The heavens set sail from the courtyard

No. 22 Fengxiang Hutong.

He Wenhui ran home covered in sweat, only to find that her younger sister He Wenyuan and younger brother He Wentao were still not home, and she immediately became anxious.

"Mom, haven't Wenyuan and Wentao come back yet?" He Wenhui asked Qiuhua anxiously.

"You still haven't found them?" Yu Qiuhua frowned, displeased.

"No! I've searched all the places they usually go," He Wenhui said worriedly. "Could something have happened to Wenyuan and Wentao?"

Yu Qiuhua said coldly, "Wen Tao must know he's in trouble and is afraid of being scolded by me when he gets back, so he's hiding. Wen Yuan is probably protecting Wen Tao."

No one knows a child better than their mother. Yu Qiuhua understood her children's temperaments. After thinking for a while, she said to He Wenhui, "Go and ask Wenyuan at his home."

He Wenhui said with a grim expression, "I've asked at the homes of several of Wenyuan's close classmates, but I haven't been able to find him."

Yu Qiuhua asked, "What about Wentao's family?"

He Wenhui replied, "Okay, I'll go look again."

Yu Qiuhua advised, "Don't be too anxious. Wen Yuan is shrewd. With her watching over Wen Tao, nothing should happen."

If we really can't find them, that's fine. They'll definitely be back by nightfall. You go to the hospital to take care of Hongchang.

He Wenhui said somewhat reluctantly, "There are nurses at the hospital, I don't need to go there."

Yu Qiuhua said unhappily, "Liu Hongchang is your husband. He is injured and hospitalized now. As his wife, it is only right that you take care of him."

He Wenhui said shyly, "Liu Hongchang injured his buttocks, I'm embarrassed."

"Huh?" Yu Qiuhua asked curiously, "What's there to be embarrassed about in your husband's butt?"

He Wenhui fiddled with the hem of her clothes, acting coy.

Yu Qiuhua is blind and doesn't know much about what's happening in her family. To avoid worrying their mother, the He siblings sometimes only report good news and not bad.

“Wenhui, you are now someone’s wife. Sometimes you have to think about your husband. You can’t be as heartless as before.”

"Mom, I understand." Although He Wenhui said this, she was actually quite dismissive of it.

Yu Qiuhua couldn't see He Wenhui's expression, only her voice, so she naturally missed something.

"Go ahead, I'll take care of things at home, don't worry!" Yu Qiuhua instructed.

"Mom, I'm leaving now." He Wenhui turned and left home.

He Wenhui didn't notice that two pairs of small eyes were watching her from not far away as she walked through the courtyard.

He Wenyuan and He Wentao didn't go far at all; they hid at their neighbor Erqing's house.

"Second sister, will eldest sister be worried if she can't find us?" He Wentao asked anxiously as he peered out the window and watched his eldest sister walk away.

"It's okay, we'll go home in a little while. Mom and my older sister have calmed down a bit," He Wenyuan said nonchalantly.

"Old Liu is in the hospital, will he be alright?" He Wentao asked, still feeling apprehensive.

He was only nine years old. When Wang Gang was taken to the hospital unconscious, He Wentao realized he had made a big mistake and hid at his neighbor Erqing's house.

Later, He Wenyuan found him, and the siblings have stayed with him ever since.

“Now you know fear? When you were burning Old Liu’s butt, why didn’t you know fear?” He Wenyuan tapped his younger brother on the head.

"I didn't expect Old Liu to be so weak, fainting from just a little heat," He Wentao said dismissively.

“Mom must be very angry right now. You really went too far this time. The police even came to the door just now,” He Wenyuan sighed.

He Wenyuan wasn't siding with Liu Hongchang; he was just worried his brother would be arrested by the police. "That old Liu is something else, daring to call the police. I'll deal with him later," He Wenyuan said angrily.

“Exactly, it’s just a little burn on the butt, what’s the big deal?” He Wentao gritted his teeth and said, “I didn’t burn him enough.”

He Wenyuan tapped He Wentao on the head again and scolded him, "Don't be so blatant in retaliating against Lao Liu next time. It won't be good if Mom finds out."

He Wentao asked in confusion, "Then what should I do?"

He Wenyuan advised, "You're secretly plotting against Old Liu behind people's backs, so don't let anyone know!"

The siblings never felt there was anything wrong with messing with Liu Hongchang; they were just afraid of being scolded by their mother.

"Wenyuan, Wentao, are you hungry?" Erqing walked over and said, "I asked my mom to prepare some food."

He Wenyuan turned to Erqing and said, "Won't this be too much trouble for you?"

Erqing laughed and said, "It's just some steamed buns and pickled vegetables, a simple meal. My mother isn't Liu Hongchang; she can't cook those fancy dishes."

He Wenyuan said dismissively, "Although Lao Liu is a cook, his cooking is just so-so."

He Wentao also said, "That's right, I think Erqing's mother's cooking is better than Lao Liu's."

Erqing's smile widened when he heard what the siblings said, and he pulled them to the table to eat.

Erqing's mother brought over a bowl of noodle soup and said with a smile, "Wenyuan, Wentao, I made noodle soup. You should eat more."

"Thank you, Auntie," He Wenyuan said happily.

"Eat slowly, there's still some left in the pot." Erqing's mother personally ladled out two bowls of noodle soup.

"Go home after you finish eating and apologize to your mother properly," Erqing's mother instructed. "Your mother has the softest heart and won't blame you too much."

Erqing asked with a chuckle, "Wentao, when you scalded Old Liu's butt, did he scream terribly?"

He Wentao laughed and said, "That was really terrible. He jumped up as soon as he sat down. I've never seen anyone jump that high."

None of the people at the dinner table thought that Wang Gang's burn was a big deal.

He Wentao and He Wenyuan had a deep-seated prejudice against Wang Gang, while Erqing's mother's prejudice stemmed from the house.

When Liu Hongchang got married, he built a small house in the yard, which occupied part of the public space.

At the time, Erqing's mother was unwilling and led a group of people to stop Liu Hongchang from building the house.

Unfortunately, Liu Hongchang was very capable and managed to get all the paperwork done, even bribing the neighborhood office, before the house could be built, but he also offended all the neighbors in the courtyard.

“Wen Yuan, I reckon Liu Hongchang will teach Wen Tao a lesson when he gets back from the hospital. You’d better protect your brother then.” Er Qing’s mother stirred up trouble, saying, “In the end, you He family are the real family, and Liu Hongchang is an outsider.”

He Wenyuan said matter-of-factly, "Of course, Wentao is my own brother. If Lao Liu dares to bully Wentao, I will fight him to the death."

Erqing's mother smiled and said, "There's no need for that. You just need to find your eldest sister. Wenhui will definitely protect you. Liu Hongchang is just a cook. He's incredibly lucky to have married your sister."

He Wenyuan curled his lip in disdain and said, "I really don't understand what my sister saw in Lao Liu. He's a cook, covered in cooking fumes. My sister was a college student who got into university."

“Exactly.” He Wentao said while eating his noodle soup, “I think Daqing would be a better brother-in-law than Lao Liu.”

Hearing this, Erqing's mother was even happier. She had originally intended to match her eldest son, Daqing, with He Wenhui, but He Wenhui didn't like Daqing and eventually married the cook, Liu Hongchang.

This made Erqing's mother feel bad for a long time, so the more trouble the He family caused, the happier she was. Otherwise, why would she have taken in He Wenyuan and his sister and even made them noodle soup?

Flour is so expensive. (End of Chapter)