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

Qi Desheng panicked. He only had a little over two hundred left in his savings account. Without thinking, he said, "I'll borrow three hundred. I don't have three hundred in total, I only have a little over two hundred."

Yang Dalin clicked his tongue in admiration and said, "Didn't you say you didn't have any? You have over two hundred, so I'll lend you two hundred. If you don't lend it to me, I'll go and talk to Sister Xuemei."

Qi Desheng gritted his teeth in anger and said, "Fine, you tricked me, you threatened me, didn't you? I'll lend you two hundred, pay it back right now, and keep it a secret. If your sister-in-law finds out, you'll be sorry."

Suddenly, Gong Xuemei's voice came from outside: "Is there something you're not letting me know?"

Gong Xuemei pushed open the door and entered, asking a question.

As soon as Qi Desheng saw his wife arrive, he frantically gave Yang Dalin meaningful glances.

Yang Dalin's expression remained unchanged as he said seriously, "Sister-in-law, Brother Sheng gave me back the three hundred yuan you gave me. I said I would repay three hundred yuan if I borrowed it, and I can't let you know."

Gong Xuemei put aside her doubts and said, "Dalinzi, that won't do. You have so many tickets, many of which are rare and hard to find. I can't just take them for free."

Yang Dalin then interjected, "Sister-in-law, there's no need for our two families to be so calculating. If you're going to calculate it like this, do I have to pay you back for the radio ticket and the leather shoes you gave me last time?"

Okay, do as I say. I'll try my best to pay you back on time. Sheng-ge, could you help me with my things? I need to carry them to the car; it's hard to tie them up.

Qi Desheng quickly agreed, "Okay, okay, I'll carry it for you."

Qi Desheng took Yang Dalin to where he parked his bicycle and secretly gave him two hundred yuan.

She was extremely reluctant to let him put it away quickly.

Yang Dalin chuckled to himself. This big bear is afraid of his wife, even though he's so big. Seeing is believing.

Yang Dalin carefully put the money away and tied the items to his bicycle.

He left the house with a flourish and went to meet up with Ma San.

Seeing Yang Dalin carrying another large bag of things, Ma San asked, "Brother, what's this?"

Yang Dalin told him, "It was a reward from my work unit. I did a small favor, it's nothing to mention."

Ma San really admires Yang Dalin. This Brother Dalin is really capable; he manages to bring things home every day.

He didn't see anyone else with these things at the freight station entrance.

Only Yang Dalin has it, which means that Brother Dalin is the most capable.

He secretly thought to himself that he must stick close to Brother Dalin and learn more from him in the future.

When Yang Dalin arrived at No. 95 Courtyard, he was back early this time, before it was completely dark. As soon as he entered the hanging flower gate, he met the door god, Teacher Yan Bugui.

Teacher Yan Bugui saw Yang Dalin carrying another large bag of things and greeted him, "Dalinzi, is this a company employee giveout?"

Yan Bugui's words attracted several neighbors from the front yard.

Yang Dalin couldn't just show his displeasure directly. He couldn't pretend not to see that an older person had taken the initiative to speak to him, even if there had been conflicts before.

So Yang Dalin calmly said, "It's not a benefit. The New Year's benefits are still a long way off. This is a prize my company gave me. I'm the only one in my company who gets this."

Several onlookers nearby exclaimed, "Wow, so many things, all sent to you by yourself! Da Linzi is really something!"

These words attracted several people from the Intermediate People's Court.

Upon hearing this, Yan Laokou felt a pang of sadness. Undeterred, he said, "Really? Dalinzi, have you done something good again? Why don't you open it and let us see what's inside?"

At this time, Yi Zhonghai and Liu Haizhong had just walked home from get off work. They didn't have bicycles, and although they lived closer than Yang Dalin, they actually got home faster than Yang Dalin, who lived farther away.

Hearing the commotion, they also gathered around. The Qi family mother and daughter also heard the noise in the yard and came out as well.

Before long, a large crowd had gathered in front of the Qi family's house.

Yang Dalin remained calm and composed. These were all rewards, and he wasn't afraid of anyone reporting them, as they were all obtained through legitimate channels.

Moreover, with more people around, it's a good opportunity to put my plans into action.

Yan Bugui wanted to incite resentment against the rich and isolate himself, but unfortunately, he could also take advantage of the situation, saving him the trouble of searching for people one by one.

Yang Dalin gave Qi Yulan a look to reassure her.

He began, "Uncle Yi, Uncle Liu has finished get off work. Perfect timing, everyone's here, so I'll just say it all at once. I still need to talk to Uncle Yi and Uncle Liu about something today."

When Yi Zhonghai heard that Yang Dalin wanted to talk to him, he asked him, "Dalinzi, just tell me what's wrong. I'll definitely help if I can."

Yang Dalin said, "Thank you so much, Uncle Yi and Uncle Liu. Let me first talk about this bag of prizes."

This is a big reward from my work unit, and I think it will be reported to our neighborhood committee as well. Don't worry, I didn't get it by buying or selling.

As for what credit I have received, I cannot say; that needs to be kept secret.

I won't show you everything in the bag, since some people might be envious if they see it, don't you think, Teacher Yan?

When everyone heard Yang Dalin name Yan Bugui, they burst into laughter.

Ignoring Yan Bugui's unpleasant expression, Yang Dalin took out the tickets for the three turns and one ring from his pocket.

Yang Dalin showed it to Yi Zhonghai; it had the official seal of the Commerce Bureau and a date on it.

Then Yang Dalin added, "These things are secondary; I was also rewarded with tickets for the 'Three Turns and One Sound' lottery."

More and more people gathered in the courtyard. When they heard that Yang Dalin had not only been rewarded with a bag of things, but also with tickets for the "three turns and one sound" (a type of radio, a sewing machine, and a watch), everyone started discussing it excitedly.

This is such a great achievement, and he was rewarded with so many things.

The more valuable Yang Dalin's claims were, the less people dared to doubt the origins of these items.

Yang Dalin must have made a great contribution, otherwise how could he have been rewarded with so many things?

Some people not only looked on with envy, but also with awe.

Yi Zhonghai and Liu Haizhong exchanged a glance and then cupped their hands together, saying, "Congratulations, Dalinzi! Our courtyard has produced such a great contributor as you. Not only are we two old men proud, but everyone else is also benefiting from this."

Dalinzi, just tell me if you need any help.

The old man will definitely help you.

Yang Dalin thanked Yi Zhonghai and Liu Haizhong and said, "Everyone, please be quiet and listen to me. I have two things to say."

The first one is that I went on a business trip to Tianjin with my company a couple of days ago.

I brought back some dried seafood as a local specialty from the beach when I came back.

I plan to learn from Grandpa Yi and Grandpa Liu's spirit of respecting the elderly and caring for the young. This weekend, I'll have Brother Zhu cook a big pot of seafood porridge and give a bowl to each of the elderly over fifty and children under ten in our community. If there's any left over, I'll distribute it to everyone so they can get some extra nutrition.

It's not much, but it's a small token of my appreciation.

As soon as he finished speaking, Yi Zhonghai led the applause.

When everyone heard that elderly people and children could have free seafood porridge, they applauded Yang Dalin to express their gratitude.

Sha Zhu, who was in the crowd, finished clapping and then chimed in, "Da Linzi, well done! Leave this to me, I'll definitely get it done. What's the second thing?"

Once the murmurs subsided, Yang Dalin said, "The second thing is that these receipts of mine all have expiration dates. I'd like to borrow some money from Uncle Yi, Uncle Liu, and others to buy the goods back first, and then pay them back monthly."