Li Anquan lived in the front courtyard, right next door to Yan Fugui. Qin Huairu walked out of his house with a tear-stained, miserable expression on her face.
Even Yi Zhonghai's expression was less than pleasant; they hadn't expected Li Anquan to be so difficult to deal with!
With the current crackdown on feudal superstitions, holding elaborate funerals was strictly forbidden—everything had to be handled hastily and kept simple.
Depressed, Qin Huairu returned to the middle courtyard, walking right into the Courtyard War God, the ultimate simpering sycophant... He Yuzhu!
Deep down, He Yuzhu was actually thrilled. He had always harbored designs on Qin Huairu!
Yet because Qin Huairu was his good friend Jia Dongxu's wife, he had never called her "Sister-in-law"! He had always kept a certain thought in his heart, choosing instead to address her simply as "Sister Qin".
Seeing that Qin Huairu still looked heartbroken, He Yuzhu smiled and stepped up to her, offering words of comfort.
"Sister Qin, there's no hurdle in life that can't be crossed. Don't be sad anymore. Dongxu is gone, but you still have the kids to take care of. If you have any difficulties from now on, just come to me!"
From He Yuzhu's perspective, this was a rare opportunity to prove himself!
Even though Qin Huairu had already given birth to three children, He Yuzhu felt no aversion whatsoever; instead, he found her overflowing with charm.
A trace of sorrow lingered on Qin Huairu's face as she looked at He Yuzhu, who had proactively approached her. Her voice turned somewhat hoarse, and aggrieved tears welled up in the corners of her eyes.
"Zhuzi, do you think my life is easy? I have three children—Bang Geng, Xiaodang, and Huaihua. Jia Dongxu just washed his hands of everything and left, making it easy for him, but what am I supposed to do? I still have to support his mother!"
"And on top of that, Dongxu's mother took every last cent of his compensation payout! I don't have a penny to my name—what am I going to do now?"
Indignant at Mrs. Jia's behavior, He Yuzhu patted his chest.
"Don't worry, Sister Qin! I'm here for you from now on!"
A calculating glint flashed in Qin Huairu's eyes as she watched He Yuzhu take the bait, and her voice grew even softer.
"Zhuzi, you know Anquan's mother is gone too, and there's a compensation payout. I want to help look after that money for them."
"They're both too young, and while I'm more than capable of taking care of them, they simply refuse to let me hold onto it! I'm only trying to look out for their own good, yet Li Anquan actually threatened to report me to the Support-the-Military Office!"
"Tell me, aren't I being wronged?"
He Yuzhu's eyes lit up. Wasn't this the perfect chance to show his worth?
Excitement edged his voice. "Sister Qin, leave this matter to me! What is Li Anquan, anyway? Just some brat—I'll go sort him out."
"You just keep that money with you. You're only doing it for their own good; it's not safe for two kids to hold onto that much cash!"
Acting as though he lacked a brain entirely, He Yuzhu made the promise on the spot and strode off toward the front courtyard!
Watching He Yuzhu step up to fight Qin Huairu's battles, Yi Zhonghai felt a complicated mix of emotions, yet he didn't stop him.
He and First Aunt had no children of their own. Originally, they had planned to take Jia Dongxu on as an apprentice so that Jia Dongxu would provide for them in their old age.
Yet this sudden, unexpected twist had left him without a retirement plan.
And now, looking at the situation, the best candidate to rely on for his old age seemed to be He Yuzhu. If He Yuzhu ended up together with Qin Huairu, that wouldn't be a bad outcome at all!
Watching Li Dujuan clutch her stomach, Li Anquan ruffled her slightly yellowish hair. After Yi Zhonghai and Qin Huairu left, he walked over to the earthen cooking stove and lit the fire!
The Li family actually had modest savings. His mother, Ma Xiaojuan, was a frugal woman. Out of her monthly salary of over forty yuan, after covering their daily expenses, she managed to save nearly thirty yuan every month!
They were able to save so much precisely because of Ma Xiaojuan's thriftiness.
Seeing that the house only had cornmeal left, Li Anquan boiled a pot of coarse-corn porridge and began to ponder how they would survive in the future.
Feeling rather anxious, Li Dujuan squatted beside her brother and tugged at the sleeve of Li Anquan's shirt as he added firewood to the stove!
"Older brother, just now they said Mom is gone. Is she really never coming back?"
With a headache coming on, Li Anquan didn't know how to explain this to the little girl. Seeing her worried expression, he had no choice but to take a long, deep breath.
"Yaya, your brother doesn't want to lie to you. Mom is truly not coming back anymore. She has turned into a star in the sky, watching over us every moment. We have to be strong, so that Mom can rest easy!"
Tears streamed down the little girl's face once again. It wasn't that she was simply a crybaby; rather, so many things had happened that she couldn't bring herself to accept them.
Just as Li Anquan was comforting the little girl, their front door was shoved open violently once more, and in walked none other than He Yuzhu.
Li Anquan's brow furrowed tightly. There was truly no end to the petty troubles in this courtyard!
"Sha Zhu, what are you here for? My house doesn't welcome you!"
Knowing the plot of the courtyard inside and out, Li Anquan had already guessed that He Yuzhu was here to stand up for Qin Huairu!
With a stern face, He Yuzhu walked right over and sat down on a dilapidated chair nearby. "Brat, get over here!"
A dark look crossed Li Anquan's face. "Who are you calling a brat?!"
He was certainly not going to let He Yuzhu walk all over him! Although He Yuzhu knew how to fight, he was just a kid himself—why should he hold back?
Once you showed weakness even once, you'd end up showing weakness for the rest of your life, always being bullied by others. He refused to live like that!
Before He Yuzhu realized what was happening, he crossed his legs and shot back, "I'm calling *you* a brat!"
A mocking smile appeared on Li Anquan's face. "Oh, brat, what do you want with me?"
Seeing Li Anquan's expression, He Yuzhu finally realized he had been tricked!
Infuriated, he stood up abruptly, taking two fast strides to close the distance until he was right in front of Li Anquan.
He grabbed Li Anquan by the collar with one hand. "Brat, I've given you too much face—are you asking for a beating?!"
Li Anquan was instantly grabbed by He Yuzhu, a sense of helplessness washing over him. An eleven-year-old body was far too frail; how could he possibly be a match for He Yuzhu?
Still, he refused to lose face even if he lost the physical struggle. If he couldn't win with his fists, he could at least score a verbal victory!
In his heart, however, he silently vowed to make He Yuzhu pay!
The day he gained physical strength, he would definitely teach He Yuzhu a lesson!
"You're the one who admitted you're a brat! Who else is to blame? He Yuzhu, this is my home—if you dare start something here, I'll go straight to the Support-the-Military Office and report you!"
Reduced to making verbal threats, Li Anquan felt utterly helpless!
A sneering smile spread across He Yuzhu's face. "You think I was scared by that? Go on, report me! Let me tell you something—I came here today for one reason: your family's compensation payout is going to be kept by Qin Huairu for safekeeping. If you ever dare bother her again, I'll beat you every single time I see you!"
With that, He Yuzhu forcefully shoved Li Anquan to the ground, dusted off his hands, and swaggered out of the house, ready to go report back to Qin Huairu and claim his credit!
Terrified by He Yuzhu's actions, Li Dujuan burst into tears. Only after seeing He Yuzhu leave did she frantically run over to Li Anquan.
☁️"Brother, are you alright? Are you hurt? W-what are we going to do?"
Li Anquan's pupils contracted. He Yuzhu never learned his lesson from beatings!
He had to teach him a lesson he would feel in his bones, once and for all!
The fall had left Li Anquan with a rather sore backside. He stood up and brushed the dust off his clothes.
Seeing his sister's worried look, he reassured her firmly, "Dujuan, go inside and start cooking. I'm going to go take care of this. Don't worry! From now on, your brother won't let anyone bully either of us ever again!"
Though she remained worried, they now only had each other to lean on, so Li Dujuan could only nod.
With a grim expression, Li Anquan left the house and headed straight for the Public Security Bureau!