Siheyuan, don't mess with me

"Did I do something wrong?" Yan Bugui said to Li Ruihua, who was still turning over the quilt, in the dead of night.

"Hey! These kids are all following you now? You don't say it, but you are calculating in your heart!" Li Ruihua didn't know what was right or wrong. Is it wrong to be frugal? Is it wrong to be stingy? If he didn't save money, how could this family survive?

Parents are the first teachers of their children, and many of their children's cognitions are taught by them! Therefore, to this day, through Yan Bugui, the skill of calculation has been deeply rooted in these children. Even if they find it now, it will probably be difficult to change it!

"Forget it, I'll be nicer to myself in the future!" Yan Bugui could only comfort himself in this way. If he hadn't been so greedy, all these things wouldn't have happened. He Daqing had already refused, but he had gone over to him just to satisfy his appetite. Fortunately, he was not kicked out, which was already quite a courtesy. But in the end, what was the point of eating the food he had worked so hard to get?

He hurt himself, spent money, and became a laughing stock again! If it wasn't difficult to transfer his job, Yan Bugui would have wanted to leave the Siheyuan and stay away! Over the past year, too many things have happened in his family, and the reason for all these things can be summed up in one word: "greed!"

"From now on, let's just live our lives behind closed doors. We won't get involved in the affairs of the Siheyuan anymore!"

"Why would you get involved? You are not a big shot anymore. You are just a school sweeper. How dare you be so shameless?"

"I'm just worried about the child's future. With our family being what it is now, it will be difficult for the child to find a wife. If he really can't find one, he will definitely resent us!" Yan Bugui sighed. People's words are scary. In this era, if you don't have good character and have a bad reputation, which girl would dare to marry you?

"Lao Li, what do you say about us moving?"

"Boss, we have lived here for so long, where should we move to?" We have lived here since before liberation, for fifteen or sixteen years. If we want to move now, it's not that easy!

"But if we don't move out, what will happen to our children? Which girl would dare to come and marry us?"

"Then marry a girl from a faraway place, a girl from the countryside!" Li Ruihua didn't want to move. Moving would be very painful!

"Wouldn't it be more of a burden to marry someone from the countryside? Aren't Qin Huairu and Jia Zhangshi examples of this?"

"The children are grown up, let them work hard on their own! When I married you, didn't you have nothing? A bed and a quilt, weren't they all bought bit by bit? If you could do it then, why can't they do it?"

"But what should we do if we send our children away and have no one to take care of us in our old age? Look at Old Yi, he got into all this trouble because no one had to take care of him. Now he has lost both his money and his life, and all the money has gone to He Daqing!" When Yan Bugui talked about Yi Zhonghai, his house, money, and wife, greed unconsciously appeared in Yan Bugui's eyes. This is his nature and it cannot be changed!

"Then who among these children can you count on to take care of you in your old age? Who among them doesn't have their own agenda? Now that things have become like this, not one of them has come forward to ask you to rest or go to sleep. They are so afraid that you would ask that they drop their jobs and go to bed. Can't you see that?" Li Ruihua said expressionlessly.

"Hey!" How could Yan Bugui not see it? He had been scheming for most of his life, and he couldn't see through this little trick? He just didn't want to say it, and wanted to save some face for himself. After all, he usually claimed to be a scholar! But Li Ruihua ruthlessly tore off his fig leaf!

"Tomorrow, I will talk to the eldest brother and ask him to figure out a solution on his own. He can't always rely on his family!"

"What do you want?"

"I asked him for living expenses. My salary is just that much. Is it time for him to pay back the money?"

"Pay back? Pay back what?" Li Ruihua asked puzzledly.

"It doesn't cost anything to give birth to him and raise him! Won't he return the money to me? I must have raised him in vain!" Yan Bugui said confidently.

Li Ruihua always felt that something was wrong with what Yan Bugui said, but she couldn't put her finger on it. After living with Yan Bugui for so many years, Yan Bugui's calculations had been successfully engraved on her and brainwashed her!

"Let him go to work and earn money to support the family. If he has money, he can eat. If he doesn't have money, he will starve!" Yan Bugui felt a little hatred in his heart. As the eldest brother, Yan Bugui had poured in a lot of effort, but he was just a hopeless case. He couldn't even get into high school. What was the use? His family of scholars had come to an end!

"That's fine. We can't let him eat and drink for free. If he wants to work, he should go out and work. If he doesn't want to work, he should just stay at home and be lazy!" Li Ruihua was successfully led astray by Yan Bugui. He was just worrying about the child's future and now he was calculating the child's money. Yan Jiecheng, who was already asleep, couldn't help but feel cold. Tonight was the warmest night in the family. The coal stove was burning all the time and the room was very warm. Yan Jiecheng turned over, wrapped himself in the quilt, and fell asleep again!

At Liu Haizhong's home, Liu Guangtian and Liu Guangfu, both with bitter faces, were lying on the bed. "Brother, what should we do? If we fail the exam, we will be beaten when we get home!"

"I don't know what to do. What's the point of asking me? I'm worried too."

It turned out that tonight, Liu Haizhong suddenly announced that the two children must study hard for me in the future, and it would be best if they could get into high school! If they fail, Liu Haizhong touched the seven wolves on his waist, pure cowhide! Moreover, the test results in the future must be reported home. If they fail, Liu Haizhong will do the same thing, the seven wolves on his waist!

The two brothers of the Liu family were dumbfounded. Except for the eldest brother Liu Guangqi who studied well and went to technical secondary school, the other two brothers were at the bottom of the class. Fortunately, Liu Haizhong had never cared about their studies and never asked whether they did well or not in the exams!

So, the two brothers let themselves go and didn't study seriously at all. Now that the semester is about to end, Liu Haizhong suddenly made this request. Isn't this going to kill them? Even if they start studying today, they can't catch up? It seems that they can't escape this beating. I just don't know how long Liu Haizhong will beat them. If it's short, they can just bear it. If it's long, it will be miserable. At least they will have to stay in bed for a few days. The two brothers didn't discuss how to study, but thought about how to predict Liu Haizhong's mood! Should they wait until Liu Haizhong is in a good mood to report, or never say anything, otherwise Liu Haizhong is just in a momentary mood?

The two brothers looked at each other, and no one knew whether Liu Haizhong had a brain attack tonight or if he had forgotten what he had said.

At this time, Liu Haizhong was reading by lamplight at night. Primary school refers to grades one to three, and senior primary school refers to grades four to six. As a person who has not even graduated from primary school, it is really difficult for me to read the newspaper. I don’t recognize many words, so I have to look them up in the dictionary and then write them down in a small notebook!

The second aunt was also really puzzled. What was wrong with Old Liu? Today during dinner, he started to care about his child's studies, and in the evening, he started studying by himself. What was wrong with him?

Second Aunt often sees Liu Haizhong reading newspapers, but she has never seen him as seriously as he is tonight. In the past, when Liu Haizhong read the newspaper, he simply thought that as a leading cadre, everyone should read the newspaper, so he would read it too. As for what was written in the newspaper, sorry, he couldn't understand it. What Liu Haizhong pursued was whether his posture of reading the newspaper was the same as that of the leader!

How could he be like this tonight, lying on the table, writing, looking up the dictionary, and memorizing at the same time? This posture is exactly the same as when the eldest son was in elementary school. Has this old man changed? The second aunt did not dare to ask, if she angered him, she would be beaten. It is better to just watch him like this, and when he is sleepy, he can go to sleep. Let's see how long he can pretend?

Chapter 209 Liu Haizhong reads by lamplight at night,

In fact, success or failure of every thing you do often depends on whether you can persist. Once you get over that hurdle, the road ahead will be smooth! Just like running, 5 kilometers, if you persist, you will feel very relaxed, but the first few days will be very uncomfortable and you will not be able to bear it. This is a test of your willpower. If you persist, the road ahead will be smooth. Liu Haizhong is an example now. He feels very sleepy, tired, and annoyed!

He stood up suddenly and threw the pencil in his hand on the table in annoyance. There were so many words in a report that he didn't recognize. He looked up the words one by one. He could find the words, but still didn't know how to read them. There were pinyin in the Xinhua Dictionary, but Liu Haizhong didn't know how to spell them. When he was in school, the teacher would explain the words and he would just read them out. He had never learned pinyin!

What should I do? I don’t want to learn anymore, it’s too annoying and tiring! But if I do that, I will never have the chance to become an official! But what should I do if I don’t know how to do it?

"Go! Wake up those two guys!"

"Ah! What time is it now? Why are you calling them to get up?" Second Aunt asked in confusion?

"What time is it? I haven't slept yet! Are they as tired as I am? Go!" Liu Haizhong said unhappily.

"Okay! I'll go right away!" Second Auntie quickly got up! When Liu Guangtian and Liu Guangfu walked in tremblingly, "What's wrong? Stand still, why are you shaking? Are you cold?"

"It's not cold, Dad!"

"Hmph!" Liu Haizhong snorted coldly, "Come here!"

"Ah!" Liu Guangtian thought, "Why am I the unlucky one?

"Dad, what's the matter? Just tell me!" Liu Guangtian hesitated and didn't dare to step forward!

"Bang!" Liu Haizhong slammed the table. "Didn't you hear me when I told you to come over?"

"Ah!" Liu Guangtian was so scared that he squatted down and held his head with his hands!

Seeing Liu Guangtian's cowardly look, Liu Haizhong wanted to slap him, and his breathing became rapid! "I asked you to come over here and see how to read this word!"

"Oh! I got it, Dad!" Liu Guangtian felt like he was at a loss. The old man must have drunk fake wine tonight, so how come he remembered to read and write?

Slowly approaching Liu Haizhong, "Dad, which word?"

"That's the word! It's explained in the dictionary, but I don't know how to pronounce it. Can you read it to me?"

Oh my god, I was so scared! Liu Guangtian wiped the sweat from his forehead and looked at the words written by his finger in his bangs. Fortunately, he knew the words! He felt relieved!

"The word 'dad' is pronounced 'zhan', which means 'zhan! zh, an zhan!'"

"Zhan, what is that?"

"Dad, that's Chinese pinyin. If you don't know a word, you can read it by reading the pinyin!"

"Zan, superb!"

So, the Liu family has become like this. Liu Haizhong is reading a newspaper, and the two brothers stand beside him. He asks the brothers about words he doesn't know. After reading a few words, Liu Haizhong feels that this is not okay. Someone at home told him, but he is in the workshop during the day. Is it really necessary to ask questions without hesitation as Chen Zhiguo said?

"Go borrow this book for me tomorrow and come back to teach me tomorrow night!"

"Dad, you're talking about a book for reading pinyin. That's a first grade book!"

"Yeah, what's the matter? Find a way to borrow a copy for me! Come back and teach me in the evening! Starting from tomorrow night, study with me every day! If you don't do well in this exam, you'll just have to wait for death!"

"Oh! Got it, Dad!"

Liu Guangtian and his brother looked at each other. They were screwed. They had to study at night. How could they study when they never listened to the class seriously? But they thought, the old man's level was even worse than theirs. He wouldn't know how to fool him!

The two brothers laughed again. What if they have no free time at night? Oh! Studying well is impossible!

So, the night at the Liu family became a study night. Liu Guangtian and Liu Guangfu took turns to teach Liu Haizhong Chinese Pinyin. It was so tiring! Other times, the teacher got angry at the students because they couldn't learn. Now at the Liu family, it became Liu Haizhong who got angry at them!

"How did you study? One of you is in junior high school, and the other is in sixth grade. You can't even read pinyin. What's the point of having you?"

"Dad, I haven't learned this word either!" Liu Guangtian said aggrievedly!

"You're still being reasonable, aren't you? I don't know how to look it up in the dictionary. Isn't there pinyin in the dictionary?"

"Dad! I can't read this pinyin either!"

Liu Haizhong was furious. Seven Wolves attacked and beat the two brothers severely. "You are already so old, but you have wasted all these years studying. I spent money to send you to school in vain! You still have the nerve to tell me that you can't read. Today I will teach you that you can't read. You are a bad boy!"

Liu Haizhong was really angry and beat the two brothers until they were screaming like ghosts! "Study hard tomorrow. If you can't read pinyin again, you're dead!"

Thus, a strange scene appeared in the Liu family. Every night after dinner, Liu Haizhong would call the two children to read and learn to read together, and start to check the homework of the two children, making Liu Guangtian and Liu Guangfu miserable, but they had to sit down obediently and accompany their father to read, after all, the power of the Seven Wolves was enormous!

With someone to accompany him, Liu Haizhong would not feel depressed, and he would find some reasons to beat the child from time to time, which made him feel happy and motivated to learn to read and write! Fortunately, Liu Haizhong's house was in the backyard, and beating the child was a common thing. The deaf old lady in the backyard would not care, and Xu Damao, who lived in the west wing, was often away from home in the countryside, so Liu Haizhong's late-night reading was not discovered!

. . . . . . . . .

After more than a week of recuperation in the front yard of the courtyard, Yan Bugui finally recovered. This time, he lost all his money. Not only did he spend money on medical expenses, but he also took four or five days of sick leave. His salary was reduced. Yan Bugui was so distressed. Not to mention that the gossip that directly topped the list of Nanluoguxiang's hot searches a few days ago, Yan Laokou's late-night fountain in No. 95 Courtyard! After countless gossiping mouths, it spread at a rapid speed!

On Yan Bugui’s first day at work, the old principal went to see him on purpose, first to see if he had recovered, and second to remind him implicitly not to be on the hot search list again. Even Hongxing Primary School was on the hot search list! This made the old principal a little uneasy, for fear that his superiors would call him and ask him to report on his work! Yan Bugui is now a serious destabilizing factor. If it weren’t for the trouble of expelling him, the old principal would have the urge to kick Yan Bugui out. It’s really a disgrace!

Many versions of the story the old principal heard all started with, "Did you know that Yan Laokou from Red Star Primary School got into trouble again?" Hearing this, the old principal almost had a heart attack and his blood pressure soared! I really want to say, if you want to gossip about Yan Laokou, just gossip about him, but why do you have to bring up Red Star Primary School? You can also talk about No. 95 Courtyard! It's really an unprovoked disaster!

However, Yan Bugui was no longer afraid. This was the worst possible situation. I had already reached the bottom. What else could I do? It was true that the lowest of the low, the most invincible. I had the worst job and the lowest salary. What else could you ask of me? Therefore, the old principal's earnest advice was in vain!

In the evening, after the old Yan family finished dinner, Yan Bugui stopped the children who were about to leave and said, "Don't go. I have something to tell you!"

The younger third and fourth children, Yan Jiekang and Yan Jiedi, were unaware of what was happening. The second child, Yan Jiekang, was a little nervous, but he was still a student and usually didn't get involved in family matters! But Yan Jiecheng's heart was beating wildly. There must be something bad going on tonight!

Sure enough, Yan Bugui smiled at Yan Jiecheng and said, "Boss, you are not young anymore. There are some things you need to consider."

Yan Jiecheng thought to himself, he is targeting me. I am not a fool and I know the current situation at home. Yan Bugui is planning to take action against me!

"Boss, you know the current situation at home. You are the eldest son in the family, so you should help share the burden of the family!"

Yan Jiecheng waved his hands and said, "Dad, I want to, too, but what can I share? I have no job, no money."

The situation was not favorable from the start, and Yan Jiecheng's resistance was also something Yan Bugui had expected. Yan Bugui remained calm and continued, "Boss, your thinking is wrong. When I was your age, I didn't have a family to rely on, but I still supported a large family, didn't I?"

"Dad! It's not that I don't want to help the family, but you know, without a job, there's no money. What do you want me to do? You want me to stay at home and help my mom cook?"

"You are right to think so. You are the eldest son in the family. You should set an example for your brothers and sisters. Helping the family is your responsibility. Don't you think so?" Yan Bugui looked at Yan Jiecheng with a smile.

Yan Jiecheng wanted to say no, but he certainly couldn’t say that. He could only nod and say, “Yes, yes!” But in fact, alarm bells were ringing in his heart. Oh no, he was going to be trapped!

"I've discussed it with your mother. Although you haven't found a formal job yet, you can still work as a temporary worker. It won't hurt for young people to work more. For the sake of the family, you should work harder!"

What else can Yan Jiecheng say? He can only say, "Okay, Dad, I'll go to a few more places tomorrow and look for more!" But in his heart, he didn't agree. You can't control me. You don't know whether I work or not. I'll just lie down when I'm not at home. At most, I can go to the park to bask in the sun! Everyone can be lazy and play badly!

"Since you agreed, you will have to pay 10 yuan to your family this month!" Yan Bugui finally raised the sword.

"What? Dad, why do I have to pay 10 yuan? I only earn a few yuan a month as a temporary worker, and you want me to give it all to my family, what should I do?" Yan Jiecheng was furious. Why do I still work as a temporary worker like this? Why not just give up?

"You eat at home, live at home, use things at home, you are so old, your family is in such a difficult situation now, and I ask you to help the family with some subsidies, is this too much to ask?" Yan Bugui's request to Yan Jiecheng is actually not too much. A 20-year-old man still relies on his parents at home. No matter where he goes to reason, Yan Jiecheng will lose! He should consider sharing the difficulties of the family. After all, he is also a member of the family. He can't just enjoy without giving back!

However, Yan Bugui's demands were a bit too harsh. He exploited Yan Jiecheng so much that he worked hard for a month and only had two or three dollars left in his hands. This made Yan Jiecheng lose the motivation to work!

"No, Dad, what I mean is that I don't have temporary work every day. I often can't find work for ten days or half a month. How can I have 10 yuan to supplement the family income?" Yan Jiecheng still wanted to shirk his responsibility. This was his only pocket money. If he gave 10 yuan to his family, he would have no money in his pocket! What can the remaining one or two yuan do? It's not even enough for a snack!

"That's none of my business. If you don't want to pay, then don't live at home. Go out and make your own way! Anyway, when I was your age, I was already able to live independently! I also raised you. If I can do it, I believe you can do it too!"

Yan Jiecheng was still a little naive. He was blocked by Yan Bugui, who was standing at a high position, and he could not refute. It seemed that he was determined to get money? What should he do? Should he pay the money or go out to make a living?