Siheyuan: I am Banggeng's uncle

Chapter 735 A blessing in disguise!

Around 4 p.m., Yu Li tidied up the mess in the house, took the things Jia Dongming had brought, and rode her bicycle towards her parents' home.

More than half an hour later, Yu Li returned to the courtyard where her parents lived. Yu Haitang, who had been waiting at the gate, rushed forward to greet her and asked curiously, "Sister! Didn't you say you would come back right after get off work and dinner? Why did it take you so long to come back? Do you know that Anbang cried several times because he was hungry? If we hadn't had milk powder at home, his voice would probably have gone hoarse."

When Yu Li heard Yu Haitang's question, she remembered Jia Dongming's visit that afternoon, and a blush instantly rose to her cheeks. She quickly made an excuse, saying, "Your brother-in-law called this morning and said he would bring some holiday gifts to our parents this afternoon and asked me to wait for him at home. That's why I'm only coming back now."

Upon hearing Yu Li's explanation, Yu Haitang noticed the bag tied to the back of the bicycle and immediately asked Yu Li curiously, "Sister! What holiday gifts did my brother-in-law give to our parents?"

When Yu Li heard Yu Haitang ask about the gifts Jia Dongming had given her, a smug expression immediately appeared on her face. She smiled and said to Yu Haitang, "Haitang! Your brother-in-law gave a lot of things this time. You'll find out exactly what they were when we get home."

Upon hearing Yu Li's words, Yu Haitang's face immediately lit up with longing. She quickly stepped forward, grabbed the handlebars of the bicycle, and said to Yu Li with a happy expression, "Sister! Let me help you push the bike."

Yu Li and her sister pushed their bicycles into the yard. The children who were playing in the yard ran up to Yu Li when they saw her return and greeted her happily.

"Sister Yu Li! You're back!"

"Sister Yu Li! You haven't been back for so long, I miss you so much."

“Sister Yu Li! Anbang was really naughty this afternoon. He kept crying, and I tried to comfort him for a long time, but he just wouldn’t stop crying.”

When Yu Li saw the children gathered around her and their happy smiles, she quickly took out a handful of hard candies from the cloth bag she was carrying and started distributing them to the children in the yard.

Because Yu Li would always share candy with the children in the courtyard whenever she returned to her parents' home, she became the most popular person among the children in the entire courtyard. So whenever the children in the courtyard learned that Yu Li was coming back, they would all gather in the courtyard where Yu Li's family lived, waiting for her to return.

The children in the yard lined up and received candy from Yu Li, then happily expressed their gratitude to her.

After Yu Haitang pushed Yu Li's bicycle to the eaves of their house and parked it, he called out to the house, "Dad! My sister brought back a lot of things. Come out and help me carry them."

Yu's father, who was drinking tea inside, immediately put down his large teacup upon hearing Yu Haitang's shout. He quickly came out of the house and saw the two cloth bags on the back of the bicycle. With a face full of curiosity, he asked Yu Li, who had just finished distributing candy to the children, "Xiao Li! What's going on here? Why did you bring so many things back?"

"Dad! These are holiday gifts from my brother-in-law." Before Yu Li could answer, Yu Haitang told her father where the two bags of things came from.

When Mr. Yu heard his youngest daughter's account and learned that the two bags were actually a gift from Jia Dongming, a happy smile immediately appeared on his face. He then picked up the two cloth bags and walked into the house.

Upon entering the house, Yu Haitang immediately called out to her father, "Dad! Quickly open the bag and see what holiday gifts my brother-in-law brought us!" Yu Li's younger brother, Yu Haijun, upon hearing Yu Haitang's words, immediately ran out from the inner room and hurriedly asked Yu Li, "Sister! What delicious things did my brother-in-law bring us? Why do I smell a fishy smell in this bag?"

Upon hearing her younger brother Yu Haijun's question, Yu Li took out the holiday gifts that Jia Dongming had prepared for their family and introduced them to her parents with a smile: "Mom! Brother Dongming has prepared five catties of pork fat, two catties of high-quality pork belly, two boxes of mooncakes, two catties of salted ribbonfish, two catties of salted cucumber fish, a salted shark, and some seaweed for you."

"Wow! This pork fat is really thick! Judging by its thickness, it must be three feet long!" When Mrs. Yu saw the pork fat that Mr. Yu took out of the cloth bag, her eyes lit up and she exclaimed happily.

Upon seeing the pork fat, Yu Haijun immediately thought of the taste of pork cracklings and hurriedly said to his mother, "Mom! I want to eat pork cracklings. Hurry up and take this pork fat to render, then we can eat pork cracklings in a little while."

Upon hearing Yu Haijun's shout, Yu's mother's face immediately darkened. She pretended to be displeased and scolded Yu Haijun, "You brat, I told you to study, but you don't study properly. All you do is eat!"

As Yu's mother finished speaking, she saw Yu's father take out salted fish from the cloth bag and quickly asked Yu Li, "Xiao Li! We've never cooked this kind of sea fish before. Did Dongming tell you how to cook it?"

Upon hearing her mother's question, Yu Li recalled the cooking method Jia Dongming had taught her and smiled as she explained to her mother, "Mom! These fish are all salted, so they can be stored for a long time. As for the cooking method, it's very simple. Just put them in and steam them after the water boils and steam rises. However, before cooking the shark, you need to scald it with boiling water for a while, then wash off the outer skin before putting it in the pot to steam."

"Sis! Are these mooncakes in this box? I heard Liu Wei from my class say that last year when his family celebrated the Mid-Autumn Festival, his dad brought home a mooncake and said it was so sweet and delicious." When Yu Haijun saw the two boxes of mooncakes that Yu Haitang took out of the bag, he immediately remembered his classmate's description of the taste of mooncakes, instinctively swallowed, and asked Yu Li with a face full of anticipation.

Upon hearing Yu Haijun's question, Yu Li smiled and nodded, then introduced, "Haijun! You guessed right, this box contains mooncakes. There are red bean paste, meat, egg yolk, and jujube fillings. After dinner, let Mom cut some mooncakes for you."

After watching her father take everything out of the bag, Yu Haitang thought of her ex-brother-in-law Yan Jiecheng and said to Yu Li with a face full of relief, "Sister! It's a good thing you had the foresight to divorce that stingy guy Yan Jiecheng and be with my brother-in-law. Otherwise, how could our family receive so many gifts during the New Year and other holidays?"

When Yu Li heard Yu Haitang mention Yan Jiecheng, she recalled the days she spent in the Yan family and the days she was living now. Her face immediately showed a look of disgust as she replied, "I must have been blind to have fallen for that bastard Yan Jiecheng, who even schemed against his own wife."

"But then again, if I hadn't married Yan Jiecheng, I wouldn't have met your brother-in-law, and I certainly wouldn't be living such a good life now. It can only be said that fate is cruel."

Hearing his two daughters' conversation, Yu's father thought of Yu Li's first marriage and a look of regret appeared on his face. He continued, "Back then, the reason your mother and I agreed to let Xiao Li marry into the Yan family was mainly because we valued their scholarly background. But we never expected that this family would be so cold and heartless for a little money. I can only say that I was blind back then and listened to the matchmaker's nonsense, which ruined Xiao Li's life."

Hearing her father's words and seeing the regretful expression on his face, Yu Li thought about the life she had now and said to him with a happy expression, "Dad! They say every cloud has a silver lining. If it weren't for this unhappy marriage, I wouldn't have the good life I have now."

“Look at me. Since my divorce from Yan Jiecheng, I have a job and a house. I live a life where I have no worries about food or clothing. I am very content now, so you have no need to hold a grudge about my previous marriage.”

(End of this chapter)