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

Everyone in the fitter's workshop speculated that he deliberately tried to commit suicide. It seemed that he had no connections and a low rank, and he probably knew he couldn't escape being laid off.

He deliberately sought death, disguising himself as someone who died in the line of duty, and then changed his wife's status to a permanent employee.

Not only did he get a large sum of money, but he also died with a good reputation.

The more Yi Zhonghai thought about it, the more frightened he became. If he didn't help his apprentice, Dongxu, who was full of ulterior motives, might also go down this path.

So let's quickly find a way to solve Dongxu's problem.

We'll talk about Yang Dalin's matter when we have time.

Yang Dalin was well aware that if he brought up the matter, it would throw Yi Zhonghai off balance. Although he wasn't as cunning as Yi Zhonghai, he had a God's-eye view.

The people I hate the most are Qin Huairu and you.

There's no way around it; people's prejudices are like a mountain, very difficult to move.

Yang Dalin arrived at Sha Zhu's door, knocked, and called out, "Brother Zhu, are you asleep?"

From inside came Sha Zhu's voice: "Not asleep yet? Come in and we're brothers."

Sha Zhu was still drinking his wine by himself.

Yang Dalin turned around, closed the door, sat down next to Sha Zhu, and handed him a cigarette: "What's up, Brother Zhu, something wrong?"

Sha Zhu downed his drink in one gulp and, seemingly unrelated to the question, asked, "Brother, wanna have a drink?"

Yang Dalin shook his head: "I'm not drinking anymore. I'm going straight to sleep when I get back."

Sha Zhu saw that he wasn't drinking, so he didn't try to persuade him. He knew Yang Dalin's temper.

So Sha Zhu finished his drink and, thankfully, stopped drinking. He poured Yang Dalin a glass of water and said, "Brother, tell me about what happened tonight."

Yang Dalin looked at Sha Zhu strangely, not expecting him to take the initiative to ask him about tonight's events.

However, Yang Dalin didn't know what he was thinking, so he just stared at him.

Seeing that Yang Dalin was staring at him without saying a word, Sha Zhu asked him, "What's wrong, brother? Is there something on my face?"

Yang Dalin raised his index finger and waved it from side to side: "No, I'm just wondering why you would even think of asking about this?"

Sha Zhu chuckled: "Da Linzi, my nickname used to be Sha Zhu, but I wasn't really stupid. At first, the rain stopped me, and it seemed like no one wanted to donate anything to Qin Huairu's family. Then you interrupted Qin Huairu and only donated to Niu Dali's family. I can't see that, but you must have figured something out."

Seeing that Sha Zhu had only given the surface-level information, Yang Dalin wanted to know the real reason. He hadn't intended to hide it from him, so he said, "There is something going on. It's not just about helping people."

You really want to know?

Sha Zhu said, "Of course! Otherwise, why would I call you over so late at night when everyone else is asleep?"

Yang Dalin took a sip of water and said, "Alright, since you want to know, I'll tell you."

First, whether Jia Dongxu's family is truly poor cannot be determined solely by Qin Huairu's account, as her family possesses gold rings and a sewing machine.

You definitely know this.

Her family really didn't have enough to eat. You know, they all had rations, so they wouldn't starve, they just couldn't eat their fill.

They might even be thinking about eating better.

Secondly, Jia Dongxu's master is Yi Zhonghai, a level 7 fitter who earns over 80 yuan a month, which is more than two and a half months' salary for you. Guess why he doesn't help his own apprentice but instead calls on everyone else to help his apprentice's family.

He earns a little over eighty yuan a month, and both he and his wife have their own rations. If that's not enough, they can buy some food on the black market and help out their apprentice's family. That should be enough.

He insisted on calling everyone.

Everyone's not stupid. Didn't you see that at the beginning, apart from Yi Zhonghai and Liu Haizhong, no one else donated anything to Qin Huairu?

Besides, you're not usually home during the day, so you don't know that Qin Huairu has been going to various houses to take advantage of people.

Everyone dislikes her because they know she's insatiably greedy. And with food so expensive these days, nobody wants to be taken advantage of.

Third, if a master doesn't help his own apprentice but forces everyone to help his apprentice, then his apprentice will only rely on Yi Zhonghai for retirement in the future. Who would be happy about that?

Fourth, Yi Zhonghai taught Jia Dongxu for so many years, but Jia Dongxu remained a first-class worker. Was it because Jia Dongxu truly couldn't learn, or was it because Yi Zhonghai deliberately didn't teach him real skills so as to control his apprentice?

Fifth, I taught your sister to stop you. If a woman comes to clean your house and do your laundry all the time, what will you say if you want to marry her later? People will find out and say you're not even talking about it.

The people in the courtyard know what's going on, but what about the others?

When Sha Zhu heard that there were so many intricacies involved, he was immediately dumbfounded.

He never expected it to be this deep.

Staring with two big, innocent eyes, he said, "Thanks, brother. You mean, you mean..."

Yang Dalin pressed down his hand and said, "Alright, I didn't say anything. It was all just my guess, but there's some basis for it."

Anyway, I just think that Yi Zhonghai is very cunning, and Qin Huairu is no pushover either. It's better for you to stay away from these two families.

Otherwise, if you get involved with them in the future, you'll suffer the consequences.

Think about what I've said.

Sha Zhu suddenly remembered that Yi Zhonghai had mentioned finding him a wife, and quickly said, "I listened to what you said last time and did stay away from them. But Yi Zhonghai said he would introduce me to someone, but he didn't ask what kind of person I was looking for. He just told me to wait."

Yang Dalin told him, "Then think about what I said last time. It seems I guessed right. Just see what kind of person he introduces to you."

It would be best if you asked someone to find someone for you yourself. I think you would definitely not like the ones he introduces, and he would also tell you that you just need to find someone who knows how to manage a household, and that looks don't matter.

So don't put both eggs in one basket. These days, it's not hard for a chef like you to find a wife.

If that doesn't work, go find a matchmaker, pay them to help you find someone.

There are plenty of families in the city that are poor and have many children, including many beautiful girls.

Finding a pretty one is easy. If all else fails, go to the shelter; there are even more girls there, but they don't have a quota.

You're just waiting for Yi Zhonghai, when are you going to go?

You're already twenty-six in the blink of an eye, which is considered quite old.

In the old days, you could be a grandfather by thirty, so please don't delay.

Yang Dalin still kindly gave Sha Zhu some advice.

The main reason is that I can't bear to see him become a fool who pulls others into a gang and takes care of a few scoundrel old men in their old age.

Sha Zhu scratched his head and said, "Brother, I've never used a matchmaker before, so I don't know anything about this."

Yang Dalin was furious. This idiot, really, without his parents' help, he'll never be able to find a wife.

Yang Dalin then told him, "No, you can ask one of the older people in your canteen to help you, or if that doesn't work, ask my aunt to help you."

But there's one thing: you need to keep your mouth shut.

Don't let the people in the yard know about this, because your reputation there wasn't very good before.

It's best to take someone out to eat, and then bring them home after you get the marriage certificate.

Yang Dalin was practically teaching him how to pick up girls. This simpleton should be taken in as a follower.

Otherwise, you might lose a helper and gain an enemy in the future.

He's afraid of himself but not of him, but it's good that one less person is disgusting to him.

This simpleton can not only cook for himself in the future, but also invest in a restaurant and work hard to earn money. How great would that be?

A win-win situation.