Chapter 638: with translation of chapter title

He Yushui's indifferent attitude toward Shazhu's posthumous affairs.

It made Qin Huairu somewhat happy.

The reason for her happiness was that He Yushui seemed to have no intention of handling Shazhu's posthumous affairs, and she had always harbored strong resentment toward Shazhu.

She married herself off without a dowry.

This became an eternal pain in He Yushui's heart.

One, she had no family; two, she had no dowry.

All that remained was being bullied.

The feeling of being helpless and alone, Qin Huairu perhaps cannot understand, after all she has Shazhu as a sycophant, and also Jia Zhangshi and Yi Zhonghai acting as helpers.

Shazhu was resented by He Yushui.

This is also understandable.

As a close sister, not handling Shazhu's posthumous affairs, outsiders would not say anything.

A married daughter is like spilled water.

At most, He Yushui would only go to the siheyuan on the day of Shazhu's funeral to burn a piece of paper for him and see him off.

That's all.

Qin Huairu's plan to whitewash the Jia family by handling Shazhu's posthumous affairs had completed its most crucial step, and He Yushui would not contend with her.

The reason the widow was unhappy.

It was because He Yushui, due to some past events, harbored toward Qin Huairu—the chief culprit behind Shazhu's tragic death—a desire to devour her alive.

He Yushui has money.

This is a fact corroborated by Qin Huairu.

She also thought of using Shazhu's posthumous affairs as a pretext to ease relations with He Yushui as much as possible, laying groundwork for later bleeding He Yushui.

By using the method of giving Shazhu a lavish funeral, to show the Jia family's repayment to Shazhu, while silencing certain people, it also left He Yushui with nothing to criticize about the Jia family.

Bangeng and they have already dressed Shazhu in mourning clothes; what more do you want, He Yushui!

Unexpectedly, He Yushui doesn't care at all about these outsiders' opinions.

She still harbors intense resentment toward Qin Huairu, blaming all her sufferings on Qin Huairu, believing that if Qin Huairu does not mourn Shazhu, He Yushui will not suffer because of Shazhu's misfortunes.

This essentially thwarted Qin Huairu's idea of making money through He Yushui.

That said.

Even if He Yushui said he would take Qin Huairu along to get rich, Qin Huairu would not dare to follow him.

Who knows whether He Yushui will scheme against her?

Such things could have happened in the siheyuan; Xu Daming, Yan Fugui, and Liu Haizhong were all victims of the You Fengxia incident.

Qin Huairu suddenly thought of Lou Xiaoe; if He Yushui doesn't take her to get rich, Lou Xiaoe might not necessarily refuse to take her.

When a person dies, it's like a lamp going out.

When the body dies, debts vanish.

Even if Qin Huairu and Lou Xiaoe had some bad things happen while Shazhu was alive, with Shazhu's death they should let go of their respective prejudices.

Over these years.

She has never been in touch with Lou Xiaoe.

But she has occasionally seen news about Lou Xiaoe and Hexiao in newspapers and TV, knowing they are wealthy high-society people.

It is said their net worth has exceeded two or three billion.

To Qin Huairu, even a few million is already astronomical; Lou Xiaoe and Hexiao having two or three billion in wealth is a figure that truly frightens the widow.

Thinking that if Lou Xiaoe and Hexiao just let a little slip from their fingers, the Jia family could live carefree for a lifetime, which is far better than scheming against Shazhu.

Qin Huairu's mood.

Instantly became a mixture of five flavors.

She felt that driving away Shazhu and letting him die miserably was a misstep by the Jia family widow.

She shouldn't have done that.

He Yushui, following Lou Xiaoe to get rich, surely knows Lou Xiaoe's contact information, so it is necessary to reacquaint herself with Lou Xiaoe through He Yushui.

Worried that He Yushui resents her and won't speak frankly, and seeing that the atmosphere on site is somewhat tense.

He Yushui had no intention of inviting the widow into the villa for a chat; instead, he wanted to talk with Qin Huairu across the iron fence and make things clear.

For the sake of profit.

The widow must think of another way.

She forced a faint smile onto her face.

One does not strike a smiling person.

I've already smiled; what more do you want from me?

Should I kneel before you, He Yushui?

Qin Huairu, harboring some thoughts, began to scheme against He Yushui.

"Yushui, I, Qin Huairu, will handle your brother Shazhu's posthumous affairs. Your brother Shazhu helped our Jia family greatly; now that he's dead, our Jia family ought to give him a lavish funeral. Even if we just bury him casually, it would show our Jia family lacks human feeling and gratitude."

"As you wish; when the funeral happens, notify me and I will surely go burn a piece of paper."

"That's certain; you are Shazhu's close sister—how could his posthumous affairs lack you, He Yushui?"

Qin Huairu suddenly thought that He Daqing was still alive; Shazhu, as He Daqing's son, had died—shouldn't this be reported to He Daqing?

She hesitated a bit.

He Daqing is a few years younger than Yi Zhonghai, and is about eighty-six or eighty-seven.

At such an age, if one were to tell him that the He Family had suffered the tragedy of elders sending off the young, and that Shazhu had almost been drained of blood by the Jia Family to the point of extinction.

Worried that He Daqing would die of anger on the spot.

Let's not notify.

If He Daqing came back looking for Shazhu, it would cause a huge uproar and affect the Jia family's reputation.

He glanced at He Yushui.

He felt they should consult He Yushui's opinion.

"Yushui, sister-in-law has a matter she can't decide on."

He heard Qin Huairu call herself sister-in-law.

He Yushui refused.

She had no intention of maintaining any contact with the beastly Jia family; her earlier good relations were solely due to the circumstances forcing her, and without staying on good terms with the Jia family widows, He Yushui estimated she wouldn't even be able to attend school.

She let out a cold snort, her tone of keeping people at a thousand miles' distance ringing in Qin Huairu's ears.

"Qin Huairu, even Shazhu doesn't acknowledge me, He Yushui, as his real sister; you, as sister-in-law, I dare not acknowledge either—our relationship isn't that close."

"Yushui, how can you say that about your brother? Your brother has his difficulties."

Seeing pedestrians gradually appear around, Qin Huairu tried to trick He Yushui, thinking he had money and, as a man, was the deputy head of the district, definitely the type who cared about face.

"Even if your brother did something wrong to you back then, all these years have passed; you should have let go of your hatred and learned to forgive."

A hint of mockery appeared on He Yushui's face.

He chuckled.

Qin Huairu's petty tricks.

He really thought she didn't know.

Wanting to trick her.

Not even a chance.

"I'm no saint; I don't have the saintly virtue of turning the other cheek after being slapped. Shazhu did those things to me back then, and you, Qin Huairu, as the instigator, surely know? I saved several hundred dollars for my dowry, a good match. You, Qin Huairu, went to Shazhu crying poor, saying how Bangeng was… how he was, and also said how much I had saved, giving Shazhu advice, saying that a brother spending his sister's money is nobody's business. Shazhu took my saved several hundred dollars and gave them to you, Qin Huairu, and you comforted Shazhu, saying it was only natural."

Even the chicken-stealing Bangeng wasn't let off by He Yushui.

He said it out loud in front of everyone.

Mainly, He Yushui noticed that among the onlookers there seemed to be Bangeng's leader's wife.

"Bangeng stole neighbor Xu Daming's old hen, and even though Shazhu had warned you beforehand, you remained indifferent. You, Qin Huairu, think Bangeng shouldn't bear the reputation of a chicken thief, so you finally had Shazhu step forward to take the blame, making me, He Yushui, the sister of a chicken thief. My partner dumped me, my mother-in-law thinks I'm jinxed; our wedding, originally set for after Spring Festival, was delayed several months. The banquet was only held at year's end, and when I married, I had to send myself off—all thanks to you, Qin Huairu. Now you tell me to forgive Shazhu—how can I? Be as shameless as you?"

"Yushui, you misunderstood me." Qin Huairu stamped her foot, "I'm not that kind of person."

"Is that the kind of person you think I am? Do you really think I don't know? Want to find Xu Daming to confront him? Xu Daming was queuing up ahead, and you, Qin Huairu, without thinking, cut in line to get right in front of him, in front of several hundred coworkers, joking with Xu Daming about meat, saying things like your wife won't let you sleep with her. You bought five white flour steamed buns and two meat dishes, had Xu Daming pay, and that afternoon you and Xu Daming sneaked into the Yagangchang warehouse."

He Yushui's voice.

The louder he got as he spoke.

These words.

They had been weighing on her heart for a long time.

"During the process of sneaking into the warehouse, Thus: Thus: Mahua discovered it. You were worried Thus: Thus: Mahua would tell Shazhu, so you wanted to strike first, found Shazhu, and said Xu Daming used some kind of threat to force you to sneak into the warehouse with him. As for Shazhu, he doesn't think things through; whatever Qin Huairu says goes. Your legs are on your body, Qin Huairu, Xu Daming works in the publicity department, you work in the Ninth Workshop, far apart—how could Xu Daming threaten you to sneak into the warehouse? Because of this, Xu Daming spent money and also got a beating."

He pointed at Qin Huairu.

"Qin Huairu, I've been giving you face all along; I originally didn't want to say this, but you, in front of the neighbors, urged me to be magnanimous. When you were stringing Shazhu along back then, why weren't you a little more magnanimous?"

Qin Huairu stared with wide eyes.

A face full of disbelief.

She realized she had underestimated He Yushui, and therefore should not have used the Siheyuan's tactics for dealing with Shazhu on He Yushui.

It backfired.

It had the opposite effect.

Yet she was unwilling to accept it.

Lou Xiaoe's contact information still hadn't been obtained; she couldn't just leave like that.

"Yushui, no matter how many mistakes, they're all my fault, Qin Huairu, but as a widow I have no choice."

Worried that He Yushui would find an excuse to talk back to her, Qin Huairu quickly shifted the subject, bringing up Lou Xiaoe, using He Xiaoshuo to talk about things.

"Forget it, talking about this now is useless; it's all in the past, why discuss it? Yushui, Shazhu is dead—that's a fact. But I, Qin Huairu, also feel awful in my heart—that's also a fact. The only thing we can do for Shazhu now is to let him depart in grandeur; Lou Xiaoe and Shazhu also had a relationship, He Xiaoshuo is Shazhu's son—give me the phone, I'll call her, so mother and daughter can come see him off; no matter what, we can't let Shazhu die with unresolved resentment, and He Xiaoshuo should break a bowl for Shazhu."

"Lou Xiaoe? He Xiaoshuo?" He Yushui chuckled, "When they came back, you Qin Huairu didn't treat them as a thorn in your eye? Now you're thinking of them again? Qin Huairu, give yourself a break; don't think your schemes can manipulate Shazhu and then also manipulate Lou Xiaoe. I won't tell you his phone number; I don't want Lou Xiaoe to hate me."

"Yushui."

"Qin Huairu, if you don't leave, I'll call security."

"I will still come back."

Qin Huairu turned and left the villa area.

Actually she still wanted to linger there and not leave, but out of the corner of her eye she saw security personnel approaching nearby, and instantly felt guilty.

Striding forward.

Walking toward the Siheyuan with a heart full of thoughts.

Heavy-hearted.

He Yushui didn't intervene in Shazhu's funeral arrangements; the Jia family wanted to make a big fuss, using the opportunity to silence certain people, and this expense effectively fell on the Jia family members' heads.

Qin Huairu didn't want to spend a single cent.

She also wanted to gain a good reputation.

He Yushui bore a grudge against her, and still hadn't obtained Lou Xiaoe's contact information; inside the Siheyuan, the hypocrite Yi Zhonghai was still eyeing the Jia family covetously, scheming against them.

Troublesome.

Walking along.

While considering the problem.

Until a shout of 'Qin Huairu' rang in Qin Huairu's ears, her wandering soul only then returned to her body, and she looked in the direction the sound came from.

The figure that came into view caused Qin Huairu's pupils to dilate considerably.

Thus: Thus: Mahua!

Shazhu's disciple.

He was not far from Qin Huairu, looking at her with a grim face.

Qin Huairu clearly knows who is loyal to Shazhu and who ignores him.

The fat ones, regarding Shazhu, are only thinking of using him; once they have enough profit, they will betray Shazhu without a second thought.

But Thus: Thus: Mahua is different; this kid entered the Yagangchang factory, making a living under Shazhu, facing danger, being bullied, and his family could barely put food on the table.

Thus: Thus: Mahua didn't say anything, but Shazhu helped arrange it and even paid to send Thus: Thus: Mahua's sick mother, sister, and younger sister to the hospital; if it hadn't been done in time, if the money hadn't been paid in time, Thus: Thus: Mahua would likely have lost his mother, his sister, and his younger sister, becoming a true lone soul.

Thus: Thus: Mahua's loyalty to Shazhu is two hundred percent; back when Qin Huairu was serving meals, Thus: Thus: Mahua often gave her convenience.

She also knew Thus: Thus: Mahua's intention.

At that time, she told Liu Lan about Shazhu's death, hoping to use Liu Lan's mouth to spread the news, block Thus: Thus: Mahua's path, and thus feel somewhat relieved.

Her eyes rolled.

She stepped forward toward Thus: Thus: Mahua.

"Thus: Thus: Mahua, you've come; looking at your expression, you surely know what happened. Your master Shazhu, he, he, left—he abandoned me, Qin Huairu, and left."

She wiped her tears.

She looked at Thus: Thus: Mahua with tears welling up.

"I just went to look for He Yushui, thinking that since Shazhu is dead, the matters between him and Yushui would also disappear with his death; I, Qin Huairu, will handle Shazhu's aftermath, but some things Yushui also needs to handle—after all, Bangeng is not Shazhu's biological son; the matter of breaking the fire basin requires a biological son, and Shazhu has his own biological son, Hexiao; you know this too—without Hexiao breaking the basin, if someone else does it, can Shazhu close his eyes in peace below?"

Thus: Thus: Mahua furrowed his brows.

He felt Qin Huairu was disgusting.

He was one of the few who witnessed Qin Huairu and Xu Daming sneaking into the warehouse, and afterward he even put a feces-filled basin on Xu Daming's head; he felt this woman was truly vicious—was she treating herself as Shazhu?