Courtyard House: Drunk and tipsy, the whole courtyard exposed at the start.

In the morning, Yan Jiecheng returned to the courtyard and then brought Yu Li over to visit her father-in-law together.

It wouldn't be appropriate for the daughter-in-law not to come after such a big incident.

Yu Li was carrying a bag of pastries wrapped in oil paper. It was unclear where she had bought them, but the young couple Yan Jiecheng and Yu Li never bought anything expensive; they just made do with what they had.

"Dad, how is it?" Yan Jiecheng placed the pastries on the bedside table, right next to the net bag of apples.

【apple?】

Without thinking, Yan Jiecheng grabbed one, wiped it clean, and started eating it, without giving it any thought...

This must have been given to Yan Bugui by someone who came to visit him.

His patient, Yan Bugui, hadn't even eaten yet, but you, his son, who came to visit, started eating.

What kind of behavior is this!

Don't you know that food in the house should be shared equally? Where are the rules?

Yan Bugui's eyelids twitched, and his gaze fell on the package of pastries.

He recognized the packaging; it should be pastries from the cooperative at the street corner, the "Nanluoguxiang Food Processing Plant" where Lou Xiao'e works? Yu Li also works there. Could they be bringing him some processed pastries from the processing plant?

You know what, if it were Yan Jiecheng, there's definitely a possibility!

Looking at Yan Jiecheng's smiling face, Yan Bugui felt a mix of emotions, like a jumbled mess of feelings.

Look, this really is his biological son!

He used leftover pastries from his wife's workplace to "show respect" to his father, who was lying in a hospital bed.

This shrewdness, this cunning, this ability to "get something for nothing"...

They really live up to the Yan family's traditions!

Yan Bugui slowly closed his eyes and began rapidly moving the abacus beads in his mind.

Let's go through the whole thing from beginning to end.

When Xu Damao's family held a banquet, I gave a gift of 50 cents and ate a meal myself.

To save face, I patted my chest and promised to treat everyone. The groceries cost 12.64 yuan, and the labor and seasoning fees for hiring Sha Zhu cost 4.2 yuan.

That cost sixteen dollars and eighty-four cents, not counting the gift money.

I ate too much and ended up in the hospital in the middle of the night. I had to register, have my stomach pumped, and get an IV drip, which cost me another three yuan.

Total loss: 19.84 yuan.

Yan Bugui's heart felt like it was being gripped tightly by an invisible hand, the pain making it hard for him to breathe. How much was his monthly salary? And now, more than half of it was gone!

He schemed his whole life, but in the end, his own son and the entire hospital teamed up to fleece him completely, leaving him with nothing.

"If I had known... I wouldn't have been so greedy for that food..."

Yan Bugui's lips trembled as he squeezed out these words through clenched teeth, two lines of turbid tears sliding down his cheeks and soaking the yellowed pillowcase.

Seeing him like this, Yang Ruihua also wiped away her tears, but couldn't help complaining, "What's the use of saying this now? The money's all gone. I found out that yesterday, the neighbors in the courtyard, plus Da Biao and the others, collected a total of twelve yuan and thirty cents in gifts."

"How many?"

Yan Bugui opened his eyes abruptly, as if he had been electrocuted.

"Twelve yuan and thirty cents," Yang Ruihua repeated.

Twelve dollars and thirty cents!

This number acted like a shot of adrenaline, instantly revitalizing Yan Bugui's withered body.

His mind started working on the abacus again.

The hospital stay cost 19.84 yuan, and the gifts received brought back 12.30 yuan. In total, the loss was only 7.54 yuan.

Although it's still a loss, it's a world of difference compared to the nineteen yuan we just calculated!

Yan Bugui's mood instantly lifted from the icy abyss.

As long as the gift money is received, the loss is still within an acceptable range!

He grabbed Yan Jiecheng's hand as he was about to give Yu Li another apple, staring intently at him.

"Jiecheng, your mother said she received 12.3 yuan in gifts yesterday?"

"Yes, Dad." Yan Jiecheng nodded, not understanding.

"Where's the money?" Yan Bugui's voice carried an undeniable authority. "Give me the money."

Yan Jiecheng was stunned, his hand holding the apple frozen in mid-air.

He looked at his dad, then at his mom, seemingly not understanding.

"Dad, what are you saying?" Yan Jiecheng laughed, a hint of confusion in his voice. "This gift money was given to me and Yu Li by everyone in the courtyard to congratulate us on the addition of a new member to our family. What do you need this money for?"

Yan Bugui immediately sat up in bed. Because of the sudden movement, he pulled the needle in the back of his hand, which made him wince in pain.

But he couldn't care less.

He stared intently at his own son, feeling that his authority was being challenged like never before.

"What do you mean? Is this a gift of money?"

Yan Bugui's voice suddenly rose, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.

"Who paid for this banquet? Who paid for the meat? Who paid for the labor? I spent twenty yuan, and you're saying the money I received as gifts is yours?"

"What else?" Yan Jiecheng also stopped smiling, stood up straight, and asked back confidently.

"Dad, we really need to talk about this. Since ancient times, the money given as gifts at weddings has never been given to the elders who hosted the banquet; it's always kept for the younger family. This money is for me, Yu Li, and your unborn grandson!"

Yan Bugui was trembling with anger. He pointed at Yan Jiecheng's nose, his lips quivering, and he uttered each word slowly and deliberately:

"That's mine!"

Yan Jiecheng met his father's gaze without backing down and retorted, word by word:

"No, it's mine!"

A voice suddenly came from the doorway—"What's that? Whose is it?"

Everyone turned around to look.

It turned out to be Yi Zhonghai and Liu Haizhong, who came to visit before going to work in the morning.

As soon as they entered, they encountered the Yan family father and son talking about whose business it was, which piqued their curiosity.

"What's going on? Old Yan, tell us, we'll be the ones to judge this."

"The whole family is arguing over a little money. I'm not trying to criticize you, Lao Yan, but you need to act like an elder."

Yan Bugui's blood pressure spiked!

You make it sound so easy, but that's more than ten yuan!

Liu Haizhong, hands behind his back and with his potbelly bulging with an air of officialdom, spoke first, his loud voice so booming it made the apples on the table roll: "Old Yan, we're family, no need for formalities. Why are you, as an elder, getting angry with a junior? Lying in a hospital bed banging on the table with your own son over a few dollars—what will people in the hospital think of you as a teacher?"

Yan Bugui almost fainted from a sudden rush of breath. What do you mean I'm slamming my fist on the table with my own son? This money is what I worked so hard to earn, and I spent it! Just as he was about to argue, Yi Zhonghai pulled Liu Haizhong back slightly, stepped forward himself, and adopted a serious and earnest posture.

"Old Yan, Old Liu speaks bluntly, but his reasoning is sound." Yi Zhonghai's voice wasn't loud, but every word struck a chord with Yan Bugui. "Think about it, in whose name did you host this banquet? It's a wedding banquet for your unborn grandson. The gift money is naturally a congratulatory gift from the neighbors to Jie Cheng and Yu Li. Since ancient times, congratulatory gifts have always been given to the younger generation getting married. How can an elder ask for them back? That's against the rules."

"Rules? The nineteen dollars and eighty-four cents I spent is the rule!" Yan Bugui leaned on the edge of the bed, the veins on his neck bulging.

"Dad! Why did you go back to the previous calculation?" Yan Jiecheng's scalp tingled when he heard the number.

Why can't we accept this gift money?