My happy life in a courtyard house with triplets.

Chapter 200: Recommending He Daqing to Qin Huairu

Zhang Lei caught a glimpse of Director Yang's departing figure. Puzzled, Zhang Lei walked towards the He family's house.

Upon entering the room, he saw He Daqing sitting at the table with a gloomy expression and asked, "Uncle He, was that person Director Yang from the steel rolling mill?"

He Daqing raised his head and sighed, "Yes, yes. I never expected that old man Yi Zhonghai would have such great influence, that he could actually get the director of the steel rolling mill to come and plead for him personally."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Lei shook his head and said with certainty, "Uncle He, it shouldn't be Yi Zhonghai."

Upon hearing Zhang Lei's words, He Daqing was stunned and asked with a face full of doubt, "Not Yi Zhonghai? Then who did he come for?"

Zhang Lei walked to the table, poured himself a glass of water, and analyzed as he drank, "It must be that old deaf man in the back. Yi Zhonghai is currently detained in the police station, and he's only an eighth-level fitter. No matter how much influence he has, it's impossible for the head of a factory to personally come to plead for him. There must be a deeper relationship at work behind this."

Hearing Zhang Lei's analysis, He Daqing pondered for a while. He thought about it and realized that, apart from the deaf old lady, there was really no one else who could get Director Yang to personally come forward.

He Daqing said with a wry smile, "I never expected that this deaf old lady, at her age, could still do something like this."

Zhang Lei looked at He Daqing and said, "Uncle He, things have escalated to this point, how about... we take a step back?"

He Daqing looked at Zhang Lei, smiled, and said, "What retreat? The word 'admit defeat' doesn't exist in my dictionary. It has nothing to do with her being deaf, but I, He Daqing, am not made of clay. Back in the day, my fellow disciples who practiced martial arts with me at Tianqiao, and all the people I knew throughout Beijing, aren't they all influential figures? My connections are no less than her husband's."

Hearing He Daqing say this, Zhang Lei laughed and said, "Uncle He, don't overthink it. This old man is getting on in years; he might be gone anytime soon. It's not worth getting angry with someone like that."

Hearing Zhang Lei's words, He Daqing waved his hand and said, "Alright, this is my family's business, so don't worry about me."

Seeing He Daqing and He Yushui starting to pack their things again, Zhang Lei asked, "Uncle He, are you going to deliver food to Shazhu?"

He Daqing nodded and said, "Go deliver the food, and while you're at it, tell him about Xu Damao's arrest, so he can be happy too."

Zhang Lei nodded and said, "Of course, of course."

Watching He Daqing's departing figure, Zhang Lei pondered for a moment. Then, a bold idea struck him: he couldn't wait any longer; he had to test the old deaf man tonight.

Just then, as Zhang Lei was in a daze, Qin Huairu suddenly walked towards him and called out, "Zhang Lei!"

Zhang Lei was startled when he heard this, but when he saw it was Qin Huairu, he breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Qin Huairu, do you know that someone can scare another person to death?"

Qin Huairu looked at Zhang Lei and said, "It's broad daylight. You haven't done anything wrong, so what are you afraid of?"

Zhang Lei looked at Qin Huairu and said, "Qin Huairu, shouldn't you be at work? Why are you still at home?"

Qin Huairu glanced at Zhang Lei and said, "I broke up with Jia Dongxu last night. I'm going to the Women's Federation now and ask them to help me. I want to divorce Jia Dongxu."

Hearing this, Zhang Lei became interested and asked, "Really?"

Qin Huairu nodded: "Really."

At this moment, Zhang Lei looked at the Jia family again and said, "Then you should go quickly."

At this moment, Qin Huairu looked at Zhang Lei and said, "Come out of the courtyard with me first, I have some questions for you."

Zhang Lei thought for a moment, then nodded and said, "Okay, you go first, I'll be there in a bit."

Before long, Zhang Lei found Qin Huairu in a secluded corner of a hutong in the courtyard.

Qin Huairu looked at Zhang Lei and said, "Zhang Lei, I'm already preparing for a divorce, and you still haven't said what your plans are for me?"

Upon hearing Qin Huairu's words, Zhang Lei smiled and said, "You're worried about that?"

Qin Huairu glanced at him and said, "Isn't that obvious? If I leave the Jia family, I'll be all alone. Where will I live? How will I survive?"

"Don't worry, I've already found a way out for you," Zhang Lei said.

Qin Huairu looked at Zhang Lei and said, "I'm willing to follow you, but where will you assign me?"

Upon hearing Qin Huairu's words, Zhang Lei quickly waved his hand and said, "Qin Huairu, what are you thinking?"

Qin Huairu looked at Zhang Lei and said, "Am I wrong?"

Zhang Lei quickly said, feeling wronged, "That's definitely not right."

Seeing Zhang Lei's attitude, Qin Huairu immediately became angry and said, "Zhang Lei, you're not planning to abandon me, are you? You're not going to care about anything, are you?"

Zhang Lei looked at Qin Huairu and said, "Qin Huairu, when did I say I wouldn't take care of you? Didn't I say I've already prepared a way out for you?"

Qin Huairu asked in confusion, "Didn't you tell me to follow you?"

Zhang Lei said, "How could that be? What's the point of you following me?"

Qin Huairu frowned and said, "But the two of us..."

Zhang Lei quickly interrupted her, saying, "I was just experiencing your ventriloquism."

Seeing Zhang Lei's expression, Qin Huairu frowned and said, "Zhang Lei, what exactly is this 'escape route' you were talking about?"

Zhang Lei looked at Qin Huairu and said with a smile, "He Daqing."

Upon hearing those two words, Qin Huairu reacted as if her tail had been stepped on, suddenly raising her voice: "Zhang Lei, are you fucking messing with me?"

Zhang Lei glanced at Qin Huairu, then looked around, and lowered his voice, saying, "Qin Huairu, what do you mean by that? When did I ever play a trick on you?"

Qin Huairu's chest heaved with anger as she pointed at Zhang Lei's nose and said, "Everyone knows He Daqing's age; he could be my father! Is this the way you're going to get me out of this mess? Really?"

Zhang Lei laughed, patted Qin Huairu's arm, and said earnestly, "Qin Huairu, don't just look at this from your own perspective. What's wrong with He Daqing? He Daqing is a man too, and a good man at that. His cooking skills are much better than his son He Yuzhu's, and he earns more money than Sha Zhu."

Upon hearing the words "earns a lot of money," Qin Huairu's eyes flickered slightly, and she hesitated before saying, "But... his age..."

"Don't talk about age, he's not that old," Zhang Lei interrupted her, continuing his persuasive approach. "Besides, this is very good for you. How so?"

Zhang Lei leaned closer and lowered his voice to analyze, "Think about it, now the He family only has two men, He Daqing and He Yuzhu. He Yuzhu is already useless, so only He Daqing is left. When He Daqing marries you, won't He Yuzhu have to call you a stepmother?"

"Then you'll have another son for He Daqing, won't your position in the He family be absolutely secure? No one will be able to shake your position. And won't everything in the He family belong to your son?"

"Besides, even though He Yuzhu is disabled, he's still the head chef at the steel mill and earns a good amount of money. He's even younger than you. When he makes money, won't he spend it on you, his 'stepmother'? Won't he spend it on your son?"

"Think about it, the two men in the He family are earning money for you to spend alone. In the future, you can ask He Yushui, their daughter, for help whenever you need anything. He Yushui is also educated now, and her future prospects are good."

Zhang Lei concluded, "Think about it, it's better for the He family to support you as a whole than for the Jia family to drag you down, right?"