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

Qin Huairu knew what kind of person her mother-in-law was, and felt helpless and powerless to refute her.

Two rooms, each less than 40 square meters, are being cleaned by two people every day. There's hardly any work to be done.

Spring, summer, and autumn are alright; you can go out to the lakeside or even outside the city gates to snatch some wild vegetables from the local farmers.

Winter is almost here, what's the point of fighting over it?

Should we go dig up wild vegetable roots?

They don't even have the chance to dig up wild vegetable roots anymore.

The production team is keeping a close eye on it.

Just like Yang Dalin didn't choose to go fishing.

Where in the city can you find fish that big to go fishing for? The streets have already caught them with nets countless times.

Those who write stories where the protagonist can sell fish for tens or hundreds of dollars are simply daydreaming.

Hunting near Beijing is possible, unless you catch rabbits or something.

There weren't many big trees around Beijing at that time; even during the Great Leap Forward, they would have been dug up.

To hunt around Beijing, one would have to go at least to the Taihang Mountains in the southwest or the Yanshan Mountains in the north.

You can't get into places to the west, such as Mentougou, Xiangshan, and Yuquanshan.

It's not a restricted area; it's just that the production team is keeping an eye on it.

Yang Dalin thoroughly enjoyed reading novels about hunting in Northeast China in his previous life, and he wanted to experience it for himself.

Unfortunately, besides having a powerful pill, he doesn't know how to hunt.

You should just work hard and earn a living.

When Yang Dalin returned in the evening, he brought rice and stir-fried dishes.

As usual, I gave my aunt ten yuan that evening.

Before we had finished eating, we heard a knock on the door. Yan Jiefang, Yan Bugui's second son, announced that there would be a meeting at 7:30.

In fact, on their way back, Yi Zhonghai and Jia Dongxu had been discussing what happened last night.

Jia Dongxu lost his father at a young age and has a somewhat mama's boy personality.

Having lost her father at a young age, she was somewhat insecure, but she was also a filial and reliable person.

Otherwise, Yi Zhonghai wouldn't even consider him a suitable retirement home.

He was quite handsome, but because his family was poor, Jia Zhangshi wanted to marry him off to a feisty countrywoman so that their personalities could complement each other.

Later, through introductions from his hometown, he was able to choose a beautiful woman named Qin Huairu.

Unexpectedly, this daughter-in-law wasn't feisty, but she was incredibly skilled at teasing, as if she had known it since childhood.

Jia Dongxu focused on his work, and gradually Qin Huairu took over many of the household chores.

Even the children's education was mostly handled by Qin Huairu.

Instead of Jia Zhangshi, Qin Huairu was educated in the countryside and attended a literacy class, so her household registration stated that she graduated from junior high school.

This is something Qin Huairu said to Jia Zhangshi at the beginning of the drama: "Mom, I'm disciplining the children, don't interfere."

Jia Zhangshi only occasionally doted on her eldest grandson, Banggeng.

On the surface, Qin Huairu appeared to be diligent, hardworking, filial, and virtuous in the courtyard. She was polite to her neighbors and never seemed to have a falling out with anyone.

How could I possibly get beaten up?

The master and apprentice discussed it on their way to and from get off work.

However, Yi Zhonghai overheard something else in bed, which Jia Dongxu was unaware of.

That was what Yi Zhonghai's wife had told him at night: Qin Huairu often used the tactic of crying and begging to borrow some food from the neighbors, and she never paid it back.

Yi Zhonghai didn't care about this; it would be best if she could get it herself, so she wouldn't keep sucking his blood.

After all, he also had to support the deaf old lady and give medicine to an older woman, and the couple's rations weren't very high either.

It's fine to occasionally help the Jia family, but we can't let them develop the habit of exploiting us.

The goal is to achieve the highest return with the least effort.

As for Jia Dongxu's level, it's not that I didn't teach him; it's just that the child is like he's not quick-witted. He gets nervous during exams and can't advance in level.

Moreover, Yi Zhonghai couldn't bring himself to hit him, so his seemingly gentle and kind way of teaching his disciples was not as effective as Liu Haizhong's brutal method.

Some people are like that; they have a high level but don't know how to mentor apprentices, while others are different. They may not have a high level, but when they teach apprentices, they either beat or scold them, yet they teach them very well. Where can you go to reason with them?

So Yi Zhonghai thought he would hold another college-wide meeting that night to talk about Qin Huairu being beaten.

Jia Dongxu knew nothing about Qin Huairu's behavior in the courtyard house. She was too well protected by her mother and didn't care about many small things at all.

Unexpectedly, neither Jia Zhangshi nor Qin Huairu would tell him this.

So the conference started at night.

Liu Haizhong, with his large belly, spoke first, with Yan Bugui sitting next to him, looking rather arrogant.

Yan Bugui, wearing glasses and holding his head high, acted as a primary school teacher, seemingly looking down on the people below him.

Therefore, some cultural intellectuals—and I mean some—deserved to be persecuted after the storm began.

Liu Haizhong, supporting his large belly with one hand and mimicking a leader's speech with the other, said, "Comrades, something big happened in our ward last night, as you all surely know. Qin Huairu from our ward was assaulted while using the restroom. Although we reported it to the police last night, the culprit hasn't been caught yet. The police have taken over the investigation. I hope that culprit will come forward soon, so that we three old men don't drag you out."

That's a bit tactless. It's still hard to say whether the murderer is from courtyard number 95. Yi Zhonghai quickly coughed.

Yan Bugui glanced sideways at Liu Haizhong, thinking to himself, "You uneducated good-for-nothing, who said the one who hit someone was from our department? You're just asking for trouble."

After coughing, Yi Zhonghai immediately said, "Alright, Second Uncle, let me say a few words."

Everyone knows that Dongxu's wife, Qin Huairu, is filial, sensible, hardworking, and reliable. We've never heard of her arguing with anyone before, so it's strange that this happened yesterday.

I don't know if the killer hit the wrong person last night. Dongxu, my second uncle, my third uncle, and I discussed it and couldn't think that Dongxu's family had any enemies or had any unpleasant experiences with others.

Perhaps what I'm thinking is true: that person called the wrong person last night, or there's some conflict we're unaware of.

Does anyone have any leads to share, so we can prevent our residents from being beaten again?

As soon as Yi Zhonghai finished speaking, the hundred or so people watching began to discuss among themselves.

Actually, news of Qin Huairu being beaten had already spread in the neighborhood during the day.

Because it's common for a man to beat his wife at home, or it's normal for a man to be covered in a sack, but this is the first time I've heard of a young woman being beaten while going to the toilet with her face covered.

There are also rumors that Qin Huairu was not only beaten, but her top was also torn and she was touched several times.

Some people even say that Qin Huairu is best at flirting with other men, and who knows, maybe she went to see other men at night and got caught by their wives and beaten up.

Even more astutely, some seem to have guessed the truth: the young wife of the Jia family loved to take her two children to other people's homes and cry pitifully, hoping to gain their sympathy and trick them into giving her life-saving grain. This time, she was beaten, probably because she tricked them out of their grain.

If Yang Dalin heard this rumor, he would really give the other party a thumbs up, impressive.

It's possible that the last version of events was spread by someone from this courtyard.

Some people suffer in silence, unable to speak openly, yet they can't spread rumors about you?

Qin Huairu stood close to Jia Dongxu in the crowd, her face looking extremely pale.

My heart is breaking, but I can't express it.