Siheyuan: Relieve stress and relieve worries

Chapter 1170 Yi Jia's Thoughts

Wang Zhan and the others then realized why Yan Jiekuang knew so much; he had gone to watch.

Yan Jiekuang continued to recount what happened next. It turned out that when they entered the courtyard, Liu Haizhong was still indignant and wanted to talk to Shazhu. No matter how Yi Zhonghai tried to persuade him, he couldn't. Yi Zhonghai rolled his eyes and said, "Old Liu, I still have a bottle of Xifeng here. You see, neither of us can sleep either. Why don't we drink and talk?"

Liu Haizhong was a connoisseur of wine, and he was immediately tempted upon hearing this. He then went to Yi Zhonghai's house with him. Li Cuilan took out a plate of peanuts and a plate of pig's head meat from the kitchen cupboard. Liu Haizhong was overjoyed at the sight of them and completely forgot about Sha Zhu, urging Yi Zhonghai to quickly get a glass and pour some wine.

In the west wing across the street, the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law were the first to return home. As soon as they got home, Jia Zhangshi's expression changed completely. She looked at Qin Huairu and said, "Quickly wake up the little ones. It's been so long since they've had meat. Hurry up and treat the children to something better. I saw that the little ones didn't eat enough at dinner."

Banggeng rushed out of Jia Zhangshi's room without being called. Huaihua couldn't eat this stuff, and Xiaodang was still asleep. Qin Huairu opened the lunchbox, put it on the table, and gave her mother-in-law and Banggeng bowls and chopsticks before going back to her own room to call Xiaodang.

When Qin Huairu came out carrying the drowsy little boy, Banggeng was eating twice-cooked pork with gusto. Qin Huairu complained, "Banggeng, eat slowly. Nobody's going to take it from you. There's enough food. Do you want a cornbread?"

Bang Geng nodded at Qin Huairu while slurping his food. Jia Zhangshi ate very slowly. When she saw Xiao Dang coming over, she picked him up and put him on the chair next to her. Xiao Dang smelled the meat and immediately woke up, picking up her chopsticks and charging towards the lunchbox.

Qin Huairu didn't eat much; she kept putting food on Jia Zhangshi's plate. Jia Zhangshi said, "Let the children eat first. Who knows when we'll get to eat meat again?"

"Then why did you go out and embarrass me? I already told you it was all for Sha Zhu's lunchbox, and you still didn't believe me," Qin Huairu said aggrievedly.

“Who says I don’t believe it? I staged this to prevent Sha Zhu from having any inappropriate thoughts. It has nothing to do with the lunchbox,” Jia Zhangshi said.

“But if you make such a fuss, all the neighbors will know. That wouldn’t be good,” Qin Huairu said.

Madam Jia put down her chopsticks and said, "What do you think I did all this for? It was to deter those who have designs on you. You think it's just Sha Zhu? Well, Sha Zhu is alright, he has the desire but not the courage. There are more than just Sha Zhu around here who are eyeing you. I did this to deter them, understand?"

Qin Huairu then realized that today's events were something her mother-in-law had planned beforehand, just waiting for an opportunity. And now, Sha Zhu had walked right into it. Thinking about it, Qin Huairu frowned and asked, "Mom, how did you know I'd run into Sha Zhu when I went out? Weren't you already lying down when I left?"

Madam Jia rolled her eyes and said, "Silly girl, of course someone told me."

"Mom, when you went out, a grandma came by." Banggeng ate meat beside him, but didn't forget to listen to the adults talking.

“Huai Ru, it was Yi Zhonghai who saw it and that’s why he sent an old lady to tell me. Huai Ru, everyone in this courtyard has their own agenda, so you should be more careful,” said Madam Jia.

Qin Huairu frowned, unable to understand why Yi Zhonghai did this. At this moment, Bang Geng had finished eating and was sitting there, patting his stomach, saying, "Grandma, I wish we could have lunchboxes every day. I'm so tired of eating cornbread."

"Silly boy, you can't have that every day," Jia Zhangshi said with a smile to Banggeng, when suddenly she thought of something and froze. Qin Huairu looked at Jia Zhangshi curiously and asked, "Mom, Mom, what's wrong?"

"It's quite possible that there will be lunchboxes every day. You all wait at home while I go out." Jia Zhangshi put on her padded jacket and went out.

Qin Huairu looked out the window and saw her mother-in-law heading towards Yi Zhonghai's house. Not long after, Jia Zhangshi returned with a smile. Qin Huairu asked, "Mom, where did you go? Why did you go to my master's house?"

"Where did he go? Of course, he went to get the lunchboxes. Don't worry, Yi Zhonghai promised. He'll persuade Sha Zhu, and from now on, all the lunchboxes he brings will belong to our family," said Jia Zhangshi.

Qin Huairu was taken aback. Sha Zhu had brought lunchboxes to their house before, but not every time. It depended entirely on Sha Zhu's mood, so Qin Huairu had to always put on a flattering expression whenever she saw Sha Zhu. Now that her mother-in-law was saying that all the lunchboxes would belong to his family from now on, she found it hard to believe.

Jia Zhangshi seemed to see Qin Huairu's confusion. She took off her padded jacket, sat down, and then said, "You still don't understand. Do you know why Yi Zhonghai told me that you and Shazhu were over at the public toilet?"

Qin Huairu hadn't figured it out yet, but once Jia Zhangshi left, she stopped thinking about it. Jia Zhangshi said, "Yi Zhonghai just wanted everyone to know that you and Shazhu have a good relationship. My fuss confirmed that your relationship is unusual, which is what he wanted to see."

"Mom, what was his reason?" Qin Huairu still didn't understand.

Madam Jia gave Qin Huairu a deep look and said, "It's for you, and maybe for my eldest grandson. He just wants you or my eldest grandson to take care of him when you grow up."

Qin Huairu suddenly understood, and after thinking for a moment, asked, "What does that have to do with Guan Shazhu?"

“Sigh, Yi Zhonghai used to focus all his attention on Dongxu, hoping that Dongxu would take care of him in his old age and see him off in his final days. Now that Dongxu is gone, he doesn’t know what to do. I could tell during that time that he wasn’t sad about Dongxu’s departure, but rather that his efforts hadn’t been rewarded. Now, after this period of time, he has set his sights on you, but he feels it’s not safe, so he wants to make Shazhu his target as well,” Jia Zhangshi said.

Qin Huairu understood a little. No wonder Yi Zhonghai had run around for her when she entered the factory, and even took her on as an apprentice. So that's what he was thinking. But what happened today has ruined Sha Zhu's reputation.

When Qin Huairu voiced her question, Jia Zhangshi sneered and said, "Yi Zhonghai wants to tie Shazhu to our family, so he ruined Shazhu's reputation. It's a good move for him. Otherwise, why would he send an old lady to find me? He's using me to ruin Shazhu's reputation, after all, you're a widow."

Qin Huairu suddenly realized what was happening, and at the same time panicked a little. She quickly said, "Mom, I have no intention of remarrying. I just want to raise my children."

"I know, it's alright. Just do what you always have done before, and let Yi Zhonghai do whatever he wants. As long as we have enough to eat and wear, that's fine. Sha Zhu is a good match. Eat his food, use his things, and you don't even have to say thank you. Isn't that great?" Jia Zhangshi said coldly.

Upon hearing this, Qin Huairu felt that her mother-in-law was terrifying. She was treating Sha Zhu like a donkey, without even feeding him.

(End of this chapter)