Siheyuan: Cooking journey

"He Yuzhu is with your daughter-in-law, and your granddaughter has to call him dad now. What can you do? He Yuzhu and I will live together in the future, and your granddaughter will change her surname to He. Are you satisfied now? Let me tell you, He Yuzhu is my man. If you go to complain or cause trouble for him, you are causing trouble for me. When the time comes, I will take my two daughters away from here, and you will starve to death without food or water."

"You're right. The situation is different now. Xiaodang and Huaihua were still young then, and I was just trying to scare you by saying leave. If you don't go back to the countryside now, I really can't do anything to you. But now they are all grown up. Do you think I'm still afraid of a shameless mother-in-law like you? I can take them anywhere, and you just stay in your house and beg for food. Anyway, you won't live long. If you're not afraid of death, you can go to the east and west to ask for food, and then blow the northwest wind. You won't starve."

Granny Zhang's face turned pale and blue, and it took her a long time to force a smile.

"Huai Ru, how can you say that? You've been married for so many years, don't I know what kind of person you are? You didn't remarry when the children were young, so how could you have any relationship with He Yuzhu? I know you were just saying that in anger. Oh, Mom is confused, don't take it to heart, don't be angry..."

Qin Huairu smiled.

"You are right. He Yuzhu and I do have something going on. More than a decade ago, all the good things you ate were obtained by sleeping with him for one night, and the same goes for every big white steamed bun. Think about it, how can a widow like me support the whole family alone? Of course I have to find a supporter, and that person is He Yuzhu. We have always been a family. In fact, Xiaodang and Huaihua are both his children. We were together when my husband was still alive, and I cheated on him every day. Don't believe it? Then think back to how good He Yuzhu was to me and us after your son left. If he is not the biological father, who can care about the children like this?"

Granny Zhang shook her head angrily and could hardly stand.

"Mom, is it true? Uncle Zhuzi is really our biological father?"

Xiaodang asked anxiously.

"That's great, Mom, Uncle Zhuzi is our dad!"

Huaihua's face was full of excitement.

Qin Huairu sighed and said,

"I should have told you the truth a long time ago, but this is not a glorious thing, and I don't know how to start."

"Oh, by the way, your brother Bang Geng is actually his son. I have always felt guilty about Bang Geng and I don't have the courage to tell him about it..."

"Qin Huairu, you shameless woman..."

Granny Zhang was so angry that her vision suddenly went black and she fell to the ground, twitching continuously.

"Mom, what should I do?"

Xiaodang quickly looked at his mother, recalling that his grandmother had experienced the same thing many years ago, and that time it seemed to be fake. But this time something seemed wrong.

Although she hoped that this mean old lady would just die of anger, she still had to take care of the matter.

"Then I'll go ask Grandpa Gan for help..."

After saying that, he ran out in a hurry.

Soon.

An old man and an old woman came in a hurry.

He Nianqiu and Xiao Deng also followed curiously.

"Zhu Zi and his wife are not at home, they are out. Let's take Grandma Zhang to the hospital!"

When dinner is ready,

It had been dark for a long time.

He Yuzhu went to an old man's house to pick up Nianqiu.

When I heard from an aunt that Grandma Zhang suddenly fainted and was sent to the hospital, I was very worried and couldn't help but pray silently that Grandma Zhang was safe.

If something really happens, how can I go to Hong Kong to start a new life?

But things are unpredictable.

Just when He Yuzhu finished his meal and was about to rest, Huaihua came to him.

"Uncle Zhuzi..."

Huaihua briefly introduced Grandma Zhang's situation.

He Yuzhu felt very sad when he learned that Grandma Zhang might have suffered a stroke and was in danger of paralysis.

"Uncle Zhuzi..."

Huaihua gently pulled his arm and whispered:

"My mother asked you to go to the hospital. She said she had something to tell you."

"what's up?"

He Yuzhu frowned and asked. He felt annoyed when Qin Huairu's name was mentioned, and he didn't want to go to the hospital.

"I don't know either. My mom asked me to come back and tell you."

Huaihua shook her head, lowered her eyes and whispered,

"Uncle Zhuzi, my mother said that you are my biological father and I am your daughter..."

Now, He Yuzhu was furious and gnashed his teeth in anger.

He actually wants to frame an innocent person by taking someone else's place!

Absolutely intolerable!

In the end, I didn't go to that hospital.

The next day at work,

He Yuzhu directly called Qin Huairu to his office for a talk.

After a long, long time,

Qin Huairu returned to the cafeteria with a red face and a dazed look.

Her sister Qin Jingru asked worriedly: "Sister, what does the factory director want you to do?"

Liu Lan, who happened to be passing by, heard this and came over to ask with concern: "Sister Qin, what's wrong with you?"

Qin Huairu lowered her head and sighed, her tone sad: "My mother-in-law is very ill and has not woken up yet. When the factory director heard the news, he called me to ask about the details. She is such a kind-hearted person, but she has encountered such misfortune. It really makes me feel upset."

"Shouldn't you say auntie instead of mother-in-law?"

Qin Jingru raised her eyebrows in confusion and thought: Is my sister confused?

What was even more unexpected was that Granny Zhang had returned from another place yesterday. Since we didn’t have a good relationship with this aunt, we had never visited her. But we didn’t expect that the old lady would suddenly become ill…

"Don't be too upset."

Liu Lan comforted the other person without knowing the truth.

"As people age, their bodies are more susceptible to various conditions."

"I understand this, too. People will eventually take this step one day."

Qin Huairu wiped away her nonexistent tears helplessly and continued, "But I still feel really bad if my mother-in-law loses her ability to move because of this."

Then, after a brief pause,

He lowered his head and added, "Liu Lan, actually the factory director just told me to tell you a piece of news... He agreed to let me take a day off with pay so that I can take care of my sick elder."

Hearing this, Liu Lan was stunned for a moment, then expressed her understanding and offered to help with clocking in to ensure that wages were paid normally.

"Thank you Liu Lan."

Qin Huairu thanked him sincerely and then staggered out of the cafeteria, leaving the two women alone with their own emotions.

"My sister is really filial and loving."

Liu Lan sighed.

"It's rare for someone to have never remarried after losing her spouse for so many years and to be so respectful and considerate to her parents-in-law."

Qin Jingru, who was standing aside and listening quietly, had an unusual view on this, and muttered to herself: Maybe the one who got hot-headed today was Liu Lan...

The new instant noodle factory over there is about to be completed.

In the afternoon, He Yuzhu took time to check on the progress and taught Yu Li driving skills on the way back.

When we arrived at the rolling mill, the sun was already setting.

On the way to the office, I passed by the cafeteria.

He Yuzhu hesitated for a moment, glanced inside, but did not see Qin Huairu.

This made him a little puzzled. He ignored Qin Jingru who was staring at him from the side and went to find Liu Lan to inquire about the situation.

"Where did Qin Huairu go?"

he asked directly.

Liu Lan looked at him, confused: "She said you approved her paid leave and wanted to go home to take care of the elderly, so she left a long time ago."

He Yuzhu frowned, but still tried to remain calm and said, "Oh, I see. I'm just worried that her family's affairs have not been dealt with yet."

"Don't worry, Sister Qin left a long time ago. Besides, she has been really hard lately."

Liu Lan sighed and said,

"I saw her walking unsteadily this morning. I guess she didn't get any rest last night because she was taking care of her mother-in-law."

Not wanting to talk about it any more, He Yuzhu turned around and went back to his office, throwing a few newspapers around. After a while, there was a knock on the door, and then the door opened, and Qin Jingru walked in carrying a kettle.

"Director, the hot water is ready."

she said softly.

"Well, put it there."

He Yuzhu responded and spread out the documents on the table to take a look.

After a slight click, the door was closed again.

Qin Jingru's eyes were filled with tenderness. She slowly approached with a slightly aggrieved expression on her face: "I want to break up with Xu Damao... You just left like that that night and didn't even reply to my letter. Is it appropriate for you to do this?"

The more she spoke, the lower her voice became.

"My sister said that you belong to me and you must help me solve this problem. My sister also said..."

Before she finished speaking, the girl's face had already turned red, and she continued shyly in a low voice: "If you want... if there are too many people in our yard and it's not convenient, you can consider working during the night shift..."

After hearing this, He Yuzhu suddenly looked up and stared out the window.

Bang!

Qin Jingru was stunned for a few seconds, then raised her chin slightly and looked at him, her cheeks becoming increasingly red.

"I heard from my sister that you hold grudges when someone offends you, and you are very petty. So if you are really angry, then, then..."

As she spoke, she almost came close to him and whispered.

Suddenly feeling irritated, He Yuzhu slammed the things on the table again and unexpectedly found that his action actually had some effect in relieving his mood, but the table seemed quite pitiful.

As the sky gradually darkened, the Zhang family was having dinner.

As usual, Xiaodang and Huaihua sat on a bench to eat.

On the other side sat Qin Huairu and Qin Jingru.

As for Mrs. Zhang, who was sent to the hospital for emergency treatment yesterday, she has probably been forgotten by everyone now.

It was unusually quiet at the dinner table.

Qin Huairu said with a cold face but a little nervous inside: "Children, what I said to your grandmother yesterday was actually to stimulate her, please don't misunderstand it."

"Humph."

Huaihua sounded very disappointed.

"So Uncle Zhuzi is not the new father we are looking for?"

Although Xiaodang was silent, he felt inexplicably relieved.