A pleasant life in a courtyard

Chapter 533: Everyone’s Ending (Part )

Li Rui has always known that his father is a capable person. After all, there are not many people who can survive and be included in textbooks.

However, he did not realize more about his father's huge influence until he went to college.

Moreover, most of those great achievements were actually announced by classmates in the same dormitory.

University textbooks are different from those for junior high and high school. In the book with Li Xiang as one of the main contents, his achievements over the years are systematically introduced.

The content inside is so much more extensive and diverse that it is even more complete than what you can find on the Internet.

Li Rui flipped through the book, and from his father's experiences over the years, he also saw his own eighteen years vaguely interspersed in it.

It turned out that on his birthday that year, he cried heart-wrenchingly because his father was not there, and at that time his father was leading a team to work overtime to make this thing.

Haha, it turns out that such an incident happened when that thing was being developed. No wonder his father was in a hurry to go home when he took him to the zoo entrance.

"Mom, do you still remember that year when you had surgery for acute appendicitis and you waited for a long time for Dad to come back. It turned out that he didn't come back for this reason. Because of this, I was so angry that I didn't talk to Dad for a long time." Li Rui pointed to a section in the book and showed it to his mother.

"How could I not remember? I rolled around on the bed in pain and endured it all night but no one came. In the end, it was your grandmother who found someone to take me to the hospital." Qiu Fanghua replied with a smile.

The concerns that had been lingering in my throat for years have now passed and I can now talk about them with a smile.

Mother Li took the book from her grandson, put on the reading glasses hanging on her chest, and read the contents.

"I remember that it was still good at this time, but I got busier and busier later. I didn't even have time to go to Xiao Ming's wedding. Damn it, that guy's children are grown up now. Every time his wedding anniversary with Minhui comes, he will bring up this matter and complain about it."

"Grandma, don't just mention my uncle, mention yourself too. Last year, you had your birthday and the whole family gathered together, but my dad was missing." Li Rui added fuel to the fire.

Mother Li took off her reading glasses and gave her eldest grandson a stern look, refusing to be fooled by this boy.

"Why do I need him? I'm annoyed with him around. The older he gets, the more he talks. He treats me like a child all day long, forbidding me to eat this or touch that." Although she said she was not fooled, there was still some resentment in Li's mother's tone.

"Mom, he's doing this for your own good. You're so old now, how can you continue to eat as much raw and cold food as before? Your stomach won't be able to handle it." Qiu Fanghua spoke well of her husband.

Mrs. Li, who has become Old Mrs. Li, is no longer as easy-going as before.

Faced with her daughter-in-law's well-intentioned explanation, she started throwing tantrums like a child.

"I, an old woman, can't win the argument with you, so why not just leave?" After saying that, Li's mother stood up and was about to leave.

As Li's mother's good grandson, Li Rui quickly followed and helped the old lady walk out.

"Grandma, I'll go with you." Li Rui's other child was behind his mother and made an OK gesture to reassure her.

Qiu Fanghua looked at the old man and the child cooperating with each other in a helpless manner. She wanted to say that it was almost time for dinner, but she didn't say it when the two of them had already stepped out of the door.

"Grandma, I want to eat pork in clay pot." As soon as he got out of the door, Li Rui put forward a condition to his grandma.

Li's mother pretended to be ignorant and replied: "Why didn't you tell your mother just now why you followed me out?"

Hehe, Li Rui laughed and said, "You still want to hide it from me. You went out at this time, aren't you going to Uncle Zhuzi's house for the food?"

Being exposed, Li's mother suppressed the corners of her mouth, but still couldn't help but raise it. She pointed at her eldest grandson and said, "You are smart, kid."

"I'm saying this, but ever since a nutritionist was assigned to your family, what have you been eating? My mouth is dry every day. I'm an old woman with only a few years left to live, and you're forcing me to eat grass every day, I can't stand it." After being helped into the car by her eldest grandson, Mother Li complained to her eldest grandson who was sitting in the driver's seat.

"I mean, why were you taken home by Aunt Qin the last time you came back, and stayed there for half a month? Was it just to avoid this?" Li Rui responded to his grandmother's words while driving.

After hearing this, Li's mother's excitement faded a little, and she replied awkwardly, "That's not entirely true."

"What's the matter? Is there any other reason?" Li Rui asked quickly.

"You don't understand. The countryside is much more lively than the city now. It wasn't like this in the city in the early years. Even strangers would greet each other warmly when they met. It's not like now. People have lost their warm hearts in the pursuit of money." Li's mother pouted and muttered.

"Okay, just tell me which family is causing the trouble this time." Li Rui understood what his grandmother meant.

The old lady leaned forward from the back seat, got close to her grandson, and shared her experiences of the trip to the countryside.

"Your uncle's childhood friend, his grandmother, do you know her?"

Li Rui thought about it and hesitantly sent a message: "Grandma Jia from Aunt Qin's cousin's family who lives in the countryside?"

"That's her. She lives in a village next to your Aunt Qin's. They're being demolished together this time."

"What kind of conflict is there for Grandma Jia to have? She's almost 90 years old, so she's powerless to make a fuss. I heard from Aunt Qin before that her cousin hasn't had any contact with her for many years, and the only contact is the monthly alimony." Li Rui said matter-of-factly.

"If it weren't for the demolition this time, there would have been no communication between the two sides until their death." Li's mother explained the reason to him.

It turned out that before the land was divided, Jia's mother was sent to the countryside by Qin Huairu, so when the land was divided later, the old Jia family not only retained the land of the ancestral home, but also received 1.5 acres of land per person.

In the past, this 1.5 acres of land was nothing. Using it to farm the land would only provide enough food to feed the hungry.

But now it’s being demolished, and those who own the house and the land can get three houses by paying a little more.

According to Jia Zhang's idea, these three houses must be reserved for the only child of the Jia family.

Qin Huairu has a different idea. Unlike Jia Zhangshi who favors boys over girls, she thinks Banggeng, Xiaodang and Huaihua are all children of the Jia family.

Although Banggeng, as a male, should receive some preferential treatment, he cannot be given all of it alone.

Of course, this is partly because Xiaodang’s current conditions are not as good as his brothers and sisters, and partly because poor Huaihua, the posthumous child, has never received anything good from the old Jia family since he was born.

So she thought that the house she got as compensation would be one big and two small. The big one would be given to Banggeng, and the two small ones would be given to each of her two daughters, one each.

Her idea was a good one, but when she discussed it with Jia Zhang, it was ruthlessly rejected.

Jia Zhang believed that her daughter would become an outsider after she got married, so how could the family property of her Jia family be given to an outsider?

In fact, if Jia Zhang disagrees, it will be easy to deal with. The worst case scenario is that we can just bypass Qin Huairu and do what she originally intended.

But Jia Zhang was not only worried, but also faced a big problem that needed Qin Huairu's help to solve.

As I said before, I have to add some money to make the last of the three houses a perfect price.

Jia Zhangshi didn't have this money, and neither did Bang Geng, who worked in a government office and had to support his family. Only Qin Huairu could come up with it.

Qin Huairu is now just taking this opportunity to negotiate terms with Jia Zhangshi, after all, she is the one who paid the money.

Nowadays, even an illiterate farmer knows that it is more cost-effective to get a house than money.

Jia Zhang was unwilling to agree to Qin Huairu's conditions, but was also unwilling to see the three houses reduced to two.

Moreover, she was afraid that if she took a step back and chose the second house and the compensation, Banggeng, the eldest grandson who was taught stupid by his mother, would give the money to the family. If the subsidy was given to Xiaodang and Huaihua, she would accept it. After all, the two children had the surname Jia, but don't forget his mother, who gave birth to another child later.

If Banggeng took the Jia family's money and spent it on that little girl, Jia Zhang felt that she would never close her eyes even if she died.

Both sides just held their ground and refused to give in, during which time they either cursed at each other or said a few nice words to please each other.

By the time Li's mother was taken back by the Li family, the outcome of the matter was still unclear.

This time, Li's mother found an excuse to go to He Yuzhu's restaurant for dinner because she was curious whether the result had been finalized.

Before anyone entered the He's Restaurant, Auntie Three was greeting Li's mother from a distance.

"How come this old woman has such sharp eyes?" Li's mother stopped and muttered when she was called.

"From a distance I thought you looked like you, and I was right. Why don't you bring your grandson to my place for a meal?" the third aunt invited with a smile.

Li's mother also responded with a smile: "No, no, we have already made an appointment today, let's talk about it another day."

She lowered her hand and pulled down her grandson's clothes when no one was paying attention.

"That's right. We informed Uncle Zhuzi over the phone before coming here. They should all be ready by now." Li Rui understood and covered for his grandmother.

"Is that so? Then I won't keep you here. But you have to come next time as promised." The third aunt said with disappointment in her eyes.

The grandparents said "definitely" to each other and hurried into the He's Restaurant.

As soon as they came in, Sister Tang, who was standing at the cashier counter, greeted them with a smile: "Hey, we have a new guest today."

Because the two families have a close relationship, Li Rui has eaten a lot of He family's meals since he was a child.

No matter whether it is the New Year's Day at home, Uncle Zhuzi will prepare the main dishes and send them over, or when he goes to visit grandma's house, as long as Uncle Zhuzi gets the news, he will at least bring over a dish of his specialty that day.

Facing Sister Tang's greeting, he responded familiarly, "Aunt, when I was in school, I didn't think about anything else but the casserole pork made by my Uncle Zhuzi. So today, I took advantage of the day off and brought my grandma over directly."

His compliment, which was 30% fake and 70% real, made Sister Tang very happy. She even said that she would definitely ask her Uncle Zhuzi to make two more of his signature dishes for him later.

At this time, He Yuzhu, who had received the news, walked out of the kitchen.

Li Rui's words were repeated to him by Sister Tang. The smile on Sister Tang's face was immediately transmitted to his face, and she kept praising this boy for being a better eater than his father.

The kitchen needs a chef. He Yuzhu came out and showed his face for a moment, then quickly went back.

Sister Tang stayed behind to continue chatting with the grandparents and grandchildren.

"Oh, ever since the Yan family opened a restaurant opposite your house, I feel like a thief every time I come back." Mother Li took the tea prepared by Sister Tang, pursed her lips towards the outside, and told her what had just happened.

"Please wait, it's not far from closing time." Sister Tang glanced outside and said this.

Seeing that their restaurant was doing well, the Yan family also thought about opening their own restaurant.

It’s nothing. BJ is a big city and it can accommodate people doing the same business.

But the Yan family was really too bullying and was too calculating. Seeing that the He family's restaurant was being taken care of by old neighbors, they opened a restaurant opposite his house.

At the beginning, they were a little restrained, and regular customers would go to each restaurant based on their own abilities and skills.

If you want your restaurant business to be prosperous, you always need to rely on the following elements: chef skills, fresh ingredients, and service attitude.

In the beginning, Yan's Restaurant was able to become popular thanks to the connections among neighbors.

When the favors are used up, the inner shortcomings gradually become exposed.

First of all, the chef they hired is not as skilled as Yuzhu, at most he can be compared with his apprentice Ma Hua.

If Ma Hua had his master by his side to give him advice when he took action, there would be no need to compare who was better.

If the Yan family hadn't opened a business across from his, without such an obvious contrast, the store could have survived if it was located somewhere else.

Therefore, the tactic that Yan Jiecheng came up with at the beginning was both a success and a failure.

Once the business slowed down, the rotation of ingredients in the store began to lag behind.

If it were He Yuzhu, even if he was giving it away as a gift, he would never let the diners eat ingredients that were not fresh the day before.

But the Yan family's frugality is deeply rooted in their blood, and they cannot tolerate wasting food for no reason.

As this happened step by step, the Yan family's business became worse and worse, which became an inevitable result.

What should we do? We can’t just sit there and wait for death.

The whole family started thinking of a way out, but Yan Jiecheng came up with another dirty trick.

Let the three uncles and aunts take turns sitting at the door to solicit customers, just like they used to do at home.

He said politely, asking the person to come over and have a bite, as if he was inviting someone to dinner.

Little did you know that as soon as you put down your chopsticks, the bill would be delivered to you.

The bill is here now, it would be embarrassing not to pay it.

Li's mother suffered a loss once. How much could an old woman like her eat? If she went to He's Restaurant alone, she would order two dishes at most.

If He Yuzhu wasn't afraid that she would order too little every time and was unwilling to charge her, one dish would be enough for her alone.

Because He Yuzhu gave large portions of food, we even had to pack up some to take home.

But when we got to Yan's Restaurant, boom, she was still talking to the third uncle and aunt, and the dishes had already been served.

At first, she really thought that this family was treating her, and looking at the six dishes on the table, she said that they were being polite.

I was quite happy at that time, thinking that I could still have the chance to eat the meals hosted by the Yan family in this life. It seems that I had misunderstood this family before. It turned out that they were too poor before, so they couldn't afford it.

With this mood, even though Li Mu felt the food was average, she didn't say much during the meal.

Instead, he kept asking the three uncles and aunts to eat more.

It was not until the moment she put down her chopsticks that she realized that she was still too naive.

(End of this chapter)