Courtyard House: Inheriting the Restaurant, the Jia Family Wants to Get It for Free

"Authentic? What's authentic about it? The most authentic thing is that it allows our daughter to live a good life!" Qin's mother glared at her husband, then turned to Jia Zhangshi and continued, "So, does Yi Zhonghai himself... agree to this? Is he willing to raise Dongxu as his own son?"

"I'm willing! How could I... not be willing!" Madam Jia patted the bed, guaranteeing with unwavering conviction, "He... he dreams of it! Before... he always made Dongxu... call him godfather! From now on... he'll make him call him... his real father!"

"As long as... as long as Huairu doesn't leave... and serves me well... when Dongxu returns... our Jia family... will immediately turn things around!"

Jia Zhangshi painted a picture of a future that was both round and large.

Qin's mother was completely smitten.

On one hand, she has to take her daughter back to the village, where she may never be able to get married again, earning the reputation of being a "second-time bride" and being pointed at and gossiped about.

On the other hand, the daughter will stay in the city, even though she will have to endure hardship for a few years, but she will be able to inherit two properties and a huge amount of wealth in the future.

There's no need to even consider which of these two to choose!

She turned her head, gave her husband a look that said, "Shut up, listen to me," then forced a smile and said to Jia Zhangshi, "Mother-in-law, look at you, why didn't you say so sooner? We thought Huairu was going to suffer with you."

"Now that we have Yi Zhonghai as our backer, we parents can rest assured."

This statement effectively meant that the topic of divorce was no longer being mentioned.

Madam Jia let out a long sigh of relief, her whole body went limp, and she almost fainted.

Finally... we managed to intimidate them!

Qin Huairu stood aside, watching her mother's sudden change in attitude, and seeing the neighbors' eyes filled with sudden realization mixed with envy and jealousy, feeling a mix of emotions.

As the commotion from inside the house gradually subsided, Cheng Shuhai, who was in the courtyard, curled up a cold smile.

Eating off the descendants of the deceased?

Jia Zhangshi really dares to think big.

However, this is for the best.

Yi Zhonghai and the Jia family, the two he hated most, were thus bound together.

He was really looking forward to seeing what kind of interesting expression the deaf old lady, and Yi Zhonghai himself, would have when they learned about Jia Zhangshi's vicious plan.

The drama set in this courtyard house is getting better and better.

.........

Looking at Qin Huairu's parents, Jia Zhangshi felt a burning hatred in her heart, but now she was like meat on a chopping board, at their mercy.

She's paralyzed; if Qin Huai really leaves, she won't even be able to get a hot meal, and she'll have to defecate and urinate in bed.

Weighing the pros and cons, Jia Zhangshi could only suppress the bleeding pain in her heart and pull out a cloth bag from under her pillow.

She opened it with trembling hands, counted out a few tickets and some change, and handed them to Qin Huairu.

"Take...take your parents...out...to get something to eat..."

These few words almost exhausted all her strength.

Qin's mother glanced at the small amount of money and sneered inwardly, "What can this little bit of money do? It's enough to feed a beggar."

However, she didn't say much. Now was not the time to worry about that; she needed to calm the person down first.

Qin Huairu took the money, silently put it in her pocket, and then helped her parents out of the stuffy little house.

As soon as I stepped outside, the air felt much fresher.

The neighbors who had been watching the commotion in the courtyard hadn't all left yet, and when they saw them come out, they all turned their eyes to them.

Qin's parents ignored the probing looks, simply gave everyone a stiff smile, nodded, and walked straight out of the courtyard.

"Hey, you guys think Qin Huairu's mother is no pushover."

The three women watched their retreating figures and whispered to their neighbor.

"That's right, look at the way she acted just now, like she was going to eat someone alive. Madam Jia has really met her match this time."

"Serves her right! Who told Jia Zhangshi to be so arrogant in the courtyard? Now she's getting her comeuppance!"

Xu Damao chimed in gloatingly, his face full of amusement.

"I just feel that this matter is not over yet."

"Did you hear what Jia Zhangshi shouted just now?"

"They want to take over all of Yi Zhonghai's assets. What a cunning plan."

An older woman shook her head, looking as if she had seen through everything.

"The Yi couple are in for a rough time now. Jia Zhangshi is capable of anything for money. This courtyard is going to be even more lively from now on."

The crowd was abuzz with discussion, all feeling that the Jia family and Yi Zhonghai were now completely intertwined, and that the future would surely be a mess.

The deaf old woman in the backyard also heard the commotion. She leaned on her cane, her brows furrowed tightly.

Yi Zhonghai was one of the retirement options she chose for herself; she couldn't let the Jia family drag her down like this.

She was thinking to herself that she had to wait for Yi Zhonghai to come back and explain the seriousness of the matter to him so that he could take precautions as soon as possible.

……

Meanwhile, Qin Huairu and his family of three found a small restaurant nearby that was still open and sat down.

The restaurant wasn't big, but it was fairly clean.

Qin's father ordered a few inexpensive dishes and some cornbread.

"Huai Ru, don't blame your parents for being heartless." Qin's father sighed, looking at his daughter's haggard face, feeling terrible. "It's just that with the Jia family in this situation, we can't just watch you jump into a fire pit."

"What do you know about this 'fire pit' nonsense!"

Qin's mother glared at her husband, then took Qin Huairu's hand and began to quietly devise a plan for her.

"Huai Ru, listen to your mother. For now, just bear with it. With your mother-in-law's condition, I don't think she'll live much longer. Once she's gone, won't you be in charge of your family anymore?"

"And what she just said, if it's true, then you're going to be rich!" Qin's mother's eyes gleamed with shrewdness. "Yi Zhonghai is a mid-level worker at the steel rolling mill, earning 600,000 yuan a month! He also owns two houses! He can't have children on his own, so won't all of these things eventually belong to Jia Dongxu? And Jia Dongxu is your man, so it's practically all yours, isn't it?"

Qin Huairu kept her head down, taking small bites of her cornbread, and didn't say a word.

Her mind was in turmoil. The pie her mother was painting sounded very tempting, but she still felt uneasy about it.

"Mom, that's all in the future. Who can say for sure?"

Qin Huairu retorted in a low voice.

"Why can't you say for sure? How could something like this be false?" Qin's mother said dismissively. "As long as you take good care of Jia Zhangshi first, when Jia Dongxu comes back from the farm, have him fawn over Yi Zhonghai and call him 'Dad' a few times. How could that old man not soften his heart? Then, the money and the house will be in your pocket!"

The more Qin's mother talked, the more excited she became, as if she could already see the day her daughter would become successful.

Then their family will be able to enjoy some soup too!

"Oh, right," she changed the subject, suddenly remembering something, "I just heard people in the courtyard say that the Jia family's original house is gone? What happened? Such a nice house, how could it just disappear like that?"

Upon hearing this, Qin Huairu's face paled slightly.

She put down the cornbread in her hand, her voice so low it was barely a whisper: "The house... Cheng Shuhai took it."

"What?!" Qin's mother's voice suddenly rose, attracting the attention of the other customers in the restaurant.

She quickly lowered her voice, leaned close to her daughter, and anxiously asked, "How could he have taken you away? That idiot Jia Dongxu, what did he do?"