Love in the Siheyuan: Starting from Jia Dongxu

He Daqing thought for a moment and said, "I'm afraid Old Yi is unhappy today. I guess I won't be able to become his disciple."

"I'll cook a few dishes later, have a drink together and then talk to him about it. We've been neighbors for many years, so we shouldn't be estranged over this matter."

At this time, He Yushui in the room started shouting for food.

When He Daqing looked into the house, his face changed. His stupid son was making a fuss about the rain.

Seeing this, Jia Zhang hurriedly put on a smile and said, "Okay, uncle, you go ahead and do your work. I'll go see Dongxu."

After entering the house, he started cursing, "Eat, eat, you money-loser, you're delaying my Dongxu's business."

"Mom, what are you doing with your dirty mouth?"

Jia Dongxu felt annoyed after hearing this, as he didn't like gossipers in the first place.

It's so annoying to have to live with someone who is always nagging and foul-mouthed.

"You little bastard, you eat and drink my food every day, and now you're teaching me a lesson!"

Jia Zhang frowned and started cursing at the top of her voice.

"Okay, if you have the energy to argue, clean up the house. It's such a mess, it's painful to look at."

Jia Dongxu glanced at Jia Zhang and walked around the room.

Jia Zhang stopped and saw her son looking here and there. She wanted to scold him, but when she saw her son's disgusted look, she felt a little weaker.

"Mom, can we fix up this house? It looks like such a mess."

Jia Dongxu pointed at the corners and the roof and shook his head.

"It's a waste to have such a big house with a large opening."

"Did you make money by repairing the house? Your father's pension was only 800 copper coins after his death four years ago, and it is only worth 800 yuan now. No one has made any money for my mother and me for four years. What have we eaten and drank?" Jia Zhang scolded.

(In order to save your time, 1 copper coin is equal to 1 dollar)

"Mom, what have I been doing these years?" Jia Dongxu pointed at himself.

He looked at himself, who was as thin as a skeleton, and then looked at the plump Jia Zhang and shook his head.

"What are you doing? You're playing crazy with Shazhu and Xu Damao all day long. Shazhu is at least learning cooking, but you've been going home to play for four or five years since you finished junior high school."

Jia Zhang said this and looked at her son.

"You just said you were going to study. Are you going to scare your mother to death? How can you study like that?"

"Okay, okay, it's not that hard to study. I can study while working. It's hard to get promoted if you don't have good cultural background."

Jia Dongxu thought that he might really have to work in a steel rolling mill in the future.

How can this family survive on that little bit of pension? It seems I was just taking it for granted.

But this house must be repaired immediately. How can people live in it like this?

Jia Dongxu looked at the house and found that the interior area was about 60 square meters.

In the future, when there is not enough space for my wife and children to live here, I will try to make it into a four-bedroom house, and add a washroom and toilet.

"Mom, I want to repair this house. Our house is really uninhabitable."

Jia Dongxu said this, pointing to the kitchen on the other side which was connected to the living room.

"You stupid kid, didn't I just tell you that our family doesn't make any money? Otherwise, how can we find someone to borrow money?"

Jia Zhang said angrily, "With your father's pension and our savings, we only have 700 yuan now."

"Will you not live here after you build the house? Will you not find a wife for me? Will your mother not take care of you in your old age?"

(Don’t mention large denomination banknotes, I don’t want to multiply them)

"Mom, I don't want to work anymore, is it 17 or 18 yuan a month?"

As Jia Dongxu spoke, he thought about the wages in TV dramas. Since he had just arrived, he should be getting an apprentice's salary.

"19 yuan!" said Jia Zhang.

"After becoming a regular employee, I get a first-level salary of 27 yuan, and my family's monthly living expenses are about 8 yuan."

"Dongxu, you have to give me 18 yuan a month, and 25 yuan after three years if you become a regular employee."

"Oh, Mom, let's not talk about the salary, let's talk about repairing the house first. I tell you, if this house is not repaired, I will give you 10 yuan a month and I will go out and find a place to live by myself."

Jia Zhang was shocked when she heard this. If she didn't repair the house, it would be troublesome if her son really ran away, so she quickly agreed.

"Okay, okay, you don't know how to save money when renovating the house. It will cost at least four or five hundred yuan."

"But it's good to have the house built. Then I can find a wife."

When Jia Zhang thought about this, she no longer objected. Her son was now working and gave her money every month, which was fine.

He is 18 years old now, and when he turns 20, he will be a regular employee. He should have saved up a lot of money, and then he can start looking for marriage.

But I have to do it a year in advance and ask someone to find it for me.

"Mom, what procedures do we need to complete the renovation of the house? Let's do it today. I don't want to stay in this house for even a day." Jia Dongxu said, looking at his home.

"You stupid kid, you grew up here and yet you still despise it!" Jia Zhang said as she went out.

"Come on, let's go talk to your uncle first."

"Oh, wait for me." Jia Dongxu hurriedly followed him out.

Jia Zhang brought Jia Dongxu to He Daqing's house, which had three large rooms neatly arranged.

He Daqing, Sha Zhu and Yu Shui were having breakfast, so he greeted them.

"Sister-in-law, Dongxu, have you eaten yet? Come and have something to eat."

When Jia Zhang saw the steamed buns, millet porridge and pickled vegetables on the table, she swallowed and was about to start a conversation.

Jia Dongxu hurried forward and pulled Jia Zhang away.

"No, Uncle He, you are the boss of the courtyard. I came here to discuss with you the renovation of my house."

He Daqing saw Jia Dongxu's expression and put down his chopsticks. "Well, Dongxu, this is a good thing. Do you have any rules on your side?"

"I want to find a house repairman to renovate my house, build a loft and a few rooms for the future, build a bathroom and dig a water well, so that it will be easier for my mother to clean up."

Jia Dongxu thought for a while and said.

He Daqing pondered for a while, "I'm afraid this will cost a lot of money. We can't save on labor costs. As for materials, I can help you figure it out and save you some money."

"You go to the Military Control Commission first to settle this matter, and make an appointment with the master to come to our courtyard, and I will come to discuss it."

"If you want water, you have to dig a pressurized well. You are not allowed to get tap water privately. It is quite troublesome to get water every day."

"But the water from the pressurized wells in the capital is not good. It needs to be filtered several times. Generally, people are unwilling to spend the money. Do you want to waste money?"

"Then filter it more times. It's really troublesome to queue up with buckets to get water every day." Jia Dongxu shook his head.

He Daqing nodded and said, "Go find the master first."

"Well, okay Uncle He, if we're just building a house, I'm afraid I'll have to borrow your house to stay for a few days."

He Daqing thought for a moment and said, "Yushui is staying in the side room of the east wing. My sister-in-law will go and stay with Yushui for a few days. You can stay with Shazhu."

After hearing this, Jia Dongxu nodded quickly and said, "Okay, Uncle He, I'll go to the Military Control Commission with my mother right now. I'll treat you to dinner tonight."

Then he pulled Jia Zhang out of the door and said, "Mom, take me to the military control committee of the street."

On the way, Jia Dongxu and Jia Zhangshi said, "Mom, can you stop staring at other people's dinner tables? Can't we afford to eat or what?"

"Kid, you don't know that saving money is saving money. Your uncle He's family eats white flour buns in the morning, I want to eat them too!"

Jia Zhang kept muttering to herself that it was a pity to give such good white flour buns to that fool and money-loser.

"If you want to eat it, let's buy some flour when we go shopping for groceries and make it ourselves!" said Jia Dongxu.

After thinking for a while, I decided to go buy some groceries. I would invite He Daqing to dinner in the evening. He has a wide network of contacts and I'm sure he could find cheap ingredients. I could save maybe 70 or 80 bucks.

When Jia Zhang heard this, her heart skipped a beat and she stared at Jia Dongxu.

"What food do you want to buy? Are you going to treat us? Dongxu, we have to spend money to build a house, so we should save money and not be extravagant."