Siheyuan: Xu Damao's New Life

Sha Zhu was very efficient and quickly brought the cooked dumplings up. Several children had already been sitting at the table impatiently, holding their bowls and waiting.

Sha Zhu happily served dumplings to the children first, and then to the three adults.

"Thanks, Dad!"

"Dad, I want the one stuffed with chives!"

"Dad, give me more dumpling soup!"

"Don't always let your dad do everything. You two older ones should serve the dumplings yourselves," Liang Ladi scolded softly.

Although there are many children and their requests are different, Sha Zhu is willing to do it. He is willing to hear the children call him dad, so he happily meets the children's requests one by one.

"You, just spoil them. Now they are closer to you than to me." Liang Ladi said a little jealously.

"Hey, that's normal. I'm nice to the kids, and they're nice to me."

Yu Shui was very happy to see this happy family. Even if his brother didn't have any biological children, he believed that with the character of Damao and the other three, they would take care of his brother in his old age.

After finishing her meal, Yu Shui stayed for a while before returning to her room and taking her niece to bed. Liang Ladi was lying on the bed, whispering to Sha Zhu.

"Yushui told me about her boyfriend today."

"Oh? What's the specific situation? This girl is always hiding it and won't tell me clearly. Is she lying to me?" Sha Zhu said curiously.

"The person who caused the rain is indeed the same as she said before, and you not only know this person but are also very familiar with him."

"What? I know him? Don't keep me in suspense as to who he is. How dare he think about my sister? I will beat him up on Sunday."

"I can tell you, but you can't hit anyone!"

"Oh, please tell me, I'm so anxious."

"The target of the rain is Xu Damao!"

"What?! This Xu Damao is trying to act tough because I'm ignoring him, right? Do you think I'll beat him up?" Sha Zhu stood up, put on his clothes and went to find Xu Damao.

"Come on, why are you making a fuss so late at night? They are both willing to be together, why are you, as his brother, always trying to stop them? Yu Shui told me that she would not marry anyone else but him, do you want Yu Shui to be an old maid all her life?" Liang Ladi grabbed Sha Zhu's arm.

"Xu Damao is several years older than Yu Shui. Isn't this just an old cow eating young grass? Moreover, he is a second marriage and has three children!"

"Didn't Lou Xiao'e run away with the child? She is single now. Not only does she have a high position, but her family also has good living conditions. She will definitely not let Yu Shui down."

Sha Zhu sat on the edge of the bed with a frown on his face, not saying a word. He just lit a cigarette and smoked it silently.

Liang Ladi tried to persuade him earnestly for a long time, but it couldn't be said that it had no effect. At least Sha Zhu didn't go to the backyard to cause trouble anymore. However, she could see that Sha Zhu still had some resentment in his heart.

"Okay, let's not talk about this for now. Let's go to bed. We have to go to work tomorrow."

"You go to sleep first and don't worry about me. I'll think about this matter again. If it doesn't work, I'll write a letter to our dad and ask him to persuade Yu Shui." Sha Zhu said.

Saturday came quickly, and Xu Damao went to Wangfujing as soon as he got off work. He and Yu Shui agreed to go buy some gifts together after get off work so that they could go to Sha Zhu's house tomorrow.

Yu Shui had less work to do today and was closer. When Xu Damao arrived at the door of the department store, he saw Yu Shui standing not far from the gate.

"Yushui has been waiting for a while, right? Something happened at the factory and I'm late. Should we eat first or go shopping?"

"Let's eat first. It's inconvenient to eat while holding something."

"So should we go to Quanjude or Donglaishun? Or should we go to Lao Mo?" Xu Damao asked.

"The weather is so cold, let's go eat mutton hotpot. It will warm your body." Yushui said.

"Okay, let's go."

Yu Shui didn't ride his own bike anymore, but sat directly on the back seat of Xu Damao's bike, and the two of them headed towards Donglaishun.

Although conditions were much better than in the difficult period of previous years, you couldn't eat whatever you wanted. Most importantly, mutton was limited.

Fortunately, the two of them didn't mind. In addition to two pounds of mutton, they also ordered a lot of other things. Finally, they left Donglaishun with their stomachs full.

The two returned to the department store and started shopping. They bought a lot of fabrics and cotton. Liang Ladi happened to have a sewing machine, so she could make new cotton-padded clothes for the children. The rest were some gifts such as cigarettes, alcohol, tea, candy, and cakes. Yu Shui also bought some cosmetics for her sister-in-law.

Xu Damao took Yu Shui to the home appliance area on the second floor, pointed at an old-fashioned refrigerator and said, "Yu Shui, what do you think about buying a refrigerator when we get married?"

"This is not good, it's too high-profile."

"With this refrigerator, I can have popsicles and cold soda anytime in the summer, and I don't have to worry about leftovers going bad. It's very convenient to use at home."

"Okay, I'll listen to you."

The two of them walked around the second floor before leaving the department store. They bought a lot of things, but fortunately they had two bicycles to take them back, but they had to push them all the way home.

The next day, the two of them slept until nine o'clock. The main reason was that they had been too busy the night before and overslept without realizing it. After washing up, they simply cooked two bowls of noodles. After eating, the two of them took their things back to the courtyard.

The weather in January was a bit cold. Except for a few children playing outside occasionally, everyone was basically warming themselves by the fire in the house. The two of them entered the yard together without attracting anyone's attention, but they were seen by Jia Zhang who was lying on the glass and looking out.

"Huai Ru, Huai Ru, come here quickly. Just now, Xu Damao brought Yu Shui into Sha Zhu's house, and they took a lot of things." Jia Zhang said.

"What's so strange about this? Yu Shui has a good relationship with Xu Damao and Nan Yi's family. Before she started working, she often went to the backyard to eat. Maybe it was Xu Damao who helped to get something this time." Qin Huairu said disapprovingly.

"Something is wrong, definitely something is wrong. Those big and small bags just now, there are cloths, cigarettes, alcohol, tea, candies, meat and old hens. It's not New Year or a festival, who would buy so many things normally! Who would bring these things when proposing marriage, right?"

Jia Zhang's words aroused Qin Huairu's interest, and she also leaned on the glass to look out. She saw a few children moving things into the house, and Sha Zhu was standing outside the door with his hands on his hips, but he didn't help.

"Mom, it's nothing. Maybe it's just Shazhu asking Xu Damao to do something for him. It's normal to treat him to a drink. Just wait and see. I still have to sew clothes for the children!"

"Then you go ahead and do your work. I have to keep an eye on it." Jia Zhang replied, but her eyes were always fixed outside.

Outside, Sha Zhu was standing with his hands on his hips, saying, "Xu Damao, don't think that I will agree to your relationship with Yu Shui just because you have these things! I won't agree to marry Yu Shui from now on, so just give up on this idea."

"I'm just here to go through the formalities. Don't forget that your father is still alive and well. It's not your turn to make the decision about Yu Shui's affairs! What's more, free love is advocated now. Do you want to take the lead in opposing national policies?" Xu Damao put a big hat on him.

"I...I definitely support the national policy." Even if Shazhu was stupid, he wouldn't dare to express his opposition openly.

"Cook, hurry up and cook. Can't you see that the children can't wait? Do you still want to cook for the guests?"

"Whoever wants to go can go. I'm not going!" Sha Zhu said stubbornly.

At this moment, a hand quietly reached out from behind and pinched Sha Zhu's arm.

"You want to rebel? Go and cook!" Liang Ladi said.

"Hey, I'll go right away." Sha Zhu ran straight to the kitchen.