Siheyuan (courtyard house): My name is Shazhu!

Just before 1 p.m., Xiao Zhao, the waiter who greeted customers at the restaurant's front door, entered the kitchen. "Are you all busy? Someone's looking for Chef He; they say something happened at his home."

Upon hearing this, Qi Tianfu knew it was about He Daqing leaving home for another place. He Yuzhu had told him how to handle it, and he did not object to Qi Tianfu wanting to see the true colors of the people in the courtyard.

"Zhu Zi, go home and see what happened. Leave the rainwater there for now, come back when you're done, or go to my house to collect the rainwater."

"Okay, Master."

After informing He Yushui, she knew her brother had something to do and didn't make a scene.

Being mentally prepared is different from not being mentally prepared!

"Master He, that man said it's possible your father left home to go to another place, abandoning you and your siblings. I didn't tell anyone." The greeter needed to be perceptive.

"Thank you, Xiao Zhao. So what if you leave? It's not like the sky is falling," He Yuzhu said calmly.

"I'll keep it a secret." Xiao Zhao was a shrewd person, good at greeting and seeing off guests, and besides, he dared not offend the chefs in the kitchen.

"Zhu Zi, Zhu Zi, come here quickly, I need to tell you something. Your father came back to the courtyard house around 10 a.m., took all your belongings, and ran away."

Yi Zhonghai, you bastard! Do you have to shout like that when something's wrong, as if you're afraid others won't hear you? Are you trying to get rid of me at the restaurant?

"My dad ran away, really? Uncle Yi, get in the car, let's go back to the courtyard house." He Yuzhu pretended to be very anxious.

"Zhu Zi, do you know why your father ran away?" Yi Zhonghai probed.

"I don't know... Damn it, no wonder he bought me a bicycle two days ago. He had a plan. He made me bring rainwater to work so it would be easier for him to leave." He Yuzhu said through gritted teeth.

"Sigh, you should go back and check. We didn't go inside, but from the outside, your house looks like it's been ransacked."

"Let's go back quickly." He seemed very anxious once again.

"......."

Back in the courtyard house, as he entered the front yard, people pointed and whispered about him, and followed him to the middle yard.

The He family's gate was half open. Upon entering, it appeared that the house had been ransacked, but not as drastically as Yi Zhonghai had described.

He Yuzhu parked his bicycle, went into the room and looked around. He found that the money and food he had put in the drawer were gone, and he was secretly pleased.

However, since no one has made a fuss, it's still unclear whether He Daqing took the money. They need to go to Baocheng to find out. Just seven or eight jin of wheat flour and forty-odd jin of coarse grains shouldn't result in a too severe sentence.

He Daqing was also a veteran at 'digging holes', taking away even his bedding, washbasin, mixing basin, and spare pots and pans, as well as many other household items.

He Yuzhu felt relieved. With so many things from home, it was impossible to take another fifty catties of grain with them. They were far away, and fifty catties of grain would be too heavy, plus they had too many supplies.

After wandering around for ten minutes, He Yuzhu walked out of the house with a gloomy face and said to everyone, "My father might be gone, leaving nothing behind?"

"I'm an adult now, so let him go. From now on, I'll be the pillar of support. If anything happens, just tell me. Everyone, you can leave now."

"Zhu Zi, your father is gone. Did he leave any money or food behind?" Yi Zhonghai asked.

He Yuzhu's face was ashen, and he replied in an icy tone, "Nothing was left. We have no money or food, but I'm an adult now, my brother and I won't starve."

"Zhu Zi, you don't get paid and you have to bring rainwater to work. You and your siblings are having a hard time. If you have any difficulties, tell us. We all live in the same compound, so we should help each other out."

While Yi Zhonghai spoke words of concern, a hint of joy appeared in his eyes.

"Thank you for your concern, Uncle Yi. I'm all grown up now and can handle rainwater. If I need money, I can sell my bicycle; I'll have at least a million yuan."

"Shazhu, lend me your bicycle for a few years. My son needs it for work. If you need anything, Aunt Jia will help you." It was Jia Zhangshi with triangular eyes who spoke.

"I'll lend you my bicycle, but I don't need your help. When have you ever helped anyone? Don't try to lie to me like that."

Your son can walk to work in less than fifteen minutes, yet he wants to ride a bike to work. If he has the money, he should buy one himself. If he doesn't, he shouldn't pretend to be from a wealthy family and make himself a laughingstock.

And everyone, I, He Yuzhu, am the pillar of the He family. I hope you'll call me He Yuzhu or Zhuzi (Pillar) when we meet in the future. Otherwise, I'll call you 'idiots' and I'll slap you if I'm in a bad mood.

"Silly Zhu, your nickname was given to you by your father..." Jia Zhangshi protested.

"Silly Zhang, my father calls me 'Silly Pillar,' what's it to you? You've lived for over forty years and you still don't know that? Where's your upbringing from your noble family?" He was rude to Jia Zhangshi.

"You...you call me 'Silly Zhang,' I'm older than you, don't you understand the importance of respecting elders?" Jia Zhangshi started jumping up and down.

"You learned this from an old man like me, do you have a problem with that? There are too many old people. Respecting the elderly depends on whether they deserve respect. Do you deserve it?" He Yuzhu retorted coldly.

"You little bastard, how dare you talk to me like that? I'll scratch you to death!" Madam Jia Zhang was furious and embarrassed.

"Zhu Zi, quickly apologize to your sister-in-law. You are a junior and shouldn't talk to your elders like that." Yi Zhonghai started his lecture on elders again.

"Why should we apologize to her? We all learned from her, our elder. She taught us well; learning from elders is what we juniors should do."

"Silly Zhu, I'll scratch you to death!" With that, Jia Zhangshi charged at He Yuzhu like a pig.

She dodged aside. Jia Zhangshi rushed forward with such force that she couldn't stop the car.

It slammed into a pillar in the corridor with a loud thud.

"Ah!" Jia Zhangshi screamed, but surprisingly she didn't faint and staggered to her feet.

"Zhu Zi, why did you hit an old man...?"

"Comrade Yi Zhonghai, are you blind? It was Jia Zhangshi who rushed at me. I just dodged and didn't hit her. Don't try to pin this on me. The people here aren't blind."

If you keep spouting nonsense, I'll slap you. What kind of rubbish is this?

We didn't give Yi Zhonghai any face, and we certainly wouldn't let him pin accusations on us. He wants to accuse us of hitting an old man first? No way!

"Watch out..." someone exclaimed.

It was Jia Zhangshi who launched another surprise attack from behind He Yuzhu.

He Yuzhu neither dodged nor avoided the impact. With a "thud," Jia Zhangshi's head collided with He Yuzhu's back, but the force of the impact caused no harm whatsoever.

"Am I being too lenient with you? You dare to bump into me, hit me, and act like a jerk in front of me. I'll beat you half to death today."

After saying that, he turned around and slapped Jia Zhangshi six times across the face.

"Slap. Slap..." "Ah. Ah..." Six slaps, six screams, six hard slaps, so satisfying. Jia Zhangshi's face was immediately covered in blood.

He raised his foot and kicked Jia Zhangshi directly in the stomach.

"Ah!" Jia Zhangshi screamed like a sow again, kicked into a pillar in the corridor of He Yuzhu's house. The kick went three meters away. Jia Zhangshi slipped on the ground and was knocked unconscious.

"Zhu Zi, how...how could you hit someone so hard, killing them outright..."

"Comrade Yi Zhonghai, it's true that you're blind. Which eye of yours saw her die? She couldn't take a beating and passed out. In the past, I would have beaten her to death. How dare she hit me repeatedly."

If you have a problem, go find the military control commission to handle it. You want to take advantage of my family's wealth and then beat me up in a fit of rage. Who gave you the guts? Are all you "old folks" like this?

"Gentlemen, those of you who want to exploit my childless status, put away your wicked thoughts. I'm only sixteen years old, not married yet, and not truly childless. Even if you want to exploit someone's childless status, you need to be discerning."