Chapter 125

Not mentioning the Jia family's scheming and infighting.

Speaking of the He family.

Although the He family had bought a bicycle, they were actually full of scheming and infighting; Shazhu and Yushui exhausted their brains in a battle of wits and courage.

You have a policy.

I have a countermeasure.

One is scheming to use the bicycle to stimulate Yushui's potential for diligent study, hoping to let the He family produce a female college student, thereby enhancing the He family's prestige.

This is Shazhu's idea.

Actually, it's an open scheme.

Yushui sees clearly that the bicycle is just bait.

Even if it's bait, she must bite the hook.

The bicycle.

Yushui, who understood Shazhu's idea, started to first mess with the lake in an honest scheme.

The general idea is to first get the bicycle into our own hands; as for studying well, we'll discuss it slowly—if we can study well, we will study well; if we cannot study well, we'll follow Shazhu to learn cooking, striving to become an honorary female chef of the Capital City.

One bicycle let the drama‑queen siblings Shazhu and Yushui each start their performance.

To avoid unnecessary trouble, Shazhu first pushed Yushui's new bicycle inside the house, locked his own new bicycle and parked it outside, echoing his old bicycle from before.

This carries a hint of coercing Yushui, implying that if she doesn't study well, the bicycle will keep staying in Shazhu's house.

Yushui saw through Shazhu's idea, she picked up her own test paper and found Shazhu posing inside the house like Jiang Taigong fishing, waiting for a bite.

She placed the test paper in front of Shazhu.

The intention to show off arose instantly.

Math: 100.

Chinese: 98 points.

"What does that mean?"

"What do you mean by that?"

"Bicycle?"

"What are you saying?"

"The bicycle is right here; if you get into District No. 1 High School this autumn, the bicycle is yours." Shazhu spoke smoothly and calculatingly; he then shifted tone: "If you can't get into District No. 1 High School, this bicycle can only go to your sister‑in‑law."

Yushui widened her eyes, disbelieving, and gave him a thorough look up and down.

Shazhu, feeling a bit creeped out from being looked at, shouted.

"What are you looking at me for?"

"I'm thinking, that family's girl is so clueless, she'd actually take a liking to you."

Full of contempt.

It's not really Yushui's fault; last month Shazhu went to a parents' meeting, and all the students' parents and teachers alike mistook him for Yushui's uncle, which was fine. What's more, even though he is clearly in his mid‑thirties, they insisted on calling him 'brother' and asked whether he was forty.

This shows how frightening Shazhu's youthful‑mature face is.

Once, Shazhu was walking down the street when a woman took a liking to him; she specially had a matchmaker propose marriage. Later he learned that the woman who liked him was a widow in her early thirties, supporting three children and a mother‑in‑law. Angered, Shazhu went a day without eating, while Xu Daming happily shouted that they should celebrate.

At the bottom line.

His looks caused trouble; he is comparable to Jia Gui, who initially came to propose to Jia Zhangshi; both are epithets of handsomeness, a tragically handsome gentleman.

"Yushui, am I really that ugly as your brother?"

"Brother, a good child cannot lie; you can't just want to hear nice words and force me to speak nonsense." Yushui looked at Shazhu seriously: "If you go out with me, I'll call you dad, and people will believe it."

Having said that.

She turned and left Shazhu's house.

As she was about to leave, her determined stance showed she would not rest until she got into District No. 1 High School.

After Yushui left, Shazhu walked up to the mirror, examined himself, and thought, "My features are decent, not as bad as Yushui said."

He is a thoroughly sunny, promising youth; those people just don't appreciate him. Shazhu gave himself a pep talk and went out to the courtyard.

As the saying goes, "Out with the old, in with the new."

We need to figure out how to dispose of the old bicycle.

After thinking it over.

Only Yan Fugui is the best choice.

Old Kou constantly wants to buy a bicycle, but due to various factors, the matter of buying a bicycle remains only talk up to now.

Just came out.

Shazhu saw Lao Kou's figure among the crowd gathered around his new bicycle.

"Shazhu, you little brat, you've dropped another silent bombshell on us—month after month you have money to spend, and you even bought a new bicycle, two at once!"

"San Daye, regarding buying the bicycle." Shazhu pointed at Yan Fugui and deliberately took a deep breath, "Blame you."

Yan Fugui had a big head.

How did I become the one who pushed Shazhu to buy a bicycle? I vaguely recall never having told Shazhu anything about buying a bicycle.

"Shazhu, what do you mean? San Daye can't make sense of what you're saying."

"Hey there." Shazhu teased Yan Fugui, "You haven't mentioned the ticket matter before."

This ticket matter.

Not to mention Yan Fugui.

Everyone in the siheyuan knew.

Today someone went to buy white flour, but they were asked to show a flour coupon; lacking it, they couldn't buy the white flour.

Many people know the importance of tickets.

"You said, starting from today, our Capital City has officially entered the ticket era; to buy flour you need a flour ticket, to buy oil you need a ticket, to buy cloth you need a cloth ticket. I was thinking, white flour, rice, and pork have all started needing tickets, so bicycles, sewing machines, watches, etc., definitely also need tickets. As an ordinary citizen, where am I supposed to find those bicycle tickets and watch tickets?"

Shazhu, "de de de," began to narrate.

Buy two bicycles.

Need a reason.

"Better to figure out a way to get them back now than to sit helplessly later. I kept an eye out and went to the supply and marketing cooperative early this morning to inquire; I actually found out that bicycles, watches, radios, and sewing machines—these items are considered big-ticket goods, and there are currently no explicit regulations requiring tickets for their purchase. Upon hearing this news, I thought, 'Stop hesitating, just buy them,' and bought two bicycles at once."

"Shazhu, you little brat are really sharp, even more scheming than San Daye; are you seeing someone? Bring them back that day so the neighbors can have a look."

Yan Fugui's words.

They represented the sentiments of the vast majority of residents in the Siheyuan.

Many people thought that Shazhu buying two bicycles at once meant he was seeing someone; although the Phoenix small-frame bicycle was constantly claimed to be bought for He Yushui, it was actually a gift Shazhu prepared for his own sweetheart.

Some felt envious.

Some felt resentful.

For example, Yi Zhonghai, upon hearing Yan Fugui tease Shazhu about having a sweetheart, the hypocrite's heart actually gave a jolt. All these years of walking on eggshells have truly made Yi Zhonghai feel wronged; he pointed his finger at Shazhu, believing Shazhu to be the chief culprit behind his years of suffering.

His idea still stemmed from calculations for old-age support.

The hypocrite wanted Shazhu to support him in his old age like an obedient grandson, and also wanted Shazhu to taste the bitterness of having to seek someone to support him in old age after cutting off his own line.

Put simply.

The hypocrite wanted to vent the frustration caused by Shazhu's scheming; to scheme against and retaliate against Shazhu, he used the Jia Family as his spearhead.

In Yi Zhonghai's mind, Jia Zhangshi, Shazhu, and Jia Dongxu were all his enemies; Shazhu caused Yi Zhonghai to lose his reputation and status, while Jia Zhangshi and Jia Dongxu made his name stink far and wide. If the Jia Family really were to lock horns with Shazhu over the bicycle matter, it would be no different from dogs fighting dogs.