Siheyuan: A warm home with wife and children

Yan Jiecheng, who had just returned from the front yard, also heard it and muttered a few words of curiosity.

"What's wrong with this silly Zhu? Why isn't Jianguo showing off anymore?"

But as soon as he returned to the room, he noticed that the atmosphere inside was off.

Her mother's face was red with a hint of blue, indicating that she was quite angry.

So, the person outside, Sha Zhu, was cursing her?

"Mom, what's wrong?" Yan Jiecheng put his bag on the cabinet and picked up the thermos to get a drink of water.

Aunt Yan jumped up and scolded irritably, "What's wrong? What could it be? It's just about your son's schooling."

“Listen to him, listen to him, how awful the insults he hurled at Sha Zhu are! He has no conscience, and I treated him like that before.”

Yan Jie felt uncomfortable upon hearing his mother say this.

I told you not to mention it, not to mention it.

They keep their own sons in the second grade, but they refuse to go against their principles and stick to their bottom line as human beings.

You insist on asking me for money? Try saying that to me.

This will anger people, and then it'll become my fault?

But this was ultimately for our own family; my mother was doing it for her grandson's own good, so he would have a bright future.

Even if Yan Jiecheng was unhappy, he still had to say a few nice words.

"Silly Zhu, don't you know? Just curse him a couple of times and that's it. We shouldn't stoop to his level."

Hearing what his son said, Old Man Yan agreed and chimed in: "That's right, you're arguing with an idiot, do you even understand what I'm saying!"

After being persuaded, Aunt Yan put the matter aside.

But in the following days, whenever Sha Zhu met her, he would be sarcastic and cynical.

"Oh my, the sun is so bright today, it's as red as some people's big faces."

"Who do we have here? It's Tao Tao's grandma!"

"Oh dear, Aunt Yan, what are you so busy with? Just let me know if you need anything, and who in the neighborhood would dare not do it for you?"

These words infuriated her; Sha Zhu was not Dong Qian at all.

"Silly Zhu, are you never going to stop? I owe your family something, why are you treating me like this?"

Aunt Yan had something to say: "I just asked your Qiuye to do something for me, and you didn't do it for me, did you?"

"You're still going on and on. Are we eating or drinking at your house?"

Sha Zhu slammed the cart against the road with a bang and shouted, "I haven't eaten or drunk anything, I'm nauseous!"

"Hey, how dare you talk like that? Who are you talking to?" Old Man Yan had just entered the door when he heard the two arguing.

How could he allow his own wife to be scolded by that silly Zhu?

"Silly Zhu, you've gone too far! That's your aunt, she's so old, don't you understand the concept of respecting elders?"

Sha Zhu gets angry whenever he sees Yan Laokou; it would be strange if he hadn't instigated this whole thing.

"Auntie, I'm calling you auntie. I've always been very kind to you two, haven't I?"

"But what do you two take me for? Oh, my son is still in the Second Elementary School, you didn't know that?"

"You've come up here and asked my Qiuye to do things for you. You're really something, my auntie. You're really something."

Neither of them was happy; they were both holding back their anger!

Do you not know what kind of person Ran Qiuye is, or have you simply not seen her?

Knowing full well that you can't change your mind even if it's your own child, are you deliberately trying to annoy her or cause trouble?

Sha Zhu was puzzled; how did their family's brains work?

Old Yan and his wife were also angry, so I just thought I'd say something and see if it would work.

If you can help, then help; if you can't, then forget it. It's not like you've lost anything!

Are you missing a piece of flesh, or is it because of your bad reputation that you lost your job and received a lower salary?

Nothing's missing, right?

You're always nagging me like this. I'm so old and I've been putting up with it for days, but you just keep getting more and more worked up and it just won't stop.

Is that any kind of energy? Do you even have the energy to do this? I'm asking you, is that any kind of energy?!

"How can you say you're not energetic? You're energetic!" Sha Zhu shouted, his neck stiff. "Do you have energy? You ask me if that mouth of yours has energy?"

"Oh, what's wrong? You think our Qiuye is putting on an act, deliberately not holding a celebration for her own son, but only for an outsider like you!"

"Old Man Yan, do you think I wouldn't guess what you're thinking?"

"You're trying to curry favor with your Jiecheng, aren't you? You see he's doing well now, but you only get five yuan a month and don't get any benefits from it, so you're feeling resentful."

"Hey~ that's normal to feel uncomfortable."

"Let me tell you, people like you deserve...?"

"Pillar!" A shout interrupted Sha Zhu's yelling.

Turning his head to look outside the door, Sha Zhu's muddled mind cleared up.

He scratched his head, a forced smile on his face, and said, "Jianguo, Yingzi, you're back?"

After getting off the rickshaw, Yang Jianguo, carrying some local specialties, walked into the alley chatting and laughing with the two children.

Yingzi followed behind, her face beaming with happiness.

They had a wonderful time on this trip.

Not only did Jianguo have a great time shopping, but he also bought two courtyard houses in the area and hired someone to look after them.

The person guarding the yard wasn't an outsider; Yang Jianguo had met with the few people he had taken a liking to before leaving, including Master Huo.

We made it clear to them that we wanted to transfer them to the capital city so they could all work there.

If you're willing to bring your family, we'll arrange suitable accommodation for you there.

Those who didn't want to leave moved to these two courtyards, just to look after their own houses.

I pay for my own daily expenses, but I live in the house for free.

If my employer provides me with housing someday, then we'll talk about whether or not to move.

After settling everything in order, the whole family boarded the train home.

But before they even reached the courtyard gate, they heard someone shouting inside.

That voice, who else could it be but Sha Zhu?

Chapter 296 Old Man Yan is Stubborn and Arrogant, Ran Qiuye is Powerful

When Yang Jianguo confronted him, Sha Zhu couldn't continue speaking.

Seeing that he was speechless, Yan Laokou, who hadn't been able to get a word in edgewise for a long time, finally said, "Jianguo, you're finally back. This time you have to stand up for my old woman."

After briefly explaining the situation to him, Old Man Yan pointed at Sha Zhu and shouted, "Tell me, do you think someone like him is even allowed to act like this?"

Yang Jianguo frowned and didn't reply to him, but instead said to his wife, "Take the child back inside first."

Upon hearing this, Zhiyi slumped her arms, looking somewhat unhappy.

This is so lively and fun, why do we have to go back inside!

Yingzi didn't care about that and led the way inside; it's better for children to stay away from these kinds of commotion.

From then on, all I saw were these trivial, ridiculous things happening right in front of my door.

What kind of future can one have if they spend all their time watching this little spectacle?

Yang Jianguo, who remained in the courtyard, asked about the details of Sha Zhu's incident, whether it was as Yan Bugui had described.

"I'm so angry, that old coward Yan has no good intentions."

"That's because you, Foolish Zhu, are judging others by your own petty standards. Do you think everyone is like you, full of bad intentions?"

"Hey, try calling it again!"

Sha Zhu pointed at him, annoyed.

Old Man Yan remained unperturbed and grumbled, "You're never one to say nice things. You should mind your own business first."

"Was it wrong for me to call you Old Man Yan?" Sha Zhu asked.

Yan Bugui trembled with anger and cursed, "It's not wrong for me to call you Sha Zhu, I think you are a fool."

"Alright." Seeing that the two were about to argue again, Yang Jianguo interrupted them in advance.

"Zhu Zi, apologize to Aunt Yan."

"Uncle Yan, Auntie, when Qiu Ye comes back, you two should apologize to her. That's settled then."

Yang Jianguo wasn't trying to smooth things over or assign blame to both sides equally.

You can't give a clear-cut answer to this; it's not a simple matter.

On the surface, the fault lies more with Sha Zhu.

But to say that Yan Bugui didn't have the thoughts that Sha Zhu mentioned, anyone who knows him wouldn't believe it.

Actually, Sha Zhu hadn't thought of this at first; it was Ran Qiuye who mentioned it to him casually.

Many people say behind her back that she's just putting on an act, that she's neglecting her child for the sake of her own reputation.

That's definitely what Yan Bugui was thinking, which is why he did what happened earlier.

Ran Qiuye was angry because of this: how could she insist on her principles and abide by the rules and discipline?

In the end, it became her fault.

Is it wrong to follow the rules? Is it wrong to uphold principles?

Is it wrong to arbitrarily break or trample on rules for personal gain or loss?!

Doesn't she know that the conditions at No. 2 Primary School are better and there are more opportunities than at No. 1 Primary School? Doesn't she want her son, Xiaozhuang, to attend No. 2 Primary School?

Which parent doesn't want their child to succeed?

But she couldn't open that door; once she did, she'd be stuck with it forever.

Moreover, this is unfair to the other children.

Yes, some people do that.

You can't say that just because others have done it, she has to do it too.

This is Ran Qiuye's character.

Others are not her, and she is not others.

She simply did the right thing, so why does it become a hypocritical, selfish, and foolish mistake in the eyes of some people?

Even within the large compound, those who knew what kind of person she was thought the same way.

Ran Qiuye felt terrible and couldn't sleep for nights on end.

Sha Zhu got so angry, but it was because of this.

But in the eyes of Mr. and Mrs. Yan, they didn't say anything; they just casually asked for a favor.

Not only do you not help me with my work, but you also keep making sarcastic and veiled accusations. That's all Sha Zhu's fault.

If you ask him what he's thinking, he definitely won't tell you the whole truth.

How many people are willing to stand up and admit their mistakes?

You can do the things, but you can't talk about them, much less admit to them.

People who are introspective are respected because they can do what ordinary people cannot.

If everyone could do that, world peace wouldn't be far off.

That's why Yang Jianguo made both sides apologize, giving each other a way out so that the matter could be resolved.

But Old Man Yan was very unhappy and gave it a straight reply.