Siheyuan's Silly Pillar has been replaced by someone else

After preparing the dishes, Qin Huai took two steamed buns and went to deliver the food to Yi Zhonghai.

She knew perfectly well that Yan Bugui was in Yi Zhonghai's room and that he would stay for dinner, but she still didn't take more than a few extra.

To put it bluntly, she also hated that Yan Bugui was freeloading.

Yi Zhonghai said that she had agreed to support the three of them in their old age, but Yan Bugui refused.

Isn't it just because I'm afraid she'll take advantage of me?

He tried to stop her from taking advantage of him, but Yan Bugui ended up taking advantage of him instead.

It's already a miracle that Qin Huai didn't kick Yan Bugui out.

"Zhonghai, Banggeng and the others went to Shazhu's restaurant for dinner and brought back some food for you."

You should try it.

After saying that, Qin Huairu pretended to see Yan Bugui and said, "Oh, when did Old Yan arrive?"

I didn't know you were coming, so I didn't prepare any food for you.

It means telling Yan Bugui to go home and have dinner.

Yan Bugui understood, but pretended not to. He came here to take advantage of others, and he wouldn't leave if he didn't succeed.

Anyway, Yi Zhonghai still had his pride, and he still needed Yi Zhonghai's help. He wouldn't leave until Yi Zhonghai spoke up.

"These are dishes I brought back from Chaoyang Hotel. No wonder they smelled so good, did Sha Zhu cook them?"

Everyone says that Sha Zhu's cooking is delicious, but we elders have never tasted it before.

That silly Zhu is so unfilial.

Qin Huairu believed that Yan Bugui was trying to win Yi Zhonghai's favor by criticizing He Yuzhu, so that Yi Zhonghai would invite him to stay for dinner.

She prepared so much food for Yi Zhonghai, and whether he ate it or not, or wanted to give it away, she didn't care.

Unexpectedly, Yan Bugui's criticism of He Yuzhu was just a feint.

He followed up by asking, "Where's Banggeng? Old Yi is his stepfather, after all. Without Old Yi, he wouldn't have grown up like this."

Why doesn't he come and bring food to Lao Yi?

Yan Bugui was no pushover either. He knew very well what Yi Zhonghai cared about most.

As long as you grasp this, you can easily manipulate Yi Zhonghai.

Yi Zhonghai certainly understood Yan Bugui's tricks, but he did hope that Banggeng would be filial.

His retirement is now tied to the Jia family, which means that the Jia family members must be filial to him.

It is far from enough for Qin Huai to be filial to one person.

Banggeng is Qin Huairu's only son, and he must be filial to him.

Not only should the stag be treated well, but the stag's wife should also be treated well, just like Qin Huairu.

Yan Bugui's words provided him with an opportunity to test the Jia family.

If Bang Geng is filial, he can take the opportunity to persuade Yan Bugui to join his retirement group.

If a servant is not filial...

He couldn't abandon the Jia family, so he could only take more precautions.

Qin Huairu saw through Yan Bugui's sinister intentions at a glance. She also saw scheming in Yi Zhonghai's eyes.

She couldn't shift the blame onto Banggeng, so she had to bear it herself.

“I’m Zhonghai’s wife, can’t I bring him food?”

Yi Zhonghai: "..."

Yan Bugui: "..."

The two considered many possibilities, but forgot about this one.

After marrying Qin Huairu, Yi Zhonghai never treated her as his wife.

He positioned Qin Huairu as someone who would care for elderly people.

Marrying Qin Huairu was merely a way to bind him to her and make her obediently support him in his old age.

Qin Huairu hasn't lived with him for a long time, and he's almost forgotten he even has a wife.

Yan Bugui was so focused on dealing with Qin Huairu that he forgot they were a married couple.

Since Qin Huairu has already brought up the fact that she is his wife, what else can the two of them say?

We can't just deny the marriage, can we?

Qin Huairu was not the type to suffer a loss without seeking revenge: "Old Yan, my family didn't prepare any food for you. You should go home and eat."

"Old Yi, look..." Yan Bugui looked at Qin Huairu angrily.

Others can drive him away, but how dare Qin Huairu do so? Has she forgotten how he helped the Jia family in the first place?
At the same time, Yan Bugui also harbored some resentment towards Yi Zhonghai.

Why did he have to marry Qin Huairu? He's made all three of his uncles lose face.

Yi Zhonghai never thought Yan Bugui would hate him, but he guessed that Yan Bugui would hate Qin Huairu.

This was something he couldn't allow.

He exhausted all his efforts but still couldn't formally establish the retirement community.

If a key figure in the retirement group gets into a conflict, wouldn't he just waste his time?

He's almost eighty, no longer young, and doesn't have time to waste on such trivial matters.

"Enough. What's all this arguing about? We're all family, and no family has any conflicts."

Only when the whole family works together can they live a prosperous life.

The family's theory failed to resonate with Qin Huairu and Yan Bugui.

To suggest that such a theory is necessary for two stingy people is simply a joke.

Yi Zhonghai, however, did not think so. In his heart and in his dreams, he always hoped that No. 95 Courtyard could become a family.

He became the patriarch of the family, and everyone listened to him.

Seeing the two men's dismissive attitude, Yi Zhonghai was furious.

"Why don't you believe me? A single chopstick can be easily broken, but a bundle of chopsticks is unbreakable."

Don't you understand this principle?
Unity is strength.

We must unite to make our lives better.

Neither Yan Bugui nor Qin Huairu spoke.

We're all seasoned foxes; trying to fool them with such words is a pipe dream.

Looking at the two men's performance, Yi Zhonghai suddenly felt extremely exhausted.

He really couldn't understand why his own people didn't believe him when he spoke such profound truths.

These two people were, one was an ally he had chosen, and the other was a caretaker he had personally selected.

He didn't think there was anything wrong with those two people, so he shifted the blame onto other people.

The first person to take the blame was naturally He Yuzhu.

If He Yuzhu hadn't lived such a good life, things wouldn't have turned out this way.

"Shazhu is an ungrateful wretch. Don't follow his example, okay?"

Don't be fooled by his current good life; I bet you'll get your comeuppance sooner or later.

Yan Bugui scoffed, "Old Yi, wake up. Who is Sha Zhu's father-in-law? Even if he's a bad person, he won't be doing badly."

Qin Huairu was also tired of Yi Zhonghai's rhetoric, so she echoed, "Those who build bridges and pave roads leave no corpses, while those who kill and set fires wear golden belts."

These days, the better you are, the less likely you are to be rewarded.

Upon hearing Qin Huairu's explanation, Yi Zhonghai's inner alarm bells went off.

Qin Huairu was his caregiver, his guarantee that he wouldn't be left to die in the wilderness.

He absolutely would not allow Qin Huairu to have such thoughts.

"Huai Ru, how could you think like that? You must remember, no matter how glamorous a bad person is, it's only temporary."

Good people will eventually be rewarded.

You only see Sha Zhu's glory days, but why don't you think about what will happen to him when he gets old?
Look, his eldest son works in another city and doesn't even come back for the Chinese New Year.

My daughter has also gone abroad, and she will definitely stay abroad in the future.

The youngest son wasn't around either.

In a few years, those children will start to dislike him.

Do you know why?

Because he was unfilial when he was young.

His children, influenced by what they saw and heard, had long since internalized his behavior.

When their children are old enough to fly, they'll follow in their footsteps.

The more Yi Zhonghai spoke, the more he felt that his ideas were correct, and he couldn't help but smile, probably thinking about the final consequences for He Yuzhu.

This improved his mood, and he earnestly tried to reconcile them.

"Old Yan, Huai Ru, a close neighbor is worse than a distant relative. We've been neighbors for decades, and we know each other inside and out."

Every family has its own troubles. Only by helping each other can we make a good life. (End of Chapter)