Siheyuan: Starting from 1958

After leaving the Yan family's gate, Zhang Juan did not leave the courtyard immediately, but instead took the two children straight to the east wing.

Chen Jun opened the door. Although Zhang Juan had moved out of the courtyard house almost half a year ago, she still remembered this down-to-earth and hardworking neighbor very well.

In addition, Zhang Juan is now the deputy manager of the front office at the Chengnan branch of Dongjun Hotel, which is her husband's subordinate, so Chen Jun is quite friendly when he sees her.

He immediately asked, "Zhang Juan... Why aren't you having New Year's Eve dinner at the Yan family's house? What are you doing here? You look a little off, is something wrong? If I can help, I definitely will..."

"Boss lady..." Although Chen Jun was younger than her, he was Wang Dong's wife after all, so Chen Juan couldn't just call him by his name directly. After thinking for a moment, she called out.

"There is indeed something I need your help with, you two..."

"Could you lend me 1,500 yuan? It will be deducted directly from my salary, 150 yuan per month, and I can pay it off in ten months?"

Although 1,500 yuan is not a lot of money for Wang Dong, it is equivalent to two years of their work for most of the neighbors in the courtyard.

Even though Zhang Juan was her husband's employee, Chen Jun couldn't help but ask, out of caution, "What do you want to do with so much money?"

"As far as I know, your monthly salary at Dongjun Hotel exceeds two hundred yuan..."

“Yan Jiecheng’s salary at the steel rolling mill isn’t high, but it’s still over fifty yuan. Your combined salary is almost three hundred yuan, so you shouldn’t be short of money…”

"Did something happen?"

Zhang Juan originally didn't want to reveal her divorce from Yan Jiecheng, but faced with Chen Jun's worried gaze, she finally decided to tell him the truth.

After all, the amount of money I had to ask to borrow was far too much.

No matter how wealthy or powerful Wang Dong is, without a reasonable reason, no one will easily lend him money.

Meeting Chen Jun's worried gaze, she replied, "Boss lady..."

"I can't live with Yan Jiecheng anymore, I'm planning to divorce him..."

“I want to keep both children with me, but I have to prepare 2,500 yuan for Yan Jiecheng, otherwise I can only have one child.”

"But I only have a little over a thousand yuan in savings, and I don't want my own son to be raised by the Yan family..."

"You were the first people I thought of..."

Chen Jun never expected to hear such shocking news during the Chinese New Year.

In his eyes, Yan Jiecheng and Zhang Juan were usually a loving couple, and he never expected that they would make the decision to divorce on New Year's Eve.

My first thought was that something had happened between the two of them that led to the impulsive decision to divorce. My instinct was to comfort her and tell her not to act impulsively, but to calm down before deciding whether to divorce.

But as soon as he spoke, Zhang Juan retorted, "Boss lady..."

"Thank you for reminding me..."

"I really can't stand living with Yan Jiecheng anymore, and today I witnessed the shamelessness of the Yan family. Now I don't want to have anything to do with the Yan family at all."

At this point, Zhang Juan poured out the story of what had just happened at the Yan family's house, leaving Chen Jun dumbfounded.

To be honest, if Chen Jun were in Zhang Juan's position, she would also choose to divorce.

The thought of reconciliation and not breaking up immediately vanished from my mind. After comforting the other party for a couple of minutes, I hurriedly walked towards the small kitchen in the backyard.

This is a big deal; I need to discuss it with my husband first.

In less than three minutes, Chen Jun told Wang Dong what had happened, then asked with a look of sympathy, "Dongzi..."

“I think we should still lend this money.” “Anyway, Zhang Juan works under you, so we’re not worried about her not being able to pay back this 1,500 yuan.”

"Moreover, I think Zhang Juan's words make sense."

"Yan Fugui is too stingy. He'll do anything for profit. If the child is really handed over to Yan Fugui and his wife to raise, Zhang Juan will definitely ruin the child she's raised."

"What do you think?"

"Of course I'll borrow it..." Wang Dong replied while cooking.

"I just didn't expect that Yan Jiecheng would abandon his own son for money."

"People say even tigers don't eat their cubs, but how come the Yan family is like they've all gone mad, all obsessed with money?"

"By the way, tell Zhang Juan that there's no need to rush to pay back this 1,500 yuan."

"Prices are getting higher and higher these days, and raising two children requires a lot of money."

"From now on, just deduct 100 yuan from your salary every month."

"Also, tell him one more thing: he was right to divorce Yan Jiecheng."

There aren't that many opportunities to get rich overnight in this world.

"Don't be fooled by the fact that the Yan family made money outside with Xu Damao; there's no such thing as a free lunch."

"Even if there were, it wouldn't fall on the Yan family's head."

"Let her wait and see. If the Yan family doesn't stop now and still wants to make big money with Xu Damao, they'll suffer in the future..."

…………

Chen Jun closed the door amidst Zhang Juan's thanks, and Wang Dong finished cooking the last dish.

After all the food was served, Wang Dong moved the still-sealed earthenware jar to the center of the table.

This is a ceramic pot that Wang Dong bought from the market specifically for making Buddha Jumps Over the Wall. It's just the right size to stew a pot of Buddha Jumps Over the Wall.

As soon as the seal on the jar was lifted, a strong, fragrant aroma quickly wafted out and filled the entire room.

"Brother-in-law...it smells so good...I've never eaten such delicious food before..." Sister-in-law Chen Li's mouth was practically watering as she stared longingly at the jar of Buddha Jumps Over the Wall being poured out.

The broth was thick and the seafood was stewed until tender and flavorful.

Without any hesitation, Wang Dong put a piece of abalone in everyone's bowl.

One bite and the abalone meat is so sticky, soft, sweet, and delicious that you almost swallow your tongue.

…………

The Jia family of Zhongyuan.

Looking at the braised pork, stewed chicken, and braised fish on the table, Jia Zhangshi's eyes almost popped out, and she kept swallowing her saliva, afraid that it would spill out.

As soon as the last meat dish was served, Bang Geng and Yi Zhonghai picked it up, but Jia Zhangshi turned into a bandit, devouring it like a whirlwind, constantly using her chopsticks to put the pork and chicken from the plate into her own bowl, as if afraid that someone else would snatch it away.

Banggeng shook his head at the sight.

But remembering that the other person was her grandmother, and that she had even given her the family's savings for her retirement to support her, she swallowed the reminder that was already on the tip of her tongue. After all, there was only one New Year's Eve dinner a year, so she decided to let Jia Zhangshi enjoy it properly. (End of Chapter)