Chapter 113: The He Siblings Learn the Truth

After He Yushui finished speaking, He Daqing gritted his teeth and shouted, "Yi Zhonghai!"

"Dad, what on earth is going on?" He Yushui asked curiously upon seeing He Daqing's state.

"Zhuzi, Yushui, starting from the second month after I left, I would send you ten yuan living expenses each month. During holidays or on Yushui's birthday, I would send even more." He Daqing said.

"Dad, is that true?" He Yushui asked.

"Why would I lie to you? I still have the receipts saved." He Daqing said, then turned and walked out. Not long after, he came back holding a thick stack of postal money order receipts.

"Dad, who did you send the money to?" He Yuzhu didn't look at the receipts in He Daqing's hand.

"Yi Zhonghai. I sent it to him, to pass it on to you." He Daqing handed the receipts to He Yushui.

He Yushui took the receipts and flipped through them one by one. As she looked, tears streamed down again. These aren't receipts at all. They clearly show He Daqing's concern and longing for his two children.

He Yushui finished looking at all the dozens of receipts, then nodded at He Yuzhu.

"Yushui, go call your second brother from the backyard." He Yuzhu said.

"Mm." He Yushui had already grown accustomed to He Yuzhu's way of doing things; whenever there was a major matter, he would always summon Li Qiang to discuss.

"Second brother, what's up?" Not long after, Li Qiang followed He Yushui inside. When He Yushui went to call him, he only said that He Yuzhu had something to discuss, without specifying what.

"Second brother, I only just learned that after Dad left, he has been sending money to me and Yushui every month, but it was all sent to Yi Zhonghai to forward to us, yet that old bastard didn't give us a single cent." He Yuzhu said through gritted teeth.

After hearing He Yuzhu say that, Li Qiang also realized: indeed, in the original story there was such a passage—when He Daqing returned in his later years, he told Zhuzi that he had sent money to them, also via Yi Zhonghai, and at that time Zhuzi was on good terms with Yi Zhonghai, having been brainwashed, so he didn't take it seriously.

"Second brother, what do you think?" Li Qiang asked He Yuzhu.

"Second brother, you know I'm not smart. I came to you for advice because I don't know what to do." He Yuzhu said embarrassedly.

"Second brother, this matter is easily settled—just depends on how you want to handle it. First, we could go public, following what Uncle He said: ten yuan a month. Over ten-plus years that would be a couple thousand yuan. If we go public and Yi Zhonghai doesn't swallow his peanuts, he'd still get sentenced to ten or twenty years. In that era, punishment for embezzlement and the like was extremely severe. The most notable example is Liu Qingshan—he was an old revolutionary with glorious wartime exploits, yet in the end he was still shot for corruption, despite many pleas for mercy, the leader showed no leniency." Li Qiang thought for a moment and said.

"What about the other option?" He Yuzhu asked.

"We could settle privately—take the receipts and go directly to him for money. Merely demanding money isn't enough; we must also get him to compensate." Li Qiang said.

"Dad, Yushui, would you rather go public or settle privately?" He Yuzhu asked He Daqing and his daughter.

"We've been neighbors for many years; let's settle privately. He's this old—if we really sent him to prison, he'd probably die inside. Besides, if we sent him away, what would people say about you?" He Daqing thought for a moment and said. He still worried that if he sent Yi Zhonghai to prison, the neighbors would gossip about He Yuzhu, damaging his reputation. Even though Yi Zhonghai had erred over the years, He Yuzhu, out of long‑time neighborliness, shouldn't send him to prison. Many people still think that way. After all, people back then had weak legal awareness, adhering to the principle of avoiding public proceedings whenever possible. That's also why neighborly fights were common but police reports rare, and why many insisted on having sons—believing more sons meant they wouldn't be bullied.

"Second brother, if we settle privately, how much compensation would be appropriate?" He Yuzhu completely relied on Li Qiang as his backbone.

"We don't want money," Li Qiang said with a smile.

"No money?" He Yuzhu looked at Li Qiang and said.

"Exactly, no money. We want a house—after the deaf old lady passed away, didn't she leave her two rooms to Yi Zhonghai? We'll have him use those two rooms as compensation; it's perfect because Uncle He has nowhere to live now. We'll get the house and let Uncle He stay there. Besides, you'll need to prepare houses for your two sons when they marry; now we can take this opportunity to secure the house, so later when your children marry you won't have to worry about housing." Li Qiang said with a smile. There was another layer he didn't mention: those two rooms of the deaf old lady will be worth tens of millions in a few decades—far more valuable than the paltry compensation we could demand now.

"Mm, I think what Qiangzi said makes sense; let's do as Qiangzi said." He Daqing first agreed.

"All right, we'll do as Second Brother said, but the deaf old lady's house has two rooms. Originally Dad's money was mainly sent to Yushui, so even if Yi Zhonghai compensates with the house, the house should belong to Yushui." He Yuzhu said. Although He Yuzhu is a bit simple‑minded, he is very reasonable.

"Brother, what are you talking about? They say a married daughter is like spilled water—you can still think of me, that's enough. I don't want the house; just give it to Dad for his retirement. When He Xia gets married later, give it to her. Consider it my little gift as your aunt." He Yushui hurriedly refused.

"Second brother, just listen to Yushui. You two sons will indeed need houses when they marry." He Daqing was very pleased with the mutual deference between the siblings. If this were the Yan Butgui household, over these two rooms people would probably end up fighting like dogs over a bone.

"Dad, that's not appropriate," He Yuzhu said stubbornly.

"Second brother, how about this? What Yushui told Uncle He also makes sense. Let's do this: the house goes to you, and the money Uncle He has sent over the years goes to Yushui. How about that?" Li Qiang said.

"That works—I'll give all the money to Yushui, not taking a single cent for myself." He Yuzhu thought Li Qiang's plan was the best.

"Brother, I don't want the money either; I'll keep it all for Dad's retirement." He Yushui's values are still sound.

"With me around, you still fear he'll go hungry? You must take the money; otherwise don't even recognize me as your brother." He Yuzhu's stubbornness also flared up.

"Yushui, listen to me—just do as your brother says." Li Qiang urged from the side.

"All right." He Yushui also knew He Yuzhu's temperament; he could really pull this off.

"All right, let's go back and eat first. After we finish eating, we'll go find Yi Zhonghai. It's not too late yet; if we go now, the neighbors might see us and think badly." Li Qiang said.

"All right, then we'll follow Qiangzi's lead." He Daqing said.