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

Yang Dalin returned to his new home, his little nest.

I discussed it with Sister Yan.

He said he wanted to take her back to her parents' home tomorrow.

Then, after lunch, I took her back to my hometown in the afternoon.

We'll hold another banquet there.

Sister Yan herself said there was no problem.

Yang Dalin plans to bring Ma San'er along again tomorrow.

He was asked to drive back with him.

If you get tired on the road, you can drive for a while.

Just drive back in a Jeep.

If someone asks, just say you borrowed the car.

Anyway, Sister Yan and Ma San'er had no idea how many acquaintances he had.

In the afternoon, Yang Dalin took two bottles of wine and went to see Station Master Wang at the freight station.

Ask Sister Yan for a few more days off, and also ask Ma San'er for a few more days off.

Station Master Wang agreed without much consideration.

He already had a good relationship with Yang Dalin, and after attending Yang Dalin's wedding, he learned that Yang Dalin had a very good relationship with the department head, who was directly under his command.

They dared not mess with Yang Dalin anymore.

Not to mention, Yang Dalin also very politely gave them two bottles of wine.

Yang Dalin knew so many big shots, but none of them ever tried to show off in front of him, and they were always very respectful to him.

Station Chief Wang must be bored and have nothing better to do than cause trouble and disagree.

Yang Dalin left the stationmaster's office, found Ma San'er, and told him about it.

As a result, Yuan Qiao, who was standing nearby, found out.

Yuan Qiao said he also wanted to go.

Yang Dalin tapped him on the head.

"You're going too? Does your wife have someone to look after your kids or something?"

The chubby boy, Yuan Qiao, covered his head and said, "Boss, I have a mother-in-law."

When my husband and I are at work, my mother-in-law basically helps take care of the child.

Please just say yes.

Yang Dalin tapped him again.

"You've got to be kidding me. The station is so busy, I'm usually not there, and I've taken Ma San'er with me. Plus, with you on top of that, there are a few fewer drivers."

Is Captain Li able to handle all the tasks assigned to him?

"I'll let it slide this time, but next time I go back to my hometown, I'll take you but not Ma San'er, okay?"

What could the chubby Yuan Qiao say? He could only nod resentfully.

Yang Dalin promised to bring him more local specialties from his hometown.

That made the kid happy.

The next morning, Yang Dalin took Sister Yan back to her parents' home.

Aunt Qi is currently on leave at home.

My sister-in-law hasn't started school yet.

Upon hearing that Yang Dalin was going back to his hometown to hold another wedding.

He insisted on going along.

The jeep seats four people, plus the things we need to carry in the back.

It's not crowded.

After obtaining Aunt Qi's consent.

I had lunch at home.

In the afternoon, Yang Dalin drove them off.

It's more than 400 kilometers from Sijiu City to my hometown in western Shandong.

Yang Dalin plans to arrive by midnight tonight.

This isn't the future, where you can get there in just a few hours by highway.

In those days, there weren't many highways, and many were dirt roads, so the speed probably wasn't much faster.

However, once he started driving, Yang Dalin found that the road was much easier to travel.

I asked Ma San'er, who was standing next to me.

Ma San'er told him that a lot of roads had been built in China in the past two years.

Especially in plains areas, roads are easier to repair than mountain roads.

There are no conditions to directly build an asphalt road.

It can also be used to repair dirt roads.

It's much easier to drive on than a bumpy dirt road.

That would make it much faster.

However, it was nearly midnight when he arrived in his hometown county.

I found a state-run hotel to stay in.

The next morning, Yang Dalin told Ma San'er, Sister Yan, and Xiao Ning to continue resting.

He went home first to say hello.

Otherwise, the family back home wouldn't be prepared.

And we also need to hire a chef.

I managed to avoid the three of them and could deliver the ingredients from my space to them first.

As for the gifts I brought for my family, I can give them to my wife when I bring her over later.

In rural areas, people cook their wedding dishes on a large stove.

There aren't so many rules anymore.

Large portions, plenty of oil and fat are all that's needed.

The plating doesn't need to be too elaborate.

The team has eaten communal meals in the past few years, so they probably have all the equipment from the brigade.

Build up a few earthen stoves.

There's no problem with cooking.

It's more than ten kilometers by car from the county town to my hometown.

There are hardly any traffic lights now, and there are few cars on the road.

I got home in just over half an hour.

Surprisingly, the speed is about the same as it would be decades later.

Decades later, with better roads and faster car speeds, why is it that the travel time is about the same?

It's because there are more traffic lights in later generations.

Damn it, back in my hometown, the traffic lights here are sometimes 120 seconds, 100 seconds, or even 90 seconds of long red light.

A journey of just over ten kilometers takes you more than half an hour to complete.

That's disgusting.

This is a vast plain, not a mountain road.

Moreover, many cameras in later generations were used to check for drunk driving, which was even more disgusting.

It's not that checking for drunk driving is wrong.

It's not that they're bad, it's that some of their behaviors are disgusting.

Yang Dalin remembers one time when he went to visit a classmate in a neighboring village, the corn was already taller than a person.

He drove out of the village and passed a cornfield.

They were suddenly blocked from both the front and the back by two police cars.

Yang Dalin only found out after asking that the person who suddenly blocked his way was there to check for drunk driving.

Yang Dalin didn't see how those two cars appeared.

I guess they're hiding on the side path.

Fortunately, Yang Dalin really didn't drink that day.

Otherwise, it's not a big deal if you get caught the first time.

It's just a loss of four thousand yuan in cash.

(Local rates are disgusting)

Yang Dalin drove to his hometown, Zhujiazhuang.

Back home, the Lunar New Year hasn't even ended yet.

Because the Lantern Festival (January 15th of the lunar calendar) has not yet passed.

In the countryside, there's not much farm work to do in winter, and as the locals say, the New Year isn't over until the fifteenth of the lunar month.

Yang Dalin arrived at his second grandmother's house.

Jin Haiye and his family were also at home.

Then Da Linzi suddenly arrived.

They warmly welcomed him in.

Yang Dalin told his second grandmother that he had brought his new wife with him this time.

I'm going to host a banquet at home.

He brought vegetables and meat with him in the car.

Just have Master Jin Hai hire a team of chefs to cook for us tomorrow.

My second grandmother has become somewhat deaf this year.

He immediately asked, "Where's the new bride? Let me see her."

Yang Dalin explained loudly for several sentences.

I only found out that they were still resting when they rushed to catch the train until midnight yesterday.

He'll go pick it up himself in a little while.

Grandpa Jin Hai readily agreed, saying he would go and invite a chef from the neighboring village to cook for him today.

There's also a band playing trumpets; they can start playing today.

These people have to have the chef cook their meals.

Back in my hometown, weddings usually involve blowing trumpets for three days straight.

Later, the music was turned upside down by a loudspeaker.

Everyone could tell there was good news just by hearing it.

Of course, trumpets are also played at funerals, but the tunes are different.

After finalizing the guest list with Grandpa Jin Hai and unloading the goods, Yang Dalin returned to the county town to pick up Sister Yanhua and the others.

Zhujiazhuang has at least several hundred people.

It's impossible to invite everyone; the main invitations should be to members of the Yang family, specifically the married-out aunts and sisters.

There were also the village's brigade leader, deputy brigade leader, and some villagers who lived nearby and had a good relationship with the Yang family.

There are also other families with good relations with the Yang family in the village and neighboring villages.

It's not that Yang Dalin can't afford to hire more; even if he had the money, he wouldn't play like this.

If you invite them, how will you arrange for the next generation of Jin Haiye and his family to get married? They can't afford to invite them.

Grandpa Jin Hai calls his son Yang Dalin "uncle," but he's still just a little kid; the other man is of a higher generation.

There are explanations for all of these.

Besides, Yang Dalin doesn't care how much the villagers give as a gift.

He doesn't care about that.

But he doesn't care; he'll care when Jin Haiye's children get married.

These things need to be discussed with Master Jin Hai in advance.

The Yang family in the village will invite their relatives to the banquet, and they will give the same gifts as before.

Two cents for close friends, one cent for casual friends.

Don't take too much.

Otherwise, they wouldn't be able to afford it.

It's not that a family can't afford to give a single yuan as a gift, just like people in the city do.

It's not that there's any need to make them spend so much money.

Yang Dalin is not short of money.

He mainly wanted to bring his wife to visit his hometown.

I want my children to know that I have such a hometown.

People from China have always had this habit.

That is to never forget where your roots are.