Courtyard House: My Wife is Xu Huizhen

Page 297

Now that Aunt Yi felt more confident, she started making a fuss about wanting to divorce Yi Zhonghai.

"I never imagined this matter would involve me."

He Yuzhu was quite surprised, then laughed and said, "Now Uncle Yi will hate me even more."

Last year, He Yuzhu wanted to ease the tension with Yi Zhonghai, after all, he couldn't push him too far.

Even a cornered dog will jump over a wall, and a cornered rabbit will bite.

Yi Zhonghai and He Daqing lived together, along with He Yushui and Wen Yuping with their two children.

If he harbors malicious intentions towards his neighbors and secretly harms them, it will be too late for regrets.

I never imagined that their divorce would be related to me; it's truly unbelievable.

"Then why haven't you divorced yet?"

Chapter 218 Godmother

He Daqing said, "Although your aunt can earn money, she is still a temporary worker and hasn't made up her mind yet."

He Daqing was a little conflicted. Actually, this wasn't the main reason. With her son around, it would be easy to arrange a job for her. The cannery was seasonal, but other factories needed manpower.

The main reason is that it's hard to bring up.

Wen Yuping had long sensed that He Daqing was acting strangely, with an ambiguous attitude towards Aunt Yi. Although she had no evidence, she was still a little jealous.

Since we happened to be talking about this today, I couldn't help but chime in to He Yuzhu.

"Isn't it because he's worried that after the divorce, Lao Yi will marry the widow Bai?"

He Daqing looked embarrassed after hearing this.

The white widow was his ex-wife, who had also given birth to two sons for Yi Zhonghai. It was better that they didn't live together.

After returning from Baocheng, his good days were short-lived, as the White Widow also returned, which infuriated him.

If Yi Zhonghai really marries the White Widow, wouldn't the Zhongyuan Court be unable to live a normal life?

Just thinking about that scene is incredibly awkward and terrifying.

Wen Yuping was subtly warning He Daqing, but she did so in a very understated way.

He Yuzhu chuckled. Just thinking about it, if Yi Zhonghai were to marry the White Widow, the scene would be incredibly joyous.

How will Widow Bai face He Daqing? Will Yi Zhonghai be jealous, thinking about how Widow Bai has been slept with by He Daqing for several years?

Aunt Yi has her own life in trouble and no ability to move out. Seeing the widow Bai move in with her two sons, isn't this just like the mistress successfully getting rid of the original wife and becoming the empress?

If you think about it that way, it's no wonder that Aunt Yi didn't make up her mind to divorce Yi Zhonghai.

How can a wife voluntarily step aside and give her man to a mistress?

He Yuzhu asked, "What is that woman thinking? It's either divorce or no divorce, why make such a fuss every day?"

He Daqing was genuinely confused about this issue and couldn't figure out what Aunt Yi was thinking.

Wen Yuping said, "It's hard to say about this. The old lady just felt suffocated whenever she saw Lao Yi, but she couldn't bear to actually get a divorce, and then she watched him marry the widow Bai."

"This is really a dilemma," He Yuzhu said.

"Yes, this is a difficult choice for anyone."

He Yuzhu had another guess in his mind: more importantly, Aunt Yi was worried about her retirement after the divorce because she had no children.

If they don't get divorced, even if things go wrong for a while, they'll still have Yi Zhonghai to take care of them when they get old.

If she gets divorced, who will take care of her when she gets old and can't move?

The family gathered together and talked about Aunt Yi's troubles for a while, then He Yuzhu got up to say goodbye, as he was going back to the alley in front of the gate.

Just as he arrived at the front yard to push his bicycle, He Daqing followed from behind.

"Zhu Zi, there's something I want to ask you?"

He Yuzhu straightened up and asked with a smile, "What's up?"

"Isn't this your aunt's problem? She's still a temporary worker at the cannery, isn't she?"

I mentioned it during our conversation earlier; Aunt Yi is worried about her future livelihood.

The main issue is that Aunt Yi is just a temporary worker with no stable income. When He Daqing and Aunt Yi had a secret rendezvous before, Aunt Yi vaguely mentioned to He Daqing that she wanted to become a permanent employee.

With his wife present, He Daqing couldn't speak on behalf of Aunt Yi, so he waited for He Yuzhu to come out, then excused himself to go to the restroom and spoke to He Yuzhu about the matter alone.

"Yes, what's wrong?" He Yuzhu asked knowingly.

He Daqing said awkwardly, "Your aunt usually takes good care of you. She has helped our family since you were little. She took care of you and Yushui. She will think of you when there is something good to eat."

He Yuzhu nodded. That was indeed true; the two families were neighbors and took good care of each other.

Especially since Yi Zhonghai has no children, Aunt Yi likes to take care of children. When she was a child, both she and Yushui grew up with her.

Yi Zhonghai used to have a relatively high salary and a light family burden, so he had spare money to buy pastries and candies, a large portion of which ended up in He Yuzhu's stomach when she was a child.

"Yes, the older woman was really kind to me."

This good relationship lasted until He Yuzhu transmigrated and had several conflicts with Yi Zhonghai, after which their relationship gradually faded.

After He Daqing said that, He Yuzhu also felt that he had let down Aunt Yi's kindness.

"Then I won't beat around the bush with you, I'll just say it straight: can you help your aunt get a permanent position?"

He Yuzhu asked, "It was the old lady who begged you, why didn't he come to me directly?"

"this..."

"It's because you two have caused a few troubles over the years. He didn't know what you were thinking, so he asked me first."

He Yuzhu nodded and said, "I'll talk to the neighborhood committee later and see if it can be done. I can't guarantee it."

He Daqing breathed a sigh of relief. As long as he had a good relationship with the local government and the street office, the street office would always meet his requests. It wasn't a big deal; he was just a regular employee.

"Then I'll wait for your good news."

After finishing this matter, He Daqing didn't go to the toilet, but turned around and went back.

He Yuzhu pushed his cart out of the courtyard, got on his bike and rode away, but was stopped by someone as soon as he turned a corner.

"Auntie, you scared me!" He Yuzhu quickly braked, preventing the bicycle from hitting Auntie Yi.

"It's my fault, did I scare you?" Aunt Yi asked quickly.

“It’s not important that this happened. Is something wrong, ma’am?” He Yuzhu asked.

"Zhu Zi, I really do have something to ask of you." Aunt Yi looked troubled.

He Yuzhu laughed and said, "Auntie, what are you saying? You used to hold me every day when I was little, so you practically raised me. Just tell me what's on your mind. Is it about work?"

Aunt Yi was still undecided, unsure of He Yuzhu's attitude towards her. Although He Daqing had gotten her a job at the cannery, she was still uncertain about He Yuzhu's feelings.

"Is there work-related stuff going on? Did your dad talk to you about it?"

"As I just said, this shouldn't be too difficult. I'll discuss it with the factory manager later."

Most canneries need temporary workers, since canning is seasonal. If they harvest a lot of fruit, they need to hire more temporary workers; if they don't harvest fruit, they need to hire fewer.

This way, you don't have to pay wages during your free time, which is quite worthwhile overall.

Moreover, the wages for temporary workers are relatively low, and they are mainly there to help women from families facing financial difficulties.

This is the same as asking people on the street to paste matchboxes or make cardboard boxes.

However, the cannery does have some permanent positions, but very few are offered, and almost all the work is done by temporary workers.

"Thank you, Zhuzi. I really don't know what to say."

"Auntie, you don't need to be so polite. It's all what I should do. Don't worry, just wait for news in a couple of days. If there's nothing else, I'll be going now."

"Wait a minute, Pillar, I have something else to do."

Aunt Yi then asked, "I'd like to ask for your opinion."

"What's going on?" He Yuzhu had a guess in his mind.

Aunt Yi said with some difficulty, "You know, your uncle and I are not on the same page, and we can hardly make ends meet."

He Yuzhu nodded. Just as he had guessed, he didn't understand why Aunt Yi wanted to talk to him about this. Did she want him to take care of her in her old age?

That is impossible.

Although Aunt Yi took good care of me when I was little, I just couldn't accept that she would let me raise her because of that.

Let alone an old lady, even He Daqing himself couldn't possibly take care of him at his bedside.

After all, he was a time traveler, and that wasn't his father.

I have plenty of money and possessions, and I can afford to support him financially, but I won't take care of him by cleaning up his excrement and urine.

So after bringing He Daqing over, he took it all in stride and found a matchmaker to find him a second wife. Now she has a son and a daughter, and he plans to have them take care of He Daqing in his old age, while he can provide financial support later.

He Daqing doesn't support her, so of course he won't support Aunt Yi in her old age; their relationship hasn't reached that level of intimacy yet.

“Yes, you and Grandpa are facing problems with your retirement. So what are your plans?” He Yuzhu asked.

"Zhu Zi, do you know a lot about antiques?"