Siheyuan: Starting from the Old Society

Without Jia Zhang, life was indeed much more peaceful. Banggeng also gradually recovered, but he became more dependent on Qin Huairu, fearing that he would be abandoned again. While taking care of Banggeng, Qin Huairu was thinking about the future.

Jia Zhangshi might not be able to come back in a short time. Without the control of this old woman, Qin Huairu could finally make plans for herself.

"Huairu, it's not easy for you to raise three children alone. How about... come to my house for a meal?" The third uncle Yan Bugui came over with a smile, and his lustful eyes swept over Qin Huairu.

Qin Huairu felt disgusted. How could she not know what Yan Bugui was up to? He was usually stingy, but now he was pretending to be kind.

"No, Third Uncle, I dare not trouble you." Qin Huairu refused with a wry smile.

Yan Bugui was frustrated and left in embarrassment. He cursed in his heart, this Qin Huairu is really ungrateful, wait until I become rich, and see if you will still take advantage of me!

In the blink of an eye, it was night. Qin Huairu coaxed the children to sleep and was about to rest when she suddenly heard a knock on the door.

"Who is it?" Qin Huairu asked vigilantly.

"It's me." A deep male voice came from outside the door.

Qin Huairu's heart was shocked. This voice... was Shazhu!

She quickly opened the door and saw Sha Zhu standing outside, holding a net bag with two lunch boxes in it.

"Shazhu, why are you here so late?" Qin Huairu was a little surprised.

"I...I'll bring you something to eat." Sha Zhu felt a little uneasy and didn't dare to look Qin Huairu in the eye.

"I feel so embarrassed. It's too much of a bother for you." Qin Huairu said this, but she was very happy in her heart.

"No trouble, no trouble, I just made it." Sha Zhu smiled naively, "Eat it while it's hot."

Qin Huairu took the lunch box, opened it and was stunned. She saw that the lunch box contained two large pieces of braised pork!

Meat is a rare commodity these days, and Sha Zhu was willing to send her so much!

"Shazhu, this... this is too expensive, I can't accept it." Qin Huairu was a little flustered.

"Take it, it's all my gift." Sha Zhu stuffed the lunch box into Qin Huairu's hand, turned around and left, "Then I'll go back first, you should also go to bed early."

"Shazhu..." Qin Huairu wanted to say something, but Shazhu had already walked away.

She looked at Sha Zhu's back, feeling mixed emotions. She understood how good Sha Zhu was to her, but... could she really accept him?

At this moment, Qin Huairu suddenly felt dizzy, her eyes went dark, and her body fell down limply.

"Huai Ru! Huai Ru, what's wrong with you?!" In the darkness, an anxious voice sounded beside my ears...

Qin Huairu watched Jia Zhang being taken away by the police, without a trace of emotion on her face, as if the person being taken away was not her mother-in-law, but an insignificant stranger.

"Huai Ru, don't be too sad. After all, she is Bang Geng's grandmother. Her crime is not punishable by death. I guess she will be released soon." The third uncle Yan Bugui pushed his glasses on the bridge of his nose and comforted her hypocritically.

"That's right. Aunt Zhang is usually pretty nice to Bang Geng. This time, she was probably just confused for a moment, so..." The third aunt also chimed in.

Qin Huairu glanced at them coldly without saying anything. She just lowered her head and tucked the quilt for Bang Geng on the bed.

"Hey, Uncle Third, you are such a forgetful person. Who said a few days ago that you wanted to call the police to arrest someone? Why, now you are speaking for her again?" Xu Damao's sarcastic voice came from the door. He put his hands in his pockets, with an expression that looked like he was going to enjoy a good show.

"Xu Damao, stop talking nonsense here! When did I say I would call the police to arrest someone?" The third uncle was exposed in public by Xu Damao, and he felt embarrassed for a moment.

"What? Are you planning to deny it? Do you want me to help you recall it?" Xu Damao asked relentlessly.

"Alright, stop talking!" The second uncle couldn't stand it anymore and stepped out to smooth things over. "The most important thing now is Banggeng's health. We can talk about other things later."

Qin Huairu sneered in her heart. These old guys were all as cunning as monkeys. Now that they knew Bang Geng was fine, they started to play peacemaker again.

She wouldn't let them succeed!

"Second uncle, you are right. The most important thing now is Banggeng's health." Qin Huairu raised her head and glanced at everyone. Her voice was calm but with a hint of chill. "But I can't watch my son almost get poisoned to death while the murderer is at large!"

"Huai Ru, what do you mean?" Uncle Yi Zhonghai finally spoke, his brows furrowed and there was a hint of displeasure in his tone.

"What do you mean? Uncle, you should know better than anyone else!" Qin Huairu met Yi Zhonghai's gaze without fear, "You all know what kind of person my mother-in-law is. If she really wants to harm Bang Geng, it's not the first or second time!"

"You..." Yi Zhonghai was speechless after being retorted by Qin Huairu, his face turning pale and blue.

"Qin Huairu, stop spitting bloody words here!" The third aunt couldn't help but jump out to defend Jia Zhang. "Although Aunt Zhang usually has a bad temper, how could she harm her own grandson?"

"Yeah, Huairu, did you misunderstand something?" The second uncle also advised.

Qin Huairu sneered and said nothing. She just took out a small white bottle from her pocket and placed it on the bedside table.

"What is this?" Everyone looked at the small bottle in confusion.

"This is what I found in my mother-in-law's room last night. It was filled with arsenic." Qin Huairu explained calmly.

"what?!"

"Arsenic?!"

Everyone was suddenly in an uproar, even Sha Zhu, who had been silent all the time, widened his eyes and looked at the small bottle in disbelief.

"Impossible! This is impossible!" Auntie was the first to react. She rushed forward, grabbed the small bottle, opened the lid and smelled it. "This is not arsenic, this is... This is rat poison!"

Qin Huairu curled her lips into a cold smile. As she expected, the old woman Jia Zhang did have a trick up her sleeve!

"Rat poison?" The second uncle took the bottle, looked at it carefully, and his face suddenly turned ugly. "This bottle is indeed filled with rat poison, and... and it's highly toxic!"

"What?!" Everyone gasped and looked at Jia Zhang with fear and disgust in their eyes.

"This old hag is so crazy! She even used rat poison. She really wants to poison Bang Geng to death!"

"How cruel! Even a tiger won't eat its own cubs!"

"People like this should be arrested and shot!"

......

Listening to the discussions of the crowd, Qin Huairu felt filled with joy.

Jia Zhang, don’t you want to kill my son?

Then I will bring disgrace upon you and make you pay for what you have done!

At this moment, the door of the ward was suddenly pushed open, and a tall and straight figure appeared at the door. He was wearing a police uniform, with sharp eyebrows and bright eyes, and looked very heroic. It was the police captain in charge of this case - Li Weiguo.

"Who is Qin Huairu?" Li Weiguo glanced at everyone and asked in a deep voice.

"It's me." Qin Huairu stood up and met Li Weiguo's gaze, with a strange light flashing in her eyes.

Li Weiguo looked at the young widow in front of him, and his heart moved slightly. He took out an ID from his pocket and handed it to Qin Huairu, saying in a deep voice: "Comrade Qin Huairu, we suspect that you are involved in a murder case. Please come with us!"

Early in the morning, Qin Huairu dressed herself up, put some cream on her face for the first time, and combed her hair meticulously. She looked at herself in the mirror for a moment, and a sneer appeared on the corner of her mouth.

"Old hag, aren't you trying to seize my son's pension? I want to see if you still have time to spend it!"

Qin Huairu went out and walked straight to the steel mill. She wanted to find Sha Zhu. She knew Sha Zhu too well. He was the only person in the courtyard who was truly kind to them, an orphan and a widow, and also the easiest person to control.

As expected, when Sha Zhu heard that Qin Huairu was going to sue Jia Zhang for abuse, he rolled up his sleeves without saying a word: "Sue, we must sue! This old hag is too vicious, let her reflect on herself in the cell!"

"Brother Zhuzi, I knew you were the best!" Qin Huairu's eyes turned red, and she leaned into Sha Zhuzi's arms, saying in a delicate voice, "Thanks to you this time. If it weren't for you, what would Banggeng and I do..."

Sha Zhu was the most susceptible to this, and his heart immediately melted. He patted his chest and assured: "Don't worry, Huairu, I'm here, no one can bully you two!"

Qin Huairu sneered in her heart, but her face looked even more weak and pitiful: "Brother Zhuzi, I know you are the best, but..." She hesitated to speak, looking as if she found it difficult to start.

"What's wrong, Huairu? Just tell me what's the matter. If I can do it, I will do it without hesitation!" Sha Zhu was so tempted by Qin Huairu's look that he wanted to take out his heart and give it to her.

Qin Huairu bit her lip and whispered, "But, this lawsuit costs money. Banggeng and I are now orphans and widows, so how can we have any money..."

"Hey, I thought it was something else! It's just money, I have it!" Sha Zhu said, and took out his wallet from his pocket and stuffed all the money in it into Qin Huairu's hand, "Take it, if it's not enough, I'll find a way!"

"I feel so embarrassed..." Qin Huairu refused, but her hands tightly grasped the stack of money, and her heart was filled with joy.

Sha Zhu looked at Qin Huairu's shy appearance and felt hot all over. He couldn't help but reach out to touch Qin Huairu's face, but Qin Huairu dodged him skillfully.

"Brother Zhuzi, you are so nice..." Qin Huairu's eyes moved and her voice was charming, "When I finish my work, I will definitely thank you very much..."