I am Jia Dongjin in the Siheyuan (Courtyard House)

Chapter 90 Ma Qianbu

At this moment, time seemed to have been paused.

The female employer was Zhang Qin. Even though she was prepared, she could hear her heart pounding in her chest. Long-forgotten memories suddenly flooded back, including the scene of their breakup.

She opened her mouth, but something seemed to block her throat. She tried to smile, but couldn't.

Zhang Qin's gaze fell on Qin Huairu beside her, then quickly shifted away, as if she were avoiding something.

Silence fell once again.

Jia Dongjin was the first to react. He affectionately tugged at Qin Huairu, pushed the stroller, and the couple walked very quietly past the cart and Zhang Qin.

"These two are quite a good match, Xiaoqin. Do you know them?"

The male employer asked curiously, clearly noticing something amiss with his wife's behavior.

"Quansheng, he, he used to date me, I told you about it."

Zhang Qin spoke with a bitter tone, but still told her husband honestly.

"Oh, it's nothing. We're married now, it's no big deal."

Zhang Qin's husband smiled. Since his wife hadn't hidden anything, he, a man from Beijing, naturally wouldn't care too much.

Just now, Zhang Qin's husband's attention was a bit scattered, mostly focused on the crib. He said with a strange look, "Interesting, there's a wooden sign hanging on the car that says 'Radio Repair.' I see the address is where we're moving to. So we're going to be neighbors."

"Now you understand why I disagreed back then, right? How awkward it was."

"It's nothing. I specifically chose this courtyard house because there are a lot of people from the steel mill there. I admire how quickly he acted; the kids are all grown up now, we need to work hard to surpass them."

"Oh dear, you don't understand. I'll tell you tonight. But I don't know if they're married."

"You already have a child, and you're saying you're not married?"

Zhang Qin's husband was completely dumbfounded, his mouth agape, unable to speak. As a cadre, he knew this was a serious matter, and in severe cases, he might even have to eat peanuts.

"Boss, let's go quickly."

The young couple chattered away, and the man next to them couldn't stand their dawdling. He was hoping to finish this job and then take on another order, or simply go home and change into dry clothes.

"Don't call me 'boss,' just call me 'comrade,' otherwise you'll make a mistake."

Zhang Qin's husband smiled kindly and reminded her.

There were changes in the courtyard house. Old Mo, who lived next door to Yi Zhonghai in the middle courtyard, was transferred back to his hometown in Northeast China. The steel rolling mill allocated the house to a newcomer, Ma Quansheng, a young technical cadre who had just been assigned there.

It's not strange for a new couple to come to a courtyard house; what's strange is the identity of the new couple.

Ma Quansheng is a "phoenix man" from decades later. He is from Miyun. After being admitted to a vocational school, he escaped rural life and became a well-known technical cadre in a steel rolling mill, earning a monthly salary of 37 yuan.

Because of the housing shortage at the steel rolling mill, the dormitory buildings where the cadres lived were overcrowded. He had just graduated and lacked the qualifications, but urgently needed housing, so he had to move to a courtyard house.

Ma Quansheng is of medium height and always wears a Zhongshan suit with two pens in his pocket. He has a fashionable middle-part hairstyle and is a handsome young man who looks like a cultured person.

Ma Quansheng has a gentle temperament and always has a smile on his face. He is a lucky man; he not only got into a vocational school but also found a beautiful wife.

However, the moment this beautiful daughter-in-law appeared, everyone in the courtyard was stunned.

Everyone knows the beautiful wife; she is Zhang Qin, a former girlfriend of Jia Dongjin and an acquaintance from the courtyard.

"Oh my god! It's Zhang Qin! This is going to be interesting!"

Yan Fugui, the former door god, was so shocked that he shook his head repeatedly and forgot to go forward to help.

Yang Ruihua was also stunned. She never dreamed that Zhang Qin and Jia Dongjin were similar. They both got married quickly. It was one thing for Zhang Qin to get married, but she also miraculously moved into a courtyard house and became neighbors with her former lover. How could anyone bear it?

This time, things are completely different from Jia Dongjin's previous life. After confirming that they are in a relationship, they basically enter the marriage stage, which is a very serious matter.

Otherwise, Liu Hong's neighbors in the courtyard would not have condoned his criminal acts, and would have tacitly approved of his sexual relations.

Therefore, people living in courtyard houses find it incredible and are all waiting to see how the two families will get along.

People were very curious, but He Yushui was secretly worried. Zhang Qin's husband was a cadre, and she was very concerned that it would be detrimental to Jia Dongjin.

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"Zhang Qin actually moved into the courtyard house, and she even lives diagonally opposite our Jia family's house. It's really awkward. Yi Zhonghai also lives across the street. There are no good people across from our Jia family's house."

At the dinner table, listening to Jia Zhangshi's complaints, Jia Dongjin felt uneasy, but he still put on a smiling face. "Mom, Ma Qianbu is quite easygoing. I think Ma Qianbu is a good person. You can just treat him as an ordinary neighbor. They have it tough too, otherwise why wouldn't they live in a tenement building?"

In fact, Jia Dongjin already knew about Zhang Qin's marriage. After marrying Qin Huairu, he made a special trip to Wang the matchmaker's house and gave her 4 yuan as a token of his gratitude.

He and Zhang Qin did not marry, but that had nothing to do with the matchmaker. Matchmaker Wang had contacted her sisters and put in a lot of effort. The matchmaker's fee couldn't be less, otherwise Jia Dongjin wouldn't feel at ease.

After much refusal, Wang, the matchmaker, accepted the money and told Zhang Qin about her marriage.

The old man lamented that the two were destined to be together but not to stay together, and he also shared some of his thoughts with Jia Dongjin, telling him to treat Qin Huairu well. "Qin Huairu is a good person. Since you chose her, don't look down on her because she is a widow. On the contrary, you should treat her even better. Qin Huairu will naturally give you her heart."

Even after marriage, Qin Huairu remained taciturn in front of others, showing none of the talkativeness she displayed when alone with Jia Dongjin.

Therefore, Wang the matchmaker said this because she meant well and was afraid that Jia Dongjin would look down on Qin Huairu.

"I heard Zhang Qin seems to be pregnant; she's only been married for two months."

Qin Huairu, who was standing next to her, couldn't help but chime in. New brides are all concerned about their bellies, and she was no exception.

"They got married two and a half months ago, a month later than you guys. They're so smug about it, the whole hospital knows."

Jia Zhangshi pursed her lips, issued the official press release, and glanced at Qin Huairu at the same time.

Qin Huairu deeply regretted her loose tongue. She immediately fell silent and lowered her head to breastfeed again.

"It's normal, nothing at all. Huai Ru, how are the sweet potatoes growing?"

Jia Zhangshi was a bit agitated, probably because she was provoked by Zhang Qin. Jia Dongjin quickly tried to smooth things over, frantically giving his allies meaningful glances to change the subject.

"The sweet potatoes are growing very well, but my dad says the soil there is so fertile that it would be better to plant wheat. But the leaders ordered that all the sweet potatoes be planted, what a pity."

"Huai Ru, you're making a mistake by saying that. You mustn't say things like that."

Seeing that his wife was speaking carelessly, Jia Dongjin was so frightened that he quickly reminded her, using the safety of Qin Huairu's father to scare her.

"what!"

Stimulated by Zhang Qin's pregnancy, Qin Huairu, who had spoken without thinking, was so frightened by what she heard that she quickly lowered her head again.

She looked around and saw that her mother-in-law and husband both looked serious. She quickly nodded and promised not to say anything more. As time went on, she also realized the seriousness of making mistakes and the consequences she could not afford.

In the courtyard, there were actually many other people who knew about Zhang Qin's marriage.

Among them was He Yuzhu. After learning that Jia Dongjin and Zhang Qin had broken up, he quickly went to find Wang the matchmaker, but Wang the matchmaker did not agree to introduce them.

"Shazhu, Zhang Qin already has a new boyfriend. I can't tell you who it is. That's the rule in our line of work. No matter how many gifts you give, it won't make a difference."

After seeing He Yuzhu off, Matchmaker Wang curled her lip. Xu Damao from the courtyard also secretly came over, saying he would give 8 yuan as a thank you for the matchmaking. He Yuzhu only took 4 yuan, truly treating a bean bun as if it were nothing.

As for the bag of dried fish in the kitchen, it left Wang, the matchmaker, speechless. She was equally speechless about Liu Guangtian's pound of eggs.

"This courtyard house is truly civilized; everyone in it is a talented individual!"

Matchmaker Wang sighed deeply, lamenting that these people were all ruthless, none of them kind-hearted.

When they returned to their room to rest that evening, Qin Huairu breastfed Xiaodang for half a day before she finally ate and fell asleep. She placed the child on the inside of the bed and said with a puzzled look, "Dongjin, I don't know what's wrong, but my milk supply has decreased, and Xiaodang isn't getting enough to eat."

"How about I leave work early tomorrow and go catch some crucian carp to make soup?"

This question was too advanced for Jia Dongjin to answer; it was outside his area of ​​expertise.

"It's fine to wean her, Xiaodang is already seven months old."

Qin Huairu glanced at the sleeping Xiao Dang, and suddenly her face turned as red as a cloth. She whispered to Jia Dongjin, "It's getting late. I'll go get some water to wash your feet. Let's go to bed early tonight."

"It's still light out. We just finished eating not long ago, so it's probably not even seven o'clock yet."

Jia Dongjin was repairing a radio, and he answered without even looking up.

At this time, people lacked spiritual life and went to bed early at night. In summer, it got dark late, and it was still bright at seven o'clock. As a night owl in his previous life, Jia Dongjin had never gone to bed so early.

As his reputation gradually spread, he now has a family and doesn't go to the neighborhood office to repair radios as often. Many customers, seeing that no one is at the neighborhood office, follow the instructions on the GG sign or the old man at the gate, and bring their radios directly to Jia's house for repair, saving him a lot of time.

The two were washing their faces and feet together, enjoying their time together, when Qin Huairu, with a flirtatious look in her eyes, took the initiative to rub her foot against the man, who couldn't even dodge it.

"What's going on?!"