Chapter 297 Daily Life in the Courtyard

Grandma Weng puffed out her chest and said proudly after being praised.

"That's right. I believe in fate when it comes to renting a house. I was also scared before, you know?"

We really didn't want to live with difficult people, so when my husband and I decided to rent out the house, we already decided that we'd rather leave it vacant than rent it to someone with a tainted background.

“These tenants were all carefully selected by me. I even went to their workplaces to inquire about them.”

Although it's a bit troublesome, it turns out that this procedure cannot be skipped.

They can rent a place here, but I need to find out about their family situation.

I'll only accept them if what they say matches what I've found out.

"Don't let my house's location fool you, it's cheap. The people who come here to inquire are all referred by the neighborhood committee or the street office."

These kids have it tough; they all come from families with many children, and there are always conflicts. They'd rather spend a little money to live alone for some peace and quiet, and they've been living here for over a year now.

Considering that this is a food factory, a cannery, and a cotton mill, how come the old couple's life is so difficult?

The old man and woman seemed to see through Xiao Jiu's doubts and said calmly.

“Normally, unless it’s about housing, I hardly have any contact with them, and I’ve never thought of using their work connections to get any benefits for myself. My uncle and I have special status, so we’re not the type of people who would want to bother us.”

Xiao Jiu could see the helplessness and caution in the eyes of the old man and woman.

Having probably gone through some things, he sacrificed the lives of his two sons to appease public anger and gain this moment of peace.

Even if we don't say they're just barely surviving by profiting from their own son's suffering, they're certainly going through a lot of torment every day.

She understood this feeling because her grandparents had been treated the same way before.

This frightened her so much that she developed a psychological trauma, always feeling that if she ate well, she would be bullied in various ways, so she was constantly suppressing her feelings.

"If it weren't for the fact that this old man was seriously ill this time, and we had spent all our money but still couldn't get better.

Seeing him getting better and better every day, I wouldn't risk going out. I'm so grateful to have met you, such a kind little girl!

Seeing their cautious demeanor, Xiao Jiu felt extremely conflicted. At this moment, they were unaware that the real movement had not yet begun; before, it was merely a topic of conversation. They should now be grateful that their families had been destroyed and people had died, which was not necessarily a bad thing.

If you were to travel to this era, even the most flamboyant person would have to live with their tail between their legs. If you were to submit a letter of denunciation, you would be severely punished, if not killed.

Those people in that committee are all wolves and tigers. If they catch you, they have plenty of ways to pin a crime on you if they want to.

Perhaps a book, a letter, or a few lines of text are enough for them to find fault with you. The key is that some problems are right in front of you, and you don't even know they are crimes. Isn't that ridiculous?

She was like a real child for the first ten years of her life because there was no place for her to use her talents at home, and no one gave her a chance.

Things are different now. Now that she's studying in the city, she has to start saving money from this point on so she can get into university as soon as possible.

Considering the timeframe, Xiao Jiu felt the safest option was to apply to a military academy.

Fifth Sister said that one should not study traditional Chinese medicine, because if one does, one will become a target of persecution, and it might even affect one's job.

Despite feeling aggrieved, as they felt that traditional Chinese medicine had been suppressed by Western medicine for a century, it was truly frustrating.

What's even more infuriating is that the calls to "abandon Chinese medicine and embrace Western medicine" have surged, and the debate between Chinese and Western medicine has been fierce. While Chinese medicine is facing a "life-or-death crisis," Western medicine is gradually gaining a foothold in the Qing Dynasty.

That's right, the trend of "abandoning Chinese medicine and adopting Western medicine" started in the Qing Dynasty. Even in the era when she studied it, it was still suppressed and resisted by countless people. On the contrary, Japanese and Korean medicine developed in South Korea, while all the high-quality Chinese medicine in my country was exported. Instead, the Chinese people enjoyed inferior products. This shows that some countries have successfully infiltrated and brainwashed us.

Even if Xiao Jiu was unwilling to give up so easily, he had to consider his personal safety before the 1980s.

Perhaps studying medicine in the military at this time is really the best way out; maybe only the military can restore traditional Chinese medicine to its pure state.

The two elderly people urged her to go and rest, but Xiao Jiu shook her head, "I can't sleep, why don't I wait here for a while?"

Fortunately, by a little while, everyone except the single mother from the cannery had returned.

"Pneumonia, with a high fever of 41 degrees Celsius. If the fever continues like this all night, the person will definitely die."

Thankfully, it was discovered early, and the fever was reduced with an injection, so the bleeding stopped.

She had convulsions on the way there, which nearly scared us to death.

Sister Zhao is staying there now. She said she's on the afternoon shift tomorrow, and if Sister Cao Li's condition stabilizes by tomorrow morning, she'll come back.

After explaining Cao Li's situation, the group, led by Wang Guozhong, a technician from the machinery factory, all looked at Tao Tao.

"Oh my, your little sister has amazing hearing, is very observant, and cautious. Your Aunt Cao Li asked me to thank you on her behalf. She said she'll treat you sisters to a nice meal once she's better."

Xiao Jiu scratched his head sheepishly, "Aunt Cao bumped her head, and it made a loud noise, a thud. Otherwise, I wouldn't have disturbed everyone."

Oh well, whatever. My older sister calls them "big sister," and they automatically lower their generation because they see her as younger.

Since we're not related, you can call me whatever you want.

"Don't worry about disturbing us. We don't know each other at all. It's fate that brought us together in the same courtyard. Let's help each other out in the future. Don't be shy. It's almost Chinese New Year, so I hope everyone stays healthy!"

As expected of the oldest among them, Wang Guozhong's shout was met with a few cheers from everyone. After all, they had to go to work the next day, and under the call of the old man and woman, they all went home to sleep early.

The two sisters returned to the house, and Tang Cuiju collapsed onto the bed, exhausted.

"Jiu'er, you're amazing! Just thinking about it makes me shudder!"

"Aunt Cao is awake?"

"Yes, I woke up briefly when they gave me the fever reducer, and then fell into a deep sleep again."

Because she needed to get a shot, Sister Yanling volunteered to stay. They're all such good people!

Of all of us, she's the only one who works two shifts.

I heard that her husband passed away and she was kicked out by her in-laws. She only brings her child back on weekends or holidays. She's a pitiful person.

Do you think women really have to get married? Why do I suddenly feel like being single is pretty good too?

Look at you, you earn your own money and spend it as you please, and you don't even have to take care of the elderly or the young.

What kind of person is this, kicking someone out just because the man died?

She even stole someone else's job.

They clearly gave birth to two granddaughters for their family, but because they weren't boys, they were disliked in every way.

Don't they realize they're women too? Without women, they wouldn't be able to be fathers or grandmothers!

Ugh, just thinking about it makes me sick!

Seeing her second sister's indignant expression, Xiao Jiu suddenly felt a sense of déjà vu with her eldest sister, as if her second sister had been assimilated by her eldest sister in some ways.

Although what Tang Cuiju said was true, for a woman, finding a husband is undoubtedly a second life.

If you make the wrong choice, it will affect your quality of life for the rest of your life.

She also wants her sisters to live well. Being alone for life is a decision made only when there are no other options, and that time hasn't come yet.

Considering that Tang Cuiju had to go to work the next day, Xiao Jiu didn't say much.

She just silently wished that her second sister would find a suitable partner soon.

The night wasted, and the second sister woke up late the next morning. She didn't even have time to cook. She just packed her things and sat down at the bar.

"Jiu'er, I'm not cooking for you anymore. I'll just buy two steamed buns to eat later. You can cook something for yourself. I get off work at 12 o'clock, so please leave me some food."

Xiao Jiu groggily opened her eyes and saw her second sister's back as she closed the door. In her hazy state, it seemed that it was still dark outside.

I took the alarm clock out of the warehouse and glanced at it; it was only 7:30.

The cold outside the covers made her instinctively crawl back inside to continue sleeping.

I vaguely heard someone outside ask, "Sister Yanling, you're back? How's Sister Cao Li?"

"Her fever has subsided and her condition has stabilized, but she still has inflammation. She'll need injections for a few more days. I asked the nurse to buy her some food."

"Then you should eat something and take a nap so you won't be late for your afternoon shift."

...

When Ajiu woke up again, it was already past ten o'clock. She stretched while snuggled in the quilt, took out her thermal underwear, cotton-padded jacket and trousers from between the two layers of quilts, and dressed herself before hunching her neck out to look at the coal stove.

Last night they turned off the fire, and a pot was sitting on top with hot water inside.

The thermos was empty; my second sister must have used it. After washing up with hot water, she looked at the food in the house and considered what to eat for lunch.

Given the thorough understanding I had last night, and knowing that everyone except Zhao Yanling in the south room of the west wing was eating at the company cafeteria and wouldn't be coming home for lunch today, I decided to make something nice.

She wandered into the warehouse, chopped up a bunch of winter melon, a few green peppers, a handful of vermicelli, and took out four lion's head meatballs the size of a baby's fist. These were frozen and only needed to be steamed thoroughly, but she didn't bother with the fire; she would stew them with the vegetables later.

It had been a long time since I'd eaten rice, and Xiao Jiu had also cooked a coal ball. Around 11 o'clock, we started stir-frying vegetables in an iron pot.

Slice the winter melon and shred the green peppers, stir-fry evenly, add enough water, vermicelli, and meatballs, place a steamer rack on top, put the rinsed four kinds of cooked rice (rice, millet, corn kernels, and green beans) into a basin, add water, cover with a large pot lid, and remove the fire-sealing lid from the coal stove.

One-pot cooking methods may not produce the most delicious results, but they save fuel and time, and there won't be a strong odor that people will notice and gossip about. This is unlike cooking in your own warehouse, where you can cook whatever you want. When cooking outside, you have to be very careful.

Her caution over the years wasn't out of fear of death, but rather to avoid causing unnecessary trouble for her family.

When you have enough to eat and drink, there's absolutely no need to risk doing things that are inappropriate for your age.