Courtyard house: Just the right amount of pressure, leaving you bewildered but not brain-damaged.

Chapter 74 Suspicion of Jia Dongxu

After getting off work in the evening, Gao Xiaosheng was the first person in the compound to get home.

"Brother Sheng, you must be tired from work. Wash your face and rest for a while. I'll cook now."

When He Yushui saw Gao Xiaosheng, she revealed two dimples and quickly came to greet him.

"No rush, let me wash my hands first, then we'll do it together."

"Are there any more milk candies in the cupboard? Let me know if you're out, and I'll buy some more."

Gao Xiaosheng couldn't possibly act like a lord, having a ten-year-old girl serve him every day.

Since the rain started summer vacation, every morning after breakfast at home, I would carry my schoolbag and run to Gao Xiaosheng's house to study. I would cook lunch for myself and often help sweep the floor and tidy up the house.

Although he ate two meals a day at Gao Xiaosheng's house, he did a lot of chores, and the house was one of the cleanest in the yard.

It's no exaggeration to say that if this girl doesn't go home to sleep at night, she's practically a 24-hour live-in nanny.

Of course, Gao Xiaosheng did not mistreat He Yushui.

Pork, beef, and mutton are always available, vegetables are available every day, and rice and wheat flour can be consumed to one's heart's content.

The little girl's favorite milk candy is available in unlimited quantities.

"No need to buy any, there are plenty left in the drawer. I eat one each in the morning and afternoon. I gave two to Brother Guangtian a few days ago."

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"That's good. I'll go get some water to wash my face, and then we'll cook together. You can teach me, and once I've learned, I'll cook fish for you."

"

Gao Xiaosheng rubbed Yushui's head, picked up the washbasin, and went out the door.

He had plenty of ideas about cooking fish in his mind, and he certainly didn't lack theoretical knowledge; he just lacked practical experience to support it.

Besides, you can't always rely on He Yushui to cook. As a person, you still have to rely on yourself.

"Brother Sheng, are you saying my cooking is bad?"

Gao Xiaosheng was washing his face in front of the washbasin stand when he heard He Yushui's aggrieved voice.

"How could that be? Yu Shui's cooking skills are excellent, no worse than your brother's."

Gao Xiaosheng didn't dare wait a second and immediately looked up to explain.

The little girl is probably often disliked by the people in the courtyard, so she has a rather sensitive personality. Recently, with Gao Xiaosheng protecting her, her situation has improved slightly.

But it will probably take a long time for him to regain his confidence.

"Rain, don't overthink it. When I was in the army, a comrade taught me how to cook fish, but we didn't have the resources back then, so I never did it."

"Now that I know how to cook, I'll buy a sea fish and try it out. Maybe I can make it taste pretty good."

""

"Mmm," He Yushui said, pulling back her pouty lips and instantly turning into a smiling face.

"Brother Sheng, cooking is very simple. You're so smart, you'll learn it quickly."

The little girl, eager to eat the fish Gao Xiaosheng had prepared, launched into a chorus of praise.

"Haha, of course! We'll definitely be able to finish it before the summer vacation ends."

After successfully calming He Yushui down, Gao Xiaosheng just happened to see the main group returning to the hospital.

Once the swelling subsided, Yi Zhonghai returned to his former appearance as a dignified, square-faced, and upright steward, walking and chatting alongside Jia Dongxu.

He Yuzhu brought back two lunchboxes as usual, so he didn't have to worry about his younger sister He Yushui, which naturally benefited the Jia family.

During this period, Qin Huairu, who was able to eat her fill at every meal, looked much better than before. Her face was slightly rounder and had a rosy glow.

A slight smile was enough to make Sha Zhu lose his mind and obediently hand over his lunchbox.

After all, with four people—three adults and one child—relying entirely on Jia Dongxu's 180,000 yuan salary, they were indeed struggling to make ends meet.

Of course, if you include Jia Zhangshi and Qin Huairu's dividends in the countryside, they can get a few more yuan a month, but it's only enough to make ends meet, just above the poverty line in Beijing.

If you spend this little money carefully, eat more cornmeal and buy less wheat flour at the pigeon market, you might be able to save a little bit.

But Jia Zhangshi and her son Jia Dongxu couldn't get used to a hard life and wished they could eat white flour buns every day.

Furthermore, since Jia Zhangshi was using the pretense of saving for her retirement to line her own pockets, she had no choice but to set her sights on He Yuzhu.

Speaking of which, the families with the lowest per capita income in the entire No. 95 compound are the Jia family and the Yan family.

That's why Yan Bugui and Jia Zhangshi were so greedy and never got enough of taking advantage of others.

Needless to say, Yi Zhonghai's family is a well-off family with a combined monthly income of several hundred thousand yuan. If they didn't consider saving money, they could eat meat every day and still not run out of money.

Although Liu Haizhong has many children, his income is high, averaging twice that of the Jia family. Eating meat often is a luxury, but eating eggs is not a problem.

He Yuzhu's income is not high, but there are few people in his family, and he can bring his own lunchbox every day, so it should be enough for him.

Xu Fugui's family is quite mysterious. He, as a projectionist, doesn't earn much, and his wife Tao Xiaoling's income is a mystery, but it's likely not lower than that of Yi Zhonghai or Liu Haizhong.

"Old Sun, come here."

The four of them passed through the hanging flower gate in the middle courtyard. Sun Youtian walked into the front yard alone, and Gao Xiaosheng waved him over and called him into his house.

"Brother Sheng, what's wrong? Have you found out anything?" Sun Youtian asked as soon as he entered the room.

"No, there's something I want to ask you."

Gao Xiaosheng offered him a cigarette. "Does Jia Dongxu have any money lately? Did he gamble before?"

Sun Youtian shook his head. "Jia Dongxu—he probably doesn't gamble. Anyway, I haven't heard anyone mention him since I moved in."

""

"Besides, he didn't have any money in his pocket."

"Now he can barely afford even economy cigarettes."

"He used to smoke a pack of cigarettes every three days, but recently I've seen him smoke a pack of cigarettes for five or six days."

,

"Oh, right, he smoked a lot of cigarettes at Yi Zhonghai's place a while ago."

That's why they say fortune and misfortune are interdependent.

Yi Zhonghai lost face, while his apprentice Jia Dongxu took the opportunity to gain a lot of benefits.

The coworkers who visited the logistics workshop often offered Yi Zhonghai cigarettes, and sometimes when they couldn't smoke them all, they would tuck them behind their ears, which would then benefit Jia Dongxu.

"Later, no one brought cigarettes to Yi Zhonghai, and Jia Dongxu almost ran out of food."

"But things seem to be a bit better these past few days; at least I can afford to smoke economy cigarettes now."

Sun Youtian carefully recalled Jia Dongxu's situation during this period, describing it in great detail.

The final conclusion was that Jia Dongxu might have some money in his pocket, but only enough to buy cigarettes; he couldn't possibly have spare money for gambling.

Otherwise, given this kid's personality, he would have already upgraded his equipment and started using high-end cigarettes.

"Okay, I got it."

Gao Xiaosheng continued, "We had only been on lunch break for a short while when Jia Dongxu left the factory area. Do you know where he went?"

Sun Youtian nodded and then shook his head. "I don't know exactly where he went, but he hasn't been having dinner with Yi Zhonghai recently."

"I heard that he shared a table with other young workers."

"Maybe it's to save money."

"After all, Jia Dongxu was reluctant to spend money on good food, and Yi Zhonghai didn't take good care of him either."

"That reason is quite reasonable."

Yi Zhonghai is the kind of person who talks the talk but doesn't walk the walk; he's even stingy with his precious apprentice, Jia Dongxu.

They usually eat separately, they just sit at the same table.

It's better to hang out with other young people; you might even get a decent meal there.