Siheyuan: The Era of Struggle

Chapter 414 Inexplicable
After finishing their meal and tidying up, He Yuanchao and Zhang Min walked back to the living room.

Ma Xiufang was still sitting on the sofa, sulking. When she saw her son-in-law and daughter enter the room, she beckoned He Yuanchao to sit down next to her and said:

"Yuanchao, tell me, how far has Xiaozhao's divorce progressed?"

Zhang Lide had mentioned this before returning, though he didn't go into the specifics, He Yuanchao still had a general understanding of the situation.

Seeing his mother-in-law's anxious expression, He Yuanchao didn't beat around the bush and simply said:

"It should be almost done. The divorce agreement was already signed when I came back. All that's left is for the certificate to be issued by the street office where my brother lives. I estimate it should be completed in another day or two."

Upon hearing this, Ma Xiufang nodded, then asked with a look of anticipation:
Who gets custody of Dongdong?

Ma Xiufang has come to terms with her son's divorce. If she has a heartless daughter-in-law, then so be it! But Dongdong is still a child, and he has the surname Zhang. She can't let him grow up in such a family. If the old man can't win custody of his grandson from his son, she doesn't mind going to Xishan to have a go at the Lü family.

"Mom, don't worry, Dongdong's custody will go to my older brother. The agreement has already been signed."

Hearing He Yuanchao say this, Ma Xiufang breathed a sigh of relief, and her expression softened.

“Yuanchao, what kind of mess is this?! Married for almost ten years, and they want a divorce right now! Sigh! I don’t feel sorry for anyone else, but it’s my poor grandson, he’s only eight years old…”

He Yuanchao and Zhang Min sat next to Ma Xiufang, listening to her rambling without showing any impatience, and even offering words of comfort from time to time.

Ma Xiufang went on and on about Zhang Zhao and Lü Wenli, from the beginning of their relationship to their impending divorce. She also included criticisms of Zhang Zhao's mother-in-law and father-in-law. Although she didn't resort to vulgar language, her words were sharp and cutting, making the two of them seem utterly worthless.

After venting her frustrations, Ma Xiufang felt much better. Seeing Zhang Min yawning beside her, and noticing it was almost 10 p.m., she said apologetically:
"I was so busy nagging that I didn't realize it was already this late. Yuanchao, Xiaomin, you two shouldn't go back. Just stay here for the night, so I won't have to worry about you in the dark."

He Yuanchao was reluctant to stay overnight at his mother-in-law's house, feeling somewhat awkward. However, considering that the gate would definitely be locked at this hour and he didn't want to trouble his neighbors, he had no choice but to agree.

Zhang Min was a woman who believed in following her husband wherever he went, even if he was a chicken or a dog, and would wander the mountains with him. Seeing that her husband had nodded, she pulled him upstairs without saying a word.

The Zhang family had a separate bathroom on the second floor, and after washing up, the two returned to Zhang Min's room.

There was a single bed in the room. It wasn't very spacious for He Yuanchao and Zhang Min to lie on, but it was manageable if they didn't do somersaults while sleeping.

The couple got into bed and snuggled together. Zhang Min drew circles on He Yuanchao's chest with her finger as she talked about what had happened at home in the past few days.

Strangely enough, Zhang Min was extremely sleepy downstairs, but after lying in bed and smelling her husband's scent, she suddenly became energetic.

As He Yuanchao listened to his wife's nagging, he couldn't help but move his arm down to touch her shoulder.

Zhang Min knew her husband's character well; ever since they got married, he'd been causing trouble almost every day, except for the few days when she wasn't feeling well.

Seeing her husband starting to get restless again, she was afraid he wouldn't be able to control himself, so she quickly whispered a warning.

"The doctor said that the first three months of pregnancy are a dangerous period, and we can't...we can't have sex."

Zhang Min's words were like a bucket of cold water poured over He Yuanchao, leaving him feeling completely chilled. He had to take several deep breaths to calm his inner turmoil.

Hearing her husband's heavy breathing beside her, Zhang Min felt a pang of guilt for no reason. At the same time, she couldn't help but recall the dirty jokes that the older women in the office had told her a couple of days ago.

The more she thought about it, the more afraid she was of causing her husband to suffer from pent-up desire, just like in those jokes. After hesitating for a long time, Zhang Min gritted her teeth, blushed, and slowly shrank her head under the covers.

Hiss... ...

At 5:30 the next morning, while Zhang Min was still fast asleep, He Yuanchao had already gotten up, dressed, and arrived in the courtyard looking refreshed.

Although many people no longer get up early to exercise in order to save energy due to the current situation, there are still a small number of people who cannot break the habit of exercising in the morning.

It was already broad daylight when He Yuanchao began practicing his boxing in the courtyard, which quickly attracted several early risers to stand outside and watch.

As the saying goes, laymen watch the spectacle, while experts see the details. Most of the onlookers were drawn by He Yuanchao's impressive boxing skills, but only one person seemed to have grasped the essence of the art, nodding frequently in agreement.

After He Yuanchao finished performing a set of Bajiquan, he had just finished his stance training when a cheer erupted from outside the courtyard. Although the number of people was small, the noise was quite loud, no less than that of the street performers under the overpass.

The onlookers were all from the Ministry of Coal Industry's residential compound. He Yuanchao recognized them, but couldn't name any of them. He smiled, clasped his hands in a respectful gesture, said a few polite words, and then turned to walk back into the house. He didn't want to be made a fool of.

Just as I was about to leave, I suddenly heard a greeting coming from outside the courtyard.

"Young man, please wait a moment."

Most of the people living here are his father-in-law's colleagues or even his superiors. Although He Yuanchao didn't know if they were calling him, he stopped and turned around to look out of politeness.

The onlookers were about to leave when they heard someone call out to Zhang's son-in-law, and they all stopped and stood there watching.

He Yuanchao saw an old man with gray hair, wearing a black homespun cotton jacket, standing outside the courtyard waving at him. After looking him over carefully and confirming that he didn't recognize him, he pointed at himself in confusion and said:
"Old comrade, are you calling me?"

Yes, they are calling you.

The old man nodded, smiling broadly, and said, "Young man, could you come over and chat for a bit?"

He Yuanchao wondered why the old man wanted to see him, but without hesitation, he smiled and said, "Okay, I'll be right there."

As he spoke, he took a few steps to the courtyard gate, opened it, and walked to the old man's side.

"Sir, what can I do for you?"

The old man didn't say anything, but carefully looked He Yuanchao up and down for a few moments before nodding and saying, "Young man, I wonder who your teacher is? Could you tell me?"

He Yuanchao didn't know the old man's background and didn't want to cause trouble for himself, so he vaguely said, "Old comrade, I don't have any teacher. These two fancy moves are just things I learned from people when I was taking a walk in the park."

"Young man, you're not being honest."

Seeing that He Yuanchao wasn't telling the truth, the old man didn't intend to press the matter. He shook his head, finished speaking, put his hands behind his back, and walked away into the distance.

None of the onlookers recognized the old man. After watching him walk away, they nodded to He Yuanchao and left the Zhang family's gate in small groups, whispering among themselves.

Watching everyone walk away, He Yuanchao turned around and went back into the house. As for the old man's inexplicable inquiry about the sect, he didn't take it to heart at all.

He Yuanchao wasn't in a hurry to return to work since his leave hadn't expired yet. Besides taking Zhang Min to work today, he also planned to visit his godmother and Sha Zhu's house.

(End of this chapter)