Courtyard Houses: Starting with the principle of hard work paying off

Chapter 42 Laying Mines
"No matter what, the old lady is the matriarch of our courtyard. It's wrong of you to disrespect her!"

"Ancestor? Who bestowed that title upon him?!"

"You sealed it off?"

"Silly Zhu, don't forget, when you and Yu Shui were starving and no one cared about you, who gave you a bowl of hot food!"

"..."

Sha Zhu, who was on the verge of exploding with rage, felt as if a bucket of ice water had been poured over him when he heard Li Hongbing's last words.

Sha Zhu, who had calmed down instantly, looked at Li Hongbing in front of him, and the anger in his eyes was gradually dissipating.

only.

Sha Zhu was very unhappy and shouted angrily at Li Hongbing, "Li Hongbing, if it weren't for this, if it weren't for your sister, I would have beaten you up long ago, do you believe me?"

"I believe!"

Li Hongbing smiled.

If it weren't for this, he wouldn't have been so fearless as to dare to come out alone with Sha Zhu, who currently has the advantage in combat strength.

He's not some hothead.

Even if this seems like taking advantage of someone's kindness, it would be foolish not to use such a significant advantage.

"Shazhu, I have a question for you."

Seeing that Sha Zhu had calmed down, Li Hongbing asked him, "Has your relationship with the deaf old lady always been this good, always this close, or when did it start?"

"Why do you ask?"

Sha Zhu was clearly upset and unwilling to answer.

Seeing this, Li Hongbing didn't mind and continued, "From what I understand, when your father was still in the courtyard, the deaf old lady's relationship with your family wasn't that close, at least not nearly as close as it is now..."

Before liberation, life was not easy for anyone. Just being able to make a living was already a good thing. Few people talked about unity, friendship, equality and mutual assistance.

The He family and the deaf old lady were both long-time residents of this courtyard house. Even if the relationships within the courtyard were harmonious, they were not as close as family.

Moreover.

Who is He Daqing?

For the sake of a widow, he was willing to let Sha Zhu raise He Yushui, who was only seven or eight years old at the time, to survive alone in the city. If there were no benefit, he would have rushed to please the deaf old lady, an old lady from another family.
The relationship between the two companies is also so-so.

if not.

After He Daqing ran away, Sha Zhu and He Yushui wouldn't end up starving.

Even Li Hongmei couldn't stand it anymore and reached out to help. The deaf old lady, who now calls herself the ancestor, didn't make a sound at the time.

“Li Hongbing, don’t mention that person to me! And don’t think I don’t know that you’re telling me all this to try and sow discord between me and the old lady.”

Sha Zhu, who had just calmed down, became emotionally volatile again after hearing Li Hongbing talk about what had just happened, especially when He Daqing was mentioned.

"Whether it's instigation or not, you can judge for yourself, but I'd like to ask you a few more questions."

Li Hongbing knew that Sha Zhu wouldn't believe whatever he said, but he still continued, "Back when you and Yu Shui were starving and about to die, where were your ancestors, your respected wife, at that time?"
Why can't you even afford to give me a cornbread?

Was it later, when you became an apprentice and under Yi Zhonghai's "kind" guidance, you would occasionally make some delicious food and deliver it to the old lady, and that's how your relationship gradually became closer?
"What, when there's good food, he's your darling grandson, but when there's no benefit, he completely turns his back on you?"

Sha Zhu wasn't bad with words, but faced with Li Hongbing's remarks, he couldn't utter a single word in his opposition.

“Silly Zhu, if you’re willing to acknowledge the deaf old lady as your ancestor and act as someone else’s grandson, I can’t control you or stop you.”

“But that deaf old lady has absolutely no relation to my Li family. She used to take advantage of her age and come to our house to freeload. I don’t like that kind of ‘ancestor’!”

"And I didn't lay a hand on the deaf old lady in the afternoon."

"She took advantage of her age and insisted on coming out to impersonate someone's elder, pointing fingers and gesturing wildly. She even tried to hit someone with her cane. Aunt Yan and the others saw it all. You can ask them yourself if you don't believe me."

"This old lady likes to hit people with a stick, and it's not the first or second time. I think you know that yourself..."

"..."

Li Hongbing knew that the information Sha Zhu had was very likely not the whole story, and that he might be swayed by his emotions, so he had to help him reconstruct the events.

Sha Zhu remained silent. Even so, he believed half of what Li Hongbing said.

He was naturally aware of the deaf old woman's way of doing things.

Moreover, if what Li Hongbing said is true, there was no need for him to lie to so many people in the courtyard at the time, since so many people saw it.

"Silly Zhu, since we've come this far today, I don't mind saying a few more words. Believe it or not, it's up to you."

Sha Zhu remained silent, but Li Hongbing had no intention of stopping his offensive and continued, "You're always thinking about being filial to the old lady, have you almost forgotten that you have a real relative in the courtyard?"

You mean rainwater?

Sha Zhu suddenly looked at Li Hongbing and asked indignantly, "How could I forget about Yu Shui? Haven't I treated her well? I've paid for her schooling and never let her go cold or hungry."

Li Hongbing's words clearly angered Sha Zhu.

Rainwater is his younger sister.

How could he treat his own sister badly?

"Ah!"

Li Hongbing laughed, shook his head with great sympathy, and complained to his face: "You yourself are in the kitchen, so you have no worries about food and drink, and you never lack oil or fat, but Yushui is miserable."

At the age when he should be growing and needing nutrition, he was as thin as a bamboo pole.

"If she doesn't feel wronged following a brother like you who doesn't care about her, then who does?"

“Hongbing, you’re an apprentice too, it’s a bit heartless of you to say that.”

Upon discovering that Li Hongbing viewed him in this way, Sha Zhu felt misunderstood and extremely aggrieved. He couldn't help but retort, "Except for the morning, I can't come back at noon or in the evening, so I can't cook for Yu Shui."

However, the school has a cafeteria for lunch, and in the evening I let Yushui eat with an old man and an old woman, and I paid for their meals every month.

You mean, the old man and woman withheld the rainwater's food allowance, and didn't let the rainwater get enough to eat?

"I didn't say that."

Li Hongbing immediately denied it.

That might not actually happen.

Moreover, Sha Zhu knew that he and Yi Zhonghai and his wife didn't get along. If he admitted it, Sha Zhu wouldn't believe him, and it would also be suspected of smearing them, so it would be pointless.

"Although I have a grudge against Yi Zhonghai, I will not smear others indiscriminately."

After making that statement, Li Hongbing immediately said to Sha Zhu, "Yi Zhonghai is a senior employee of the steel rolling mill. He has a high salary, but he and his wife live frugally, as you know."

The rain follows them, so they won't go hungry, but how much profit can they make?
Your monthly salary is not high. Besides keeping a little for yourself, you also have to pay an old lady for Yushui's food expenses. The living expenses you give Yushui are basically only enough for her to eat lunch at school. The rest you think about giving to the old lady in the backyard. How much does Yushui get each time?

If you had thought more about the rain, she wouldn't have become this thin.

just now……

Do you still think you've been a good older brother?

Seeing Sha Zhu standing there blankly, as if he had lost the ability to think, Li Hongbing shook his head, said nothing more, and turned to enter the courtyard.

As soon as Sha Zhu returned, he came to cause trouble for him. Li Hongbing didn't believe that Yi Zhonghai wasn't behind this.

However, the main problem now is the deaf old lady.

Right now, Sha Zhu hasn't been completely brainwashed by Yi Zhonghai. They've just become very close, and Yi Zhonghai's status even surpasses theirs. Li Hongbing doesn't expect Sha Zhu to listen to everything all at once and to completely wake up.

But he would be happy to cause trouble for Yi Zhonghai and the deaf old woman.

Sha Zhu isn't stupid.

Li Hongbing didn't think he had any great wisdom, but he certainly wasn't lacking in petty cleverness.

If you give him time and opportunity to calm down, he will figure it out on his own.

The only problem is that they are "emotionally attached" and easily swayed by their own and others' emotions.

Yi Zhonghai can take advantage of this, and so can Li Hongbing.

(End of this chapter)