Courtyard Houses: Starting with the principle of hard work paying off

Chapter 193 The Sow Gives Birth, the Power of a Cheat Code
"Chen Xueru is so lucky to have married such a good husband."

"Who says it isn't?"

"Li Hongbing is young and promising. He is not only handsome, but also a good cook, a family man, and considerate of his wife."

"Chen Xueru's postpartum care was like that of a celestial being, it's truly enviable. If only I had..."

"Pshaw! Back in our day, let alone meat, we were lucky if our dishes had any oil. Who could compare to Chen Xueru!"

"Exactly! Let's not even talk about how conditions were worse in the past than they are now. Even now, how many of the new brides in our compound receive the same treatment as Chen Xueru?"

"..."

After learning about Chen Xueru's treatment during her postpartum period, not one of the women in the courtyard could help but feel envious.

Listening to their discussion, Qin Huairu, who was washing clothes at the tap, couldn't help but reveal longing and envy in her eyes, even though she didn't join in the discussion.

At this moment.

Qin Huairu felt a little uneasy.

It wasn't just that she envied Chen Xueru for marrying someone better than herself, but also that she was born a city dweller.

When Qin Huairu and Jia Dongxu first went on a blind date, Li Hongbing was still an apprentice at Fengzeyuan. At that time, Qin Huairu didn't like Jia Dongxu, but she had feelings for Li Hongbing, who lived in the same courtyard, and even asked a matchmaker to help her find out more about him.

No matter what.

Because there was a three-year age difference between them, and Li Hongbing was only sixteen at the time, which was a bit too young, they didn't even have a chance.

It's regrettable, but if that's all there is to it, then so be it.

Can be biased.

In just a few years, Li Hongbing has risen to become a first-class cook.

Not long after she married into the courtyard house and married Jia Dongxu, Li Hongbing, who was only seventeen, started dating Chen Xueru.

The key point is that Chen Xueru is the same age as her, and three years older than Li Hongbing.

At this moment, Qin Huairu suddenly realized or accepted that the reason that person was not her was simply because she came from the countryside, not from the city.

If she had been born in the city, even if she couldn't find someone like Li Hongbing, she would definitely have married someone better than she is now.

However, Qin Huairu could only think about it secretly in her heart, after all, she was now a member of the Jia family and dared not have any other thoughts.

After a while.

Just after Qin Huairu finished washing and drying the clothes and returned home, she saw her mother-in-law, Jia Zhangshi, sitting in a chair, looking at her with a gloomy expression.

Seeing Jia Zhangshi like this, Qin Huairu's heart skipped a beat, wondering if she had done something wrong again and displeased her.

"Qin Huairu, aren't you envious?"

When Qin Huairu heard Jia Zhangshi ask this question, she was taken aback for a moment, but pretended to be confused and asked, "Mom, what are you saying? I don't understand."

At this point, Qin Huairu had already guessed why Jia Zhangshi had asked that question.

Chen Xueru's current postpartum period has become a hot topic of discussion among many housewives in the courtyard, making her an object of envy for everyone.

Her mother-in-law couldn't stand seeing others do well, especially since their family had a very bad relationship with Li Hongbing.

Qin Huairu herself had no personal grudge against Li Hongbing, but as a daughter-in-law of the Jia family, she had to maintain the same stance as the Jia family. She usually kept her distance from Li Hongbing and his family, and even envy was considered a sin.

Perhaps her envious reaction was seen by her mother-in-law, Jia Zhangshi, which triggered her dissatisfaction.

"Qin Huairu, don't play dumb with me. You know what I mean."

Madam Jia's gaze fell on Qin Huairu, and she said with a wistful look, "It's your good fortune to be able to marry into our Jia family, you country girl. You should learn to be content."

Those people outside are all short-sighted; they don't know anything else but how to flatter. You should stay away from them in the future, lest you be led astray.

Remember this: once you marry into the Jia family, you belong to the Jia family. If you cannot be of one mind with us…

Even though Jia Zhangshi was unwilling to accept it, she knew in her heart that Li Hongbing was now far superior to her family.

Jia Zhangshi found the snobbish behavior of the people in the courtyard quite unacceptable.

So what if Li Hongbing is rich?
They fawned over Li Hongbing, but he never gave them a single penny. He lived a life of luxury, never sharing a single bit with them.

However, Madam Jia Zhang couldn't control them. But Qin Huairu was a member of the Jia family. If she acted like them, it would be the Jia family that would lose face.

"Mom, what kind of person do you take me for? I was washing clothes outside just now, and I didn't say a word..."

Qin Huairu was indeed envious. After all, most people tend to yearn for a better life than themselves, and she naturally wanted to be like Chen Xueru, eating well every day.

As for not having to work or even being waited on, Qin Huairu dared not even think about it. As long as she could have a good life, she would be willing to endure any hardship or fatigue.

However, she hadn't said a word while outside, yet she was treated this way by Madam Jia. A wave of grievance welled up in her heart, and her eyes quickly filled with tears.

Qin Huairu believes that she has already given enough for this family.

Over the past few years, she has never complained about the hardships and setbacks the Jia family has experienced.

Although she longed for a better life, she never considered leaving this family or becoming estranged from Jia Zhangshi and Jia Dongxu.

Because Qin Huairu knew very well that apart from the Jia family, she had nowhere else to go, and this was her only support now and in the future.

Even her maternal family has no place for her now.

From the moment she got married, she no longer belonged there and could never go back.

Qin Huairu has never seen a divorced person, but she has seen the very few who were rejected by their husbands' families and sent back to their parents' homes, and how miserable their fate was.

This is why Qin Huairu always tolerated Jia Zhangshi's constant criticism and dissatisfaction.

"Huai Ru, since you married into our family, we have never mistreated you, have we? We make sure you are well-fed and warmly clothed. When you were pregnant, we always made sure you had all the best food and drinks. If you wanted to eat or drink well, that was a privilege reserved for pregnant women. Even Dong Xu never enjoyed that kind of treatment."

Seeing Qin Huairu's expression, Madam Jia toned it down a bit and didn't dare to be too harsh on her. However, she changed the subject and said, "If you want to live a life of luxury like Chen Xueru, then hurry up and have another baby with Dongxu."

If you think about it, it's been almost three years since you gave birth to your son, Bang Geng, and there's been no sign of pregnancy, right? That won't do!

Dongxu's father and I only had Dongxu as our son. Now that he's with you, we can't let our Jia family continue to have only one son. It's time to have more children.

Our family's situation is a bit worse than Li Hongbing's, but Dongxu currently earns 38.6 yuan a month, and it will continue to increase in the future. Even if we have more children, we can still afford to raise them.

You need to make your belly grow strong so that our Jia family can prosper and our children can all be successful. Then we'll see who dares to look down on or bully our family.

Even Li Hongbing would probably have to be polite and take the initiative to come to him and apologize...

As Jia Zhangshi spoke, she actually managed to induce labor.

This sudden turn of events was clearly unexpected for Qin Huairu.

But soon, Qin Huairu understood her mother-in-law's thoughts.

Obvious.

In terms of future prospects and living standards, their family is definitely not as good as Li Hongbing's right now. However, as long as there are many people, there is hope. As long as the family prospers, their descendants will have the opportunity to stand out.

If Jia Dongxu wants to surpass Li Hongbing now, he would have to become an eighth-grade worker, which is no easy task. Even if he could achieve that, many years would probably have passed.

Therefore, Jia Zhangshi placed her hopes on the next generation.

If you can't hope your son will become a dragon, then hope your grandson will.

She refused to believe that the Li family was already incredibly lucky to have produced someone as talented as Li Hongbing; it was impossible for his future children to be as outstanding as Li Hongbing.

The good things in the world shouldn't all be taken by someone surnamed Li.

If too much smoke rises, be careful the graves might catch fire and burn all the ancestors to ashes.

"Mom, about this... I'll do my best..."

Qin Huairu had no objection to bearing children for Jia Dongxu and continuing the Jia family line, and even considered it her duty, responsibility, and mission.

This was the case in those days.

Even if a woman is unable to have children, it is almost always the woman's fault.

Although there are many things that are not as good as those in later generations, there are still methods of contraception available. However, Qin Huairu and Jia Dongxu have never used them, and they don't know why they have been unable to conceive for three years.

Although the pregnancy was difficult, the time when she was pregnant with Bang Geng was indeed the happiest period of her life after marrying into the Jia family. It wasn't that Qin Huairu didn't want to have children.

Now that her mother-in-law, Jia Zhangshi, had brought up this issue, Qin Huairu felt nervous.

If it weren't for the fact that she already had a great friend, Qin Huairu would have suspected that there was something wrong with her body and that she had no place in this house.

Not only Qin Huairu, but also Jia Zhangshi was puzzled. After all, in the past few years, Jia Dongxu and Qin Huairu had made a lot of noise at night, and Jia Zhangshi, who was sleeping in the outer room, could hear everything clearly.

If Qin Huairu's every move wasn't under her watchful eye, Jia Zhangshi would have suspected that Qin Huairu was secretly taking medicine behind her back.

There are folk remedies for seeking children, and naturally there are also remedies for avoiding them, but Qin Huairu had no reason to do so.

Thinking about all this, Jia Zhangshi decided to find some time to go out and explore the "path," and also ask Qin Huairu for some prescriptions for conceiving a child, so that she wouldn't be unable to give birth to an egg.

Four years have passed, and even the sows in the village have given birth to countless piglets.

Aside from a brief incident, Qin Huairu remained completely silent for the next three years, which clearly made Jia Zhangshi anxious.

……

While Madam Jia was worried about Qin Huairu not being able to give birth to a second grandson for the Jia family, Li Hongbing and his team were all immersed in the joyous atmosphere of welcoming a son.

With his own child, Li Hongbing, now a father, has begun to deeply feel and activate the deep bond of blood ties, enjoying the joy of being a stay-at-home dad.

only.

Li Hongbing was unable to get involved in many things.

There were some things Li Hongbing didn't know how to do, and it wasn't that he was unwilling to learn them, but Chen Xueru and her mother disagreed.

For example, changing diapers for my son.

Li Hongbing wasn't a chauvinist and didn't feel there was anything shameful about it.

However, neither Chen Xueru nor her mother felt that this was not something a man should do.

Remnants of traditional feudal ideology!
All Li Hongbing could do left was play with the baby.

However, Li Jianwu was still a newborn, and although he was full of energy, he was still relatively fragile. Li Hongbing did not dare to do anything reckless and was always very careful.

Li Hongbing couldn't help with taking care of the child, nor was it his place to get involved.

As a father, Li Hongbing naturally couldn't do nothing, so he asked someone to bring back a set of carpentry tools to prepare some small toys for his son in advance.

The family already had items like cribs and baby cradles. Back when Chen Xueru was pregnant, Li Hongbing specially hired a carpenter to custom-make these according to his requirements.

Previously, Li Hongbing didn't need to do anything else; he only needed to speak and pay, and the skilled carpenters would do their best to meet his needs as the client.

Next.

To feel more involved, Li Hongbing decided to make a small wooden horse himself.

this day.

During his rest time, Li Hongbing brought back the wood he needed from outside and began studying the design in the yard.

In his previous life, Li Hongbing had watched videos online showing the production process of some traditional wooden toys. This time, he also specifically consulted a carpenter he knew, so he was clearly not completely unprepared.

"Hongbing, what are you planning to do?"

Seeing Li Hongbing's impressive setup, Aunt Yan from across the street was stunned for a moment, then couldn't help but exclaim in surprise, "You can do carpentry too?"

It's not hard to guess what Li Hongbing is trying to do; the main thing is that his actions are unexpected.

"I'm just messing around with it and planning to make a little rocking horse for my son so he can use it when he's a little older."

Li Hongbing didn't hide his thoughts, after all, it wasn't anything shameful.

Upon learning of this situation, many people turned to look, clearly wanting to see what would happen next and whether Li Hongbing could actually pull it off.

In truth, Li Hongbing wasn't entirely confident of success on his first try.

Knowing the steps and general process does not necessarily mean you can do it.

It's like your brain tells you you know how, but your hands can't control them at all.

In particular, the small wooden horse that Li Hongbing wanted to make used the traditional mortise and tenon structure. It required making each part of the wooden components first, and designing the places where the mortise and tenon joints would be joined to ensure a perfect fit.

People with some woodworking experience are fine, but for a beginner, the requirements are exceptionally high.

If things aren't handled properly, we might have to start all over again.

only.

As Li Hongbing started fiddling with these things, a system notification quickly appeared in his mind.

Carpentry +1

Carpentry +1

……

(End of this chapter)