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

When Yang Dalin and Grandpa Qi arrived at Niu Dali's house, they were basically the last two people there.

Grandpa Qi handed five jin of flour to Niu Dali, who touched the grain bag, his eyes filled with tears, and expressed his gratitude once again.

Seeing her husband's awkward manner, Liu Cuihua gave him a push: "Hurry up and go make room for Uncle Qi's bags!"

After Liu Cuihua finished speaking, she grabbed the bag from Niu Dali's hand and said, "Never mind, I'll go. You pour water for Uncle Qi and Brother Yang."

Niu Dali's family lived in the backyard next to the deaf old woman, consisting of a main room and a side room.

Yang Dalin didn't see the old lady of the Niu family in the main room, but he did see the three children of the Niu family.

Yang Dalin then placed the can on the table, with five yuan underneath.

Niu Dali didn't see it, and Yang Dalin didn't say anything either.

Niu Dali was about to pour water when Grandpa Qi stopped him. Yang Dalin then saw the three pitifully thin children from the Niu family.

I waved to them; they were two boys and a daughter.

Yang Dalin felt he couldn't tell his age, so he took out a handful of candies from his pocket.

When they were called over, Niu Dali tried to stop them, but Yang Dalin said, "Brother Niu, it's just a few pieces of candy, don't stop us."

Then he asked the tallest child, "How old are you? What's your name?"

The child was a boy who stood shyly in front of Yang Dalin and said, "I am nine years old, and my name is Niu Xiaozhuang."

Okay, Niu Xiaozhuang isn't strong at all.

Yang Dalin handed him a few pieces of candy and said, "My name is Yang Dalin. I'll be living in the front yard from now on. You'll be called Uncle Dalin, okay? Here, have some candy."

Niu Xiaozhuang looked at Niu Dali, and only took it after seeing Niu Dali nod.

Then came the second child, a girl named Niu Xiaohua, who was seven years old.

The third child was named Niu Xiaogang. He was only five years old, about the same height as other three- or four-year-old children.

The last two were quite clever; they both called Yang Dalin "Uncle".

After handing out candy to the three children, Yang Dalin and Grandpa Qi didn't stay any longer. They went to the small side room to take a look at the old lady from the Niu family.

Since we're here, it wouldn't be right not to check on the patient.

Surprisingly, although the old lady from the Niu family was thin, she looked quite energetic, and there was no strange smell in the house.

Liu Cuihua and her three children were pitifully thin.

Niu Dali looks to be in good health.

It seems that Niu Dali's wife is taking good care of her mother-in-law and Niu Dali.

She suffered because she had three children, and she gave most of the food to her husband and mother-in-law.

After exchanging a few pleasantries with the old lady of the Niu family, Yang Dalin and Grandpa Qi took their leave.

Once outside the small side room, the three children stared at the food jars on the table, too afraid to move.

Niu Dali escorted Grandpa Qi and Yang Dalin to the backyard before returning home.

Liu Cuihua, holding a jar in one hand and five yuan and a meat ration coupon for one jin in the other, looked at Niu Dali returning with tears in her eyes.

Niu Dali asked, "Wife, what's wrong? What's the meaning of these five yuan and the meat ration coupon?"

Liu Cuihua said, "The ones under the canned food were put there by Dalinzi and his brother."

He didn't mention it at the meeting, nor did he mention it when he came in. This brother is kind and righteous.

Niu Dali was also moved, and his eyes reddened: "Yes, everyone says Brother Dalin is kind and righteous, and today I finally know it. I can't give it back to him."

Liu Cuihua wiped away her tears with the arm holding the money and meat coupons, and pulled Niu Dali aside, saying, "Brother Dalinzi, we didn't say it at the meeting because we didn't want everyone to know. If you go out and make a fuss now, you'll embarrass Brother Dalinzi."

We'll keep that in mind. You go and thank him separately tomorrow, and we'll repay him double when we've calmed down.

Including all the neighbors in the courtyard who helped us today.

"If Dalinzi needs help in the future, we'll do our best to help."

Niu Dali nodded heavily after hearing his wife's words.

Meanwhile, Yang Dalin and Grandpa Qi were talking as they walked toward the front yard. When they reached the middle yard, they were suddenly stopped by two people: Sha Zhu and Yi Zhonghai.

Yang Dalin told Grandpa Qi to go back first and to pass on a message to Aunt Qi, saying that he was going to visit Uncle Yi for a while and would be back later.

Yang Dalin stood between Sha Zhu and Yi Zhonghai's houses, then said to Sha Zhu, "Brother Zhu, wait a minute, I'll go to Uncle Yi's house first and see what he wants. I'll come find you later."

Yang Dalin guessed that Yi Zhonghai was up to no good, so he definitely wouldn't call the two of them together.

So we went to Yi Zhonghai's house first.

Upon entering Yi Zhonghai's house, they also found Jia Dongxu sitting there.

Yang Dalin greeted Wen Xiumei and Jia Dongxu separately.

Wen Xiumei gestured for Yang Dalin to sit down, and Yi Zhonghai closed the door and sat down as well.

Wen Xiumei helped pour water, and Yang Dalin thanked Aunt Yi politely once again.

Yi Zhonghai took out cigarettes and was about to offer them to Yang Dalin. Yang Dalin didn't smoke much, but it would seem disrespectful not to accept them, so he took them and lit them for Yi Zhonghai and Jia Dongxu first.

Yi Zhonghai didn't speak first, but silently took a drag of his cigarette. Seeing his expression, Yang Dalin thought it would be better to take the initiative. Yi Zhonghai had Jia Dongxu sit here, so it must be related to tonight's events. That's easy to understand.

"Uncle Yi, Brother Dongxu, what's up? Just say what you need. We people from Shandong Province are always straightforward and say what we mean."

Jia Dongxu was about to speak when Yi Zhonghai stopped him, saying, "Dalinzi, you're a good kid. You're warm and generous to everyone in our courtyard. Whenever someone has a problem, you go and help them out. I know you're a good kid."

Originally, the old man was thinking of letting you interact more with your Dongxu brother and Zhuzi brother.

However, I think you might have some misunderstanding about Dongxu's wife. I feel like you were targeting her a bit today.

If there's any misunderstanding, just clear it up in front of Dongxu today. The old man is in our courtyard, and he's keeping a close eye on the three of you.

Don't let something so trivial ruin our relationship, don't you think?

Yang Dalin looked at the serious-looking Yi Zhonghai and thought to himself, "You're not mistaken, and you're even thinking of tying me to Sha Zhu and Jia Dongxu. Damn, you're really cunning."

But Yang Dalin wouldn't admit it: "Uncle Yi, you're overthinking it. What misunderstanding do I have about Brother Dongxu? Brother Dongxu has never bullied me, nor has he bullied Sister Yan or Xiaoning."

It's impossible for me to have any misunderstandings about Dongxu.

There's no misunderstanding about Brother Dongxu, and there's no misunderstanding about Sister-in-law Dongxu either.

Yi Zhonghai saw Yang Dalin's sincere expression, but he still didn't believe it.

He vaguely felt that Yang Dalin seemed to harbor a great deal of hostility towards Qin Huairu.

Moreover, he didn't have any genuine respect for himself, but Yang Dalin was very good at pretending, making it seem like he was punching a cotton ball.

As someone without children and without any real power, he wouldn't easily offend any young person in the courtyard, especially any young man with some ability.

He fears retaliation when he gets old, and he also fears being forgotten.

Therefore, he will not easily get angry with Yang Dalin.