My happy life in a courtyard house with triplets.

Chapter 107: The Fish Dies

Lou Xiao'e returned home soaking wet, startling her parents, Lou Zhenhua and Tan Yali.

Lou Zhenhua quickly stepped forward to support his daughter, asking anxiously, "Xiao'e, what happened to you? Did someone bully you?"

Tanya quickly walked over, took her hand, and looked her up and down, repeatedly asking, "Yes, daughter, didn't you go to the park? How did you end up like this?"

Lou Xiao'e quickly waved her hand, caught her breath, and said, "Dad, Mom, please listen to me. I'm really fine. I just went boating on the lake in Beihai Park and accidentally fell in."

"What? You accidentally fell into the lake?" Tanya screamed, her voice filled with lingering fear.

Seeing her mother's anxious expression, Lou Xiao'e said helplessly, "Mom, don't worry, I'm soaked in sweat, I need to go upstairs and change my clothes first."

Tan Yali then realized what was happening and quickly nodded, "Yes, yes, go upstairs and change your clothes, don't catch a cold!"

Lou Xiao'e hurried upstairs, changed into dry clothes, tidied her hair, and then came downstairs to tell her parents everything about falling into the water and being rescued.

Lou Zhenhua and Tan Yali were filled with lingering fear after hearing this, and kept saying how fortunate they were.

Lou Xiao'e looked at her father, Lou Zhenhua, and, clinging to his arm, said coquettishly, "Dad, the person who saved me said he's a purchasing agent from Hongxing Steel Rolling Mill named Zhang Lei. Could you help me find out where he lives? I need to go and thank him properly."

Lou Zhenhua nodded immediately, his tone solemn: "It's only right, after all, she saved my daughter's life."

He raised his hand and patted Lou Xiao'e's hand, giving her a reassuring look: "I'll call the factory in a bit."

Upon hearing this, Lou Xiao'e's face immediately lit up with a smile, and she said in a clear voice, "Dad, thank you!"

Lou Zhenhua couldn't help but frown, but a smile played on his lips: "Alright, how old are you to still be acting like a child? You'd better be careful in the future and not go to those dangerous places again."

Tan Yali, who was standing nearby, quickly chimed in, "That's right, Xiao'e, you can't be so reckless next time."

Lou Xiao'e smiled and said nonchalantly, "Mom and Dad, I know. It was just an accident. I'll definitely be more careful next time."

On the other side, Zhang Lei continued to row his famous boat to explore the lake until around 5 p.m. before stopping.

Zhang Lei rode his bicycle home, feeling as happy as if he were carrying honey.

He found over a hundred treasures in the lake at Beihai Park today.

What surprised him most was a heavy gold bracelet. The craftsmanship and decorations looked like something a prince from a royal family would wear when he was a child.

The bracelet felt heavy in my hand, weighing a full five pounds.

Just as he reached the entrance of the courtyard house, Zhang Lei suddenly slapped his forehead and remembered something.

Fish, my fish!

He quickly took the bucket of fish out of the cart basket to look at it. Seeing the dead fish floating belly up in the bucket, Zhang Lei was speechless.

Even though it wasn't a long time, and he even used his personal space to keep it fresh, how could he forget that this space has a characteristic—anything put in it will die instantly.

Zhang Lei sighed, pushed the cart, hung the fish bucket back on the handlebars, and walked home in silence.

As he passed by the Central Courtyard, he saw Qin Huairu squatting in the yard washing clothes.

Zhang Lei wondered to himself, just how many dirty clothes does the Jia family have? He saw her scrubbing and washing them here every day.

Qin Huairu also saw Zhang Lei, and her eyes lit up when they fell on the fish bucket on his handlebars.

She stood up, walked over, and asked with a smile, "Zhang Lei, did you go fishing?"

Zhang Lei nodded: "Yeah, I went fishing for a while."

Qin Huairu peered into the bucket, frowned, and asked, "Why are all your fish dead?"

Zhang Lei scratched his head and casually said, "Hey, it was out of oxygen in the water. It just died not long ago, so it's not a big deal. I'll go home and get something to eat later."

Hearing Zhang Lei's words, Qin Huairu smiled and asked in a soft voice, "Zhang Lei, this fish of yours... do you think it's okay to..."

Before she could finish speaking, Zhang Lei interrupted her abruptly. He frowned, his tone crisp and decisive: "No."

"I caught this after a hard day's work," he paused, looking at Qin Huairu with a hint of disapproval in his eyes, "Besides, isn't your family well-off? Uncle gave you so much money before, use that money to buy good food, drinks and other nice things, don't try to freeload off me."

Qin Huairu pouted and said with a wronged expression, "My mother-in-law has all that money in her hands, and I don't have a single penny on me."

Looking at her like this, Zhang Lei showed no mercy and said coldly, "That's none of my business. Your family just has money but doesn't want to spend it. It's not like you're so poor you can't afford to eat."

After saying that, without waiting for Qin Huairu to start crying again, he pushed the car forward.

Watching Zhang Lei's merciless retreating figure, Qin Huairu's aggrieved expression vanished instantly, replaced by intense anger. She muttered bitterly to herself, thinking she could at least get a fish or two from Zhang Lei, but he wouldn't give her a single one! This made her so angry she felt like her breasts were about to burst!

Zhang Lei quickly returned to the back room. Ye Shuqin, Ye Shuqi, and Ye Shuhua saw Zhang Lei carrying a bucket of fish and hurriedly ran over.

But when she saw that the bucket was full of dead fish, Ye Shuqin asked curiously, "Honey, why are all the fish dead?"

Zhang Lei smiled and casually explained, "They all died because we left them out for too long and forgot to add water."

Ye Shuqin frowned as she looked at the large number of fish in the bucket and said, "Honey, we can't possibly eat all of these fish."

Zhang Lei replied, "If we can't finish it, shall we pickle it first?"

Ye Shuqin nodded: "Alright then, I'll go prepare the ingredients for pickling the fish."

Zhang Lei waved his hand with a smile: "Don't be disappointed. If you want fish, I'll go fishing another day. You all know how good I am at it."

Ye Shuhua immediately became interested and leaned closer, saying, "Honey, take me fishing next time, I want to go fishing too."

Zhang Lei readily agreed: "Okay, let's go together next time. I'll buy each of you a fishing rod, and we can have a competition then."

Upon hearing this, Ye Shuhua was so happy that she immediately hugged Zhang Lei's neck, her eyes crinkling with laughter.

Zhang Lei patted her on the back and said helplessly, "Alright, stop making such a fuss. Since there are so many fish, let's go to the Central Courtyard and call Yushui over to eat together."

Ye Shuhua immediately agreed: "Okay, I'll go right away!" and then ran out in a flash.

Soon the group started cleaning the fish. Zhang Lei asked Ye Shuqin to cook more, as they planned to have a whole fish feast that day.

Just as they finished cleaning and gutting the fish, they saw Ye Shuhua run back, followed by He Yushui.

Ye Shuhua called out to Zhang Lei in a carefree manner, "Brother-in-law, I've brought your little wife!"

Upon hearing this, He Yushui's face instantly turned bright red, and she lowered her head, not daring to look at Zhang Lei.

Zhang Lei looked at the mischievous Ye Shuhua, raised his hand and tapped her forehead, saying irritably, "What nonsense are you talking about? Hurry up and invite the rainwater inside."

He Yushui blushed and looked up, whispering, "Brother Zhang Lei, is there anything I can help with?"

Zhang Lei waved his hand with a smile: "You don't need to help, everything's taken care of. Go inside and chat with your sister Shuhua."