Xu Damao's Thirty-Six Stratagems in Siheyuan

Xu Damao and Lou Xiao'e, carrying two bottles of Fenjiu, just arrived at the main room in the middle courtyard, "Brother Zhuzi, have you cooked? You are generous and I am not vague, two bottles of Fenjiu, that's good enough, right?"

The deaf old lady at the door was leaning on a cane.

"Silly Zhu, my wife heard that you cooked fish. Do you mind if my old lady comes to eat some stew?"

What else could He Yuzhu say? They were already at the door, and as a grown man, he still had the disgrace to reply to the old man.

"Old lady, please come in. We are ready to eat. Yu Shui, bring some more bowls and chopsticks."

"Filial piety is the most important thing in this compound, so my eldest grandson is the one." The deaf old lady sat directly in the main seat, occupying the position by herself, waiting for He Yushui to come and set the table.

With the old lady present, the meal was eaten very quickly. Xu Damao and He Yuzhu finished a bottle of Fenjiu. They wanted to talk about something else, but with the old lady around, Xu Damao wouldn't say anything. The couple left the table earlier than the old lady and returned to the backyard, leaving a bottle of Fenjiu for He Yuzhu.

"Da Mao, this old lady next door is really something. She comes here on time to eat for free. Even though she is old, she eats more than anyone else."

"Xiao'e, this is totally irrelevant. If He Yuzhu doesn't wake up, there will be a second time after the first time. In the future, we will really have an extra grandmother to support us."

"That's not the case, is it?"

"Ezi, remember, don't get involved with the old lady. Although I don't know the real historical background of this old lady, my father still knows something. She used to be pampered and well-fed. From now on, as long as the residents of the compound have delicious food, she will take advantage of her age and shamelessly eat and drink for free. A humble person is invincible, and a shameless person is feared by ghosts. Just wait and see."

"Don't worry, I won't deal with this old lady. I could have had a big carp meal today, but I felt full just by looking at the way the old lady ate. You're right: thick-skinned people are feared by ghosts. Haha, Damao, you're so talented in saying that."

In the middle courtyard, the deaf old lady saw He Yushui clean up the dishes and leave the main room, and she pulled He Yuzhu aside to talk.

"Silly Zhu, a few days ago I heard from an old lady that you were going to go on a blind date to get married. Is that true?"

"Old lady, I'm not young anymore. Look at Dongxu next door, his child is already four years old. Xu Damao in the backyard has been married for a year, and I heard that Liu Guangqi is also getting married. Yan Jiecheng in the front yard is also looking for someone to marry. I am an orphan, so I have to make plans early, right?"

"Then you can ask an old man to look for someone among the children of the steel mill workers. He knows their background and will be more assured."

"Okay, I'll ask an old man in a few days to see if there's anyone suitable."

In fact, He Yuzhu was not happy to listen to the deaf old lady talking nonsense today. The good mood he had during the day was ruined by the old lady. Now when talking about the old man, he was even more unhappy. It was just that the other party was old, and he couldn't yell at the old man.

"Silly Zhu, you are too shy to ask. I will help you talk to the uncle and find a good match for my grandson."

"Old lady, I'd better do it by myself. How about I help you back to the backyard while it's still light?"

The deaf old lady knew that it was time for her to go. "That's not necessary. I can still walk on my own these few steps. Grandson, when you have something delicious in the future, don't forget me."

He Yuzhu almost stumbled: How can you blackmail me? He didn't say anything, but helped the old lady down the stairs politely before going back to the house.

As soon as I closed the door, I heard a loud scolding voice coming from the east wing, and it was Jia Zhang.

"Qin Huairu, you are a shameless country girl. The Jia family provides you with food and drink, but you don't even know where your man is. Why did the Jia family marry you back home? All you know is to eat, eat, eat. Why don't you go out and find someone?"

"Mom, I wash clothes and cook at home, and take care of the young and the old, but why is it that the Jia family provides me with food and drink? Dongxu is so old, and he has two legs, doesn't he know to come back on his own? In the countryside, chickens know to go back to the chicken coop when it gets dark, let alone a living person. I'm still pregnant now, and if I want to find you, I can go find you. I don't have the energy to look for you."

"Qin Huairu, you are really outrageous. Who told you to talk to me like that? I will beat you to death today."

"Come on, beat me. Beat me in the stomach. Beat me to death. Do you think I care about your Jia family? Let Dongxu come back and go to the street office to get a divorce certificate tomorrow."

Qin Huairu and Jia Zhangshi refused to give in to each other, and Jia Geng, who was standing by, was so scared that he started crying.

Suddenly, a lot of people surrounded the Intermediate Court, and as a senior official, Yi Zhonghai had to go over to mediate.

"Daughter-in-law Dongxu, Sister-in-law Jia, stop arguing. If everyone says less, everything will be fine. What's wrong with you guys every day?

"Uncle, tell me, Dongxu hasn't come back yet. I asked Qin Huairu to go look for him, but she talked back and asked me, an old woman, to do it. Where can you find such a lazy daughter-in-law? She even dared to say that she wanted to divorce Dongxu. Divorce if you want. Our Dongxu has good character, good looks, and good skills. If you leave Dongxu, I wonder how a country girl like you will live. You really married a jinx."

"Daughter-in-law Dongxu, I have something to say to you. Your mother-in-law asked you to go find Dongxu, and it was not wrong. Why did you talk back? Respecting the old and loving the young is our traditional virtue. Your attitude of disrespecting elders is unacceptable."

"Uncle, do you think Jia Dongxu is a three-year-old or an eight-year-old? He is twenty-three years old this year. He went out early in the morning and has not come back. Where can I find him? Tell me, where can I find him? I am busy at home every day. My mother-in-law says that I eat for free. It is the Jia family that provides me with food and drink. OK, but I don’t want the Jia family to provide for me. I am a country girl. It’s okay for me to go back to the countryside! A mother-in-law in her forties who does nothing at home and doesn’t even help when the oil bottle falls over, why should I go to find her?"

"Well, your mother-in-law is your elder after all. You don't need to mention divorce or anything like that just because she says a few words to you. This will easily bring bad influence to the compound.

"I know, uncle, I know. The atmosphere in No. 95 Courtyard is quite good. As long as you are a junior, you have to accept it. Okay, I can't serve you anymore. I will go back to my parents' home tomorrow."

"You..." Yi Zhonghai didn't expect that his apprentice's wife would not give him any face at all. He was so angry that he wanted to vomit blood.

At this time, Jia Dongxu happened to walk into the middle courtyard a little crookedly, with a matchstick in his mouth.

"Hey, is this a meeting or a parade to welcome me?"

Yi Zhonghai walked up to him and said, "Dongxu, you haven't been home all day. Where have you been? It's already late. Your mother and your wife are arguing about you. Go back and try to persuade them."

"Master, I rarely have a day off, why don't I go out and relax? I am such a grown-up, how could I be robbed by bandits? Now is a new society, the city has good security, there is nothing to be afraid of."

The protagonist returned, and the onlookers dispersed. He Yuzhu was a little puzzled: Jia Dongxu clearly said he was going to the market to buy meat for his family, so why did he come home only now, and was he drunk? Did he eat alone? !

Haha, actually the truth is not what He Yuzhu thought at all.

Xu Damao was very surprised when he saw Qin Huairu's performance today: Is it really me who changed Qin Huairu's personality? Her performance today can definitely get 80 points. She stood up on her own!