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

Sha Zhu was born in 1935, and the deaf old lady was probably born around 1885.

In 1937, Beijing fell to the Japanese.

However, Sha Zhu was too young to remember things back then.

By the time he can remember things, he'll probably be five or six years old. Many adults probably can't remember things from before they were ten years old.

Even if Shazhu has a good memory and can remember things from when he was five or six years old, it's been almost twenty years, so he probably won't remember them anymore.

Sha Zhu then said, "I seem to remember seeing her son once when I was a child. She has two sons, but I forgot exactly how old they were."

I only remember two people, with very upright postures, and their faces were quite frightening when they weren't smiling. They were wearing hats, but I can't remember what they looked like.

However, I haven't seen him since then.

Neither of them ever appeared again.

Yang Dalin nodded: "Yes, do you know how old the old lady is this year?"

Sha Zhu thought about it carefully: "I really didn't know that, but there are definitely people over seventy."

Yang Dalin continued, "That's right, she's over seventy now. If we assume you were five years old back then, that's twenty years ago. The old lady would have been over fifty then, and her son would have been at least twenty or thirty."

She had a good figure, and since the Japanese hadn't surrendered yet, her two sons might have joined the Nationalist army.

At that time, many children from wealthy families, especially landlords and rich people, became officers in the National Revolutionary Army.

It's also possible they died fighting the Japanese, so it wouldn't be wrong for her son to be considered a martyr by the Nationalist army.

Yang Dalin did not directly say that, from the perspective of national righteousness, all those who sacrificed their lives fighting the Japanese were martyrs.

He was afraid that Sha Zhu, that brainless idiot, would spread the word and cause trouble.

So try not to be too objective when you speak.

It's best to be extra careful at this time.

Then he continued, "But now, the families of martyrs who hang the martyrs' family plaques at home are all martyrs from our area."

Also, the Red Army, the Eighth Route Army, and the People's Liberation Army are actually one unit. She may have given shoes to the People's Liberation Army after the liberation of Beijing. I'm wrong!

Because many ordinary people are not very clear about their origins.

That's understandable. Besides, did she personally tell you that her family were relatives of martyrs?

Sha Zhu shook his head: "No, it's just that my uncle told me to be more filial and to cook her something delicious and drink something nice."

Yang Dalin took a sip of wine and said, "That's right. The old lady has never admitted it herself, so it's hard to say what her son's situation is. Maybe he really died fighting the Japanese, or maybe he went to the island with them and just can't come back."

She donated the extra house to the neighborhood committee. In order to take care of her, the neighborhood committee saw that she was old and helpless, had no income and no children, so they arranged for her to be a "five-guarantee household" (a government-provided social welfare program for the elderly and disabled), right?

You should know that this kind of "five-guarantee household" is only found in rural areas, and she may not even qualify as a "five-guarantee household."

So, Brother Zhu, from now on, don't just parrot what others say or believe whatever they say. Her identity is also questionable; who knows what her son actually does?

Yi Zhonghai asked you to deliver food, but have you seen him deliver food to any other households besides you and him?

What if she has some other identity? Getting too close to her could be dangerous!

Sha Zhu broke out in a cold sweat. In this day and age, there are still quite a few hidden spies.

It's really hard to say what the situation is like.

It's better to stay away from it.

Yang Dalin also wanted to find out the real situation of the old deaf man; the above were all his guesses, and he couldn't be sure.

He had asked Grandpa Qi about some things, but Grandpa Qi was basically not home during the day, and when he came back at night he didn't like to visit other people's homes. There was no woman in his house, and there were many things going on in the yard that he couldn't say for sure.

Yang Dalin then asked Shazhu, "Brother Zhu, during holidays and festivals, have any officials from the neighborhood committee, the armed forces department, or the soldiers come to visit her or bring her gifts?"

Sha Zhu thought for a moment and replied, "People from the neighborhood committee have come, but I haven't seen anyone from the armed forces department or any soldiers. However, soldiers from your family have come before, but not in the last few years."

Yang Dalin nodded. His family had visited before, so he already knew about this. Then he added, "Brother Zhu, neither the armed forces department nor the soldiers have come, which means her family is definitely not a martyr's family from our area. So be careful in the future."

It's normal for the neighborhood committee to come. They visit the families of martyrs, impoverished military dependents, struggling families, and elderly people without children during holidays. It's part of their job.

As for Yi Zhonghai, at his age, he probably knows something. His two sons are likely alright, otherwise he wouldn't have risked bringing it up.

Sha Zhu was a little confused: "Da Linzi, if the old lady isn't really a martyr's family member, why is this old man saying things like that? What's his intention? Isn't he afraid that if others find out, they'll report him?"

Wow, Sha Zhu's not bad, starting to use his brain now?

Unfortunately, it exists, but in small quantities.

Yang Dalin asked him, "Do you really want to know?"

"I really want to," Sha Zhu answered without hesitation.

Seeing that Sha Zhu looked serious, Yang Dalin realized that the fool hadn't completely fallen for him yet, so he just told him directly.

The real goal is to win this fool over to become my ally; as for Yi Zhonghai's retirement, that's none of my business.

I've long disapproved of his relationship with Qin Huairu.

"Just two words: retirement."

Silly Zhu, with his pitiful walnut kernel, couldn't understand: "Why is it for retirement?"

Yang Dalin slowly explained to him, "Yi Zhonghai doesn't have any children, right? He sets an example in the nursing home by taking care of the old lady, right? And he also teaches the children in the nursing home to respect the elderly and care for the young, right? His motto is always the same: there's no fault in the elderly, only the shortcomings of the children, right?"

Sha Zhu nodded repeatedly: "Yes, all of that is right, you can continue."

Yang Dalin continued, "Some of Yi Zhonghai's arguments are correct, while others are truly fallacies. That statement that there are no faults of the elderly, only the shortcomings of the children, is utter nonsense."

Old Yan is so stingy that he'll rely on his son to support him in his old age, which shows the old man's lack of consideration.

Liu Lao Er beats his son for no reason, and it's all because of the son's lack of consideration.

Brother Zhu, as long as parents don't show too much favoritism and raise their children well, and their sons get married and their daughters get married, even if the children don't amount to much in the future, they should still take care of their parents in their old age. That's perfectly fine.

After all, our country values ​​filial piety, but it's doubtful that the children of families like Yan and Liu will be filial in the future.

Yi Zhonghai has no children, and he knows nothing about educating children. He might lecture you for no reason, but his true intentions are not what they seem.

He wants you to take him as a role model, listen to him, and learn from his methods, so that if Jia Dongxu becomes unfilial in the future, he will still have you as a backup.

Brother Zhu, the saying "respect the elderly and care for the young" is correct, but it also depends on whether the person is worthy of respect and care.

We should love and care for children who steal small things, just like we love our grandmothers.

Yi Zhonghai is just trying to fool you. If he doesn't make the deaf old lady sound more like a saint, you'll be willing to bring her food.

Then, taking advantage of his age, he'll look after you a bit in this courtyard when he's not doing anything.

"Over time, you'll be tied to both families. The old lady has Yi Zhonghai to take care of her, and their family will have you taking care of them in the future, tsk tsk."

Sha Zhu got anxious when he heard this: "Why should I take care of him in his old age? Who does he think he is?"

Even if I were to take care of someone, I would only care for Aunt Qi in the courtyard. Aunt Qi was still quite good to me after He Daqing left, but I was stubborn back then and didn't like anyone taking care of me, so I distanced myself from her. But I knew in my heart that Aunt Qi was genuinely good to me, and she was also good to Yushui. I've heard from Yushui that recently Aunt Qi has been treating Yushui like her own daughter. After Yushui gets married, I will repay her kindness on her behalf, and I will take care of Aunt Qi in her old age.”

See? Sha Zhu has fallen into the trap himself.

Of course, we're playing a perfectly legitimate game of strategy.

Yang Dalin stopped Sha Zhu from slamming his hand on the table in excitement: "I know you're anxious, but don't rush, let me explain slowly. Aunt Qi is my responsibility. If you're willing, we can talk about it later. You haven't fallen into Yi Zhonghai's trap yet, have you?"