Siheyuan: Starting from 1958

Upon hearing Yan Jiekuang's answer, Yan Fugui's first reaction was to slap himself hard.

If the third brother keeps his own money, so be it. Both sides are on good terms. Why are you scheming to get your hands on his little bit of savings?

As things have escalated, not only has the conflict between the two parties come to an end, but the monthly salary of fifty-five yuan that I give to my family has also been reduced to forty-five yuan.

Yan Jiekuang gave his family fifty-five yuan every month, but he couldn't even scrape together all the debts within two years.

If I pay my family ten yuan less each month, I'll lose about two hundred yuan in two years, and I'll have no chance of paying all the debts within the stipulated time.

But there is no medicine for regret in the world.

Faced with Yan Jiekuang's answer, he decided to try again, even if it meant swallowing his pride and apologizing once more.

Since he had already lost face in front of Yan Jiekuang once, he didn't mind losing face again.

Immediately, he cried out to Yan Jiekuang, "Third brother..."

"You're going to kill your father..."

"Fifty-five yuan a month, even Dad can't scrape together all the debts within two years..."

"Now that I'm losing ten yuan a month, I'll definitely be even less able to pay off the debt..."

"If we can't pay back the debt, we'll have to give away our house, and then we won't even have a place to live..."

"Dad promises he'll never cheat you out of your salary again. Even if you get a raise in the future, you'll only need to give the family fifty-five yuan a month..."

"Don't reduce the price from fifty-five yuan to forty-five yuan..."

Since Yan Jiekuang had already made up his mind, he certainly wouldn't compromise just because Yan Fugui bowed down.

He shook his head and replied, "Father..."

"You can't just think about the house and not about your son's marriage and future..."

"I hand over 45 yuan of my monthly salary, and keep the remaining 10 yuan for myself to find a partner, and also for social obligations in the workshop."

"As for raising the debt..."

"I heard that Yi Zhonghai from the Middle Court has been sweeping the streets for several months to earn money for his retirement, earning twenty-four yuan a month."

“You’re a bit younger than Yi Zhonghai, and now that you don’t have a grandson for him to take care of, you can totally go out and find a job to continue earning money…”

"Besides, our son only has two hands, and he can only earn so much money each month. You can't put all your hopes of raising the debt on me; you should also think of a way yourself..."

Seeing Yan Fugui's face growing increasingly gloomy, Yan Jiekuang changed the subject and continued, "Of course..."

"Your son doesn't expect you to end up sweeping the streets like Yi Zhonghai..."

“You were a teacher before you retired, and you’re a very proud person. Making you sweep the streets would be tantamount to killing you… But you can find some other work outside…”

"I heard that Wang Dong runs an after-school care program at Dongjun Hotel, and each program has two retired teachers teaching the children."

"You can get at least fifty yuan a month in wages. Do you want to go and ask about it?"

"If we could really get a job like that, our family's monthly income would exceed 130 or 140 yuan, and paying off the debt in two years would be a piece of cake..."

“Even if you can’t get into Dongjun Hotel, you can find other jobs… After all, you’re a teacher, so you should be much better off than those who are uneducated.”

Upon hearing Yan Jiekuang mention Yi Zhonghai, who was sweeping the streets outside the Zhongyuan Courtyard, Yan Fugui subconsciously thought that his son also wanted him to go out and sweep the streets to earn money.

I was very angry.

Yan Fugui was always proud of his identity as a people's teacher and felt that he was an intellectual and superior to others.

If he were to sweep the streets and be seen by his former students or their parents, he would lose all face. Even if he starved to death at home and lost the house he had lived in for most of his life, Yan Fugui would never go out and sweep the streets, "willing to degenerate."

When Yan Jiekuang told him to go to Dongjun Hotel to continue teaching, but with the students being children who hadn't yet started school, Yan Fugui's mood improved considerably.

Compared to his previous job sweeping the streets, he could accept continuing to teach and educate people; it was not only respectable but also offered a very high salary.

I instinctively wanted to agree.

But he hesitated when he got to the point of speaking.

Because if he agrees to this, it means he approves of Yan Fugui paying ten yuan less to his family each month, and the remaining debt can only be earned back by him working outside.

more importantly……

Whether I can continue teaching at Dongjun Hotel has not yet been finalized.

If Wang Dong doesn't want this old geezer, then he'll have to consider other ways to make money.

Although I am more educated than many people in Beijing, my age is a factor, and it is still difficult to find a job that is both prestigious and high-paying.

If you can't find a satisfactory job and don't earn money, the house you've lived in for most of your life will be taken away in two years.

Compared to choices fraught with unknown risks, the shrewd Yan Fugui prefers stability.

Just as he was about to refuse, he caught a glimpse of the resolute expression on the third brother Yan Jiekuang's face.

He swallowed back the words that were about to come out.

Seeing Yan Jiekuang's expression, Yan Fugui realized that regardless of whether he agreed or not, from now on he would only give his family forty-five yuan.

Since this matter cannot be changed, it's better to nod in agreement, let Yan Jiekuang see your goodwill, and thus achieve the goal of easing the relationship between the two.

As for work…

If I can't find one that I like, I'll just go outside and collect recyclables...

Run a little further away, wear a hood, and as long as you're not on the street, you'll be spotted by students and parents you know.

He immediately nodded: "Okay..."

"Starting next month, you only need to send forty-five yuan home..."

"I'll go find Wang Dong tomorrow and see if I can get a job at the Dongjun Hotel's after-school care center..."

"If possible, that would be great; if not, I'll look for other jobs..."

"If that old guy Yi Zhonghai can swallow his pride and go out to make money, so can I..."

"And you won't earn less than you would outside..."

After saying that, he quickly reached out and put the fifty-five yuan on the table into his pocket, afraid that Yan Jiekuang would also take ten yuan from the fifty-five yuan.

Yan Jiekuang didn't argue with Yan Fugui about the ten yuan.

Because his salary this month was far more than fifty-five yuan, he had already saved thirty-one yuan as a secret stash and didn't care about the ten yuan this month.

Besides, from now on he can save an extra ten yuan every month, so there's no need to cause trouble with Yan Fugui over ten yuan in front of him.

Although he wanted to save more money for his future, the other party was, after all, his own father, and this money was all for paying off debts and keeping the house...

Even if Yan Fugui ultimately doesn't leave the house to him, he's still living there now, so it's best to keep it if possible. (End of Chapter)