Siheyuan: Walking the Path of Qin Huairu

In the courtyard of No. 95 Nanluoguxiang, He Yuzhu was lying on the bed, feeling not very happy. She went on a blind date today, and the matchmaker Zhang at the entrance of the alley introduced a girl to her. The matchmaker's words were deceiving. She said a lot of good things, but in the end they agreed to meet in the park, and she was like Zhu Bajie's second aunt. Isn't it infuriating?

At night, He Yuzhu had a strange dream. In the dream, Jia Dongxu died, Qin Huairu became a widow with three children, and he, He Yuzhu, was an old bachelor. Under the matchmaking of Yi Zhonghai, he had no choice but to marry Qin Huairu and help the Jia family. He called Jia Zhang "Mom", and Qin Huairu's children called him "Silly Dad".

Qin Huairu controlled him very strictly. She collected his salary for him. His pockets were emptied every day. He didn't even have money to buy a pack of cigarettes. Moreover, Qin Huairu didn't give birth to a child for him. Xu Damao in the courtyard always called him a fool.

Jia Dongxu's children spent his hard-earned money and lived in his He family's house, but they did not respect him, especially Banggeng, who glared at him and did not treat him as an elder at all, but rather as an enemy.

And there was Jia Zhang, who was not only lazy and gluttonous, but also always found fault with him and looked down on him. Yet he still had to give her five dollars a month as pension.

Uncle Yi Zhonghai regarded himself as an elder in front of him, and he and Qin Huairu took care of Yi Zhonghai after his retirement. He Yuzhu treated Yi Zhonghai like his own father.

After waking up from the dream, He Yuzhu wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and wondered, "Why did I have such a weird dream? And the dream was so real, just like a movie, scene by scene appeared in my mind."

Is this a hint from heaven that this is He Yuzhu's future life? No! It's not me, it's not me, it must not be me! Maybe it's Shamao, yes, it must be Shamao.

Xu Damao was sleeping at home when a pot fell from the sky.

No matter how He Yuzhu tried to comfort himself, the dream was too shocking for him and his sleepiness disappeared without a trace.

He Yuzhu simply sat up, sorted out the dream just now, and summarized three points: "First, he was unmarried at an advanced age, so he had no choice but to marry Qin Huairu. Second, Qin Huairu didn't give him a child, so his He family is going to be extinct. Third, he took care of that old man Yi Zhonghai until his death."

Thinking of this, he raised his hand and slapped himself twice. If this was true, he really lived up to the nickname of Sha Zhu, being played around by Yi Zhonghai and Qin Huairu, a complete injustice.

He thought again about the way he treated people in his dream. To call himself a greenhorn was an insult to the word greenhorn. It was as if he had been cursed.

He Yuzhu remembered what He Daqing said to him before he left, asking him to stay away from the Jia family. He didn't take it to heart at the time. It seems that the old ones are still the wisest. What Dad said is true!

In this way, He Yuzhu was absent-minded all day when he was at work. His apprentice Ma Hua asked with concern: "Master, what's on your mind? Why are you always distracted today?"

He Yuzhu shook his head and said, "It's okay, just go about your business." He was too embarrassed to tell his apprentice about his dream, as he could not afford to embarrass himself in front of him.

He was in a daze when it was time to get off work in the evening. He packed two lunch boxes for himself. He was not in the mood to cook, so he and Yu Shui just ate the leftovers.

Carrying the lunch box into the courtyard, Qin Huairu was washing clothes by the pool in the middle courtyard. Seeing the lunch box in He Yuzhu's hand, she walked up to him with a smile and said, "Zhuzi, can you give one of your lunch boxes to Banggeng? You know, Dongxu is the only one in our family who has a city hukou, and the three of us are all rural hukou. We have no food supply, and our life is too difficult. The adults can still bear it, but Banggeng is in the growing period and needs additional nutrition. We live next to each other, so can you help your sister?" After saying that, she looked at He Yuzhu shyly.

He Yuzhu looked at Qin Huairu and thought of his dream yesterday, and he couldn't help but get goose bumps. He ran home with his lunch box in two steps like a rooster with its feathers blown off, and quickly closed the door.

Qin Huairu was left standing there alone, disheveled in the wind. Why was this silly Zhu avoiding her like the plague? She thought she was pretty and was the most beautiful girl in their village, so many men would look at her more. Didn't the mother-in-law say that He Yuzhu was stupid and that he would give her a lunch box if she said a few nice words to him?

Thinking of this, Qin Huairu sighed: It seems that I am not charming enough! It is also the fault of this social system, which changes from time to time. The implementation of unified purchase and sale, rural households have no food supply, and their family can only buy high-priced food. It would be strange if they could live a good life relying on Jia Dongxu's monthly salary of 27.5 yuan!

Jia Zhang was looking out the window at the yard at this time, and she saw every move of her daughter-in-law. When she didn't get the lunch box, she spat a mouthful of thick phlegm on the ground, muttering, "Useless thing, you can't even do this!"

At night, He Yuzhu had another dream. It was right after Jia Dongxu passed away. The dream was full of Qin Huairu, who asked for lunch boxes in various ways and borrowed money for various reasons. Different ways at different ages, different reasons at different times. In the dream, he seemed to have taken a love drug, and he always responded to requests. When he saw Qin Huairu crying and wiping tears, he became soft-hearted and was completely controlled by Qin Huairu.

After waking up from the dream, He Yuzhu slapped himself twice again, and he was disgusted with himself in the dream. He felt like he was disappointed with himself, and it was too stupid to look at.

He thought to himself that this was probably God reminding him not to be fooled by Yi Zhonghai and Qin Huairu.

She compared Xu Huizhen with Qin Huairu in her dream. They were both widows. Qin Huairu was petty and scheming, sucking blood from others. Xu Huizhen was independent and self-reliant, and managed the tavern on her own. Such a mind is unmatched by ordinary men. In dealing with people, she was also generous and never let others suffer losses. All the neighbors were convinced.

Thinking of his image in the dream, He Yuzhu felt that he had to turn over a new leaf and start a new life. He had to plan his future life carefully and not spend his life in such a muddle.

From that day on, He Yuzhu changed his previous sloppy and unkempt appearance. He dressed neatly every morning to go to work, treated people in a friendly manner, and was not as talkative as before.

On this day, after work, his apprentice Ma Hua had already made tea for him. He took the teacup, took a sip of tea, and thought of a dream in which Qin Huairu came to the cafeteria to ask him for cornmeal. Ma Hua had advised him to stay away from Qin Huairu, but he scolded her back. It's really hard to persuade a damned ghost with good words.

Thinking of this, he felt that Ma Hua was a trustworthy apprentice. So he said to Ma Hua: "Ma Hua, today I will start teaching you how to cook big pot dishes. You must learn well."

Ma Hua asked in confusion: "Master, didn't you say that I need to practice for two years to learn how to cut a mound?"

He Yuzhu: "Look at you, you're so silly. Master, I'm in a good mood today, so I'll show you some mercy. Be content, kid."

Ma Hua grinned happily and said, "Okay, Master. From now on, if anyone makes you unhappy, I will pick up a kitchen knife and confront him. I promise that you will be in a good mood every day."

He Yuzhu rolled his eyes at him and said, "Some people say I'm a bad-mouthed person, and I think you're pretty bad-mouthed too."

Ma Hua raised his hand and slapped himself: "Master, whatever you say is what I mean. Anyway, I will follow your lead from now on. Just watch how I perform."

When cooking at noon, He Yuzhu asked Ma Hua to cook, and he directed from the side. Ma Hua held the spoon, his hands shaking. He had watched his master cook before, so why was he so nervous when it was his turn? He said, "Master, can I do it? How about you do it, and I'll learn from the side. I'll do it tomorrow."

He Yuzhu: "Look at how cowardly you are. I'm watching you. What can go wrong?"

Liu Lan said from the side: "Ma Hua, don't be stupid, your master gave you a chance, grab it, don't back off." So, the master and the apprentice, one talking and the other doing the operation, the two of them performed like a crosstalk, and after a lot of chaos, they fried some spicy and sour potato shreds.

Ma Hua was so nervous that sweat covered his forehead. After the dish was out of the pot, He Yuzhu scooped out a little and asked Ma Hua to taste it. Ma Hua took a bite nervously and grinned, saying, "Master, it tastes okay. Please try it."

He Yuzhu watched the whole process from the side and knew what was going on. After tasting it, he nodded and said, "Well, it's OK. Don't be proud. Keep working hard. Go home in the evening and record the whole cooking process and remember it in your mind. It won't be too late to be happy when you can do it independently."

Ma Hua: "Yes, yes. I'll listen to you, Master." Looking at He Yuzhu's departing back, Ma Hua felt that Master was a little different today than usual, but he couldn't tell what exactly was different.