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

Grandpa Qi and the others also greeted Yang Dalin.

Yang Dalin responded to each of them.

At this moment, Qi Xiaoning grabbed Yang Dalin's car and looked at it a few more times, asking, "Brother Dalin, where's your backpack?"

Why did you come back empty-handed?

Yang Dalin knew the little girl was asking about the things he had brought for her, so he used the excuse of asking about the backpack.

Yang Dalin slapped his forehead and said, "I was in a hurry to get home, so I rode fast. My luggage is still on the Ma San tricycle, and I left him behind. Everyone, wait for me a moment. I also brought some gifts for everyone. I'll be back in a bit, everyone wait for me."

After saying that, Yang Dalin turned around and went back to pick up Ma San.

When the people at the door saw that Yang Dalin had returned safely, Yang Dalin told them to wait and share the gifts. But no one dared to stay, and despite Qi Yulan's repeated urging, no one else stayed and they all went home.

After Yang Dalin rode back for a few minutes, he found Ma San, who was pedaling his tricycle home with all his might.

When Ma San saw Yang Dalin return, he said, "Brother, why are you back again? I'll ride back in a bit. Just wait for me at home."

Yang Dalin said a little embarrassedly, "Sorry, brother, I was in a hurry to get home and forgot about you. Come on, I'll ride back with you. Don't ride so fast, slow down and pedal slowly."

When the two rode back to the gate of No. 95 Courtyard a while later, Yang Dalin found that of the group from before, only Qi Yulan and her two daughters remained.

Yang Dalin asked, "Auntie, where are the others?"

Qi Yulan replied, "Everyone has gone home, so I'm embarrassed to accept your gift."

Let's go home for dinner first, and your aunt will bring it to you later.

Everyone had finished eating by now, except for Yang Dalin's family.

So Yang Dalin thought to himself, "Let's talk about it later."

Yang Dalin asked Sister Yan to push the bicycle back first.

He and Ma San pushed the tricycle through the gate and into Grandpa Qi's courtyard.

Yang Dalin handed the bag containing Goubuli steamed buns and fried dough twists to Xiaoning, telling her to take it home first.

Yang Dalin asked Ma San to carry the remaining backpack and also give him the bag containing the large yellow croaker.

Yang Dalin carried the other two bags of dried seafood, one in each hand, intending to take them home.

Aunt Qi wanted to take another one, but Yang Dalin wouldn't let her.

This bag weighs over 100 pounds, and Yang Dalin was worried that his aunt wouldn't be able to carry it.

Fortunately, it was just a short walk, and I quickly got these things home.

When she got home, Qi Xiaoning was already eating a large fried dough twist.

The steamed buns are cold and need to be heated up, while the fried dough twists are just right to eat.

Qi Yulan was so angry that she hit her again and said, "All you know is eating. Did you wash your hands?"

Give some to your brother Ma San.

Qi Xiaoning didn't cry out in pain; she was used to being beaten. The fried dough twist smelled delicious, which probably lessened her pain.

He was eating a twisted dough stick while handing one to Ma San.

Ma San, still a little hesitant, shook his head and said, "You eat, Xiaoning, I don't want to eat."

Yang Dalin first put down the two sacks and then took the things that Ma San had helped him carry.

Let Ma San wash his hands first, then he can eat the fried dough twists.

This kid is still being a bit polite.

The pot on the stove was constantly steaming, so the rice must be ready; it must have been kept warm.

Yang Dalin washed his hands, took out the Goubuli steamed buns he had brought from the bag, and asked his aunt to heat them up.

As for the steamed buns he brought yesterday, he ended up giving them all to Xiao Cui's family.

Then he broke off three pieces of fried dough twists and handed them to Aunt Qi, Qi Yanhua, and Ma San respectively.

Let them all have a taste.

Aunt Qi only took a small bite and asked him, "Dalinzi, what's in that bag? It smells so fishy!"

Yang Dalin opened a bag to show everyone that it was full of dried seafood, such as dried fish, dried shrimp, dried kelp, dried scallops, dried squid, and so on.

Aunt Qi covered her mouth and asked in a low voice, "Both of these sacks are...?"

"So many, how much will that cost?"

Yang Dalin opened another small bag and showed it to Aunt Qi, saying, "This small bag isn't what you're looking for, Aunt. This bag contains large yellow croakers. You can steam or braise them later. These two sacks are all dried goods. They're not worth much by the sea, and every household has them."

Many of them were collected from the beach and dried at home.

Qi Xiaoning had never been to the beach and didn't know what it was like there, so she asked, "Brother Dalin, do you think these are all things that the fishermen there picked up for free? Are they easy to find?"

"Does that mean the people over there have plenty of food? Their lives must be very comfortable."

Seeing that the others were also looking at him curiously, Yang Dalin patted Qi Xiaoning's head and explained to them: "At the beach, when the tide is high, some shellfish and seaweed can be brought to the shore. When the tide goes out, you can pick them up. Small fish and shrimp are caught by fishing boats and are not worth much. However, people can't just eat these things. They also need to eat grains. These things are low in fat, so eating only these things is not good."

The people over there are tired of the same food. Even if you fed it to someone every day, they'd get fed up.

Qi Xiaoning and Ma San enviously fantasized about the wonderful life by the sea, with Qi Xiaoning even saying, "If I were to eat there, I definitely wouldn't get tired of it."

One sentence made everyone laugh.

Yang Dalin tapped her forehead: "You're thinking too much. Their lives aren't as simple as you think. Fishing is a very dangerous job. Every year, there are people who die at sea and never come back."

Alright, stop daydreaming, Auntie. Take some out of this bag and share it. I'll give some to Uncle Qi, Brother Zhu, and Brother Niu.

While Sister-in-law Meiyun is still awake, why don't you take some for her family as well?

I'm planning to have Brother Zhu cook a pot of porridge in the yard this weekend, so that the elderly and children in the yard can have a taste. What do you think?

Let's put away the other big bag and eat it slowly. Also, Sister Yan, steam two of these yellow croakers, and put the rest in the cellar.

Seeing that Yang Dalin had made arrangements and planned to have Sha Zhu cook something for the elderly and children in the yard over the weekend, Aunt Qi did not object to his plan.

Not long after Yang Dalin arrived, he had already made many friends and maintained many relationships in the courtyard.

Just now, when I was waiting for Yang Dalin at the door, Sha Zhu, Niu Dali, Uncle Qi, Zhang Meiyun and others also waited with me. It was all because of Yang Dalin's sake.

Qi Yulan nodded: "Okay, since you brought them all, you can make the arrangements, I agree."

As she spoke, Aunt Qi took out some dried goods from the bag and arranged them neatly on the table.

Qi Xiaoning was asked to fetch a few small cloth bags.

Each cloth bag was filled to the brim, but even though it was full of dry goods, it didn't weigh much.

Yang Dalin took one first and delivered it to Grandpa Qi.

When we knocked on Grandpa Qi's door, we found that he had already finished eating and was about to rest.

Upon seeing Yang Dalin's visit, he asked him, holding a cloth bag, "What's wrong, Dalinzi? Are you bringing me something again? No, sir, I don't need it. I'm not short of food. Take it back and nourish your family. Ma San is eating at your house too. You have a lot of people."

Without saying a word, Yang Dalin poured all of it into a clean basin and said, "Alright, grandpa, let's not be so polite. These are dried goods I brought back from the beach. You can cook porridge with them later. These things aren't worth much at the beach."