Chapter 25

He Yuzhu, as soon as he returned, received praise from the factory director, and his relations with the workers became harmonious; even those in the canteen who were dissatisfied with He Yuzhu could not help but admire his skill.

The artificial boiled meat had not a scrap left, so He Yuzhu could only return home with an empty lunch box.

By the pond in the central courtyard, Qin Huairu continued to scrub her family's two ragged garments; seeing He Yuzhu return, she stared at his lunch box for a while, as if she had something to say.

"Zhuzi, Zhuzi." Qin Huairu called He Yuzhu twice; seeing he ignored her, she hurried over and said, "I went back to my parents' home a couple of days ago and brought you something."

Qin Huairu fished out two clean, washed radishes from the pond and said, "You like tea; eating some radish is extremely good for the body, as the saying goes, 'Eat radish, drink hot tea, and doctors will be crawling in the streets.'"

He Yuzhu had no intention of accepting anything; after finally breaking off the relationship, he couldn't let it be rekindled over two radishes.

"You'd better keep them for yourselves; if I ate them, I reckon someone in your house would be unable to vent their anger." He Yuzhu smiled, "I didn't bring anything to eat today, so you shouldn't have any expectations."

He Yuzhu glanced at the Jia family's window, then promptly went home and shut the door.

Turning his head to look at the window, he saw Jia Zhangshi's plump face pressed tightly against it, her eyes seeming to spit fire as she stared straight at the radishes.

Immediately that big face disappeared, and a round figure darted out from inside, shouting, "After all the trouble to get two radishes, you bring them out to show off and give them to that heartless person—are you sick in the head?"

Qin Huairu felt helpless; she had only wanted to ease the relationship, but alas, with such a mother-in-law, nothing could get done.

"Did he promise to keep sending us things, or is he supposed to compensate for the lost Bang Geng?" Jia Zhangshi shook her head, "Either way we can't give it to him; we'd rather let him starve."

"Get lost—if you don't scold me for a day, do you feel comfortable?"

Qin Huairu also ignored Jia Zhangshi and continued washing her clothes.

After reading a bit at home, it was already late; He Yuzhu also planned to eat boiled meat today, but not the artificial kind—rather, genuine pork belly as waist meat.

After a procedure similar to noon's, the courtyard house filled with a spicy, numbing aroma.

The Steel Rolling Mill workers who had eaten in the canteen, upon smelling this aroma, instantly recalled the noon delicacy, and saliva unconsciously began to secrete.

"This is that whatever meat you ate at noon." The Jia family, being nearby, found the smell very strong; "What exactly is the flavor? It smells delicious—can't you, Shuzi, send us some? Reciprocity, after all."

Qin Huairu's radishes hadn't even been sent out yet, but Jia Zhangshi was already thinking about reciprocity; if He Yuzhu accepted the radishes, Jia Zhangshi would likely rush over to seize the pot.

Qin Huairu also understood this principle, and Yi Daye had explained it to her as well: He Yuzhu is now a growing tree, and we shouldn't rush to tie ourselves to him.

Wait until he truly makes it big—then how would we pull strings?

"Maybe it's fine if he doesn't take the radishes; I'll send him another gift later, and this time he'll find it hard to refuse." Qin Huairu gazed at He Yuzhu's house, her eyes full of greed.

All of this should be mine!

Upon hearing this, Jia Zhangshi's smile vanished instantly; she hurriedly looked around to see what Qin Huairu intended to send out of the house, for these things were her heart and liver.

Lose even one item, and she would suffer for days.

Qin Huairu looked at her mother-in-law's deadpan expression, sighed and shook her head; this household was clearly heading toward utter destitution, and those ragged bits, if given away, would just be trash.

Ignoring Jia Zhangshi's antics at home, Qin Huairu tidied her clothes and headed for He Yuzhu's house; if she could deliver this gift, the two families' ties would be firmly bound thereafter.

He Yuzhu was happily eating at home, having already consumed two fist-sized steamed buns, but he felt his mood was good and could eat two more.

"Zhuzi, you're eating at home." Qin Huairu pushed the door open with a beaming smile, "Now that you're a leader, life has improved a lot—white-flour buns with meat."

"If you can't speak properly, just shut up." He Yuzhu gestured for her to leave, "Pay attention—what's a young widow doing constantly running to a man's house? My wife would think too much if she knew."

Qin Huairu didn't move; she laughed twice and said, "He Yuzhu hasn't even brought home a wife yet, yet he acts as if he already has one, just like me."

"Zhuzi, older sister has thought for a long time; Character and you aren't suitable." Qin Huairu's expression was grave, "Haven't you figured it out yourself? She's an outstanding athlete—how could she end up with a cook?"

"You're not tall, you're not good-looking, and you're covered in grease spots—what could possibly attract anyone?"

He Yuzhu thought Qin Huairu was simply brainless; saying such things in front of people would ruin a perfectly good relationship, especially given the current state of their two families' ties.

Moreover, her motive needs no explanation—I know it's just to introduce Qin Jingru to me, that gold‑digging commodity; even if I had no wife, I wouldn't want her.

"You say such harsh things—am I really that bad?" He Yuzhu stared at her, "If Character knew this, she'd come back and wring your neck."

"There's nothing more to say between us—get out of here quickly."

Qin Huairu felt a pain in her chest from anger, yet she agreed with Yi Daye's theory: no matter what happens, she must maintain a connection with He Yuzhu.

"Never mind the rest—I really want to introduce you to a match; my cousin is quite a looker, you'd lose nothing by looking, and you might just take a liking to her."

He Yuzhu kicked her out with one foot, pointing and shouting, "You really have that much idle time? Better look after your own child, and stop hanging around with that morally corrupt Yi Zhonghai."

"You..."

"I forgot your son is also in the Juvenile Detention Center—you two really are a perfect match."

Qin Huairu returned home with a pout; Jia Zhangshi, completely clueless, came up and asked when they could eat that meat, saying she had saved her appetite especially for tonight.

"Eat, eat, eat—all you know is eating; when will you earn something back?" Qin Huairu pointed at Jia Zhangshi's nose and scolded, "It's because you eat so much that Bang Geng ended up in there, and you still have no shame—eat more and I'll kick you out."

Jia Zhangshi was scolded like that, yet she wasn't annoyed.

She has now developed a bit of immunity.

"What's the point of scolding me? If you're capable, go get something to eat instead of day‑dreaming all day, and stop ignoring your status as a young widow."

Jia Zhangshi muttered under her breath.