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

There was nothing Qi Yulan could do; she was genuinely afraid that Yang Dalin would lie to avoid worrying her.

This child sometimes lies so convincingly that it sounds like the truth.

Without even blinking.

Even though Qi Yulan knew that Yang Dalin's lies were sometimes well-intentioned, she still wanted to find out whether Yang Dalin had ever been injured.

She treats Yang Dalin like her own son, so she's bound to worry about him.

After comforting Aunt Qi and Sister Yan.

Yang Dalin told them to have dinner first, as he was preparing to take Ma San'er to Xu Damao's house for drinks.

Yang Dalin took out two bottles of wine and some meat from his house, and asked Ma San'er to go to Xu Damao's house first, while Sha Zhu cooked the dishes.

He went to Yi Zhonghai's house to talk to Li Guorui.

The two parted ways when they reached the Intermediate People's Court.

Yang Dalin knocked on Yi Zhonghai's door.

It was Li Guorui who opened the door. As soon as he entered, he found the family eating dinner at home.

When Yi Zhonghai saw that it was Yang Dalin, he greeted him warmly: "Dalinzi, you're here! Come sit down, come sit down, have something to eat."

Yang Dalin shook his head and refused, saying, "Uncle Yi, you forgot? I made an appointment with Brother Da Mao and the others to go to their place for drinks."

I came to talk to Guorui about something, just a couple of sentences, and then I'll leave.

Sorry to disturb your meal.

Yi Zhonghai politely replied, "What are you disturbing? It's nothing."

When I go to Da Mao's place for drinks, I haven't forgotten that you need to eat something first. You can have a meal here first before going for drinks.

Xiumei, go and cook two more dishes.

Wen Xiumei was about to start cooking when Yang Dalin quickly stopped her.

It took a lot of persuasion to convince the couple to give up the idea of ​​letting him eat there.

Yi Zhonghai said, "Dalinzi, you came here specifically to see Xiao Rui. Is there something you need him for?"

"Yes, that's right, Uncle Yi."

"Okay, Xiao Rui, come here. Your brother Lin wants to talk to you, little guy."

Li Guorui stood up happily: "Brother Dalin, what do you want to see me about?"

Are there any other stories you want to tell us?

Yang Dalin also did not intend to avoid Yi Zhonghai and his wife.

So they told Li Guorui directly, and asked him to tell all the kids in the yard later.

Don't tell the story he told today to the Yan family.

Li Guorui was still young, but he knew that the people in the courtyard didn't really like the Yan family's stinginess.

He didn't ask why and readily agreed.

Yang Dalin then rewarded him with a large handful of candies.

Tell him to give one to each of his friends who can keep it a secret.

Yi Zhonghai escorted Yang Dalin out.

Yang Dalin whispered the reason to Yi Zhonghai.

Yi Zhonghai spat and said, "Hey, this old Yan, that's all he's got. It's not like he's really broke, but he's always thinking about taking advantage of others."

He really is outrageous. I support you, Da Linzi, in this matter. I'll have Xiao Rui go after he finishes eating.

"Um, there's something I need your help with."

Yi Zhonghai seemed a little embarrassed when he said the following words.

Yang Dalin said, "Alright, since Uncle Yi has spoken, you can go ahead and tell us."

Let's see if I can do it. If I can, I'll do it without hesitation.

Seeing that Yang Dalin's attitude was very sincere, Yi Zhonghai said somewhat embarrassedly, "Dalinzi, you saw my food and supplies just now."

There's a saying that goes, "A half-grown boy can eat his father to death."

It's not that I'm afraid they'll eat it, it's just that even if I have money, it's hard to buy things. I want to buy more meat and eggs for the children and your Aunt Yi, but I have a limited number of tickets. Even at the black market prices, I can't afford to have such a supply every day, and I can't go to the black market often.

"You're always out there running around, do you know any ways to get cheap meat and eggs from outside?"

Yang Dalin recalled the food he had just seen on Yi Zhonghai's dining table.

For six people, there were two dishes: a plate of scrambled eggs with scallions placed in front of the children, and a plate of stir-fried wild vegetables placed in front of Yi Zhonghai and Wen Xiumei.

There was also a small dish of pickled vegetables in the middle.

There were also two kinds of staple food in the basket: steamed buns made from a mixture of wheat and water, and cornbread.

When Yang Dalin entered, the two youngest children were eating steamed buns made from a mixture of wheat and water, while the two older children, Yi Xiaohong and Li Guorui, and Yi Zhonghai and Wen Xiumei were holding cornbread.

The food was much better than most people's.

However, this situation clearly shows that Yi Zhonghai and Wen Xiumei treat the children very well.

Even though Yi Zhonghai was an eighth-grade worker, his supply of fine grains was still limited.

It's impossible for everyone in the family to eat refined grains every meal, because there simply isn't enough.

At that time, it was stipulated that 70% of a family's monthly food supply should be coarse grains.

Yang Dalin arrived temporarily, and Yi Zhonghai was unaware of his presence; clearly, he wouldn't have deliberately arranged things this way.

In the afternoon, Yang Dalin also asked Li Guorui, and it turned out that their two youngest children did eat refined grains, while the others ate coarse grains.

That's pretty good.

Yi Zhonghai's kindness is truly admirable, especially towards these children.

Yang Dalin wouldn't mind helping him out.

Yang Dalin nodded: "Okay, Uncle Yi, I promise you. Every time I come back from a business trip, I'll bring you ten catties of smoked or braised meat and ten catties of eggs."

But this needs to be kept secret.

Be careful when you do it.

Yi Zhonghai happily said, "Okay, okay, thank you, Dalinzi. I understand. I guarantee no one will know."

The children who leave the orphanage will eat well and won't gossip about it outside.

They're even tighter on this point than I am.

"So, could you get me some eggs this time? I only have those two left from today."

"Okay, Uncle Yi, when you come back from get off work tomorrow afternoon, wait for me at the entrance of the alley in the courtyard."

I'll give it to you.

Bring a bag or something to put your things in beforehand.

Don't let anyone see it.

"Okay, okay, I understand."

"Alright, Uncle Yi, you should eat now. I'm going to have a drink first."

"Okay, go ahead then, but drink less."

After saying that, Yang Dalin left.

That evening, Yang Dalin, Ma San'er, Xu Damao, Shazhu, Niu Dali, and several other young men he got along well with in the courtyard had a drink together.

The next morning, Yang Dalin and his family ate breakfast early.

Yang Dalin led them to the large courtyard on Dongsi Shitiao.

By this time, Captain Li and his team had arrived.

Yang Dalin introduced Captain Li to his family.

They gave the two extra keys to Aunt Qi and Sister Yan, one each.

Qi Xiaoning wanted another key, but Qi Yulan punched her in the process.

I took my family on a tour of the yard.

This caused Qi Xiaoning and Aunt Qi to cheer with joy.

This vegetable garden and orchard are wonderful.

Aunt Qi couldn't wait to plant even more vegetables.

They raised a lot of chickens.

However, it seems there are regulations now that prohibit keeping them in the city.

But rules are rules, and many people still secretly keep two.

Qi Yulan works in the neighborhood committee, so of course he knew about this policy, but that didn't mean she wouldn't violate it.

Many families keep one or two hens to supplement their nutrition.

The local authorities could only turn a blind eye to this.

There's no way you can just take away a hen that lays eggs and provides nourishment to family members or patients.

As long as the neighbors are not affected, no action will be taken.

The streets don't enforce regulations very strictly either.