Siheyuan: Survival Guide for Courtyard No. 95

In a blink of an eye, it was already noon, and a new face came to the gate of No. 95 courtyard.

The man was wearing a dark grey Mao suit. Although it was a bit old, the fabric was good, obviously wool. He also wore black leather shoes that were polished to a shine. The two aunties who were chatting at the gate of the courtyard thought that a leading cadre had arrived.

His hair was gray but combed neatly. The passing of time had left a few more wrinkles on his face, but his calm expression still made people feel that he must have been a handsome young man when he was young. He walked to the gate of the yard and asked the two aunts.

"Comrades, could you tell me if Qin Huairu lives here?"

This question frightened the two aunts, and they all wondered if the Qinhuai Ru family had any powerful relatives?

Looking left and right, they saw that the man didn't have a watch and didn't have a bicycle, so it seemed that he was not a wealthy person. This made the two aunts breathe a sigh of relief. The saying that a person's appearance can be judged by his clothes has been passed down through the ages, and there must be some truth to it.

Yang Ruihua took the initiative to speak.

"Yes, Qin Huairu lives in our yard. Who are you to her? What do you want to see her for?"

When the visitor heard the second aunt's reply, a slight smile appeared on his face. It seemed that he was very happy to find Qin Huairu.

"I'm Qin Huairu's uncle. I just came back from the Northeast not long ago. After visiting relatives in Qinjiatun, I heard that Huairu lived in the city. Today I came to see how she was doing."

The auntie couldn't let Yang Ruihua take all the credit, so she quickly took over the conversation.

"So it's Uncle Qin Huairu. They say that the mother's uncle is the most important, so they are very close. Come on, I'll take you to her house. Qin Huairu is still at work at this time, but her mother-in-law is at home."

The two aunts led the way and brought the "uncle" to the door of Jia's house. Looking at the simple residence, the "uncle" seemed not very satisfied.

"Is this the house Qin Huairu usually lives in? It doesn't look that big. I heard from my sister that she came to the city to enjoy life. What kind of life can she enjoy in this shabby house?"

As he spoke, he knocked on the door, and then Jia Zhang's unique voice was heard from inside.

"Who is it? Don't you know that old people need to rest in the middle of the day?"

The voice became louder and louder, and it could be seen that the person who was speaking had walked out of the house. As the door was opened, Jia Zhang's big face was revealed, and Yang Ruihua hurriedly spoke to her.

"Ms. Jia Zhang, there are relatives coming to Qin Huairu's house. This is her uncle."

It’s interesting to say that when they were dating, it was the matchmaker who brought Qin Huairu from Qinjiatun, and when they proposed marriage, it was Jia Dongxu who went there on a bicycle.

Even though Jia Dongxu got married, had children, and died, Jia Zhangshi never went to Qinjiatun once, so she didn't know who the relatives of the Qinhuai Ru family were.

However, seeing that this "uncle" was tall and handsome, and was wearing a woolen Zhongshan suit that cost at least dozens of dollars, she did not dare to act like a big shot as usual.

"Oh, it turns out it's Qin Huairu's uncle. Please come in."

The "uncle" walked into the house and strolled around, frowning as if he was very dissatisfied with the furnishings and layout of the room. After looking around and seeing that only Jia Zhang was at home, he couldn't help but ask.

"You are Qin Huairu's mother-in-law, right? Didn't she say she had three children? How come I didn't see any of them?"

When Jia Zhang heard this question, she replied with some complacency.

"Qin Huairu went to work at the steel mill, so she took all three children with her. There is a nursery in the mill. Banggeng will go to primary school next year and can learn some characters. Huaihua is too young to be away from her mother. When Qin Huairu is free, she can go to the nursery to check on them, so she doesn't have to run back and forth.

Please take a seat. I don’t even know your name and where you work.”

Seeing that the other party looked down on the Jia family, Jia Zhangshi wondered if the other party was a wealthy family. She couldn't help but ask to find out.

"Uncle" nodded to show his understanding, found a stool and sat down and spoke to Jia Zhang without any politeness.

“It’s my fault, I forgot to introduce myself.

My name is Li Suwu. I am the younger brother of Qin Huairu’s mother Li Suwen. I just came back from Northeast China half a month ago. The production of Shougang in the old city of Beijing was not up to standard, so they asked me, an engineer, to come and help. I guess I will work at Shougang in the future.

I heard that Huairu married in the city, and I have wanted to come and see her for a long time. However, you should also know that there are many rules in the countryside, such as visiting the graves of parents and receiving relatives, so I was busy until today that I had time to come.

I originally wanted to take Huairu and the kids out for a nice meal, but it seems like today is not the right time, so we can only wait until next time."

Jia Zhang's eyes were wide open. She didn't understand anything else but the two sentences "engineer" and "have a good meal".

She could understand what the engineer meant because when Jia Dongxu was alive, he had boasted to her many times that engineers in a steel rolling mill earned two or three hundred yuan a month and that he would be able to achieve that salary sooner or later if he worked hard. Unfortunately, Dongxu was unlucky and died while trying to put out a fire. There was no hope for him in this life.

But the person in front of me is a living engineer, and he is also good-looking. The most important point is that since he is an engineer, he must be rich. He is a real rich man.

Without mentioning Jia Zhang's psychological activities, Li Suwu probably saw that Qin Huairu was not at home, so he prepared to leave without saying a few words. Although both of them were no longer young in broad daylight, it was not appropriate for a single man and a single woman to be in the same room.

“I have something else to do at Shougang, so I won’t stay any longer.

When Huairu comes back, tell her that I will come to see her on Sunday and ask her to wait for me at home and not to go out.

That's it, bye."

After saying this, Li Suwu was about to leave, and Jia Zhang suddenly became a little anxious.

"Her uncle, how about you wait for a while? I'll be back soon after going to the factory to look for Huairu."

Li Suwu thought to himself that I just want to play hard to get, but I can't let you go find someone.

"No, I'll come on Sunday. After my job transfer is completed, I will also live in the city. I have a long time to spend with my niece Huairu in the future, so one day is not a big deal.

Please go back."

After saying this, Li Suwu walked away in a cool manner.

After he left, Jia Zhang could no longer sit still. She would never believe that the Qin family had such a powerful relative.

If she knew that Qin Huairu's uncle was an engineer, why would Dongxu choose Yi Zhonghai as his master? Thinking of Jia Dongxu, her tears fell unconsciously again, and an emotion called regret arose very naturally.

In the evening, when the people from the steel rolling mill came back from get off work, Jia Zhang changed her usual mean attitude and blocked Qin Huairu at the gate of the yard.

"Huai Ru, someone who said he was your uncle came to see you today, but he left after hearing that you were at work. But he said he would come again on Sunday and asked you to wait for him at home. Tell me about your uncle. Why have I never heard you mention him before?"

When Qin Huairu saw Jia Zhang's expression, she knew that her method had begun to be implemented, and the effect was extremely good. The "uncle" only came once and attracted the old hag.