Siheyuan: Rebirth of a comfortable life starts with Shazhu

Does Yan Jiecheng have any regrets in his life?

there must be.

He has regrets about his work, his marriage, and even his health.

He initially attributed these regrets to being born at the wrong time.

He was born before the liberation, and his family was always poor and struggling to make ends meet during his childhood.

At least my parents always described how poor our family was.

As a result, his personality developed in a way that leaned towards being stingy.

His stingy nature affected his employment, his work, and even his love life...

When he was young, he took pride in competing with his parents in being stingy and calculating.

Yan Bugui asked him for ten yuan, and he bargained down to six yuan. Yan Jiecheng felt as if he had won a victory, and was excited and proud.

His past life, when reflected upon occasionally, reveals a distorted personality and way of dealing with people.

They take pride in the habit of taking advantage of small things.

Before he had his daughter, he had never bought a pack of cigarettes.

They're all just piggybacking on other people's work.

He always believed that because his family was poor, he had to be stingy and calculating if he wanted to live a good life.

This also caused him to miss out on many good opportunities in life.

Otherwise, putting aside everything else, the same group of high school students started working around 1960.

Nowadays, who among those people isn't doing quite well in the factory?
If a person is capable of self-reflection, they will inevitably find someone to take the blame.

Yan Jiecheng was no exception.

He initially attributed some of the responsibility to his parents, but mostly to poverty.

Even in his subconscious, he knew that the old couple's scheming and stinginess were wrong.

But subconsciously, she tried to excuse her parents.

Exonerating one's parents is tantamount to exonerating oneself.

By blaming society, he can absolve himself of any responsibility.

This is similar to how, in later generations, many people will say that the overall environment is bad if they don't do well.

That's not wrong, but it's too much of a way to distance oneself.

However, seeing that 13,000 yuan today turned all of Yan Jiecheng's mental preparation into ashes.

Yan Bugui used to say that his family was poor, and if he wanted everyone to have enough to eat, he had to be shrewd and save money everywhere...

Those remarks have now been slapped in the face.

"Alright, you should get some sleep first!"

The doctor said your body is too weak.

"Two bottles of glucose need to be administered." Yan Jiecheng suppressed his frustration and repeated the doctor's instructions to Yan Bugui.

After saying that, he thought about leaving.

He didn't even care much about his father being discharged from the hospital.

"Boss..." Yan Bugui's voice was like a cuckoo crying blood, full of sorrow.

Yan Jiecheng had already reached the door of the ward, holding the doorknob. He didn't turn around, but asked in a cold tone, "Dad, you're reluctant to eat or spend money."

To save such a large sum of money.

Allow me to ask an unfilial question.

Have you thought about what to do with this money after you pass away?

Upon hearing this, Yan Bugui became nervous. His eyes darted around, and he mumbled something, unsure of how to respond.

He genuinely hadn't thought about that question.

For him, saving money was as natural as drinking water when he was thirsty or eating when he was hungry.

He earned 28.5 yuan a month, which had to support a family of six, yet he still managed to save 10 yuan in the bank…
From that moment on, his desire to save money became uncontrollable.

Leaving aside the first decade or so after the founding of the People's Republic of China, when everyone was poor and lived a frugal life, Yan Jiecheng's salary had basically remained unchanged since he started working.

He would rather think of all sorts of ways to make money outside and cheat his children out of money than ever consider taking money from the bank to improve his family's life.

Saving money can be addictive.

"...Anyone who entered the school at the same time as you didn't end up as a third or fourth-level primary school teacher."

Those who had a good relationship with their superiors before retirement might even get promoted.

You, at least level five, you've only managed to reach level five.

They even boasted to outsiders that they were a tenth-level teacher in China.

Have you ever thought that if you get promoted, your salary will increase by ten yuan?
If you were a homeroom teacher or a school leader, our path wouldn't be so difficult.

And back then, I worked with Jiefang and the others; we did have a choice back then.

You could get a job at a steel mill for 500 yuan. Later, when Jiefang and Jiekuang graduated, the price went up a bit to 1,200 yuan.

We believed you when you said you couldn't produce it.

Have you ever thought about what it would be like if we all had good jobs, were allocated housing, got married, had children, and lived together as a large, harmonious family?

How happy would that be? ...

Dad, do you really think that being stingy and calculating your whole life was the right thing to do?

····well···"

After saying his last words, Yan Jiecheng let out a long sigh, opened the door, and left.

He doesn't need to know the answer.

Or rather, he already knows the answer.

Yan Bugui only enjoyed the pleasure of having more and more money, and never thought about how to arrange this money after he and his wife died.

In the past, how many times could Yan Bugui have taken out money to change his children's lives?

Yan Jiecheng will never forgive him for this.

Even though Yan Bugui had just confided in him that he would give all the money to him, the boss, later on.

He will definitely accept it, but he will not forgive his parents.

After all, the regrets of his childhood can never be made up for.

Yan Jiecheng returned to his doorstep and heard his daughter whimpering inside.

Yan Jiecheng pushed open the door and saw his daughter clinging to Lan Hua's arm, acting coquettishly. He casually asked, "What's wrong? What are you arguing with your mother about again?"

His daughter completely ignored him, continuing to hug the orchid and sway her arm from side to side, pouting and whimpering.

"I said I wouldn't buy, and I mean it..."

It's not like you don't have clothes to wear. People wear their clothes with patches on them to school anyway.

"You've had too many good days..." Lan Hua, annoyed by her daughter's shaking, flung her arm away and tapped her forehead with her finger, scolding her.

"Hmm... Mom, several of my female classmates have bought those dresses."

"I'm the only one without one." The young woman was on the verge of tears because of a dress.

Normally, Yan Jiecheng would definitely side with his wife.

Although he wasn't as stingy and calculating as Yan Bugui in his dealings with his family, he still adhered to the principle of not wasting money.

As long as I have clothes to wear and they're clean, that's fine.

But he had just returned from the hospital, and his spirit had undergone a baptism.

So he immediately said, "How much? Your mom won't give it to you, but I will."

The mother and daughter, who were making a ruckus, looked at him in surprise.

"Dad, did you find some money?" the daughter asked in surprise.

"Honey, are you upset?" Orchid asked.

This shows that Yan Jiecheng's reputation for being stingy in these matters has been deeply ingrained in his wife and daughter's minds.

This made Yan Jiecheng blush. (End of Chapter)