Siheyuan: Relieve stress and relieve worries

Chapter 1077 The Clever Widow
Wang Zhan closed the gate and returned to the small garden to help his sister tidy up the small flower bed, but he kept thinking about Xiao Si and Xiao Wu's family. He felt that he should help them if he could, since they were close friends.

As for the news of the famine, it was Yan Jiekuang who came to tell him. Wang Zhan had paid the price of three meals for this uncertain news, and he still owed Yan Jiekuang one meal. Moreover, the little rascal had a requirement: there had to be chicken and meat, but fish was out of the question, because Yan Jiekuang felt like throwing up whenever he saw fish.

Tomorrow is the first day back to school. Wang Zhan was thinking of bringing some cured meat and sausages for Teacher Xie Yun, but then he thought it would be better to wait until another day to deliver them to his home. It wouldn't be appropriate to deliver them to the school.

Before they knew it, it was already evening. At this time, in Yi Zhonghai's home in courtyard number 95, Yi Zhonghai was smoking a cigarette, looking at the Jia family mother-in-law and daughter-in-law sitting across the table, looking a little worried.

Yi Zhonghai couldn't hold back any longer and asked, "Sister-in-law Jia, our two families have known each other for a long time. I know very well what kind of person you are. You said you'd take over the business, what are you really thinking?"

Li Cuilan, Yi Zhonghai's wife, kept suppressing her laughter. She knew Jia Zhangshi very well; she was someone who never did any housework at home. Who would believe that she would go to work and earn money?

Jia Zhangshi said without changing her expression, "There's no other way. Dongxu's master, I have several children to support at home, and we need money right now. The factory's subsidies are simply not enough. Huairu is also heavily pregnant. What can we do? I have to take over the shift. After all, it's more than ten yuan a month more."

Yi Zhonghai then realized what the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law's purpose was. They didn't want to take over the business; they wanted the factory to pay them more.

Jia Zhangshi sighed and complained, while Qin Huairu pulled Xiao Dang and cried softly. Xiao Dang cried along with her mother when she saw her crying.

For the first time, Yi Zhonghai felt like his head was about to explode. Facing this family, he didn't know what to say. If he really took Jia Zhangshi to the factory leaders to talk about the succession, he would probably get a scolding afterward. But now, facing these two widows, he didn't know how to refuse.

Li Cuilan, who had been watching from the side, noticed her husband's predicament. After thinking for a moment, she said, "Sister-in-law Jia, don't be sad. Everyone is having a hard time these days. How about this, let my husband, Lao Yi, go and ask the factory about their regulations to see if you meet the requirements. Then we can come back and discuss it, okay?"

Yi Zhonghai's eyes lit up and he chimed in, "Yes, yes, sister-in-law, you go back first. I'll go to the factory tomorrow to ask and we'll discuss it when I get back. Um, Cuilan, we still have some cornmeal at home, right? Pack it up for your sister-in-law so they can have a good meal first."

Did Yi Zhonghai not know whether the Jia family had enough to eat? Ever since Jia Dongxu left, he and the deaf old lady in the backyard had been keeping a close eye on Sha Zhu's every move. As for the Jia family not having enough to eat, Yi Zhonghai and his wife didn't believe it for a second.

When Jia Zhangshi saw this, she realized that Yi Zhonghai was using a delaying tactic. But since things had already come to this point, it would be difficult for Yi Zhonghai to push him any further. So she took Qin Huairu and Xiao Dang, picked up a bag of cornmeal, thanked Yi Zhonghai and his wife, and went home.

Li Cuilan watched the family return to the west wing, and only after the door to the west wing closed did she close her own door. She returned to the main room, poured herself a glass of water, and looked at Yi Zhonghai, who was still deep in thought, and asked, "What's going on with the Jia family? I don't believe they can't have enough to eat."

Yi Zhonghai sneered and said, "Heh, this is a case of 'the drunkard's heart is not in the wine.' This old widow is no ordinary person; she's here for me."

Li Cuilan was completely bewildered and couldn't understand. Yi Zhonghai looked at his puzzled wife and said, "Don't you understand? How old is this Jia Zhangshi?"

Li Cuilan thought for a moment and said, "If I remember correctly, she should be five years older than you. She should be fifty-three or fifty-four this year, right?"

“In our factory, every position is filled by a specific person. Dongxu’s position is fitter. What can a lazy person like her, who doesn’t work for years, do in the fitter’s workshop? Load materials? The factory leaders aren’t stupid. They won’t agree to this. If Jia Zhangshi really wants to take over, the end result will be that the factory will buy out Dongxu’s position. Will the Jia family agree to that?” Yi Zhonghai explained carefully to Li Cuilan.

"What should we do then? Doesn't Jia Zhangshi know any of this?" Li Cuilan asked. Yi Zhonghai lit a cigarette and said, "She knows very well, which is why she came to me. If I take her to the factory, I'll probably be caught in the middle. The factory won't show her any mercy, and in the end, they'll just persuade me, the manager, to solve the Jia family's problems in the courtyard. In the end, the matter will still fall on me. That old widow, she's got a lot on her mind."

Li Cuilan was also angry and said, "We shouldn't have taken Jia Dongxu as our apprentice in the first place, otherwise there wouldn't have been so much trouble. No, I'm going to talk to the old lady."

Li Cuilan stood up and was about to leave when Yi Zhonghai stopped her and said, "Don't bother the old lady with such a small matter. Don't worry, I've already thought of a solution. Tomorrow, go buy some cooked food, and I'll treat Lao Liu and Lao Yan to a meal."

Upon hearing that her husband already had a solution, Li Cuilan abandoned her plan to go to the backyard and said, "I'll go get you some water to wash your feet, and let's get some rest."

Back home, Qin Huairu still couldn't understand what her mother-in-law was trying to do. But the more she couldn't understand, the more she wanted to. Several times, she looked at Jia Zhangshi, who was sitting there calmly, and hesitated to speak.

Madam Jia Zhang saw through her thoughts, but ignored her completely, saying, "You've figured it out? Heh, you'll find out in a couple of days. Why haven't we seen Sha Zhu's lunchbox these past few days?"

When Jia Zhangshi asked this, Qin Huairu realized that she hadn't seen Sha Zhu for the past few days. She wondered what the idiot had been busy with, as he hadn't even brought her family food.

Qin Huairu said, "I don't know either. I haven't seen him for several days."

Madam Jia frowned and said, "Let's go out early tomorrow and see if we can run into him and ask him what he's been busy with lately."

Qin Huairu said she understood, and then went into the inner room to look after Xiao Dang.

As the moon rose above the willow branches, and the sound of the Third Uncle locking the gate brought the entire No. 95 courtyard to a gradual calm.

Yan Bugui locked the front door, turned around and went back to his room. He bolted the door, lit the kerosene lamp, and at that moment, Yang Ruihua came out of the bedroom. Yan Bugui sat down at one side of the square table, lit a cigarette, and asked, "Are the children asleep?"

"Okay, I'm going to sleep." Yang Ruihua sat down on the other side, poured herself a glass of water, and then asked, "What about our eldest son's wedding? How long has it been dragging on?"

"Sigh, I'm hesitating too. We still have to go through with it, otherwise who will we ask for the betrothal gifts? I'm just thinking that the economy isn't doing well these days, so I'm hoping the in-laws can ask for a smaller dowry," Yan Bugui said with a sigh.

“No, what time is it? You still want to hold a banquet? Where will the grain, meat, and vegetables come from?” Yang Ruihua couldn’t understand his wife’s idea at all.

"Don't worry, I have a brilliant plan," Yan Bugui said, feigning profundity.

Yang Ruihua, angered, put down her water glass, turned around and went into the bedroom, ignoring Yan Bugui.

(End of this chapter)