An extraordinary life journey through old Beijing courtyard houses

Aunt Jiang continued, "How long has he been working there? How much money does he take out each morning, and how many clothes does he bring back?"

"We know exactly what's going on. According to his account, there's absolutely no loophole."

"From now on, if the eldest brother can do what the third brother does when he goes out to collect laundry, we'll accept it even if he hides money..."

This is tantamount to endorsing the third son, acknowledging that his income is "legal".

The sister-in-law, who had always believed that Jiang Baobin had stolen money from the family, couldn't swallow this insult. She jumped up.

But she's a shrewd schemer—now the third son has been kicked out of the house and hasn't gotten anything.

So from this perspective, he's still a fool!

Sister-in-law, do you know that your father-in-law and mother-in-law have saved a lot of money over the years?

Otherwise, would the elderly couple be secretly discussing wanting to buy a house?

If I anger them, I'll end up like the third brother, kicked out and left to fend for myself. That would be a huge loss!

Once the eldest sister-in-law understood the implications, she jumped up quite a bit, but without saying a word, she slowly sat down again.

Jiang Mantang witnessed all of her actions.

He could guess what his eldest daughter-in-law was up to, pretty much.

Jiang Mantang sighed deeply, filled a bowl with tobacco, and began smoking in silence...

The eldest sister-in-law returned to her small house in a huff.

I caught a glimpse of Jiang Baowen, who had returned earlier and was already "lying there like a corpse."

He became even angrier—what use are you to me?

He eats and sleeps, and doesn't dare utter a single word in front of his parents.

I told you to go find Lao San, but instead you got beaten up!

And you call yourself the eldest brother? You're just embarrassing me!

The more she thought about it, the angrier she became, so her sister-in-law went up and pinched Jiang Baowen's thigh hard.

"Ouch!" Jiang Baowen, who was sleeping soundly, was caught off guard and cried out in pain, jumping up.

Rubbing his throbbing thigh, Jiang Baowen growled, "What's wrong with you now?"

The older sister-in-law cursed viciously, "Why didn't I strangle you!"

Then he plopped down on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed) and questioned:

"The third brother was waving his arms around at me just now, why didn't you say a word?"

"What are you afraid of him for? Your family is all here, would he dare to hit you?"

Jiang Baowen boasted, "What do I have to be afraid of? I only suffered a loss yesterday because he ambushed me."

"If it were a real fight, I could beat the shit out of him!"

The older sister-in-law pouted, "If you're so capable, why weren't you able to do anything earlier?"

Jiang Baowen argued confidently, "Isn't it because the second son is back to make the decisions?"

"You know him perfectly well. As a woman, it's alright for you to get involved."

"If I say anything more, he'll definitely get annoyed. What if he sides with the third son? What will we do then?"

The older sister-in-law retorted, "Now you're siding with me? I've seen through you; you two brothers are a pair of good-for-nothings!"

Jiang Baowen quickly glanced towards the door, surprised that his wife was being so disrespectful to him.

Enraged, he retorted, "Are you asking for a beating? If you dare talk to me like that again..."

Before Jiang Baowen could finish speaking, his sister-in-law tilted her head back and brought half of her face close to his:

"Go ahead and hit me! If you don't, you're not a real man!"

Jiang Baowen stared at his wife for a long time, feeling annoyed...

He suddenly lay down again: "Get out of here, I can't be bothered with you."

The older sister-in-law curled her lip smugly, her eyes darting around twice: "No way, I can't swallow this!"

After saying that, he got up to leave.

"What are you doing now?"

The eldest sister-in-law snorted coldly, saying venomously, "Didn't the third brother insist on separating from the family and living a carefree life?"

"Pah! Dream on!"

"If I don't ruin his reputation, I, Dai Jingui, will take his surname from now on!"

"I'll see which girl is willing to marry him then! Humph! He'll be a bachelor for life!"

Since his wife was going to cause trouble behind his back, Jiang Baowen decided to ignore it.

He also hated the third brother—the beating had seriously injured him, but the humiliation was even greater!

It goes without saying that he had made a fool of himself in front of his neighbors and his reputation was ruined (I don’t know where his reputation came from).

This loss made Jiang Baowen very indignant—how come the third brother, who usually only obeyed orders, suddenly became so powerful?

Could it really be as my little sister said? Did this kid meet an old immortal on his way to the underworld, and a magic pill enlightened him?

Why can't I encounter such good things?

He turned over and continued sleeping—maybe he could meet a deity in his dreams.

West Courtyard.

As Jiang Baobin expected, not long after, Jiang Daya came over carrying Jiang Hongsheng.

"Third Brother, Hongsheng is making a scene at home and insists on coming to your house."

Jiang Baobin smiled and asked in return, "Did you eat that piece of candy today?"

The little girl nodded shyly.

"Is it tasty?"

Jiang Daya nodded again.

Jiang Baobin raised his chin at Jiang Hongsheng, who was shouting excitedly, and said, "He thinks it's delicious, just like you."

"Hahaha……"

"Hehehe..."

The brother and sister laughed happily, while Jiang Hongsheng was a little confused, but he quickly climbed towards Jiang Baobin.

The little guy didn't forget why he came here.

Jiang Baobin had no choice but to take out a few pieces of candy.

Just as they were about to give them to them, they turned back halfway and complained:

"Little sister, there's water in the house now, so please wash Hongsheng's hands properly."

"How did it get like this? It looks like two chicken feet. Your sister-in-law is obviously a slovenly person."

Jiang Daya didn't take it seriously. Isn't that how it is now?

Once they put the candy in their mouths and tasted its sweet flavor, both the big and small children were happy.

Jiang Daya sidled up and started tattling: "Third Brother, Sister-in-law is going to ruin you."

"How can you mess with me?" Jiang Baobin asked with interest.

"They'll gossip about you to the neighbors, say bad things about you, and even curse you so you'll never get married."

Holy crap! This woman is so vicious! I'm currently thinking about a beautiful woman, and she dares to curse me like this!

We cannot tolerate this; we must fight back resolutely!

After putting Jiang Hongsheng on the kang (a heated brick bed), Jiang Daya rolled up her sleeves and started cleaning again.

"The house isn't dirty, don't bother."

As Jiang Baobin spoke, he turned to her and asked, "Do you know how to make dough? Can you steam some buns for me?"

"Of course I can! What's so special about fermented dough?" Jiang Daya replied proudly.

Then he asked, "Third Brother, are you really going to provide me with meals from now on?"

"That's right, from now on you'll follow Third Brother, and you're guaranteed to live a life of luxury."

"I'd like to too, but I'm afraid Dad won't agree."

"Don't worry, if he doesn't agree, someone else will agree for him."

"Really? Who is it?"

You'll find out then.

A moment later, Jiang Daya said, "Third Brother, you don't have a starter here, how are we going to make dough?"

"Just do whatever you want, as long as you steam thirty buns made from the two-ingredient dough tomorrow night."

Jiang Daya exclaimed in surprise, "Ah! How can we possibly finish all that? It's so hot now, it'll spoil!"