Chapter 96: He Yushui Talks About a Partner

With Li Qiang's reminder, Liu Haizhong's behavior afterwards became noticeably more restrained; although he would still occasionally point and gesture at some ordinary workers, everyone knew his nature, so not many people bothered with him.

"Yu Li has arrived" Li Qiang returned home from work and found Yu Li chatting with Zhou Rong at home.

"Second brother, you're back" Yu Li said with a smile.

"Huh, Zhuzi hasn't come back yet?"

"Tonight there's a reception, I came back first." Since Li Huaide became head of the Revolutionary Committee, receptions have become noticeably more frequent, and He Yuzhu often prepares reception meals three days out of two; naturally he isn't doing it for free, and he's given plenty of leftovers.

"Since he has a reception and we don't know when he'll be back, you and He Xiao don't need to go home to cook; just eat here," Li Qiang said with a smile.

"No need for you to say it, Xiao Tao and He Xiao have already decided what to eat; I'll go make it," Zhou Rong said with a smile. Li Tao is one year older than He Xiao, and the two kids are together all day. Whether He Xiao comes to Li Qiang's home or Li Tao goes to He Yuzhu's home, the two kids have never felt like outsiders, just as if they were at their own house.

"Hey, those two kids are something, they've even learned to order dishes," Li Qiang said with a smile.

"It's all because Zhuzi spoiled them," Zhou Rong said with a smile. To say He Yuzhu treats those two kids truly well—he gives them whatever they want, and when it comes to food, he's never let them go hungry.

"Sister-in-law, you're about to give birth, right?" Yu Li asked Zhou Rong, who is currently pregnant with her second child.

"The due date is next month; if you ask me, He Xiao is already this big, you should consider having another," Zhou Rong said with a smile. In those days, who didn't have two or three kids? Having just one would really seem out of place.

"We're also considering this matter; let's talk after He Yushui's affair is settled," Yu Li said with a smile.

"What's wrong with Yushui?" Li Qiang asked. He Yushui initially followed Li Qiang's advice and didn't go to high school; instead he attended a vocational college, majoring in accounting. After graduation he was assigned to the textile factory as an accountant. Using Li Qiang's connections, getting He Yushui into Yagangchang would have taken no effort at all, but He Yushui is more sensible. If these families all went to Yagangchang, people might gossip, so they stayed at the textile factory.

"Just now Yu Li said Yushui is seeing someone; this Sunday he wants to bring them home for everyone to meet," Zhou Rong said with a smile.

"Time really flies—when I returned after changing jobs, Yushui was still a little girl, and in the blink of an eye she's grown into a young woman," Li Qiang lamented.

"You haven't seen how big He Xiao has gotten," Zhou Rong said with a smile.

"Yeah, when I came back, Yushui wasn't even as big as He Xiao is now. By the way, what does Yushui's partner do for work?" Li Qiang asked.

He recalled that in the original drama, Yushui's partner seemed to be a local police officer at the precinct, because Dudeng stole Xu Damao's chicken, Shazu came out to take the blame for him, which caused Yushui's in‑laws to look down on Yushui; people of that era were simple‑minded and looked down on petty thieves, and over this they almost ruined Yushui's marriage. Moreover, during the three years of natural disasters, Shazu's lunchbox was given to Qin Huiru's family, causing Yushui to often go hungry; when school required meal fees, Shazu lent the money he had set aside for Yushui's fees to Qin Huiru, which was the main reason Yushui felt hurt. Later, because of this, his body was weakened, and it took several years of marriage before he had children; only after he had a son and a daughter did life in his in‑laws' home become somewhat better. This is also why Yushui lives in the dormitory after starting work and, after marriage, is even less willing to return to the Siheyuan.

Even if Yushui later learned that Qin Huiru had been sent to a labor camp and still didn't tell Shazu, this might have been motivated by revenge; but no matter what, blood is thicker than water, and after Lou Xiao'e brought He Xiao back, Yushui treated He Xiao well—after all, the Lao He family now had an heir.

"According to Yushui, the guy works at the Commerce Bureau and they're classmates," Yu Li said.

"Does Zhuzi know about this?" Li Qiang asked Yu Li.

"Yushui felt shy to tell him; last night when he came back he told me," Yu Li said with a smile. To say Yu Li truly treats Yushui well—since marrying into the family she has always taken extra care of Yushui, and Yushui is close to her, perhaps because he lost maternal love early, Yushui is willing to tell Yu Li anything.

"Wait until Zhuzi comes back and have a good talk with him; this Sunday don't let him go out to welcome guests, I'll prepare some good stuff for you, and let Zhuzi show his skills as the household's protector," Li Qiang said with a smile.

"What's worth making me bring out my household‑protecting skills?" He Yuzhu's voice came from outside.

"You're supposed to have a reception tonight—how did you get back so quickly?" Yu Li asked curiously.

"Ah, don't mention it—the dishes are already done; Li Huaide was called away by a phone call, so the reception was rescheduled, and that's why I brought the food back," He Yuzhu said, shaking the lunch boxes in his hand.

"You brought all of them back yourself?" Li Qiang asked, looking at the four or five lunch boxes in He Yuzhu's hand.

"Of course I can; even if I weren't sensible, I wouldn't eat alone," He Yuzhu said with a smile.

"Then that's good," Li Qiang said with a smile.

"But I took the big portion and divided the rest between Ma Hua and Liu Lan."

"As long as you didn't eat alone, that's fine," Li Qiang said.

"How could I not? By the way, what did you say about having me bring out my household‑protecting skills?" He Yuzhu still hadn't forgotten that.

"Let Yu Li tell you; it's also a good chance to let your sister‑in‑law skip cooking—just call the kids over to eat," Li Qiang said with a smile.

"All right, we three brothers haven't drunk together in a while—call over the eldest brother's family, and let's have a drink together tonight," He Yuzhu said.

"Sure, I'll go call the eldest brother and them," Li Qiang said with a smile and walked out.

That evening the three families sat together; although they were said to be three families, in fact only the elderly couple remained at Li Bin's home—Li Huan had married out two years ago, her spouse also works at the Public Security Bureau, introduced by Li Qiang's brother‑in‑law Li Ju; Li Le had joined the army the year before, also arranged through Li Ju's connections into his former unit.

"What's wrong, Zhuzi? With all these good dishes, why aren't you happy?" Li Bin asked, looking at He Yuzhu with a frown.

"Yushui is seeing someone; this Sunday we're bringing the partner home," Zhou Rong said with a smile.

"I understand—Yushui has been raised by Zhuzi since childhood; Zhuzi can be said to be both brother and father to him, and I can relate to that feeling. When Huanhuan got married, I also felt upset for several days; in their words, it's like our family's cabbage, painstakingly grown, only to be dug up by a pig," Li Bin joked.

"Eldest brother, there's no need to describe it like that—people say a man should marry when he's grown, a woman when she's grown; Yushui is also in his twenties, it's the age to look for a partner," Zhou Rong said with a smile.

"That's the principle, but I just can't accept it in my heart all at once," He Yuzhu said slowly.