1959Siheyuan, a Turnaround

When Li Huaide saw Qin Huairu coming in, he immediately put on a friendly smile and said, "Oh, Huairu is here. I knew you were always punctual."

Qin Huairu lowered her head slightly, and said with a hint of shyness and flattery: "Director Li, I have always remembered what you promised me."

Li Huaide smiled, took out the thirty kilograms of food coupons from his pocket, and patted them gently in his hands: "Look, I have prepared these food coupons for you. You have been doing really well recently."

Qin Huairu's eyes flashed with joy, but she still said: "Director Li, I am grateful for your help to my family every time. But my life is still tight. You see, I do a lot of work in the factory. Can you consider giving me a raise? I have many children in my family, and I need money everywhere."

She knew in her heart that Li Huaide now had a new love and might abandon her at any time, so she had to make plans early.

A pay raise is the most secure way she can think of, and she must seize the opportunity to achieve this goal.

Li Huaide sighed softly and walked towards Qin Huairu with an embarrassed look on his face.

He raised his hand as if to pat her on the back, but changed direction in mid-air and just waved it vaguely: "Huai Ru, it's not that I don't want to help you with the salary issue, but the factory rules are there, and I can't change them at will. But don't worry, if there is a chance, I will definitely think of you first."

He knew that if he wanted Qin Huairu to be obedient, he had to control what she wanted, and raising her salary was definitely not an option.

Although Qin Huairu felt a little disappointed, she still managed to force a smile: "Director Li, I know you are in a difficult situation. I will thank you for your care."

Hearing this, Li Huaide looked at Qin Huairu with a hint of ambiguity in his eyes, and said softly, "Your little mouth is as sweet as honey. Come on, let's not talk about these troubles for now."

As he spoke, Li Huaide slowly approached and tried to make some moves on Qin Huairu.

Qin Huairu's body stiffened slightly, but she quickly adjusted herself and cooperated with Li Huaide's actions.

Her heart was filled with helplessness and humiliation, but when she thought about her children at home having food to eat and clothes to wear, she could only endure it all silently.

Half an hour later, Qin Huairu's face was flushed and her clothes were in disarray. She endured the discomfort and put on her clothes.

She took the thirty kilograms of food coupons handed to her by Li Huaide, and a complex look flashed across her eyes, showing helplessness and humiliation, but more of a helpless compromise with life.

Not long after, Qin Huairu walked out of the warehouse with unsteady steps.

Fortunately, her work clothes were too big and barely concealed her disheveled appearance.

When they returned to the workshop, their fellow workers saw that Qin Huairu had been out for a long time and looked at her with confusion.

Qin Huairu was shocked, but pretended to be calm on the surface and made up an excuse of constipation to get away with it.

There were mostly male workers in the workshop, so naturally no one would go to the women's restroom to find out what was going on, so she easily evaded the matter.

Qin Huairu didn't dare to look up and just kept working, fearing that someone would notice anything.

But she had not noticed that many male workers were staring at her with strange eyes, and there was the same greed and desire in their eyes as Li Huaide.

Qin Huairu finally made it to the end of get off work time. She felt relieved, packed up her things, and rushed home happily.

When she thought that her three children at home would have a full meal again today, she felt that all the suffering and humiliation she had endured were worth it.

However, she had no idea that an even more violent storm was waiting for her at home.

Qin Huairu dragged her tired body into the courtyard. As soon as she stepped in, she keenly noticed that there was a different meaning in the eyes of everyone in the courtyard looking at her today.

That look was like a thorn in her back, causing her to feel a little confused and uneasy.

However, at this moment she had no time to think deeply. There were four hungry mouths waiting for her at home, and filling her stomach was the most urgent task.

When I stepped into the house, I saw that Jia Zhang's face was as gloomy as the sky before a storm, dark and depressing.

Although Qin Huairu was full of surprise, she did not dare to ask more questions. She quickly put down the handbag in her hand, forced a smile and said, "Mom, I'm back. I'll prepare dinner now." After that, she began to get busy with her hands and feet.

If it were usual, she would run to her youngest daughter Huaihua first, check on the child and then do other things.

But today, seeing her mother-in-law like this, she forced herself to suppress the impulse in her heart.

She knew very well that her mother-in-law was a man-biased person and that she had a deep prejudice against Xiao Huaihua. In addition, these were difficult days, and her mother-in-law would blame Xiao Huaihua if anything went wrong.

Over time, Qin Huairu also understood her mother-in-law's temper and realized that the best thing to do at the moment was to work quietly and try to avoid angering her mother-in-law.

Jia Zhang was looking forward to Qin Huairu coming in so that she could talk to her about what happened today, but unexpectedly, Qin Huairu acted as if nothing had happened and went straight to busy herself outside, with no intention of communicating with her at all.

The words that had been accumulating in Jia Zhang's heart for a long time seemed to be stuck in her throat and she couldn't say a word.

She thought to herself, just cook, it won’t be too late to talk about it after dinner.

Come to think of it carefully, Qin Huairu's life is really not easy, but compared with herself who lost her husband and son, Qin Huairu is much luckier. Now the burden of the entire Jia family falls heavily on her shoulders.

In order to prevent the Jia family from falling apart, she could only hold Qin Huairu tightly in her hands, even though she knew that this would make Qin Huairu pay a heavy price, there was no other way.

But no matter what, Qin Huairu's things outside must not be known to the people in the courtyard. She must be warned about this later.

At the same time, Xu Damao returned home humming a little tune.

As soon as he entered the door, he took off his coat and handed it to Lou Xiao'e, then walked straight to the kitchen, saying as he walked: "Xiao'e, today I have to show you how to make your favorite braised pork."

Lou Xiao'e followed behind, holding Xu Damao's coat in her hand, and said with a smile: "You are the only one who brags about your cooking skills every time." After saying that, she also walked into the kitchen to help.

While cutting vegetables, Lou Xiao'e thought of what happened during the day, and said to Xu Damao, "Da Mao, something happened in our courtyard today. Bang Geng from the Jia family was wandering around the courtyard with a chicken leg, deliberately provoking Liu Guangfu and Yan Jiekuang, and the two sides ended up fighting. The whole courtyard knew about this. Why did Bang Geng do this?"

While Xu Damao was frying the dishes in the pot, he snorted with disdain: "Humph, what good children can the Jia family teach? Children without fathers to discipline them are wild."

Lou Xiao'e gently patted Xu Damao's arm and said, "Don't say that. But the matter is not over yet. Later, the third uncle Yan Bugui came out to seek justice and asked Jia Zhang to take the stick to apologize to Liu Guangfu and Yan Jiekuang, and to pay one dollar. Guess what? Jia Zhang refused to do so and even quarreled with the third uncle. It was a lively scene."