binnovel Chapter 220 "He Yuzhu" 24
Chapter 220 "He Yuzhu" 24
The He family was lively for the next few days. Wang Dahe's wedding was also held in the courtyard, but He Yuzhu was in charge of cooking.
When the Wang family came this time, they learned that Wang Yan was pregnant again, and naturally gave her a lot of advice.
After Wang Dahe finished his honeymoon, life in the He family returned to normal. Every day, Li Lingling and Wang Yan cooked three meals together, since the two families ate together.
After following Wang Yan for a few days, Li Lingling became familiar with the courtyard. Whenever she had free time, she would chat with Wang Yan, Yuanchao, and the other women in the courtyard.
There were times when she would argue with people. For example, her neighbor, Jia Zhangshi, was really annoying. Luckily, she and Dahe ate with her sister-in-law's family, otherwise she definitely wouldn't have been able to handle it.
On the night she returned to her parents' home, her sister-in-law gave her 2 million yuan, saying it was money Dahe had saved up from working over the past few years. She also said that from now on, the two of them would only need to pay 10 yuan a month for living expenses, and if they didn't want to eat with the He family anymore, they wouldn't have to pay.
But Dahe had already told her about his situation over the years. Not to mention the money he had for food and pocket money, just look at the house, the wedding, the bicycle—aren't those major expenses? Where could he possibly get another 200 million? This was his sister-in-law subsidizing them.
She didn't want to be in charge of the household; it was too much trouble. She was already exhausted just looking after her mother and older sister at home. From now on, she would just pay for living expenses and follow her sister-in-law's arrangements. As for her sister-in-law's subsidies, she would just treat the children better in the future. She wasn't ungrateful.
Li Lingling feels that life is even better now than when she was a girl at home. She does less work, eats better than at home, and her husband is ambitious. So, Li Lingling is happy every day.
In July, He Yuzhu did something that caused a sensation in Nanluoguxiang: he adopted three orphans of martyrs. An eighteen-year-old young man adopting three children when he himself is still a child and not even married. What girl would dare to marry him? Would she become a stepmother after marrying him?
No one dared to say anything unpleasant to their faces. After all, adopting the orphan of a martyr was a good thing, and the neighborhood office had praised and publicized it. Besides, there were three honorary plaques nailed to the gates of the two houses on either side of the He family's house!
But behind the scenes, the He family was never spared criticism. Some said He Yuzhu was foolish, while others said He Daqing didn't care about his son. They argued that even if He wanted to adopt, he could have let He Daqing do it, not let a grown man like He Yuzhu adopt! Wasn't that delaying the child's development?
Leaving aside other people's opinions, let's talk about the He family. The three children belong to two families. The eldest girl is 4 years old and is called Daya. She and the three-month-old boy are siblings. The younger brother is a posthumous child.
The mother and daughter were already having a hard time living with their grandparents. When the news of her father's death came back, her mother was so shocked that she almost miscarried. She finally made it to the delivery, but she still couldn't make it through the severe bleeding.
Her younger brother was born tiny, and she was afraid he wouldn't survive. Before her mother died, she told her and her brother to live well, but she didn't know how to live well.
Her mother had fled famine, and her grandmother always called her mother "the beggar woman." She was the "little beggar woman." Her grandmother never gave her younger brother a single bite to eat from the moment he was born. It was only when the village headwoman came that she brought him rice gruel. Otherwise, her younger brother would probably have starved to death.
She knew that rice porridge could keep her younger brother alive, but her grandmother wouldn't give it to her. So she went to the village to beg for some. Some families would give her some food because they felt sorry for her. She was too small to do much work, so she would go every day to collect firewood and dig wild vegetables to deliver to people. Her grandmother would beat her, but she wouldn't change. She wanted to keep her younger brother alive.
But her younger brother could eat very little. The village elder said he was too young and could only eat refined foods. But the villagers were struggling and didn't have enough refined food. Looking at her thin, small brother, she felt very sad. She was afraid that one day when she opened her eyes, her brother would be gone, just like her mother.
Just when she was about to despair, two People's Liberation Army soldiers came to her house. They said they were her father's comrades-in-arms. She didn't know what comrades-in-arms were, but she recognized the clothes they were wearing. Her father had worn the same clothes when he came home before he died.
They fed her younger brother formula. Her uncle had told her about the formula before, and she had never seen it before. When she smelled the formula for the first time, she thought it smelled really good and must taste delicious.
Seeing her younger brother drinking so vigorously, she felt he probably wouldn't die. However, when her uncle brought her a bowl as well, she refused. This bowl had to be saved for her brother; otherwise, he would still go hungry. She didn't want him to go hungry; she wanted him to live.
Then the People's Liberation Army uncle asked her if she would like to leave that home with her younger brother. They would find her and her brother a new father. She asked them if that new father could support her brother. They said yes, so she left with her brother and the two uncles.
Before she left, the village elder told her that her new father had also served in the army, just like her own father. She should listen to her new father and take good care of herself and her younger brother. She thought that as long as she and her brother could live well, she would definitely obey and make her brother obedient in the future.
Later, she and her younger brother were sent to a place called a hospital for a while. During this time, the two People's Liberation Army uncles brought a younger brother named Gou Dan. Gou Dan was two years old. The uncles said that his parents had also passed away, and he would go to the same father's house as her and her brother. Gou Dan was very well-behaved and would help her look after her brother. She liked Gou Dan.
Then they took a train for several days to Beijing, where they met their new father. He looked young, but he was a great cook; she had never eaten such delicious food in her life.
She was very reluctant to leave the hospital. She felt that life in the hospital was a life she could never have imagined. She could eat her fill every day and sometimes even eat meat. She wondered if she could still eat her fill every day when she went to her new father's house.
But she didn't dare say she wouldn't leave. Her uncle had said that hospitals were for sick people, and that healthy people like them shouldn't be able to stay there. But after eating her new father's cooking, she wondered if she could eat such delicious food every day from now on. Would she and her two younger brothers have fallen into a paradise? She was really looking forward to her future life.
Uncle said the new father's name was He Yuzhu. The father took them to register their household registration and said to her, "Da Ya, from now on you will be called He Nian, Gou Dan will be called He Xiang, and Xiao Mao Dan will be called He Pan." Da Ya responded with a "okay," no, from now on she will be called He Nian.
Dad took them to buy new clothes, and then they went home. Grandpa, Grandma, Aunt, Uncle, and Great-Uncle were all there. Everyone in the family treated them very well, unlike their previous grandparents. He Nian felt that she and her brother should be able to live a good life now.