Siheyuan: Returning to 61 to collect waste

Finally, Sha Zhu spent some money to find a second-level carpenter. After all, there were not many pieces of furniture to be made, so it was better to save some money. For the preparation of the wedding banquet, he directly turned to his two apprentices, Ma Hua and Fatty, who worked in a steel mill. In this way, there was no need to hire a professional chef, and the task could be completed by just preparing the ingredients.

After confirming everything, Sha Zhu was very satisfied. After many years, he was finally going to have a happy marriage and say goodbye to the days of enduring sleepless nights alone. With the arrival of May Day, this was the most tense moment in Ye Chuan's heart.

After visiting Mr. Song's home last time and getting his promise, although he has gained support, he still feels worried. He is afraid that Mr. Song is not capable of dealing with the complex situation, which will cause Mr. Xu to continue to act according to the trajectory of historical development. The situation around Labor Day was extremely tense, and then the situation suddenly changed.

Unexpectedly, thanks to the support of the new upstart Mr. Song, Mr. Xu's position not only remained intact, but even rose to a higher level, becoming the focus of everyone's attention. Not only did the factory director Yang keep his position, but the deputy factory director Li, for various reasons, moved to another factory to serve as the factory director. Now there were no more dissenting voices in the factory, and Director Yang became the symbol of authority in the steel mill.

While Sha Zhu and Qin Huairu were happily preparing for their wedding, Jia Zhang was called into an office in a detention center far outside the capital to receive a notice. Years of torture in prison had made her look weak and terrified. When she entered the room, she had lost her previous courage to make a fuss. "You're looking for me? What's the matter?" she asked timidly.

"Hurry up and pack your luggage, you are free now." The female staff member replied emotionlessly.

"Ah, I can go? So soon..." Jia Zhang was shocked, her sentence had not yet been completed.

"Don't want to go out?" the staff member asked coldly.

"No, pack your things right away!"

The female guard snorted coldly and thought to herself: If the cell space wasn't so tight, how could anyone be so lucky.

Without wasting a second, Jia Zhang didn't even eat lunch, and hurried out of the prison gate with all her belongings wrapped in a worn blanket. After leaving, she found that she had no money, and it was a long way from the prison to her residence, and she might have to walk until night.

Her stomach was rumbling, but she had no choice but to walk home. Compared to when she was first imprisoned, she was much thinner, her face was sallow, and her hair was messy. To outsiders, she looked like a homeless beggar.

She was wearing a faded dark green top with only a thin autumn coat underneath. Her lower body was also thin, and she was wearing a pair of worn-out cloth shoes. After walking for less than an hour, she was already shivering from the cold.

People on the street cast strange looks at her, and some children even threw stones at her, but Jia Zhang didn't care at all.

She was exhausted and hungry, and every step seemed to require great effort. Even after walking for more than an hour, she didn't make much progress.

On the way, she saw a bus passing by and tried to get on for free, but the conductor was merciless and didn't let her get close. In desperation, she could only curse the conductor's ancestors in her heart.

It was still a bit chilly in the capital in May, especially after a rain a few days ago, which made the ground wet and muddy. The cloth shoes that Jia Zhang was wearing were soaked by the rain soon. While walking, Jia Zhang's body temperature changed from cold to warm, causing her to sneeze constantly, and she felt a little cold.

Finally, as dusk fell, she saw the familiar courtyard from afar. It had been more than three years, and Jia Zhang was very excited, and her eyes seemed to be moist with excitement.

At this moment, she looked extremely miserable, with messy hair, thick mud covering her feet, and her legs were numb and difficult to move.

With anticipation and nervousness, she stepped into the courtyard, and the aroma of food wafted into her nose.

It was the time when every family was finishing up their dinner. Yan Bugui was holding an empty bowl of porridge and preparing to return home when he suddenly saw an old woman with disheveled hair and a dirty face walk in.

He frowned slightly and said sternly: "Leave quickly, there is no leftover food for you here, go beg somewhere else."

However, Jia Zhang was already very emotional. When she heard that the other party thought she was begging, she immediately hit back, "Yan Laoxi, can you see who I am? Are you a beggar?"

This made Yan Bugui a little surprised. This person actually knew him and his tone was very familiar. So he moved closer to take a closer look and was extremely surprised.

"Banggeng Grandma? Could it be you, Jia Zhang?"

"Who else but me?"

"Oh my God, how did you become like this?!" Yan Bugui said in surprise.

"If you dare to talk nonsense again, I will tear your mouth apart!" Jia Zhang threatened viciously.

Yan Bugui immediately stopped talking. He knew that he was not as good at bickering as his opponent, so he chose to remain silent. "Humph!" Jia Zhang ignored Yan Bugui's words and actions and walked towards the middle courtyard with her luggage.

Watching the other party leave, Yan Bugui smiled and murmured: I never expected Jia Zhang to come back at this time. Hey, now the heat is coming! If you want Sha Zhu and Qin Huairu to get together, it's simply impossible!"

"Dad, what are you mumbling about here?" His son Yan Jiecheng walked out, lit a cigarette and looked in the direction of his father's gaze but did not see anyone worthy of note.

Yan Bugui snatched the cigarette from his son's hand, took a deep puff, then stuffed the bowl back into his son's hand and said with a smile, "Jia Zhang is back!"

Yan Jiecheng was just about to light up his cigarette when he heard this. His eyes widened and he asked anxiously, "What did you say? Jia Zhang? Banggeng's grandmother is back?"

Yan Bugui nodded, with a look of gloating on his face.

"It's really interesting. This is like it was planned. Shazhu is going to be in trouble!" Yan Jiecheng took out another cigarette and lit it, with a sly smile on his face. "Not only will Shazhu be in trouble, Qin Huairu will also be in trouble. Jia Dongxu's death is too weird."

"What do you mean by weird?" Yan Jiecheng asked with a confused look on his face.

Yan Bugui glared at his son and said, "Get lost!"

Qin Huairu didn't know that Jia Zhang had returned to the courtyard at this time. She was having dinner with Xiao Dang, and Sha Zhu came over to discuss some matters of marriage after dinner.

Just as Sha Zhu was talking excitedly, the door was kicked open. "Who dares to kick my door? Don't you know how to knock?" Sha Zhu stood up and said angrily. He saw an old beggar woman walking in, with a foul smell.

"Shazhu, why are you in my house?" Jia Zhang was stunned for a moment, then she saw Shazhu and immediately asked. "Your house? Who are you?" Shazhu didn't recognize who was in front of him, but Qin Huairu recognized him immediately and quickly stood up and timidly shouted, "Mom... why are you back?"

Jia Zhang ignored Sha Zhu, threw the bag in her hand on the kang, and said with a sneer, "Do you know that I am your mother? You openly brought a man in when I was not at home?"

Sha Zhu then recognized the old woman in front of him and said quickly, "Aunt Jia, you're back?"

"Sha Zhu, get out of here! Who asked you to come to our house?" Sha Zhu was about to speak, but when he saw her fierce eyes, he couldn't help but feel a little scared and left the Jia family without saying a word.

"Mom, have you eaten? I'll cook for you." Qin Huairu was always a little afraid of her mother-in-law because so many things happened at home.

Jia Zhang looked around and found that there was no urine smell in the room, and there was no sign of her son, so she asked, "Qin Huairu, where is Dongxu?"

This question made Qin Huairu feel nervous, but she still whispered: "Dong... Dongxu died three years ago."

Jia Zhang was not too surprised by her son's death, but she couldn't help feeling sad when she thought about not being able to see him for the last time. She slapped her thighs and burst into tears.

"Dongxu, my son, why didn't you wait for your mother to come back? Tell me, how did you die? Was it this bitch who killed you?"

Qin Huairu stood aside, not knowing how to respond, while Xiaodang hid behind her in fear, revealing half of his head and looking at the crying Jia Zhang.

After crying for a while, Jia Zhang raised her eyes, with a malicious light flashing in them. "Qin Huairu, tell me, how did you kill my son?"

Qin Huairu smiled bitterly and said, "Mom, you know Dongxu's physical condition. He could die at any time. After all, he and I are husband and wife. How could I possibly kill him?"

Jia Zhang suddenly remembered the scene when she just returned home, and said angrily: "Then tell me, what happened to Sha Zhu? Why is he in our house?"

Hearing her mother-in-law mention Sha Zhu, Qin Huairu's face became even more haggard, and she stammered, "This...Sha Zhu has been very good to us mother and son over the years. And there is no man in the family, so I...I want to marry Sha Zhu."

Upon hearing this, Jia Zhang immediately got angry and shouted, "Absolutely not! I'm telling you this is impossible! Although Dongxu is gone, you, Qin Huairu, are a member of the Jia family no matter if you live or die! Do you want to abandon our family and marry Sha Zhu? Forget it!"

Qin Huairu's cheeks were wet with tears. She originally thought that her life would get better in the future. Marrying Sha Zhu was not very happy, but at least he would treat her and her son better and they would not starve.

However, unexpectedly, at this time Jia Zhang suddenly came back, and without giving her a chance to explain, she immediately rejected her idea of ​​marrying Sha Zhu.

Then Jia Zhangshi seemed to have thought of something and said, "Where are the stick stems? And the locust flowers?"

Qin Huairu sighed and said, "Banggeng hasn't returned home yet, and I don't know where he is. Huaihua has now been adopted by an uncle and an aunt. I can't take care of two children by myself, so I had to send them to the Yi family."