Siheyuan: A Very Happy Era

Chapter 595 We Sisters United

"It smells so good!" Yan Bugui exclaimed, sniffing the air.

"It really smells delicious!" The three aunties nodded in agreement.

"..." Yan Jiecheng wiped his drool, then looked confused.

Honestly, he doesn't even know when the last time he drank was?

All he remembers is that for the past ten years or so, he has been living a life of paying off debts, and he still hasn't been able to pay them off.

Moreover, his creditor is his biological father.

Besides that, he lost his wife and his house; Li Guoqiang took everything away.

Sometimes, he would think about how happy he would be now if he hadn't borrowed money to gamble.
Unfortunately, this world has everything, except "what ifs".

"Huai Ru, why aren't you going over there?" Jia Zhangshi leaned close to Qin Huai Ru's ear and asked anxiously in a low voice.

"Look at what you're saying. Look at your precious grandson. He's been watching me like a glued to my body all night. Do you think I'd dare go?" Qin Huairu rolled her eyes, somewhat annoyed.

Following the direction Qin Huairu was looking, Jia Zhangshi saw Jia Dongxu sitting at the doorway, his eyes fixed on Qin Huairu like he was a thief.

This immediately filled her with worry. "You know, this kid is really something. He's already in his mid-twenties, how come he still can't tell the difference between good and bad?"

It's worth noting that in recent years, Li Guoqiang has increased her monthly pension from three yuan to ten yuan, more than tripling, which is equivalent to a week's wages for an ordinary worker.

In addition, Li Guoqiang would occasionally give Qin Huairu some money, and each time it would be one or two hundred yuan, which was equivalent to half a year's wages for ordinary workers.

Nowadays, in order not to anger the fans, they are forced to sever ties with Li Guoqiang, and naturally, they have lost this income.

That was so heartbreaking!

"You! After all these years, don't you still know what kind of person he is?" Qin Huairu was speechless at the question asked by Jia Zhangshi.

If she hadn't understood Bang Geng's personality and worried that he might do something impulsive after learning the truth, she wouldn't have severed ties with Li Guoqiang beforehand.

Sure enough, the result was exactly as she had expected.

Let alone letting her date Li Guoqiang, even if she mentions Li Guoqiang's name, Bang Geng will get angry with her.

If this continues, she may really end up as a haggard old woman, dying alone.

"Why don't you go and have a good talk with Qiangzi and ask him to find Banggeng a better job, and then ask Qiangzi to treat Banggeng better? That way, slowly, maybe Banggeng can make up with Qiangzi?" Jia Zhangshi was a little unwilling.

"You should save your breath! Banggeng isn't his biological son, why should he find a job for Banggeng? Besides, you know he's always had a problem with Banggeng. If it weren't for me, he probably wouldn't know how he would have dealt with Banggeng!"

Qin Huairu felt a little tired when she saw that Jia Zhangshi was so naive.

Over the years, apart from sucking blood from her body, Jia Zhangshi had never helped her in any way.

If it weren't for a chance encounter that allowed her to latch onto Li Guoqiang's coattails, she truly wouldn't know how difficult her life would have been all these years.

Because she had become accustomed to being taken care of for the past ten years, she had been tossing and turning every night since Banggeng returned from the countryside, and it was driving her crazy with worry.

Upon hearing Qin Huairu's words, Madam Jia fell silent.

Yes!

She almost forgot that Li Guoqiang wasn't that simpleton Sha Zhu, someone they could manipulate at will.

Otherwise, she wouldn't have so easily swallowed her pride and admitted that Qin Huairu was secretly following Li Guoqiang.

If they accidentally anger Li Guoqiang, their family's life will be truly unbearable from now on.

Thinking of this, Jia Zhang hesitated for a moment before finally suggesting, "How about I find some time to have a proper talk with Bang Geng and ask him to apologize to Qiangzi?"

"No! Please don't do that!" Qin Huairu's heart jumped into her throat as soon as she heard that.

Back then, Banggeng was able to hide in the steel rolling mill workshop for a whole day and night just because he was called a slut.

Now that she's grown up, she can't imagine what kind of things Bang Geng might do.
"Then what do you suggest we do?" Madam Jia asked, somewhat exasperated.

Although Xiao Dang and Huaihua both have jobs now, and with Qin Huairu's meager salary, they won't starve to death.

However, as the saying goes, it is easy to go from frugality to extravagance, but difficult to go from extravagance to frugality.

She has enjoyed a good life for more than ten years. How could she possibly accept going back to that kind of austere and hard life?
Moreover, Qin Huairu is almost fifty years old now. If she really breaks up with Li Guoqiang, there will really be no chance for her to rekindle their relationship!
We can't really let Xiao Dang and Huaihua take their place, can we?
As she pondered, Jia Zhangshi's gaze couldn't help but fall on Xiao Dang and Huaihua, who were sitting side by side whispering to each other.

"Hey, Huaihua, don't you really want to be like your aunt and go to Hong Kong with Brother Qiangzi?" Xiao Dang's tone was full of temptation.

"I...I don't want to!" Huaihua said, somewhat contradicting herself.

In fact, she was incredibly envious of Qin Jingru for being able to live in Hong Kong with Li Guoqiang and for giving birth to such a beautiful daughter.

There was a time when she even dreamed at night that she had become Qin Jingru.

However, she was naturally unwilling to reveal it in front of her older sister, Xiao Dang, lest Xiao Dang look down on her.

"Fine, if you don't want it, I will!" Seeing that Huaihua didn't mean it, Xiaodang decided to increase the intensity of her words.

"What? You're really going to be his mistress?" Huaihua exclaimed in surprise.

"Shh! Why are you shouting so loudly? Are you afraid others won't hear you?" Xiao Dang quickly covered Huaihua's mouth, then looked around nervously.

"No, sister, are you really going to become his mistress?" Huaihua asked in a low voice, her face full of surprise.

"Otherwise what? If Auntie can do it, why can't I?" Xiao Dang said matter-of-factly.

"Aren't you afraid people will laugh at you?" Huaihua asked, puzzled.

"Tch, nobody in Hong Kong knows me anyway, and look at the people in our compound, who would dare to laugh at Auntie?" Xiao Dang spat lightly, her face revealing a hint of disdain.

Before Huaihua could respond, she added with sparkling eyes, "Besides, don't you think Brother Qiangzi is very charming?" "Well..." Huaihua was momentarily at a loss for words.

In her eyes, Li Guoqiang was simply the most handsome man in the world, and it could be said that every aspect of him was exactly what she wanted.

If Li Guoqiang hadn't already been married, she would probably be racking her brains to try and take him for herself.

"Also, haven't you noticed that Auntie hasn't aged much despite being with him for so many years?" A look of longing suddenly appeared on Xiao Dang's face.

Although she is still quite young, only in her early twenties, as a woman, she is naturally afraid of the day when she gets old and ugly.

And now, an opportunity to stay young and beautiful is right in front of her.

How could this not make her heart flutter?
"You mean, this is all because of Brother Qiangzi?" A look of surprise suddenly appeared on Huaihua's face.

Perhaps because she has only recently come of age and is at the peak of her beauty, she has somewhat overlooked this point.

Now that Xiao Dang has said this, she suddenly realizes that following Li Guoqiang has such an extremely tempting benefit.

At that moment, she was truly tempted.

“That’s right! Otherwise, how could Auntie still be so young, beautiful, and elegant at her age?” Xiao Dang nodded seriously.

"Then I want to go with you too!" Huaihua's expression changed drastically, and she finally gritted her teeth and said.

"Are you really sure?" Xiao Dang was overjoyed and then asked.

After all, if she were alone, she really didn't have the confidence to get Li Guoqiang to agree.

Moreover, Qin Huairu had already said that Li Guoqiang wanted both of them together.

Therefore, to avoid any accidents, she had no choice but to harden her heart and drag the locust flowers into the water.

"Yes!" Huaihua nodded emphatically to show her determination.

"Great! When the two of us sisters work together, we're sure to completely charm him." Xiao Dang said confidently.

"Um, sis, should we tell Mom first?" Huaihua suddenly asked, sounding a little worried.

"No, we can't let Mom know about this, or she'll probably beat us to death!" Xiao Dang hurriedly stopped them upon hearing this.

"But we can't keep this from her forever, can we?" Huaihua hesitated for a moment.

"We'll keep it a secret as long as we can. Once we've slept with Qiangzi, even if she doesn't agree, she can't do anything about it," Xiao Dang said earnestly.

"Okay!" After thinking about it carefully for a while, Huaihua finally nodded and agreed.

Immediately afterwards, the two sisters began to discuss what they should do next.
Although they had already decided to become concubines, they knew they couldn't just offer themselves up without asking. They had to make Li Guoqiang take the initiative so that they could gain a higher status.

Moreover, with Luo Huijuan and Shang Xiuzhen by Li Guoqiang's side, even if they had ten times the courage, they wouldn't dare to talk to Li Guoqiang about investing in front of Luo Huijuan and Shang Xiuzhen!

Therefore, no matter how much they discussed, they could not reach a conclusion.

Just as they were starting to worry about this, Bang Geng suddenly got up and walked over, then asked with some suspicion:

"What were you two whispering about just now?"

"No, it's nothing!" Huaihua said, a little flustered.

"Brother, aren't you being a bit too nosy? Do we have to report to you about things that are girls' business?" Xiao Dang frowned, looking annoyed.

"Hmph! I'm warning you, don't you dare trust that bastard Li Guoqiang, or you'll suffer losses later, don't blame me for not warning you beforehand!" Bang Geng snorted, then turned and went back to his bed after leaving a warning.

Xiao Dang and Huaihua didn't take the warning to heart at all. After exchanging a glance, they got up and went into the inner room to continue their discussion under the covers.

As for Qin Huairu and Jia Zhangshi, they were both thinking about how to change Banggeng's mind and didn't notice Xiaodang and Huaihua's strange behavior at all.

Soon, time flew by and it was already the morning of the next day.

Li Guoqiang got up early from the crowd of women, ate a simple breakfast, and then got into the car arranged by Qiangsheng Company to check on Wu Caie, Yu Jiaxue, and Zhen Hexiang.

Incidentally, he also had to hand over the information of Li Dawei, Yao Meilan, Luo Guofu, Zhao Qiuyan, and Sha Zhu to the people at Qiangsheng Company to process their visas.

If all goes well, the visa should be processed in another three or four days.

Then, their whole family will be able to go to Hong Kong and enjoy life to the fullest.

"Boss, we've arrived at Mrs. Wu's house."

"Okay, you guys wait here first. Call me if anything happens." Li Guoqiang nodded slightly in agreement, then got out of the car and walked into a large courtyard.

Before long, he arrived at a slightly dilapidated courtyard, and as soon as he reached the door, he met Song Guochang coming out of the house.

"Qiangqiangzi, you're back!" Song Guochang was stunned for a moment when he saw Li Guoqiang, then hurriedly greeted him with a smile.

"Yes, you just got back yesterday. How are you feeling?" Li Guoqiang asked with some concern, looking at Song Guochang, whose back was slightly hunched, whose temples were already graying, and whose face was full of haggardness.

At the same time, he also felt a bit emotional.

Back then, Song Guochang was full of ambition, wanting to climb to the top, and even once climbed to the top of Beijing, truly becoming a high-ranking official.

But who would have thought that a sudden change in the political landscape would force him into early retirement, turning him into an ordinary person who could only drift through life and wait to die!
“Great! Now I can eat, drink, and sleep well, there’s nothing wrong with that.” Song Guochang nodded and replied with a cheerful expression.

"That's good. You've worked hard for most of your life, it's time for you to enjoy your retirement." Li Guoqiang replied softly, following up on the conversation.

"Yes! It's time to enjoy a peaceful retirement." A hint of melancholy flashed across Song Guochang's face.

Then, he seemed to lose interest in exchanging pleasantries with Li Guoqiang. He stepped aside to make way for him, pointed into the house, and said, "Hey, hurry up and go in! Your Aunt Wu is inside!"

After saying that, he didn't care about Li Guoqiang's reaction and slowly walked out of the yard with somewhat unsteady steps.

(End of this chapter)