Courtyard House: In times of famine, my hamster became a spirit.

Qin Huairu stood in the wind, her tears falling one by one onto the muddy ground, also hitting He Yuzhu's heart, which was hard to hold together.

"Pillar……"

This call echoes through countless turns and twists.

Sha Zhu's initial hesitation was instantly melted by that voice.

He doesn't earn as much money now as he did when he was a cook.

One hundred dollars?

How long would it take him to save up that much, assuming he doesn't smoke or drink?

"Sister Qin, this... a hundred yuan is indeed not a small amount. You know, with my meager salary, I usually have to subsidize rainwater..." Sha Zhu rubbed his hands, a hint of difficulty on his face, his eyes darting around, not daring to meet Qin Huairu's watery eyes at all.

What level is Qin Huairu?

Having endured so many years under the thumb of that old hag Jia Zhangshi, she had long since mastered the art of tea ceremony.

She knew things were going to fall apart the moment Sha Zhu glanced at her.

It absolutely cannot turn yellow!

Qin Huairu swayed suddenly and collapsed limply into Sha Zhu's arms.

"Ouch! Sister Qin!" Sha Zhu was startled and instinctively reached out to help.

That attempt to help her back meant she'd completely fallen into the pit.

Instead of using the leverage to stand up straight, Qin Huairu took the opportunity to grab Sha Zhu's calloused hand and leaned against his chest.

The unique scent of soapberry mixed with the woman's warm breath went straight into Sha Zhu's nose, and it was even more effective than a love potion.

"Zhu Zi, my life is so hard..." Qin Huairu looked up, her peach blossom eyes less than three inches from Sha Zhu's face, tears welling up in her eyes, threatening to fall. "If Bang Geng is really crippled, he won't be able to get married in the future, and I'll have brought an end to the Jia family line. Dong Xu is watching from below, how can I face living? I might as well just smash my head against this screen wall and die now, so that I won't be gossiped about behind my back!"

As she spoke, she pretended to ram her head against the brick wall next to her, even though she didn't put any force into her feet.

But this completely broke through the last line of defense of this old virgin, Shazhu.

That was body temperature, that was fragrance, and even more so, the vulnerability that the goddess displayed before him.

The thrill of being needed by a goddess is a million times stronger than the feeling of commanding thousands of troops in the kitchen.

"No! No, sis!" Sha Zhu grabbed Qin Huairu's arm tightly, his eyes red, veins bulging on his neck—it was all fueled by hormones. "What nonsense are you spouting! With me, He Yuzhu, here, would I let you die? It's just a hundred yuan! Even if I pawn my underwear, even if I stripped myself and sold my body, I'd still save my manhood!"

Qin Huairu stopped moving, her body still limp in Sha Zhu's arms, tears still flowing, but the corner of her mouth curled up almost imperceptibly: control.

"Really? Zhu Zi, don't try to fool me. That hundred yuan is half my life!"

"You'd be a fool to fool me!" Sha Zhu patted his chest with an air of bravado. "Come on, let's go back inside! I have a plan!"

……

Inside Sha Zhu's room in the Intermediate Court.

Sha Zhu, acting like a thief, first locked the door, then peeked out through the window crack to make sure no one was following him, before inviting Qin Huairu to sit down.

"Sister Qin, wait here, I'll get the money for you right away."

Sha Zhu bent over on the ground with his butt sticking out, half of his body crawling under the bed.

After a rustling sound, he dragged out a worn-out shoebox, looking disheveled.

As soon as the shoebox was opened, a strong, pungent smell of rubber shoes mixed with foot odor hit Qin Huairu, almost making her lose her composure.

But she held back.

As long as she has money, she'd even hug and kiss a rock in a cesspool.

Sha Zhu carefully pulled apart several pairs of smelly socks that looked like dried pickled vegetables, reached into the bottom compartment of the shoebox, groped for a while, and finally pulled out a crumpled piece of paper with trembling fingertips.

That was a remittance slip.

Sha Zhu stared at the form, his expression incredibly complex.

There was disgust, reluctance, and a hint of resolve.

"Sister Qin, this money... I never wanted to touch it, not even if you killed me." Sha Zhu gritted his teeth. "This is the child support money that old man sent back after he ran off with the widow. I haven't gone to collect it. I was thinking of saving it for emergencies when I got married, or as a dowry for Yu Shui... But today, for you, for Bang Geng, I'm going all out!"

Qin Huairu's eyes were fixed on that thin piece of paper.

In her eyes, it wasn't paper, and it wasn't dirty.

That was their lifeline, Banggeng's perfectly intact leg!

She lunged forward and grabbed Sha Zhu's hands, which were holding the remittance slip.

The greed that erupted in that instant startled even Sha Zhu.

"Zhu Zi! This is a bill for 150 yuan?!" Qin Huairu's voice changed when she saw the number on it, filled with barely suppressed elation.

One hundred and fifty yuan! Not only is it enough for the surgery fee, but the rest is enough to buy malted milk powder for Bang Geng for several months, and even enough to buy a few yards of cloth for the family. Maybe I can even make a new dress for myself!

This isn't a remittance slip, it's an ATM!

"Ah...yes, I've been saving this up for years." Sha Zhu looked at Qin Huairu's face pressed against his own, and his mind went blank again, feeling surrounded by happiness.

Qin Huairu realized she had lost her composure and quickly put on a grateful expression, but instead of letting go of Sha Zhu's hand, she gently stroked the back of his hand: "Zhu Zi, you are truly my savior. I will never forget this kindness in my life. Once Bang Geng is healed... I will definitely let you taste the sweetness of success. Good people will be rewarded."

A sweet treat? What kind of sweet treat?

Sha Zhu's mind conjured up countless inappropriate images for children, his face flushed red, and he felt like he was floating on air.

This isn't borrowing money, it's practically sending He Yuzhu a pre-arranged marriage notice!

"Hey! We're like family! Your business is my business!" Sha Zhu grabbed the money order, stuffed it into his pocket with boundless enthusiasm, and said, "Let's go! We'll go to the post office to get the money, then to the hospital! Let's see who dares to stop me from saving someone today!"

Little did he know that what he held in his hand was not money to save a life, but clearly a one-way ticket to prison.

……

The two had just stepped out of the house when a tall, slender figure emerged from the shadows by the moon gate in the backyard.

Zhou Jianguo put his hands in his cotton-padded coat pockets and watched Sha Zhu's back.

"So eager to go and die?" he muttered to himself.

In 1960, all the flow of materials and funds was being watched by countless invisible eyes.

Jia Zhangshi has just been labeled a "bad element who promotes feudal superstition," and the Jia family is now a huge political vortex. Whoever gets involved is doomed; that's called political positioning.

The source of the money in Sha Zhu's hands is even more intriguing.

He Daqing abandoned his children and eloped with a widow.

The records are unclear and the family background is also a mess.

At this critical juncture, a large sum of money from out of town suddenly flowed into the home of a family targeted by the regime...

To those with ulterior motives, this is not just emergency relief; it's called "unexplained funding" and "collusion of interests"!

Zhou Jianguo didn't give it another glance and turned to walk towards the street office liaison point at the entrance of the compound.

Since you all like to put on a melodramatic show, I'll set up a stage for you and let the comrades from the security department come and support you.

After all, a good show is only truly entertaining when everyone watches it together.

……