Courtyard House: From Bloodsucking Jia Zhangshi to Industrial Giant

Chapter 6: Xiao Dang Shares the Candy, Qin Huairu Despairs

He didn't want to be nagged at every day, so he turned and ran away after saying that.

Seeing this, Yi Zhonghai felt another pang of heartache. It was all Zhang Chengfei's fault! If he hadn't shown up and hadn't claimed kinship with the Jia family, why would he have bothered to come and test Sha Zhu?

No, it seems Shazhu is no match for Dongxu. Since that's the case, we'll have to think of another way…

"Ding, congratulations, host, your dislike value has increased by 78."

……

Inside the Jia family's house,

As Jia Zhangshi and Jia Dongxu were setting out the dishes, Zhang Chengfei put down his teacup, and the system's voice sounded in his mind again.

This was the Nth time Zhang Erya had received a dislike score after deliberately spreading the smell of meat throughout the entire courtyard.

Just as Zhang Chengfei was congratulating himself for the 10086th time that he had made the right choice in coming to the courtyard, a series of firecrackers went off in the courtyard, followed by loud cheers from Bang Geng.

Well, this wave has earned Zhang Chengfei another 300 points of dislike.

Qin Huairu left home, carrying a net bag containing a lunchbox, and with Xiao Dang in her arms, boarded a bus from Changping to the capital, heading straight for Dongzhimen Station.

After arriving at the station, I transferred to a bus and returned to Nanluoguxiang at 1 p.m.

She muttered that it seemed she could only eat this dish for dinner as she walked towards the courtyard house.

As I walked to the door, I saw Yan Bugui sweeping up the firecracker debris scattered all over the ground.

Although Qin Huairu was somewhat assertive in her family home, she somehow always seemed timid in the city.

A smile played on her lips: "Third Uncle, sweeping the floor? Oh, look at all this red paper scattered everywhere, whose family is celebrating a happy occasion?"

Yan Bugui, with a stern face and his eyes drooping behind his glasses, said sarcastically, "Whose family? Your Jia family, your mother-in-law Zhang Erya, of course."

Qin Huairu was taken aback: "Third Uncle, you're joking. What joy could my mother-in-law possibly have?"

Yan Bugui sneered, "What do you mean, 'no'? Your mother-in-law's third uncle came to claim kinship, and she's overjoyed. She's cooked chicken right now and is entertaining him!"

Oh? My mother-in-law's third uncle? He must be sixty years old?

A sixty-year-old man came to claim kinship, and his mother-in-law enthusiastically offered to cook chicken? Is this, is this, still the mother-in-law she knows?

Moreover, why did the third uncle look so angry when his mother-in-law and third uncle came to recognize him?

Qin Huairu, completely bewildered, dragged Xiaodang home. Yan Bugui stared intently at the lunchbox in her net bag, feeling a sudden pang of heartache.

In truth, Yan Bugui knew that even with Zhang Chengfei's kinship claim, the Jia family's life wouldn't necessarily be better than his own. But he still felt uneasy!

He could accept that Yi Zhonghai was better off than him, that Liu Haizhong's family was better off than him, and even that Xu Damao's family was better off than his own.

Because these families were already better off than theirs.

But the thought that the Jia family, who were originally at the bottom of the family in the courtyard house, were suddenly better off than his own family, even if it was just for one day or a little, made him feel like he was sitting on pins and needles, like he had a fishbone stuck in his throat.

The thought that his family hadn't been able to eat eggs for half a year, yet Zhang Erya had actually fried three eggs in one meal, made Yan Bugui feel that this was worse than killing him!

It's all Zhang Chengfei's fault!! Yan Bugui's dislike for Zhang Chengfei soared once again.

Qin Huairu didn't believe Yan Bugui's words at first, but along the way, all the neighbors she met said that her mother-in-law's third uncle had come to recognize his relatives, and her mother-in-law had even prepared a feast for him.

This forced Qin Huairu to believe it, and at the same time, smelling the fragrant aroma, a surge of anger suddenly rose in Qin Huairu's heart.

Ever since she married into the Jia family, her mother-in-law had been instilling in her the idea that she should take care of her husband's family and not her own family, and that "her husband's family is her own family, and her own family is just relatives." She was also constantly told not to be too good to her own family.

And now?

When her own family members came, she was so eager to give them everything she had to feed and entertain that sixty-year-old man!

Qin Huairu was filled with rage and anger. She slammed open the door, wanting to have a serious talk with Jia Dongxu.

To everyone's surprise, upon entering, they were greeted not by a sixty-year-old man, but by a handsome young man.

That young man is really handsome, with sword-like eyebrows and bright eyes, tall and straight, and a straight nose with slightly wide nostrils.

Having been married to Jia Dongxu for seven years, Qin Huairu was no longer a naive young girl. On the contrary, having raised two children, she had seen and experienced much, and knew what such a nose meant.

Without thinking, Qin Huairu squeezed her legs together.

When Jia Zhangshi saw her daughter-in-law rushing in, she couldn't help but frown: "Qin Huairu, what are you doing? Why are you making such a racket?"

Qin Huairu snapped out of her daze and crossed her legs again: "Um, Mom, I heard from the neighbors that my third grandfather is here. Where is he?"

"Isn't the person right in front of you?" Jia Zhangshi said irritably.

Qin Huairu was incredibly surprised: "This, this is my third grandfather?"

Jia Dongxu stepped in to explain, and Qin Huairu was speechless after hearing it, but she finally understood why her mother-in-law had cooked such a delicious meal.

A vocational school graduate, only twenty years old, so promising, already in a management position at work...

This meal my mother-in-law prepared wasn't for her third uncle; it was clearly for a golden hen!

But then again, since Third Grandfather is so handsome, why is Dongxu...? Isn't it said that nephews resemble their uncles? Then it's reasonable for a grandson to resemble his great-uncle, right?

Looking at the two completely different men in front of her, Qin Huairu suddenly felt a pang of heartache.

Madam Jia was unaware of Qin Huairu's thoughts; she simply told her to quickly call him Third Grandfather.

After Qin Huairu called out, she placed the net bag on the table and told her mother-in-law that it was a delicious treat that her family had specially asked her to bring back.

Madam Jia wondered to herself if the Qin family could be so good, but she didn't question Qin Huairu in front of her third grandfather.

The family then sat down to eat, and Xiao Dangyang looked at his overly young great-grandfather with a curious expression.

"Xiao Dang, what are you looking at?" Zhang Chengfei reached out and pinched her cheek, then pulled out a handful of sour peppers from his pocket. "Great-grandfather gave these to you. Take them and eat them."

Although Xiao Dang is only five years old, he understands the principle of not eating alone.

She pointed to each candy with her little finger and found there were five, so she handed them out one by one.

When the candy was handed to Qin Huairu, just as she was about to take it, Banggeng said anxiously, "Xiaodang, Mom doesn't like candy."

In the past, when the family finally had candy, his mother would never eat it, saying she wasn't used to sweets.

Banggeng seemed to want to show off his understanding of his mother, so he counted on his fingers to Zhang Chengfei: "My mom doesn't like sweets, eggs, meat, wheat flour, or rice... Basically, my mom doesn't like any good things."

After listing all the things his mother didn't like to eat, Banggeng thought to himself that his second aunt was right; beautiful women really are all foolish. Take his mother, for example. She refuses to eat what's delicious, but eats what's unpalatable with great relish. What else could that be but foolishness?

Goodness...

Qin Huairu glanced at Bang Geng silently, and once again began to doubt his intelligence.