Yi Zhonghai's Siheyuan

(The timeline I wrote is a few years ahead of schedule, so don’t take it seriously.)

The next day, Yi Zhonghai listened to the birds singing in the locust tree in the yard and looked at Haodaer next to him, then picked up the watch beside the pillow and said, "Tsk, it's only 6 o'clock in the morning! I'm going to sleep all day this weekend!" Yi Zhonghai was about to take a nap when he suddenly thought that since he was going to sleep anyway, he might as well bring his wife in to sleep together.

Thinking of this, Yi Zhonghai quietly came to Huang Yulan who was busy in the living room and said, "Ms. Yulan, would you please take a nap with me?"

Since it was only 6 o'clock in the morning, the door to the living room was naturally not open, but Huang Yulan still blushed and said, "Who did you learn these smooth talk from? Do you have any shame? Don't hug me. It will be bad if outsiders hear it."

Yi Zhonghai said nonchalantly, "It's okay, go take a nap." Then he picked up his wife and returned to the bed. Yi Zhonghai made a hushing gesture, signaling Huang Yulan not to disturb her son's sleep.

After a while, the bed in the room began to sway rhythmically...

About half an hour later, Huang Yulan was lying in Yi Zhonghai's arms. She had almost fainted from the torture. Yi Zhonghai looked at his wife in his arms with a red face and teased her, saying, "How is it? Can I take a nap now?"

Huang Yulan spat at Yi Zhonghai, but still buried her head in Yi Zhonghai's arms.

Xu Damao was going to ride his bicycle to his mother-in-law's house early this morning to pick her up to help take care of the children.

Xu Damao was pushing a bicycle with things on it that his wife was going to give to her parents' home. After all, it would be impolite to invite someone empty-handed.

This weekend, He Yushui rode her bike back from school this morning. This bike was bought for He Yushui by He Yuzhu some time ago. Although it was second-hand like Yan Bugui's, it was much newer than Yan Bugui's. She had planned to come back yesterday, but thinking that her sister-in-law was such a big eater, she wanted to wait for her sister-in-law to eat more so that she could eat her fill at school.

There was a jingle of bicycles at the entrance of the courtyard. Yan Bugui was watering the flowers. He looked up and saw He Yushui, so he asked, "Yushui, didn't you come back on Saturday afternoon?"

He Yushui said, "Teacher Yan, our school was delayed by something in the afternoon, so I'll go back first." As he said this, he pushed his bicycle past Yan Bugui.

When they arrived at the Central Courtyard, they saw Qin Huairu monopolizing the laundry sink. He Yushui pushed her bicycle and walked straight past Qin Huairu. Qin Huairu wanted to speak to He Yushui several times but was unable to do so.

Today, Yang Yuhuan moved a stool and sat under the eaves to start mending some of Shazhu's clothes. When He Yushui saw her sister-in-law, she happily ran over and shouted, "Sister-in-law, I'm back."

Yang Yuhuan looked up and saw that it was He Yushui and said with a smile, "Hey, Yushui, it's so hot, come inside and have a rest."

He Yushui nodded and pushed her bicycle back to the He family. In fact, He Yushui felt very good about her sister-in-law. Although she was a eater, she was also very nice to her, not to mention that she was going to be an aunt soon.

After He Yushui put away his bicycle, he helped Yang Yuhuan with the work. Yang Yuhuan asked He Yushui how he was doing in school. Both of them grew up in Beijing, so naturally they had a lot in common.

Sha Zhu went to help people prepare a banquet early this morning. There was nothing he could do as the pressure was too great now. If he didn't make money, there wouldn't be enough food at home.

Yi Zhonghai slept until about three in the afternoon. When he woke up, he found that his wife and eldest son were not around. Yi Zhonghai walked out the door and saw Huang Yulan holding her eldest son and gossiping with the women in the courtyard under the locust tree. Yi Zhonghai looked at the dishes and rice left on the table in the living room and prepared to wash up and eat first.

Yi Zhonghai walked over and found Banggeng and his sister Xiaodang rolling in the pool with a bamboo ring. He saw that the two siblings had become much thinner than their peers without the help of himself and Shazhu. Their clothes were patched up, but they still had the ungrateful look on their faces.

Huang Yulan saw that her husband had woken up, so she left the gossip group, came to Yi Zhonghai and said, "Boss, the rice is in the pot, remember to eat it later."

Yi Zhonghai nodded, wiped Haodaer's face with the towel in his hand, and then carried Haodaer and his wife back home.

Time passed quickly and it was already afternoon. Sha Zhu took two leftovers from the banquet and planned to take them back to eat for his wife and his sister who was coming back from school today.

After crossing the threshold, Yan Bugui was about to come over to take advantage of him, but Sha Zhu said, "Teacher Yan, this is for my wife! Besides, you have already bought a bicycle, why do you need to take advantage of it? It will damage your demeanor as a teacher."

Yan Bugui looked at Sha Zhu walking back arrogantly and said, "Hey! This Sha Zhu is lecturing me."

Sha Zhu came home with his lunch box and saw He Yushui doing homework and asked, "Yushui, where is your sister-in-law?"

He Yushui: "My sister-in-law went to Uncle Yi's house and said she would use their sewing machine to mend a few clothes for you."

Sha Zhu nodded and told He Yushui to call Yang Yuhuan back to eat. He Yushui happily ran to the Yi family.

When they came back, they saw Sha Zhu opening the lunch box, which contained meat and fragrant dried vegetables.

Yang Yuhuan: "Brother Zhuzi, you must be tired today, right?"

Sha Zhu said in his heart, "It's not tiring. My boss was very nice today and gave me 8 yuan! Here, take it." As he said that, Sha Zhu handed a red envelope to Yang Yuhuan.

Yang Yuhuan counted and took out 3 yuan to give to Sha Zhu. Sha Zhu was stunned and asked, "Why is my wife giving me money?"

Yang Yuhuan: "You have to buy a pack of good cigarettes. You've been tired all day. Go to the entrance of the alley and buy a pack of cigarettes to smoke."

Sha Zhu was so moved that he almost cried. He Yushui, who was standing next to him, couldn't bear to see his sister-in-law and brother being so affectionate, so he said, "Sister-in-law, come and eat with us!"

Yang Yuhuan nodded and started eating with them. While Sha Zhu was taking his time to eat, Xu Damao returned to the courtyard with his mother-in-law.

Yan Bugui looked at the two large bags of things tied to the back seat of Xu Damao's bicycle and was about to go up to ask for some benefits, but unfortunately Xu Damao ignored him and walked straight to the backyard with his mother-in-law.

When passing by Zhongyuan, Jia Zhang was so jealous of the things tied to Xu Damao's back seat that she secretly spat, "Short-lived ghost wants to eat so much. Look at how thin our Bang Geng has become, and he doesn't even know how to help him."

Xu Damao pretended he didn't see or hear anything and walked to the backyard. When he got home, he heard Wang Xiaojuan say, "Mom, Damao, come back! Damao, go wash Xuanyueduo's urine ring."

Wang Xiaojuan's mother is Yang Guiying, who is also good at handling household chores. Yang Guiying was happy to see that her daughter was pregnant again. Seeing that her daughter had not suffered any grievances in the Xu family, she was even more satisfied with this son-in-law.

After Xu Damao finished his housework, he saw that it was getting dark, so he carried another bag of 50 kilograms of corn flour to Sha Zhu's house.

After knocking on Sha Zhu's door, He Yushui opened the door and said, "Brother Damao, you're here. Come in and sit down." Yang Yuhuan, who was in the house, hurriedly welcomed Xu Damao when she heard that he had come.