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

People like Qin Huairu need to be dealt with in the future.

This is just a temporary reprieve from her desire for revenge.

She still doubted herself.

Women hold grudges far more effectively than men.

We need to be wary of their family from now on. When Banggeng and Xiao go to the countryside later, we'll give them a good fortune.

Just stay in the countryside, get married, and have children. Don't go back to Beijing.

What are you coming back for?

They'll come back and try to take over the house from that silly Zhu in the courtyard house.

I've chosen this courtyard.

I'm even thinking of keeping them all myself in the future.

You should all go back to the countryside to retire.

The soil and water in the countryside are more nourishing.

Young talents like Liu Guangtian and Yan Jiekuang should stay in the countryside and work on the planet.

Don't come back and disgust people.

The countryside suits them better.

It would be even better to take their biological parents away.

And it's good that Jia Zhangshi has set her sights on Xu Damao's wife.

If things go wrong and Xu Damao really can't have children in the future, he can try dating Qin Huairu.

Anyway, Qin Huairu is disfigured, so she can still be used even with the lights off.

Upon hearing this, Yang Dalin noticed that the other party had fallen silent.

I can finally sleep soundly now.

……

……

The next morning, Yang Dalin got up, prepared some food, and after eating, went to the Intermediate People's Court to help out.

I had a small argument with Qin Huairu yesterday, but it wasn't a big deal.

Jia Dongxu still needs to give a gift.

The adult neighbors in the courtyard also came.

Several of Jia Dongxu's close coworkers also came.

This guy does have a few friends.

When several coworkers arrived, Qin Huairu and Jia Zhangshi cried their hearts out.

Little Dang is still too young to understand, and just cried along with her mother and grandmother.

Bang Geng is starting to understand things, but only to a limited extent. He's probably still thinking about attending the banquet soon.

Yan Bugui was responsible for keeping the accounts.

Yang Dalin, like everyone else, offered a condolence gift.

He put up a dollar.

Some neighbors gave him 50 cents, some gave him a dollar, but he didn't care about the extra 50 cents. He was a grown man who had passed away; he wasn't short of money.

Why follow those 50-cent party members?

As for the lunch banquet, that's a bit of a hassle.

Yi Zhonghai asked Yan Bugui and Uncle Qi to go shopping, but they couldn't buy much.

Everyone chipped in to help his family, some contributing cabbage, others radishes.

Yang Dalin contributed several sea fish.

As an extra dish, Yi Zhonghai brought out a small piece of cured pork.

The cook is Sha Zhu, and it's not easy to hire someone else, especially since the Jia family isn't willing to spend more money to hire someone else.

Sha Zhu was too embarrassed to ask for money, so he just considered it a favor.

However, they were also struggling to find ingredients, so they thought they could just make do with a few dishes for the table.

There won't be many tables set up in total.

There's nothing we can do; these are difficult times.

It's the first month of the lunar calendar again, and there's not much vegetable or meat available, so preparing dishes is quite a hassle.

Yang Dalin followed Shazhu to help with the earthen stove they were building.

Besides radishes and potatoes, the only other vegetables available are cabbages.

There were also a few fish brought by Yang Dalin and a small piece of cured pork from Yi Zhonghai, all weighing less than a pound.

The other people really have nothing.

Finally, Sha Zhu thought, "Forget it, let's just make a big pot stew, one bowl for each person, and two steamed buns for each person."

Let's cut in the seafood that Yang Dalin brought and the bit of cured meat that Yi Zhonghai contributed.

It also has a slightly oily smell.

He, the head chef, had no other choice.

Several people came from Jia Dongxu's hometown village, and several people also came from Qin Huairu's maternal family.

There weren't many people.

I know it's not easy to make a living in the city. With more people coming, the travel expenses are high, and I'm afraid I won't be able to recoup my costs.

Many colleagues also came to the steel rolling mill's repair workshop.

After a while, the leaders of the steel rolling mill also came to offer their condolences.

Deputy Factory Director Yang, along with several other factory leaders, came together.

Deputy Factory Director Yang has not yet been officially appointed; he is still a deputy.

He's in charge of production, so he'll definitely be there.

After presenting a funeral gift, he also had the liaison officer deliver a paper package to the Jia family.

This should be compensation for the deceased's family.

Qin Huairu didn't have time to get up and take over, so she directly let Jia Zhangshi accept it.

Jia Zhangshi went into the inner room and counted them one by one.

Qin Huairu probably never imagined that once the money was in Jia Zhangshi's hands, it would be difficult to get it out again.

Jia Zhangshi was holding onto the money, probably because she was worried that her daughter-in-law would remarry.

She didn't want to lose both her money and her lover; she understood this better than Qin Huairu.

The burial will take place before noon, thankfully there isn't much traffic on the road right now.

The factory provided a vehicle, and everyone rode in a convoy to complete the burial quickly.

The process was also simplified. Jia Dongxu was not buried in his hometown; since he was now a registered resident of Beijing, he was buried in a public cemetery.

If the burial is to be carried out in the hometown, that would be quite troublesome.

Many people simply cannot go to his hometown for his funeral.

The feast began soon after we returned.

Guests from afar are welcome; let them eat first.

Each person received a bowl of mixed vegetables and two steamed buns made from two kinds of flour.

No more.

They came to help in the yard after they finished eating.

People won't complain even if they're not full; a little bit of oiliness is already good enough, what more could they ask for?

The funeral was basically over by 2 p.m.

It's very simple and unpretentious.

Yang Dalin did not eat at Jia's house.

He secretly went home to eat lunch.

The food at home is much better than this; let's save the Jia family a bite.

The funeral was over, and from then on, there was one less person in the courtyard.

Only a few photos of Jia Dongxu remain.

A perfectly healthy person, gone just like that, dust to dust, Yang Dalin sighed deeply.

It makes one lament the brevity of life, which is only a mere ten thousand days or so. Even if one lives to be a hundred, it seems like only thirty thousand days have passed.

That's considered good. As those who have watched animal documentaries know, there seem to be many creatures that only live for a short day, or even just a few days or a year or two.

If a person can live for several decades or even a hundred years, that's already very good; they should be content.

It's uncertain whether Jia Zhangshi will bring out those photos again in the future to scare Qin Huairu.

Soon the courtyard returned to peace.

The courtyard was a bit too quiet in the afternoon, and Yang Dalin felt somewhat depressed there.

I told my aunt directly, then rode my bike out to find a bookstore to buy books.

The family just passed away, and the children in the yard are being kept under the adults' supervision so they can't play happily.

I was really bored in the yard.

Sha Zhu wanted to invite him to drink and play cards, but he refused.

Today isn't a good day; Sha Zhu's house is so close to Jia's.

Why would you drink and play cards at Sha Zhu's house instead of at someone else's table?

Let's not rub salt into their wounds.

As for reminding Sha Zhu and Yi Zhonghai, let nature take its course.

Sha Zhu will answer if asked, but he won't bring it up unless asked.

Set aside your desire to help others and respect their fate.

I've already helped Sha Zhu a lot, and I've given him advice before. If he still wants to get closer to Yi Zhonghai, I don't have to stop him.

Just like Jia Dongxu himself, didn't he change his fate?

Since some fundamental principles cannot be changed by oneself, why should one do anything about them?

Go with the flow.

Qi Yanhua and Qi Xiaoning went back to school right after lunch.

They had class today and didn't need to help out, so they didn't ask for leave.

They'd be better off doing this at school.

Yang Dalin only went out to buy books because no one was playing with him.

As for Ma San, Yang Dalin simply told him to finish his work and go back to earn money.

Yang Dalin went to the bookstore and bought several novels and some comic books.

After finishing the comic book, he planned to store it in his online space.

I'll keep it as a collectible; it might be worth something in the future.

Yang Dalin spent the evening browsing books at the bookstore before leisurely heading home.