Siheyuan: Traveling through three years to gain the power of a palm

"Well, since you want to divide the family, then figure out what's in the house, how much savings you have, and how to divide it. Also, do you plan to divide it in front of everyone?" Director Wang's meaning was very clear. He wanted to see if the Yan family still had any shame.

Yan Bugui's expression changed, a trace of turmoil appeared on his face. He had lost all his face today. Yan Jiecheng was not afraid of boiling water, but he was still a teacher, so he had to maintain some dignity.

"Director Wang, let's go inside and talk."

Hearing what Yan Bugui said, the neighbors all showed disappointment. They still wanted to see how things would develop, how much wealth the Yan family had, and what was the reason for the division.

An hour later, the people in the front yard had not yet dispersed. Some people just kept waiting, while others were holding their bowls and eating, just wanting to see the result.

Director Wang walked out of the Yan family with an expressionless face, followed by the ecstatic Yan Jiecheng and Yan Bugui, whose face was as pale as if his father had died.

No one knew the inside story of the division of the family, and no one knew how much Yan Jiecheng got. However, from Yan Bugui's expression, which seemed like he wanted to strangle Yan Jiecheng to death, everyone knew that Yan Bugui probably got a lot of things.

After Director Wang left, Yan Bugui looked at Yan Jiecheng as if he were a stranger, "Take your things and get out of my house!"

"Just leave, but remember to give me my share." Yan Jiecheng turned and left. He hadn't received his share of the house, and he didn't want to live there. After discussing with Director Wang, they found a room in the front yard that was available for him. Now he had to go to the neighborhood office to complete the rental procedures. But he was surprised to find out that his family had so much money.

"Old Yan, what are you doing?"

"Old Yi, don't ask anymore. This is a misfortune for our family." Yan Bugui covered his face. "In short, Yan Jiecheng will no longer have any relationship with our family. They say raising a son is a way to prepare for old age, but I don't think raising a son is of much use."

Yan Bugui laughed at himself. He thought that he was a scholar who had taught for so many years, but he had raised such a bastard son. How could he face people?

At this time, Liu Haizhong stood up and shared his parenting experience. "Old Yan, I've said it before, a filial son is born under the stick. If a child is disobedient, he must be beaten. If he is not beaten, he will not remember. Look at our second and third children. I told them to go east, but they didn't dare to go west. I told them to chase away the dog, but they didn't dare to kill the chicken. They are so obedient, and that's all because of beatings."

Yi Zhonghai's face darkened and he turned and left. He didn't want to get involved in this topic.

The Yan family's division on the second day of the Lunar New Year gave everyone a big surprise. Although no one knew the inside story, it did not affect everyone's speculation about the reasons.

In a short time, the news of the Yan family's division spread throughout the surrounding area through the mouths of everyone.

"Brother, what's going on with the Yan Bugui family? They're dividing the family before Yan Jiecheng gets married. It would be fine if they just divided the family, but they're dividing the family during the Chinese New Year? They have no shame at all." Jiang Erniu had seen families dividing up in the village before, but this was the first time it was so ugly.

Jiang Daniu shook his head slowly. "Although I don't know the reason, it's probably related to Yan Laoxi's stingy calculations. Also, Yan Jiecheng's absence from work all day might have been a factor. He's probably injured somewhere and can't do heavy work anymore."

Jiang Daniu wasn't considered smart, but that depended on who he was compared to. Compared to Jiang Fan and Shen Yue, he did seem a bit dull, but how could someone who could raise his younger brother in such a chaotic world be so clueless?

In fact, there is no need to analyze anything, because Yan Jiecheng had just moved from the Yan family to the back house in the afternoon, and the news that he was disabled was spread by Yan Jiefang and Yan Jiekuang.

Everyone was shocked, thinking that Yan Jiefang had become a family extinct.

"Another dead eunuch."

Xu Damao couldn't help but exclaim when he heard such explosive news. He thought Yan Jiecheng had difficulty walking, but he didn't expect that it was that leg that was not working.

"Tsk tsk tsk, is the feng shui of our courtyard bad? Why are these extinct families popping up one after another?"

"Are you talking about yourself?" Jiang Fan glanced at him. If he hadn't kindly reminded him, Xu Damao would also be a family without a family. So, in Courtyard No. 95, each of the three courtyards had a family without a family.

"Me? I'm fine now. I want to give birth to eight sons! I won't be the last one to leave my family." Xu Damao said angrily.

Jiang Fan ignored him, thinking about Yan Jiecheng's situation: Yan Jiecheng's decline into a cripple seemed to have begun that night. He had knocked him unconscious and left him in the alley. After that, he stayed in the hospital for two days and then returned.

However, Jiang Fan rarely saw Yan Jiecheng, who seemed to be deliberately avoiding Jiang Fan.

Jiang Fan and Yan Jiecheng were less than a year apart in age and both lived in the front yard, making them perfect match. Yet, no matter how you looked at them, Yan Jiecheng never won. Consequently, Yan Jiecheng harbored a deep resentment towards Jiang Fan, much like Xu Damao towards Sha Zhu. However, after Jiang Fan's time travel, he simply ignored him, dismissing him as someone whose modest success depended on his wife.

In the back room, stacks of banknotes were placed in front of Yan Jiecheng. He had never seen so much money in his life, if you didn't count the gold yuan notes and the first set of currency in units of ten thousand yuan.

In front of Director Wang that morning, he acted like a madman, bursting into tears and tearfully recounting Yan Bugui's evil deeds, how he was beaten to a pulp by his own father, and how he was unwilling to spend money on medical treatment or even comfort him, etc. When he got emotional, he even wanted to show Director Wang his injuries, and his thing was still deflated.

Fortunately, Director Wang stopped him in time, otherwise her reputation would have been ruined. However, she also felt deep sympathy for the young man Yan Jiecheng. When presiding over the division of the family property, she inevitably sided with Yan Jiecheng.

This also allowed him to get 60% of Yan Bugui's savings, 1,200 yuan.

Two thousand yuan was the total amount of the Yan family's savings, which was the sum of the cash found in the family's safe plus the amount recorded on the bank deposit slip. As for whether Yan Bugui had hidden some of it privately, that was another matter.

Chapter 163: Further Reduction of the Quantity

Of the 1,200 yuan, Yan Jiecheng deposited 1,000 yuan in the bank, kept 200 yuan for his expenses, and paid 24 yuan for the annual rent. Yan Bugui also demanded 5 yuan from him on the grounds that he had broken a lot of bowls and plates, but in return he also got his food back.

At dinner time, Yan Jiecheng sipped his wine, ate a mouthful of braised pork, and then took a big bite of his steamed bun. "This is what life is all about. Think about it, all these years, what a boring life I've been living."

When he thought about the days he had spent in the Yan family over the years, his heart ached and tears could not help but flow from the corners of his eyes. He ate meat and drank wine in big mouthfuls, and soon finished all the food in front of him.

After a full burp, Yan Jiecheng lay down on the bed. "Tomorrow I'll find someone to renovate the house, find a job, and then go see a doctor about my illness. Once I'm cured, I'll get married... hehehe."

When one is well fed and warm, one thinks about that. After having eaten and drunk his fill, Yan Jiecheng couldn't help but have some wild thoughts, but in a moment, the pain brought him back to reality.

"Beast! Beast! Yan Jiecheng is a beast!" Yan Bugui cursed all day long while looking at the inventory list. His eyes were red and his voice was hoarse.

Yan Jiefang and his companions had already hidden back in their own rooms. They had never seen Yan Bugui like this before. He was ferocious and terrifying, even scarier than the monsters in those vernacular novels. Yan Jiedi was even scared to tears by him.

砰

"Yang Ruihua! Look at your wonderful son! How dare he do such a thing? He has brought shame upon our Yan family! My money!"

For the first time, Yan Bugui lost his temper with his wife. That was 1,200 yuan, not just one and twenty cents. Yan Jiecheng had taken it. But he didn't dare refuse. Director Wang personally spoke up, with good reason and evidence. This was his compensation for having laid Yan Jiecheng off.

Yang Ruihua was also furious. She felt bad about the huge sum of money. "My good son? That's not your child, is it? Why did you have to kick him a few times? Look what happened now. You kicked him out for 1,200 yuan!"

Yan Bugui was speechless for a moment. He opened his mouth but didn't say a word. He slumped in the chair, his thin body like a deflated balloon.

……

Yi Zhonghai had seen his son being unfilial before, but what happened to the Yan family today taught him a lesson. His own son was like this, and Jia Dongxu still had a biological mother. How could he be filial to him?

Aunt Wu had been married to Yi Zhonghai for many years and could see his worry. She spoke to him in comfort, "Old Yi, are you worried about Dongxu's care for us in our old age because of what happened with the Yan family today?"

Facing the person he spends every day with, Yi Zhonghai did not hide anything and expressed his concerns frankly.

"Old Yi, how can you not see clearly? How did Yan Bugui raise his child? He would even scheme against a pickle. It's understandable that Yan Jiecheng isn't close to him. But we are sincere to Dongxu. Didn't you always say that Dongxu is a good child who will repay a favor? You don't have to worry too much."

Yi Zhonghai felt a little more at ease after hearing his wife's comfort. He was not Yan Bugui, and Yan Jiecheng was no match for Jia Dongxu. The bond between them was no less than that between a father and a son.

Xu Damao and Jiang Ping'an took their wives back to their parents' home and did not return today. Both families have enough place to live and food.

Jia Dongxu and Sha Zhu only took enough food for one meal and returned after having lunch. However, they hurried and arrived at the courtyard when it was already dark.

The two families met at the door.

"Brother Dongxu, you just came back too?"

"Yeah, it's a long distance, so it took some time."

The two families greeted each other and went into the yard together.

After returning home, Jia Dongxu learned today's news from Jia Zhang.

This also shocked Jia Dongxu. He had been married for so many years, and just today he went back to his parents' home, and this happened.

Jia Dongxu, a clever man, immediately thought of Yi Zhonghai. He knew Yi Zhonghai well and knew how he would react. Frowning, Jia Dongxu began to ponder until Banggeng's voice, "Dad," startled him.

……

Big Year.

It was still a day of celebration. In the courtyard, only Yan Bugui's family looked worried, and the two brothers of the Liu family were beaten again last night.

Yan Jiecheng came to the middle courtyard to fetch water and saw Yan Bugui who was also there. Neither of them spoke. There was no sadness in their eyes, only disgust.

After fetching water, Yan Bugui left. Yan Jiecheng looked at his back and hummed a song of victory.

But he didn't notice that the way others looked at him was also strange. These eyes were mainly focused on...

Over the next few days, Yan Jiecheng hired someone to repair the house and inquired about factory clerical jobs, but nothing came of it. He also tried medical treatment in every hospital in Beijing, but the only answer was: surgery.

This made Yan Jiecheng extremely discouraged.

……

Time flies and it is April.

That night, the people in the courtyard, or in the entire city, were sighing and groaning.

Because people from the various subdistrict offices came to say that due to various reasons, the food ration would be reduced by another 10%. This means that the monthly food ration for each person is now only 80% of the original amount.

This has left many rural households feeling utterly anxious. Over the past few months, food prices have been rising rapidly, both on the pigeon market and the black market. When the ration reductions began, the price of cornmeal jumped by half, and as of yesterday, it had soared to 80 cents per pound. With the news spreading today, it's likely to soar to one yuan!

Jia Dongxu was very anxious. He was the only one in his family with a city hukou, while everyone else had a rural hukou. There was no ration, and they used to rely on buying food at the black market or pigeon market, and they had to exchange fine grains for coarse grains just to feed their family.

If Jia Zhang's pregnancy had not been exposed, her status had not declined, and she would not have dared to eat as much and recklessly as before at home, Jia Dongxu would have had a headache again.

Although he now earns 50 yuan a month, money does not necessarily mean he can buy food.

"Huai Ru, I'm going to find Master and buy some more food from the black market tonight. You can go to bed early and don't have to wait for me."

"Then be careful and stay safe. It would be great if I also had a city hukou."

Qin Huairu's words made Jia Dongxu's heart tremble. If she also had a city hukou, the family would not have to worry.

Jia Zhang automatically moved into the darkness. Originally, their family had the opportunity to transfer to urban household registration.

Jia Dongxu wasn't the only one who shared this sentiment; Sha Zhu, too, had one. Their family now had two more people with rural household registration, plus a teenage boy, and it was time for them to start eating. He and He Yushui weren't having enough food, but he was better off, as he was a cook after all.

Chapter 164 Lou Xiao'e is pregnant

Sha Zhu and Jia Dongxu went out almost at the same time. They looked at each other and understood each other's thoughts.

In Yan Bugui's family, the reduction in food rations made him feel like he had lost 20% of his food. No, it was one person's share, as there were five people in his family.

"Old Yan, do you think we should buy some food? When we had no food before..."

When Yan Bugui heard about buying food, his face darkened. Last year, he had a similar issue with buying food, and ended up running out of food, ruining his family. But there was no other way to not buy food; he couldn't starve. And no one knew how high the price of food would rise in the future.

"Well, I'll go talk to Lao Yi and go with them." He didn't know whether others would go or not, but Yi Zhonghai would definitely go to the black market.

Yan Bugui went out and looked at the Jiang family with lights on. He couldn't help but sigh and cursed Yan Jiecheng in his heart. If it weren't for Yan Jiecheng, his relationship with the Jiang family would not have become so stiff.

If he hadn't been so hostile to the Jiang family, he might have been able to get in touch with them and go with them to buy food.

"Alas." Things had already happened, and even if Yan Bugui wanted to make amends, the Jiang family would not give him a chance.

Jiang family.

Except for the three people who went to school, the whole family sat together.

"Xiao Qian, is the food your family bought enough to eat?"

"That's enough, Mom. I listened to you last time. My eldest brother bought a lot. Combined with the rations, there will be no problem getting through this year." Chen Qian said gratefully. In the past two months, the Chen family followed the Jiang family to buy a lot of food. As for food, the more the better.

"Dad, Mom, the ration has been reduced again today. Should we go to the black market?" Jiang Ping'an said.

"We have enough food at home, but from now on... forget it. If everyone else goes and we don't go, it will attract attention."

Jiang Daniu said that with Jiang Fan at home, there was no shortage of ways to buy food. As long as they paid the money, Jiang Fan would naturally bring the food back. As for where Jiang Fan got the food from, no one would ask.

But if I really don’t go to the black market, I’m afraid that someone with ulterior motives will find out that I have food stored at home.

The Jiang family's poop is unique in the courtyard, and they attract a lot of attention. Everyone is waiting to see when the Jiang family will have bad luck and roll down the mountain in disgrace.

No one could guarantee that there weren't some idle people who spent the whole day watching the Jiang family, trying to see if they'd leave. When people have nothing to do, they're likely to do anything.

After getting everyone's consent, the Jiang family decided to go to the black market tonight, just this once, and stay at the black market for two minutes before coming back.

Xu Damao did not have any screening tasks today, so he stayed at home with Lou Xiaoe. She is now more than two months pregnant and is expected to give birth by the end of the year.

"Ezi, stay home. I'll take this bag of food to Jiang Fan. They have a big family." Xu Damao was carrying a cloth bag containing probably thirty or forty kilograms of food. As Lou Zhenhua's good son-in-law, Xu Damao knew he would be in good hands, whether it was money or food. He didn't know if Jiang Fan's family was in need, but it was likely that they weren't. However, that didn't stop him from taking the initiative to deliver the food.

Lou Xiao'e was accustomed to Xu Damao's behavior. During the time since she got married, Xu Damao would take the initiative to send Jiang Fan a portion of any good things he got, even if they were some precious food she brought from her parents' home. She had no objection, after all, Lou Zhenhua had always told her to listen to Jiang Fan.

Moreover, Jiang Fan did not take advantage of him for nothing, he also gave gifts in return, and there were quite a few good things.

Xu Damao went out with his things and met Sha Zhu who came out of Yi Zhonghai's house in the middle courtyard.

Seeing Xu Damao like this, Sha Zhu mocked him, "Hey, Xu Damao, you're going to see your father Jiang Fan again. Is there enough food at home? Are you giving it away to others?"

"Silly Zhu, I sent food to Jiang Fan because he's my brother and my son's godfather. Unlike you, you don't go to find your biological father, but run to a family with no one left, begging them to be your son!"

Xu Damao is worthy of being Xu Damao. Just a few words made Sha Zhu furious.

"Xu Damao, you are looking for death!"

Sha Zhu was indeed very angry. Two days ago, Lou Xiao'e was found to be pregnant, and Xu Damao took her to wander around Sha Zhu's gate in the Central Courtyard for more than two hours. This made him extremely angry, but he really couldn't do anything. If he happened to meet Lou Xiao'e, he would not be able to explain himself.

"Don't ask me to die every day. I am asking for death. See? That's the Jiang family. If you dare to touch me, believe it or not, my brothers and my whole family can kill you." Xu Damao was not afraid of Sha Zhu's intimidation at all. He had the Jiang family behind him. There were seven men. How could he be scared by a little Sha Zhu?

"You! I'll let you go this time, Xu Damao! Don't let me catch you! Humph!"

Sha Zhu made a harsh remark and returned to the house. He suddenly didn't want to go to the black market anymore. He wanted a child.