Siheyuan: Starting from 1958

"I can only give you fifty yuan each at most, not a penny more..." Yan Fugui made the decision through gritted teeth, his face full of heartache.

Yan Jiecheng didn't reply, but instead frowned and analyzed to Yan Fugui, "Father..."

“I just told you everything clearly… The fact that the third brother was able to get out of prison smoothly back then was largely due to the efforts of the second brother and me.”

“We don’t want a penny of the money you earn by collecting scraps outside, but the money that the third brother hands over to the family must be shared with us. This is a matter of principle.”

“Since the house was bought back with the money earned by the second son, then the house that the Yan family has now naturally belongs to us as well.”

“Starting today, my second son and I will be living at home, but we will not pay a single penny of rent.”

"As for living expenses, we will pay if we eat at home, and we will not ask if we don't eat at home."

"After you paid off all the debts from the mortgaged house, the third son gave the family another 600 yuan a year."

“Since we have a share in this money, Dad, you should keep it for yourself.”

"Since we need money to find a job right now, we won't ask you for more. Two hundred yuan each should be enough."

"The remaining two hundred yuan is for you two to live on as your retirement money, given by the third brother."

"Once my second brother and I find jobs and start earning wages, we will give you the retirement money we are owed. As for the specific amount, the three of us brothers will discuss it then."

"But today you must give each of us two brothers two hundred yuan."

"Back then, you took our money to pay the fine for the third brother, and watched us go to jail for three years. The second brother and I were already furious."

“If you are still the same as you were three years ago, only thinking about the third son and not caring about the life and death of the second son and me, then the father-son relationship between us will be completely worn away.”

Yan Fugui was reluctant to agree. In his eyes, the money that his third brother, Yan Jiekuang, handed over to the family belonged to him, and he couldn't possibly share it with his eldest and second brothers.

But he didn't want to put all his eggs in one basket and pin all his hopes for his retirement on his third son.

Over the past three years, Yan Fugui could clearly feel that his third son was becoming increasingly distant from his family, more and more selfish, and even more scheming.

In this situation, Yan Fugui must plan for several more elderly care recipients.

The eldest and second eldest are the best candidates.

Although he decided to break their hearts three years ago, they are still father and son, and blood is thicker than water. As long as he repairs their relationship, they will definitely take care of him in his old age.

In order to ease the tension between himself and his second son, and also to ensure his future retirement security, Yan Fugui decided to pay the money after careful analysis.

Anyway, all this money was handed over by the third son. As long as the eldest and second sons don't worry about their own pensions and the money they earned from collecting scraps, the rest of the money doesn't matter.

Moreover, this money wasn't just given to the eldest and second eldest sons and then it was gone.

The eldest brother just made it very clear that as long as the two brothers find jobs and earn wages in the future, they will provide their parents with retirement funds, just like the third brother.

This is something that needs to be done gradually over time. Compared to the lump sum of four hundred yuan given to the two brothers now, Yan Fugui prefers the monthly pension he receives.

A decision was made immediately: "Okay..."

"Dad will pay for this. You'll each get two hundred yuan. Consider it Dad's support for you to find jobs after you get out of prison." "I won't ask you for money for the house. Anyway, after your mother and I pass away, this house in the front yard will still be passed down to you."

"But you must keep your word..."

“I’m too old to go out and collect scraps for many more years. I definitely can’t survive on the little pension I get from the government.”

“Once you find a job and start receiving a salary, you must contribute to your family’s retirement savings.”

Yan Jiecheng readily replied, "Okay..."

“We will definitely pay this money. Although we have been to prison, we cannot stand by and watch our own parents starve to death in our own home because they have no money to support them in their old age.”

Compared to Yan Jiecheng's straightforwardness, Yan Jiefang's expression was not as pleasant as one might expect.

When Yan Jiecheng had just agreed to give Yan Fugui retirement money, Yan Jiefang kept giving him meaningful glances, hoping that Yan Jiecheng would refuse.

He felt that Yan Fugui and Lao San Yan Jiekuang had wronged them, and that they should be compensated with money, both morally and logically.

However, Yan Fugui used the initial capital of two hundred yuan as an excuse to make the two brothers promise to give them retirement money every month in the future. Isn't this taking advantage of their misfortune?

He immediately pulled Yan Jiecheng aside and asked in a very low voice, "Big Brother..."

"Father has wronged us two brothers. It is only right that he should give us two brothers some money as compensation. Why did you just agree to give him money for his old age?"

“We just got out of prison, so it’s already hard to find a job. Even if we do find one, the pay is very low. We also have to give some of our money to our parents to support them in their old age. That leaves us with even less money, and we might not even be able to support ourselves.”

"When did you become so noble?"

Yan Jiecheng chuckled and replied, "Second brother... what's the rush..."

"I did promise to give them money for their retirement after I start earning a salary, so that they won't starve to death at home because they have no money for their retirement, but I didn't say how much money I would give them for their retirement."

“Dad receives a pension of twenty or thirty yuan every month, and at most an extra ten yuan is enough for the two of them to live a pretty good life in the courtyard.”

"There are three brothers in us, and each of us gets only a few dollars, at most five dollars."

"Given the current wage levels in Beijing, how much impact do you think it would have on our lives if we spent five yuan of our salary each month?"

"Besides... we're divorced now, so we can't stay single forever. We'll definitely need to find wives in the future."

"We've been to prison, so it's already hard for us to find wives."

"If you're labeled as unfilial, it will be even harder to find a wife."

"We'll get a good reputation for five dollars, and over time people will gradually forget that we've been to jail. It will definitely be easier for us to find wives in the future... Besides, this isn't a big loss for us, so why not agree?"

"Moreover……"

“We are both penniless right now. We need money to find work and eat…”

"We just need to get that tightwad Dad to agree to give us two hundred yuan. It doesn't matter if we agree to some of his conditions for now. How we ultimately fulfill those conditions is up to us. Anyway, let's agree to it first and pocket the two hundred yuan." (End of Chapter)