Siheyuan: Relieve stress and relieve worries

Chapter 1093 The Jia Family Wins
Yan Bugui sat at home, gritting his teeth. He really didn't expect that Qin Huairu, who was so unassuming, would spend so much money over a dispute about two lunch boxes. Wasn't it said that her family was poor? How come she still had money to treat people to a meal?

On the other hand, Yan Bugui was also uneasy. Everyone in this courtyard was a troublemaker. If any of them said a word, he would be finished at school. Not to mention others, the Liu family father and son in the backyard were the kind of people who would kick someone when they were down. In addition, he didn't know if there would be any follow-up to Qin Huairu.

While Sha Zhu's family was enjoying their drinks, Yan Bugui was restless. After a fierce struggle, Yan Bugui gritted his teeth, took out twenty yuan from a box in the inner room, then put one back. Just before leaving, he stopped, turned back to his bedroom, and took out another one.

Yang Ruihua watched him go back and forth. After Yan Bugui left, Yang Ruihua muttered to himself, "Old Yan, Old Yan, how many times has this happened? All your scheming and plotting, what have you gotten in the end?"

Yan Jiedi, who was playing on the side, looked up at her mother, then glanced in the direction her father had left, and suddenly said, "A lesson."

Yang Ruihua looked down at her daughter, smiled, and tapped her head, saying, "Who taught you this? You couldn't have come up with this yourself."

“Third Brother, um, um, and Brother Zhan.” Yan Jiedi answered earnestly.

Yang Ruihua knew that Yan Jiekuang frequently went to Yu'er Hutong. She had asked him about it before, but she turned a blind eye and stopped paying attention to him.

When Yan Bugui walked towards the Intermediate People's Court, he also pulled a strong man along, his second son Yan Jiefang. He was too ashamed to go to Shazhu's house, so he was hoping that Yan Jiefang would hand over Qin Huairu and settle the matter quickly.

Yan Jiefang knocked on the door and went in. A moment later, Qin Huairu came out of the house with a smile. At the window of the west wing, Jia Zhangshi was also smiling and watching the two people in the courtyard. Yan Bugui told Yan Jiefang to go home first. He looked at Qin Huairu and said, "Huairu, you are such a virtuous person in the courtyard. What you did today was not fair."

Qin Huairu said with a smile, "Oh, Uncle, please don't say that. If you want to say it's unfair, there are many people in this courtyard who are, but the matter between our two families is not my fault. You called me here just to talk about this? If there's nothing else, I have to go back and entertain my friends. We were having a great time talking about things in the courtyard, and we've already reached the middle courtyard. I guess we'll be talking about the front courtyard in a little while."

Upon hearing this, Yan Bugui broke out in a cold sweat. This Sha Zhu was known for his foul mouth; if he were to spout nonsense and it got back to the school, his reputation and job would be affected.

Yan Bugui quickly said, "Dongxu's wife, I did something wrong. Can we talk in private?"

Qin Huairu nodded and walked with Yan Bugui to a small corridor near the hanging flower gate in the front yard.

Yan Bugui feigned a pitiful expression and said, "You know my family, it's quite difficult for me to make a living, you see?"

Qin Huairu remained silent, simply looking at Yan Bugui, and said, "Fine, I underestimated you, Qin Huairu. I'll compensate you for the cost of the food in the two lunchboxes, is that alright?"

Qin Huairu remained silent. "Ten yuan, is that alright? This is equivalent to two months' living expenses for our family," Yan Bugui said through gritted teeth.

Qin Huairu turned to leave, but Yan Bugui panicked when he saw this. "No, eleven yuan, is that alright?"

Qin Huairu turned around and said, "Third Uncle, I spent almost ten yuan treating a few teachers to dinner today. Is that alright?"

"Fine, I give up. Twenty, this matter ends here. No one can pursue this further." Yan Bugui said, his heart bleeding.

Yan Bugui took out ten yuan from each of his two pockets and handed them to Qin Huairu. Qin Huairu chuckled and said, "It's always you, Third Uncle, you're such a shrewd shrew. Alright, let's leave it at that. From now on, we'll still be good neighbors who live in peace." Qin Huairu took the money and didn't go to Shazhu's house at all. She went straight home. Not long after, Jia Zhangshi's loud laughter came from the Jia family home. She shouted outside, "You miser, even my family will get a couple of cents from you!"

Enraged, Yan Bugui stomped his foot, turned around, and went back to the front yard with lightning speed.

After things calmed down in courtyard number 95, many people were talking about the incident, saying that Yan Bugui had lost everything for a meal of braised pork.

Only Yi Zhonghai looked at the west wing with some worry. After this incident, Yi Zhonghai realized that Qin Huairu was not just ordinary smart. She usually appeared virtuous, but he did not expect her methods to be so extraordinary.

He had absolutely no confidence that the Jia family would continue to support him in his old age, and he certainly couldn't come up with Qin Huairu's plan to turn the tables.

In mid-October, Wang Zhan delivered another batch of grain to Wu Ergou's courtyard because he really didn't want to see his close friends go hungry. But not long after the grain was delivered, news came that Xiao Wu and Da Laotie had joined the army.

The school suddenly decided to allow two people to join the army in order to save on food rations. Whether they dropped out voluntarily, went to work, or joined the army, the school would arrange exams for them to graduate early.

Upon receiving the notification, the two men immediately dragged a few of their brothers to Yu'er Hutong for a big meal. Unfortunately, Wang Zhan's kitchen disappointed them once again. Besides potatoes and cabbage, there was only a small bunch of chives, which Wang Zhan and his sister had just picked out of the greenhouse that morning. Oh, and there were also three eggs laid by the hen that day.

Seeing the disappointed expressions on their faces, Wang Zhan rolled his eyes and said, "I didn't want to either. It hasn't even been a month yet, and I've already cooked meat for my sister three times and been reported twice. Luckily, I have some tricks up my sleeve, otherwise, it wouldn't be Lao Tie and Xiao Wu who would have died first, it would have been me."

Xiao Wu slammed his fist on the table angrily and said, "Who's so shameless? I didn't even eat their meat, why are you making baseless accusations?"

Xiao Si remained calm and said, "This is normal. There are many people in this area who are jealous of others' success and laugh at others' failure. Life is not easy for everyone now, and it's probably all due to jealousy."

Fei Qing said, "Then what should we do today? I brought the wine with me."

Wang Zhan slapped his thigh and said, "Alright, I'll chip in too. Let's make a pot of stewed chicken with potatoes. It's a deal, there's only one chicken, so you guys can peel some extra potatoes to help with the flavor."

Xiao Wu immediately put his arm around Wang Zhan's shoulder and said, "You're a true bro, you're even willing to sacrifice your few old hens."

"Yes, that's good. Now there are only two left. I have to ask my sister to go check. We can't make sure she catches the wrong one. There's a hen there that always lays two eggs a day." After saying that, Wang Zhan went to the backyard to find Wang Li to catch the chicken.

The brothers were busy preparing the stew, but unexpected things always happen. The stewed chicken with potatoes was just ready and hadn't even been served when they heard someone suddenly kick open Wang Zhan's front door, and seven or eight people rushed in.

Everyone was stunned. Wang Zhan looked at the leader and was so angry he laughed. He said to the man, "Hey, Officer Sun, what are you guys up to this time? This is the third time this month. There were two false alarms, but this time you've gone too far, actually breaking down the door. What are you trying to do?"

(End of this chapter)