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

Yang Dalin couldn't say that Sha Zhu was stupid in front of Mi Ya.

They just brushed it off with a few words.

Sha Zhu finished cooking the dishes in no time.

I left two dishes for my family.

Let the family eat it.

He carried two dishes and two bottles of wine that he had bought himself, and went to Xu Damao's house with Yang Dalin.

Upon seeing Sha Zhu carrying dishes in front of him, Xu Damao couldn't resist teasing him, saying, "Hey, Chef He, you know to bring dishes now."

That's really rare.

Sha Zhu nudged him aside and said jokingly, "That's right, who gave you the same thing?"

Lacking manners.

"Get out of the way, or the soup will spill on your head."

Xu Damao ignored him, stepped aside, and welcomed Yang Dalin and Ma San in.

It was the wife who was perceptive; she politely took the vegetables from Sha Zhu's hands.

His new wife also learned that the man she had chosen and Sha Zhu both liked to bicker.

I heard that the two of them used to fight a lot.

We haven't been fighting lately, but it's normal for us to exchange a few sarcastic remarks.

Four dishes were already prepared on the table, making a total of six dishes including Sha Zhu's.

The tea has been poured.

We waited for Yang Dalin and the others to arrive before pouring the wine.

As soon as everyone sat down, Xu Damao poured wine for everyone. Yang Dalin raised his glass first and said, "My two older brothers and Damao's wife, let me raise a glass first."

Two good things happened today: first, congratulations to Brother Zhu for the birth of his second son; and second, congratulations to Brother Da Mao and his wife for their happy marriage.

Wishing Brother Zhu's two children academic success and great achievements in the future; wishing Brother Da Mao and his wife a harmonious family life, a long and happy marriage, and a son soon. Cheers!

"Okay, let's do it."

After finishing his drink, Xu Damao poured more wine while mocking Shazhu: "Dalinzi, I think it's a bit doubtful that he'll succeed in his studies. I bet his two sons will end up cooking and tending the fire in the future."

Sha Zhu said nonchalantly, "What's wrong with being a cook? I'll teach my two kids to cook and be a cook too."

Ah, I have no worries about food or drink.

Unlike you, when you have children, you'll ride a beat-up bike for dozens of miles to show them a movie.

Not only are they tiring, but they also suffer on the road when it's cloudy, rainy, or snowy.

Compared to you, Xu Damao, your job showing movies is really not as comfortable as mine as being a cook.

At least it's not exposed to the elements and you don't have to travel that far.

Besides, even if you have a son in the future, he might not be as good as my son.

Putting everything else aside, I definitely couldn't beat my son in a fight.

Xu Damao was not convinced.

He knew that Sha Zhu was right. Luckily, he didn't know that riding a bicycle for a long time could lead to infertility.

Only Yang Dalin and he knew about this; he hadn't told anyone else.

I've recovered pretty much by now.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have dared to marry another wife.

Xu Damao said directly, "Pah, you're kidding me. My son will be working in an office in the future, and I'll be stopping showing movies soon. Once my apprentice graduates, I'll go back to my department and work in an office."

My son will definitely take after me; he's smart, he'll get into university, and he'll become a cadre directly.

That's for talking, not running errands.

Sha Zhu picked up his wine glass and took a small sip: "Come on, you call yourself a cadre."

"You know a few words, yet you call yourself a cadre?"

Yang Dalin saw that the two were about to start arguing again.

These two guys start fighting the moment they see each other.

He quickly raised his glass to interrupt their argument: "I'll raise another glass, wishing your two brothers' children all get into university and have bright futures. Cheers!"

The group clinked glasses again.

Xu Damao cleverly changed the subject, no longer arguing with Sha Zhu, otherwise Sha Zhu would attack him for not having a child, which would make him feel bad.

Xu Damao asked Yang Dalin what he had been up to lately and what kind of world he had seen.

Yang Dalin had no choice but to stick to his fabricated story.

He said he was temporarily transferred to another city to teach driving.

He shared some of the sights and experiences he had along the way, the customs and traditions he encountered, and some interesting anecdotes that he had heard from later generations.

Neither of these two guys had ever really left the vicinity of Beijing.

I still yearn for the outside world.

Both of them said they would like to go to other places with Yang Dalin if they had the chance.

Yang Dalin readily agreed: "Okay, when you have time and free time, I'll take you to see it when I run short distances."

Long-distance trips are out of the question; they can take seven or eight days, ten days, or even a month.

They probably won't have much of a chance in the short term. Taking them to the outskirts of Beijing or near Beihe is an option, or we could go to Tianjin to take a look.

They probably wouldn't have time if it were too far away.

They don't usually have many days off, so they don't have time to go out and play.

How could he possibly be gone for so many days?

So I can readily agree.

During dinner and drinks that evening, Xu Damao's new wife kept adding tea and water without showing the slightest impatience.

It looks really good.

She gave Xu Damao a lot of face, which was a significant improvement over the previous capitalist's daughter.

They drank until after 9 p.m., then Yang Dalin, Ma San, and Sha Zhu left.

On the way home, Yang Dalin noticed that Sha Zhu hadn't drunk too much, so he asked him if he was free the next day.

Sha Zhu asked him if something was wrong, and Yang Dalin replied that he was indeed busy; he was treating everyone to lunch tomorrow.

Sha Zhu said, "If you're treating us to dinner tonight, I'm fine with it, but I might not be able to come out tomorrow at noon."

The kitchen is usually busiest around lunchtime.

Yang Dalin thought for a moment and said, "Then let's do it tomorrow night. I'll put the ingredients in my new yard beforehand, you know where it is, right?"

Sha Zhu whispered, "How would I know? I even went with my aunt. Nobody in the yard, except my wife, has ever mentioned it."

"Okay, that's good. Then you can cook me a meal tomorrow night, and you can go straight home after you've done it."

I'll be waiting for you there tomorrow afternoon.

"Okay, sure, I'll head over early tomorrow afternoon."

After discussing it with Sha Zhu, Yang Dalin decided to postpone his lunch with Dou Xiaolong and Brother Long until the evening.

Let's also invite Brother Sheng and Brother Tian along.

Anyway, they know each other.

Although Brother Long said it was his treat, Deputy Director Dou might not have been able to get as many ingredients as Yang Dalin could at that time.

It doesn't matter who invites you.

It was spacious over there, and there were no outsiders, so we drank to our hearts' content.

Grandpa Qi's promise to drink has been changed to the night after tomorrow at his home.

If we invite Grandpa Qi alone, we won't need to go to the other compound.

The next day, Yang Dalin went to the armored forces compound and the navy compound.

The students didn't get a break today, so the group of underlings had to extort a good meal from Yang Dalin at noon.

Yang Dalin was quite generous; he provided braised pork, braised vegetables, large steamed buns, and unlimited soft drinks.

Everyone was enjoying their meal.

Yang Dalin also told them the address of his compound.

These guys all live in villas or large courtyards, so they weren't surprised or envious that Yang Dalin was allocated a large courtyard.

They wouldn't ask any more questions.

Knowing that he knew the elder brother must mean he was capable, otherwise the higher-ups wouldn't have allocated such a large courtyard to him.

They also made an appointment with Yang Dalin to visit his home again this weekend.

Then have a good meal with Brother Yang Dalin.