Siheyuan: The Era of Struggle

Chapter 343 How Do You Become an Uncle?
It was already past five-ten in the afternoon when He Yuanchao rode his bike with He Yushui back to No. 95 Nanluoguxiang from the steel rolling mill.

Originally, He Yuanchao wanted to send He Yushui home first and then go to work, but he could not resist his niece's nagging and insisted on going with her to the factory.

There was no other way. After being annoyed enough, He Yuanchao had to compromise. He parked his three-wheeler at the factory, checked the time, went back to the office to call Zhang Min, and then skipped work and went home early.

As soon as the uncle and nephew pushed their bicycles into the yard, they ran into the third aunt coming out of Yan's house.

"Hey! It's not a holiday in Yushui, why are you back with your uncle?"

As she spoke, the third aunt looked at the uncle and nephew's faces inquiringly, and seeing He Yushui's red and swollen eyes, she quickly came up to him and asked, "What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"

"Well, I suddenly felt uncomfortable during class this afternoon."

As soon as the third aunt finished speaking, He Yushui followed her lead without thinking.

Except for the aunt, all the young girls, young wives, and old ladies in the courtyard kept their mouths shut. He Yushui didn't want her little affair to be spread all over the courtyard before dark.

Hearing that her guess had come true, the third aunt showed a worried look on her face. She quickly stepped aside and urged, "Then don't delay here. Go inside and rest. The sudden change in temperature this time of day should not make it worse."

Upon hearing this, the uncle and nephew didn't bother to be polite anymore. They nodded to the third aunt and pushed their bicycles into the middle courtyard.

Looking at the uncle and nephew He Yuanchao disappearing through the gate of the middle courtyard, the third aunt walked out of the courtyard while muttering to herself:

"Hey! I really don't know which cloud will bring rain. Who would have thought that the He family's brother and sister would receive help from their second uncle."

……

As the sky gradually darkened, more and more people returned from get off work, and the whole compound gradually became noisy.

The sounds of children chasing and playing, neighbors chatting and laughing when they meet, and the sound of pots and pans cooking in each household, all these sounds are intertwined together, and the noise gives people a different kind of peace.

After cooking, He Yuanchao stood at the kitchen door of Sha Zhu's house, smoking a cigarette, watching the children running around in the yard, and chatting with He Yushui who was cleaning in the kitchen.

When a cigarette was almost finished, Zhang Min and Yu Li pushed their bicycles into the central courtyard, talking and laughing.

Seeing Yu Li with her big belly, He Yuanchao quickly threw the cigarette butt in his hand to the ground and stomped it out, then said with a smile: "Why are you two together?"

Yu Li is not much older than Zhang Min, but she is the younger one after all. After calling He Yuanchao "Second Uncle", she smiled and said nothing more.

Zhang Min and He Yuanchao have been married for several months, but she is still a little restrained in front of outsiders. Seeing that Yu Li didn't say anything, she could only respond simply.

"We met at the bus station and returned together."

After saying that, she no longer paid any attention to her man and walked to the window to park her bicycle.

He Yushui, who was busy in the kitchen, heard the noise outside, put down the work in her hands, and ran out, looking somewhat excited.

"Second Aunt, Sister-in-law, you are back!"

It smells good from a distance but stinks when close. There is some truth in this.

After getting married, Zhang Min seldom came here, and the three women didn't meet very often. Now that they got together, they seemed particularly close and talked a lot more than usual.

He Yushui, in particular, seemed like someone was trying to interrupt her and would chatter non-stop as soon as someone started talking.

He Yuanchao stood next to the three women and suddenly felt like he had fallen into a duck nest, with his head buzzing.

"If we can't afford to offend them, we can afford to hide from them." Seeing that the three were talking happily, He Yuanchao did not interrupt them. After muttering something in his heart, he turned and went into the kitchen.

Yu Li had been keeping an eye on He Yuanchao. She felt relieved when she saw him enter the kitchen, and she spoke more casually than before.

"By the way, Yushui, why is your school giving you a holiday when it's not a festival?"

Hearing her sister-in-law's question, He Yushui, who was originally cheerful, suddenly changed her expression. She didn't want her brother and sister-in-law to know about the school, so she deliberately made trouble:

"What? You think I'm redundant and don't want me to come back?"

Yu Li blushed at this. She glanced at Zhang Min beside her, and hurriedly explained, fearing that there would be a misunderstanding:
"What are you talking about? When did I dislike you? I just asked you when I saw you suddenly come home today."

Zhang Min had heard He Yuanchao talk about He Yushui's matter when they were on the phone just now. Now that she saw that the aunt and sister-in-law were about to quarrel over this matter, she quickly spoke up to smooth things over:
"I know that Yu Shui is coming back today. This is not the place to talk. Let's go inside and talk."

As she spoke, Zhang Min took the two sisters-in-law, who no longer looked smiling, one in each hand and went back to the main house.

The kitchen wall was not very thick and the door was open, so the three people's words reached He Yuanchao's ears. Afraid that Zhang Min couldn't explain clearly, he quickly wiped his hands and followed her into the house.

Zhang Min was not particularly clear about the whole story, and she spoke very vaguely to Yu Li. When she saw He Yuanchao coming in, she quickly said:

"Tell us what happened to Yu Shui at school."

He Yuanchao came into the house just for this matter. He didn't hide anything when he heard it. He found a chair and sat down, then he told the whole story in detail.

After hearing the whole story, Zhang Min turned pale with anger, while Yu Li showed an expression of self-blame on her face.

He Yushui lost his mother when he was a few years old. A few years later, his father ran away with the widow. He and Sha Zhu, who was not yet an adult, lived a starving life until He Yuanchao was demobilized and returned. Only then did they live a stable life. To be honest, it was not easy.

Yu Li lived in a slum when she was a child. She saw many poor families and children without parents, so she naturally knew what kind of life the two brothers had lived in the past.

Looking at He Yushui who was keeping silent with her head down, Yu Li stood up, walked over to her, touched her hair and said guiltily: "Yushui, it's my fault for not caring about you more. If you get bullied in the future, don't keep it to yourself, and be sure to tell me."

"Yeah! Don't try to handle anything by yourself."

After Yu Li finished speaking, Zhang Min on the side also took over the conversation and comforted her:

"Even if you don't want your brother and sister-in-law to worry, don't you still have your uncle and me? We don't bully others, but we can't let others bully us. If this happens again, tell me and I promise to help you vent your anger."

After saying this, Zhang Min was still a little upset. She turned her head and glared at He Yuanchao and said, "Your niece was bullied like this, and you just criticized her and put her under observation? How can you be an uncle?"

He Yushui was not as weak as Zhang Min and Yu Li imagined. She kept her head down and said nothing because this matter involved issues between men and women and she felt embarrassed and too asy to speak up.

At this moment, when he heard Zhang Min scolding his uncle for not letting him vent his anger, he suddenly thought of Qiu Peng's miserable situation and burst out laughing.

Yu Li was startled when she heard He Yushui's sudden laughter, and asked hurriedly, "What's wrong, Yushui? Don't scare my sister-in-law!"

Yu Li is not imagining things. There was a girl on the street where she lived who committed suicide by jumping into the river because she was bullied by a local thug.

He Yushui looked up and saw that everyone in the room was looking at him. His face flushed, and he quickly tried to make amends for He Yuanchao and himself, "Second Aunt, you are wrongly accusing my Second Uncle."

Then, He Yushui told the story of He Yuanchao beating people, especially the description of Qiu Peng's head that was swollen like a pig's head was particularly detailed.

He Yushui was talking excitedly when the door was suddenly opened. Hearing the noise, everyone in the room looked towards the door.

(End of this chapter)