My happy life in a courtyard house with triplets.

Chapter 137: The Shy Ye Shuqin

Yan Fugui had no choice but to reluctantly take an empty flowerpot and hand it to Zhang Lei.

Seeing the flowerpot, Zhang Lei smiled and said, "Alright, I'm going home now."

Hearing Zhang Lei say this, Yan Fugui quickly stopped him: "Zhang Lei, wait a minute? You said you'd help me save up for a bicycle, you can't go back on your word, I've already given you the flowerpots."

Zhang Lei looked at Yan Fugui and said, "Uncle, I can help you assemble a bicycle, but you need to have a discarded bicycle first. I can't just conjure bicycle parts out of thin air."

Upon hearing Zhang Lei's words, Yan Fugui slapped his forehead and said, "Yes, yes, yes."

Zhang Lei continued, "Uncle, when assembling a bicycle, the parts should be as compatible as possible. The scrap bicycles you buy should ideally be the same brand, otherwise the sizes will be different and it will be difficult to find a match. Also, you need to have a lot of scrap bicycles, otherwise you might not be able to put together a complete bicycle."

After hearing Zhang Lei's words, Yan Fugui hesitated for a moment and asked, "Zhang Lei, how many vehicles would we need?"

Zhang Lei shook his head and said, "Uncle, I don't know. If you're lucky, you might be able to scrape together one of the two; but if you're unlucky, it's hard to say." With that, he turned and left without looking back.

Yan Fugui stood there stunned for a long time before he reacted, and said angrily, "I've fallen for Zhang Lei's trick! That kid holds a grudge."

The three women came out, saw the angry Yan Fugui, and said, "Old Yan, what's wrong with you?"

Yan Fugui angrily recounted what had just happened.

After listening, the three women said, "I think Zhang Lei is right. But there's no guarantee. Besides, assembling a bicycle is a technical job. If our family really wants to build a bicycle, we have to do exactly what Zhang Lei said."

Yan Fugui nodded, then said angrily, "I know that. But whether we can actually save up enough is up to Zhang Lei. I tricked him out of his flowerpots before, do you think I can trust him to save up enough for a bicycle? What if I buy a used bicycle and he says he can't save up enough?"

When the third aunt heard Yan Fugui say this, she immediately realized that what her husband said was indeed true.

Then the three women looked at Yan Fugui and said, "Husband, what should we do?"

Yan Fugui said angrily, "I don't know what to do. Let's go home first and think about it."

Zhang Lei was fiddling with a flowerpot when he arrived at the Intermediate People's Court, pushing his bicycle with one hand. There he saw Qin Huairu.

Zhang Lei looked at Qin Huairu with a sly grin and said, "Qin Huairu, you're already at work, why are you still doing laundry? Is that old hag Jia Zhangshi saving all the chores for you to do after you get off work?"

Upon hearing Zhang Lei's words, Qin Huairu's heart skipped a beat.

Although she didn't say it, her actions betrayed her.

Seeing Qin Huairu like this, Zhang Lei teased, "Qin Huairu, what did I tell you before? If you keep going like this, your future will only get harder and harder."

Qin Huairu listened to Zhang Lei's teasing without saying a word, and just kept washing clothes with her head down.

Seeing her like this, Zhang Lei felt a little bored, so he said, "Qin Huairu, if you have any ideas, remember to come find me. I can help you."

After saying that, Zhang Lei pushed his bicycle, took the flowerpot, and went home.

As soon as Zhang Lei got home, he saw that the three sisters were all busy at home, and the sewing machine had already been put into use.

The three sisters were delighted to see Zhang Lei arrive.

Ye Shuhua looked at Zhang Lei curiously and said, "Honey, why did you buy a flowerpot?"

Zhang Lei recounted what had happened between him and Yan Fugui in the front yard.

Ye Shuqin covered her mouth and laughed, saying, "Honey, you really hold a grudge."

Zhang Lei said righteously, "That's right, our Zhang family can't let ourselves be taken advantage of. Others take revenge when it's too late, but our Zhang family remembers it from morning till night. As long as we have the chance, we'll get our revenge."

The three women couldn't help but find Zhang Lei's childish words amusing.

Zhang Lei quickly entered the house, looked at the newly arrived sewing machine, and asked Ye Shuqin, "Do you know how to use this?"

Ye Shuqin nodded and said, "I know how to use it. I learned it from my second aunt for a while today."

Zhang Lei nodded and said, "As long as you know how to use it, it will save you from having to sew your own clothes by hand in the future."

Ye Shuqin nodded and said with a smile, "Honey, I was just about to discuss this with you."

Zhang Lei looked at Ye Shuqin and asked, "What are we discussing?"

Ye Shuqin said, "Honey, I'd like to buy some more fabric so I can make an outfit for each of us. But..."

Zhang Lei looked at Ye Shuqin and said, "But what?"

Ye Shuqin said, "Honey, but I'm afraid I won't do it well and will waste the fabric again."

Hearing this, Zhang Lei said nonchalantly, "Hey, what's the big deal? Who can do these things right from the start? Just practice. Besides, I trust you. Don't worry about the fabric, I'll figure something out."

Hearing Zhang Lei say this, Ye Shuqin nodded and said, "Don't worry, husband, I will definitely make the clothes well and with care."

Looking at her, Zhang Lei smiled and said, "No need. It's okay if you mess it up. We can just give the damaged fabric to the families in need in our compound. Consider it our act of kindness."

Hearing Zhang Lei say this, the three women were very happy. They were all worried that they wouldn't do a good job and would waste fabric, since everything required coupons these days, and they couldn't afford to waste anything.

Soon, all three women started operating the sewing machine.

Watching the three women's actions, Zhang Lei thought to himself: You have to admit, women really are born to do these things.

Zhang Lei looked at Ye Shuqin, who was giving instructions from the side, and put his arm around her, whispering, "Honey, can you make something for me too?"

Listening to Zhang Lei's words, Ye Shuqin asked softly, "Honey, what are you going to do?"

Zhang Lei whispered two words in Ye Shuqin's ear: "Dudou" (a type of undergarment).

Hearing this, Ye Shuqin blushed, gently pushed him, and said, "Husband, you're so annoying."

Zhang Lei wasn't about to let her off the hook, so he put his arm around her and said, "Remember to embroider a pair of mandarin ducks on the bodice, it'll look nice."

Whether out of embarrassment or anger, Ye Shuqin dodged Zhang Lei and said, "If you're going to do it, do it yourself."

However, the shy look in Ye Shuqin's eyes betrayed her.

Meanwhile, a farce was unfolding in the Intermediate People's Court.

When Liu Haizhong returned home from get off work, he deliberately pushed his bicycle back and forth to show off.

Meanwhile, Yi Zhonghai, the old lady, Sha Zhu, Xu Damao, and Yan Fugui, who later returned from the Intermediate People's Court, all watched Liu Haizhong going around in circles like a donkey pulling a millstone.

Finally, Sha Zhu couldn't hold back any longer and said, "Second Uncle, you don't need to show off your bicycle anymore. It's just a bicycle, what's the big deal? It's like nobody else has one."

Liu Haizhong looked at Sha Zhu with displeasure and said, "Sha Zhu, the way you're talking makes it sound like you own a bicycle."

Sha Zhu twisted his head and said, "I just don't want to buy it. If I wanted to buy it, I would have bought it long ago. Why would I have waited until now?"

Xu Damao stood to the side watching Sha Zhu and said, "Sha Zhu, you're just bragging. All your money goes into your lover's pocket. Where would you get the money to buy a bicycle?"

Hearing Xu Damao's teasing, Sha Zhu angrily retorted, "Xu Damao, shut your mouth! Who the hell has a lover?!"