Siheyuan: Grassroots Counterattack

At this time, He Daqing and Sha Zhu were setting up the stove, planning to start preparing the ingredients as soon as Yan Bugui came back from shopping.

"Uncle He, have you bought the vegetables and other things?" Li Tianyi asked.

"Ah, no, Mr. Yan from the front yard went to buy some. I think he'll be back soon."

"Uncle He, how is the meal today?" Li Tianyi asked curiously.

Hu Zi and Yan Jiefang, who were playing nearby, also came up to Li Tianyi to listen to his conversation with He Daqing.

He Daqing curled his lips, "Not very good, a total of only 15 was given. There are so many people in the yard, how can this money be enough? Are you eating here for lunch today?"

Li Tianyi shook his head. "My mom is here. My brother, sister and I will eat at home."

He Daqing nodded, "Eat well at home, eat comfortably at home."

After that, Li Tianyi watched his younger brother playing with the other children in the yard, while his younger sister played other things with Yu Shui. Li Tianyi did not go forward. As long as his younger sister was under his nose, there was no need to inquire about the secrets between girls.

An hour later, Yan Bugui and Yan Jiecheng returned to the courtyard with two pounds of meat, vegetables and corn flour. The women who had already cleaned up the Jia family's house helped Sha Zhu wash the vegetables, while He Daqing began to cut the meat and prepare the seasoning.

He planned to make a big hodgepodge for lunch today. There wasn't much meat, and if it was made into a banquet, there wouldn't be a single drop of meat in the dish. It would be better to make it into a stew so that everyone in the yard could have a taste of meat.

It was almost noon, and Li's mother prepared dinner for the children at home before returning to the central courtyard. The funeral procession had also returned by then, and Jia Zhang cleaned up the blood in front of her door. Although she kept muttering to herself while cleaning, the people in the courtyard did not mind her because she had just lost her husband.

When it was almost time for dinner, Jia Zhang came to find He Daqing and asked him to set aside one bowl of meat for her family and use the rest for cooking. He Daqing was shocked. The meat was not bought in large quantities to begin with. If one bowl was set aside, then one and a half pounds of meat would be gone from the two pounds of meat. This meant that he had to use half a pound of meat for the banquet.

He Daqing and Jia Zhang explained patiently, but Jia Zhang was unreasonable and insisted, as if saying, "If you don't give it to me, I will roll on the ground." He Daqing was so angry that he finally gave up and said whoever is willing to do it can do it.

Jia Zhang didn't care about that, she just filled a bowl with meat and went back to the house. Everyone in the yard looked at each other, and then looked at Yi Zhonghai.

Yi Zhonghai has been taking care of everything these past two days, and everyone's tasks have been arranged by Yi Zhonghai. We can't be busy for two days and not even have time to eat.

Yi Zhonghai was frightened by everyone's gaze and had no choice but to stand up to calm everyone down. Then he took out 5 yuan and gave it to Yan Bugui, asking Yan Bugui to buy some meat. Of course, he would not let Yan Bugui work for nothing. The 5 yuan errand fee made Yan Bugui smile happily.

Afterwards, he went to find He Daqing again, and persuaded him to finish the meal.

At this time, Jia Dongxu looked at his mother in confusion, "Mom, what are you doing?"

Jia Zhang rolled her eyes at her son and said, "Silly boy, what do you know? Now that your father is gone, we are the only orphans and widows left in the family. If your mother doesn't behave like a scoundrel, we will be eaten until there is nothing left in this yard."

"Not really?" Jia Dongxu obviously didn't believe what his mother said.

Jia Zhang looked at the situation outside and said, "Hmph, do you know why Yi Zhonghai has been so active in our family's affairs these past two days?"

Jia Dongxu shook his head. "Uncle Yi has always been popular in this courtyard."

"He is very nice, but he cares too much about our family's affairs. This morning he asked me for money for the banquet, and I gave him 5 yuan at the time, and he added another 10 yuan, and then Yan Bugui used the money to buy these things."

"Ah? So little." Jia Dongxu said in surprise.

"Humph, I was just testing Yi Zhonghai. Sure enough, Yi Zhonghai paid for our family out of his own pocket, and now he's spending money to buy meat. I don't believe that Yi Zhonghai has no purpose."

"But we don't have anything to worry about. Although the factory gave me 500 million yuan in compensation and asked me to take my father's place, this is not too much for Yi Zhonghai, right?"

"How can there be nothing to worry about? Yi Zhonghai is forty years old and still has no children. How can he not be anxious? Now that your father is gone, you are the only one in this courtyard who is most qualified to take care of him in his old age. So you start to worry about him." Jia Zhang said with a pout.

Jia Dongxu was really shocked. He pointed at himself and said in disbelief, "Me? But mom, you're still there. How can I possibly support him in his old age?"

Mrs. Jia Zhang gently hit Jia Dongxu and said, "You silly boy, why can't you do this? Yi Zhonghai must have saved a lot of money over the years, and he and his wife usually live very frugally. He must have a lot of money now, and he can still work for at least 20 years. When he needs you to support him in his old age, all his money will be yours. Do you understand, silly boy?"

Jia Dongxu suddenly realized, "Mom, you are so smart. I just need to make sure they don't starve to death, and that will be enough for them. When they die, the family's money and house will all belong to us."

"Yes, so you must be respectful to Yi Zhonghai in the future. Yi Zhonghai is very prestigious in the courtyard. With him backing our family, we are not afraid of being bullied. Besides, you are going to work in the factory, and you will have to find a master to teach you the skills. It is better for you to take Yi Zhonghai as your master. With this relationship, he can teach you the skills with confidence so that you can take care of him in his old age."

Jia Dongxu nodded seriously, indicating that he had learned something today. He did not expect his mother to be so smart.

After Yi Zhonghai arranged things in the yard, he walked into the Jia family and saw Jia Zhang sitting on the kang, while Jia Dongxu was sitting on a stool beside her.

Seeing Yi Zhonghai enter the room, Jia Dongxu quickly stood up and asked Yi Zhonghai to sit down. Yi Zhonghai was very satisfied with Jia Dongxu's attitude, but when he saw Jia Zhangshi sitting on the kang with a calm look on her face, Yi Zhonghai's head began to hurt again.

"Sister-in-law Jia, you went a bit too far today." Yi Zhonghai said helplessly.

Jia Zhang rolled her eyes and did not answer his question. Instead, she asked, "Old Yi, I want Dongxu to become your disciple after he joins the factory. What do you think?"

Yi Zhonghai didn't expect Jia Zhang to suddenly mention this, and he fell into thought for a moment. Seeing this, Jia Zhang didn't urge him, but continued: "I know you have many apprentices in the factory, and you don't lack Dongxu, but if you accept Dongxu as your apprentice, and we live in the same courtyard, then the retirement problem of you and your wife will be solved."

Yi Zhonghai stood up suddenly and looked at Jia Zhang in shock.