Siheyuan's Silly Pillar has been replaced by someone else

"Who? Huai Ru."

He opened the cellar door and shone a flashlight inside. Yi Zhonghai spotted a figure inside.

Qin Huairu never expected that someone would come to the cellar at this time.

Hearing the voice, she felt relieved.

"An old man."

Yi Zhonghai walked in and shone his flashlight on Qin Huairu: "What are you doing in the cellar?"

Qin Huairu looked at Yi Zhonghai and said, "I'm feeling unwell, so I came here to sit for a while."

The two hadn't spoken much for a long time, and this meeting was so sudden that they didn't know what to say to each other.

The two of them just stared at each other like that.

It wasn't until a gust of cold wind blew and rattled the cellar door that the two were awakened.

Yi Zhonghai spoke first: "Huai Ru, it's getting cold, let's go back."

Actually that's not what he wanted to say.

He wanted Qin Huairu to agree to his request, but he didn't want to beg her.

Qin Huairu was filled with disappointment when she heard Yi Zhonghai say just that.

She's already in such a terrible state, yet Yi Zhonghai still tries to threaten her.

Seeing that Yi Zhonghai was really leaving, Qin Huairu suddenly felt that things couldn't go on like this.

She really couldn't go on without anyone's help.

She used the trick of crying in the middle of the night for several days, but He Yuzhu never came out to look at her once.

She knew in her heart that this tactic was no longer going to work.

Even other tactics would not work on He Yuzhu.

Expecting He Yuzhu to lend her a helping hand is harder than climbing to heaven.

Qin Huairu knew that he needed to find a hardworking ox to start the millstone of the Jia family.

As for whether the millstone is grinding corn or wheat, we'll have to figure that out separately.

Now that we've managed to get Yi Zhonghai under our control tonight, we can't let him leave.

"Grandpa, please don't go, I beg you, please help me."

Yi Zhonghai had been waiting for these words. He immediately stopped and went back into the cellar.

"Huai Ru, as long as you agree to my request, I will definitely make sure your family lives a good life."

From now on, all my savings and assets will be yours.

Qin Huairu was filled with disdain. A few years ago, Yi Zhonghai's words would have been very influential.

That's just how it is now.

In terms of savings, Yi Zhonghai doesn't even have as much as Qin Huairu.

In terms of houses, that's less than half.

Qin Huairu looked grateful and said, "Uncle, it's really not that I'm unwilling."

"How can I, a widow, have a child?"

Yi Zhonghai said, "Didn't I tell you? Once you get pregnant, you'll find someone to marry."

Qin Huairu looked at Yi Zhonghai helplessly: "Who would be willing to marry a widow with three children like me?"

"You saw it yourself, Sha Zhu completely ignored me."

Yi Zhonghai slowly uttered Yan Jiecheng's name.

Qin Huairu immediately refused: "He won't do. He's too stingy. And Uncle San won't agree either."

Yi Zhonghai said, "Huai Ru, I have already considered it. The most suitable person in our institute is Yan Jiecheng."

Everyone else has children, only he doesn't. If you get pregnant with his child, he definitely won't care how many kids he has.

Qin Huairu was still not very willing, mainly because Yan Jiecheng was both poor and stingy.

"But my mother-in-law won't agree."

Yi Zhonghai said, "She has no choice but to agree. I will find Lao Yan and we will persuade her together."

If all else fails, then stop her painkillers. I'll report anyone who dares to buy her painkillers.

This statement was a warning to Qin Huairu.

Qin Huairu also understood and knew that Jia Zhangshi's move was doomed.

"But Yan Jiecheng is too poor. Can he afford to raise a child?"

This is naturally not a problem. Yi Zhonghai intends to teach Yan Jiecheng because he doesn't want his child to go hungry.

“I’ve already thought it through. You go and get close to Yan Jiecheng, persuade him to come and pay me tribute, and I’ll teach him my skills.”

His skills have improved, his income has increased, and you and the children won't go hungry anymore.

Seeing how comprehensive Yi Zhonghai's considerations were, Qin Huai could find no reason to refuse.

She can only hope that she won't get pregnant.

Yi Zhonghai returned home satisfied and slept soundly, something he rarely did.

Qin Huairu was somewhat worried, unsure how to deal with Yi Zhonghai.

However, Jia Zhangshi and Banggeng didn't care about any of this and ate their breakfast heartily.

After finishing his meal, Banggeng said, "Grandma, give me five yuan. I want to go out and play with my friends."

Jia Zhangshi turned her head and said, "Go ask your mother for it."

Qin Huairu snapped out of her daze and looked at Banggeng warily: "What do you need money for again? Where would our family get money?"

Banggeng said unhappily, "Mom, even if our family is broke, we can still come up with five yuan, right?"

"I'm so old, and I don't have a single penny to my name. How am I supposed to go out and face people?"

Madam Jia was worried that if Qin Huai didn't give him the money, Bang Geng would come to her for it, so she said, "What's wrong with giving him two coins? He's out doing legitimate business."

I know that classmate Banggeng; his family works for the coal bureau.

If he could get along well with his classmates, he might be able to get a job at the coal bureau.

"Going in means becoming a cadre."

Having experienced the taste of power, Qin Huairu naturally knows the benefits of being an official.

For Banggeng's future, she had no choice but to grit her teeth and give Banggeng five yuan.

"Our family's circumstances aren't what they used to be, so you need to be careful with your money."

Banggeng ignored all of this, took the money, and left home.

Qin Huai sighed helplessly, tidied up the house, and went to work.

On the way, Qin Huairu met up with Yi Zhonghai.

Yi Zhonghai gave her a wink, signaling her to go find Yan Jiecheng in front.

Qin Huai hesitated for a moment, then chased after him: "Jie Cheng, why are you walking so fast?"

Yan Jiecheng stopped and waited for Qin Huairu: "Sister Qin, did you need something from me?"

Qin Huairu smiled and said, "It's nothing. I just heard that an old man wanted to teach you a skill, but you didn't want to learn."

Yan Jiecheng glanced at Yi Zhonghai, who was not far behind him, and said, "What's there to learn? The little bit of salary increase from improving your skills isn't even enough for my dad to exploit."

Why should I waste my energy?

Qin Huai said, "I asked an old man. He genuinely wants to teach you the skills."

He's almost retired, so keeping those skills is pointless.

We are his apprentices. If he doesn't teach us, who else would he teach?

An old man has agreed to teach us both skills.

You'll learn with me then. Without going through Uncle San, he won't have any reason to ask you for money.

Yan Jiecheng asked in surprise, "Really?"

"Of course it's true, would I lie to you?"

Yan Jiecheng decided to agree and see how things went first.

Of course he wants to learn a skill; learning a skill will increase his salary. He knows how to do the math.

Yi Zhonghai genuinely taught them techniques in order to create opportunities for them to interact.

However, his teaching was clearly biased towards Qin Huairu.

There's nothing we can do; Qin Huairu doesn't know enough. She hasn't even fully grasped the basics of a first-level worker, let alone a second-level one.

Moreover, Yi Zhonghai would not teach Yan Jiecheng his skills until he had completely won him over.

Yan Jiecheng was able to learn something at first, so he didn't give up.

But a few days later, he realized that Yi Zhonghai didn't want to teach him at all, but just wanted him to help Qin Huairu. He was unhappy about this and stopped trying to get close to Yi Zhonghai.

Yi Zhonghai angrily said that he had no patience.

Yan Jiecheng didn't argue; he wouldn't dare to do something that wouldn't bring him any benefit.

It was Qin Huairu who stepped in again, persuading the two to allow Yi Zhonghai to occasionally mentor Yan Jiecheng, which finally eased the tension. (End of Chapter)