Chapter 49: He Yushui's Choice

Silly Zhu was sent in.

Li Aiguo felt a bit excited and decided to cook a feast for lunch.

Fried dough sticks!

He kneaded the refined flour into strips.

He set up the black iron wok.

He pushed aside the stove plug.

He poured in the vegetable oil.

Once the oil boiled, he tossed the dough sticks in.

He stirred them a couple of times with chopsticks, and once they turned golden, he scooped them out.

And just like that, the delicious dough sticks were done.

Of course.

The taste might not have been that delicious.

For some reason, the dough sticks weren't as plump as the ones sold on the streets.

Instead, they were skinny and spindly, looking more like twisted dough sticks.

He picked one up and took a bite; it was fragrant, though a bit hard on the teeth.

Li Aiguo checked his system panel: Cooking: 15.

He felt that if he had the chance, he should increase his cooking skill as well.

After all, food is the people's heaven; man is iron, but rice is steel.

Since he had already fried them, he couldn't let them go to waste, so Li Aiguo could only pick up the tooth-pick-like dough sticks and gnaw on them bit by bit.

Just then, a timid voice came from outside the door.

"Brother Aiguo, are you home?"

Li Aiguo stood up and opened the door to find He Yushui standing outside, her small face filled with worry.

"Sister Yushui, come in quickly."

"Have you eaten? I fried some dough sticks, come have a taste."

Looking at the spindly dough sticks, the worry on He Yushui's face vanished instantly, and she almost couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"Brother Aiguo, when I was little, I learned how to fry dough sticks from my father."

"To get them golden, crispy on the outside, soft on the inside, airy, and chewy, you have to use alum, the oil temperature must be high, and you shouldn't use refined flour."

As she spoke, He Yushui ultimately couldn't resist the temptation of the dough sticks; she picked one up, stuffed it into her mouth, and began to crunch away.

"So there's that much to it."

Li Aiguo chuckled and took two of the spindly sticks, placing them on a plate in front of her.

"If I get the chance, I'll definitely ask Old Man He for advice."

He Yushui was touched by his words, her hand holding the dough stick frozen in mid-air.

She let out a soft sigh and said in a low voice with her head bowed, "Brother Aiguo, I know what my brother has done, and I truly don't know how to ask you for mercy. But if my brother is actually sentenced, it will affect my future as well."

"Could you please show mercy to my brother this once, considering how I used to help clean your house?"

"Don't worry, once he's out, I will definitely make him kowtow to you to apologize."

He Yushui's father was a train driver who traveled far and wide, often bringing back little trinkets.

When He Yushui was a child, she would often play at the Li house with a group of kids.

The girl was a good one; while other children would run off with toys, she would stay behind and help clean the Li house until it was spotless.

Li Aiguo and He Yushui had a very good relationship.

However...

Li Aiguo picked up a dough stick and said while gnawing on it, "Did Yi Zhonghai send you here?"

"Ah! No—" He Yushui wanted to deny it, her mouth opening, but no sound came out.

Finally, she nodded silently. "Yes. They said you are the only one who can help me."

*Crunch.*

*Crunch.*

*Crunch.*

Silence fell over the room.

He Yushui felt her heart trembling along with the sound of the crunching dough sticks.

She could hardly breathe.

Until Li Aiguo let out a couple of laughs.

"Sister Yushui, I'll let Silly Zhu off the hook this time. But knowing his temperament, he'll end up in jail sooner or later."

He Yushui nodded silently.

"So, if you want to solve this once and for all, you should sever ties with Silly Zhu," Li Aiguo said slowly.

"Sever ties?"

He Yushui was somewhat bewildered.

Li Aiguo nodded. "After severing ties, you are you, and He Yuzhu is He Yuzhu. There will be no relationship between you, and whatever He Yuzhu does will not affect you."

Her situation was completely different.

If she severed ties, she would truly lose her sibling bond with Silly Zhu for the rest of her life.

Seeing He Yushui fall into hesitation, Li Aiguo did not press her.

Silly Zhu taking the blame for everyone had pushed He Yushui into a dead end.

He Yushui was a smart girl; she could figure this out.

Sure enough.

After a long period of contemplation, He Yushui lifted her pale face, bit her lip, and said, "Brother Aiguo, I will sever ties with Silly Zhu."

Her tone was exceptionally firm.

Li Aiguo felt a surge of emotion in his heart and advised

"In matters like this, you have to cut the knot quickly. You must get the certificate of severance before Silly Zhu is sentenced."

"Remove Silly Zhu from your kinship records."

"Also, I remember your house is private property."

"Since He Daqing is no longer around, you have a share of the house as well."

"You can ask the neighborhood committee to allocate the house to you."

Hearing Li Aiguo's words, He Yushui's eyes reddened. She stood up and bowed to him. "Brother Aiguo, thank you so much. If it weren't for you, I really wouldn't know what to do."

Li Aiguo smiled. "Don't cry. We're neighbors; it's only right that I help you."

He Yushui bit her lip, said nothing more, and turned to run out into the sunlight.

Li Aiguo was right; she had to sever ties with Silly Zhu immediately.

Unsurprisingly, the news of He Yushui wanting to sever ties with Silly Zhu caused a massive uproar in the courtyard.

Yi Zhonghai hadn't expected that instead of persuading Li Aiguo, He Yushui would be the one persuaded by him.

He immediately opposed He Yushui severing ties with Silly Zhu.

He even enlisted Yi Zhonghai and Yan Bugui; the three "elderly managers" stepped in to collectively persuade He Yushui.

However, He Yushui had already taken the advice of Wang Xinmin's father, Wang Zhenshan, and knew deep down that if she didn't sever ties, the rest of her life would be ruined.

She flatly refused the three managers.

Left with no choice, Yi Zhonghai went to Director Wang of the neighborhood committee, hoping he could reject He Yushui's application.

This was the first application for severance of ties in the courtyard district. Since it concerned the social atmosphere and harmony of the neighborhood, Director Wang had to consider it carefully.

Thus.

Director Wang decided to convene a courtyard meeting to hear the opinions of the residents.

When Li Aiguo received the meeting notice, he had just finished making dinner.

He had commissioned Wang Dakui to get some black pork from the pigeon market; the meat was a bright, fresh red, perfect for making shredded meat noodles.

Shredded meat noodles didn't require much skill: stir-fry the meat, add water, and once it boils, add the noodles and green vegetables.

Then, throw in the leftover dough sticks from lunch.

Noodles soaked in meat broth—it was divine!

Eating the fragrant noodles, Li Aiguo looked up at Xu Damao. "Brother Damao, are you saying there's a meeting tomorrow night to discuss He Yushui's matter?"

"Yeah! Clerk Liu from the neighborhood committee just notified my old man. I thought you might not know, so I came to tell you."

Xu Damao wasn't telling the whole truth.

He had entered because he smelled the aroma.

Seeing the shredded meat in the noodles, his eyes went wide.

His family wasn't short on money, but the problem was the lack of meat coupons.

Meat coupons were monthly coupons.

They were divided into the beginning, middle, and end of the month, with urban residents receiving a quota of 93.75 grams per ten-day period.

A ten-day period is ten days.

In other words, every ten days, each resident could receive less than two taels of meat coupons.

In a month, every resident with a grain booklet could receive a maximum of six taels of meat coupons.

Xu Damao was currently a temporary worker and did not have a Beijing household registration; the Xu family only had meat coupons for Xu Jixiang.

These limited coupons couldn't be wasted recklessly; the Xu family had to save them for Xu Damao's wedding banquet.