Siheyuan: Five mouths waiting for food at the beginning

"Shanhe, can you find me a job, even if it's just guarding the gate? I can't stay at home all day." The father-in-law drank two glasses of wine and started talking.

"Father-in-law, it's not that I don't want to find you a job. You've worked hard for most of your life. Now it's time to enjoy life. If you're really bored, you can go fishing or play chess."

"Shanhe, you don't know, I've been busy for almost my whole life, and now I'm suddenly free, and I feel empty inside. My grandchildren are grown up, and my daughter-in-law and others are worried about them. I really can't stay here any longer."

"Son-in-law, why don't you find a job for your father-in-law? I'm worried about him as he wanders around all day." The mother-in-law also chimed in.

"Father-in-law, I wonder if you have lost your carpentry skills?"

"It's definitely not as good as before, but it's still no problem to make some small things."

"Father-in-law, do you think this will work? I'll give you some blueprints later, and you can make some crafts and toys. I'll take all of them then."

"Son-in-law, forget it. You have nowhere to put it. There's no need to bother with this for the old man."

"Look at what you said. Who said it's useless? You know the guests in the hotel are either rich or noble. They will be given as small gifts, especially foreigners. They really like these things.

How much can you do by yourself? I have so many restaurants, maybe there won’t be enough to share.

It's just that you're too old, otherwise I can provide you with the blueprints and open a factory for you, and then you can do some toy export business and make some money."

"Forget about opening a factory. I really can't handle those things. I just want to find a job. As for the drawings, I'll trouble you, son-in-law."

"It's okay. I'll find some time to work on it later. But I have to make it clear, you can just do it and treat it as a fun way to kill time. Don't be so busy that you don't even have time to eat.

Father-in-law, I know you too well. You are so busy that you don't even have time to eat. Mother-in-law, you should watch over me when the time comes."

“Yeah, I definitely watched him.”

"Oh, by the way, father-in-law, drink less low-quality alcohol and smoke less. You are old now, you need to take care of your health. I don't think it's possible for me to quit smoking and drinking.

If you want to smoke and drink, smoke the good ones and drink the good ones. I'll ask Jingru to get some for you later."

"I haven't finished the wine Jingru brought last time. I've put all the Zhonghua cigarettes away. You can keep those for your son-in-law. You are an official. Those things are suitable for you. It would be a waste for an old country man like me to drink them."

"Father-in-law, look at what you said, how can it be a waste? No matter how good the cigarettes and alcohol are, they are for people to eat and drink. I have received many of those things as gifts from others.

You said you gave them away, why are you leaving them there? You should smoke them now, don’t be reluctant to part with them. If you don’t have them anymore, just give Jingru a call and ask her to send them to you. I have plenty of those things, and it would be a waste to leave them there.”

Zhao Shanhe was not bragging. He had a room in his house dedicated to the gifts given by friends and relatives, disciples and various social interactions during the holidays.

"I, Old Qin, don't know what good things I did in my previous life, but I have a good son-in-law like you in this life. I can't help you in any way, but I owe it all to you. Shanhe, I respect you."

"Father-in-law, look at what you said, you let your daughter marry me, isn't this the right thing to do?"

After three rounds of wine and five kinds of dishes, Zhao Shanhe left the Qin family after getting his father-in-law drunk.

My father-in-law's alcohol tolerance is much lower than that of my third uncle. He got drunk after drinking just a little. Zhao Shanhe didn't react at all.

"Jingru, we've been married for so many years, but I haven't accompanied you shopping many times. How about I go shopping with you?"

"Okay." Qin Jingru was as happy as a child.

After just a while of shopping, Zhao Shanhe wanted to slap himself twice. Going shopping with a woman was simply a torture.

So Zhao Shanhe made an excuse, "Jingru, why don't you go to the hospital to see your sister."

"You mean Qin Huairu? If I don't go, it's good enough that I can lend her money. I won't go to see her."

"Don't give a shit about the monk, give a shit about the Buddha. For Bang Geng's sake, please go and have a look. I told Bang Geng the other day that I would take time to go and have a look."

"Fine"

The two bought some fruit snacks and came to the hospital.

To be honest, Zhao Shanhe was surprised to see Qin Huairu again. It had been a long time since they last met. Zhao Shanhe did not expect Qin Huairu to have aged so quickly and even had white hair.

Her body is not as plump as before. She has lost a lot of weight and looks much more haggard.

To be honest, influenced by the TV series, Zhao Shanhe has a very bad impression of Qin Huairu, including the Jia Zhang family joke.

But after being in contact with her for a long time, he married Qin Jingru and they became relatives. To put it bluntly, it was the life of a small person at the bottom of society. From a social perspective, Qin Huairu's bloodsucking behavior was immoral.

But from the perspective of a family mother, Zhao Shanhe dared not comment. She raised the whole family very well. Zhao Shanhe also took responsibility for the whole family after traveling through time.

He knew how difficult it was to support a family in that era. Even though he had the help of his father's comrades-in-arms, Qin Huairu's situation was even more difficult than his.

"Shanhe, Jingru, you are here. Thank you for coming to see me. Thank you for lending me money for medical treatment. Don't worry, I will try my best to pay you back when I recover."

"Okay, let's not talk about money for now. You should take good care of your illness first." Zhao Shanhe didn't know what to say in front of Qin Huairu.

"Shanhe, Jingru, to be honest, I'd rather die. I'm just dragging Banggeng down. He's had a serious illness before, and his health isn't that good.

This child has suffered so much. He lost his father at such a young age. He just bought a house with a loan, and now he has to pay for my medical treatment. There are many old and young people in the family.”

"It's just that Banggeng lost his father when he was young, and you raised him. He can't help but watch you die, so don't think too much about it. Cooperate with him and recover from the illness as soon as possible, so that the filial piety of the child will not be in vain."

"Um"

"Why are you alone? No one is taking care of you?"

"Fat Ya is taking care of me. She just left and went home to cook. She will be here later."

"Has the surgery been done?"

"Not yet. The doctor said that my health is not good and he is afraid that I will die on the operating table. He asked me to recuperate first. I guess the surgery will be done after the New Year."

"Then take good care of it,"

"Um"

Zhao Shanhe really didn't know what to say. Qin Jingru beside him didn't say anything either. "Then you have a good rest. We'll leave first."

"Jingru, can I talk to you for a few words?"

"Then I'll go out for a walk, you can talk to your sister."

Zhao Shanhe left the hospital and stood outside to smoke a cigarette when Qin Jingru came down.

"Let's go home and cook. The children should be back soon."

"Brother, aren't you curious about what she told me?"

"I'm not curious about anything. It's nothing more than apologizing to you and saying sorry to you."

"Brother, how do you know?"

"It's simple. You envied her for marrying into the city, and you also married into the city. You live better than her, and she is jealous. But the gap between the two of you is too big, and she will never be able to catch up with you.

Besides, Banggeng, Xiaodang, and Huaihua are all in our company. If you lend her money for medical treatment, what else can she say except to apologize? "