Yi Zhonghai's Siheyuan

Another week passed in the blink of an eye. On this Saturday, Yi Zhonghai bought some food and drinks because Yi Suwan was coming back for the weekend and planned to have a dinner together this weekend.

Yan Bugui saw Yi Zhonghai carrying a large pile of dishes and hurried forward, "Old Yi, are you treating us tonight? I'll help you carry them."

Yi Zhonghai: "Old Yan, no need. My daughter will come back tomorrow and I will prepare some food."

Yan Bugui: "Old Yi, we have to celebrate well. I will bring a bottle of good wine tomorrow so we can drink together."

Yi Zhonghai knew what Yan Bugui was up to, so he said, "Forget about it, Old Yan. It's a good family gathering for us."

Before Yan Bugui could say anything else, Yi Zhonghai had already walked back home. When he reached the door of his house, he saw Jia Zhangshi and Banggeng staring at the things in his bag with their eyes wide open.

Jia Zhang muttered in a low voice, "Damn Yi Zhonghai, he bought so many vegetables but didn't even bother to help our family."

Bang Geng yelled, "Grandma, I want to eat meat, I want to eat meat."

Jia Zhang was upset but she was helpless when facing her beloved grandson. After all, the person making the trouble was her dearest one.

Jia Zhang rolled her eyes and said, "When Yi Zhonghai's family is cooking, ask your mother to get some for you, and then we can eat together."

When Banggeng heard this, he hurriedly said, "Grandma, the last time my mother went to Yi Zhonghai's house to ask for meat, Yi Zhonghai didn't give her any! What an old loser!" As soon as Banggeng finished speaking, Jia Zhang covered his mouth.

Jia Zhang was really afraid that Yi Zhonghai would come and beat her, so she said, "Bang Geng, from now on you can only scold him at home and not outside, okay? If your mother doesn't give it to you when she goes there later, grandma will go there herself." Jia Zhang thought that as an elder, Yi Zhonghai should give himself face when he went there.

Bang Geng became quiet, and Jia Zhang continued to sew the soles of shoes, thinking about why Sha Zhu didn't bring any food to her family this week. Thinking about this, Jia Zhang went into the house to find Qin Huairu and said, "Qin Huairu, go ask Sha Zhu later why he didn't bring any food back to our family!"

Qin Huairu: "Mom, how can I have the nerve to go? Didn't you say it's inconvenient for a single man and a single woman?" Qin Huairu had thought about looking for Sha Zhu, but Jia Zhang said some time ago that she couldn't go to find Sha Zhu, and now Jia Zhang couldn't wait any longer.

Jia Zhang: "Just go when I tell you to!" Then she continued to sit outside the house and sew shoe soles.

It happened that Shazhu also came back from the factory. When Jia Zhang saw that Shazhu had nothing in his hands, she said, "Shazhu, why don't you bring your lunch box? Our dog has no nutrition lately!"

Unexpectedly, Sha Zhu ignored Jia Zhangshi and went home by himself. Jia Zhangshi said anxiously to Qin Huairu in the room behind him, "Qin Huairu! Qin Huairu! Go to Sha Zhu's house and have a look."

Qin Huairu heard Jia Zhang's hoarse voice shouting outside, so she walked out of the house, came to Sha Zhu's house and knocked on the door. "Zhu, are you home? I'm Sister Qin."

"Bang, bang, bang," he knocked on the door several times in a row. "Zhu Zi? I know you're home. I'll come to your house and help you clean up."

Sha Zhu covered his ears with a pillow. Now Sha Zhu was thinking about getting married! He would ignore Qin Huairu for half a year. Then he would get married to a woman as beautiful as Sister Qin.

Qin Huairu knocked on the door for a long time but Sha Zhu didn't open it. She returned home in frustration and said to Jia Zhang, "Mom, there's nothing I can do if Sha Zhu doesn't open the door!"

Jia Zhang's eyes narrowed and she said, "It's all because of you, the useless one. That bastard Sha Zhu has now rebelled! He doesn't want to support our Jia family."

Qin Huairu was wondering why Sha Zhu had ignored her during this period of time. After thinking about it, Qin Huairu thought of something. It seemed that it was that day when her mother-in-law went out and quarreled with Wang Xinhua. Then Yi Zhonghai came out and said that his wife was pregnant, and then Sha Zhu went to the backyard.

Thinking of this, Qin Huairu said, "Mom, Shazhu will ignore us during this period of time."

Jia Zhang: "Why doesn't he help our family?"

Qin Huairu looked at Jia Zhang's matter-of-fact look and said, "Mom, the deaf old lady must have said something to make Sha Zhu ignore us. Think about it, Xu Damao in the backyard has also married and has a child, and even Master Yi has a child. How can Sha Zhu not be anxious?"

Jia Zhang thought it made sense and asked, "Then Huairu, what do you think we should do?"

Qin Huairu said, "Unless someone can introduce a wife to Sha Zhu, Sha Zhu will never care about our family."

Jia Zhang rolled her eyes and said, "Do you have a suitable partner in your hometown? Can you introduce one to Sha Zhu?"

Qin Huairu sighed and said, "Shazhu wants a city hukou. Besides, my relatives are only a few years old! There is no suitable one at all."

Jia Zhang said again, "Then we can use this excuse of finding a wife to drag Sha Zhu along."

Qin Huairu: "How can I delay? How long can I delay? I don't have any good marriage partners here."

Jia Zhang was annoyed again when she heard Qin Huairu say that. She said, "So we just let Shazhu ignore us like this? Then what about our Banggeng?"

Qin Huairu spread her hands and said, "There's nothing I can do." The two chatted for a while but there was no way to end it.

Then Jia Zhang said, "Huai Ru, our family cannot afford to lose Sha Zhu, our cash cow. Yi Zhonghai is ignoring us now. If we lose Sha Zhu, we will be starving. Bang Geng looks so pitiful to me recently. He looks so thin from hunger."

When Qin Huairu heard Jia Zhangshi say this, she thought to herself, "I think it's you, old woman, who is greedy?"

When Yi Zhonghai returned home, Huang Yulan was tidying up things at home. Seeing Yi Zhonghai carrying a large bag of vegetables, she came over to help.

Yi Zhonghai would not let his wife help him. "Yulan, go and have a rest. I can do it by myself! My brother will bring Su Wan back tomorrow morning. We will have dinner together then."

Huang Yulan could only give up and say, "Then you are going to prepare so many things by yourself tomorrow?"

Yi Zhonghai: "It's okay, I can do it. I just asked Xu Wu after get off work and he is also free tomorrow to come over and get together."

Huang Yulan: "Xu Wu isn't going to the library? He always stays in the library during holidays recently."

Yi Zhonghai said, “I’m here to learn knowledge too. Come and lift your feet so I can put my things down!” As he said that, he put the things in order.

Now that it’s December, the weather in the north has started to get very cold, so there’s no need to worry about whether the food will go bad.

Yi Zhonghai thought that Lou Zhenhua had asked him to go there this morning so he would go there in the evening. After dinner he would set off and tell his wife about it.

When Yan Bugui returned, he told Yang Ruihua that Yi Zhonghai had bought a lot of vegetables and he wondered if he could get some of them tomorrow.

Yang Ruihua jokingly said, "Why should Mr. Yi invite you? Last time when our family's Jie Cheng got married, the bicycle loan was so embarrassing for him."

Yan Bugui "Wife, please stop teasing me! I have already apologized to Lao Yi for what happened last time. I believe it will be fine. I will bring some wine to your house tomorrow after they prepare the meal."

Yang Ruihua nodded and said, "It would be great if you could go. Remember to pack some leftovers when you go."