My happy life in a courtyard house with triplets.

Chapter 224: Eating melons at the He family's doorstep

Zhang Lei smiled and pulled a handful of sunflower seeds from his pocket. He sat down next to Ye Shuqin, and the two leaned against the window, quietly listening to the conversation between He Daqing and Qin Huairu inside.

Inside the room, Qin Huairu looked at the fruit platter and melon seeds on the table and said with a smile, "Uncle He, don't bother."

Zhang Lei, standing outside the window, almost burst out laughing at just that one word, "Uncle He." Luckily, he reacted quickly and covered his mouth with his hand. Ye Shuqin, seeing his reaction, immediately reached out to stop him and whispered, "Honey, keep it down."

Zhang Lei waved his hand and explained in a low voice, "It's nothing, I just bit my tooth while eating sunflower seeds."

Ye Shuqin rolled her eyes at him and said with a smile, "Alright, we still need to listen. If the people inside hear you making this noise, we won't be able to hear it."

Zhang Lei quickly composed himself, put his finger to his lips in a shushing gesture, and the two listened intently again. They heard He Daqing say somewhat awkwardly from inside the room, "Qin Huairu, don't call me Uncle He anymore, just call me by my name, He Daqing. After all, we're here for a blind date today, and if you call me that, it might sound like we're from different generations."

Qin Huairu smiled and replied, "Okay, then I'll call you He Daqing."

He Daqing nodded and replied, "Yes."

As soon as he finished speaking, the two people in the room fell silent again, standing face to face, speechless, and the atmosphere became awkward once more.

After a moment, He Daqing coughed lightly, breaking the silence first: "Why don't you drink some water first?"

Qin Huairu shook her head: "I've already drunk it."

"Want some melon seeds?" He Daqing suggested again.

Qin Huairu gently spread her hands, indicating that it wasn't necessary. Seeing this, He Daqing scratched his head, smiled awkwardly, and said, "Just say whatever you want to ask me."

Seeing his flustered appearance, Qin Huairu smiled and said, "He Daqing, Zhang Lei has already told me about your situation. He said you are now the canteen manager of the textile factory."

When his job was mentioned, He Daqing immediately became confident and straightened his back, saying, "Oh, right, I'm the canteen manager at the textile factory now. With all the miscellaneous benefits, I can earn about seventy or eighty yuan a month."

Upon hearing that He Daqing's salary was so high, Qin Huairu's eyes flashed with joy. She smiled and tried to call out to him, but her words slipped out: "He Da... Daqing."

Feeling awkward after calling him that, he simply said, "Then I'll just call you Great Qing."

He Daqing thought for a moment and nodded repeatedly: "Okay, okay, calling me Daqing is fine."

Seeing that the atmosphere had eased, Qin Huairu asked the crucial question: "Daqing, tell me, if we get married, will you treat me well?"

Upon hearing this, He Daqing immediately patted his chest and assured him, "Don't worry, if we get married, I'll treat you 100% well! Whatever you want to buy, I'll buy it for you. As long as it's within my means, I'll satisfy you completely."

Hearing this solid guarantee, Qin Huairu nodded in satisfaction and said, "You also know about my past entanglements with the Jia family."

He Daqing waved his hand dismissively, "Don't worry, I'll handle this. I guarantee no one in the courtyard will dare to gossip."

Seeing his sense of responsibility, Qin Huairu breathed a sigh of relief and nodded, saying, "That's good, as long as you don't mind..."

Before she could finish speaking, He Daqing hurriedly interrupted, "I don't mind, I don't mind at all."

Hearing He Daqing's anxious voice from inside the room, Zhang Lei, standing outside the window, could only shake his head helplessly.

Before long, the two inside were chatting away, covering a wide range of topics. Outside the window, Zhang Lei and Ye Shuqin listened intently to this exclusive gossip, munching on sunflower seeds. Neighbors passing by the He family's door, seeing the couple sitting on small stools, sometimes chuckling to themselves, sometimes cracking sunflower seeds, couldn't help but wonder what they were doing there.

Before long, Qin Huairu and He Daqing reached an agreement. Zhang Lei, who was outside the courtyard, listened with great interest when suddenly he heard the door of the He family being pulled open with a "sizzle".

Zhang Lei and Ye Shuqin looked up and saw He Daqing walking out. They immediately gave an awkward smile, momentarily at a loss for what to do. Zhang Lei composed himself, then stood up confidently and asked, "Uncle He, have you two reached an agreement?"

He Daqing's face darkened instantly when he saw the couple sitting on small stools by the door, eavesdropping. Qin Huairu, on the other hand, didn't seem to care and smiled as she replied, "Zhang Lei, we've settled things."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Lei immediately straightened up with Ye Shuqin and asked, "That's good. So when do you plan to get married and have the wedding?"

He Daqing replied, "We'll get our marriage certificate today. We won't have a banquet; we'll just invite a few people from the compound to have a simple meal together."

Zhang Lei nodded: "That's fine too. Since you're both getting married for the second time, if you make it too ostentatious, people will inevitably gossip."

Hearing this, He Daqing really wanted to go up and shut him up, thinking to himself, if you can't speak properly, then don't speak. But Zhang Lei didn't even see his dark face, and said with a smile, "Congratulations, congratulations, I've finally completed my job as matchmaker."

When the matchmaker was mentioned, He Daqing took out twenty yuan from his pocket and handed it over: "Zhang Lei, this is a gift for your matchmaker."

Looking at the amount of money, Zhang Lei quickly declined, saying, "Uncle He, what are you doing? Are you treating me like an outsider?"

"I gave you so much because I don't consider you an outsider. If you were an outsider, a few dollars would have been enough," He Daqing said.

Seeing his reaction, Zhang Lei smiled and took the money, saying, "Alright, I'll accept it. I'll wait to drink Uncle He's wedding wine."

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhang Lei looked at Qin Huairu and suddenly felt a little embarrassed, thinking to himself that he would have to call her "Auntie" from now on. He Daqing seemed to notice his embarrassment and smiled to smooth things over: "Alright, let's each stick to our own way. Qin Huairu can still call you that as she always has."

Seeing that He Daqing was so understanding, Zhang Lei smiled and agreed, blurting out, "Uncle He, Qin Huairu." Qin Huairu, standing to the side, felt a mix of emotions welling up inside her as she looked at Zhang Lei. But when she turned to look at He Daqing beside her, she thought to herself, "Well, He Daqing is much better than Jia Dongxu."

Soon, under the watchful eyes of Zhang Lei and Ye Shuqin, Qin Huairu followed He Daqing out of the courtyard. Zhang Lei subconsciously glanced in the direction of the Jia family's residence, secretly relieved that Jia Zhangshi wasn't home; otherwise, Qin Huairu and He Daqing definitely wouldn't have been able to get their marriage certificate today.

Seeing the way he was looking at the Jia family, Ye Shuqin asked, "What are you looking at, sir?"

Zhang Lei turned around and said, "Look at the Jia family. Although Qin Huairu and Jia Dongxu are divorced, she immediately married He Daqing. That old hag Jia Zhangshi will definitely cause trouble."

Ye Shuqin then realized what was happening and asked with concern, "Then, husband, what should we do?"

Zhang Lei waved his hand with a smile: "What does this have to do with us? He Daqing is always there to protect us. Since he dared to marry Qin Huairu, he has a way to deal with Jia Zhangshi."

Despite this, Ye Shuqin couldn't help but worry, even feeling that Zhang Lei's actions were somewhat unethical. Zhang Lei noticed her thoughts and asked, "Is there something you want to tell me?"

Ye Shuqin looked at him and said bluntly, "Honey, she just got divorced, and you're already introducing her to potential partners. Isn't that a bit inappropriate?"

Zhang Lei looked at her and explained, "What do you know? They're just getting what they need. Besides, what kind of life did Qin Huairu have in the Jia family? What kind of life can she have after marrying into the He family? I'm helping her escape her misery."

Ye Shuqin rolled her eyes at him and said irritably, "Fine, you get to decide everything."

Seeing his wife's expression, Zhang Lei smiled and said, "Alright, we've seen enough excitement and heard enough gossip. It's time for us to go home." With that, he bent down, picked up two small stools from the ground, and led Ye Shuqin home.