Siheyuan: Starting from 1958

Yan Fugui stared at Yan Jiekuang with wide eyes again, as if he were seeing his third brother in a new light.

Even after I presented all the evidence, the third brother still acted like he had nothing to lose, insisting that his monthly salary was only fifty-five yuan, despite my investigation.

This is clearly a slap in the face, treating oneself like a fool.

Looking at Yan Jiekuang, who was confident and not at all timid, Yan Fugui's rationality told him that he absolutely could not have a conflict with the third brother now. The family still needed the wages that the third brother handed over to pay off the debt, otherwise the family would lose their house.

But Yan Fugui was used to being the head of the household, so how could he tolerate his third son treating him like a fool? Overwhelmed by anger and dissatisfaction, he slammed his hand on the table in front of him and shouted angrily.

"Eat, eat, eat...all you do all day long is eat..."

"If I don't explain your salary situation clearly today, you won't get any food..."

"Tell me right now, what exactly is your monthly income, and how much secret money you've saved..."

“Speak clearly now, hand over your hidden savings, and Dad might forgive you…”

"If you don't make this clear to your father by today, he'll make you pay..."

After figuring out the delicate relationship between himself and Yan Fugui, Yan Jiekuang was not afraid of Yan Fugui at all.

Faced with Yan Fugui's threat, which had no real meaning, Yan Jiekuang almost burst out laughing.

At the last moment, he held back and asked, "Father..."

"How are you going to make things difficult for me...?"

"Are you kicking me out of the Yan family, or are you saying you'll stop cooking for me from now on...?"

"If it's the former, I'll go rent a place right now. The rent and food expenses will definitely be deducted from my salary. I can only give you thirty yuan at most each month..."

"If it's the latter, then I definitely can't give you all of my 55 yuan monthly salary. I'll have to keep at least 15 yuan for food each month, and I'll give you a maximum of 40 yuan each month from now on."

Now it was Yan Fugui's turn to fall silent.

To my utter surprise, the third brother, Yan Jiekuang, launched a devastating attack: by reducing the amount of money I was to hand over to the family each month. How could I accept that?

The family still owes one or two thousand yuan in debt. If it cannot be paid off within two years, the house where they have lived for most of their lives will be mortgaged to someone else.

Up to now, Yan Fugui has saved a little over two hundred yuan by living frugally and relying on his pension and the salary that Yan Jiekuang hands over every month.

If Yan Jiekuang hands over less and less of his monthly salary to his family in the future, even if he goes out to sweep the streets to earn money like Yi Zhonghai from the Intermediate People's Court, he still won't be able to raise the one or two thousand yuan debt in two years.

In order to keep the Yan family's current house, the amount of money Yan Jiekuang pays to his family every month must not be reduced.

Faced with the third brother's sharp threats, Yan Fugui felt a deep sense of powerlessness and racked his brains but could not think of any way to counter it.

Fearing that Yan Jiekuang might take the opportunity to leave the Jia family and live separately, thus reducing the amount of his monthly salary that he had to hand over to the family, he quickly answered.

"Jie Kuang... Father didn't mean that..."

“Your eldest and second eldest brothers have been sentenced to prison, and now it’s just the three of us at home. If you’re not home either, how are your mother and I supposed to survive…”

"You know about the family's debt situation..."

“With my meager pension and the few dozen yuan you give to the family every month, it’s simply not enough to cover the debt in two years… In order to save our house, Dad has no choice but to ask you to contribute more money to the family.”

"I absolutely did not mean to kick you out..."

"Since your salary is indeed fifty-five yuan, you should still send fifty-five yuan home every month from now on."

The last sentence was uttered by Yan Fugui through gritted teeth. It meant that as the head of the family, he had actually bowed down to his son Yan Jiekuang even when he was in the right, and the frustration he felt was indescribable.

Yan Jiekuang didn't care how Yan Fugui was feeling.

In his view, whether or not the house his father had lived in for most of his life could be preserved was none of his business.

Two years later, if Old Man Yan Fugui saves enough to cover the debt, he can keep the house.

In another year, my eldest and second eldest brothers will be released.

Neither of them is married, so they will definitely continue to live here. After their parents pass away, no one knows which son will eventually inherit this courtyard house.

Yan Fugui might leave the house to his eldest and second eldest brothers, since he made them lose face today.

Therefore, continuing to send money home would not be of much benefit to Yan Jiekuang himself; it might even be like throwing good money after bad.

But he couldn't refuse to pay, since he was spared imprisonment thanks to the three thousand yuan his father had borrowed.

Before the three thousand yuan is fully repaid, if he stops sending money home, he will be labeled as ungrateful.

He already had difficulty finding a wife because he was heavily in debt.

If he were to be labeled as ungrateful, he would definitely have an even harder time finding a wife in the future, and might not even have a place to stand in the courtyard house.

but……

After today's incident, Yan Jiekuang has gained a clearer understanding of his father Yan Fugui's character.

In his eyes, she was just a tool to make money for him.

Once he has saved enough money for retirement and can keep the Yan family's old house, when his eldest and second brothers are released, he will have more people to support him in his old age, and they might just kick him aside.

Under these circumstances, Yan Jiekuang had to consider his future options.

Faced with Yan Fugui's fawning expression, even though he was his own father, Yan Jiekuang still decided to use this incident to teach him a lifelong lesson.

Otherwise, one day in the future, I might become his target again.

Meeting Yan Fugui's guilty gaze, he replied, "Father..."

"If you hadn't reminded me, I would have almost forgotten that I wanted to find a partner in the future..."

"Besides, I heard that the workshop supervisor's family is having a wedding soon, and as his subordinate, I definitely have to send some money as a gift..."

“Workers also need to greet and see off each other regularly to build relationships, and Xu Tao charges money for all of this.”

"I hadn't thought about it before because my family was struggling financially."

"Now that I think about it, there was almost no chance of getting promoted if I was all alone in the factory. I definitely need to change that in the future."

"But welcoming and seeing off guests requires money, and I don't have a single penny on me right now."

"For the sake of my future, I definitely can't give all my salary to my family anymore."

"I won't keep much more..."

"From now on, I'll keep ten yuan a month for greeting and seeing off people in the workshop, to build relationships with my coworkers, and I'll send forty-five yuan home every month..."

"It's settled then..." (End of Chapter)