Siheyuan: Struggle in the Red Era

After relaxing myself, the days passed by very quickly. Soon the semester was over and the students were on summer vacation.

It was mid-afternoon in late July, and there was not a breath of wind. Even sitting still, one would sweat profusely.

He Yushui walked in, sat down on a chair, picked up the boiled water, and drank it in one gulp.

Lin Baoyan was fanning herself with a palm-leaf fan and reading a book while she asked her, "Where have you been in this hot weather? You're so thirsty."

He Yushui leaned back in his chair and said dejectedly, "My sister-in-law said she had a poor appetite and couldn't eat. She wanted to eat pickles. I just went to buy her pickles."

Lin Baoyan was speechless.

He Sanmei is a beautiful person, but her character is not very good. She is particularly stingy with money. After getting married, she not only took away all the money of He Yuzhu, but also set her sights on the money of He Yushui.

Of course He Yushui refused to do it.

He Yuzhu is her husband, and how she wants to deal with him is a matter between them, but He Yushui is just her sister-in-law, and she doesn't rely on He Yuzhu for support, so why should she ask He Yushui to pay for her living expenses? That was given to He Yushui by He Daqing, and had nothing to do with He Yuzhu.

But He Yuzhu was a man who forgot about his sister for the sake of beauty. After listening to He Sanmei's lies, he really asked Yushui for money.

At first, He Yuzhu had a wedding and was hungry, so he asked Yushui to borrow money to hold a wedding banquet at the He family. Then, he didn't have enough money to compensate the Xu family for medical expenses. Then, He Sanmei was pregnant and needed nutritional supplements. In short, He Sanmei would not stop until she had squeezed all the money out of Yushui's hands.

He Yushui didn't react at first. She thought that since her brother and sister didn't have enough money, they could just take it and use it. However, later, when she couldn't eat well and was short of money, her brother still asked her for money. Then she realized what was going on.

Not wanting to quarrel with her only brother, she simply came back once a month. Every time she came back, He Sanmei would ask her for money under various pretexts. He Yushui wanted to refuse, but He Sanmei played all kinds of tricks on her. The silly brother became more and more annoyed as he listened, and finally he had to pay the money to avoid trouble.

She was obviously very angry, but for the sake of her family's reputation, He Yushui had to keep it a secret. Even Lin Baoyan only found out about it when she came back last time and noticed that she had lost a lot of weight.

Lin Baoyan couldn't do anything about it.

This is someone else's family affair. It's such a hot day. He Sanmei is deliberately making things difficult for others. Does He Yushui have to go out in the hot sun to buy pickles? If she doesn't want to, who can force her to go?

After drinking another glass of boiled water, He Yushui finally came back to life.

"I'll have a meal at your place tonight, okay?"

"Whatever. What's going on? Is your sister-in-law bothering you again? Didn't you just buy her some pickles?"

That’s right, when He Sanmei asked He Yushui to buy things, she never paid.

He Yushui was angry: "She also asked for braised pork, but I didn't have any meat coupons or money, so where could I buy it for her? She came back with a deadpan look on her face, who was she showing it to?"

Lin Baoyan took a breath: "I remember that you have already bought a roast duck, a watermelon, and a little rooster in the past half month. In addition to the pickles this time, you also want to buy braised pork. What is she doing? What is she doing..."

"Yeah, she wants to empty my pocket. I've been eating at home this month anyway, so why should I keep the money?" He Yushui said dully.

Lin Baoyan stopped talking.

Ask He Yushui if she regrets it? Of course, if a sister-in-law meets such a sister-in-law, who was brought together by herself, she would not regret it.

"Baoyan, can you lend me some money?" He Yushui sat up straight and said, "I can't live like this anymore. I want to go find my dad."

Lin Baoyan was stunned. In the TV series, He Yushui never thought about looking for her father.

Then I remembered that He Yushui was well off and living a good life during that period of time and he didn't even think about his father.

It was never like it is now. I am forced by my brother and sister-in-law every day. Not only can I not keep my own money, but I also have to look at my sister-in-law's face at home and I am always blamed.

She is only 15 years old now. It is normal for her to feel depressed and want to rely on her father.

So he nodded and said, "Okay, you tell me how much you want. It's better to bring more for the trip. Isn't your dad getting married again? When you go to your dad's place, you have to bring some souvenirs for your stepmother. Be polite, and you will have a better life when you go."

"Also, you know your father's latest address, right? It's best to buy a morning train to leave enough time to find your father. Remember to go to the street office to get a letter of introduction."

He Yushui nodded and said, "It's on my dad's letter. I'll go get the letter of introduction tomorrow morning, and then go to the train station to buy the ticket."

He Yushui has been in correspondence with He Daqing for three months. I guess the little girl felt aggrieved and had no one to vent, so she contacted her father.

Lin Baoyan was very curious about why He Daqing abandoned his own children and ran to Baocheng to raise a widow's son. Could it be that he really had a problem with his background as speculated in the fan fiction?

Of course, she wouldn't ask this. The issue of family background is very sensitive. Even if they are good friends, she shouldn't ask this question.

After dinner, He Yushui had a gloomy face.

Lin Baoyan understood her feelings. Her sister didn't come home for dinner, and as the eldest brother, she didn't even ask about it. Anyone would feel bad.

The next day, He Yushui went out early in the morning. At around ten o'clock, he took a small package and boarded the train to Baocheng.

In the evening, Zhou Kangzhan came with a watermelon in his hand: "I saw He Yushui at the train station this morning. I was short of time and couldn't ask her if she was sending someone off or going out on her own?"

Lin Baoyan sighed: "She went out. She said she missed her father and went to visit him during the summer vacation."

Zhou Kangzhan frowned: "Did she go alone? Did she notify her father in advance to pick her up?"

"Ah? I forgot about that," Lin Baoyan was dumbfounded. In her previous life, she was used to running around alone, and the concept of asking someone to pick her up had never entered her mind.

"But she brought food and drinks on board, and she also said not to talk to strangers, not to reveal her information, and to find the train staff if she had any problems, and to find the police if she couldn't find the way after getting off the train."

Zhou Kangzhan was relieved, but still very annoyed: "What's wrong with He Yuzhu? Just let his own sister go to defend the city alone? She's still a child. What if something happens on the way?"

Lin Baoyan rolled her eyes. He Yuzhu was a man who forgot about girls when he saw a beautiful woman. In the TV series, he could say that one person's food could feed the whole family. Now he has a beautiful wife. What is a girl? Just a money jar.

An ordinary neighbor would still care about the safety of the little girl in the compound when seeing her at the train station. But as a brother, he has ignored his sister from yesterday to today, a full two days. What kind of person is this?

Maybe He Sanmei said something to him, but that's not a reason.

Lin Baoyan didn't want to talk about this anymore, so she asked, "You just came back, have you had dinner?" She had already turned to the kitchen.

Zhou Kangzhan followed and scooped water to wash the watermelon, saying, "No, just heat up whatever is left at home."

A week ago, Zhou Kangzhan hosted a banquet and invited three uncles as witnesses. He acknowledged Lin Baoyan as his sister. Needless to say, the second uncle was very jealous. Zhou Kangzhan was a captain. Although he was not sure what his rank was, he knew that he was an official!

How come such a young official hasn’t acknowledged his family as his relative?