The Life of a Son-in-Law in a Courtyard House

There was an older woman at the conference just now, and to be honest, I was quite envious.

I envy Qi Yulan's family for finding a treasure among the refugees.

Although Yang Dalin looks thin and short, everyone understands what he means when he speaks.

Even if he can't become a live-in son-in-law, he will become Qi Yulan's godson and take care of her in her old age until her death.

He even asked everyone to be witnesses; this kid was able to make his point clear, implying that he wanted everyone to supervise him.

What a wonderful child! I'm so envious.

The couple lay in bed, and the older woman said leisurely, "Zhonghai, I think Dalin is a good kid!"

Yi Zhonghai sighed: "Sigh...who knows? It seems alright for now, but time will tell. It's hard to say what will happen later."

An older woman chimed in, "He doesn't seem like a bad kid. I heard Yulan say that he took care of his grandmother at the shelter for three days and three nights straight, until she passed away. He only ate one cornbread a day, saving two for his grandmother. If his grandmother hadn't been so frail, she might not have made it. Yulan took him in because she thought he was a filial child. What do you think we should do...?"

Yi Zhonghai was a little dazed in the darkness, staring blankly at the pitch-black roof.

An older woman nudged Yi Zhonghai, who then snapped out of his daze: "Ah, yes, Yulan works in the neighborhood and has the means to observe. I'll think about it and say more. We have Dongxu, so don't worry. Go to sleep."

"well……"

Two sighs echoed in the room.

In the backyard of Liu Haizhong's house, his second aunt was also discussing Yang Dalin with Liu Haizhong today.

"Honey, what do you think of Yang Dalin, that widow Qi's son?"

"Who knows? They made it sound so nice today. As long as they're not like Sha Zhu, who doesn't listen to me and doesn't spend our money, why bother with so much!"

"Honey, at the meeting, Sha Zhu invited him to his house, and he was the first to applaud him. Could these two have gotten closer so quickly?"

"He dares to do that. That Yang Dalin dares to imitate Sha Zhu and disrespect me, his second uncle. I will absolutely not let him stay in the yard."

Meanwhile, in the front yard, at Yan Laokou's house, Yang Ruihua and Yan Laokou were also talking about Yang Dalin.

"Old Yan, what's wrong with that neighbor across the hall bringing home a kid? Aren't they worried about food shortages?"

Old Man Yan grumbled with his eyes closed, "You won't get poor from eating or dressing, but you will get poor if you don't plan ahead."

Given the current quota, it's impossible for her to bring back any more. This half-grown brat is going to eat his father alive. Just wait and see.

If her family gets to enjoy good fortune, you'd better watch your house. If they come to borrow grain, you absolutely mustn't lend it to them.

"And you can't lend anything else either."

"Okay, I got it, Lao Yan. Don't worry, I definitely won't lend you anything."

In the Jia family's house, there were two rooms. In the north room, on a bed, Jia Zhangshi was sleeping.

The central living room is very small, and there is a kang (a heated brick bed) against the south wall.

Lying on the kang (a heated brick bed) were Qin Huairu, Jia Dongxu, 8-year-old Banggeng, and 3-year-old Xiaodang.

(The timeline of some actors' ages in the TV series is a bit messy. For example, He Xiao was born in the summer of 1966, and was born in 1967. He Xiao should have been 17 in 1984, but a 12 or 13-year-old child suddenly appeared. So, based on the book, Qin Huairu was born in 1933, got married at 18, and had Bang Geng the following year. Bang Geng was 8 years old in 1960, Xiao Dang was 3 years old, and Huaihua was not yet born.)

Jia and Qin were both hungry and didn't exercise.

Because I simply didn't have the strength.

Besides, Qin Huairu is so thin she's practically skeletal; if Jia Dongxu were to have another child, they'd be even less able to support him.

The two men were talking: "Dongxu, do you think Aunt Yulan's family is well-fed? They only have one woman and two girls, no strong laborers, so they must have enough food. Otherwise, why would they dare to bring back a half-grown boy?"

Jia Dongxu thought for a moment: "Who knows? Maybe. There are no men in the house, so they probably don't eat much."

Without hesitation, Qin Huairu said, "How about I go to her house tomorrow to borrow some grain?"

Jia Dongxu quickly tugged at Qin Huairu's hand: "No, no, I'll eat less starting tomorrow. They just had a new baby, and if you go up and borrow more now, it'll embarrass them."

I'll think of something else later. If that doesn't work, I'll borrow some more from my master. Please don't go to Aunt Qi's house again, okay?

Jia Dongxu had a sense of shame, so he told his wife to stop borrowing grain from other people's homes.

His family actually all had urban household registrations, unlike in other novels where Qin Huairu, her children, and Jia Zhangshi had rural household registrations because they couldn't let go of the land.

Because it's impossible; in the show, Bang Geng can go to school and go to the countryside, which means he must have an urban household registration.

Some people say that it was because Jia Dongxu died and Qin Huairu took over that she changed the household registration of the mother and her four children to urban.

That's nonsense. In the past three years, the quota for all urban household registrations has been repeatedly reduced.

Jia Dongxu was a heavy laborer, and his monthly ration was only thirty to forty jin.

The miners could get more than 50 jin, but this was the second year of famine and the rations were reduced. Jia Dongxu's ration was only about 30 jin.

In the past three years, could he have supported Qin Huairu Jia Zhangshi Banggeng and Xiao Dang with just over thirty catties of grain, as well as himself?

How many people are there? What are they thinking?

How many wild vegetables do you think they have to dig up in the city?

The rural people on the outskirts of the city have already dug up all the food themselves. Do you think you city dwellers would come out and steal their food?

In 61, a large number of personnel were laid off, including those who had worked in enterprises and institutions since 57, temporary workers, apprentices, and those who were not capable.

If Jia Zhangshi and Qin Huairu didn't have urban household registration, could they still stay in the city?

They were sent to the countryside to earn work points long ago.

Banggeng can only go back to the countryside to attend school.

Back then, there were still many men who worked in the city while their wives and children stayed in the countryside.

Furthermore, Jia Zhangshi has been living in the city for so many years, how could the village possibly still allocate land to her?

A married daughter is like water spilled from a cup. Once Qin Huairu got married, the village took away her land that winter. They think they can leave her any longer? They're dreaming.

If they dare to do that, and other married women in the village follow suit, what will become of them?

The biggest reason is that the whole family has urban household registration, and Jia Dongxu is the only one working, so his salary is too low.

Everyone's rations have been reduced, and they're not getting enough to eat. Qin Huairu wants her child to eat something better, but Jia Dongxu, a first-class worker, only earns 33 yuan a month. Even if he went to the black market, he couldn't buy much grain.

During the three years when pork was at its most expensive, it cost 18 yuan per jin (500g), national grain coupons cost 5 yuan per jin, and Beijing grain coupons cost 4 yuan per jin.

Think about it, with a salary of thirty-three yuan, after buying the ration, how many kilograms of expensive grain could you buy?

Of course, this price represents a period during the most difficult time next year.

However, now a pound of grain is worth ten or twenty times more on the black market.

If it weren't for the fact that Jia Zhangshi still had some family wealth, which Yi Zhonghai would occasionally supplement,

Will Jia Dongxu be able to survive long enough to plant the locust flower seeds for Qin Huairu?

It's estimated that the famine will end in the first year.

During the Spring Festival of 1966, Huaihua was about three years old; she was probably born in 1963.

So, Qin Huairu became pregnant in 1962.

By then, the famine was almost over.

So, the biggest problem for Jia Dongxu's family is that their wages are low, yet Qin Huairu still wants her child to eat well.

Otherwise, it's true that Bang Geng Xiao Dang wouldn't have enough to eat, but he wouldn't starve to death.

The conversation between the characters reveals that there are no purely bad people, nor purely good people.

Liu Haizhong also sponsored college students, and Yan Bugui later picked up trash.