Yi Zhonghai's wife was stunned by what he had just said.
When she thought about it herself, she also felt a wave of fear.
"What do we do now? What if Huai Ru has other ideas? The Jia family is full of old and young, and Dong Xu is still bedridden. How are they going to survive?"
Before Yi Zhonghai could speak, his wife continued, "But Zhu Zi is unwilling, and we can't force him to help. Besides, this kind of thing wouldn't look good if word got out."
"Besides, if it doesn't come to that point, the Jia family will definitely stick to their guns and refuse to cooperate."
Yi Zhonghai snorted: "Right now, the most important thing for the Jia family is to survive, so they won't do it. Zhu Zi isn't a bad person, so it seems we need to guide them slowly. Perhaps we can get it done by observing Zhu Zi's performance today."
"Most importantly, we, the two of us, will have a secure retirement. Huai Ru and Zhu Zi are reliable people, so we can rest assured that they will take care of us in our old age."
Yi Zhonghai and his wife sleep in separate quilts. These days, it's rare to find large quilts, and it's unheard of for a couple of such advanced age to still sleep in the same quilt.
Yi Zhonghai's wife poked her head out and nodded: "That's true. If both Zhuzi and Huairu are willing, that would be great. But if they're not, we shouldn't force them."
"We're not that old, there's always a way."
Yi Zhonghai wrapped himself tighter in the blanket and grumbled, "Let's go to sleep first. Don't think about these worrying things during the New Year."
...... ......
When Sha Zhu got home, he was quite particular and soaked his feet in the hot water on the stove first.
After soaking his feet, he finally crawled into bed, but he was still thinking about the way Qin Huairu smiled at him.
He wasn't sure if it was just his imagination, but he felt that Qin Huairu's gaze was a little different today. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but she seemed a bit more affectionate than before.
In the past two days, he confirmed that he did have feelings for Qin Huairu, but he would rather marry a young woman than try to get help from the Jia family.
But seeing how hard Qin Huairu was living, I felt really sorry for her.
"Sigh, how did things get so chaotic?"
Sha Zhu scratched his head and decided to help the Jia family more in the future. No matter what others said, he only hoped that Qin Huairu could live a better life.
On the other side, Liu Guangtian tossed and turned in bed, his mind filled with work.
He thought to himself that he must cling to Wang Dabao's coattails, even if he had to be a temporary worker first, so that he would have something to look forward to in the future.
As for his eldest brother Liu Guangqi, he gritted his teeth and decided to let it go for the time being. After all, his parents had been biased for so many years, and if he continued to argue, he would only get slapped a few more times by Old Liu.
...... ......
The next morning, just as dawn was breaking, Feng Biao and Zheng Jun arrived.
The two urged Wang Dabao to go home and rest. Wang Dabao threw down two packs of cigarettes, got on his bicycle, and slowly rode back to the compound.
Before even reaching the main gate, while still some distance away, I heard the creaking sound of the door opening, and then a small head peeked out.
"Oh my, Da Bao, look how open the door is! I was wondering why it sounded like someone was urging me to get up. Turns out it's Da Bao, you're back."
Yan Bugui adjusted the dog-skin hat on his head to prevent it from pressing down on his glasses.
Wang Dabao got off his bicycle, handed Yan Bugui a cigarette, and the two walked into the yard talking as they went.
"Old Yan, you're up early enough. Looks like you didn't drink a drop of alcohol last night," Wang Dabao said with a laugh as he pushed his bicycle.
"Hey, how can we not have a drink during the New Year?"
Yan Bugui chuckled, "I was sleeping soundly this morning when the two Jia kids were woken up by Sha Zhu bringing them over to pay New Year's visits."
Wang Dabao was taken aback. "Shazhu brought the two children from the Jia family to wish you a Happy New Year?"
Yan Bugui, with his hands in his sleeves and his face full of anger, said, "Of course! Those two kids took one yuan from me. No one does things like that, Sha Zhu. Every year our courtyard holds a New Year's gathering to make sure that no one is rich or poor and they don't have to give out lucky money. But this year, this is what happened."
"Thank goodness we didn't wake Jie Kuang, otherwise I would have chased them out with a broom handle."
Wang Dabao nodded in deep agreement: "Old Yan, you're right. If Jie Kuang finds out about this, that kid Bang Geng will definitely get a good beating."
Even though it was Chinese New Year, Wang Dabao didn't chat much with Yan Bugui and pushed his bicycle into the Intermediate People's Court.
It was still early, and no one in the yard had gotten up to empty the chamber pots yet, but he could see Sha Zhu hiding around the corner, peeking into the backyard from afar.
"Pillar, what's wrong?"
Wang Dabao's shout startled Sha Zhu, who quickly pulled his hands out of his sleeves.
Sha Zhu turned his head and chuckled, "Oh, it's Brother Da Bao! You startled me out of the blue. Sigh, what can I do but hide here and watch the show?"
As the two were talking, they heard shouts and curses coming from the west wing of Xu Damao's house.
"Get out, get out of here! How annoying this is so early in the morning! Get out of here right now, I'm not even awake yet."
"Uncle Da Mao, Uncle Da Mao, on the morning of the first day of the Lunar New Year... one or two yuan is not too little, three or four yuan is just right..."
It was the sound of sticks and locust blossoms; the two children sang while tapping on the sticks.
Wang Dabao couldn't help but laugh out loud, then gave Sha Zhu a thumbs up: "Great, Zhu, you're really something. Xu Damao is in for a headache now."
"But this shouldn't happen in front of my house. I've been working the night shift and have a headache. I need to go home and sleep."
"No, you should go back and rest."
Sha Zhu took out a cigarette, lit it for Wang Dabao, and then waved his hand, "I'm just taking these two kids to teach Yan Bugui and Xu Damao a lesson. Once the two kids are out, it'll be over."
"Okay, I'll head back now. We can chat sometime."
As Wang Dabao passed by Xu Damao's house, he listened carefully. Xu Damao's cursing continued inside, but the two children were also banging and making noise, as if they wouldn't come out without money.
It's the Lunar New Year, and I reckon Xu Damao really has to lose money.
Pushing the bicycle into the house, Wang Dabao quickly closed the door to prevent those two ungrateful wretches from the Jia family from sneaking over.
It wasn't that he was stingy with a few dollars, nor did he care about their auspicious words, but he just wasn't willing to give the money to those ungrateful bastards.
While I was busy lighting the stove to boil water and making tea, someone knocked on the door.
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