The Beginning of a Courtyard House: Sixty Years of Internal Strength

"Okay, Brother Jianguo, I understand. I'll go ask Teacher Yan tomorrow to discuss He Yushui's enrollment." He Yuzhu thought for a moment and decided to side with Yan Bugui, since he didn't know anyone else.

After exchanging toasts, the two quickly finished their meal at He Yuzhu's house and then went straight home.

Tomorrow is Lunar New Year's Eve. Li Jianguo plans to prepare some good food for himself.

"Old Yi, I just saw Li Jianguo having dinner with Sha Zhu and the others. It seems they're quite close," Li Cuilan said to Yi Zhonghai, who was sitting next to her drinking tea.

"Hmph, you helped Sha Zhu solve such a big problem. Of course we'll get closer." Yi Zhonghai sneered, his face very ugly.

"Old Yi, I feel that Sha Zhu's attitude towards us has completely changed after he found out about this."

We still need to think of a way to improve our relationship. Recently, I tried to get in touch with He Yushui, but I didn't expect her to be so clever and completely ignore me." Li Cuilan's face also darkened.

"Don't worry, I have a plan. You saw the way Sha Zhu looked at Qin Huairu, right? I'll have Qin Huairu try to get close to Sha Zhu. In time, this matter will pass." Yi Zhonghai directly stated his idea.

"Hmm, that's one way. Given how greedy Jia Zhangshi is, as long as Qin Huairu gets even a little benefit, she'll definitely keep urging Qin Huairu to come over every day. I think we could invite Sha Zhu to the New Year's Eve dinner again and give it a try." Li Cuilan gave the Jia family a disdainful look.

"I was planning to invite Sha Zhu over for Chinese New Year this year so we could spend some time together. But then He Daqing's incident happened."

"I'll try again later. I think Sha Zhu will still agree if I mention spending New Year's Eve with Qin Huairu," Yi Zhonghai said confidently.

Men understand men best. Sha Zhu's little thoughts are written all over his face. As long as Qin Huairu is around, Sha Zhu will definitely respond enthusiastically.

"This is a good idea. I often see Sha Zhu staring blankly at Qin Huairu in the yard."

"We can also have Sha Zhu help the Jia family in the future. Isn't he a cook now? Taking some leftovers is just right. Go to the He family in a bit and tell them. Tomorrow is the 30th." Li Cuilan was happy at the thought of not having to take her own family's food.

"Okay, I'll go tell them right now." Yi Zhonghai's eyes lit up when he heard that Sha Zhu was going to help the Jia family.

He immediately went out the door. When he arrived at the He family's gate, since they all lived in the middle courtyard and were very close, he saw that Sha Zhu had already washed the pots and pans clean and was now free.

Yi Zhonghai knocked on the door, and He Yuzhu, who happened to be cleaning at the door, opened it directly.

Upon seeing Yi Zhonghai, his face immediately darkened. "What are you doing here? You're not welcome in my home."

At this point, Sha Zhu was still angry because of the job theft, so he didn't want to talk to Yi Zhonghai.

Yi Zhonghai knew that there was no way to clear up what had happened a few days ago, since He Daqing had returned and everything had been exposed, so he simply stopped mentioning it.

"Zhu Zi, it's almost Chinese New Year, and I don't think Lao He has come back yet."

Since your sister Qin's family also has an old lady in the backyard, we've decided to spend the New Year together.

"I see there are no adults in your family. Why don't we have New Year's Eve dinner together? It must be lonely for you two siblings to spend it alone." Yi Zhonghai got straight to the point and stated his purpose.

Upon hearing Qin Huairu's name, He Yuzhu immediately controlled his emotions. Blushing, he muttered under his breath, "Uncle Yi, this isn't quite right."

Upon hearing this, Yi Zhonghai exclaimed, "Wow, they're calling me Uncle Yi! There's absolutely no problem with that!"

Seeing Sha Zhu blush, she sneered. He was still the same silly boy he always was. "What's wrong with that? We've already prepared the ingredients; we just need to start cooking. Your sister Qin, Qin Huairu, also wants to try your cooking."

He Yuzhu became excited when he heard that the goddess wanted to try his cooking. "Alright, Uncle Yi, just you wait and see. This is my family's culinary tradition. My skills are absolutely top-notch. You'll be eating your words!"

"Okay, Zhu Zi, you go ahead with your work. I'll head back now. I'll bring the ingredients over for you tomorrow," Yi Zhonghai said before heading home.

After closing the door, He Yuzhu happily whistled, and chuckled to himself as he thought of Qin Huairu's pretty face.

When Yi Zhonghai got home, he excitedly told Li Cuilan, "Cuilan, Sha Zhu is still the same Sha Zhu as before. He immediately got dizzy at the mention of Qin Huairu and agreed without hesitation."

"Yes, that's great. This way we can save a lot of money. Besides, the old lady has a sweet tooth and wants to eat meat every few days. She always complains that the cooking isn't good, but I think she'll be satisfied this time."

You go and tell the old lady about this, I'll go and tell Jia Dongxu.

"Okay, I'll go right now." Yi Zhonghai immediately got to work.

Li Cuilan also hurried towards the backyard and entered the old lady's house.

"Grandma, we've convinced Sha Zhu. We'll have New Year's Eve dinner together, and you'll be in for a treat from now on."

"Oh, Cuilan, how long has it been? Has this silly boy stopped being angry? Is it because of Qin Huairu?" The old lady looked at Li Cuilan strangely.

"Grandma, you're so smart! It really is because of Qin Huairu. That silly boy used to look at Qin Huairu strangely. But as soon as he heard that Qin Huairu would be having New Year's Eve dinner with him, he immediately agreed." Li Cuilan was overjoyed.

"Okay, that's fine. I told you long ago that Silly Zhu is stubborn. Given time, he'll definitely forgive you. I'll also try to deepen my relationship with Silly Zhu and find you a backup plan for retirement."

"Grandma, thank you so much. Everything else is fine, it's just that Sha Zhu's personality. He's caused too much trouble since he was little, and he doesn't know how to take care of people. We can't count on him for our old age." Li Cuilan looked at the old lady helplessly. She only wanted to use Sha Zhu as a blood bank.

"That's true, but every flaw has its merits. Although he's a bit silly, he's devoted to you."

"Jia Dongxu is indeed clever, but he still has his own schemes. However, as long as you keep the money in your hands, you can keep Jia Dongxu in check with money, and he will still take good care of you in your old age." The old lady gave Li Cuilan advice.

"Okay, ma'am, I understand. Thank you so much for going to so much trouble for us." Li Cuilan was deeply moved.

"Alright, I'm still counting on you to take care of me, so it's only right that I worry about you. Go on."

After saying that, Li Cuilan went home.

Yi Zhonghai went directly to Jia Dongxu. After entering the Jia family home, he was startled to see Qin Huairu busy at work.

But he remained calm and said, "Dongxu, have you eaten?"

"Master, we've already eaten. Is there anything else?" Jia Dongxu quickly stood up.

"Um, something's come up. Come out here, I need to talk to you."