Courtyard House: My Wife is Xu Huizhen

Page 192

The two had an unspoken agreement to keep their distance from outsiders, since there's always gossip around a widow's house, and their relationship was unusual, so they needed to avoid suspicion.

Chen Xueru said angrily, "You've already gotten Huizhen pregnant, so I'm going to have your baby too!"

Chapter 141 Yi Zhonghai: Old in Age but Young at Heart

He Yuzhu immediately felt a headache coming on. Ever since that day when he had an ambiguous relationship with Chen Xueru, he had no choice but to get involved with her in order to appease her.

Chen Xueru was like a piece of chewing gum; once she stuck to him, he couldn't get rid of her. She surrounded He Yuzhu with her gentleness, making him unable to resist and leaving him no choice but to succumb to her charms.

He Yuzhu thought of Xu Zhaodi every time he thought of her, wishing she were dead. If it weren't for her and Xu Wude getting him drunk, he wouldn't have fallen into Chen Xueru's hands.

"Are you kidding me? What if you get pregnant? How are you going to explain that?"

"I...I don't care, I just want to give you a son, and at worst he can take my surname, Chen."

"But people will talk about you behind your back."

"I can't hear them anyway, let them say whatever they want."

He Yuzhu was even more troubled. Chen Xueru was too unreasonable. You really can't reason with pretty girls.

He Yuzhu took a deep breath and thought that no matter how many times he tried, as long as he didn't plant the seed, Chen Xueru wouldn't be able to get pregnant.

Why argue with her now? Whether I can get pregnant and when I can get pregnant are all up to me.

Upon thinking about it, He Yuzhu immediately calmed down and said, "Fine, I'll give you a son."

Chen Xueru was immediately delighted. He Yuzhu had rarely come over these days, and she had been waiting anxiously. Now that he had finally come to her door, she went forward with a smile to undo He Yuzhu's belt.

"Quickly, let me get pregnant."

He Yuzhu said helplessly, "These things can't be rushed."

"Hmph, then you should come see me more often. You haven't come to see me in so long, and my fields have been overgrown with weeds."

He Yuzhu could only promise to try his best to make time to clock in and get Chen Xueru's belly swollen as soon as possible.

Chen Xueru was just a passing episode in his life. He Yuzhu's life has been revolving around Xu Huizhen lately. He not only wants to take good care of his wife, but also wants to think about their future baby. He has made a stroller, a walker, and various wooden toys for the baby.

Although these toys are complex, they are simple things to make in the hands of a master carpenter, who can make them effortlessly.

On the day the bell rang, Xu Damao's mother said, "Damao, go find Yi Zhonghai and ask for thirty yuan."

"I'm not going. We had a fight just the other day."

After thinking it over, Yi Zhonghai realized that there was a good chance that Xu Damao and his son had done something bad. Since he happened to run into them, he asked the White Widow if she was someone Xu Damao had recruited.

Xu Damao naturally denied it, saying that when the widow Bai came to He Daqing to settle accounts, He Daqing didn't even question Xu Damao. He said that Yi Zhonghai was meddling too much and what did it have to do with him?

Yi Zhonghai was so angry that his lips twitched. On the surface, there was indeed no connection between them.

But Yi Zhonghai was very unhappy.

As expected, the two started arguing. Yi Zhonghai tried to reprimand Xu Damao in the name of righteousness, but Xu Damao wouldn't listen, and the two almost came to blows.

Mother Xu turned her head and said, "Zhao Di, go and ask for it."

“I’m not going. He just found me a job, but it’s still an apprenticeship. I don’t want him to hate me.”

"Fine, so none of you will listen to me?"

The two children had long been disobedient. Xu's mother made a simple dinner, and after Xu Damao took the sisters to see a movie, she remembered to get up and go to the front to ask Yi Zhonghai for money.

Just as I got up, there was a knock on the door. "Who is it?"

"It's me," came Yi Zhonghai's voice from outside.

Xu's mother, Chu Sumei, opened the door and invited Yi Zhonghai to sit down.

Yi Zhonghai looked around and, not seeing the rest of the Xu family, asked, "Where are Da Mao and the other two?"

Chu Sumei poured a cup of hot tea and placed it in front of Yi Zhonghai, saying, "Everyone's gone to see a movie, Brother Yi, please have some tea."

Then I sat down and kept him company.

Yi Zhonghai was immediately annoyed. Although Xu Damao and Xu Zhaodi were both apprentices, their combined wages were only over 30 yuan.

With the 30 yuan they gave themselves, the four members of the Xu family had an income of over 60 yuan, a standard of living second only to Sha Zhu's family in the courtyard.

Looking at the voluptuous Chu Sumei in front of him, Yi Zhonghai couldn't help but feel aroused. Chu Sumei had married young and was only thirty-six or thirty-seven years old, which was the most attractive age for men.

Chu Sumei was even better than her husband and the widow Bai. Yi Zhonghai hadn't thought much of it before, but starting this month, she had to give the Xu family 30 yuan every month, which made Yi Zhonghai start to have second thoughts.

Chu Sumei chatted with him for a while, initially thinking that Yi Zhonghai would soon take out the money, but after talking for a long time, Yi Zhonghai did not make a move.

I couldn't help but ask, "Brother Yi, what brings you here today?"

Yi Zhonghai then realized that he had been lost in thought and had actually been thinking about taking Xu Wude's wife for himself. He quickly said, "I came to bring you living expenses."

As he spoke, he pulled out thirty yuan from his pocket. Looking at the money, he couldn't help but feel heartbroken. This was half of his salary, which he was about to hand over to someone else's wife.

Chu Sumei reached out to take it, but Yi Zhonghai was still a little reluctant to give it to her. Their hands quickly clasped together, and as if electrocuted, they both blushed.

Yi Zhonghai hurriedly threw down thirty yuan, rushed out of the house, let out a long sigh, and felt ashamed of his despicable thoughts.

But then I realized that all my bad luck lately was because of Xu Wude.

Even though he didn't leak the information to Cheng Dayuan, Xu Wude was convinced that he was the one who did it, so he knocked him over, robbed him, and extorted a lot of money from him.

Previously, he had never thought of taking revenge on Xu Wude. But suddenly, an idea popped into his head: what if he got his hands on Xu Wude's wife and then bullied her badly? That would be the greatest revenge against Xu Wude.

Chu Sumei, who was inside the room, was also somewhat lost in thought. Yi Zhonghai usually appeared to be a righteous and respectable person, but it turned out that he would also take advantage of others.

My mind was in complete turmoil, and I didn't know what to do.

After the incident involving Xu Wude and the young widow from Tayuan Village broke out, Chu Sumei was so angry that she fought with Xu Wude several times. Since then, the two have not had any marital relations.

Chu Sumei didn't feel angry at being touched by Yi Zhonghai; instead, she felt a vague sense of vengeful pleasure.

But Yi Zhonghai actually ran away, so I couldn't help but scold him, "You really have the desire but not the courage."

Living in a courtyard house, surrounded by neighbors on both sides, with many people watching, there was no opportunity to do anything reckless.

For some time now, Yi Zhonghai has been living in dire straits. His wife constantly makes sarcastic and sarcastic remarks, and the neighbors' glances at him also carry a different kind of emotion.

Everyone was waiting to see when Yi Zhonghai and his wife would finally explode and whether they would end up getting a divorce. They were all speculating whether Bai, the widow, could become Yi Zhonghai's legal wife since she had given birth to two sons for him.

Unfortunately, the scene I wanted to see never came, and everything remained peaceful in Yi Zhonghai's home.

"Although it embarrassed Yi Zhonghai, I still feel uncomfortable not seeing them get divorced."

Xu Damao said angrily.

Should we come up with another idea to target Yi Zhonghai again?

Xu Damao pondered in his office, "Even bringing Yi Zhonghai's illegitimate son back to the courtyard house hasn't affected Yi Zhonghai. What other way is there to deal with Yi Zhonghai?"

Unable to think of anything for the time being, Xu Damao was extremely worried.

Suddenly the door to the room was pushed open, and a coworker walked in.

Xu Damao asked, "Zheng Xu, is something the matter?"

Zheng Xu wasn't from the publicity department, but rather an employee of the logistics department, so he wouldn't normally come to the publicity department like this.

Zheng Xu closed the door and asked in a low voice, "I wanted to ask you, do you have enough flour to eat? Is there any left over?"

"What do you mean?" Xu Damao didn't understand for a moment.

Zheng Xu said, "Isn't this a restriction on buying flour?"

"Yes, what's wrong?" Xu Damao asked.

Zheng Xu said, "Some people don't have enough flour to eat, but our employees have a quota of 18 jin of flour per month, and many people can't finish it all."

Upon hearing this, Xu Damao understood.

In towns, ordinary residents are entitled to a monthly allowance of 8 jin of flour, while steel mill workers are entitled to a monthly allowance of 18 jin of flour.

If it's a dual-income family, they definitely can't finish it.

For ordinary people, cornmeal was their staple food; rice and wheat flour were luxuries. Even among employees, some couldn't bear to eat wheat flour.

Xu Damao asked, "You mean someone has a quota for selling this flour?"

"Yes, one cent per pound." Zheng Xu asked, "Are you selling your quota?"

"this..."

My family consists of four people. My sister and I both have two jobs now. Although we are both apprentices, we are both assigned to 18 jin (9 catties) of flour.

A family of four has a monthly flour allowance of 52 jin (21 catties), which is definitely more than they can eat.

Xu Damao was undecided whether to keep the flour or sell it.

"There's no rush. Just let me know when you've made up your mind. I need it long-term."

Xu Damao pulled Zheng Xu, who was about to leave, and asked, "Are there many people doing this kind of thing?"

"Yes, many apprentices have sold their quotas and turned them into cash."

After liberation, there was a major inflation. Many ordinary residents did not have cash on hand and were living paycheck to paycheck. Many others had to borrow money to make ends meet.

"Let me think about it."

Xu Damao is not short of money. Now that a grading system has been implemented, apprentices earn 17 yuan a month. Xu Damao and Xu Zhaodi are both apprentices. In addition, Yi Zhonghai gives them 30 yuan for living expenses, which is better than many regular employees.