Chapter 14: She's just cheap at her core, she loves being surrounded by men like she's the center of attention.
In the early morning, Huang Weiguo was woken up by the cries of Huahua and Qing Qing.
He got up and walked out of the room, asking, "Huahua, Qing Qing, what's wrong?"
Huahua said between sobs, "We want to wear our new clothes, but Mom insists we wait until Chinese New Year!"
"Clothes are meant to be worn. Why wait for Chinese New Year? Come on, big brother will get you your new bikes, new clothes, and new leather shoes!"
With that, Huang Weiguo picked up Huahua and Qing Qing to change their clothes.
The two little girls were so happy they danced about in Huang Weiguo's arms.
With the improved diet these past two days, the little girls' complexions had gotten much better.
Huang Weiguo looked them over and realized they had grown. Not only did they resemble the child star Shu Chang, but they also looked a lot like Yang Mi when she was seven or eight.
Huang Weiguo was secretly amazed, wondering just how beautiful these two little girls would become when they grew up.
Especially their soft, sweet baby voices, which were like heavenly music.
Seeing Huang Weiguo change Huahua and Qing Qing into new clothes and leather shoes, Huang Liying said with a helpless expression, "Weiguo, you're spoiling them. Sooner or later, you'll ruin them!"
Huang Weiguo replied, "Huahua and Qing Qing are so sensible; how could they be spoiled? Mom, if we have new clothes, we should wear them. I'll go hunting in a bit. After selling the game, I'll buy a sewing machine for the house."
Huang Liying said, "You... just come back safe and sound. You can't possibly catch game every time."
Last time, Huang Weiguo managed to bag a wild boar. Huang Liying felt that was an incredible stroke of luck. This time, she didn't think there would be another big harvest.
As she spoke, Huang Liying boiled the dozen or so wild bird eggs Huang Weiguo had previously gathered and told him to take them along.
Huang Weiguo stuffed two eggs each for Huang Liying, Huahua, and Qing Qing before pushing his bicycle out, ready to leave.
"Brother, we'll be waiting for you at home!"
"Brother, you must come back early!"
"Alright!"
Listening to Huahua's cheerful laughter, Huang Weiguo felt a warm glow in his heart.
"Hey, Weiguo, are you going hunting so soon after recovering?"
Huang Weiguo looked up and saw it was Xu Damao from the Rear Courtyard, returning from outside with several large and small packages.
This was actually Huang Weiguo's first time meeting Xu Damao.
Everyone said Xu Damao was a villain through and through.
But Huang Weiguo didn't have a bad impression of Xu Damao.
Regardless of how Xu Damao behaved at the dinner table, or his tendency to hold grudges and swallow his anger, at least he was genuine.
As a small-time character constantly striving to better his life, he was bullied by Sha Zhu, who always seemed to have the spotlight.
Think about it carefully, what bad things had Xu Damao actually done in the Siheyuan?
Every time, it was a counterattack after being bullied or schemed against.
As for reporting the Lou Family, everyone said he went too far, but Huang Weiguo didn't think so.
His wife getting involved with his arch-rival—any man would find that hard to swallow.
Besides, in those days, it wasn't just spouses; even fathers and sons reported on each other.
That was just a tragedy of the times; you couldn't blame Xu Damao for it.
Given the Lou Family's background, if Xu Damao hadn't reported them back then, the entire Xu Family might have been implicated.
Xu Damao said, "Weiguo, let me tell you something from the heart today. I've actually wanted to say this to you for a while but never had the chance. A woman like Qin Huairu, if the Jia Family snatched her away, so be it. That woman is no simple character. If Jia Dongxu is fine, it's one thing. But if anything happens to Jia Dongxu, believe me, she'll get involved with a bunch of men, no questions asked. That woman isn't worth you risking your life over when you were seriously ill. As for Bai Ling, she's too proud and arrogant; she'll definitely regret it someday. You, just take it easy. Don't rush to find a wife. Maybe one day, a wife will just come knocking on your door."
Xu Damao's words, spoken with his arm around Huang Weiguo's shoulder, made Huang Weiguo see him in a new light.
This Xu Damao had his own cleverness; he had actually seen through Qin Huairu's true nature so early on.
Swaying between men—don't make excuses about survival or feeding the children.
The Liang Ladi next door had a much harder life, yet she managed to become a third-grade worker and support her entire family.
Then look at Qin Huairu, slacking off in the workshop all day, spending her free time either asking about how Xu Damao slept last night or going to Sha Zhu to complain about her hardships.
She's just cheap at her core, she loves being surrounded by men like she's the center of attention.
"Thank you, Xu Damao!"
Seeing that Huang Weiguo had taken his words to heart, Xu Damao immediately beamed with joy and said, "I've got nothing else on tonight. I'll go buy some food, and us brothers can have a proper drink!"
"Sure!"
Huang Weiguo pushed his bicycle out of the Siheyuan.
Just as he reached the entrance, he happened to run into Qin Huairu.
Qin Huairu was scheming to improve her relationship with Huang Weiguo, thinking she might get some meat in the future.
"Weiguo, are you planning to go hunting outside?"
As soon as Qin Huairu finished speaking, Huang Weiguo didn't even glance at her.
He placed his left foot on the bicycle pedal, gave a couple of light pushes with his right foot on the ground, and swung onto the bicycle with a very stylish motion, riding off towards the exit of Nanluoguxiang.
Inside Nanluoguxiang, residents from other Siheyuans looked at Huang Weiguo's bicycle with expressions of envy.
They chattered among themselves: "We heard yesterday that the Huang Family in Courtyard No. 44 bought a bicycle."
"It's actually a Forever brand 28-inch Bicycle!"
"That's a really nice bike. That young man from the Huang Family is quite capable! So young, and he's the first person in our Sub-district Office to own a bicycle!"
"Back then, Qin Huairu looked down on Huang Weiguo's family for being poor and him for having no job. Now Weiguo has really turned things around!"
Listening to everyone's discussion, Qin Huairu felt a pang of discomfort in her heart.
A group of children stared intently at Huang Weiguo's bicycle, running quickly after it while singing a nursery rhyme:
"The bicycle is a treasure, on sunny days it carries you, on rainy days you carry it. Big brother takes little brother, a perfect fit."
To be honest, riding a 28-inch Bicycle, weaving quickly through the Alleyways in that era, made Huang Weiguo feel like he was cruising in a convertible Mercedes-Benz in later years.
Indeed, every era has its own unique symbols.
"Weiguo!"
Huang Weiguo got off his bicycle and responded, "Director Wang!"
Director Wang said, "Don't call me Director Wang. From now on, just call me Auntie Wang."
"Alright, Auntie Wang!"
"Weiguo, Auntie Wang wants to ask you for a favor. Our food supplies around here are getting increasingly short lately."
"Especially at our Sub-district Office and over at the Public Security Bureau."
"If you bag a good amount of game today, could you send some over to the Sub-district Office and to your Uncle Feng at the Public Security Bureau?"
Hearing that there was a destination for the game, Huang Weiguo thought he'd better hunt even more today!
"No problem, Director Wang. I'll definitely try my best to bag more game today!"
Director Wang smiled and said, "Good!"