Siheyuan (courtyard house): My name is Shazhu!

A loud fart came from Jia Zhangshi, waking Qin Huairu up. She then smelled a pungent, strong, and fragrant odor.

Qin Huairu almost threw up the food she had eaten a few days ago. She didn't dare to go into the room to cook. She ran ten meters away from the front door and started dry heaving.

The windows of the Jia family's house had been boarded up, making the house dark, with little sunlight, and poorly ventilated.

Even Jia Zhangshi couldn't stand herself anymore; the strong, sweet smell of farts carried her from inside the house to the yard, and she began to dry heave.

The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law started gagging, as if they were having a contest. Tan Guilan, who was playing with her two children in the same courtyard, was puzzled and didn't know what was going on between them.

Because Jia Zhangshi was present, she didn't go over to ask Qin Huairu what was wrong. She didn't want to provoke that old shrew.

"Mother-in-law, are you alright? Should we go to the hospital to get checked out?" Qin Huairu asked after she had recovered.

"I'm fine. I probably ate something that wasn't right. I just farted a little. It's nothing serious, I'll be fine in a bit." Madam Jia Zhangshi had also recovered.

"Oh no, I feel like I need to go to the toilet and I feel like vomiting!" Jia Zhangshi sprinted towards the toilet outside the courtyard at top speed.

Qin Huairu was stunned again. What was Jia Zhangshi up to now? Couldn't she at least tell me beforehand instead of darting around like a fat rat?

I can't keep up with your speed. Qin Huairu continued walking out of the courtyard, wondering what Jia Zhangshi was up to now.

Before they even left the courtyard, in front of the back room, Jia Zhangshi was leaning against the wall, vomiting, as if she was about to vomit out her heart, liver, and lungs.

The sound was very loud, and because the vomit smelled so bad, even the housewives watching kept their distance and had no idea why Jia Zhangshi was vomiting so violently.

"She must have eaten something bad to vomit so badly."

"Possibly. I've heard that eating the wrong food can cause not only diarrhea but also vomiting."

"Jia Zhangshi is no good; she'd better vomit a few more times, or better yet, vomit herself to death."

"It would be better if she just vomited to death; our courtyard would be rid of one less old shrew."

The women in the courtyard were gossiping. Qin Huairu, resisting the urge to smell the fragrance, went over and asked, "Grandma, are you feeling any better? Should we go to the hospital?"

"Ugh, I almost threw up! I feel much better now. I'll rest for a bit and then get checked out. If it's nothing serious, I won't go to the hospital." Jia Zhangshi was afraid of spending money.

Almost an hour later, Jia Zhangshi finally recovered, but she felt weak all over; otherwise, she was just like a normal person.

He gritted his teeth, pretended nothing was wrong, and went home.

Qin Huairu cleaned up the vomit and went back to cook.

........

The women in the courtyard all assumed that Jia Zhangshi had vomited because she hadn't eaten properly, and they didn't pay any attention to it.

When He Yuzhu returned home from get off work, he didn't take Tan Guilan's description to heart, thinking it was just "going against the tide."

Letting Jia Zhangshi burp down below and defecate up above is a normal digestive process, nothing to worry about. Do we need to get used to everything?

"Liu Haizhong was discharged from the hospital today. He chickened out. After being discharged, he didn't even dare to say anything harsh about fighting to the death when faced with Jia Zhangshi's provocations. He'll probably resort to underhanded tactics at most in the future."

"It's not Liu Haizhong's forte; he's definitely not as good as Yi Zhonghai. You and your sister should also be careful. Jia Zhangshi hasn't given up on you yet; she won't forget the grudge of sending you to smash the stones."

After Tan Guilan left the He family, He Yuzhu took He Yushui out for a stroll. They stayed nearby and didn't go far, as the main road was still quite safe.

However, there were very few food stalls in the evening, only one or two occasionally. He Yushui was very disappointed, but she endured it in order to go out and play with her brother.

Entering August, the weather felt extremely hot. Yanjing gets quite a bit of rain in the summer, and if it doesn't rain, the weather gets very hot.

As the weather gets warmer, fewer customers are coming to the restaurant; the number is only half of what it was in winter.

He Yuzhu's experience points started decreasing two months ago, and the three head chefs also took on fewer jobs. The fourth senior brother was basically taking on "white banquets" because it was too hot and not many families were getting married.

He Yuzhu and the three head chefs took turns cooking at the restaurant, while the four of them took turns resting.

To gain more experience points, He Yuzhu cooked for four days straight, then rested for three. They arranged the other three days as they pleased.

The happiest person was He Yushui, who could go to Zhengyangmen for three days a week and eat good food for three days. As for snacks, there were many shops selling them there.

It's too hot to go anywhere else to play, so we won't go.

He Yuzhu enters the courtyard house through Zhengyangmen. In the morning, during his work hours, his brother and sister come over, and he starts cooking while He Yushui does as she pleases.

He Yuzhu had been cooking dishes from other cuisines, and he found that his experience points increased rapidly when he cooked dishes he had never cooked before.

After cooking several famous Shandong dishes three to five times, the skill level of all the dishes reached a high level, and the skill level improved dramatically.

It should be that once you understand one thing, you can learn everything. A top-level chef can learn other dishes quickly and make them taste good too.

Besides practicing making various dishes, He Yuzhu only has one task left: to make Jia Dongxu completely unable to have children, thus directly solving the problem of the "sticky bug" (a term used to describe a child's condition).

Sending him to the Forbidden City to find a job was for his own good. Did he really think that getting someone to deal with him would come at a price?

Not reacting to Qin Huairu is also a kind of 'happiness'.

By mid-August, He Yuzhu had performed nine acupuncture treatments on Jia Dongxu, and the treatment was finally completed.

"Oh, Comrade Jia Dongxu, I'm doing this for your own good. Having children will increase the family burden. It's more financially comfortable for three people to live together."

It can also reduce the number of births. I've been so worried about your family.

The next evening, Jia Dongxu, who aspired to be a great general, noticed something amiss.

For the first few days, Jia Dongxu didn't pay much attention, thinking it was just a health problem. But after three days, he started to panic; the problem was serious.

He secretly asked Jia Zhangshi for money to seek medical treatment, not daring to let Qin Huairu know.

I left the steel rolling mill at noon to see a doctor. On Sunday, I left early and returned late again. I looked very depressed and felt very anxious.

He didn't receive good news from the doctor; the problem was difficult to treat, largely due to his emotional state...

You need to improve your mood. Don't keep things bottled up inside or endure them. You need to have a clear mind and be cheerful. Only by combining this with acupuncture and traditional Chinese medicine treatment can you possibly...

Jia Dongxu thought about what had happened to him in the past six months. Could it be related? Jia Dongxu slowly began to believe that he was feeling too stifled at the factory and needed to stand up for himself.

Less than half a month later, Qin Huairu also noticed that Jia Dongxu was acting strangely. Why hadn't he come to fight for half a month? Something was wrong, there must be something wrong.

A month later, Jia Dongxu confessed his situation. Qin Huairu's first reaction was actually happiness. She didn't have to have a child anymore. Two months earlier, Jia Zhangshi had mentioned children intentionally or unintentionally.

They had only been married for six months, and there was no pressure. Qin Huairu didn't want to have a child with Jia Dongxu, so she made some small moves. But as time went on, she couldn't avoid having a child.

Qin Huairu, true to her shrewdness, adjusted her own mindset and comforted Jia Dongxu, "It will be alright. You were like this before because Liu Haizhong and the others were under too much pressure. You're much better now. Let's go see a doctor..."

Faced with Qin Huairu's comfort and his wife's understanding, Jia Dongxu was so moved he felt like he was floating on air. He thought to himself, "I married a wonderful wife."

Jia Dongxu began his journey to seek medical treatment.