Chapter 149

"Zhuzi, the Yan Bugui family is bullying us too much..." Qin Huairu came into He Yuzhu's room and started crying about her misery.

"I know. I'll deal with Yan Bugui; you'll know tomorrow. By the way, Jingru and Yushui hit it off, so Jingru is staying at Yushui's place tonight."

"Sister Qin, you're really something. If I'm not mistaken, Jingru is a year or two younger than Yushui," He Yuzhu said.

"Sigh, what's the big deal? Jingru is already sixteen. In our countryside, she could have been married long ago; let alone sixteen, in the past, she could have been married at fourteen. By the way, how did your date with Jingru go?" Qin Huairu asked, somewhat nervously.

As this was a major event involving the well-being of the Qin Huairu family, how could she not be nervous?

"Sister Qin, I remember you at least attended a literacy class, right? Things like this start at three years," He Yuzhu said calmly.

Qin Huairu was instantly dumbfounded, because she really didn't know about this law. In Qin Huairu's view, as long as one was sixteen, they could get married.

Besides, what Qin Huairu wanted was to suck He Yuzhu's blood, not to send him to prison.

"Zhuzi, don't joke," Qin Huairu said.

"I'm not joking. If you don't believe me, go ask the Women's Federation at our factory," He Yuzhu said frankly.

"Oh, oh, Zhuzi, you remembered wrong. Jingru isn't ten... Jingru, if you don't believe it, go make a call to our village tomorrow and ask," Qin Huairu said.

"Forget it, let's talk about this later," He Yuzhu said with an indifferent look.

Qin Huairu's heart skipped a beat, thinking He Yuzhu didn't like Qin Jingru, so she looked at Qin Jingru.

However, Qin Jingru remembered He Yuzhu's words and completely ignored Qin Huairu, laughing and playing with He Yushui there.

Qin Jingru was naturally younger than He Yushui, so the two had a common language, and He Yushui knew Qin Jingru was her future sister-in-law, so she naturally didn't reject her.

"This dead girl really has no sense of the situation," Qin Huairu couldn't help but think to herself with a dark face.

Qin Huairu saw He Yuzhu's intention to see her out and originally wanted to turn and leave, but suddenly, she thought of the malted milk extract in He Yuzhu's hands, and her heart stirred.

"Zhuzi, Bang Geng is at the age where he's growing, and my family is poor, so Bang Geng is crying from hunger every day. Can you give me some malted milk extract? Even if we can't eat meat, drinking some malted milk extract would be good," Qin Huairu said.

"I gave the malted milk extract to Hu Ya Mei. When we were coming back from eating, we ran into Hu Ya Mei's mother carrying her to the hospital. As soon as I saw Hu Ya Mei's little face, I knew it was caused by long-term nutritional deficiency."

"I wanted to give the duck frame to her mother so she could make soup for Hu Ya Mei to drink and supplement her nutrition, but thinking the duck frame was for you, I gave the malted milk extract to Hu Ya Mei instead. As it turned out, I didn't expect the duck frame to be snatched away by San Dama."

"If it had been Yan Bugui who snatched it, I would have slapped him long ago. But since it was San Dama, I can't exactly slap her."

"Don't worry, I've already figured out how to deal with the Yan Bugui family. Damn it, they actually dared to bully me! I swear, if I don't take revenge, I, He Yuzhu, am not a man!" He Yuzhu said with a look of fury, and while Qin Huairu wasn't paying attention, he gave He Yushui a look.

"Who is Hu Ya Mei?" Qin Huairu asked, dumbfounded.

"Hu Ya Mei is the nickname my brother gave my classmate Zhang Shuqin. She has a pair of tiger teeth, so my brother gave her that nickname. Sister Qin, my brother did indeed give the malted milk extract to Hu Ya Mei just now—bah, bah, I mean Zhang Shuqin."

"Speaking of which, it's strange. At that time, Hu Ya... Zhang Shuqin's face was as white as a dead person's, and she was almost gone. My brother directly pried open Zhang Shuqin's mouth and poured in some malted milk extract. After Zhang Shuqin swallowed it, her face had some color in a little while," He Yushui cooperated and said.

"That's called hypoglycemia, caused by malnutrition. Malted milk extract contains sugar, so it naturally relieves Hu Ya Mei's symptoms. Actually, malted milk extract is better when soaked in water to fully bring out its nutrition, but unfortunately, there wasn't even water at the time, so Hu Ya Mei had to eat it dry," He Yuzhu said.

"Brother, stop calling her Hu Ya Mei. I've learned from you; Zhang Shuqin said if I call her Hu Ya Mei again, she'll open her mouth and bite me with her tiger teeth, hahahaha..." He Yushui couldn't help but laugh when she thought of this situation.

Qin Huairu couldn't tell if what He Yuzhu said was true or false, so she couldn't help but look at Qin Jingru. Qin Jingru was caught in the act and had no choice but to nod in cooperation.

Qin Huairu left helplessly.

"Brother Zhuzi, I just paid attention to Qin Huairu," Qin Jingru said with a mournful face.

"It's fine. After we get the certificate, you can find a time to make things clear with Qin Huairu," He Yuzhu said.

Qin Jingru instantly breathed a sigh of relief.

"Yushui, take this bottle of malted milk extract to Hu Ya Mei and get your stories straight with her," He Yuzhu said, pretending to go into the inner room, and after coming out, he took the previously opened bottle of malted milk extract.

"Brother, is that necessary? Wouldn't it be a waste to give such good stuff to Hu Ya Mei?" He Yushui said reluctantly.

"You call her Hu Ya Mei; aren't you afraid she'll bite you? Alright, just consider it an apology for calling her Hu Ya Mei. From now on, our family won't drink malted milk extract; we'll drink milk powder," He Yuzhu said, then went into the inner room again, and when he came out, he had two cans of milk powder in his hands.

This was something He Yuzhu had gotten from Lou Bancheng's house, and it was even a foreign brand.

He Yushui and Qin Jingru instantly widened their eyes and looked at He Yuzhu in disbelief.

He Yushui closed the door with a "whoosh" and bolted it.

"Brother, where did you get this? This is good stuff, and it's foreign," He Yushui said, grabbing a can of milk powder and hugging it tightly.

"Factory Director Li Huaide gave it to me. This thing is a rarity for us, but for them, what's the difference between this and cornmeal?" He Yuzhu said.

He Yushui and Qin Jingru were instantly fooled. If Li Huaide were there, he would definitely say He Yuzhu was talking nonsense; this thing was a rarity for him too.

"This can is a bit too eye-catching. I'll go find a jar, wash it clean, and pour the milk powder into it. Yushui, you go to Hu Ya Mei's first," He Yuzhu said, taking the milk powder from He Yushui's arms.

"Okay, I'll go find Hu Ya Mei now," He Yushui said, taking the malted milk extract, tucking it into her arms, and running out of the courtyard.

He Yuzhu first put away the milk powder, then found two small jars and let Qin Jingru go wash them clean.

Qin Jingru happily took the jars and washed them with delight. In Qin Jingru's view, this meant He Yuzhu didn't treat her as an outsider.

After Qin Jingru finished washing the jars and took them home, she placed them on the table to let them dry.

Before long, He Yushui returned. He Yuzhu took out a can of milk powder and scooped two spoonfuls for each of them, letting them mix it with water to drink.

"Tomorrow morning, the jars should be dry. I'll pour the milk powder into them then. It's summer now, so milk powder doesn't last long. You two drink it up as soon as possible to avoid it going bad, you know?" He Yuzhu said.

"We know," He Yushui and Qin Jingru nodded repeatedly.

After He Yuzhu waited for them to finish drinking the milk powder, he sent them off to sleep.

Early the next morning, He Yuzhu got up early. After washing up, He Yuzhu didn't cook; he directly boiled six eggs and then called He Yushui and Qin Jingru to get up.

After the two got up, He Yuzhu let them each have two eggs and a bowl of milk.

He Yuzhu saw He Yushui and Qin Jingru carefully digging out one spoonful of milk powder and then stopping, so he frowned. At this rate, the milk powder would go bad before they even drank half of it.

"No need to save it. When the milk powder is gone, just ask Li Huaide for more. You can't finish it, you really can't finish it! From now on, drink it like this. Remember, you must finish it all before the milk powder goes bad," He Yuzhu said, then dug three big spoonfuls for each of them.

Although He Yushui and Qin Jingru felt a pang of heartache, they could only nod repeatedly.

After the three were full, He Yuzhu didn't go to work, but took He Yushui and Qin Jingru straight to Wangfujing.

As soon as He Yuzhu arrived at Wangfujing, he started his crazy shopping mode, buying, buying, buying. He bought two of everything—one for He Yushui and one for Qin Jingru.

Dresses, sturdy and beautiful leather shoes, Hundred Birds Cream skincare, etc. —he bought everything that needed to be bought. Afterward, He Yuzhu took He Yushui and Qin Jingru to a trust store and bought them each a second-hand women's watch. Although these two women's watches were second-hand, after He Yuzhu put them into his consciousness space for disassembly, reorganization, and polishing, they were almost like new.

Qin Jingru felt like she was dreaming. She wouldn't even dare to imagine such a life. Qin Jingru pinched her arm several times, fearing this was a dream, but she didn't expect it to be happening for real.

Qin Jingru had already decided to follow He Yuzhu wholeheartedly.

By noon, He Yuzhu took He Yushui and Qin Jingru to Donglaishun and had a wonderful meal of mutton hot pot.

After Qin Jingru was full, He Yuzhu sent her to the station and stuffed twenty yuan of pocket money and some grain coupons into her hands. With the capabilities of Qin Jingru's parents, they had plenty of ways to exchange grain coupons for grain.

Qin Jingru sat on the bus all the way back to Qin Family Village with a silly smile. Although she was smiling, she also knew the principle of not showing off wealth, so she didn't change into her new clothes but wore her old ones.

Qin Jingru also hid the money and grain coupons securely and hugged the sack tightly; the sack was filled with clothes and such that He Yuzhu had bought for her.

At the same time, Qin Jingru also covered her wrist tightly, fearing that the watch would be exposed and make people greedy.

After Qin Jingru got off the bus and reached the territory of Qin Family Village, she felt relieved, then changed into her new clothes and new leather shoes, and walked into the village carrying the sack generously, occasionally shaking her wrist to check the time, looking extremely smug.

Qin Jingru's return immediately attracted the onlookers of the Qin Family Village.

No other reason—when Qin Jingru went to the city yesterday, she was dressed like a country bumpkin, but today, upon returning, she was in a dress and wearing small leather shoes, immediately looking like a city person.

Especially when Qin Jingru showed off her shiny watch, it caused the onlookers to gasp in unison.

Looking at the entire Qin Family Village, only the Village Secretary had a watch, and it was that kind of old-fashioned pocket watch.

Qin Jingru walked home triumphantly, looking much more glorious than when Qin Huairu returned to the village in the past.

As soon as Qin Jingru returned home, she took out the money and coupons she had hidden on her body, then put the money away.

"This is the pocket money Brother Zhuzi gave me," Qin Jingru said, then told them about her blind date experience.

"Mom, Dad, hurry up and find the Village Secretary to get an introduction letter, and change my age. I'm going to register with Brother Zhuzi tomorrow. Also, I've decided to cut ties with Qin Huairu and never see her again. As for you, whether you cut ties with Qin Huairu's parents or not, Brother Zhuzi didn't say," Qin Jingru said very frankly, occasionally fiddling with the watch on her wrist.

Qin Jingru's parents looked at each other, wanting to ask if Qin Jingru had met a swindler, but after thinking about it carefully, this was simply impossible. Just the things in front of them were enough to buy Qin Jingru eight times over.

"Jingru, why does your blind date partner want you to cut ties with Qin Huairu and never see her again?" Qin Jingru's mother asked cautiously.

"Sigh, it's because that Qin Huairu is just not a good person..." Qin Jingru started rambling; these were all things He Yushui had told her.

He Yushui would definitely have her own personal emotions when saying these things. Originally, Qin Huairu's behavior wasn't good enough, and now it was even worse.

"To put it plainly, Brother Zhuzi is afraid—afraid that Qin Huairu will shamelessly cling on and ask for this and that. Dad, Mom, think about it: if someone relied on this kind of kinship and came to you every day asking for this and that, as if you owed them, would you be annoyed?" Qin Jingru said irritably.

"So that child Huairu is that kind of person. We thought she was living so well in the city," Qin Jingru's mother said disdainfully.

"Fine, if you want to cut ties, then cut ties. They're distant relatives anyway. This is only because we're in the same village; if we weren't, it's another matter whether this kinship counts or not."

"I'll go find the Village Secretary to get you an introduction letter and change your age by the way," Qin Jingru's father said, then started rummaging through the cupboard, preparing to take out his treasured cigarettes to find the Village Secretary.

"Dad, stop looking. Take these two boxes of cigarettes. This is an internal special supply, specifically for those high-level leaders to smoke; you can't buy it on the market at all."

"Don't think Brother Zhuzi is stingy. Brother Zhuzi has less than two cartons in total, so he can only give you six boxes; the rest are for the wedding banquet," Qin Jingru said, taking two boxes of internal special supply cigarettes out of the sack.

Needless to say, this was also given to Qin Jingru by He Yuzhu.

Qin Jingru decided that after registering, she would give birth to ten or eight children for He Yuzhu to repay him.

"Hiss~" Qin Jingru's father sucked in a cold breath. If nothing else, just looking at the packaging, he knew these cigarettes were worth a fortune.

"How high-ranking must a leader be to smoke these cigarettes?" Qin Jingru's father asked subconsciously.

"Brother Zhuzi said their Factory Director smokes them. Their Factory Director is a bureau-level leader. If it were in the past, it would be the kind of high official who could smoke these. I heard that those big leaders above, especially that one, all smoke these," Qin Jingru said in a mysterious and extremely exaggerated way.

"Hiss~" Qin Jingru's father sucked in a cold breath again and hurriedly hid the cigarettes, leaving only one box in his hand.

"You don't need two boxes for that little matter. Giving the Village Secretary two cigarettes is enough. I'll go get you the introduction letter right now," Qin Jingru's father said without hesitation, no longer having any doubts in his heart.

The reason Qin Jingru's parents had no more doubts was because He Yuzhu gave too much. In their perception, Qin Jingru simply wasn't worth that much money, not to mention that He Yuzhu also promised a dowry of one hundred yuan and would give Qin Jingru a job position after they got married.

Giving so much, let alone marrying Qin Jingru home as a wife openly, it wouldn't even be a loss if she were a concubine.

Qin Jingru's father took the cigarettes and went to the brigade headquarters, giving one cigarette each to the Village Secretary, the Village Chief, and the Security Director. As soon as these cigarettes appeared, they shocked the three of them.

They were all old smokers and had some knowledge. Although they couldn't see the true value of these cigarettes, they could see that these weren't cigarettes that ordinary people could afford to smoke.

Qin Jingru's father repeated what Qin Jingru had said about the cigarettes, and the three were even more shocked beyond measure.

The Village Secretary and the others couldn't bear to smoke these cigarettes, so they hurriedly tucked them behind their ears, took out their own rolled cigarettes to give to Qin Jingru's father, and then started smoking.

Qin Jingru's father happily gave each of them another cigarette and stated his request.

"What's the big deal? Isn't it just changing your age and getting an introduction letter? I'll change it for you right now and write you the letter," the Village Secretary said without hesitation, then immediately went through the series of procedures for Qin Jingru's father, including the introduction letter and changing her age.

Qin Jingru's father happily left with this series of documents.

"Jingru found a good family. Just now, my boy told me that the guy even bought Jingru a women's watch, shiny and bright. I've lived for most of my life and haven't even gotten a watch, though we do have a wall clock at home," the Village Chief said with a sour tone.

"Sigh, I have an old pocket watch that's falling apart. It's a pity my daughters are either married or too young, otherwise I would have let my daughter go on a blind date too," the Village Secretary said with envy.

"Alright, stop being envious. Who told Jingru to be so pretty? In a few days, when they hold the banquet, we'll know what kind of sacred person Jingru's partner is," the Security Director said.

"Need you say? The other party must be a leader, otherwise, how could he get these cigarettes? I've only heard of these cigarettes, but now I've actually seen them. I'll have something to brag about in the future," the Village Chief laughed.

"This is a good thing. Maybe we can ask them for help in the future. Jingru is really lucky, flying onto a branch to become a phoenix. She's much better than Huairu from the third family," the Village Secretary said.

After Qin Jingru's father took the series of documents home, he handed them to Qin Jingru. Qin Jingru carefully put them away, preparing to go to the city early tomorrow morning to register with He Yuzhu.

After He Yuzhu sent Qin Jingru away, he first sent He Yushui home, then went to the Rolling Mill.

After arriving at the Rolling Mill, He Yuzhu first apologized to Workshop Director Niu Fen, since he hadn't asked for leave in advance.

Niu Fen didn't care; after all, Ma Hua, Liu Lan, and Pangzi had already finished their apprenticeship, and there was no problem with them cooking the big-pot meals. As long as He Yuzhu didn't delay cooking the special meals, Niu Fen just had He Yuzhu fill out a leave request form, and that was that.

Afterward, He Yuzhu went to find Li Huaide again.

"Factory Director Li, I want to ask you for a favor," He Yuzhu said very straightforwardly, then pushed a bulging file bag in front of Li Huaide.

(End of chapter)