Siheyuan: I am Banggeng's uncle

Chapter 794 The True Situation of the Yan Family!
"Brother Dongming! You're back. We've all finished eating, except you." Lin Qiuyue, who had just finished dinner, came out of the courtyard after hearing Jia Dongming talking to Shazhu. She greeted him as soon as she saw him standing in the yard.

Hearing Lin Qiuyue's call, Jia Dongming subconsciously turned around and saw Lin Qiuyue walking out of the courtyard. He then said to Shazhu, "Zhuzi! I haven't had dinner yet, so I won't chat with you any longer."

"Dad! Why are you so late today? I thought you weren't coming home for dinner." Jia Dongming pushed his bicycle into the yard. His daughter, Jia Anqing, saw him return and immediately rushed forward to greet him, asking him happily.

When Jia Dongming saw his beloved daughter, he quickly leaned his bicycle against the wall, picked her up, kissed her on her tender face, and asked with a smile, "Qingqing! Were you a good girl at home today? Did you listen to your older brothers and sisters?"

Upon hearing Jia Dongming's words, Jia Anqing immediately nodded and replied, "Dad! I was very good today, and I even studied with my older brothers and sisters!"

"Dongming! Have you heard about the Yan family's affairs? This Yan Bugui used to only have a bad reputation in our neighborhood, but now I estimate that everyone in our Dongcheng District, or even the entire city, knows about Yan Bugui, the father who asks for seed fees from his child." Jia Dongming had just entered the main room carrying his daughter when Jia Zhangshi, who was sitting at the dining table eating, saw Jia Dongming return and immediately asked him with schadenfreude.

Upon hearing Jia Zhangshi's question and seeing her gloating expression, Jia Dongming said to her, "Mom! I just got back and heard Yan Jiedi crying alone at home. At first, I didn't know what happened, but after hearing Shazhu's explanation, I understood the reason."

Upon hearing Jia Dongming's words and recalling Yan Bugui's actions, Jia Zhangshi said with disdain, "I consider myself very fond of money, but I have never asked my children for room fees. Yet this Yan Bugui, for a few hundred yuan, actually made this demand to Yan Jiecheng and Yan Jiefang in public. Because of this, Yan Jiedi's fiancé's family does not agree to Yan Jiedi's marriage. A perfectly good marriage has been ruined by Yan Bugui."

Upon hearing Jia Zhangshi's words, Jia Dongming recalled the plot where his mother forced Jia Dongxu and Qin Huairu to hand over their retirement money for him in order to secure her old age.

Recalling the plot of the courtyard house, Jia Dongming thought of the Yan family's class status and said to Jia Zhangshi with a smile, "Mom! You love money because you're worried about not having enough to spend in the future, but Yan Bugui is different. He really loves money. Think about the Yan family's class status. They were small business owners. Families that were able to be classified as small business owners back then must have had a lot of money. And given Yan Bugui's personality, I guess the Yan family's assets now are at least several thousand yuan."

When Jia Dongming said that the Yan family had at least several thousand in assets, Jia Zhangshi's face immediately showed a shocked expression. She quickly asked Jia Dongming to confirm, "Dongming! Are you telling the truth? Does the Yan family really have that much money?"

Upon hearing Jia Zhangshi's question and seeing the shocked expression on her face, Jia Dongming nodded firmly and replied, "Mom! Of course it's true. I remember when I first returned from my military service, Yan Bugui would say in the courtyard every day that his salary was twenty-seven yuan and fifty cents. Actually, he was just pretending to be poor to take advantage of the neighbors. Otherwise, given the lowest per capita income in Beijing back then, why didn't Yan Bugui go to the neighborhood office to collect relief funds?"

When Jia Dongming mentioned the minimum per capita income standard in Beijing back then, Jia Zhangshi remembered how she had tried to take advantage of the neighborhood committee by applying for relief funds. A look of sudden realization crossed her face, and she immediately replied, "Dongming! You're right. With Yan Bugui's calculating nature, if his salary back then was only twenty-seven yuan, he would definitely have applied for relief funds from the neighborhood committee. It seems everyone in our compound has been fooled by Yan Bugui." Hearing Jia Zhangshi's words and seeing her dissatisfied expression, Jia Dongming smiled and continued, "Mom! Some of the residents in our compound actually know Yan Bugui's true income, but they just don't want to expose him. Besides, believe it or not, look at the big items the Yan family has acquired over the years: first a bicycle, then a radio, and recently a television. If the Yan family didn't have money, could they have acquired so many big items?"

Upon hearing Jia Dongming's reminder, and recalling the large items the Yan family had acquired over the years, Jia Zhangshi nodded in agreement and replied, "Dongming! You're right, but there's one thing I don't quite understand. Since Yan Bugui is so wealthy, why doesn't he pay for his own treatment when he's so seriously ill? Instead, he demands that Yan Jiecheng and the others pay for it, and even publicly asks Yan Jiecheng to return the money he paid for the seeds."

When Jia Dongming heard Jia Zhangshi's question, and thinking about Yan Bugui's obsession with money, he slowly explained, "Mom! The reason is actually very simple. Yan Bugui's love for money has become a kind of pathology, and can even be described as crazy. In the eyes of such a person, money is more important than family ties and even his life, which is why he would say such bizarre things in public."

"But Yan Bugui overlooked one point: if he dies, his money will still belong to his children. If he doesn't scheme against his children for money, Yan Jiecheng and his brothers will definitely treat him like a living Buddha based on the money he has saved over the years. So Yan Bugui's scheming is destined to be in vain."

Hearing Jia Dongming's words, and thinking of the character of the Yan family's children, Jia Zhangshi nodded in agreement and sighed again, "Dongming! You're right. If the Yan brothers knew that Yan Bugui had several thousand yuan in savings, given their character, they would definitely treat Yan Bugui like a Bodhisattva."

Upon hearing Jia Zhangshi's words, and thinking of the personalities of the four Yan siblings, Jia Dongming couldn't help but say, "Mom! Because of Yan Bugui's constant scheming, those children in the Yan family have followed in his footsteps and become increasingly cunning. In fact, only Yan Jiedi is relatively filial. Now that Yan Bugui has done this to her, I reckon she will definitely hate him to the core."

"Unless Yan Bugui tells his children how much money they have saved over the years, given the personalities of his children, I think the future care of Yan Bugui and his wife is in serious jeopardy."

Upon hearing Jia Dongming's words, Jia Zhangshi recalled the words of the deaf old lady in the backyard and couldn't help but sigh, "Dongming! Although I don't like the old lady in the backyard, I have to admire her foresight. She said back then that Yan Bugui was scheming every day and would eventually lose even his family ties. Now it seems that the old lady was right."

In the story of the courtyard house, both Yan Bugui and Liu Haizhong were left without children to support them in their old age because of their actions. They were able to enjoy their later years only thanks to Sha Zhu and Qin Huairu. Thinking of the story of the courtyard house, Jia Dongming smiled and said to Jia Zhangshi, "Mom! We shouldn't concern ourselves with other people's affairs. We just need to live our own lives well."

(End of this chapter)