Siheyuan: The Era of Struggle

Chapter 424 One Event After Another

Seeing the young couple looking so nervous, He Yuanchao quickly smiled and said:
"I didn't mean that, I was just asking casually. Whether you go or not is up to you."

Upon hearing this, Sha Zhu and Yu Li both breathed a sigh of relief.

Yu Li had her own little scheme in mind. She was afraid that her silly husband would offend her second uncle and strain the relationship between the two families, making it difficult for him to speak up in the future.

Sha Zhu didn't have many thoughts; he simply didn't want to work at Fengzeyuan because he was afraid of being restricted. Although he knew that big hotels offered good pay and benefits, nothing compared to the freedom he had in the steel mill canteen. He was quite satisfied with his current life.

Seeing that his second uncle didn't seem to be forcing him, Sha Zhu grinned and shared his thoughts.

"Second Uncle, I've made up my mind. I still think working at the steel rolling mill is pretty good. There aren't as many things to do, and the hours are more flexible."

He Yuanchao nodded upon hearing this, "Alright, then work hard at the steel rolling mill."

After discussing going to work at Fengzeyuan, Yu Li noticed it was getting late and quickly got up to prepare dinner.

Seeing this, Sha Zhu quickly stood up and stopped Yu Li, saying, "You sit here and keep Uncle and Aunt company. I'll go cook. We have a cook at home, why should I let you do the cooking?"

After saying that, he greeted He Yuanchao and Zhang Min, then hummed a little tune and dashed off to the kitchen.

Seeing that Sha Zhu had left the house, He Yuanchao also wanted to go out for some fresh air, so he followed him out under the pretext of having a smoke.

Hearing the arguing coming from Yan Bugui's house in the front yard, He Yuanchao paid no attention and strolled into the kitchen.

When Sha Zhu saw his second uncle come in, he thought he was hungry, so he quickly tidied up the cabbage in his hands while smiling and saying:
"Second Uncle, don't worry, the food will be ready soon."

He Yuanchao took out a cigarette from his pocket and handed one to Sha Zhu, saying, "I'm not hungry yet. I came here to ask if the security department has been making any moves these past few days?"

Sha Zhu didn't take the cigarette He Yuanchao offered, and continued with his work, saying:

"The security department hasn't made any moves. They're still doing morning exercises and training every day as before. I haven't heard anything else."

After saying that, as if he had thought of something, he immediately added, "By the way, Second Uncle, the new deputy head of the security department has been quite active lately. I've seen him several times when I was cooking special meals for the factory leaders."

"Are you talking about Wu Mengsheng?" He Yuanchao lit a cigarette and took a puff.

"Yes, it's him."

Upon hearing He Yuanchao mention the name, Sha Zhu nodded affirmatively and said, "I saw him go to Mo Dacheng's office when I delivered lunch to Secretary Yang at the office building the day before yesterday."

He Yuanchao flicked his cigarette ash and thought to himself, "It seems that my request for leave has made Wu Mengsheng jump up. Although the entire security department is full of my people, I can't be careless, lest I end up like Guan Yu, who suffered a crushing defeat."

After Sha Zhu finished speaking, seeing that his second uncle was not saying anything and knew that he was thinking about something, he didn't say anything more and quietly continued to work.

After finishing his cigarette, He Yuanchao had already made up his mind. He stubbed out the cigarette, said goodbye to Sha Zhu, and turned to leave the kitchen.

Just as He Yuanchao came out of the kitchen, he saw a dark figure run past him like the wind. Before He Yuanchao could react, Liu Haizhong, who lived in the backyard, ran into the middle yard with fire tongs in his hand.

Upon seeing He Yuanchao standing at the kitchen door of Sha Zhu's house, Liu Haizhong paused, stopped, and explained with a flushed face:

"Da Liang... no, Mr. He, the child stole my wine and drank it. I'm sorry you had to see this."

After saying that, feeling quite embarrassed, he didn't wait for He Yuanchao to speak and strode off to chase after him.

He Yuanchao watched the endless drama unfolding in the courtyard and couldn't help but smile. He was also incredibly glad he didn't live there; otherwise, all these trivial matters would drive him crazy. He walked back to the main room and had just sat down at the table when Zhang Min asked:
"Yuanchao, what good thing happened that makes you so happy?"

He Yuanchao didn't hide anything when he heard this, and told the story of how Liu Haizhong had chased after his children and hit them.

Zhang Min was incredulous after hearing this, feeling that Liu Haizhong's punishment of the child was too harsh.

"Just for sneaking a couple of sips of wine, is it really necessary to chase after him with fire tongs?"

Sitting next to her, Yu Li was already used to Liu Haizhong beating the children. Before He Yuanchao could speak, she said with a smile:
"Second Aunt, what's the big deal? Don't even mention getting a beating for stealing a couple of drinks. Even if Uncle Liu is in a bad mood, his two kids won't escape a beating."

Zhang Min works in household registration, but she is also a police officer, so she couldn't help but be a little curious after hearing what Yu Li said.

"What's his family situation? Are those two kids not his biological children?"

Hahaha~~
Hearing Zhang Min's words, He Yuanchao and Yu Li both burst into laughter.

Seeing Zhang Min's bewildered expression, Yu Li explained, "I haven't been married into the family long, so I don't know the specifics of the Liu family, but all three children are their biological offspring."

Zhang Min was even more puzzled after hearing this.

"It's okay to discipline children by hitting or scolding them when they make mistakes, but there has to be a limit! Judging from what Yuanchao said, Liu Haizhong really went all out. What kind of father is that? There's an old saying that even tigers don't eat their cubs!"

He Yuanchao looked at Zhang Min's puzzled expression and laughed, "What's the big deal? It's just that he's biased in his bangs."

“Even if you’re biased, at most you just don’t like them, but you can’t beat a child to death, can you?” Zhang Min clearly didn’t believe her husband’s explanation.

Seeing that his words were being questioned, He Yuanchao smiled and explained Liu Haizhong's situation.

"His heart is completely biased towards his maternal grandmother."

Women are mostly emotional, and many are naturally compassionate towards the weak. After listening to He Yuanchao's story, Zhang Min uttered a rare swear word.

Yu Li wasn't too concerned about Liu Haizhong's favoritism, but she became interested in Liu's eldest son and couldn't help but say to He Yuanchao:
"Second Uncle, I haven't seen the eldest son of the Liu family since I got married. Isn't he in the capital? Why have I never seen him come back?"

He Yuanchao took a sip of water, put down his glass, and said with a smile, "His eldest son has married into a wealthy family. The woman is afraid that he will help his family, so she doesn't allow him to have any contact with the Liu family, otherwise she will divorce him."

"Oh, so that's how it is!"

Yu Li's face showed an "I see" expression, then she clicked her tongue twice and said:
"Uncle Liu is really something. His eldest son is practically unreliable, so why doesn't he treat Liu Guangtian and Liu Guangfu better? If this continues, they probably won't even have anyone to take care of them in their old age."

Zhang Min stroked the water glass in her hand and smiled as she shared her insights.

"He's getting stuck on one thing, always thinking that his eldest son will be able to take care of him in the future."

After saying that, seeing the noncommittal look on her husband's face, she asked again, "What, am I wrong?"

Seeing Zhang Min staring intently at him, He Yuanchao chuckled and said, "It's not entirely wrong."

Liu Guangqi, the eldest son of the Liu family, is the pride of Liu Haizhong and his wife, and also the continuation of Liu Haizhong's dream of becoming an official. Although he is only a clerk now, he has the status of a cadre. Because of this, no matter how good Liu Guangtian and Liu Guangfu are, they cannot catch Liu Haizhong's eye.

As for retirement planning, I reckon Liu Haizhong believes that once his eldest son becomes a leader, his other two sons will definitely have to curry favor with him.

(End of this chapter)