“It’s so delicious.”
He Yu Shui was eating dumplings, a smile on her small face.
Today was the third day of the Lunar New Year. In the morning, Yu Shui came to Courtyard 91. Seeing Zheng Da Ma making dumplings, she helped out.
The dumplings were ready by noon. Yu Shui was about to go home for dinner when Zheng Da Ma asked her to stay and eat.
Ma Cheng Gong also liked this girl, Yu Shui.
From before the New Year to now, Yu Shui had eaten dumplings several times, both cabbage-stuffed and meat-stuffed.
Looking at Ma Cheng Gong and Zheng Da Ma, Yu Shui suddenly cried.
“Why are you crying?” Ma Cheng Gong and Zheng Da Ma were both at a loss.
Actually, Yu Shui missed her father. As for her mother, she had no memory of her.
Yu Shui had no memory of her mother since she was a child. Her mother didn’t die of illness.
There were too many tragedies during the pre-liberation era.
After losing his wife, He Da Qing didn’t remarry. He raised his son and daughter alone, acting as both father and mother.
After liberation, He Da Qing considered finding someone else.
Then, He Da Qing met a widowed woman who was visiting relatives in the capital from out of town. They hit it off and he abandoned his children, following her to a different place, where he became a driver for her.
Although Sha Zhu was also quite good to He Yu Shui, he couldn’t even take care of himself.
He Yu Shui was also young, so she often missed her father.
What made He Yu Shui heartbroken was that her father never came back, not even a letter.
Some children said that He Yu Shui was unwanted.
When He Da Qing was around, He Yu Shui never went hungry. But after He Da Qing left, she often went hungry.
Obviously, Sha Zhu didn’t take good care of his sister.
As the saying goes, a cook never lacks a mouth to feed.
Sha Zhu was a cook and had a stable job. It shouldn’t be difficult to ensure his sister ate her fill every day, but Sha Zhu wasn’t good at managing his life.
After He Da Qing left, the person who helped He Yu Shui the most was Zheng Da Ma.
Zheng Da Ma had no children, and seeing He Yu Shui’s pitiful state, she took extra care of her.
It could be said that Zheng Da Ma gave He Yu Shui the feeling of maternal love.
He Yu Shui was still very happy that Zheng Da Ma adopted a child.
When Zheng Da Ma and Yi Zhong Hai divorced, He Yu Shui was a little worried. But seeing Zheng Da Ma’s life getting better after remarrying, she felt that it was the right decision.
Although Yi Zhong Hai was known as a good man, He Yu Shui didn’t like him, even a bit disgusted.
Once, He Yu Shui was hungry. Zheng Da Ma brought two steamed buns from home. Yi Zhong Hai saw it and scolded Zheng Da Ma.
“I miss my dad,” He Yu Shui cried.
Zheng Da Ma was stunned. Actually, she had guessed it.
Because He Yu Shui was there, Ma Cheng Gong didn’t say much.
Ma Cheng Gong also heard that last year, no, it was the year before, there was a man named He Da Qing in Courtyard 95. He ran off with a widow from another place, abandoning his son and daughter. He Yu Shui and her brother, He Yu Zhu, were abandoned by He Da Qing. Afterward, He Yu Shui cried for her father, and He Yu Zhu took her to Bao Cheng to find him. But they ended up freezing outside the widow’s house overnight, and He Yu Shui even caught a cold.
After they came back, every time they heard the name He Da Qing, Sha Zhu would get angry and curse a lot. He even said that he would never forgive him.
In fact, when He Da Qing ran away, Sha Zhu was already an adult, 16 years old, and he had a job.
Therefore, He Da Qing didn’t really wrong Sha Zhu. The one he wronged was He Yu Shui.
After all, He Yu Shui was still very young.
In Ma Cheng Gong’s opinion, He Da Qing was simply not a worthy father.
If He Da Qing had taken his daughter with him, people’s opinion of him would be a little better.
“Go ahead and eat. After we finish, we’ll go see the acrobatics.” Zheng Da Ma patted He Yu Shui’s small head.
The capital was lively after the New Year.
Many people from the countryside came to the city.
There were lights at night, and many interesting things to see during the day.
Today, Zheng Da Ma planned to take Zheng Ai Min to see acrobatics in the afternoon.
Taking He Yu Shui along wouldn’t be a problem.
Hearing that they were going to see acrobatics, He Yu Shui’s eyes lit up with anticipation.
…
“Zhuzi, didn’t Yu Shui come back for dinner?” Yi Zhong Hai knew that He Yu Shui had gone to Courtyard 91. Seeing Sha Zhu eating alone at home, he frowned.
After the New Year, Sha Zhu’s family stopped having meals with Yi Zhong Hai.
Looking at Sha Zhu’s family’s meals, they had fish and meat.
During the New Year, every household had good food.
Even Third Master’s family had braised pork!
“Yu Shui must have eaten at Uncle Ma’s house.” Sha Zhu said with a smile.
Uncle Ma?
Yi Zhong Hai found it a bit jarring.
Thinking about how his ex-wife was getting more and more spirited, Yi Zhong Hai felt uncomfortable.
He thought that his ex-wife wouldn’t be able to make ends meet after the divorce. But he didn’t expect his own life to fall apart, while his ex-wife was living better and better.
It would be strange if he felt comfortable comparing the two.
And Sha Zhu actually called that Ma Cheng Gong “Uncle Ma.” In Yi Zhong Hai’s opinion, it meant that he was ignorant.
Sha Zhu was Sha Zhu, stupid and silly.
Dong Xu was much better.
His son was great in every way.
Then there was Bang Geng. He was obviously clever from a young age, just like him, Yi Zhong Hai.
He also hoped that Qin Huairu would give birth to more children for Dong Xu. They were all of the Yi family’s bloodline!
But the task of extending the Yi family’s line couldn’t be placed solely on Dong Xu’s shoulders.
Dong Xu now had the surname Jia. Whether he could change his surname to Yi was still a question.
In a few months, he, Yi Zhong Hai, could also consider remarrying. This time, he would find someone who could bear children.
One overt, one covert, definitely meant many children and blessings.
Thinking about this, Yi Zhong Hai felt excited, as if he had been injected with chicken blood.
“First Master, are you okay?” Sha Zhu looked at Yi Zhong Hai in confusion.
“I’m fine, I’m fine.” Yi Zhong Hai came back to his senses and smiled.
After chatting with Sha Zhu for a few more sentences, Yi Zhong Hai said he was going out for a walk.
Today, the post office was open.
He Da Qing, who was in Bao Cheng, sent He Yu Shui living expenses every month, but Yi Zhong Hai was the one who signed for them.
Except for Yi Zhong Hai himself, no one else in the courtyard knew.
Even his ex-wife didn’t know.
He didn’t tell Sha Zhu and He Yu Shui, of course, he had his own reasons.
The money He Da Qing sent back was He Yu Shui’s living expenses. Yi Zhong Hai helped to sign for it, but he hid it. He was wronging He Yu Shui.
Yi Zhong Hai didn’t feel that he owed Sha Zhu anything, but he did owe He Yu Shui.
He also betrayed He Da Qing’s trust.
He Da Qing sent the money back. It wasn’t someone else who signed for it, but Yi Zhong Hai. This meant that He Da Qing trusted Yi Zhong Hai, but Yi Zhong Hai had betrayed that trust.
Actually, Yi Zhong Hai didn’t want He Da Qing to come back.
Walking out of the courtyard, Yi Zhong Hai seemed to be walking aimlessly, but he was getting closer and closer to the post office.
When he arrived near the post office, Yi Zhong Hai cautiously looked around.
He entered the post office and came out soon after.
When Yi Zhong Hai came out of the post office, he had an envelope in his pocket, with a stack of money inside.
At first, the envelope contained money and a letter, but because he couldn’t see a reply, after sending a few letters, He Da Qing stopped sending letters and only sent money.
Yi Zhong Hai thought that He Da Qing would probably stop sending money after two or three years.
Of course, even if He Da Qing only persisted for two years, that was 24 months. Plus, he sent a decent amount each month. Added together, it wasn’t a small sum.
The more money he had, the hotter it felt in Yi Zhong Hai’s hands.
Yi Zhong Hai had also thought about the possibility of it being exposed, so he started considering what he would do if it was exposed, last year.