Courtyard House: My Wife is Xu Huizhen

Page 289

Even with the same surname, there can be different branches, which are generally referred to as "X" or "Y".

Only those from the same shrine can share the same ancestor.

He Yuzhu asked, "What kind of hall are you from?"

He Yumei said, "My family is the Water Department. It is said that the origin of our family is He Xun from the Southern Liang Dynasty, who served as the Minister of Water Affairs."

He Yuzhu laughed and said, "Our branch of the family is called Siyoutang. We are two Hes, and we didn't have the same ancestor before."

"Ah! What a pity."

He Yumei was somewhat disappointed. If only she could be in the same gang as He Yuzhu, she could build a relationship with him and be taken care of by him in the future.

He Yuzhu said, "It's nothing. Although we're not from the same gang, we share the same surname, He. I'll come over to visit often in the future."

"Yes, I'll come often. This little niece is so cute. I love holding babies."

Despite her young age, He Yumei is quite shrewd and knows how to please He Yuzhu.

He Yuzhu was quite happy. He Yumei was young and beautiful, full of youthful vitality, and could be described as a charming young lady from a modest family. She was also very pleasing to the eye.

It would be such a pity if it were my own sister.

He Yumei stayed there for a while, then made an excuse to go back.

Xu Huizhen asked, "This little girl is quite pretty!"

"Is it pretty? I don't think so. It's just average."

Xu Huizhen glanced at her and said, "Do you think I don't know what kind of person you are? This is an unmarried young woman. You can't do anything reckless to her."

"No, don't talk nonsense, I'm going out."

"Look at you, they've barely left before you're already trying to follow them."

"What nonsense are you talking about? I'm going to check out the braised meat shop."

He Yuzhu pushed his bicycle out and headed straight for the braised meat shop.

He only needs to go to the braised meat shop once a week, sometimes only for half a day, so He Yuzhu doesn't need to worry about it much.

The tavern's business was getting worse day by day. The four employees were initially full of confidence, thinking that they could have a good job here.

But seeing the number of customers dwindling day by day, he gradually lost his motivation and became listless and lethargic all day long.

Fan Jinyou was also very worried. The end of the month was approaching, and he not only had to pay the workers' wages, but also give He Yuzhu a sum of money. With no income every day, where would he get the money to pay them?

Fan Jinyou called a meeting with the four of them, and after much discussion, they still couldn't find a good solution.

He Yumei said, "Director Fan, Brother He used to run a tavern on Yandaixie Street. Why don't you go ask him? After all, if the tavern doesn't make money, he won't get his share at the end of the month."

“He Yumei, I found you. You begged me to give you a job. How come your heart has turned to He Yuzhu after only a few days? You are a traitor. I would rather die than go to He Yuzhu.”

Fan Jinyou was filled with regret and went to Xu Huizhen to complain, fabricating a story that He Yuzhu and Chen Xueru had an improper relationship.

I originally thought the couple would argue so badly about this that they would probably end up getting a divorce.

Surprisingly, things went smoothly without any incident. He Yuzhu and Xu Huizhen acted as if nothing had happened, and no one even mentioned their argument.

He Yumei keeps running around trying to curry favor with He Yuzhu, and despite being criticized several times, she hasn't changed.

That's great. During the meeting, they openly told me to go see He Yuzhu. Don't they know that he's the one who made me go from being a street cadre to a clerk in the neighborhood committee?

Zhao Yali said, "That's right, He Yumei, how could you come up with such a bad idea? Don't you know that our Director Fan and that He Yuzhu don't get along?"

“Yes, it’s no use looking for him,” Kong Yuqin echoed.

"Do you have any way to revive the tavern?"

He Yumei's question left both of them speechless, and the tavern fell silent once again.

Fan Jinyou said, "That's a terrible idea. I'm not going to ask He Yuzhu for help. Let's all think of something else."

“What ideas do we have? We don’t know anything about running a pub,” Zhang Yali said, feeling aggrieved.

"Yes, Director Fan, only you could come up with this idea."

Apart from He Yumei, the other three couldn't think of a solution and all wanted Fan Jinyou to revive the tavern.

Fan Jinyou secretly felt bitter, thinking that if he had a way out, he wouldn't have ended up in this situation.

There was really no other way, so I asked them for help. I thought that three heads are better than one, but things turned out the same way. They were just four useless teammates who couldn't come up with any ideas.

Fan Jinyou sighed. What should he do now?

He just waved his hand and dismissed the meeting? This is ridiculous! I'd rather starve than go looking for He Yuzhu.

Fan Jinyou also had another thought in his mind: he thought that the poor business these days was only a temporary phenomenon, and perhaps things would get better after this period of time!

But reality slapped him hard in the face, leaving him completely disoriented. Two days later, the tavern's business was completely ruined; not a single person was there all night.

After discussing it for a while, Zhao Yali and Kong Yuqin angrily went to Fan Jinyou.

"Fan Jinyou's inventory is due in three days. What are you still sitting here for? Why aren't you going to find your wages?"

Seeing that Fan Jinyou remained silent, he said again, "Don't play dead here, or I'll go ask Director Li for money."

The two are cousins, but Zhao Yali shows no respect for her cousin Fan Jinyou.

“Me too. If you don’t pay me my salary, I’ll go to the neighborhood committee to ask for it,” Kong Yuqin said.

"Why don't you say something?" Zhao Yali asked.

Fan Jinyou sighed, sat up from the bench, and walked out without a word, leaving the two women looking at each other, not knowing what to do.

They understood that Fan Jinyou had no other options; otherwise, he wouldn't be sitting here in a daze.

Looks like there's no hope for this month's salary; I'll have to tighten my belt again.

In the backyard, the stay-at-home dad, He Yuzhu, was playing with his precious daughter when he glanced at Fan Jinyou and saw him come in.

"What a rare guest! What brings Director Fan to my humble abode?"

Fan Jinyou said awkwardly, "Brother He... I..."

"Stop! Director Fan, are you drunk? I'm a candidate for reformation. You can't just claim any relatives, or you'll be dragged into this mess."

Chapter 213 Meeting

"Brother He, you're like my own brother, okay? I'm begging you this time, this little tavern needs you to run it!"

"No thanks, I don't have the ability to run a small tavern. I'll just continue with the rehabilitation."

He Yuzhu wouldn't be as kind-hearted as Xu Huizhen, who believed in forgiving others when possible.

Fan Jinyou is an ungrateful wretch, even worse than Xu Damao.

Xu Huizhen forgave him and helped him run the tavern, but later he turned around and framed Xu Huizhen.

Xu Huizhen always managed to turn the tables and win, but she still chose to forgive. However, during the ten years when the storm was brewing, Fan Jinyou became unruly again and almost sent Xu Huizhen straight to jail.

He Yuzhu would never be so magnanimous as to help Fan Jinyou. This time, he would definitely skin him alive and turn him into an ordinary employee, so that he wouldn't be able to cause any trouble for the next few years.

Fan Jinyou continued to plead, but He Yuzhu remained unmoved and refused the offer to come out of retirement.

"Fan Jinyou, you'd better find someone else. I don't have that kind of ability. The inventory will be conducted in three days. If I don't get the dividends, I will definitely ask the neighborhood committee for an explanation."

"How can you be so heartless? I've come to beg you, please help me. I promise I'll listen to you from now on."

If it were a delicate young girl, He Yuzhu might have softened and agreed.

But Fan Jinyou, a grown man, how could he possibly have the face to ask me to let him go?

Letting him go would only make things difficult for yourself; you should be kinder to yourself.

Why let the enemy get away and make yourself miserable?

"Go ask around. Have I ever run a tavern in all these years? How would I know how to run a tavern?"

Fan Jinyou said, "But your wife knows how to drive, right?"

"How dare you mention my wife? What did you say to her before? What did you see me flirting with Chen Xueru? Which eye of yours saw that?"

"this..."

"There's nothing to it. You spoke ill of me to my wife, and now you're begging me to let you off the hook? There's no such thing as a free lunch!"

"I'm already being lenient by not holding you accountable. You expect me to help you? No way!"

Fan Jinyou's mouth was full of bitterness, and he could no longer utter the words of pleading he had been given.

Yes, if I and He Yuzhu switched places, and he did this to me, I would definitely beat him up.

How could I possibly choose to help the other person?

"You just wait, this isn't over."

Seeing that He Yuzhu chose not to help him, Fan Jinyou left with a threatening remark.

The figure looked somewhat forlorn, more like an old man in his twilight years.

He Yuzhu had no pity for him. He got up, closed the door, and went back inside.

Xu Huizhen and He Yumei were making Xiuer's clothes together. Although there were tailor shops on the street, Xu Huizhen always preferred to make them by hand.

"Who came by just now? Did you have a fight with him?"