At the beginning, he took his seven younger siblings to join Yi Zhonghai.

"Sister-in-law Yi, I heard that your Zhongding kid can earn several tens of yuan a month? Wow, that's more than our boss's salary."

"Auntie, really? Carpentry makes that much money?"

"Auntie, you know my son, he can't read much, and now he carries heavy bags at the train station every day. Do you think he could learn from Zhongding?"

"Yes, my son has no interest in studying either, and his grades are terrible. His dad was saying yesterday that he'd like to find a way to get him to learn a trade."

"We're all neighbors in the same courtyard. As the saying goes, a close neighbor is worse than a distant relative. You can't keep things to yourself; you should help everyone out."

"Yes, now that everyone's lives are better, we won't forget the kindness of your family. You used to say that people shouldn't just think about themselves, but should help each other."

......

When Tan Xiulian carried several dolls' clothes to the pool to wash them.

Several women from the courtyard gradually surrounded her.

Not only people from their courtyard, but even people from the west courtyard came over.

There's a pool over there too.

They don't need to come here to do their laundry at all.

The implication was that he wasn't trying to gather information.

They just wanted Yi Zhongding to teach their sons or other relatives for free.

While washing clothes, Tan Xiulian listened to the chatter of the older women around her.

He sighed inwardly: What a mess, Lao Yi, look at all this, it's all your doing.

"Hey ladies, where did you all hear that? Everyone knows whether carpenters make money or not, right?"

"At the very least, look at Li the carpenter across the street. He's been doing this his whole life. Has he become rich? Even his nephew doesn't want to learn carpentry. He's gone to learn metalworking from my husband."

"Everyone knows what my son Dingya is like. He never misses a day of schoolwork, and when he gets home, he's always buried in his work. How long can he possibly work in a day?"

"You guys keep talking about earning tens of thousands a month, what? Does our family earn paper instead of money? Or do people give us flowers?"

Tan Xiulian was not annoyed and calmly argued with them.

She knew it in her heart too.

Now, their family is no longer obviously childless.

There are eight children in the family, big and small.

We cannot make enemies all over the compound.

At the very least, you can't offend everyone.

These old women have sharp tongues.

"You must be joking. Who doesn't make money? We're not just talking nonsense. Old Yan from the front yard said it with absolute certainty."

A woman in the west courtyard curled her lip, seemingly dissatisfied with Tan Xiulian's dishonesty.

"You actually believe what the Yan family says? They even divide their pickled vegetable shreds by the piece. If they knew this was such a lucrative job, would they tell you?"

Tan Xiulian was no pushover either; after all, she was Yi Zhonghai's wife.

"Well, Yang Ruihua said that her family guards the front gate all day long, and she keeps track of everyone coming and going."

The woman spoke again.

"Ha, Zhao's wife, you've been completely fooled. What kind of people are the Yan family? We all know them. They're the kind of people who would scoop up a spoonful of manure from the roadside to taste its saltiness. Do you think they'd tell you how much they earn a month?"

Tan Xiulian used the same words to shut them up.

That's the truth, after all.

"It must be at least a few dozen, right? Sister-in-law, tell us how much it is? We've only heard about it from the rumors."

Another person stepped forward and said.

"How much can a teenager earn? He's just trying to make a little money for paper and ink to ease the burden on his family."

"Besides, no matter how much we earn, it's not enough to feed and clothe our children. Look at all these clothes we have, just the fabric alone cost so much."

"If my wife and I hadn't been frugal and saved up some money, we wouldn't even have a chance to eat now."

Tan Xiulian pointed to the clothes in several wooden basins.

Slowly, three large basins of clothes were collected.

That's enough to open a laundry room.

The women surrounding the area felt a little embarrassed upon hearing this.

This sounds like they're eyeing the money for a teenager's school supplies.

"That's a skill, at least enough to make a living. Aunt Yi, do you think it's possible for my son to learn it?"

"We won't compete with Zhongding Baby for business. We'll just learn some skills so that we'll have an advantage when furniture factories or timber factories start hiring."

A woman spoke.

But she is clearly quite intelligent and thinks before she speaks.

"Of course this is a good thing, we definitely support it. The more successful the kids from the compound are, the happier we are."

"You all know the character of the Yi family. Old Yi is always eager to help others. In this compound, from house to house, who dares to say they haven't received help from our family?"

"But this isn't something we can just talk about. I'm just an old woman who's good at managing a household, I can't make this decision myself."

"Okay, when Lao Yi comes back, you can have your respective heads of household come over to discuss it with my son Dingya. If he's willing to teach and your kids are willing to learn, then there's no problem."

"What's the point of you all talking so enthusiastically if your children don't like it?"

"You'd better think this through. You can't forget the old rules for apprentices: skills are not to be passed on lightly. This is a rule from our ancestors."

"Furthermore, if you're still thinking of forcing our Dingya to become a disciple for free, don't blame Lao Yi for getting angry."

"Don't even think about learning for a few days and earning tens of dollars a month. You'd be better off going home to sleep and dreaming about anything."

"Take the Yan family for example, they might even find the excrement in their dreams smells like meat."

Tan Xiulian nodded first, then made a sarcastic remark.

"Of course, of course, I'll go back and discuss it with the head of the household."

The woman who had just spoken nodded with an awkward smile, then took the untouched basin of clothes and went back inside.

"Don't be so delusional. The Yan family is just using you as pawns."

"Why? Do you know?"

After watching her leave, Tan Xiulian chuckled and continued speaking.

"Why?"

"Why were you used as a pawn?"

......

The women asked all at once.

"Hmph! Yan Bugui is unwilling to pay the tuition fees for his children, and wants his eldest son to drop out of school and learn carpentry from my Dingya."

"But we're all neighbors in the same courtyard, everyone knows each other, right? His eldest son is not only all talk and no action, but he's also unreliable. Can he really be the type to settle down and learn a skill?"

"I don't take on apprentices without careful consideration. They only accept someone if their character and intentions are impeccable. That's why my son Dingya refused him."

"Besides, how heartless! To be so calculating about a few dollars and make a child drop out of school—is that something any parent would do?"

"He's a teacher, and he can't even teach his own son properly, yet he wants him to drop out of school? Pah!"

Tan Xiulian was equally blunt, immediately spreading rumors.

Anyway, it's a fact that Yan Bugui has been scheming to the core.

Everyone knows that.

have to say.

Yi Zhonghai's wife, whom he raised in bed, is indeed quite capable.

Rumors based on facts cannot be debunked.

Even if Yan Bugui continued to send his son to school, it would be of no use.

Everyone would think he was just embarrassed, not that he wanted his son to continue his schooling.

(I've been so engrossed in writing that I haven't even thought to ask for free gifts or to keep up with the updates. Please, kind sirs, lend me your support with some free gifts. Thank you so much!)