although he also liked the widow, he followed her after she left behind a son and a daughter. But he didn't know that his foolish son was so ignorant that he married a widow for the first time.

"Silly Zhu, Zhuzi's wife, I have no objection to the two of you getting married. Even if you don't tell me, I won't say anything. But since I'm in this position, I have to ask you, Zhuzi's wife, are you going to give birth to a child for Shazhu? We can't let the He family die here!"

He Yushui, who was sitting next to her, suddenly felt the air pressure in the room drop. Xu Damao had already told her that Qin Huairu had an IUD. Could it be that her sister-in-law also had one?

"Of course I will have children. As long as Zhuzi can support them, I can have as many as he wants. A person cannot be without conscience, and I cannot let Zhuzi down. My four children will treat Zhuzi as their biological father. The grace of raising is greater than the grace of giving birth. If any of the four of them dares to treat Zhuzi badly in the future, I will kick him out of the house and never recognize him until I die!" Liang Ladi said firmly.

"Okay, Yu Shui thinks very highly of you, and I also believe that you are a man who does what you say. Here is five hundred yuan. I came in a hurry and didn't prepare any gifts. Just accept it." He Daqing stood up and fumbled in the box he brought, then took out a large stack of money and put it on the table.

In fact, Yu Shui had already told Sha Zhu about his situation, and the money was for his son's medical treatment. Now, in front of everyone, he didn't say that he was saving face for his son, but he really didn't want the He family to be extinct.

Sha Zhu stretched out his hand to take it, but was slapped back by He Daqing.

"This is for your wife, what do you want to take? If I gave it to you, you would have spent it all in a few days. Zhuzi, don't be embarrassed, wife. Now that you've married into our family, we're a family. You should put it away quickly."

Liang Ladi then picked up the money embarrassedly, then stood up and put it into a tin box in the desk drawer.

"Okay, now that we've talked about your brother and his wife, it's time to talk about you." He Daqing looked at Yu Shui who had been silent.

"Me? What's the matter with me?" Yu Shui said in confusion.

"Look, you are in your twenties now, you have graduated from college and started working. Isn't it time for you to find a partner and start a family?" He Daqing said.

Who is He Daqing? Ever since his wife died, he has been a frequent visitor to the eight alleys in the city, and he often helps various young widows. He can tell at a glance that Yu Shui is no longer a young girl, but he didn't say it out loud because he was afraid of hurting the girl's face. After all, he has already let Yu Shui down once.

"Dad, what are you talking about? I'm still young, there's no rush." ​​He Yushui said.

"You really don't have a partner?" At this moment He Daqing's eyes were no longer cloudy. He stared at the rain calmly, as if he could see through people's hearts.

He Yushui felt very uncomfortable being looked at, and the word "no" was on the tip of her tongue but she couldn't say it.

Everyone noticed that Yu Shui was acting strange, and Sha Zhu even said carelessly, "No way, Yu Shui, you actually have a girlfriend? Am I still your biological brother? How come I didn't know!"

"Go away, you're everywhere!" He Daqing said impatiently, waving his hand.

"Yushui, could you please tell me in detail about your boyfriend? Is he a male colleague in your unit?" Cai Quanwu was also concerned about this poor niece, so he asked in a gentle tone.

"Okay, I admit that I do have a boyfriend, but he's not from our unit. Although he only graduated from high school, he's an official, and a pretty high one at that, but he's a few years older than me." He Yushui said that what I said was all true, but I just hid some information.

He Daqing was stunned. Is his daughter's boyfriend so good? Could he be an old man? "What level is he? How much older is he than you?"

"Let's not talk about his rank for now, but his rank is higher than that of the section chief, and he is five or six years older than me." Yu Shui said with a little pride.

"Fortunately, being five or six years older is not too much. I can still accept it." He Daqing said.

Sha Zhu also shouted: "My future brother-in-law's position is higher than that of a section chief, so he is at least a deputy director! He became a deputy director before he was 30, this is quite a feat."

Liang Ladi also praised: "Our Yu Shui has a better vision. He found such a rich son-in-law!"

"Your partner is not young anymore. Isn't his family urging him to get married? When do you plan to bring him home for everyone to see? And when do you plan to get married?" Cai Quanwu asked as he lit a cigarette.

"He's very busy at work and often goes out on Sundays, so I can't tell when he will come. But we may get married at the end of this year or the beginning of next year." Yu Shui said after calculating the approximate time.

"Okay, Dad will come back when you get married." He Daqing said with satisfaction.

"No wonder he became such a high-ranking official at such a young age. He works very hard." Liang Ladi said.

Then everyone changed the topic to a lighter one and stopped mentioning Yu Shui's marriage.