Siheyuan: Traveling through three years to gain the power of a palm

"What else could he be looking for? The magazine."

"What are you looking for the magazine for? It's all in the pocket."

"Hahaha."

Yan Jiecheng turned a deaf ear to the ridicule of the crowd. He had heard these words many times in the past few months. From the first day after the New Year's separation, he had been ridiculed by everyone, who said he was not a man, that he was a dead end, and that he was a good-for-nothing.

At first, he was furious and even got into a few fights, but the truth proved they were right. He couldn't even defeat some of the stronger women. Even the children in the yard dared to laugh in his face and run away.

At one point, he was so depressed that he even considered committing suicide. But he gave up because he lacked the courage. Yan Jiecheng was so young, had a huge fortune, and hadn't even started enjoying life. How could he die like this?

Moreover, if I die, then the money that I got from dividing the family property with great difficulty will still return to Yan Bugui. Wouldn’t that be a waste of money?

Chapter 167: Photography

Yan Jiecheng searched for the money for a long time but couldn't find it. He wondered if he had dropped it on the road when he came back yesterday. His heart sank. It seemed that the money was probably gone.

Even if he had a huge sum of money, Yan Jiecheng was unwilling to give up a penny of it. After all, he was a stingy person.

Yan Jiecheng sighed and said with some pain, "Forget it, it's lost. I have to go talk to someone about buying a job today. Once I find a job and settle down, I'll marry Ah Zhu home."

After receiving the money, he had been thinking about buying a job. After all, he couldn't just sit there and eat up all the money. But the problem was, who would be willing to sell their job in this situation? Moreover, Yan Jiecheng wanted an easy job like clerking. He couldn't do heavy physical labor.

He has been searching in the old city until now, and he has met a few people selling jobs during this period, but either he looked down on them, or others thought his offer was too low. He wanted to buy a clerical job in a big factory for only five or six hundred yuan. What a pipe dream.

After suffering setbacks many times, he couldn't help but feel discouraged. When he was coming back from the pub after getting drunk, he happened to see a man blocking a woman at the entrance of the alley.

He immediately rushed forward, kicked the gangster away, and saved a young girl. Then some unspeakable things happened.

Although Yan Jiecheng had doubts about whether he could still use this matter, he was still fascinated by Ah Zhu's verbal battle.

……

At noon, Lou Xiao'e came out of Jiang's house. She had been learning about feeding babies with Shen Yue for the past two days. If all went well, she would also be a mother by the end of the year.

"Sister Xiao'e, are you going to Uncle Jiang's house again?" Qin Huairu was hanging clothes to dry and looked at Lou Xiao'e with a smile.

"Yes, sister-in-law, I will learn some precautions from Aunt Shen about how to hold a baby in the future. I don't have much experience with this first pregnancy."

"Oh, it's time to learn. Taking care of a child is a science. I still remember when I first got pregnant with Banggen..."

Qin Huairu pulled Lou Xiao'e to sit down and told her about her pregnancy. Lou Xiao'e also listened carefully, and the two of them exuded the radiance of motherhood.

Yang Shufen, also sitting at the doorstep, looked at Lou Xiao'e's belly with envy. Then, she touched her own belly, and her eyes dimmed. Lou Xiao'e had married into the courtyard house at the same time as her, but she was already over two months pregnant, and she was still not pregnant.

She also knew about the grudge between Sha Zhu and Xu Damao, and she also knew that both of them were holding back on the issue of having a child, just waiting to see who would give birth to a son first so they could vent their anger in front of the other.

Now it seemed that Sha Zhu was going to lose, unless Lou Xiao'e gave birth to a daughter. Thinking of this, even Yang Shufen couldn't help but have a different thought, praying that Lou Xiao'e would not give birth to a son.

Qin Huairu looked at Lou Xiao'e's back, her lips curled up. She wasn't so kind as to share her parenting experience with others. If she had that much time, she would be better off working with Jia Zhang to make some shoe soles, which she could sell for a little money.

She did this because she was attracted to Lou Xiao'e. She had observed that Lou Xiao'e had rarely been in the kitchen since she married into the Siheyuan family. On weekdays, she would either eat in the front yard, or Xu Damao would cook at home, and then she would go back to her parents' home.

Just think about it, these days, which good girl doesn't cook or doesn't know how to cook after getting married? Apart from those spoiled ones, coupled with Lou Xiao'e's daily behavior, Qin Huairu had some ideas in her mind.

After chatting with Yang Shufen for a few more words, Qin Huairu returned to the house and sat there like Jia Zhangshi to continue sewing shoe soles. After all, it was a little supplement for the household expenses.

When Lou Xiao'e returned home, Xu's mother had already prepared dinner.

"Xiao E, sit down quickly. You are pregnant, you can't move around."

"Mom, I'm only two months pregnant, how can I be so delicate? The sister-in-law of the Jia family in the middle courtyard still has to do housework when she is seven or eight months pregnant."

"Don't listen to her nonsense. It's because that old woman from the Jia family is lazy and can't stand seeing her daughter-in-law sitting idle." Mother Xu curled her lips and continued, "Our family is different from theirs. You're pregnant now, so rest well. Giving birth to a few sons for Damao is the most important thing."

The current relationship between Xu's mother and Lou Xiao'e is completely different from the original plot. Xu's mother treats Lou Xiao'e as a family heirloom, and Xu Damao has to take two steps back.

"Mom, do we have to have a son? I like daughters very much." Lou Xiao'e said cautiously.

Xu's mother opened her mouth and wanted to say, "Of course I want a son," but she remembered Xu Wude's instructions and changed her words in time, "Both sons and daughters are fine, but Mom wants to have a grandson. You also know that the Xu family is not very prosperous, so we need to have more sons to expand the family."

"Alas, it's only because I gave birth to Damao that he was bullied by Sha Zhu in the yard. If we were like the Jiang family, with brothers supporting us, we wouldn't have let him be bullied by Sha Zhu for so many years."

Xu's mother also felt very sorry that she could not give birth to more sons for the Xu family.

"I understand, Mom. I will try my best to give birth to more sons."

"That's right." Mother Xu smiled happily. "Wait a minute, I made chicken soup for you today. I'll bring it to you right away."

Xu's mother ran to the kitchen and came out with a casserole. "Haha, the chicken soup is here. Xiao'e, put the wooden board on the table."

……

At the steel rolling mill, Xu Damao came to the technical department office again.

"Da Mao, you've been coming to our place so often these days. Why don't you just take the technician exam and transfer to work here?"

Ye Yu looked at Xu Damao and teased.

"Oh, sister, I do want to take the exam, but it's not that I'm not smart enough to understand these drawings. If I could understand, I would at least become an engineer."

The few of them are quite familiar with each other and can joke around a bit.

"Da Mao, can you get two front-row movie tickets? My brother is going on a blind date and wants to ask her out to see a movie."

"Okay, I'll bring it to you tomorrow. Just leave the two movie tickets to me."

Xu Damao agreed immediately. It was just two tickets, no big deal. He had them in his pocket.

After leaving the office, Jiang Fan asked Xu Damao what he wanted to do.

"Nothing. I went back to her parents' home with your sister-in-law a few days ago. My father-in-law gave me some tickets to a photo studio. Tomorrow I plan to go take a photo with your sister-in-law and take a family photo at the same time. I was wondering if you'd like to do that. If you do, I'll get you two tickets."

Xu Damao's words made Jiang Fan a little excited. He had been here for several years, but he hadn't taken many photos. He searched in the space and found that the system had never given a ticket for taking photos. Then he nodded, "Okay, give me the ticket. I won't say thank you."

"Why are you being so polite to me?"

Xu Damao took out a few tickets from his pocket and handed them to Jiang Fan.

At this time, you still need a ticket to take photos, which is not very easy to get. Of course, if you need to take photos for work or weddings, you can just bring a certificate issued by the relevant department. (I checked and some said you need a ticket, some said you don't, I can't tell the difference, I really can't tell!)

Chapter 168 Taking Photos

Outside an alley, Yan Jiecheng emerged from the yard, cursing, "Bah! What a piece of shit! You're asking me for 900 yuan for a piecework job at a scrap yard? You might as well just rob me."

Yan Jiecheng cursed. He hadn't expected jobs to be so hard to find and so expensive these days. A scrapyard job used to pay a maximum of 500 yuan, and clerical work was a bit more expensive, but never more than 800 yuan. And this guy was asking for 900 yuan! This was practically robbery!

Yan Jiecheng was walking on the road, and the more he thought about it, the angrier he became. There happened to be a small piece of earth in front of him, and he kicked it away.

"Oh. Who is it? You have no sense of public morality. Where's my medicine?" A voice came, startling Yan Jiecheng. He quickly lowered his head and tried to walk over.

"Hey, this is the medicine for my brother's life."

Yan Jiecheng unconsciously stopped and squatted down, "Comrade, let me help you."

"Thank you, there are still many good people in this world. Look, I don't know which bastard threw a stone just now, and it almost hit my head."

"Yes, this man is really evil." Yan Jiecheng said unwillingly, "Comrade, I just heard you say that this medicine of yours is used to treat..."

"This medicine you are talking about is just an ordinary cold medicine." The man obviously didn't want to say more. He waved to Yan Jiecheng and left.

However, when he left, he dropped a piece of paper. Yan Jiecheng picked it up and saw that it was a medical examination report from the hospital, but the place where his name was written was covered. Curious, he opened it and saw that it had the same symptoms as his!

"This, this, this!" Thinking of what he had just heard, Yan Jiecheng's heartbeat suddenly accelerated. Perhaps this was his chance to recover. Yan Jiecheng was so excited that his whole body was trembling. (When people are drowning, they will grab anything, even if it is just a straw)

"Comrade, wait. Comrade?"

Yan Jiecheng looked up to see if he could stop the man, but he couldn't find him. He circled around a few more times, but still couldn't find anything.

"Where has the man gone? Where could he go in such a short time?" Yan Jiecheng stomped his feet anxiously, but the pain forced him to bend down. However, this also strengthened his determination to find that person.

"No matter what, I'm going to heal my body! I want to be a real man!"

With this belief, Yan Jiecheng stayed here for the next few days, waiting, waiting to death!

……

The bell rang and the steel mill closed for the day.

Unlike in the past when everyone was still enthusiastic after work, discussing family matters and various gossips and interesting stories, now the employees of the steel rolling mill are all gloomy after work, and few people have a smile on their faces.

Everyone was worried about food. We were all ordinary people who survived that chaotic era. Everyone had experienced a disaster, so we all knew how precious food was.

Last year, disasters hit every corner of the country: drought, floods, typhoons, frost, and more. Grain production plummeted. I thought this year would be better, but since the Lunar New Year, it hasn't rained much. I'm afraid...

After returning home, Jiang Fan told his family that Xu Damao had sent them several photo tickets today.

"Taking a photo? I think it's okay. Our family really doesn't have a real family photo yet." Shen Yue thought about it and realized that the last time they took a photo was several years ago.

"Indeed, Erniu, your family hasn't taken a family photo yet, right?"

"No, brother." Jiang Erniu shook his head. He only had one work photo in his life, which was used to fill in his file.

"Okay, wife, go to the photo studio tomorrow and ask if there's anything we need to prepare. We'll pick up Xiaoyu and the others this Saturday to take their photos."

No one objected and everyone supported the idea.

After dinner, Jiang Fan found Xu Damao again and reminded him, "Are you taking a family photo tomorrow?"

"Yes. Didn't I tell you that you have such a bad memory at such a young age?" Xu Damao said with a smile.

"Ah, yes, I have a bad memory, but at least I still remember that I have a sister who is still in school."

Xu Damao was stunned for a moment. He really forgot about Xu Xin.

Jiang Fan returned the words, "Oh, you forgot? You are so young, how can you have such a bad memory?"

The two agreed to take a day off on Saturday to pick someone up and go directly to the photo studio.

After Xu Damao returned home, he told his mother and Lou Xiao'e what happened.

"Oh, I just said I forgot something." When Xu's mother heard this, she seemed to remember something and quickly pulled Lou Xiao'e into the house. Xu Damao wanted to ask what happened, but he only got the word "get out".

At this time, Xu Xin was holding her stomach and feeling extremely painful.

At Yi Zhonghai's home, Jia Dongxu discussed with Yi Zhonghai about finding a day to formally hold the godparents ceremony in the courtyard.

"Master, today is Wednesday. I think we should go on Saturday night. I'll go inform everyone when I get back from get off work tomorrow."

"Okay, it's up to you. Just hold a ceremony, give some candy to everyone, and our two families can have a meal together." Yi Zhonghai said happily.

Jia Dongxu also agreed to do so. He asked Banggeng to become Yi Zhonghai's godparents. Firstly, he really had feelings for Yi Zhonghai and wanted to reassure him, and secondly, he wanted to strengthen his connection with Yi Zhonghai.

In the past, Yi Zhonghai always used Sha Zhu's things to do favors. He understood it and didn't object, after all, it benefited him.

Now that Sha Zhu is married, and Yang Shufen is also a strong woman, it is impossible for her to get any benefits from him anymore. And Jia Dongxu really needs Yi Zhonghai's help now. It is too tiring to support a family alone.

"Old Yi, we will have grandchildren in the future."

"Yes, from now on we can legitimately call each other Banggeng and grandson." Yi Zhonghai held Aunt Wu's hand, and both of them had happy smiles on their faces.

Jia Dongxu returned home and announced the matter.

Jia Zhang's expression changed for a long time, but she couldn't help asking, "Dongxu, do you really want Banggeng to recognize Yi Zhonghai as his grandfather?"

"Well, this matter has been decided. There is no room for negotiation. Mom, you just need to cooperate on that day." Jia Dongxu glanced at Jia Zhang and said lightly.

Jia Zhang was still trying to fight for it, but she heard Jia Dongxu say, "Mom, don't blame me. If you had agreed to let Huairu transfer to a city hukou, I wouldn't have let Banggeng recognize her as my godparents."

Jia Zhang fell silent. She no longer had any reason to stop this, not even Old Jia's summoning spell. Because the one who was most sorry to Old Jia was herself. She had made Old Jia wear a green hat, even if she hadn't done it willingly. But green hats didn't distinguish between dark green and light green.

That night, Jia Zhang couldn't fall asleep for a long time. The thought of her own grandson becoming Yi Zhonghai's grandson, who would end up with no family, made her furious. Especially since Banggeng still had to call Wu Chunhua "Grandma", she felt even more upset.

Chapter 169: Taking Photos

Saturday.

Xu Damao and Jiang Fan each had a bicycle. They first found Uncle Jiang Er, asked for leave, and then the three of them rode their bicycles to pick up the students.

Jiang Daniu and Da Lei returned to the courtyard to change clothes and fix their appearance. After all, it was a family photo shoot, so they had to take it seriously. Jiang Ping'an went to pick up Chen Qian and take her home.

"Wife, what do you think of me wearing this outfit?" Jiang Daniu, wearing a gray Mao suit, turned around in front of Shen Yue.

"Okay, that's appropriate."

Shen Yue also changed into a blue Lenin suit. This was a piece of clothing she loved very much. Jiang Fan bought it for her with his salary, but she had never worn it. She took it out and washed it before taking the photo.