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

Ma San looked at Yang Dalin and asked, "Really, brother?"

Yang Dalin said seriously, "It's true, why would I lie to you? I took it back and studied it before going to bed, and I found that the table legs were so heavy."

Then, after scraping off the surface paint, they discovered a gap in the middle. When they pried it open, they found a gold bar hidden inside.

Luckily I came yesterday, and you didn't burn the kang (heated brick bed) down. Otherwise, you wouldn't have been able to find it in the coal ash, and we would have been doomed.

Where did you find these two table legs? Have you seen the other two table legs before?

Ma San thought for a moment and shook his head, saying, "Brother, these two table legs are several years old. I picked them up from behind a wealthy family's house when I was a child. I used them to play around with others when I was little."

Later, after my brother separated from the family and left, I threw these two table legs into the house, where they were completely covered with garbage and firewood from the kang (a heated brick bed), and I completely forgot about them.

Luckily, the fire didn't reach the bottom, otherwise I really wouldn't have discovered it. When I was a kid, I always thought those two pieces of wood were quite heavy; I never imagined there was this inside.

After saying that, Ma San was about to return the two gold bars to Yang Dalin.

Yang Dalin sat on the kang (a heated brick bed) at Ma San's house, looking up at him: "What's wrong? I'll give it all to you, brother. You don't want it?"

Ma San nodded heavily: "Yeah, brother, you can have them all. I don't want them. I already gave you those two table legs. I can't take any treasures inside."

Yang Dalin laughed, this kid is interesting, and then said, "Alright, this is quite a lot of money. Two of them would be worth over nine hundred at the bank. How can I take them all? I brought them here to return to you."

Ma San pushed Yang Dalin's hand back: "Brother, although I'm young, I keep my word. What I say belongs to you, so it belongs to you."

Ma San's words made Yang Dalin feel a little guilty. "Brother, I still have eight more. I'll make it up to you slowly later."

So Yang Dalin handed over the gold bars again and said, "No, that won't do. It's not a small amount, and you're short of money. I can't take such a big advantage of you."

Ma San pushed Yang Dalin's hand over again and said, "Brother, you found out last night but didn't tell me, so I didn't know. But you told me today, and you're so good to me. You treat me like your own brother, so I'll treat you like my own brother. I told you I'd give it to you, so I will."

Besides, I wouldn't be able to use it.

Yang Dalin thought to himself, "What an honest kid. He sees money as dirt. How about we split it in half?"

There are still four of his roots in the space; I'll make it up to him later.

Yang Dalin spoke again: "Alright, we're good brothers, how about this, we'll split it in half when we meet, one for each of us, you keep yours hidden, don't take it out, and don't tell anyone."

"Keep it for when you get married later. That's all, don't argue about it."

Ma San argued again, "Brother, that won't do. You brought me food while I was in the hospital, and later Auntie gave me cotton shoes and a cotton coat. You also gave me money and so many things. I'll give you this one too, otherwise I'll feel really embarrassed to give you so many things."

Yang Dalin patted him on the shoulder and said, "Alright, since you've acknowledged me as your elder brother, there's no need to be so calculating with me. Look, I've even got a gold bar, which is worth over four hundred. All things considered, I've actually made a profit."

Stop arguing with me, just give me one each.

Ma San wanted to speak again, but Yang Dalin pulled him down and pressed him down onto the kang (a heated brick bed).

I pressed down on his shoulder and said, "Stop arguing, keep tearing it, others will hear."

"Hide that one well, and don't tell your own brother or sister-in-law, or you won't be able to protect it."

Ma San struggled but couldn't move, and moved to tears, he said, "Okay, I understand, brother."

Seeing that he was urinating again, Yang Dalin jokingly said to him, "How old are you? You're already urinating like a horse. Alright, come have dinner with me tonight."

Ma San, clutching the gold bar in his hand, said, "Brother, I won't go today. You even gave me so much cornmeal. I'll just cook some porridge for dinner."

Yang Dalin stopped him from continuing, saying, "San'er, you always fuss over such trivial matters."

You said you treat me like your own brother, so don't fuss over these little things. You're still growing, and if you don't eat well, you won't grow tall. If you don't eat enough, you won't grow strong either.

Since you've given me gold bars, consider it your food allowance.

Let me tell you, true brothers don't need to fuss over these little things.

If I dare to invite you to dinner, it means I have the confidence to do so. If I couldn't afford to invite you, I wouldn't have invited you, you know?

Also, remember this when making friends in the future.

A true friend or brother is someone who helps you when you're in trouble, not someone who just takes advantage of you.

You should try to have less contact with your eldest and second eldest brothers in the future.

There's no point in holding a grudge against them. To be honest, they're just your brothers, not your parents. It's not entirely their responsibility that they didn't raise you.

Your parents bear the responsibility of giving you life and raising you, but unfortunately they passed away early.

At least your two older brothers haven't gone too far, leaving you with a place to stay.

Later, they each started their own families and had children.

I guess they're under a lot of pressure, so they're taking it easy.

Don't hold a grudge against them anymore; just try to have less contact with them in the future.

Or, to put it another way, as long as it's acceptable on the surface.

Never tell them about the gold bars; if you ever meet them, continue to pretend you're poor.

Did you know?

While Ma San was in the hospital, he spoke ill of his two older brothers to Yang Dalin.

In fact, Yang Dalin also knew that Ma San still valued family ties.

He scolded his two older brothers, but deep down he still hoped they would come to see him.

Unfortunately, it happened during a difficult time. Although his two older brothers weren't exactly good brothers, they weren't completely ruthless.

They even kept Ma San's grain ration book and left him a side room.

At least Ma San didn't starve to death.

They simply didn't have the resources to help Ma San.

So Yang Dalin also advised Ma San to stop holding grudges.

People need to learn to make peace with themselves; otherwise, if they hold grudges all the time, their mindset will deteriorate.

Ma San lacks family affection and someone to guide him properly.

If I hadn't met myself, I might have gone to extremes one day.

Like last time.

After hearing what Yang Dalin said, Ma San's expression changed, and the fierceness in his eyes seemed to disappear. He finally nodded solemnly and said, "Yes, brother, I'll listen to you."

Seeing that he was receptive, Yang Dalin gave him a few simple words of wisdom: "San'er, you will meet many people in your life."

Your two older brothers are just passersby. Look, you've met me again. You'll meet many more people in the future, including good people, bad people, ordinary people, and people you've only met once.

In the future, when you make friends, you need to learn to discern. Even though you've lost your two older brothers, you still have me, and you'll have other friends in the future.

You need to be able to distinguish which of your future friends are truly good to you, and which are just superficially nice to you.

Who are the ones who say nice things but are actually taking advantage of you?

Insight into world affairs is knowledge, and human feelings are learned.

You still have a lot to learn in the future. Try to chat with Uncle Qi more often when you have free time, okay?