Courtyard House: My Wife is Xu Huizhen

Page 18

Yi Zhonghai was so angry he laughed: "So all that pretense just now was to show you don't have the money to repair the house after all?"

He Yuzhu said, "Yes, I told you before that He Daqing took all the money when he ran away. How am I supposed to have money to repair the house?"

"No, Dongxu borrowed all my money to repair his house. I don't have any money to lend you," Yi Zhonghai refused directly.

Chapter 25 You don't want anyone to know you stole the wallet, do you?

"Really not going to lend it?" He Yuzhu asked with a grin.

Since He Yuzhu dared to come to their door, he must have been confident.

He Yuzhu had previously witnessed Jia Dongxu smuggling scrap materials from the steel rolling mill on more than one occasion, then selling the scrap iron to supplement his family income.

Sometimes they also take out some intact bearings and other parts.

Jia Dongxu had previously boasted to himself that he had extra income from his job. Not only Jia Dongxu, but everyone else did the same. As long as they weren't caught on the spot, nothing would happen.

After all, these factories belong to capitalists, and it's only natural for workers to cover for each other and take things from the factories.

Yi Zhonghai said firmly, "Of course I can't lend it to you. I've already lent all my money to Dongxu. Where would I get the money to lend you more?"

"Alright, then don't blame me for being impolite." After saying that, He Yuzhu turned around and left the house. Aunt Yi called out to her twice, but she ignored her.

Aunt Yi turned around and complained, "Why did you make Zhu Zi leave in anger?"

"What's the point of keeping him around if we don't drive him away?"

Yi Zhonghai said, "He asked to borrow 200 yuan, do you have that much money to give him?"

Yi Zhonghai is only in his early thirties and his skills have not yet reached the level of an eighth-grade craftsman. Currently, his monthly salary is only a little over 60 yuan.

200 yuan is equivalent to three months of his salary. If the two had a good relationship, he would have lent it to him. But ever since He Daqing left, He Yuzhu has become a different person. He doesn't get along with me and won't listen to advice. Why should I lend him money?

Aunt Yi said, "Zhu Zi doesn't have any money, so this is a good opportunity to lend him some to mend his relationship. Besides, it's not like I won't pay you back."

"How can he pay me back? He just started as an apprentice at the restaurant; he doesn't have any wages to pay."

Seeing how stubborn Yi Zhonghai was, Aunt Yi stopped trying to persuade him. Two hundred was indeed a lot of money; even after borrowing it for a year or two, Zhuzi still couldn't pay it back.

Jia Dongxu was at home discussing house matters with his mother when he suddenly smelled the aroma of meat and exclaimed, "Who's cooking meat again?"

Then he said, "Mom, get some meat for us tomorrow, so we can eat meat too."

"Eat, eat, eat! What are you eating? You just ate and you're already craving meat? We still need to repair the house, where are we going to get the money to buy meat?"

Jia Dongxu immediately looked timid and embarrassed. Since he wasn't married, all his salary had to be handed over to the government, and he had no control over it at all.

Even if they want to eat meat, they can't make that decision.

The next day, He Yuzhu arrived at Qianmen Street, then went into the alley to the back door of the restaurant. Suddenly, he glanced around and saw an acquaintance in a secluded alley.

I took two steps back and stopped at the entrance of the alley. I could see Zhang Yong pulling a little girl inside. She was wearing a restaurant uniform and looked familiar from behind. She must be a waitress from the restaurant.

"Please don't do this, I was wrong, let me go home, I'll never do it again."

"You wouldn't want others to know that you stole a customer's wallet, would you?"

As Zhang Yong spoke, he dragged the reluctant girl further inside. The girl pleaded repeatedly, saying that she had found the wallet while cleaning the private room after the guests left, and that she hadn't handed it over because she was greedy, and that she hadn't stolen it.

But Zhang Yong said, "Stop talking nonsense. You're the one who stole it. If you don't listen to me, I'll hand you over to the police, and you'll definitely go to jail."

The two turned a corner and went deep into the alley. He Yuzhu quickly went into the alley and came to the corner to peek out. He saw that Zhang Yong was already pinning the girl against the wall.

"If you behave and listen to me, I won't report it."

He Yuzhu then recognized the girl as Xiangcao, a waitress, by her profile. She looked to be about seventeen or eighteen years old, a year or two older than He Yuzhu. They had only met before, nodding to each other but never spoken.

Vanilla pleaded, "Please, please let me go!"

But Zhang Yong was already pinching Xiangcao's pretty chin with his right hand, and then said, "Do you want to go to jail?"

Vanilla shook her head, then tears streamed down her face: "Then... then what do you want?"

"As long as you behave, I won't tell anyone."

Zhang Yong lowered his head, bringing their heads closer together, his warm breath brushing against Xiangcao's face, and then whispered, "If you're my woman for a day and let me sleep with you once, I won't tell the police."

"You...you're shameless, I..." Vanilla was completely terrified, her face turning deathly pale. She had only been greedy for money last night and hadn't handed the wallet over in time.

Who knew that Zhang Yong would come and threaten him this morning.

On one hand, she was to be falsely accused of stealing money and go to jail; on the other hand, she was to have Zhang Yong abuse her body. Neither of these outcomes was what she wanted.

Vanilla was filled with regret; she wished she hadn't been so greedy.

He Yuzhu listened for a long time and learned what had happened. He never expected Zhang Yong to be so shameless.

Having caught Vanilla in a compromising situation, he actually threatened her, wanting to sleep with her—he has absolutely no bottom line.

In any era, wrongdoing is always divided into different levels. In prison, rapists are the lowest class and are looked down upon.

While petty theft is annoying, it only results in temporary losses. But a rapist who violates a woman's body ruins her entire life.

This is the kind of being that is least worthy of being called human.

Zhang Yong's behavior is no better than that of a rapist; he uses leverage against girls to threaten them and take their bodies.

This era did not place the greatest emphasis on chastity in later generations.

Once a girl loses her virginity, it becomes very difficult for her to even get married.

If the groom discovers during the wedding night that the bride is not a virgin, he can immediately call off the engagement.

Inside the alley, Zhang Yong continued to threaten Xiangcao, who just cried and shook her head, unwilling to face her bleak life.

Zhang Yong was extremely smug and threatened, "If you dare to disobey, I'll send you to jail today."

Vanilla was forced into a corner and was about to agree when she suddenly saw a large stick appear behind Zhang Yong. Before she could understand what was happening, the stick was raised and hit Zhang Yong on the head.

Zhang Yong was knocked unconscious, his body slumped to the side, and he lay on the ground.

Vanilla then noticed that the person holding the giant stick was a new apprentice in the kitchen, whose name seemed to be He Yuzhu.

Looking down at Zhang Yong lying on the ground, and then at He Yuzhu, he finally realized that he had been rescued.

She let out a loud cry, then threw herself into He Yuzhu's arms and wept bitterly.

She cried as she said, "Thank you for saving me."

He Yuzhu felt a little embarrassed. He put his arm around Xiangcao's shoulder to pull her away from his embrace and asked, "Did he bully you?"

Vanilla nodded and then shook her head, then said, "He still wanted to bully me. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have been able to escape this time. Thank you!"

"Don't mention it. I never expected Zhang Yong to be such a scoundrel, actually trying to seduce girls."

Chapter 26 Why don't you start a small business?

By this time, Vanilla had calmed down, wiped the tears from her face with a handkerchief, and thanked him repeatedly.

He Yuzhu confirmed that Zhang Yong on the ground was just unconscious, so he ignored him and came out of the alley with Xiangcao.

After Xiangcao explained, He Yuzhu finally understood the whole story.

Actually, the matter is quite simple. Last night, when Xiangcao was cleaning the private room, she found a wallet. In a moment of confusion and greed, she kept it instead of handing it over to the manager.

This morning, I was hiding in the alley counting the number of Yuan Shikai silver dollars when Zhang Yong happened to run into me.

The man's wallet didn't look like something Vanilla would own. After a few words of coaxing, Vanilla admitted that she had found it in the private room yesterday.

Zhang Yong claimed that Xiangcao stole the wallet and threatened to report it to the police so that Xiangcao could go to jail.

Xiangcao's cultural level was not high, and after being frightened like this, she obediently followed Zhang Yong into the alley.

He Yuzhu said, "This matter is easy to resolve. You just go back and hand the wallet over to the shopkeeper, and that will be the end of it."

Zhang Yong's statement is only one side of the story; he didn't catch them stealing the wallet.

After finding it, I thought about it overnight, and then handed it in in the morning. There was no problem with that.

Vanilla quickly nodded in agreement, promising that if she let them take her wallet now, she would never dare to do it again.

Today's events have taught her a great lesson; she almost lost her virginity after being threatened by someone for picking up a wallet.

"Thank you so much. I really don't know what I would have done today without you," Vanilla thanked her more than once.

"It's nothing, it's just what I should do. Zhang Yong seems like an honest person, I didn't expect him to do something like this."

"Yes, today really scared me to death."

Xiangcao looked miserable. Although she had escaped this ordeal, Zhang Yong was a relative of the head chef Zhang Zusheng and also a chef in the kitchen. She would see him almost every day. She could run away from him for a while, but she couldn't escape him forever.

The two entered the kitchen and happened to see Xu Huizhen there. After greeting her, Xu Huizhen noticed that Xiangcao's expression was off and asked, "What's wrong? Did this bad guy bully you?"

He Yuzhu immediately became displeased and said, "Xu Huizhen, stop slandering me."

Xu Huizhen glared at her, and was about to speak when Xiangcao grabbed her hand and tears welled up in her eyes again: "No, listen to me, she helped me a lot today."

After hesitating for a moment, I simply explained the situation.

Xu Huizhen was extremely surprised and said angrily, "How dare he slander you like this in broad daylight? Where is he? I'm going to find him and settle the score!"

"No, I was also at fault. I'll take the wallet over first." After speaking with Xu Huizhen, Xiangcao hurriedly went to the dormitory, took out the wallet she had found, and then went to the front of the restaurant.

Xu Huizhen then tilted her head and looked He Yuzhu up and down, clicking her tongue and saying, "Well, he doesn't look like a good person, but he actually did a good deed today."