The Life of a Son-in-Law in a Courtyard House

Sha Zhu was carrying a washbasin, preparing to wash up.

I don't know how he can have such a comfortable job. It's almost eight or nine o'clock, and he's only just gotten up.

Sha Zhu rubbed his eyes, which were full of sleep, and then he saw an unfamiliar boy standing at the door of the east wing.

Seeing that everyone was standing still and looking at him, he finally asked, "Hey, ma'am, what's this?"

Qi Xiaoning, upon seeing Sha Zhu, seemed a little scared or something, and hid behind He Yushui.

The older woman introduced them quite normally: "Zhuzi, this is Aunt Yulan's relative from the front yard, Yang Dalin, Dalinzi."

He then turned to Yang Dalin and introduced him: "Dalinzi, this is Yushui's older brother, He Yuzhu."

The older woman was quick-witted; she introduced herself as a relative of Aunt Yulan's family. Perhaps she didn't know how to explain Yang Dalin's identity, since it hadn't been confirmed yet.

They didn't call He Yuzhu "Silly Pillar," unlike others, including Yan Bugui, who all called him "Silly Pillar," which seemed to show a complete lack of politeness.

Yang Dalin was new to the area and hadn't taken any of the "power pills" yet, so he didn't know if Sha Zhu had ever bullied Aunt Yulan's family.

Naturally, he also greeted him politely, "Brother Zhu, just call me Da Linzi."

Sha Zhu then realized that calling him "Brother Zhu" didn't bother the other person.

"Hello, Brother Dalin, are you from Luxi?"

"Yeah, Brother Zhu is pretty good at hearing things."

"That's right, there are people from all over the country in our factory, and I've learned a lot of local dialects from them."

"Brother Zhu is truly knowledgeable and talented."

"No, no, it's just for fun, bro. I need to hurry up and wash my face and brush my teeth before going to work. We can chat again when I get back from get off work. If you need any help, just let me know. Rain, heat up two steamed buns for yourself for breakfast, there are some in the kitchen. I have to get to work now."

He Yushui, unsure if he was truly a fool, replied, "Understood, silly brother."

The younger sister calls her older brother "Silly Brother".

The key issue is that her own brother is already 25 and still not married.

I don't know if it's because no one taught me or because I just don't know.

Seeing that no one else corrected him, Yang Dalin said nothing.

Didn't you see that everyone thought it was normal, even though you're a bit silly?

He Yuzhu was brushing his teeth when a young woman carrying a basin of clothes, wearing a thin blue cotton-padded jacket with floral patterns, came out of the west wing.

Isn't that the female lead in the TV series, the hypocritical and vampire Qin Huairu?

However, this vampire laundry maiden is incredibly thin, and doesn't look nearly as pretty as she does in the TV series.

He was only a little bigger in the buttocks, a little bigger in the granary, a little whiter in the face, and a little more alluring in the eyes, but Yang Dalin didn't find him attractive at all.

I don't know why so many time travelers can't control their groin. They're all in the same courtyard, and one of them has three children and is a widow. Are other people blind?

We've all been through this before; we don't need to catch them in the act. We can all tell just by looking at their eyes.

There are always people in the courtyard. Even if someone wanted to mess with you outside, do they really think everyone in this courtyard is blind?

No one will report you?

If someone reports you at this point, at best you'll lose your job and be paraded through the streets; at worst you'll be sentenced to prison and forced to eat peanuts, and you'll have to pay for it. How much of a future can someone who can't even control his own crotch have?

Is it a bit early to do laundry at this time, especially such a large basin of it?

In this day and age, is water free, or do they have so many clothes they can't wash them all, or is the fabric of their clothes just too good?

Most of the clothes in the basin were summer clothes.

It's late autumn, everyone's wearing early winter clothes, and you're only now starting to wash your summer clothes?

Isn't this performance a bit too overt?

Qin Huairu put the basin in the sink and greeted Sha Zhu, who was brushing his teeth.

That smile was indescribable.

"Good morning, Shazhu! Good morning, Auntie. Yushui's here too, Xiaoning's here too, and who's this?"

Yang Dalin had been observing Qin Huairu and Shazhu ever since Qin Huairu stepped out of the house.

Sha Zhu was brushing his teeth with his head down. Yang Dalin noticed his subtle movements: he gripped the water pipe with one hand and tightened it a little, then raised his head slightly before quickly lowering it again.

Qin Huairu greeted him. He had toothpaste in his mouth, raised his head slightly, mumbled something, and then quickly brushed his teeth again, though a little too fast.

The older woman also gave a friendly reply, and He Yushui seemed to be very close to Qin Huairu.

He greeted Qin Huairu with a smile, and even exclaimed, "Sister-in-law Dongxu, why do you wash so many clothes?"

That's right, Yang Dalin heard it clearly: He Yushui called out "Sister-in-law Dongxu," not "Sister Qin."

Indeed, in our country, married women, whether young wives or older women, are addressed by their husbands' families.

She should call Dongxu "sister-in-law," unless He Yushui is really Qin Huairu's relative and should call her "sister."

Otherwise, why would someone directly call her Sister Qin? How would that put the Jia family in that situation?

The He family and the Jia family were old neighbors, but they were not related to Qin Huairu, who later married into the family.

The names naturally refer to the Jia family, for example, Jia Zhangshi means that a woman surnamed Zhang married a man surnamed Jia.

She took her husband's surname.

Just like when Yu Li married Yan Jiecheng, she would call Jiecheng "sister-in-law".

Da Mao's daughter, Da Mao's sister-in-law, is also called Da Mao's sister-in-law, not Lou Jie.

Of course, elders can be addressed in other ways.

For example, Da Mao's wife, or Da Mao's daughter-in-law, Da Mao's child's mother, or Comrade Lou Xiao'e.

However, Da Mao has no children... This must be a lifelong regret for him.

He Yuzhu quickly brushed his teeth and washed his face, then picked up his lunchbox and went to work, saying goodbye to everyone before leaving.

It seems he's not that close to Qin Huairu.

That makes sense. Even if Sha Zhu is bold, he wouldn't dare to easily show that he likes married women.

At this point, even if people are with their wives in front of others, they won't act very affectionately.

Besides, he was actively looking for a wife and going on blind dates back in 1965.

After making a mess of things, he was heartbroken for half a year before accepting his fate and following Qin Huairu.

Otherwise, who would want to be with a widow, especially one with three children and an unreasonable mother-in-law?

Sha Zhu isn't really stupid.

He had a younger sister around the same age as Yang Dalin. To prevent others from bullying him, he became a bit reckless. He had no one to teach him, and his parents didn't arrange his marriage, which delayed his marriage.

However, this also reflects that Yi Zhonghai is indeed not a good person.

If they were truly good neighbors and godfathers, would they have watched Sha Zhu remain unmarried from the age of twenty to thirty?

In the later episodes of the series, Yi Zhonghai mentioned this to Liu Lao Er and Yan Lao San.

In 1965, he was convinced that Sha Zhu could take care of him in his old age.

In fact, the investigation may have taken place earlier and longer, but it was only at that time that the results were confirmed.

The TV series tells the story of two old widows who have no descendants and their schemes against a fool throughout his life.

Yang Dalin was well aware of the principle of self-preservation. He knew that there were definitely some hidden agendas in this courtyard, and as long as they didn't involve him, he would stay far away.

He doesn't care if it doesn't concern him; today he's just observing the people in the courtyard.

He Yushui introduced Yang Dalin to Qin Huairu.

To be honest, Yang Dalin also glanced at Qin Huairu with an appreciative look.

That look made Qin Huairu very uncomfortable.

This doesn't look like the eyes of a sixteen-year-old boy at all. There's scrutiny, mockery, and a lecherous look in his eyes, as if he could see right through people.

Qin Huairu felt as if she had been stripped naked in his eyes.

After a short while, Yang Dalin returned to normal: "You're Sister-in-law Dongxu, right? My name is Yang Dalin. You go ahead and do your laundry. I'll head back now."

Yang Dalin did not go in despite the older woman's invitation, He Yushui went home for breakfast, and Qi Xiaoning did not go in to play either.

It's best not to go to someone's house for a meal at this time.

They really don't have much food at home.

If someone says something polite, don't take it seriously, or they might actually go hungry.

Back in the west wing of the Qi family home, Qi Xiaoning followed him into the room.

Yang Dalin entered the house intending to help sweep the floor or something, but Qi Yanhua stopped him.

The three looked at each other, and Yang Dalin started a conversation: "Yanhua, Qi Xiaoning, aren't you guys in school? I didn't see He Yushui going to school either. Is today a day off?"