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

When Yan Bugui left the Xu family's house, he saw that none of Xu Damao's men came out to see him off, so he spat at the entrance of Xu Damao's house.

Then, after walking a few steps, he burped again. Yan Bugui felt like he was going to spit out the tea, so he quickly covered his mouth.

He swallowed it back with great effort.

This tea is good stuff, I can't spit it out, I have to hold it in.

Finally, the hiccups are gone.

Yan Bugui carefully and slowly walked back, his belly protruding.

I'm afraid I might accidentally throw up, which would be such a waste.

As Yan Bugui walked, he thought to himself, "What a failure! Why is everyone siding with Yang Dalin?"

Isn't this something I can't figure out?

This won't work; we need to think of another way.

If all else fails, try finding other people who lent money to Yang Dalin.

Think carefully about who went to Yang Dalin's house that night, and who else could you ask for help?

Is it Zhang Meiyun, that widow, or the Zhao family?

The doorman, Lao Qi, and Yang Dalin had a very good relationship.

Sha Zhu has been getting close to him lately, and that kid Niu Dali is finished too.

Who else went to his house that night?

Besides the three old men and Xu Damao, there seemed to be no one else.

If you count them, out of the twenty-one households in the entire courtyard, nine of them voluntarily lent money to Yang Dalin. It hasn't been that long; Yang Dalin is truly a good person.

I've lived here for most of my life, and I doubt so many people would come to me to lend me money.

Damn it, thinking about it this way, Yan Bugui felt like a complete failure.

If all else fails, use Yang Ruihua's trick: say that the family urgently needs money and mention that Yang Dalin will repay the money in advance.

If you can't pay back the money, at least offer something.

I'm not necessarily forcing you to pay me back; it's just a matter of whether you know how to behave.

Yan Bugui thought the plan was good. He would have Yang Ruihua test the waters tomorrow, and he could pretend not to know anything. He would just pretend not to know and avoid things getting tense.

That's a good idea, it's feasible.

Yan Bugui was dreaming about receiving something from Yang Dalin when he walked into the main room. Suddenly, someone bumped into him, hitting him squarely in the stomach. This time, Yan Bugui couldn't hold it in and spat out.

The person who came reacted quickly and stepped aside to help Yan Bugui.

All that could be heard was the voice saying, "Teacher Yan, I just bumped into you, you didn't have to throw up like that, did you? Why is it like a fountain? What's wrong? Are you pregnant? How many months along are you?"

Yan Bugui quickly spat several times, wiped his mouth, and said, "Silly Zhu, if you can't speak properly, just shut up. Don't you watch where you're going? You bumped into someone and you still think you're right."

Upon hearing Yan Bugui rudely call him "Silly Zhu" again, Sha Zhu let go of his arm and refused to help him up, saying, "Old Man Yan, I was just walking home from the toilet. Who knows what you were thinking? You suddenly appeared out of the yard without seeing me under the light in the main room, and you're blaming me for bumping into you? Are you blind? And your mouth is foul too, isn't it?"

Indeed, there was light in the main room. Logically speaking, Yan Bugui could see clearly from the darkness in the light when he came from the courtyard, but he might not be able to see clearly from the darkness in the courtyard when he was in the light.

Yan Bugui walked to the side when he came back, not wanting Yi Zhonghai to see him. Sha Zhu was walking normally when Yan Bugui suddenly appeared. Sha Zhu didn't have time to dodge and bumped into him.

Saying that Sha Zhu bumped into him is less accurate than saying that Yan Bugui was blind.

They don't hide when they see people; they actively approach them.

Yan Bugui knew he was in the wrong; he knew he couldn't win an argument with a brute like Sha Zhu.

Too lazy to argue with Sha Zhu any longer, he flicked his sleeves, snorted, and prepared to leave.

Unfortunately, when he tried to leave, Sha Zhu wouldn't let it go, grabbing Yan Bugui and saying, "Old Man Yan, we need to talk about how you called me by my nickname again."

Why are you running away in such a hurry? What guilty conscience do you have?

Yan Bugui didn't want to get entangled with Sha Zhu, fearing that others would overhear, especially Yi Zhonghai, who would come over and find him in the backyard.

So Yan Bugui easily admitted defeat: "Zhuzi, Zhuzi, it's all my fault for being so loose-lipped. It's my fault, okay? I'll be more careful next time. I was in a hurry to go to the toilet and didn't see you. Okay, I'm going to the toilet now, I can't hold it in anymore."

After saying that, Yan Bugui broke free from Sha Zhu's hand and quickly walked towards the hanging flower gate.

Yan Bugui made up an excuse that he needed to go to the toilet urgently, and Sha Zhu couldn't keep dragging him along. Besides, he had apologized, so Sha Zhu had no choice but to let him go.

However, Sha Zhu sniffed and muttered, "I can't smell any alcohol. This old guy hasn't been drinking, but he has a big belly. Where did he drink so much water?"

"You're full after drinking water?"

To the east of the main hall was Grandpa Zhao's house. Suddenly, Grandpa Zhao's voice came from inside: "Zhu Zi, what's going on outside?"

Sha Zhu snapped out of his daze and replied to Grandpa Zhao, "It's nothing, Grandpa Zhao. I bumped into Old Man Yan. It's nothing, you should rest."

Grandpa Zhao said, "Okay, it's good that you're alright. You should go to bed early too."

Yan Bugui went to the toilet, unzipped his pants, thinking he was going to relieve himself. But when he entered the toilet and smelled the odor, he couldn't relieve himself. He couldn't help but feel a bit of nausea in his mouth, since he had just vomited and there was still a lingering smell.

As soon as I entered the toilet, the impact caused quite a bit of urine to spray out.

It was only with great difficulty that Yan Bugui managed to control the situation.

On the way back, Yan Bugui remarked, "What a waste of so much tea."

Yan Bugui returned home dejectedly. Yang Ruihua noticed the stains on Yan Bugui's pants and shirt and asked him, "What happened? Did you drink and throw up last night?"

How come there are stains on my pants and shirt?

Yan Bugui stood under the light, looked down, and realized, "Isn't that right?"

It's on both sides of the trouser legs, on the shoes, and on the shirt.

There were also tea leaves and rice grains that sprayed out by themselves.

Yan Bugui felt it was such a waste, such a pity.

It's a hassle to wash this cotton-padded coat in the dead of winter.

I don't have many clean and nice clothes; this is the only relatively good one I own.

This broke Yan Bugui's heart.

Nowadays, cotton fabrics, especially thick winter coats, are not washed frequently.

Because of the quality of the clothes, they will wear out quickly if washed frequently.

Otherwise, why would so many people have so many patches on their clothes?

Yan Bugui's cotton coat was just washed in winter. Washing it again would not only make it difficult to dry, but would also speed up the deterioration process.

Yan Bugui said reluctantly, "Honey, go get a towel and wipe me down."

Don't wash it. If you wash it once, it won't dry properly, and a second one will easily spoil.

Yang Ruihua nodded and said, "Okay, wait for Lao Yan, I'll go right away."

"Birds of a feather flock together," Yang Ruihua understood Yan Bugui very well.

Soon Yang Ruihua tossed over a damp towel and began to gently wipe Yan Bugui's clothes.

As Yan Bugui straightened his clothes, he explained his plan to Yang Ruihua.