r18novel Chapter 249 Separation
Chapter 249 Separation
The cold wind swirled snowflakes in the courtyard. Qin Jingru knelt on the bluestone slab at the gate of the courtyard, holding little Shouye in her arms, her tears freezing into ice on her face. Her cotton-padded jacket was open, revealing the thin sweater underneath, and the child in her arms was crying with a red face.
Although the older neighbors, such as the third uncle and his wife in the front yard, the old Yang family, and the old Ma family in the middle yard, felt that Xu Damao had done a lot of bad things and his departure was what most people wanted and would bring peace to the courtyard, they did not say bad things to Xu Damao and his wife during the New Year's holiday and just closed the doors and windows silently, not wanting to see any bad news.
As the elder sister of the person involved, Qin Huairu could not just leave it alone, regardless of the blood relationship between the two families or because Qin Huairu wanted to maintain her own image. Qin Huairu bent down and took Shouye into her arms, then pulled Qin Jingru up and helped her back to Xu's house.
"Sister... Sister, please help me..." Qin Jingru tightly grasped the corner of Qin Huairu's clothes, her knuckles turning pale, "Talk to Director Li... It's New Year's Day..."
The little Shouye in Qin Huairu's arms suddenly reached out to grab the scarf on her chest and called out in a baby voice: "Auntie... come home..." This call made Qin Jingru completely collapse. She collapsed on the ground and cried loudly: "Xu Damao, you bastard! You just left us like this!"
The lights in the yard lit up one by one, but soon went out. Hu Feng peeked through the crack in the door, and he had put down the Little Red Book in his hand without knowing when; Song Ming squatted on the threshold of his house and smoked, and the cigarette butt burned black holes in the snow. Even Liu Guangtian, the brother who loved to join in the fun, just quietly closed the window.
Qin Huairu sighed and bent down to help her sister: "Get up, the ground is cold..." Her eyes swept across the closed doors, and she knew clearly in her heart - these cunning people, who is not the one who changes with the wind? They joined in the fun when Xu Damao was here, but now that he is gone, they all pretend to be good people.
"Sister!" Qin Jingru suddenly grabbed her hand, her nails almost digging into the flesh, "You and Director Li...that...can you..." She glanced in the direction of the steel mill, and her meaning was obvious.
Qin Huairu's face suddenly flushed. She subconsciously gathered her scarf - underneath it was the gold necklace Li Huaide had given her. Shouye in her arms suddenly cried even harder, and his little feet kicked the warehouse key hanging on her waist.
"Let's go home first." Qin Huairu gritted her teeth and helped her sister up, leaving a string of crooked footprints on the snow. When she passed by Sha Zhu's house, she caught a glimpse of a vague figure behind the curtains, and the aroma of stewed meat was wafting out of the casserole on the stove.
Qin Jingru's crying gradually weakened and turned into intermittent sobbing: "Sister... you are all I have left... We are sisters..."
It was snowing heavily that night. Sha Zhu stood under the eaves, the cigarette in his hand flickering in the darkness. Yu Li held the sleeping Qi Yi in her arms, gently closed the door, and walked behind Sha Zhu.
"Still thinking about it?" She handed Sha Zhu a cup of hot tea, and the hot steam condensed into white mist in the cold air.
Sha Zhu took the teacup and tapped it with his knuckles. Yu Li stood next to him, and the two of them looked at the thick snow in the yard, neither of them spoke first.
Lamb was stewing on the coal stove next to them, and the gurgling sound made the night even quieter. After a long while, Sha Zhu lowered his voice and said, "I have offended Li Huaide quite badly this time, and I am afraid he will not care."
Yu Li twisted the corner of her scarf: "How about...looking for Uncle Ren? My godfather is a district leader and has contact with Li Huaide..."
"It's useless." Sha Zhu shook his head, "Li Huaide's backers are in the ministry." He suddenly lowered his voice, "Secretary Yang said before..."
Yu Li covered his mouth with her hand and glanced out the window nervously. After confirming that there was no one in the courtyard, she let go of his hand and said, "Are you crazy? Mentioning Secretary Yang now?"
Sha Zhu smiled and took out a small notebook from his pocket: "Look at this." The notebook was filled with the dietary preferences of leaders from various units, "Military District Staff Officer Liu likes spicy food, Municipal Party Committee Director Wang has gout..."
Yu Li's eyes lit up: "You mean..."
"I'll make 'Buddha Jumps Over the Wall' tomorrow." Sha Zhu closed the notebook, "I'll add in the preferences of Li Huaide and his father-in-law."
Yu Li frowned worriedly: "But at this critical moment, will he come?"
"If he doesn't come, someone else will." Sha Zhu blinked mysteriously, "Isn't Mr. Zhang from the Machinery Bureau the one who loves this the most?"
As they were talking, the gate creaked. The two looked over alertly and saw Qin Huairu walking hurriedly on the snow, seeming to be holding something in her arms.
"Did you see that?" Sha Zhu sneered, "Someone is more anxious than us."
Yu Li suddenly grabbed her husband's hand and said, "Zhu Zi, why don't you... hand over the service team's account? Spending money will ward off disaster..."
"Hand it over?" Sha Zhu stood up suddenly, spilling the water in the teacup all over the floor. "That's the hard-earned money of the brothers!" He took a deep breath and sat down slowly. "But... we can give the workers another meal of dumplings."
The next morning, the corridor of the steel mill office building was still covered with a layer of cold air. Sha Zhu carried a red lacquered lunch box, and his cotton shoes made a creaking sound on the concrete floor. Wisps of white mist floated out from the gaps in the lunch box, carrying the mellow aroma of soybeans and ham.
"Director He? What a rare guest." Li Huaide's secretary Xiao Wang pushed his glasses and glanced at the food box.
Sha Zhu smiled innocently: "Give Director Li a little New Year gift." He deliberately opened the lid of the food box a little, and hot steam immediately came out. "Freshly out of the pot, first-class tofu. I heard that his grandfather loves this the most."
Xiao Wang's Adam's apple moved, and just as he was about to report, Li Huaide's voice suddenly came from the inner room: "Let him in."
The heating in the office was too strong, and Li Huaide was only wearing a navy blue wool vest. He stared at the lunch box in Sha Zhu's hand, "Director He, what is this..."
"At the end of the year, I'll add a dish for you and the old man." Sha Zhu put the food box on the coffee table and opened the lid as if he was showing off some treasure - in a blue and white porcelain bowl, tender tofu was carved into a lotus shape, trembling slightly in the amber broth, and topped with shredded Jinhua ham and dried scallops.
Li Huaide picked up the spoon and suddenly laughed: "I heard that you went to the Machinery Bureau to cook for Director Zhang yesterday?"
"That's right." Sha Zhu wiped his hands with his apron. "Director Zhang specifically asked for the lion's head, so I specially chopped 60% lean and 40% fat front leg meat." He seemed to suddenly remember something. "By the way, Director Zhang said he was going to be transferred to the ministry?"
The silver spoon clanged against the edge of the bowl. Li Huaide looked up and for the first time looked at the cook, whom he always thought was a rough man. The sunlight reflected from the snow outside the window was too dazzling, and he could hardly see the other person's expression.
"He Yuzhu." Li Huaide slowly put down the spoon, "What do you want to say?"
Sha Zhu rubbed his rough palms and said, "Nothing, I was just thinking... now that Director Zhang is gone, I wonder if the new leader will be able to get used to eating in the cafeteria." He paused, "I heard that a retired soldier will be parachuted in?"
The office suddenly became eerily quiet. The clock on the filing cabinet rang, and Li Huaide found that his left hand was unconsciously stroking the handle of the drawer - the secret letter his father-in-law had given him last night was locked inside, which mentioned that the troops were coming.
"Eat slowly, and eat the tofu while it's hot." Sha Zhu suddenly stood up and took out a folded square of paper from his pocket. "This is the recipe for making tofu. If the old man likes it, just ask the cook at home to make it."
Li Huaide unfolded the note. In addition to the recipe, there was a line of small words written on it: "The chef service team will end after the Chinese New Year. I am here to announce it."
Outside the window, Sha Zhu was walking through the square in front of the office building. Several workers greeted him from a distance: "Master He! Are you still mixing the dumpling fillings yourself this year?"
That afternoon, the steel mill posted a notice: During the Spring Festival, the chef service team will provide three free dumplings for all employees. In the signature, the names of Li Huaide and He Yuzhu stood side by side.
On New Year's Eve, when every household was putting up Spring Festival couplets, Qin Huairu saw a new couplet on the door of Sha Zhu's house:
"Loyalty and righteousness are passed down from generation to generation"
“The aroma of the kitchen lasts forever”
Horizontal banner: "You know when to heat yourself."