The Life of a Son-in-Law in a Courtyard House

Although Yi Zhonghai was unhappy, he suppressed his anger and didn't show it.

Liu Haizhong spoke first, feeling that Yang Dalin had stolen his lines.

"Yang Dalin, do you have any sense of discipline? This old man and I are the organizers of this meeting. You can go away if you have nothing to do."

Yang Dalin didn't take it to heart and didn't rush to argue with him. He nodded and said, "Okay, Uncle Liu, I didn't expect that I, the one leading everyone in clapping, would clap in the wrong place. Well, I won't cause any more trouble. You can continue."

Yang Dalin took two steps back and sat down next to Grandpa Qi.

Seeing that Yang Dalin had left, and that his words had left Liu Haizhong feeling awkward about arguing with him, he could only say, "Everyone, please continue. Is there anyone else who needs help?"

The others looked at each other, some wanting to step forward but being held back by their families.

Some neighbors even encouraged other families to come out, but the family that was encouraged was too embarrassed to step forward.

Seeing that neither Zhang Meiyun nor Grandpa Zhao's family had stepped forward, Yang Dalin felt embarrassed to directly stand up for them.

An eerie silence fell over the conference.

Suddenly, in the crowd, they heard a couple arguing. The man said, "Don't go," and the woman said, "What's there to be embarrassed about? If you don't go, I will."

A woman squeezed through the crowd; she was quite tall, but as thin as a stick.

She stood in the middle and said, "Uncle, Uncle, fellow villagers, you all know my family's situation. My mother-in-law is sick in bed, and we rely solely on my husband to earn money, along with three children."

Although my husband's salary isn't low, it can't keep up with my mother-in-law's chronic illness. Although half of her medical expenses can be reimbursed, it's been going on for so long that we've spent all our money over the past few years. Now we're struggling to make ends meet every month, and we're not even getting enough to eat. My mother-in-law's condition is getting worse.

I hope everyone can help my family.

Yang Dalin had only met this woman once before and didn't really know her. It was only after hearing Uncle Qi's introduction that he realized she was Liu Cuihua, the wife of Niu Dali who lived in the backyard.

Niu Dali also works at the steel rolling mill, but his salary is not low; as a level three worker, he earns 45.2 yuan a month.

His life was fine until his mother fell ill, and she had been sick for several years.

At first, I went to see a doctor when I got sick, and I recovered slowly. It was okay, but then we encountered a famine.

The old lady was stubborn and thought she might as well starve to death so as not to be a burden on her son and daughter-in-law anymore.

I just didn't expect my daughter-in-law to find out so early.

Her daughter-in-law, Liu Cuihua, knelt before her all morning before the old lady finally gave up the small token of her gratitude to keep her alive.

The old lady fell seriously ill that time, and the food supply became increasingly tight afterward.

So the old lady's illness became more serious and she didn't get better.

Niu Dali usually wants to spend more money to buy some good food for his mother to nourish her, but he also has to save the money he would have spent on her medicine.

Life was really tough.

Seeing that his wife had already said what she wanted to say, Niu Dali didn't try to pull her back anymore. He knew that his wife had suffered with him and that she was very filial.

So what if it's embarrassing? At least my mother and kids can have a few decent meals. That's good enough.

Yi Zhonghai and Liu Haizhong exchanged a glance. They had just donated fifteen yuan, and now they had to donate again?

What if someone else steps forward later?

Yi Zhonghai and Liu Haizhong whispered to each other for a few minutes before speaking loudly, "Dali's family is also having a hard time. Let's all think about it and see if there's anyone who can help. We can't always rely on me and Uncle Er. Our two families can't help the whole courtyard."

As you all know, my aunt is an adult and takes medicine, and my uncle's family has three children, so their dosage is also limited.

Let's all brainstorm and see if there are any other good ideas.

When Yang Dalin heard Yi Zhonghai's words, he realized that Yi Zhonghai was so kind-hearted in helping his own apprentice, but backed down when it came to other people's homes.

He really is a cunning old man who is unwilling to spend money and only thinks about returns.

You can't do anything about it, but I have something to offer.

Yang Dalin remained silent for the time being, observing everyone's reactions.

Qi Baogen realized that Qin Huairu had her eye on him when she looked at him earlier.

But Da Linzi interrupted me just now. Dali's family is not bad; they won't help the Jia family.

It would be helpful to help Dali's family.

He'd gotten a good job, and if he didn't bleed a little today, Yi Zhonghai would soon be eyeing him too.

So Qi Baogen spoke first: "As everyone knows, I used to work erratically, sometimes going hungry and sometimes full."

Although I'm only one person and my whole family isn't hungry, I'm getting old and don't earn much. Thanks to Dalin, I've managed to get a job, so I'll donate five jin of flour to Dali's family.

"Don't think it's too little, Dali's."

Upon hearing Uncle Qi's words, Niu Dali's wife immediately bowed and said with tears in her eyes, "Thank you, Uncle Qi. How could you possibly dislike me?"

If you need any help with chores at home in the future, Dali and I will definitely not hesitate to help.

"From now on, just give us a call, and Dali and I will do our best to get things done."

Niu Dali stood beside his wife and bowed to Grandpa Qi in gratitude.

Grandpa Qi helped the two up: "No need, there's not much work for me. Just take good care of the children and your mother."

When Qin Huairu heard that it was a two-in-one noodle dish, she immediately felt resentful.

Why did they donate mixed flour to their family, while my family only gets cornmeal mixed with other grains that's hard to swallow?

Qin Huairu stood to one side, her face contorted like that of a starving ghost.

He kept cursing Yang Dalin, that troublemaker, in his heart.

As soon as Yang Dalin heard Grandpa Qi mention the two-ingredient dough, he knew it was going to go bad.

Even Grandpa Qi made a mistake. Even if you publicly say it's cornmeal, you can secretly give him a mixture of cornmeal and wheat flour.

You've just stirred up Qin Huairu's greed.

Qi Baogen didn't expect this at first; he only wanted Niu Dali to give his mother and child some good food.

Seeing Qin Huairu's envious gaze, his heart skipped a beat.

But the words have already been spoken, so there's nothing more to be done.

Yi Zhonghai and Liu Haizhong are the same; you could ask their families to bring out some mixed flour, but you can't use it like that.

Donating some cornmeal mixed with other flours is fine, but asking them to donate mixed flour is simply impossible.

The way those two people looked at Grandpa Qi wasn't pleasant either.

Seeing this, Yang Dalin had no choice but to stand up and help Grandpa Qi out of the predicament, saying, "I know about Brother Niu's family situation. Since this is a mutual aid meeting, I'll do my part too. My family is short of food, so I won't give Brother Niu any food. I'll donate something else. I heard that Aunt Niu is not in good health, and I don't have any money to buy anything else, so I'll just take a can of food that someone gave me."

Yang Dalin knows that many people now believe that canned food can cure diseases.

Especially when children get sick, eating some canned food can inexplicably make them better.

Yang Dalin said he would donate a can of food, which made Qin Huairu even angrier.

Damn it, if it weren't for Yang Dalin causing trouble, these would all be ours.

Qin Huairu felt resentful and was thinking about how to get a share of the pie.