Courtyard House: My Wife is Xu Huizhen

Page 187

Did this money just fall from the sky?

Aunt Yi couldn't help but argue with Yi Zhonghai inside the house. Although their voices were low, the doors and windows were open in the summer, so everyone in the yard could faintly hear them.

Everyone held back their laughter as they listened to Aunt Yi's rant about Yi Zhonghai. Yi Zhonghai, feeling guilty, could only play the submissive role, putting on a smiling face and comforting her.

After a long while, Aunt Yi finally calmed down and gave Yi Zhonghai four hundred silver dollars.

Yi Zhonghai awkwardly walked out of the house and tossed the small cloth bag containing the silver dollars into Liu Haizhong's hand: "Count it."

Liu Haizhong poured out the items and counted them in front of everyone to confirm that there were no problems before handing them over to Xu Damao.

“Da Mao, you’re 17 years old this year and you’ve started working. In the past, you could have gotten married and had children by this age. Now that your father has had this incident, the Xu family will be counting on you to take charge.”

"Yes, I understand. Thank you, Uncle Liu, for upholding justice for me."

Then he turned around and said, "Thank you, Uncle He, Uncle Yan, and Brother Zhu. It's not easy for everyone to get together today. I'll treat you all tonight to thank you for helping to uphold justice."

These words were so grating to Yi Zhonghai's ears that he couldn't help but snort.

Xu Damao was a shrewd man, so he said, "Of course, our family also wants to thank Uncle Yi. Let's have dinner together tonight?"

"Forget it, I won't drink this."

Chapter 138 Does Old Yi have a son outside?

Yi Zhonghai was furious and had no chance of attending the banquet that evening. Even if he were to beg for food, he would never accept the Xu family's invitation to drink.

He Yuzhu was reluctant to go, but since the others had all agreed, he had no choice but to follow suit and stay.

Xu Damao asked his sister Xu Zhaodi to buy meat and wine, and then he accompanied the others to talk in the main room. After chatting for a while, He Yuzhu truly witnessed the unreasonableness of the Xu family.

They never mentioned that Xu Wude had stolen someone else's widow; instead, they cursed and complained about Yi Zhonghai for doing something inhumane, and reported him so that their father would go to jail.

Xu Damao's younger sister is called Xu Xiaomei. Of course, that's not her real name. Nobody calls her that. She's fifteen years old this year. She's very efficient at her work, but like her family, she's extremely unreasonable and a natural shrew.

Xu Xiaomei poured tea for him and suddenly said, "Brother Zhu, do you need any more people? I also need to find a job."

He Yuzhu quickly shook his head. This was no joke. Even if he was short-staffed, he would not arrange for Xu Damao's sister to work in his shop.

He smiled and said, "Don't you still have a year before graduation? If I don't need anyone by then, I can recommend you to work as a waiter in another restaurant."

Xu Xiaomei's face immediately fell, and she gave a sullen "hmm".

Xu Xiaomei's grades were not ideal, and she didn't want to continue studying. She wanted to start working and earning money.

He Daqing knew that Zhu Zi didn't like the Xu family, so he said, "Isn't this easy to handle? Just wait until you graduate next year and have Lao Yi arrange it. This year, we'll arrange it for your sister first."

It has been particularly easy to find a job in the last two years, mainly because a number of new factories have been built and many factories have expanded their workforce, allowing many young and middle-aged laborers from rural areas to find employment.

The topic quickly shifted to Old Yi. In the years that Xu Wude was away, Yi Zhonghai should have been supporting and taking care of the Xu family.

Soon, the Xu family prepared a meal, and Xu Damao warmly entertained everyone. Everyone was satisfied and happy.

Only in the east wing of the middle courtyard, Yi Zhonghai and Aunt Yi continued their cold war. This time they lost so much money, and from now on they would have to give half of their monthly salary to the Xu family. Who wouldn't feel heartbroken?

Xu Damao was also good at handling things. That night, he treated everyone to a meal, and the next day he took some gifts and delivered them to each household to thank them for upholding justice and seeking justice for the Xu family.

This was to prevent Yi Zhonghai from backing out, since they would still have to take 30 yuan every month, and the situation was full of uncertainty.

He Yuzhu was quite surprised to see Xu Damao arrive with gifts, but since he couldn't refuse a smiling face, he invited him in.

Xu Damao expressed his gratitude, and He Yuzhu politely declined but accepted the gift anyway. They then began to talk about the unethical things Yi Zhonghai had done.

He Yuzhu had a sudden idea: perhaps he could use Xu Damao to teach Yi Zhonghai another lesson.

While in Baocheng, He Yuzhu confirmed that the two sons of the widow were Yi Zhonghai's children, and later even showed them to Aunt Yi.

I thought Aunt Yi would divorce Yi Zhonghai, but in the end, Aunt Yi swallowed her anger and didn't make a fuss.

After all, Aunt Yi couldn't have children herself, so she was in the wrong. Widow Bai was far away in Baocheng with her two sons, which didn't affect their lives. Besides, if Aunt Yi got divorced, she would have no source of income, and right now she was still relying on Yi Zhonghai to support her.

He Yuzhu had always wanted to bring the widow Bai and her two sons to the courtyard house so that everyone would know that Yi Zhonghai was also having an affair with someone else's wife and had two sons with her.

Despite this thought, no one actually carried it out. After all, they had fallen out with Widow Bai in Baocheng, and it was impossible for them to listen to them and come to the capital from Baocheng.

It's also impossible for them to do anything to embarrass Yi Zhonghai.

Xu Wude has fallen out with Yi Zhonghai. Although Yi Zhonghai is financially supporting the Xu family, Xu Damao is definitely angry. Perhaps Xu Damao can step in and trick Yi Zhonghai into coming over.

As they chatted, the conversation quickly turned to the fact that Yi Zhonghai and his wife didn't have any children.

Xu Damao asked curiously, "Who do you think is infertile? They're almost 40 years old, and Aunt Yi still can't lay an egg."

He Yuzhu said, "I actually know about this. It's because Aunt Yi can't have children. I heard that she caught a cold when she was a child, and the cold air entered her body, making it difficult for her to get pregnant."

"Really? How do you know this so clearly? Then tell me why Lao Yi doesn't get a divorce?"

"Would I lie to you about this? Many people know about it. Ask around among older people. Old Yi is fine. He even had two sons with someone else outside!"

"What? Old Yi has a son outside?" Xu Damao exclaimed.

“I’ve even met Lao Yi’s son,” He Yuzhu said mysteriously.

"Don't lie to me, you're just making things up about him!" Xu Damao didn't believe it at all.

He Yuzhu lowered his voice and asked, "Do you know why my father, He Daqing, went to Baocheng and spent two years with Widow Bai before coming back?"

"Why? Wasn't it you who went to invite the old man back?"

"Of course not. At the time, Yushui just missed her father, so I took Yushui to see him. I had no intention of bringing him back when we went."

Xu Damao thought for a moment and realized, "Yes, if you invite him back, the house in the middle courtyard will belong to Grandpa He, and you even bought the courtyard yourself."

“Yes, if he hadn’t come back, the house in the middle courtyard would still be mine. Now that he’s back, the house can only be returned to him. He’s also taken a concubine and had another son. Who knows how many more they might have in the future? I won’t have a share of the house then.”

Xu Damao nodded: "You're right."

Then he asked, "Why did you invite him back? And who is Yi Zhonghai's son?"

He Yuzhu said, "When I arrived in Baocheng, I saw that the widow's two sons looked very familiar. It took me a while to remember why they looked more and more like Yi Zhonghai."

"What? You mean the White Widow's two sons are Yi Zhonghai's?" Xu Damao exclaimed.

He Yuzhu nodded heavily and said, "Yes, Yushui also said he looks like Lao Yi. My father, He Daqing, is a fool. He didn't recognize him even after raising him for two years. It was only after I told Yushui that he realized that the White Widow's son is Yi Zhonghai."

"Uncle He is really muddle-headed."

Xu Damao said in surprise, "Doesn't that mean that Widow Bai is Yi Zhonghai's mistress?"

"Yes, I didn't expect that either."

"Thinking about it, it makes sense. This is too unbelievable. Your father slept with Yi Zhonghai's woman."

Xu Damao was very envious of He Daqing's good fortune with women. There had been rumors in the courtyard that the white widow was so beautiful and charming that she had He Daqing completely infatuated. Who knew that she was actually Yi Zhonghai's woman?

"What then?"

"You know what happened next. My father didn't want to raise Yi Zhonghai's son, so he insisted on coming back with us. This house I repaired can only be used by him."

"So that's how it is. It's truly an eye-opener. Yi Zhonghai is a smiling tiger. He appears virtuous on the surface, but he's actually a scoundrel and a prostitute behind the scenes."

"Yeah, who knew he was this kind of person?"

He Yuzhu suddenly said, "Just thinking about it makes me happy. Yi Zhonghai's two sons are having a terrible time now, and they deserve it."

"Yes, it makes me feel better to hear that they are not doing well. That old Yi is bad. He doesn't even acknowledge his own son and keeps him outside."

Xu Damao cursed at Yi Zhonghai, then said, "Brother Zhu, you're not kidding me, are you?"

"Would I make up something like this? Wait a minute, I have evidence."

"What evidence?"

He Yuzhu got up, took out a photo from the drawer, and handed it to Xu Damao, saying, "This is the widow Bai's son. Take a close look and see if he looks a lot like Yi Zhonghai."

Xu Damao took it and looked at it. At first glance, it didn't look much like Yi Zhonghai, but upon closer inspection, one could still tell the resemblance, especially in the eyes, which were very similar to Yi Zhonghai's.

He Yuzhu said, "When we were in Baocheng, Widow Bai admitted that both of her sons were Yi Zhonghai's."

"Judging from this, it must be true."

"Would I joke about something like this?"

Xu Damao asked, "Do you have the address of Widow Bai's house?"

Yes, I'll get it for you.

He Yuzhu was overjoyed. Whether Xu Damao asked for his address by letter or by visiting in person, it was a good thing.

Anyway, this is just a casual move for me; let's see how Xu Damao plays it.

Xu Damao left satisfied with the photos and address, and He Yuzhu also smiled contentedly.

This Xu Wude schemed to make himself his son-in-law, but after all that, he ended up going to jail himself. Life is truly unpredictable.

The door opened, and Xu Huizhen walked in. Seeing that smile, she couldn't help but say, "Brother Zhu, what mischief are you planning to do?"

"No...nothing, who did something bad?"

"Still denying it? Look at that sly grin you gave me just now, you look like a traitorous collaborator."

"Fine, you dare to say that about me."

He Yuzhu reached out and pulled Xu Huizhen into his arms, then slapped her buttocks twice from behind, saying, "I'll teach you to talk nonsense."

Xu Huizhen pouted, covered her bottom with her hand, and looked aggrieved. He Yuzhu had been living like an old monk these days. Seeing this, he couldn't help but lower his head and kiss her.