Siheyuan: Starting from the Old Society

Qin Huairu was struck by lightning and pushed Yi Zhonghai away, with fear in her eyes as if she had seen some monstrous beast. "Uncle, what are you doing? How could you..."

Yi Zhonghai grabbed Qin Huairu's hand and said in a hurried and forceful tone: "Huairu, I know it's not easy for you to raise three children alone. Shazhu is unreliable. If you follow me, I will definitely treat you well. The Jia family's affairs are my affairs!"

"Uncle, you've had too much to drink. I'll go back first." Qin Huairu tried to pull her hand back in panic, but Yi Zhonghai held it even tighter.

"Huai Ru, I'm sincere, I..." Yi Zhonghai wanted to say something else, but was interrupted by a hurried knock on the door.

"Bang bang bang!"

"Who is it?" Yi Zhonghai roared impatiently, straightened his clothes, and then got up to open the door.

Standing outside the door was Xu Damao, holding a net bag of apples in his hand, with a flattering smile on his face: "Hey, uncle, are you at home? I just came back from the countryside and brought some apples. I thought you and the old lady would like to eat them, so I brought some to you."

As Xu Damao spoke, he squeezed into the house, but his eyes glanced behind Yi Zhonghai intentionally or unintentionally.

Yi Zhonghai moved sideways to block Xu Damao's sight, and said in a bad tone: "You are here, why bring anything with you? It's so expensive!"

"Of course I should, of course I should. You are the elder brother in this courtyard, and I should respect you." Xu Damao said this, but his eyes were scanning the room like a radar.

"Why are you so kind today, kid?" Yi Zhonghai looked at Xu Damao vigilantly. This kid is being too attentive for no reason. He must be a traitor or a thief!

"Hey, I'm just thinking about how much you take care of us youngsters. I'm grateful." Xu Damao said, rolling his eyes and deliberately raising his voice, "Hey, Uncle, I heard that you scolded Sha Zhu today. Is that true?"

Yi Zhonghai frowned. This kid is well-informed. It has only been a short time and everyone knows about it. He replied calmly, "Well, this kid is getting more and more unreasonable. As an uncle, I naturally have to discipline him."

"He should be disciplined!" Xu Damao slapped his thigh and said indignantly, "This idiot Zhu, relying on his good cooking skills, is domineering in the courtyard and doesn't care about anyone. Someone should have disciplined him long ago!"

Yi Zhonghai watched Xu Damao's performance calmly, but he sneered in his heart. This kid might not be interested in the bar.

"Uncle, you don't know, today..." Xu Damao lowered his voice, leaned close to Yi Zhonghai's ear, and vividly described what happened in front of the steel mill today.

The more Yi Zhonghai listened, the uglier his expression became. He never imagined that Sha Zhu would dare to forcefully kiss Qin Huairu in front of so many people, and was even caught by that kid Xu Damao!

"Uncle, what do you think? Isn't this Sha Zhu going too far? He clearly doesn't take you seriously!" Xu Damao said with exaggeration, not forgetting to secretly observe Yi Zhonghai's reaction.

Yi Zhonghai suppressed his anger and asked in a cold voice: "Xu Damao, what do you mean by telling me this?"

Xu Damao chuckled, rubbing his hands and saying, "Uncle, you see, if this matter gets out, it will be bad for Sha Zhu's reputation, bad for Qin Huairu's reputation, and even worse for the reputation of our hospital! Don't you think so?"

Of course Yi Zhonghai knew what Xu Damao was planning. This guy clearly wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to cause trouble and sow discord!

"So what? What do you want?" Yi Zhonghai looked at Xu Damao coldly, with a cold light flashing in his eyes.

Xu Damao was secretly delighted to see that Yi Zhonghai had finally taken the bait. He pretended to be mysterious and said, "I heard that you, Uncle, have been helping Qin Huairu find a date recently..."

Yi Zhonghai's face changed, he stood up suddenly, grabbed Xu Damao by the collar, and said angrily: "You kid, are you investigating me?"

Xu Damao was frightened by Yi Zhonghai's sudden action and turned pale. He stammered, "No... No, uncle, you misunderstood, I... I just..."

"Just what?" Yi Zhonghai tightened his fingers and his eyes were as sharp as a knife.

"I just want to say that I know someone..." Xu Damao swallowed hard and said in a trembling voice.

"Who?"

"He called... called..."

Before Xu Damao finished speaking, he heard a loud "bang" behind him. He looked back and saw that Qin Huairu had opened the window and jumped out of the house...

Qin Huairu felt a buzzing in her head and was completely stunned. Yi Zhonghai was so old, but he actually...

"Uncle, you...what are you doing?" Qin Huairu tried to break free from Yi Zhonghai's arms in panic, but Yi Zhonghai held her tightly, not letting her move.

"Huai Ru, don't be afraid, I really like you." Yi Zhonghai's tone became gentle, as if he was coaxing a frightened little rabbit, "Sha Zhu is unreliable, only I can bring you happiness!"

Happiness? Qin Huairu smiled bitterly. Since Jia Dongxu left, she had been working hard to raise three children and a mother-in-law. How could she dare to hope for happiness? Although Yi Zhonghai was the eldest uncle in the courtyard and took good care of her on weekdays, he was an elder after all. How could she...

"Uncle, please stop joking with me." Qin Huairu suppressed the nausea in her heart and tried to calm herself down. "You are the elder, and I am the younger. There is no possibility between us."

"How is it impossible?" Yi Zhonghai said anxiously, "Huai Ru, I... I have liked you for a long time! Ever since you married into our courtyard, I have..."

Before Yi Zhonghai could finish his words, he was interrupted by a rapid knock on the door.

"Bang bang bang!"

"Who is it?" Yi Zhonghai asked impatiently.

"Uncle, it's me, Sha Zhu." Sha Zhu's voice came from outside the door.

Hearing Sha Zhu's voice, Yi Zhonghai panicked immediately, and quickly let go of Qin Huairu, whispering: "Huairu, hide first."

Qin Huairu was also panicked. She didn't know what to do and could only obediently hide in the inner room.

Yi Zhonghai tidied his clothes, then walked to the door and opened it.

"Shazhu, it's so late, what's the matter with you?" Yi Zhonghai asked calmly.

Sha Zhu looked at Yi Zhonghai with complicated eyes, as if he wanted to say something but stopped himself.

"What's going on? Tell me!" Yi Zhonghai felt uneasy when Sha Zhu looked at him.

"Uncle, I...I heard that Xu Damao bought all the sewing machines?" Sha Zhu finally asked.

Yi Zhonghai was stunned for a moment, then realized that Sha Zhu was here to get information. He rolled his eyes and came up with a plan.

"Yes, what's the matter?" Yi Zhonghai pretended to be surprised and asked, "Do you want to buy a sewing machine too?"

Sha Zhu scratched his head and smiled innocently: "Hehe, I saw that Qin Huairu's family was in need of a money-making guy, so I thought..."

"Silly Zhu, silly Zhu, you are so silly that you are adorable!" Yi Zhonghai looked disappointed, "Don't you think about who Xu Damao is? Would he be so kind as to sell you a sewing machine?"

After being scolded by Yi Zhonghai, Sha Zhu was a little discouraged: "Then...what should I do?"

Yi Zhonghai patted Sha Zhu on the shoulder and said earnestly, "Sha Zhu, listen to my advice and stop thinking about Qin Huairu. She is not suitable for you."

"Uncle, you...why do you say that?" Sha Zhu was anxious, "I like Qin Huairu, I want to marry her!"

Yi Zhonghai sneered: "Marry her? What can you afford to marry her? With your salary? Can you afford to support her and her family?"

Sha Zhu was speechless after hearing Yi Zhonghai's question. Only then did he realize that there was an insurmountable gap between him and Qin Huairu.

"Silly Zhu, listen to the uncle and forget about Qin Huairu." Yi Zhonghai struck while the iron was hot, "The uncle will introduce you to a better one."

"Better?" Sha Zhu looked at Yi Zhonghai puzzledly.

Yi Zhonghai smiled mysteriously and said in a low voice: "Come with me."

Sha Zhu followed Yi Zhonghai in confusion and came to the other end of the yard.

"Uncle, why did you bring me here?" Sha Zhu looked at the dark room in front of him and felt a little scared.

"Don't be afraid, come with me in and you'll know." Yi Zhonghai said as he pushed open the door.

Sha Zhu plucked up his courage and followed Yi Zhonghai into the house.

There was no light in the room, only a faint moonlight came in through the window. Sha Zhu vaguely saw that there seemed to be a person lying on the bed.

"Who...who is there?" Sha Zhu's voice trembled a little.

Yi Zhonghai didn't say anything, but slowly walked to the bedside, then reached out and lifted the quilt on the bed...

Qin Huairu was struck by lightning and pushed Yi Zhonghai away with a look of horror on her face.

"Uncle, you...what nonsense are you talking about! I...I am..."

She kept saying "but" for a long time, but couldn't say the words "I am your daughter-in-law". Yi Zhonghai was old, and he was the eldest master in the courtyard, and he was highly respected. He actually did this to her... This made Qin Huairu feel ashamed and embarrassed, and she didn't know what to do for a while.

Yi Zhonghai didn't care about that. He grabbed Qin Huairu's hand and said excitedly, "Huairu, I know you're suffering. Shazhu is a scoundrel and can't be trusted at all! Follow me, I will treat you well, and you will be my woman, Yi Zhonghai, from now on!"

As he said that, Yi Zhonghai wanted to hug Qin Huairu's waist. Qin Huairu was so frightened that her face turned pale. She dodged and said, "Uncle, you... don't do this, I... I'm scared..."

"What are you afraid of? I won't eat you!" Yi Zhonghai said, and he used more force in his hands to hold Qin Huairu tightly in his arms.

"Uncle, let me go, let me go..." Qin Huairu struggled desperately, but Yi Zhonghai was too strong. How could a weak woman like her break free?

At this moment, the door was suddenly kicked open and a figure appeared at the door.

"You are so good, Yi Zhonghai, I treat you as a brother, but you actually want to be my father?!"

Sha Zhu stood at the door angrily, his eyes spitting fire, like an enraged bull, ready to charge and fight at any time.