Courtyard House: My Wife is Xu Huizhen

Page 278

"This is borrowed from a friend. The journey is too far, dozens of miles. It's more comfortable to ride in this car."

The two got into the car. When Niu Ye saw that there were some pastries on the back seat, he nodded in satisfaction. Boss He was meticulous in everything he did.

Shidu is a large-scale karst landform area in the western mountains of the capital. It is a natural scenic area characterized by karst peaks and deep river valleys. The area is full of beautiful mountains and rivers, towering valley walls, beautiful rocks and secluded scenery. The overall atmosphere is quiet and elegant, with river beaches and green mountains making it particularly beautiful.

The so-called "Ten Crossings" refers to the tenth crossing point, starting from the first crossing point on the Juma River. Further in, there are the eleventh, twelfth, and so on, up to the eighteenth crossing.

He Yongqiang's hometown is Shidu Village. After a bumpy ride, the GAZ truck finally stopped at the entrance of the small mountain village.

Two militiamen on duty came over to ask questions, and after Mr. Niu explained a few things, the car was allowed to pass.

After entering the village, we drove for less than 300 meters before stopping at the foot of a small hill.

"These are the houses up here."

He Yuzhu got out of the car, locked the door, and looked around at the houses.

Instead of using blue bricks, the houses are all built with stone slabs. The houses are relatively low with small windows. They are all built against the mountainside, arranged in a staggered and undulating manner.

It looks wonderful, but living here day and night would be very depressing.

Quite a few children, dressed in tattered, patched-up clothes, gathered around to look. Old Niu, experienced in such matters, took out a few candies and told them to go and find He Yongqiang.

The children who received the candy ran off happily, while the two pushed open the courtyard gate, walked into the courtyard, and sat down on a stone to rest.

A moment later, He Yongqiang returned, panting, carrying a hoe. He was still taken aback when he saw the two of them and said:

"I didn't expect it to be Master Niu and Brother Zhuzi who came."

"Yes, it was really not easy for me to come all this way."

He Yongqiang opened the door and invited the two in to sit at the octagonal table. He Yuzhu placed the pastries on the table, and He Yongqiang said a few words of modesty.

Then I poured him a glass of cold water.

They could only pour two cups of water; there wasn't even a thermos at home, and the furniture was sparse, old, and dilapidated—it was nothing like the environment inside a tavern.

Uncle Niu said, "Yongqiang, I don't think you're having a good time here. The living conditions are too harsh."

“It’s great, Uncle Niu. I have a few acres of land here, and I eat well and sleep soundly every day. It’s much better than living in a small tavern in the capital.”

When Old He adopted his nephew He Yongqiang, he was already over 10 years old. He had long since gotten used to speaking with an accent that people in the city could immediately tell he came from the countryside, which made it impossible for He Yongqiang to integrate into life in Beijing.

I always feel that they look down on me and think I'm superior.

Ever since Old He passed away, He Yongqiang genuinely didn't want to stay in Beijing. He felt much more at ease and comfortable in the place where he was born and raised.

"I thought you would have calmed down after two months, why are you still like this?"

He Yongqiang said, "Uncle Niu, please don't try to persuade me to go back. I've thought it through these past two months, and I feel that farming in the countryside suits me better."

He Yuzhu didn't know what to say. Although the reasons for returning to Shidu from the tavern were different, He Yongqiang's personality was suited to the countryside, so he decided to return to his hometown where he was born and raised.

Old Niu got anxious and asked, "But your wife is pregnant with your child. You can't just ignore it, can you? There has to be an explanation."

“That’s not my child, that’s my uncle’s grandson.”

These two sentences stunned Master Niu, who pondered for a long time but couldn't understand what they meant.

"What are you saying? I'm completely confused."

“Uncle Niu, you know my situation. I was adopted back then, but now I’ve returned to my father’s side. The child was registered under my uncle’s name from birth and has nothing to do with me.”

Now Niu Ye understood: He Yongqiang didn't want to be Old He's adopted son and wanted to return to his biological father's name.

"You don't want that little tavern anymore? It's worth several thousand dollars!" Niu asked in surprise.

"Of course not, that's our He family's house. I'm just asking you to sell it."

Even Old Niu was so angry he laughed: "He Yongqiang, I never thought you could be so heartless. Xu Zhaodi is your wife, and she's carrying your child. Even if the house is registered under Old He's name, you're still the biological father. How can you sell the house, keep the money for yourself, and not want your wife and child?"

He Yongqiang's meaning was that he wanted to sell the house, and the money would naturally be in He Yongqiang's hands, since he took the house deed and land deed with him when he left.

He Yongqiang blushed at what was said and muttered, "There's still a lot of cash in that tavern. The stock of wine, the furniture in the house, and a lot of antiques and paintings should have been sold by Xu Zhaodi."

"You're talking nonsense. You're judging a gentleman by your own petty standards. Do you think Xu Zhaodi sold off all her family's wealth after you came back?"

"Didn't they sell it?" He Yongqiang asked, somewhat incredulously. "Then what has she been eating these days?"

Niu Ye said, "He Yongqiang, I'm so disappointed in you. You can go back and see that none of the things you had before are still there; they haven't been sold."

"Although Xu Zhaodi is rather unreasonable and speaks harshly, she is impeccable in her dealings with people. She hasn't sold any of the valuables in the house, and she has been supporting herself with her salary for the past two months."

"Really not for sale?" He Yongqiang was a little dumbfounded and asked again.

"You don't even believe what I say? Why don't you come back with me and see for yourself?"

"This..." He Yongqiang was speechless. Judging from Niu Ye's appearance, none of those things had been sold. It seemed that he had been wrong.

He Yuzhu remained silent, instead examining the two stone houses.

Although the furniture was worn out, it was spotless, and the bed sheets and blankets were brand new and thoroughly washed.

The clothes He Yongqiang was wearing also had mud splattered on the cuffs, but the clothes were very clean, which was not like He Yongqiang's style.

He Yongqiang has developed a habit from living in the countryside that requires others to urge him to wash his hands and face; he will only wash them when he is forced to.

He would wear the same clothes for 10 to 15 days, until they smelled so bad that he couldn't stand it anymore, before he would think about changing them.

The couple's arguments in the past were mostly caused by hygiene issues.

Zhao Di's family has always been relatively well-off, and she has developed good hygiene habits. She washes her face and hands when she gets home, and although she can't change her clothes every day, she changes her clothes every two or three days. She always looks neat and tidy when she goes out.

In contrast, He Yongqiang was extremely slovenly; making him wash his hands and face was more unbearable than being in prison.

He Yuzhu would never believe that He Yongqiang's personality had changed drastically in the two months since he returned to the countryside, becoming very diligent and paying attention to personal hygiene.

Seeing the bed and He Yongqiang's clean clothes, He Yuzhu asked, "He Yongqiang, did you find another woman here?"

"No...nothing like that." Although Fan Yongqiang denied it as soon as he opened his mouth, he didn't have any confidence and seemed rather guilty.

After looking him over, Uncle Niu asked in surprise, "He Yongqiang, you didn't wash these clothes yourself, did you?"

"I washed it myself, no one helped me," He Yongqiang continued to deny, his face flushed.

Uncle Niu said, "Sigh, I was originally thinking of persuading you to go back and live a good life as a couple, but it seems you already have your own plans."

"I'm not going back to that tavern. Just sell it for me."

"You're dreaming. That's Old He's property. If you don't want to take it over, why are you selling the tavern?"

He Yongqiang retorted, "I'm still my uncle's son, why can't I sell him?"

"Then let's ask the neighbors to judge this. If you sell it, how are Zhao Di and her daughter supposed to live?"

"..." He Yongqiang turned his head to the side, not even considering how Xu Zhaodi and the others would live their lives.

He Yuzhu asked, "He Yongqiang, do you really want to sell the yard?"

"Yeah, I don't want to live in the city. Everyone looks down on me. So what if I speak with a country accent? Why should they look down on me? Go back three generations, didn't they all come from the countryside to the city?"

He Yuzhu said, "Since you want to sell, but I think it would be too unfair to Xu Zhaodi if you sold them all. I have a solution, would you like to hear it?"

He Yongqiang quickly asked, "What method?"

“The courtyard can be sold, but the backyard belongs to Xu Zhaodi, so that she and her child will have a place to live. You can only sell the front yard.”

The front yard has been converted into a small tavern, and the shops there are of greater value, while the back yard is just a single-courtyard house, so its value is much less.

This divided the courtyard in two, with He Yongqiang getting the lion's share and Xu Zhaodi getting a single-courtyard house.

He Yongqiang gained most of the benefits, while Xu Zhaodi only had a place to stay.

This arrangement takes into account the interests of both parties. After all, the house deed belongs to He Yongqiang, and the land deed is still in his possession. If it were secretly sold to someone else, Xu Zhaodi would have nothing.

At that time, there was no custom of divorcing parties dividing their assets equally.

The house belongs to the He family, and even if the two divorce, Xu Zhaodi will not receive a single penny of the property.

She could only take her dowry back to her parents' home.

He Yuzhu explained, "After all, you need to transfer your household registration from the He family to Shidu, and you also need Xu Zhaodi to take the child and carry on the name of Grandpa He, to continue his lineage, and to give him a backyard, so that the He family will not be homeless."

Uncle Niu nodded: "Zhu Zi is right. If you want to move your household registration back, you can't leave them with nothing."

He Yongqiang thought for a moment, then gritted his teeth and said, "Okay, I agree to this method, but I have one condition."

"What are the conditions?" He Yuzhu asked.

"We'll tell her that after she gives birth, she can't remarry and will be a member of the He family for life. It would be even better if it's a boy, but if it's a girl, we'll have to find a son-in-law to live with us so that my uncle's family line doesn't end."

He Yuzhu said, "Okay, I'll agree to this condition on his behalf, but I also have a condition."

"what?"

"You have to sell me the front yard, including all the antiques and paintings. I'll give you cash right away."

"Okay, it's settled."

He Yongqiang didn't care who he sold it to, as he didn't know many people. The richest among them was He Yuzhu, who also happened to enjoy collecting antiques and calligraphy.

Since he has asked, I have no reason not to agree.

Old Niu sighed, "I never thought it would really come to this."

"It's good that you're divorced. He Yongqiang has another woman now, so why is he still thinking about going back?"