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

Qi Yulan was also very satisfied with Yang Dalin's approach and quickly chimed in, "I think it's a good idea. Dalin, lend us two yuan, and Meiyun, you can take the remaining ten yuan back for your household expenses. We appreciate your kind intentions. Really, let's do it this way."

As she spoke, Qi Yulan stuffed the remaining ten yuan into Zhang Meiyun's hand.

Zhang Meiyun tried to break free from Qi Yulan's grasp but couldn't.

Yang Dalin quickly added, "Sister-in-law, this is fine. I'll borrow from Uncle Yi and Uncle Liu later. They have money and earn a lot."

Don't worry, if I really can't raise enough, I can borrow from you, okay?

Zhang Meiyun couldn't break free from Qi Yulan's hand, and Qi Yanhua also helped Qi Yulan press down on her arm.

He had no choice but to give up: "Fine, I'll listen to you, Da Linzi."

Yang Dalin finally breathed a sigh of relief when the fighting stopped.

These two dollars felt much heavier than Qi Desheng's five hundred dollars.

Yang Dalin took out two jin of millet from the prizes and handed it to her: "Sister-in-law, you help me, I'll help you. This is my prize for today, it contains two jin of millet."

Take this back and make some millet porridge for the two children.

Let's talk about it after the famine is over.

Zhang Meiyun quickly stood up, not wanting to accept it. She had just received a bag of dried seafood yesterday; how could she accept something else from someone else?

When Aunt Qi saw that Yang Dalin had taken it out, she realized that the family didn't need these things.

He forced it on her: "Alright, Meiyun, Dalinzi is right. You help him, and he helps you. The child's health is important. We'll talk about it after the famine is over. If we don't take good care of the child now, he'll suffer a lot later."

When Xiao Cheng and Xiao Cai grow up, we'll make him pay back more.

"Is this alright? Take it, don't tear it anymore, or someone else will hear us."

Zhang Meiyun originally only intended to give money to someone, but ended up taking two jin of millet and the ten yuan she hadn't lent out with her back home.

Knowing that more people would definitely come soon, she didn't linger and had to leave.

When I get back, I will tell my two sons to remember this kindness.

When the children grow up, they should be taught to take good care of Uncle Lin.

Speaking of repaying kindness, there is a true story from the fifth brother's family.

My grandfather's generation had a relative who had eaten all the tree bark in the fields in those years. When my grandfather went to visit the relative, several of them had already fainted from hunger in the fields.

In late autumn, that relative was looking for sweet potatoes that hadn't been harvested after the autumn harvest and was still hidden in the field to eat.

Seeing this, Grandpa quickly went home and got two baskets of dried sweet potatoes.

That relative was saved. Although the elders passed away one after another, that relative was already a very distant relative by the time of the fifth generation. That family still comes to pay New Year's visits and give gifts every year.

After all, they saved their entire family.

They have never forgotten the life-saving grace.

Sometimes, ordinary people are more likely to remember these acts of kindness.

They are compassionate and compassionate, even more so than some learned people.

Another true story is that Lao Wu had a classmate in high school. In their second year of high school, this classmate's father passed away unexpectedly.

This student had an older brother who was in college at the time, and a younger sister who was in junior high school.

When the author, Lao Wu, learned about this classmate's situation, he was already considering dropping out of school to earn money to support his older brother and younger sister.

Then Lao Wu treated this classmate to meals for a month in a row, donated some money to him (not much), gave him advice, and took him to relatives' houses for good food.

(In 2006, the fifth child's monthly living expenses were 150 yuan, which was not enough to cover his expenses, so he had to run up his bills at restaurants near the school.)

The relative was Lao Wu's uncle, his father's older brother. Lao Wu would go to his house every week for a nice meal; the uncle would cook braised pork. At that time, Lao Wu once ate nine and a half two-ounce steamed buns in one meal.

As a result, ever since that person got into a top university, I haven't received a single message or phone call from them.

Back then, people changed their phone numbers frequently, so it was fine if you couldn't contact them, but you could still get a QQ number.

We've gone off on a tangent; let's go back to the main topic.

As soon as Zhang Meiyun left, Sha Zhu arrived.

Sha Zhu and He Yushui came together. Yang Dalin asked Qi Xiaoning to bring out some fried dough twists from home for He Yushui to eat.

Sha Zhu also got a piece, which he stuffed into his mouth. Then he took out two hundred yuan from his pocket and handed it to Yang Dalin.

He said, "Dalinzi, you take this first. I have more. Don't worry about it right away. We'll talk about it when we really need it."

Yang Dalin pulled him into his room and whispered to him, "Brother Zhu, I appreciate your kindness. Take the money first, but don't leave yet. Yi Zhonghai and Liu Haizhong are coming. See how much they lend me."

If it's not enough, I'll borrow from you again. When they come later, just tell them I borrowed a hundred from you.

These two families are wealthy. Yi Zhonghai earns 80 or 90 yuan a month, which is just for the two of them. They are much richer than you.

Although Liu Haizhong has three children, his eldest son is also employed and has money.

Who knows, Old Man Yan might come too. You just wait and see. If we really can't raise enough, we'll borrow from you. It's better to lend money to these people than not to.

Keep yours. If someone asks, just say you lent me a hundred.

Sha Zhu understood from Yang Dalin's words that he was planning to scheme against a few old men.

He quickly agreed, "Okay, we'll do it your way."

Sha Zhu sat at Yang Dalin's house drinking water and didn't leave.

Yi Zhonghai arrived. When he saw Sha Zhu at Yang Dalin's house, he kept rambling on and on without getting to the point.

Seeing this, Yang Dalin said to Sha Zhu, "Brother Zhu, why don't you go back and rest first? Thank you for lending me the hundred yuan. I'll pay you back as soon as possible."

Then, without Shazhu understanding, she pushed him out the door.

Then he whispered, "You go first, I'll tell you later."

Sha Zhu finally came to his senses and called out loudly, "Auntie, I'm leaving now. The rain has stopped. Come back to play tomorrow."

Yang Dalin felt that he was in a good position this time. He borrowed money, and everyone rushed to give it to him. He didn't even have to leave the house.

That feels great, all thanks to my own efforts in building good relationships.

When Yi Zhonghai saw Yang Dalin return, he glanced at Qi Yanhua and her sister, as well as Ma San.

Yang Dalin knew that this old man made a big fuss over borrowing money.

I was just testing them to see if they would lend it to me.

Since he took the initiative to come to me to lend me money, I'll grant his wish.

Yang Dalin then told Ma San to go home first, and told Qi Yanhua and her sister to go back to their room to rest.

This time, only Qi Yulan and Yang Dalin remained.

Yi Zhonghai then pulled out a wad of cash from his pocket and handed it to Yang Dalin, saying, "Dalinzi, it's true that I earn a lot, but your wife isn't in good health and needs to take medicine all year round. I can't afford to pay you back much. I've scraped together three hundred for you. Don't worry about paying me back right away. It's fine if you wait a year or two. Is that alright?"

Yang Dalin quickly grabbed Yi Zhonghai's hand and shook it gratefully, saying, "Oh, Uncle Yi, you've helped me a lot! I'll write you an IOU and pay it back in two years. Would you like to pay it back in installments or in one lump sum the year after next?"

When Yi Zhonghai heard that Yang Dalin was being so particular, writing an IOU and agreeing on the rules for repayment, he felt a little more at ease.

He quickly shook his head and said, "No need for that. You don't need to write an IOU. You're just a driver's apprentice, and the pressure of paying off debts every month is too much. You can pay it off all at once later."

Yang Dalin quickly interjected, "That won't do. The rules can't be broken. An IOU must be written, and the repayment date must be clearly stated. It's true that Yang Dalin is young, but he must know the rules."

"Uncle Yi, wait a moment, I'll go get some paper and pen."

Yang Dalin turned around and went back to his room, where he got paper and a pen.

He wrote a proper IOU to Yi Zhonghai.