My happy life in a courtyard house with triplets.

Chapter 183: Going to Baoding to Find He Daqing

Zhang Lei looked at Ye Shuqin and said, "I'm telling you this so you won't tell anyone else. Just say I went to the countryside to buy things these past two days. As for Yushui, tell your brother that you have something to do at school and won't be visiting him these past two days, so he won't worry about not being able to find you."

He Yushui nodded and said, "Brother Zhang Lei, I know what I should do."

Ye Shuqin glanced at Zhang Lei and said, "Can I tell my brother and the others?"

Zhang Lei shook his head and said, "Don't tell them for now. The fewer people who know about this, the better. We'll go to Baoding to find He Daqing, and we'll be right back. It won't take long. If we can't find him, we'll still come back immediately."

Ye Shuqin nodded and said, "I understand."

Seeing the worried look in Ye Shuqin's eyes, Zhang Lei smiled and said, "I'm not going right now, so don't worry. Don't you know what I, your man, am capable of?"

Ye Shuqin thought for a moment and said, "How about I make you some more dry rations so you can take them with you on the road?"

Zhang Lei shook his head and said, "No need, there are plenty of things on the train. I just need to bring my money and ticket."

He Yushui stood to the side, unsure of what to say. This was originally her own family matter, but now that Zhang Lei was helping her so much, she didn't know how to thank him enough. However, she really didn't have the courage to go alone. Things were chaotic outside, and as a young girl, she didn't know what she would do going to Baoding alone.

As they went to bed that night, Zhang Lei glanced at Ye Shuqin beside him and said with a smile, "Are you still worried about what I said during the day?"

Ye Shuqin leaned against Zhang Lei's chest and whispered, "Honey, I'm scared."

Zhang Lei then said, "I'll show you something."

At this moment, Zhang Lei started rummaging through a cabinet next to him, then focused his consciousness into his personal space and took out a gun he had previously collected.

When Ye Shuqin saw the gun Zhang Lei had pulled out of the cabinet, she was startled and exclaimed, "Honey, what are you doing...?"

Zhang Lei looked at Ye Shuqin and said, "Don't be afraid, it's not loaded. I just wanted to tell you that you don't need to worry about your man; he's safe and sound outside."

Ye Shuqin said in surprise, "Honey, how come I didn't know there was a gun in the cabinet?"

Zhang Lei looked at Ye Shuqin and said, "Of course you don't know, this is a skill I learned at a great cost, such as magic tricks and finding things."

Ye Shuqin was somewhat skeptical, so Zhang Lei demonstrated to her that the gun was in his hand. With a flick of his wrist, the gun disappeared, and with another reach, it was back in his hand, leaving Ye Shuqin completely dumbfounded.

Of course, Zhang Lei couldn't actually perform any magic tricks. He was just using the system space, taking things out and putting them back in, which is why Ye Shuqin saw that Zhang Lei really could perform magic tricks.

Knowing that Zhang Lei could pull out a gun anytime, anywhere, Ye Shuqin felt relieved and said, "Honey, you're really something else."

Zhang Lei looked at Ye Shuqin and said, "I have even greater skills. Would you like to see them?"

Ye Shuqin glanced at Zhang Lei and asked, "What skills do you have?"

Zhang Lei said with a smile, "I want you to give me a healthy son."

Hearing Zhang Lei's words, Ye Shuqin blushed and said, "You're so shameless."

Zhang Lei glanced at Ye Shuqin and said, "We're just killing time anyway, honey, let's exercise."

Soon, Ye Shuqin's melodious singing voice came from inside the room.

The next morning, Zhang Lei told his family about his trip to another city to make purchases. No one suspected anything, since Zhang Lei was indeed a purchasing agent. Although he rarely went to the countryside, that was the nature of a purchasing agent's job, so no one thought much of it.

He Yushui also informed He Yuzhu, making up an excuse that she had school matters to attend to these days and wouldn't be able to go to the hospital to take care of him for the time being. He Yuzhu, being easygoing, didn't think anything of it and just told her to focus on her studies.

Zhang Lei and He Yushui, armed with letters of introduction from the local street office, boarded a train and headed straight for Baoding.

Once on the train, Zhang Lei truly experienced how crowded, chaotic, and incredibly slow trains were in those days. The carriages were filled with smoke, people were packed together, and the air reeked of sweat and cigarette smoke.

Zhang Lei shielded He Yushui, preventing anyone from touching her. He Yushui, however, seemed very excited; this was her first time traveling so far, and her eyes kept darting around.

After a long and bumpy journey, the two finally arrived in Baoding.

Following the address on the envelope, they found the local neighborhood committee office.

The people from the neighborhood committee looked at Zhang Lei and He Yushui, and asked with some surprise, "Are you here to see someone?"

Zhang Lei nodded and said, "We're here to find someone. I'm Zhang Lei, a purchasing agent from the Hongxing Steel Rolling Mill in Beijing. Here are my credentials; you can verify them."

After hearing Zhang Lei's words, the man looked at Zhang Lei, nodded and said, "Okay, we will notify He Daqing and have him come over. Please wait here for a moment."

After waiting for about an hour and a half, Zhang Lei and He Yushui finally saw He Daqing, who had traveled all the way from the south.

The moment He Yushui saw He Daqing, she could no longer hold back and burst into tears.

He Daqing was startled when he saw He Yushui, then asked nervously, "Yushui? Are you Yushui?"

Raindrops splashed into He Daqing's arms as he said, "Dad, it's me!"

Soon, once He Yushui calmed down, He Daqing noticed Zhang Lei beside him and asked in confusion, "Yushui, who is this?"

Zhang Lei glanced at He Daqing and said, "Uncle He, I'm Zhang Lei."

He Daqing looked Zhang Lei up and down, then laughed and said, "You're Zhang Lei? You've grown so tall!"

Zhang Lei said, "Uncle He, you're talking about me from eight or nine years ago. There must have been changes."

Soon, He Daqing led Zhang Lei and He Yushui to a small restaurant outside. The three of them sat down to eat and chat, and it must be said that the restaurant He Daqing found was really good.

Hearing He Yushui's complaints about sending letters and money, He Daqing immediately became angry and said, "What? You two siblings haven't received a single penny or a single letter?"

He Yushui nodded and said, "Dad, it's true. If my brother hadn't been injured this time, and Zhang Lei hadn't asked me to go to the post office to check, we wouldn't have known yet."

He Daqing was furious and said, "If I find out who did it, I'll skin him alive!"

Seeing He Daqing like this, Zhang Lei said, "Uncle He, calm down first. Let's analyze this matter carefully and see who is behind it all."

After hearing Zhang Lei's words, He Daqing calmed down and said, "Zhang Lei, I'm sorry, I made you laugh."

Zhang Lei looked at He Daqing and said, "Uncle He, I didn't just see you make a fool of yourself now. The moment you left Beijing, not only you, but also Sha Zhu, Yu Shui, and I were already being laughed at."

Upon hearing Zhang Lei's words, He Daqing immediately said with shame, "Alas, I had no choice back then."

Zhang Lei glanced at He Daqing and said, "Uncle He, can you tell me about what happened to you back then?"

He Daqing took a sip of wine and sighed, "It's alright to tell you now, after all, so much time has passed."

Soon, He Daqing recounted in detail how he met Widow Bai back then, and how he couldn't control himself and ended up sleeping with her, only to be caught in bed together.

Zhang Lei looked at He Daqing and said, "Uncle He, from what you've said, I feel like you've been set up."

Hearing Zhang Lei say this, He Daqing was stunned for a moment and said, "What? We've been set up?"

Zhang Lei nodded and said, "Uncle He, think about it. You had such a good job and a house in Beijing back then. If Widow Bai really wanted to live with you, why would she leave such a good place in Beijing and travel all the way to Baoding? Besides, Beijing's education and geographical location are far superior to Baoding's."

He Daqing thought for a moment and said, "But what Widow Bai said..."

Zhang Lei glanced at He Daqing and said, "Uncle He, if we want to know the truth, we can test Widow Bai. She's a party involved, so she must know something."