The entire courtyard is full of villains

He slowly opened his eyes. But what he saw before him completely stunned him.

Why...why is there a woman next to me?!

He began to think carefully: Last night, it seemed like he was at Yingying's house... He and Yingying got drunk... He proposed to Yingying...? And then... and then...

He quickly pulled back the covers—and discovered that his pants were gone!

On the other side, Cui Yingying "just happened" to slowly open her eyes.

"Ah—!!" She saw Yan Jiecheng and screamed, then looked at herself and tears welled up instantly. "Jiecheng...you...you...I thought you were a good person, but I never expected...you to be this kind of person!"

"Bang!"

The door was pushed open, and Aunt Ma rushed in "just in time": "Yingying! What's wrong with you?!" Then she looked at the bed, "Oh! Yan Jiecheng! You...you...you really are...oh!"

Just then, the main door was suddenly pushed open with a loud bang, and several people rushed in.

"Cui Yingying! Don't think you can hide at home and I won't find you!" a shrill female voice rang out.

Immediately afterward, a woman with triangular eyes and a face somewhat similar to Jia Zhangshi rushed into the inner room and immediately saw Yan Jiecheng and Cui Yingying on the bed.

She instantly sneered, "Oh! So you little slut, why are you so unwilling to marry into the He family... it turns out you've been keeping a gigolo on the side!" Then she turned and shouted, "Old Cui! Come in here! Look at the shameful things your daughter has done! She's not even married yet, and she's already sleeping in the same bed with a young man! Your Cui family must have had some incredible luck!"

Hearing this, a thin, withered old man entered, carrying a pipe. Upon seeing Cui Ying on the bed, he slammed the pipe on the floor: "Oh dear! What a disgrace! How could such a shameless thing have appeared! Disgraceful! Shameless! Cui Yingying! Aren't you ashamed?!"

Cui Ying's face was blank, and she said to Yan Jiecheng in a low voice, "...This is my father and my stepmother."

"Sister Yingying, I..." Yan Jiecheng looked at the scene before him, his mind went blank, and he was completely dumbfounded.

The woman with the triangular eyes was particularly excited at this moment, spitting almost onto people's faces: "I told you long ago! Your Cui Yingying is no good! You always say she's been good since she was a child, well-behaved since she was a child... How good is she? She's so good that she's rolled into bed with a pretty boy!"

The He family spent eight hundred yuan of real gold and silver! Countless daughters would kill for that! But your precious daughter wasn't interested… and now look what's happened, she's found herself a stranger outside! Your ancestors in the Cui family are probably turning in their graves right now!

"Oh dear..." Old Cui just sat there, crying and wailing.

Seeing this, the woman with triangular eyes rolled her eyes and leaned closer, saying, "Old Cui, don't just cry. Listen to me, let's take this pretty boy and your shameless little slut out and parade them through the streets! After the parade, we'll send them to the clan's ancestral hall and expel them, that'll be it! Anyway, my son is here to carry on the family line, what are you worried about?"

Old Cui hesitated for a moment after hearing this.

Cui Yingying, however, became "afraid" and crawled forward two steps on her knees: "Dad! You can't listen to her! No matter what... I'm still your own daughter! Over the years, I've taken good care of you..."

"No matter how much filial piety you show, can it be as serious as the embarrassment you've caused this time?" The triangular-eyed man immediately interrupted, his voice shrill. "Our Cui family is the legitimate Qinghe Cui clan, with a reputation built up over so many years, and you, a little slut, have ruined it all! No way! Old Cui, you must send her to be paraded through the streets and remove her from the family genealogy!"

Old Cui was caught in a dilemma, looking hesitant.

Cui Yingying quickly looked up, tears streaming down her face: "Dad! Jie Cheng and I... Jie Cheng and I are both in love! We... we'll get our marriage certificate soon! Jie Cheng, right?"

"Yes! Yes, yes, yes!" Yan Jiecheng nodded quickly after being reminded. "Uncle, listen to me... I'll marry her! I'll definitely marry Sister Yingying!"

"Marry my ass!" the triangular-eyed woman spat. "You don't look like you're from a wealthy family! The He family offered eight hundred yuan, what can you possibly offer? Eight hundred yuan! Can you even come up with that?"

"Eight hundred yuan..." Yan Jiecheng was taken aback by the question and stammered.

Cui Yingying still looked at him with "longing": "Jiecheng...why don't you...talk to your family? Eight hundred yuan...once you marry me, I'll give you my entire monthly salary, and in two or three years...it will be paid off..."

Seeing that Yan Jiecheng remained silent, the woman with triangular eyes knew it was time for her to add fuel to the fire: "Old Cui! Stop dawdling! Go out and call for help! We have to drag these two shameless bastards through the streets!"

"Jie Cheng—!" Cui Yingying cried out in tears, her voice filled with despair.

"Eight hundred it is!" Yan Jiecheng felt his blood rush to his head from the shout, and he stood up abruptly. "Eight hundred yuan for the bride price... I'll give it!"

He took a breath and said with a forced smile, "However... I'll make this clear from the start: once I've given you the eight hundred yuan, Yingying will be a member of the Yan family from now on!"

"Alright!" The woman with the triangular eyes rolled her eyes and immediately replied, "As long as you give us eight hundred, we'll write a letter of severance with Cui Yingying! From now on, whether she lives or dies has nothing to do with the Cui family!"

"Dad—!" Cui Ying lunged forward and knelt down in front of Old Cui, her voice filled with sorrow.

"Old Cui, have you thought this through? On one hand, there's eight hundred yuan in cash; on the other, there's your daughter who's 'lost face.' The choice is yours!"

Old Cui sat there, his chest heaving violently, then suddenly stomped his foot and jumped to his feet: "Eight hundred... fine! Give me the money... and I'll write a letter severing ties!"

"Dad—!" Cui Ying let out a cry that sounded both real and fake, then collapsed to the ground, her shoulders trembling slightly.

P.S.: 800 it is, I need to see your student ID! Just kidding, please give me some encouragement to keep updating!

Chapter 123 All the Brains Are Used at Home

With a thud, Yan Jiecheng was shoved out of the house, nearly stumbling. Immediately after, Old Cui, his face dark, followed him to the door, pointing a finger at his nose: "You little brat, I'm giving you one day! If you don't bring back eight hundred yuan tonight… I'll hand over your underwear and that confession to the police station! Let's see if the police station will accept this 'gift'!"

After saying that, he slammed the door shut with a "bang".

Yan Jiecheng got up from the ground in a daze, dusted himself off, and looked worried.

Eight hundred yuan... He can't even afford eight yuan now.

After much deliberation, the only person he could turn to was his own father, Yan Bugui. But if he were to offer him eight hundred yuan to get married, Yan Bugui would never agree. Now, it seemed that only deception remained as an option.

All the way home, he kept rehearsing his words. By the time he reached his doorstep, he had a plan in mind.

Pushing open the door, it was Sunday, and Yan Bugui was enjoying a rare day off at home. Ever since his bicycle was stolen, he hadn't been able to go fishing anymore—those old fishing spots in the city were always packed with anglers on the shore on weekends, more numerous than the fish in the water.

"Dad," Yan Jiecheng called out.

Yan Bugui glanced at him sideways, then turned his head away and ignored him.

"Dad... People say that fathers and sons don't hold grudges overnight. You... you're still angry about what happened to me last night?"

"Hmph!" Yan Bugui snorted and then turned his head. "As the old saying goes, a weasel paying respects to a chicken is up to no good. You're all smiles today, but I don't think you're up to anything serious."

“Dad, here’s what happened.” Yan Jiecheng leaned closer and lowered his voice, “Didn’t I go to my classmate’s house last night? He has an uncle who works at the textile factory… He said the factory has a job position that they’re giving away recently, and he asked if I wanted it.”

"How much?" Yan Bugui's ears twitched.

"one thousand."

"No," Yan Bugui immediately shook his head.

"Dad!" Yan Jiecheng exclaimed anxiously, "That's a formal job at a textile factory! Although it can't compare to a steel rolling mill, it's still a respectable factory. A mechanic's starting salary as an apprentice is twenty-two yuan, and after a year, it can rise to thirty-two! At most, in three years, I can earn back the money I spent on buying the job. I know the rules. I'm borrowing a thousand yuan from you, and I'll pay you back twelve thousand! Do you think this is a good deal?"

Yan Bugui tapped his fingers lightly on his knee, clearly tempted, but his face still wore that calculating expression: "Eldest brother, logically speaking, since you've put it that way, Dad should lend you the money. But you know, last time the thief took all our savings..."

"Dad, you're just trying to fool outsiders with that," Yan Jiecheng interrupted him, his tone earnest yet tinged with provocation. "It's true the thief stole our family's wealth, but who are you? Even a cunning rabbit has three burrows, you old man... do you really only hide in one place?"

"Yan Jiecheng!" Yan Bugui laughed in anger. "How can you talk about your own father like that? I really only have that one place!"

"Dad, please help me." Seeing that his efforts were in vain, Yan Jiecheng switched to a pleading tone. "Dad, I'm only thinking about our family! With this job, I won't have to do odd jobs anymore. I'll have a stable income every month, and I can even pay you back a little more. Isn't that a win-win situation?"

"Dad, please help me." Yan Jiecheng looked at Yan Bugui pleadingly. Seeing that his expression softened, he quickly pressed his advantage. "This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. If you miss it, it'll be gone forever! If you're really short on cash, how about... you go to the courtyard and borrow some money from someone you know? With your past reputation as the Third Uncle, a thousand yuan should be a piece of cake, right?"

Yan Bugui hesitated for a moment after hearing what he said. He tapped his fingers on the table for a while before finally gritting his teeth and saying, "Alright! You wait at home. I'll go to the yard to ask Lao Yi and Lao Liu."

"Oh! Thank you, Dad!" Yan Jiecheng was overjoyed.

Yan Bugui left his house, thinking to himself: I'll go to Yi Zhonghai's first. That old man has a high salary and a small family, he must have some savings. But as soon as he opened his mouth, Yi Zhonghai couldn't help but sigh and complain about how much his aunt's monthly medicine costs, how his grandmother was clamoring for meat, and how he hadn't gotten back the money he lent to Jia Dongxu... In short, he really didn't have any money to lend, let alone a thousand, he couldn't even manage a hundred.

After leaving Yi Zhonghai's house, Yan Bugui reluctantly went to Liu Haizhong's house. Liu Haizhong was quite straightforward: he did have the money. But his eldest son, Liu Guangqi, was getting married soon to a respectable cadre family, and as a father, he couldn't lose face in front of his in-laws. So, he needed to save the money for his son's wedding. Yan Bugui couldn't refute this reason.

He had no choice but to return home dejectedly. Besides those two families, the only other wealthy people in the courtyard were the deaf old lady and Zhang Erhe. The deaf old lady wouldn't even acknowledge him, and Zhang Erhe was now his enemy, so there was no way he would lend him money. Having no other option, he had to call Yan Jiecheng over.

"Jiecheng, it's not that Dad doesn't want to help you, it's just that we really can't borrow any money..."

Yan Jiecheng was dumbfounded: "Dad, you...you were my third uncle back then, and you were a teacher..."

“Jiecheng, Dad’s not the old man anymore. Even my teaching job has been reassigned to cleaning.” Yan Bugui sighed. “Once you’re gone, you’re forgotten. The people in the neighborhood look down on us; there’s nothing we can do about it. Listen to Dad, let it go this time. You can work odd jobs, save some money, and then look for another opportunity later…”

"In a while? What a load of rubbish! If I don't get my money today, I'm going to the police station!"

Yan Jiecheng cursed inwardly, but outwardly he feigned a dejected look, lowered his head, and scurried back to his room. Yan Bugui watched his son's retreating figure, feeling a pang of sadness, but he was truly powerless to do anything about it.

In the afternoon, Yan Bugui borrowed a bicycle from a colleague and personally took cornmeal to Zuojiazhuang to exchange for sweet potatoes. Yan Jiecheng noticed Yang Ruihua busy in front of the house and casually approached her: "Mom, I heard that a truckload of cabbages came to the market. They don't want the outer rotten leaves. How about... you go and get some? It'll be good for our family to have some extra food."

Yang Ruihua was immediately intrigued: "Jiecheng, you silly child, why didn't you tell me sooner? It's probably too late to go now... I'll go take a look!" With that, she put down her work, slung her basket over her shoulder, and hurried out—she was afraid of missing out if she was late, so she didn't even call her good friends in the courtyard.

Once everyone was completely out of the house, Yan Jiecheng quickly walked to the cabinet, exerted his strength, and moved the heavy cabinet aside. Sure enough, an inconspicuous hidden compartment was revealed on the wall behind the cabinet. He reached inside and pulled out a wooden box.

Chapter 124 Yellow Croaker for a Bride

Yan Jiecheng eagerly opened the box, and a burst of golden light instantly filled his eyes. Sure enough, that old bastard Yan Bugui was still lying to him!

Yan Jiecheng vaguely remembered that before liberation, his family ran a soy sauce shop near Qianmen. Yan Bugui always complained that they didn't earn much money, as it all went to rent.

As a child, Yan Jiecheng would help with chores at home every day after school. However, when class assignments were made in 1950, Yan Jiecheng was shocked to find that his family had been classified as "small business owners."

He was very puzzled at the time: it was clearly just a small shop that he had worked hard to run, at most a small vendor, so how could he be a "small business owner"? Yan Bugui was embarrassed by the question, so he stammered and explained: the shop was actually his family's ancestral property.

These words infuriated Yan Jiecheng—his own shop? What about all the hardships and toil he had endured since childhood? But he was young then and didn't think too deeply about it. Later, for some reason, Yan Bugui closed the shop, sold it off, and found a teaching job at Sesame Alley Elementary School. He then moved his whole family to this courtyard house.

Later, Yan Jiecheng inquired about the shop's whereabouts, but Yan Bugui always gave vague answers. Now it seems that he did indeed sell the shop, and the "family fortune" he received was hidden here.

He reached in and took out three small yellow croakers, clutching them heavily in his hand. Then, he stuffed the box back into the hidden compartment and moved the cabinet back to its original position. Just then, Yang Ruihua came in carrying an empty basket, looking dejected.

"Jiecheng, which market's cabbages are you talking about?"

"The farmers market near our house!"

"I went to check, but there was nothing there!"

"Hey, Mom," Yan Jiecheng steadied himself and pretended to be nonchalant, "I guess someone took care of it. Next time I have this kind of news, I'll tell you earlier."

"Sigh, what a wasted trip." Yang Ruihua sighed, but didn't think much of it. He turned around, picked up the insoles, and continued sewing—sewing a pair of insoles could earn him some pocket money to supplement his household income.

Yan Jiecheng carefully pocketed the three small yellow croakers, left the house, and headed straight for Cui Yingying's house. By the time he arrived, it was already afternoon. As soon as he knocked on the door, a young man poked his head out; judging from his voice that morning, this was one of Cui Yingying's cousins.

He forced a smile: "Cousin, I...I'm back."

"Who are you calling 'brother'?" the young man asked, his face full of menace. "You're not exactly our brother-in-law yet. Enough nonsense, did you bring the money back?"

"The money... I didn't bring the money back..."

"If you have no money, why are you talking nonsense?" The cousin made a gesture as if to raise his fist.

"Da Biao, what's going on?" Old Cui came out from the inner room upon hearing the voice, raising his eyelids.

"Third Uncle, this scoundrel didn't bring back any money, yet he dares to show up at our door!"

"Then why are you wasting your breath talking to him?" Old Cui's face darkened. "Tie him up and send him to the police station!"

"No! No, no!" Yan Jiecheng shouted hurriedly, frantically pulling a small yellow croaker from his pocket. "I didn't get the money back, but I have this!"

"What is this?" Old Cui leaned closer, examining the gleaming gold bar with disdain and suspicion in his eyes. "Is this... real?"

"Guaranteed authentic! Just bite into it and you'll see!"

Old Cui, still somewhat skeptical, brought the gold bar to his lips and tapped it hard with his teeth—sure enough, a clear tooth mark was left on it.