Yan Bugui had just finished class and returned home. Just as he was about to wait at the entrance of the courtyard house, his wife stopped him, saying, "Old Yan, don't go yet, I have something to tell you!"
Yan Bugui looked anxious: "What is it? Can't we talk about it later?"
He was in a hurry to get to the gate. Ever since Lao Yi and Lao Liu were dismissed, his haul from staking out the gate had been steadily increasing.
Normally, Aunt Yang Ruihua would have been cooking obediently by now, but today was different. She had some great news to tell Lao Yan.
"Old Yan, wait a minute, I have something urgent to attend to," Yang Ruihua said, closing the door behind him.
Upon seeing this, Yan Bugui immediately understood that something important had happened. He touched his glasses and looked at his wife in surprise.
"Old Yan, you don't know what I heard in our courtyard this afternoon. The old lady had a falling out with Yi Zhonghai and the others," Yang Ruihua said mysteriously.
Yan Bugui chuckled, leaving Yang Ruihua somewhat bewildered. Shouldn't her husband be surprised? Why was he making that face?
Yan Bugui didn't mince words and directly explained, "Do you really think that Lao Yi and the others are sincerely taking care of the old lady?"
"Oh, really!" Yang Ruihua asked, somewhat surprised.
“No, it’s all a show put on for us,” Yan Bugui sighed and explained, seeing his wife still looking confused.
"Well, Lao Yi and his family have never had children, so they thought they could take care of the old lady themselves and set an example for the young people in the neighborhood. Besides, when Lao Yi got into trouble before, wasn't it all resolved by the old lady's unreasonable demands and her taking advantage of her age?"
Now that the old lady's reputation is ruined, Lao Yi's plans have completely failed. How could he possibly take care of her as diligently as before?
Yan Bugui sighed. He had thought about doing the same thing before, but he couldn't bear to see his wife work so hard, and he was even more reluctant to spend so much money on the old lady.
"Then, what's wrong with Lao Yi now...?" Yang Ruihua asked, somewhat puzzled. He'd been doing this for so many years, why did he give up now?
"Sigh," Yan Bugui told his wife everything he had overheard the night before.
"Ah, how could Lao Yi do this? What I was saying was that He Daqing just ran off to Baoding and stopped caring about the children. It turns out he sent money every month. How could Lao Yi do this?" Yang Ruihua was a little confused. How could this be?
"Hmph, I've known about this for a long time. Our family is just a small one, we can't afford to be ruined. Just pretend you don't know," Yan Bugui sighed. Actually, he had known all along, but his family...
How could she possibly fight against Yi Zhonghai and the old lady? Besides, that reckless Sha Zhu wouldn't necessarily be grateful even if she told him; he might even accuse her family of sowing discord between them. She wasn't going to do something so thankless.
"Yes, everyone in the courtyard is saying that the old lady and Yi Zhonghai have fallen out. Apparently, she said in the courtyard that whoever takes care of her in her old age and sees her off in her final days will get the house. You see,"
Yang Ruihua's meaning was clear: only her eldest son Yan Jiecheng and Yu Licheng's families had houses to live in.
The other children still sleep in the same room as me.
"Tch." Yan Bugui chuckled dismissively. Everyone claims to be a shrewd calculus expert, but I think the old lady is the real expert.
Seeing his wife's expression, Yang Ruihua immediately asked, "Given our family's situation, shouldn't we try to negotiate? The child is growing up, and we'll have to think about housing in the future."
She thought that taking care of the old lady was just a matter of cooking one more meal, but it would earn her a house. She figured it was something she could do, since her son was home every day and could manage.
To everyone's surprise, Yan Bugui immediately shook his head when he heard Yang Ruihua say that: "Forget it, the old lady is really good at scheming."
Yan Bugui knew his wife didn't understand, so he patiently explained, "Have you forgotten what the old lady's surname is?"
"Yes, it's white. Didn't the neighborhood committee say so that day?" Yang Ruihua recalled.
“That’s right, do you remember who He Daqing ran off with?” Yan Bugui shook his head. What a cunning scheme.
"White Widow, White, this, could it be..." Yang Ruihua was truly shocked this time. Good heavens, he thought he knew everything about the courtyard house, but he didn't expect there to be so many secrets inside.
"Alright, as long as you know what's going on, that's fine. Our family will continue as usual, don't interfere, and don't tell anyone. Let's just live our own lives," Yan Bugui said, looking at his wife with a serious expression.
When Liu Haizhong's wife heard what the old lady said, her expression changed slightly. But now that Liu Haizhong was in jail, what if he found out that she was taking such good care of the old lady and got angry with her when she came back?
Liu Guangtian and Liu Guangfu looked helpless and kept urging their mother to move out. After all, the two brothers had wanted to move out for a long time. Although the old lady was next door and not as nice as outside, it was still better than staying at home.
When Madam Jia heard the old lady say this, her mouth almost watered. It was just a matter of caring for the old lady in her old age and seeing her off; it was a simple matter.
Anyway, all I do at home is make shoes for Banggeng and the others every day; Qin Huairu does everything else. If it's really possible, then it's not a bad idea.
So as soon as Qin Huairu arrived home, Jia Zhangshi immediately pulled her aside. Qin Huairu was somewhat taken aback; what was wrong with her mother-in-law?
Normally, when I get home from get off work, shouldn't she ask me to cook dinner? Why is she asking me for a favor today? Is it possible she's out of painkillers again?
After Jia Zhangshi finished telling Qin Huairu about the old lady's situation, Qin Huairu subconsciously frowned. No matter how she thought about it, something just didn't feel right.
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