Courtyard House: My Wife is Xu Huizhen

Page 156

That was all He Daqing could say. He had already decided to help He Yuzhu settle things as soon as possible, and many things needed to be prepared in advance.

Although he had said before going to Baocheng that the money was for He Yuzhu's wedding, He Daqing no longer cared about it at this point.

I took out my salary and started preparing some things in advance.

He Daqing then asked, "You said the person who sold you the pig was named Wu Mancang?"

“Yes, that’s the name. How come you know him?” He Yuzhu asked.

He Daqing frowned and said, "This name sounds familiar. Let me think about it."

After a moment, He Daqing finally remembered and said, "I remember now, Wu Mancang is Xu Wude's cousin. That was more than 10 years ago. I met him a few times, but I haven't seen him since."

"Are they relatives?" Xu Huizhen asked in surprise.

“Yes, I forgot before, but now that I remember, they must be relatives,” He Daqing said with certainty.

He Yuzhu frowned and said, "It seems that Wu Mancang's offer to sell me pigs was ill-intentioned."

He Daqing nodded: "It seems that what the other party said is false. The medical treatment is all a lie. They just want to sell all the pigs before the news of the epidemic spreads and while the prices are still relatively high, so as to reduce their losses."

He Yuzhu now realizes that he has been tricked. Fortunately, the pigs themselves are fine and not infected with any diseases. However, the current pig market is not good, and the live pig market is in a bad state. Taking over this business is not profitable for him, and he may even lose money.

He could only manage a wry smile: "I actually fell for their trick."

"Yes, there's no such thing as being able to guard against thieves for a thousand days if you're a thief for a thousand days. If someone wants to scheme against you, it's still very easy for them to succeed."

Xu Huizhen quickly comforted her, "Actually, it's nothing. Anyway, the price wasn't high, and you're not sick yet, so it's not like you lost money."

"Yes, at the current price, it's not a loss, but it's just infuriating."

He Yuzhu bought these half-grown piglets because he was tempted by the cheap price, thinking that they would be ready for market in two or three months.

At this time, the pigs are not fed concentrated feed, which results in the pigs not growing very big. They can usually be sold once they reach 110 jin (50 catties).

The heaviest pigs don't even reach 200 jin (100 catties), and those weighing over 160 jin (80 catties) are considered top grade and can fetch the highest selling price.

These pigs weigh an average of over 80 kilograms each and can be slaughtered in just two or three months. If no problems arise, it will be profitable.

Moreover, when buying the pigs, He Yuzhu had checked them and found that two of the three old sows were already pregnant. He Yuzhu remained calm and thought he had gotten a bargain.

This confirms that the other party genuinely wanted to sell before the pandemic hit, secure their profits, and transfer the risk to someone else.

He Daqing said angrily, "Let's go and settle accounts with Xu Wude. There's no way he's been bullying us like this. He must be behind this. Otherwise, how could Wu Mancang have come to your door and sold you all the pigs?"

He Yuzhu was also very angry. This was the first time he had ever been so taken advantage of, and he had actually been outmaneuvered by someone else.

"I suspect Xu Wude is also involved in this; this is just too much."

"Let's go, let's settle the score with him."

The father and son grew angrier as they talked. They had never lost so much face or been schemed against before, only when others suffered losses and they benefited.

The two got up and went out. Xu Huizhen called out to He Yuzhu twice, but He Yuzhu ignored her and continued walking out.

Xu Huizhen chased after him for a few steps, but was stopped by He Yuzhu.

“We’re just going to teach him a lesson once, so you can stay home without worry.”

He Yuzhu then asked his teacher's wife to stay with Xu Huizhen, and then ran out.

The teacher's wife pulled the anxious Xu Huizhen aside and said, "I know you care about him, but you shouldn't get involved in this matter. Don't worry, Zhuzi won't suffer any losses. Besides, if you go, he will have to take care of you."

"But I'm afraid something might happen to him."

"Silly girl, it's alright. It's only if you go that something unexpected will happen."

He Daqing and He Yuzhu stormed into the courtyard house. It was the busiest time of the evening, and everyone in the courtyard was there. Yan Bugui greeted them warmly when he saw them enter.

"Old He, Zhu Zi, you're back?"

He Daqing grunted in agreement and then strode away.

Yan Bugui then noticed the anger on his face and asked in surprise, "What's wrong?"

He Yuzhu also had a frosty expression. He simply nodded to his neighbors and then walked inside.

"What's going on?"

"I don't know, why is it like someone owes him 300 yuan?"

He Daqing fought his way to the west wing of the courtyard house and shouted, "Xu Wude, you come out here!"

Xu Wude, who was inside the room, was so startled that he dropped the chopsticks in his hand before walking to the door and opening it.

Seeing the furious He Daqing standing outside, he secretly groaned.

He forced himself to come out and asked, "Great Qing, what's the matter?"

He Daqing asked with a cold face, "You still have the nerve to ask me what I want? Don't think I don't remember, Wu Mancang is your cousin?"

Xu Wude broke out in a cold sweat instantly. How could his memories of the Qing Dynasty be so similar?

Wu Mancang had only visited the courtyard house when he was a child, and he hadn't seen many people there. He originally thought that no one would remember him.

That's why I suggested to Wu Mancang that he sell the pigs to He Yuzhu, thus transferring the risk.

He not only helped his cousin out of his predicament, but also secretly tricked He Yuzhu. However, he did not expect that He Daqing would know that Wu Mancang was his cousin.

This is bad news. In just one day, He Daqing came to settle accounts.

Xu Wude pretended to be confused: "Old He, what are you talking about? What happened to Mancang? I haven't seen him for years. What happened? When did you see him?"

"Stop pretending, this is definitely your doing."

He Daqing kicked Xu Wude, sending him sprawling to the ground. Xu Damao, who was behind him, was displeased and rushed forward, but He Yuzhu stopped him, tripping him and causing Xu Damao to fall to the ground.

"Stop fighting! Stop fighting!" Xu's mother and Xu Zhaodi rushed out, and Xu Wude and Da Mao got up to fight back. Soon, chaos erupted in front of the Xu family's gate.

He Yuzhu was agile and not only easily overwhelmed Xu Damao, but also managed to sneak in a chance to help He Daqing beat the Xu father and son until they were screaming and howling.

The neighbors were a step too slow. By the time everyone arrived, the Xu father and son had already been beaten several times, their faces bruised and swollen, and their bodies covered in mud.

Yi Zhonghai and Liu Haizhong, along with the other neighbors, separated everyone, and the conflict was finally quelled.

"What's wrong with you guys? Why are you fighting?"

Yi Zhonghai's second sentence was already off-topic: "He Daqing, you've only been back for a few days, and you're already coming to cause trouble?"

"Yi Zhonghai, don't give me that crap. I was born and raised here, and you've only been here a few days? And you're already criticizing me."

"You?" Yi Zhonghai was furious, but what He Daqing said was true. Although he had been gone for two years, He Daqing had lived in this courtyard since he was a child, and he was the one who came later.

Liu Haizhong stepped forward and said, "Alright, everyone, say less. We've been neighbors for decades. Is there anything that requires physical violence?"

He Daqing said, "That Xu Wude, that scoundrel, sold more than 20 pigs to Zhu Zi with his cousin. Isn't that cheating people?"

Xu Wude covered his face and exclaimed, "What does what Mancang did have to do with me, Xu Wude? I've never even met him."

Xu Wude knew that Wu Mancang had left by car after receiving the money, and now that he couldn't find him, he would deny it no matter what.

"It's you, stop pretending, you surnamed Xu, I'm not done with you yet."

He Daqing also wanted to show off in front of his son. Seeing his son becoming more and more capable and earning more money, he wanted to stand up for him more often. This would help repair their previous relationship, deepen their bond, and ensure their future care in old age.

Seeing how agile He Yuzhu was, beating Xu Damao as if it were child's play, I feel even more confident now.

He Daqing's attitude was clearly very assertive, insisting that Xu Wude and his cousin were conspiring to frame He Yuzhu.

Although Xu Wude was stubborn, he was still a little scared. This time he had kicked a hornet's nest. He did not expect that He Daqing would see through his plan so quickly.

He Daqing asked Yi Zhonghai, "Do you remember that Xu Wude had a cousin named Mancang?"

Yi Zhonghai thought for a moment, and realized that he would have forgotten about it long ago if no one had mentioned it, but after being asked this question, he vaguely remembered that Xu Wude had a cousin with that name.

However, compared to Xu Wude, Yi Zhonghai still disliked He Daqing and his son He Yuzhu, saying, "So many years have passed, I have no recollection of them."

But Liu Haizhong, who was standing next to him, said, "I seem to remember that Da Mao has a cousin named Mancang."

"Yes, it's him. He raises more than 20 pigs and three old sows in Zuojiazhuang. I just don't believe that Xu Wude has never seen his cousin in all these years, living so close by."

Yi Zhonghai was furious. This Liu Haizhong was more trouble than he was worth, and now Xu Wude was highly suspected.

He could only try to smooth things over by saying, "We've all been neighbors for decades, it's not worth fighting over something so trivial. Let's all take a step back and let's just let it go."

"Hmph, you got off easy," He Daqing said fiercely to Xu Wude.

Knowing that everyone was there, it was impossible to continue hitting Xu Wude. Today's commotion was a way of venting their anger.

After a while of persuasion, Yi Zhonghai stepped forward and went to a small tavern in the alley to invite them for drinks.

Xu Wude had no choice but to apologize to He Daqing on behalf of his cousin, and only then was the matter considered closed.

Then he gave an explanation, gritting his teeth and refusing to admit that he knew the truth, and he was even a little smug. Although the matter was somewhat unexpected, he still managed to trick He Yuzhu.

As the news spread, the outbreak of swine fever in Northeast China became known to the general public.

Soon the pork stopped selling, which had a slight impact on He Yuzhu's braised meat business. However, he also had other meats such as beef and mutton to sell, so the overall impact was not significant.

However, the price of live pigs has fallen rapidly, dropping from more than 1 cents to around 5 cents.

Even so, the pigs still couldn't be sold.

He Yuzhu secretly acquired a lot of pigs, since these pigs were not sick and he had space to store them for a long time.

More than a month passed in the blink of an eye, and suddenly there was a large report in the newspaper that the swine fever outbreak in Northeast China was actually a panic created by a group of people with ulterior motives, and there was no epidemic at all.

When Hugh Wood saw the news in the newspaper, his hands trembled with anger. "This is impossible, how could this happen?"