Chapter 454: Building a fish pond; rice grains larger than peanuts

"Don't speak yet. Why is there a smell of alcohol?"

"You've been drinking, haven't you?"

He Daqing stood up, walked over to Shazhu, and sniffed again, confirming that the smell he had just detected was indeed alcohol.

Shazhu nodded, his expression even more uneasy.

"You wouldn't buy alcohol to drink yourself. Someone invited you to drink."

"Who in our courtyard could invite you to drink?"

"Besides Yi Zhonghai, no one else. Were you drinking with Yi Zhonghai just now?"

He Daqing's eyes widened.

He stared coldly at Shazhu.

Shazhu nodded again.

Thump!

He Daqing kicked Shazhu to the ground.

"What did I tell you?"

"Why did I send you to the six-acre plot?"

"Your nickname is Shazhu, but you aren't actually stupid. Where is your brain?"

He Daqing was a bit exasperated.

He had tried every possible way to keep Shazhu away from Yi Zhonghai and the Deaf Old Lady, but Shazhu wouldn't listen and insisted on making contact with them.

"Forget it, I won't talk to you anymore."

"When children grow up, they don't listen to their parents."

"Go back and think about it carefully. If you still consider me your father, stay away from Yi Zhonghai and the Deaf Old Lady."

He Daqing felt a sense of powerlessness.

Why couldn't Shazhu understand his painstaking efforts?

He had worked so hard to raise Shazhu; could it be that it wasn't worth a few words of concern from outsiders?

"Xiaobai has always been telling me that she wants to be with me secretly, that she wants to live a proper life with me, and that it would be best to move to another place."

"I had always disagreed before, after all, I have Shazhu and Yushui."

"Shazhu has disappointed me too much."

"If I could have a child with Xiaobai and raise them properly, they would surely be a hundred times better than Shazhu."

"Yushui is a girl; she will eventually marry. Once she marries, she belongs to another family. Relying on her to provide for my old age isn't realistic."

Having just entered the new society.

People of He Daqing's age grew up in the old society, and it was inevitable that their thinking would contain traditional ideas from the old society.

He loved his daughter very much and felt sorry for Yushui; this didn't conflict with his preference for sons over daughters.

Preferring sons over daughters didn't necessarily mean abusing one's daughter.

"Dad..."

He Daqing had kicked him once and didn't continue hitting him, but his gaze gradually turned cold, making Shazhu feel guilty and uneasy!

He seemed to realize that something was slipping away from him.

"Dad, don't be angry."

He Yushui ran over and took He Daqing's hand.

"Good, my sweet daughter, you're the one who cares about Dad. Come, Dad will shell some melon seeds for you to eat."

He Daqing picked up He Yushui and ignored Shazhu.

In the corner.

Yi Zhonghai smiled.

When Shazhu left, he had quietly followed him.

He had guessed that He Daqing might punish Shazhu, and as he expected, Shazhu had been kicked, and He Daqing seemed very disappointed in him.

"If only He Daqing could abandon Shazhu!"

"Shazhu's personality is relatively straightforward and simple-minded; he is the easiest person to control, and he's a good fighter—a very qualified thug."

"I want to control the Sihe Academy, and I need such a thug."

"Sigh, the only pity is that Shazhu can't beat Wan Ping'an. If only he could beat Wan Ping'an."

Yi Zhonghai wasn't entirely satisfied with Shazhu's martial prowess.

Shazhu had great utility.

"The only downside is that the Old Lady thinks Shazhu is more suitable for providing for old age than Jia Dongxu and is more reliable, but He Daqing must be driven away first."

"In my opinion, Jia Dongxu is better than Shazhu."

Yi Zhonghai had made up his mind.

Let Jia Dongxu provide for his old age.

"Jia Dongxu wants a beautiful wife, and Jia Zhangshi wants one who is obedient and capable. A girl who has both is hard to find!"

Yi Zhonghai had a headache.

Finding a girl in the city who has a job and is even slightly good-looking—there's no way she would take a fancy to Jia Dongxu.

He could only work hard in the countryside.

Shazhu was depressed all night.

The next morning.

Shazhu got up early again, an hour earlier than everyone else, to go to the six-acre plot.

"Shazhu, why do you look so listless?"

"Didn't you sleep well?"

Cai Quanwu was even earlier than Shazhu. He lived at the six-acre plot; it used to be a thatched hut, but now it had been upgraded to a spacious room with a wooden structure.

He and Han Dahe both had their own independent rooms.

The two could keep each other company!

"I'm fine."

Shazhu shook his head.

He hadn't slept well last night.

On one hand, it was He Daqing's attitude toward him—cold, with reduced discipline, which made him feel vaguely uneasy.

On the other hand, it was the matter of stealing vegetables for the Deaf Old Lady.