Chapter 662: He Daqing Meets Yi Zhonghai

As soon as Jia Zhangshi heard Qin Huairu ask her for money, asking for the money from the last time He Yushui bought a house, the depression in her heart suddenly surged up.

Her gaze fell on Qin Huairu, always feeling that Qin Huairu's visit to He Yushui was a pretense, and that she was really using the opportunity to ask for money.

This is a big matter involving several thousand yuan.

Give it away.

Feeling reluctant.

Jia Zhangshi's mouth unconsciously pouted, and she looked at Qin Huairu with a displeased expression.

"Huairu, must you really use this excuse? According to my old lady's opinion, let's change to another excuse, like catching up—yes, just catching up—you are Shazhu's wife, she is Shazhu's sister, you are aunt-in-law and niece-in-law; an aunt visiting her niece to catch up—isn't that a good idea?"

"Don't you know whether He Yushui's relationship with our family is strained?" Qin Huairu said to Jia Zhangshi in an annoyed tone: "Don't you know what He Yushui thinks of our Jia family?"

It's already burning our buttocks.

Still feeling reluctant about the money.

Just now, repeatedly urging Qin Huairu, saying that the Jia family was at its most dangerous moment, and letting Qin Huairu step forward to resolve the problem.

Qin Huairu came up with a plan.

But then she felt reluctant about the money.

"I know He Yushui doesn't like our Jia family, but I just feel uncomfortable—why should the money from selling our house be given back to He Yushui?"

"It's not giving money to He Yushui, but using the pretense of giving money to probe her intentions." Qin Huairu looked at Jia Zhangshi: "They have millions in the bank; do they lack our few thousand from selling the house? Would they even care about our few thousand?"

The conversation shifted.

She spoke the blunt truth.

"If these few thousand really go into He Yushui's hands, I, Qin Huairu, would actually be secretly happy—our family would then have the good days where whatever we want we can have."

Her tone softened.

A helpless expression appeared on Qin Huairu's face.

"Too bad, they don't want it, so there's no chance to scheme against He Yushui."

Hearing Qin Huairu say that,

Jia Zhangshi felt the widow's words made sense.

She turned around, took a small bundle wrapped in a handkerchief from the drawer beside her, opened the outer cloth in front of Qin Huairu, and revealed the money inside.

Qin Huairu sighed that this was like taking off pants to fart—unnecessary.

If she had known the money was placed here, she wouldn't have complained to Jia Zhangshi; she would have just taken it, saving all this talk.

She reached her hand toward Jia Zhangshi.

When Jia Zhangshi had handed over half the money, she suddenly took it back, looking at Qin Huairu with an expression fearing that Qin Huairu might go back on her word.

"You won't not give me this money, will you?"

"If He Yushui doesn't want it, I guarantee to give you back every penny, okay?"

"You guarantee nothing will happen on the way, like losing the money or running into a thief." The uneasy Jia Zhangshi said to Qin Huairu: "Don't try to fool me with the lie that He Yushui doesn't want the money."

"If you don't give the money, then don't; I won't go look for He Yushui either." Qin Huairu got angry and snapped: "Whether the Jia family prospers or fails, it's up to you! Besides, this Jia family isn't mine, Qin Huairu's—I'm an outsider too!"

Seeing Qin Huairu angry, Jia Zhangshi hastily handed over the money in her hand, with no more hesitation.

Qin Huairu glanced at Jia Zhangshi, didn't take the money, and asked back.

"Aren't you afraid I'll pocket this money?"

"Huairu, why are you still picking on Mom's mistakes? Mom was wrong, Mom is old and muddled." Jia Zhangshi admitted her fault: "Take this money and hurry to find He Yushui."

Qin Huairu gave a cold snort, took the money, and put it inside the small bundle.

Jia Zhangshi worried about encountering an accident on the way.

She gave a reminder, telling Qin Huairu not to be afraid to spend money, to hire a car.

……

After He Daqing left the siheyuan.

His mind occasionally flashed with Qin Huairu's cheeks; as an expert in widows, he knew exactly what that face signified.

No wonder Shazhu threw himself into the widow's gentle trap and couldn't get out, dead or alive.

This widow is poisonous.

Moreover, there's also the old widow Jia Zhangshi beside her.

He Daqing could guess roughly with his toes: it was nothing more than the Jia family widows using some scheme to calculate Shazhu—one putting on a red face, the other a white face; Jia Zhangshi played the wicked mother-in-law to manipulate Qin Huairu, Qin Huairu played the pitiful one to act helpless, and with Yi Zhonghai this trash acting as a strategist, Shazhu couldn't escape the calculation.

"Ay!"

A heavy sigh.

It flew out from He Daqing's mouth.

His body also became stooped; his originally aged cheeks now looked even more like the appearance of someone in their final years.

Just now, seeing Qin Huairu's spirit supporting He Daqing, after meeting Qin Huairu and understanding why Shazhu was schemed against, the anguish of an elderly parent sending off a black-haired child rose in He Daqing's heart—although he had abandoned his son and daughter for the widow's sake, Shazhu was after all his son.

This kind of anguish, probably only Jia Zhangshi could feel.

Walking with heavy steps, mechanically moving forward, without purpose, not knowing where to go, just wanting to walk.

Not knowing how long he had walked, or perhaps he was tired.

He Daqing plopped down on the nearby steps, staring blankly at the passersby, his mind recalling Shazhu and Yushui.

It didn't seem fake.

Just as he was lost in thought, an old voice sounded in He Daqing's ear.

"Comrade, do you want the scrap of paper under your butt? If not, give it to me! We are the civilized capital—what does it look like to have trash flying everywhere? Give it to me, I'll toss the paper into the trash can, saving you the trouble."

He Daqing then felt the voice somewhat familiar, as if he had heard it somewhere before; he turned his head in the direction the voice came from.

His gaze first fell on the speaker's face.

Their eyes met.

They were all a bit dumbfounded.

An acquaintance.

He Daqing saw Yi Zhonghai, Yi Zhonghai saw He Daqing; neither had expected to see the other at this time, and for a moment both were shocked.

Yi Zhonghai probably felt embarrassed, appearing in this disheveled state before He Daqing, and didn't even notice the paper under He Daqing's buttocks; he turned to leave, but He Daqing shouted to stop him.

"Are you Yi Zhonghai?"

"I'm not Yi Zhonghai." Yi Zhonghai, subconsciously unwilling to admit it, flatly denied, refusing to acknowledge that he was Yi Zhonghai, "You've mistaken the person."

He was about to step away.

He Daqing wouldn't let Yi Zhonghai just leave like that.

Some things, I need to ask Yi Zhonghai: why did he collude with Qin Huairu to scheme against his son? Even if it was for old-age support, he shouldn't have plotted his son's death.

A pair of hands.

He grabbed Yi Zhonghai's arm firmly.

"I won't mistake the person; you are Yi Zhonghai."

"I'm not Yi Zhonghai; you've mistaken the person."

"Yi Zhonghai, you're also a prominent figure in the Siheyuan, so why are you acting like a rat crossing the street?" He Daqing mocked Yi Zhonghai, "Could it be that you've done too many wicked deeds?"

Yi Zhonghai said nothing, vigorously shook off He Daqing's grip on his arm, and ran off into the distance.

He Daqing watched Yi Zhonghai's swiftly fleeing figure, snorted a few times, and did not step forward to pursue.

You can outrun the monk, but not the temple.

Yi Zhonghai, you can't escape.

……

Qin Huairu, dragging her weary body.

After entering the door.

Seeing Jia Zhangshi stride toward her, she knew what Jia Zhangshi had in mind.

Nothing but money.

Without a word, she threw all the money Jia Zhangshi had given her back at Jia Zhangshi, not missing a cent, and then flopped onto the recliner with a grim face.

Looking at the money in her hand, Jia Zhangshi's heart instantly filled with conflict.

It was both joy and worry: joy that the money had been given to her in full, worry at the expression on Qin Huairu's face.

Not stupid.

Not blind either.

At a glance, from Qin Huairu's utterly exhausted demeanor, she sensed a hint; she guessed that this visit to He Yushui to sound him out would likely yield nothing, and she might even endure his sharp retort, otherwise Qin Huairu wouldn't be in such a state.

Jia Zhangshi picked up the thermos, poured some tea for Qin Huairu, then casually shoved the large kettle of boiling water, which she lightly pushed in front of Qin Huairu.

"I don't want to drink water."

"Huairu, what do you want to eat? I'll make it for you."

"I want to eat dragon meat from heaven; do you have any?"

As she uttered the three words "do you have any," Qin Huairu, who had been lounging lazily on the stool, suddenly sat up straight, her eyes staring fixedly at Jia Zhangshi.

Something inadequate for success but excessive for failure.

Her talk with He Yushui had been going well, but because Jia Zhangshi caused a disturbance, Qin Huairu ended up being thrown out of He Yushui's home.

Jia Zhangshi was scolded by Qin Huairu with a few sharp remarks; although she smiled on the surface, inside she cursed Qin Huairu's ancestors eight generations back.

"There's no dragon meat from heaven; how about eating phoenix meat that flies? You've gained nothing, Huairu—He Yushui gave you grief, what does that have to do with me, your mother-in-law?"

The corner of Qin Huairu's eye.

She caught a glimpse of Jia Zhangshi's face.

She said nothing.

She again sprawled her body on the recliner.

But in her mind she was thinking about how to face He Daqing's appearance.

Those who come are not kind.

The kind do not come.

He Daqing came with anger.

This matter she could only consider long-term.

Qin Huairu believed she had not done anything wrong.

People do not act for themselves without heavenly condemnation; as a widow of the Jia family, scheming against Shazhu for the Jia family's benefit—is that wrong?

No wrong.

What does this have to do with me? If He Daqing hadn't run off with the widow, I wouldn't have gone to conspire with Yi Zhonghai to scheme against Shazhu.

She didn't want those people to get their wish; He Daqing moving against the Jia family would only let Yi Zhonghai see a joke.

She schemed this way.

She schemed that way.

This matter truly has no room for reversal.

……

Under the cover of night, He Daqing standing opposite He Yushui did not see the self-mocking hue on He Yushui's face.

The atmosphere on site was not good.

An inexplicable embarrassment.

Both sides hesitated for a moment, but in the end it was He Daqing who brought up the topic.

"Yushui, I know you hate me. I left for all these years, ignoring you, so it's normal for you to hate me. But some things really aren't what you think; Father has his difficulties."

"Difficulties?" He Yushui chuckled and retorted, "Is it the difficulty of living with the widow? Or the difficulty of abandoning your sixteen-year-old son and six-year-old daughter?"

"Yushui."

"I believe you left me and followed that woman to Baocheng with Shazhu out of unavoidable difficulties; can you tell me now? I'm getting old, and Shazhu is dead—I want to know, and I think Shazhu would want to know too."

He Yushui's bright, piercing gaze fell upon He Daqing.

She had imagined He Daqing appearing before her and made some mental preparations, but when he actually showed up, He Yushui's heart still welled up with strong resentment.

She had never forgotten the scene of her following Shazhu to Baocheng to find He Daqing, only to be turned away at the door by the White Widow.

At that time, He Yushui felt as if the sky had collapsed and the earth had sunk, that no one loved her anymore.

She especially wanted to know what had happened back then, why He Daqing had abandoned his six-year-old daughter without a care—was it favoritism toward sons over daughters?

To know, in some people's eyes,

He Daqing is nothing but a Chen Shimei who abandons wife and children!

Some neighbors who knew He Yushui's situation were all cursing He Daqing.

They said He Daqing was unworthy to be He Yushui's father, bluntly stating that her fate was miserable—she encountered a father who liked the widow and was abandoned, then encountered a brother who liked the widow and was discarded.

"Yushui, this matter... it, it." He Daqing suddenly became hesitant, shifting the topic: "Can you tell me about your brother? The past is past, let's not mention it; seeing that you're doing well puts my mind at ease, so I just want to know about your brother."

"Your brother's affairs—you already know everything, don't you?" He Yushui looked at He Daqing and said, "He's just like you, also fond of the widow, ignoring everything for her, disregarding his own unmarried status, openly supporting the widow. Many people are saying that Shazhu set up house with Qin Huairu, later they married, and afterward Shazhu died."

He Daqing took a step back.

Staring with an incredulous gaze.

Gazing straight at He Yushui.

Everyone was dumbfounded.

Although he already knew some of these things, hearing them from He Yushui's mouth still gave He Daqing the greatest shock.

"Are you feeling bad now? What were you doing all those years? Shazhu died, you came back, and when Shazhu needed your guidance, you were off feasting with the widow." He Yushui's emotions flared: "Do you know, do you know, that Shazhu was an apprentice in the canteen for two years? Do you know that to support me he went scavenging trash for grain, until he became a regular worker, and only then did we have days of enough to eat."

The following few words.

They highlighted He Yushui's resentment.

"Shazhu was an apprentice for two years? He scavenged trash to support you?"

The shock on He Daqing's face.

Visible to the naked eye.

He suddenly realized He Yushui wouldn't lie to him, so the only person who could have done this dirty deed was Yi Zhonghai—Yi Zhonghai must have been the one who intercepted things.

Had I known this earlier, when I saw Yi Zhonghai today I should have given him a few big slaps.

Really a motherf***ing bastard.

Not something a person would do.

How could he, Yi Zhonghai, do such a thing?

He deserves to have his line cut off, such a thing.