Chapter 091

Li Lan finished washing the clothes, and took the wrung-out clothes to the clothesline to hang them up one by one.

Wu Xuemei and Wang Cuiying sorted their leeks, washed them under the tap, and then went back to their respective kitchens.

Originally, Wu Xuemei planned to cut the leeks into sections and stir-fry them, but when early summer came back, she changed her mind and prepared to make some egg skins, cut them into pieces, and make dumplings with leek and egg filling.

When the egg skins were ready, cooled, and chopped, Tang Haikuan came back.

Seeing Tang Haikuan coming in from the door, Wu Xuemei looked at him and asked, "How is it?"

Tang Haikuan said, "There are too few formal jobs. If there are any, they are all given to unemployed young people who have returned from the countryside. Street sweeping and garbage collection jobs are all very popular, and there are no other jobs. Today, a construction unit was recruiting temporary workers, so I signed up. I'll get one dollar a day."

Wu Xuemei looked at him and asked, "Go to work on the construction site?"

Tang Haikuan said: "Yes, just unload the cement, sand and ash. It's simple."

Wu Xuemei frowned, "It's simple, but it's all physically demanding work. You're already this old, can your body handle it? Didn't I tell you that if you can't find a job for now, just rest at home. Anyway, I have a salary, and I don't have to pay tuition for Chuxia to go to school. I also have subsidies for living expenses, and my family has savings. Why are you in such a hurry?"

Tang Haikuan said, "What's my age? I'm not even 45 yet, I'm still in my prime. It's not about whether my family is short of money or not, I can't just stay at home and do nothing. I can't find a formal job right now, so I'll just work as a temporary worker first, and I'll earn as much as I can."

Without letting Wu Xuemei say anything, he asked, "How are we going to make dumplings today?"

Wu Xuemei said, "It's summer vacation in early summer. I just came back and I was thinking of making some dumplings."

Tang Haikuan asked again: "You didn't tell her about this, did you?"

Wu Xuemei asked, "What should I say to her? Will it affect her studies?"

Wu Xuemei chopped the eggs and put them into a bowl containing chopped chives.

Tang Haikuan took the bowl in his hand, added seasonings into it, and mixed the stuffing with chopsticks. The salty and fragrant aroma of leeks and eggs instantly overflowed.

Chuxia packed her luggage in the room and came to the kitchen.

When she saw Tang Haikuan, she called out, "Dad is back."

After calling out, he saw a small purple mark on Tang Haikuan's left cheek above the fist bone, and then asked: "What's wrong with your face?"

Tang Haikuan said in a relaxed tone: "I accidentally fell while riding my bike at night."

Chu Xia said distressedly: "Be careful when riding a bike at night."

Tang Haikuan felt happy that his daughter cared about him.

He smiled and said, "I won't ride my bike at night anymore. I'll just push it."

Tang Haikuan and Wu Xuemei didn't talk much about work with Chuxia. The three of them made dumplings together and talked about other topics, including Chuxia's work at school.

The days are long in summer and it is not dark even after dinner.

Chuxia washed up, went back to her room and sat down to read a book.

Tang Haikuan and Wu Xuemei went out for a walk and talked about work outside.

Wu Xuemei naturally didn't want Tang Haikuan to do hard labor, but Tang Haikuan couldn't find anything else to do now, so he insisted on using this temporary worker as a transition.

When I came back after a walk, it was already dark.

Tang Haikuan and Wu Xuemei walked slowly to the outside of Yard No. 8, just as Han Ting, Su Yun, Chaozi and Guogai came back.

We met and greeted each other.

Tang Haikuan smiled and asked them: "Did you find a job today?"

He knew that these kids were carefree and open-minded, young and stress-free, and they were not worried about this matter.

The pot lid groaned and said, "Don't mention it."

Finding a decent job in the city now is harder than climbing to the sky.

After saying that, he said hello to Tang Haikuan and Wu Xuemei, then left with Chaozi.

Tang Haikuan, Wu Xuemei, Han Ting and Su Yun entered the gate together.

After entering the yard, they no longer mentioned work. They went their separate ways in the inner courtyard and returned to their respective homes.

The first thing Han Ting and Su Yun did when they got home was to go to the kitchen to find something to eat.

Wang Cuiying left some food for them as usual, but it was only coarse grain steamed buns and pickled cabbage dumplings, which made people lose their appetite at the sight of them.

But some of it is good to eat.

Han Ting and Su Yun ate their meal directly in the kitchen, then washed up and went back to the house to prepare for bed.

The two of them had just gotten on the bed and sat down at the head of it when someone suddenly knocked on their door.

Then Wang Cuiying's voice was heard, "San'er, come out for a moment."

Han Ting had no choice but to get up and go out again, going to the front yard with Wang Cuiying.

Wang Cuiying put a white flour bun in his hand and said to him, "This is the only one left. Eat it quickly."

Han Ting smiled and said, "Mom, you are still good to me."

After saying that, he took the steamed bun, put it to his mouth and took a big bite.

Watching Han Ting eating steamed buns, Wang Cuiying asked him again: "Still no progress on your work?"

Han Ting ate a steamed bun and spoke vaguely: "No, you know what the situation is now."

Wang Cuiying sighed and said, "Can you please stop taking her out with you in the future? You can go out and find a job or something. Why do you always take her with you? People in the alley have started gossiping about her."

Han Ting said, "I'm afraid you won't get along with her, right?"

Wang Cuiying: "Whether you get along or not, you shouldn't be a daughter-in-law like this. I'm telling you now. If she goes out with you again tomorrow, I won't let her have food to eat. If not, you can let her go back to her parents' home. Our family can't afford such a daughter-in-law."

It seemed that Wang Cuiying started to get angry again as she spoke.

Han Ting finished his steamed bun, and hurriedly put his hand on Wang Cuiying's shoulder and said to her, "Don't get angry again, I'll talk to her later."

Wang Cuiying: "Don't fool me again."

Han Ting: "No nonsense, no nonsense."

After saying this, Han Ting and Wang Cuiying went back to the house.

Han Ting went into the room and got on the bed. Su Yun sat on the head of the bed, looked at him and asked, "What did you say about me?"

Han Ting sat down and said, "I told you not to go out tomorrow."

Su Yun blinked and said, "Then what am I doing at home?"

Han Ting: "Just follow whatever mom and sister-in-law do."

Su Yun: "You know I can't do those things."

Han Ting: "They are all very simple things. Mom can do it even if she is illiterate. You can learn from her. It won't be tiring to just sit and move your fingers. Just think of it as chatting with Mom and Sister-in-law."

Su Yun: "You also know how your mother treats me. She wants to eat me. I can't get along with her at all. How can I sit and chat with her?"

Han Ting's voice was filled with emotion. "You married me. She is my mother, and also your mother. You have to get along with her. It's been half a year, not just half a month. Can you please consider me and stop putting me in the middle?"

To be honest, he's been fucking fed up with this for the past six months.

What he hated most in his life was these trivial matters. Ever since he got married, these trivial matters happened every now and then.

All those vows and promises before marriage, all seem like bullshit when you think back on it after you get married.

Before getting married, Su Yun was a sweetheart. But after getting married, she no longer had any of the gentleness and loveliness she had before marriage. She also became a calculating and petty person.

That's his mother, why can't she just be humble and respectful?

He was already very protective of her, but she didn't understand his situation or his feelings at all.

Su Yun's face turned ugly, but she still said, "I said I can't get along with her."

Han Ting's annoyance became more serious. "How can we get along with the eldest sister-in-law? How can we get along with other people's wives? Why can't you get along with her?"

Su Yun's eyes were already wet, "Han Ting, you were not like this to me before."

In the past, if anyone bullied her or made her suffer, he would immediately stand up to help her. He was reluctant to let her suffer too much and would help her bear everything.

Han Ting replied to her: "You weren't like this to me before."

After saying that, he turned off the light and lay down to sleep.

Su Yun leaned against the head of the bed without moving, tears rolling out of her eyes.

He knew that Han Ting didn't care about her tears at all, so he didn't make any sound.

The night in the house grew darker.

Han Qingtian, Wang Cuiying, Han Mengyuan and Han Feipeng all fell asleep.

Li Lan lay on the bed, turning over and sighing.

Han Lei didn't fall asleep either.

Hearing Li Lan sigh again, he asked, "What are you thinking about?"

Li Lan was silent for a while, then said in a low voice: "I'm afraid you will have a problem with me if I tell you this."

Han Lei could probably guess what she was going to say.

After a moment, he said, "Tell me about it."

In this case, Li Lan said directly: "I want you to apply for a separate house from your company, and we can move out and live on our own."

Considering Han Lei's length of service and contributions, he had long been eligible to apply for staff housing, but Han Ting had gone to the countryside to work in a production team and his family already had a house, so he did not need to apply.

She had not thought about it at first. Firstly, Han Ting had just gotten married, and both he and Su Yun were unemployed, so the family had a heavy burden. Secondly, she was also willing to live in the alley in a lively manner. Thirdly, the staff housing in Han Lei's unit was not better than the current courtyard house. If she applied to live there, two yuan of rent would be deducted from Han Lei's salary every month.

Han Lei didn't say anything, and Li Lan continued, "Didn't you feel depressed in the past six months? Anyway, I can't bear it anymore. If this goes on, how long will we have to support him? If San'er hadn't married, I would treat him as my younger brother and I would have no objection to supporting him, but now he has a family and his wife also wants us to support her. If he has children in the future, will we have to support them too? Supporting them is fine, but do you think his wife has the least respect and gratitude for us? No. She thinks it's natural and that we all owe her that we should provide her with food, clothing and daily necessities. She's not even willing to help her when the oil bottle falls over. What does she take us for? In the past six months, I feel a pain in my heart every time I buy a pencil or a notebook for Mengyuan and Feipeng. There's chaos at home all day long, and the children can't study with peace of mind at all."

Han Lei was silent for a while, then he said, "If we split up and move out, the family will all depend on our dad. Our dad is so old and can't make much money."

Li Lan said, "I know, that's why I never mentioned it. You know me. I've been married for more than ten years and I've never had any conflicts with my parents. I treat them as my own parents, so I never thought of moving out before. But now, I really can't stand it. We have our own children, and we have to make plans for ourselves."

His family had a really hard time in the past six months. Han Lei took a deep breath and said nothing more.

Li Lan knew he needed to think about it, so she didn't say anything else.

***

early morning.

The courtyard woke up to the sound of an alarm.

From the yard came the sounds of people fetching water for washing and talking.

It’s a rare day off, so I didn’t get up early in early summer. After being woken up, I turned over and went back to sleep.

No one disturbed her, and she slept in her room until she woke up naturally. When she woke up, she felt like she had slept for a year.

Tang Haikuan and Wu Xuemei left early in the morning.

After getting up in early summer, I washed up, ate something, and went back to my room to read.

After reading for a while, she opened her notebook and started writing and drawing on a blank piece of paper.

The content of the painting is: take back the property rights of the courtyard house → write an application to get the street stamp → go to the Industrial and Commercial Bureau to apply for a business license...