Siheyuan: Starting from 1958

Compared to Yan Fugui's regret and despair, the atmosphere in the Jia family's courtyard was also very oppressive.

wrong……

The Jia family was long gone by then.

The east wing of the Jia family's house in the middle courtyard had been renovated into a wedding room by the Wang family in the front courtyard, and it no longer had any connection with the Jia family.

At this moment, everyone, including Bang Geng who had just been released from prison, was gathered in the west wing of the central courtyard, where Yi Zhonghai was temporarily staying.

Before Bang Geng was released from prison, Jia Zhangshi lived in the small cubicle that Bang Geng had previously lived in. Although it was not as big as the original Jia family's house, it could at least provide shelter from the wind and rain.

Now that Bang Geng has been released from prison, problems have suddenly arisen.

Yi Zhonghai's house only occupies half of the west wing, and the total area is only about forty square meters.

Previously, in order to take care of Bang Geng, a small room of more than 10 square meters was partitioned off. The remaining 20 square meters of the room was divided in two. One half was used as a bedroom for Yi Zhonghai and Qin Huairu, and the other half was used as a living room for the whole family to eat. The three of them could live in just the right amount of space.

Now that Bang Geng is back, where he will stay tonight has become a major problem that Yi Zhonghai and Qin Huairu, mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, have to face.

"Bang Geng...why don't you squeeze in with Grandma tonight..." Qin Huairu hesitated for a moment before suggesting...

"Tomorrow your father and I will clean up the place where we eat, and then we'll buy a bed to bring in. From now on, you'll sleep in the room where we eat."

Bang Geng's face clearly showed reluctance, but before he could speak, Yi Zhonghai objected: "If Bang Geng lives in this room, how will we eat? We can't possibly eat sitting in the yard..."

"It's freezing outside, I can't stand it for even a few minutes, let alone eat."

"I disagree……"

Yi Zhonghai's idea was very simple. Although the house no longer belonged to him, as long as it didn't belong to him, the right to live in it belonged to him. Who could live there and who couldn't was up to him. Why should Qin Huairu make decisions for him?

Bang Geng can move in, but he'll have to pay rent to himself every month, just like Qin Huairu.

Although it's not much, it can alleviate the pressure of insufficient retirement funds to some extent.

More importantly, Yi Zhonghai wanted to use this incident to show Qin Huairu who the real head of the family was.

This was meant to make Qin Huairu understand that if she didn't take good care of herself in her old age and serve her well, she could kick Banggen and Jia Zhangshi out of the Yi family at any time.

Perhaps because he had just been released from prison and hadn't been in contact with Yi Zhonghai for a long time, Bang Geng didn't initially understand the implied meaning in Yi Zhonghai's words. He thought that Yi Zhonghai was dissatisfied with the living room's accommodation and wanted to move to a better place.

He quickly replied, "Mom..."

“I think Dad is right…”

“This room is specifically for eating. It’s not very big to begin with. If we put a bed in it, there might not even be enough space for a table. How are we supposed to eat then?”

"I don't want to sleep with Grandma either..."

“He’s such a grown-up, and he still sleeps in the same bed as his grandma. If word gets out, how can I face people?”

"Don't end up not being able to find a wife."

“The house is only so big, and it’s already crowded with three people. If I were to join, there wouldn’t be enough room.”

"How about you help me rent a place outside?"

“You all have spacious accommodations. I’ll have my own room, which will make it easier for me to find a wife in the future.”

Qin Huairu's face quickly turned sour, and she frowned as she asked, "A stick..."

"Do you know how much it costs to rent a room outside these days?" "I don't know about other places, but the two empty side rooms in our courtyard house cost ten yuan a month to rent."

"A slightly larger room costs at least fifteen yuan in rent."

"Unless you can still rent a house for seven or eight yuan in a particularly remote location, there are no houses around here for less than ten yuan."

“Mom’s monthly salary is only forty yuan, and she has to feed several people in the family. Before, she could only save ten yuan a month by being frugal and send it to you.”

“Now that you’re out of prison, we don’t have to send money anymore, but at least we have one more mouth to feed in our family.”

“If you don’t go out and find a job to earn money, let alone rent a house, our family might even have trouble eating.”

"Anyway, you can forget about renting a place; it's impossible for at least the next two or three months."

"Unless you can find a job that pays more than 40 or 50 yuan a month and settle down, our family simply can't afford to rent a place."

After saying that, she turned her gaze to Yi Zhonghai, staring at him with pleading eyes and asking, "Old Yi..."

"Could you think of a way to let the pheasant move in too...?"

“Our family’s conditions are what they are right now. If we don’t let Banggeng stay at our house, he really will have nowhere else to go.”

"do not worry……"

"As long as you let Bang Geng move in, she will treat you as she would her own father."

Yi Zhonghai didn't reply, but frowned and asked in return, "You're my wife, it's only natural for you to move in..."

“Jia Zhangshi was your former mother-in-law. She has nothing to do with me. If she hadn’t been paying me rent every month, I would never have agreed to let her move into the adjacent room.”

"Although Bang Geng is your biological son, he has no blood relation to me."

“If he were still young, it would be reasonable for me, as his stepfather, to spoil him. But now that he’s grown up, it would be a bit unreasonable for me, his stepfather, to spoil him, feed him, and provide for him.”

Qin Huairu knew Yi Zhonghai, her husband, all too well; she could immediately discern the hidden meaning in his words.

He immediately replied, "I'll have Bang Geng give you one dollar a month for rent, starting this month?"

Upon hearing the result he wanted, Yi Zhonghai's previously furrowed brows instantly relaxed, and he replied, "One yuan is a bit too little..."

"But what can I do? I'm the stepfather of the Korean idiot..."

"As you just said, tonight Banggeng will have to sleep with Jia Zhangshi for the night..."

"I'll have someone come over tomorrow to modify the partition wall in my house..."

“The previous single room was too big, so we’ll make it a little smaller, about seven or eight square meters will be enough.”

“Then we’ll partition off a few square meters from our room and create another small single room…”

"Jia Zhangshi will stay in one room, Bang Geng will stay in another room, the place for eating will remain the same, but the place for us to sleep will be a little smaller."

For Qin Huairu, as long as her son Banggeng has a place to live, it doesn't matter how small her own place is.

He immediately nodded: "I'll do it your way..."

After saying that, he took out a dollar from his pocket and handed it over. Yi Zhonghai didn't stand on ceremony, took the money, and put it in his pocket. (End of this chapter)