Courtyard House: From Bloodsucking Jia Zhangshi to Industrial Giant

Chapter 52 Offering Unsolicited Favors!

Zhang Chenggong saw it clearly: Zhang Erya used to treat them, her poor relatives, like plague gods, but now she had suddenly changed her attitude. Why? Wasn't it because her third brother, Zhang Erya's third uncle, had become a cadre?

This attitude of using people and then discarding them... Zhang Chenggong was certain that Zhang Erya had taken advantage of his third brother quite a bit in the city.

No, I have to tell my third brother that he can't be fooled by Er Ya's sweet talk! Zhang Chenggong made up his mind.

To show that he was cutting ties with Er Ya, he didn't enter the Jia family's gate, but instead squatted at the entrance of the courtyard, waiting for his younger brother to come home.

"Second Brother, what brings you here?" Zhang Chengfei was quite surprised to see his second brother squatting at the gate of the courtyard house from afar.

Zhang Chenggong stood up and gave him a big smile: "Little Sanzi, you're finally back."

He swung his legs and said, "If you don't come back soon, my legs are going to go numb."

Zhang Chengfei looked around: "Second Brother, did you come alone?"

"How could that be! I came with my parents; they're at Er Ya's house." Mentioning Er Ya, Zhang Chenggong's eyes sharpened. "How come you're living in the same courtyard as Er Ya? That old woman is wicked, always sucking up to the powerful and bullying the weak. She hasn't been mistreating you, has she?"

Zhang Chengfei shook his head: "No, Er Ya is very good to me."

Zhang Chenggong scoffed: "That old woman won't act until she sees a benefit. If she's nice to you, it's because she wants to get something out of you. You've been a simpleton since you were little, always bullied in the village, all you know is to study."

Now that we're in the city, the people there are even worse, especially Er Ya! You need to be careful, or she'll bully you.

Hearing him keep calling her "old woman," Zhang Chengfei chuckled.

"What are you laughing at?" Zhang Chenggong asked.

"You're laughing at me for calling your own niece 'old woman'."

Zhang Chenggong rolled his eyes again: "Zhang Erya is ten years older than me, and she's an old woman! A shrew at that! Tell me the truth, did she really not bully you? Did she really not take advantage of you?"

Zhang Chengfei said earnestly, "It's not that I didn't benefit from you, but overall, I benefited more. We helped each other."

He wasn't just making this up, even though on the surface everyone thought it was Er Ya taking advantage of him.

In reality, he received far more from Er Ya than Er Ya received from him. That's why Zhang Chengfei spoke with such composure.

Zhang Chenggong simply couldn't believe that Zhang Erya, who had returned to her parents' home like a Japanese invader, would help others, but her younger brother's expression didn't seem like he was lying.

So he stopped asking questions and just emphasized, "They say that when a scholar encounters a soldier, reason is useless. If Er Ya's family really bullies you, just tell me and my older brother."

Don't forget you have nine nephews back in your hometown. With them around, you'll never be wronged.

Zhang Chengfei smiled and said, "Don't worry, Second Brother, no one can make me suffer."

The two returned to the courtyard house, but instead of going home, they went to the middle courtyard first.

Upon seeing their youngest son, whom they hadn't seen in a long time, Mr. and Mrs. Zhang were quite excited. Mrs. Zhang even pulled her son over for a full 360-degree look, finally muttering, "He's lost weight, he's thinner than the last time he came home."

Zhang Chengfei was both amused and exasperated: "Mom, I've gained two pounds."

Zhang's mother glared at her: "That means you've grown taller. In short, I said you've lost weight, so you've lost weight."

Alright, Zhang Chengfei shut up.

The family declined Er Ya's offer to stay for dinner and returned to the front yard.

Seeing her youngest son's simple room, Zhang's mother began to wipe away tears again.

Zhang's father pulled out his pipe and said gruffly, "What's there to cry about? Your third son is a cadre, and cadres have to set an example!"

Zhang's mother said angrily, "You're still the village chief, why aren't you setting a good example?"

Zhang's father exhaled a smoke ring: "When we get home, I'll throw all the furniture into the ditch, leaving only the earthen bed. It'll be even more rudimentary than what my third son has here. Are you satisfied now?"

"You dare!" Zhang's mother exclaimed angrily, "That whole room of furniture is what I saved for my third son to use when he gets married. If you dare to throw it away, I'll never forgive you..."

Seeing that the couple was about to start arguing, Zhang Chengfei quickly interrupted and asked his parents and second brother what business they had in coming to the city.

Zhang's mother shook her head: "It's nothing. Didn't I receive the money you sent? I was just wondering if you had something to do in the city."

Zhang Chenggong also said, "Little Sanzi, didn't you say when you came home three months ago that you'd only make a maximum of thirty-odd yuan a month after graduation? How come you've only been working for a few days and you're already sending back thirty yuan?"

Zhang Chengfei explained that he received the bonus: "I don't need that much if I eat in the cafeteria, so I thought I'd send it home to support my parents."

Mr. Zhang glared at him: "We can support ourselves, why would we need your filial piety?"

Zhang's mother also said that thirty yuan was too much, and that they had no place to spend money in the countryside, so they didn't need to pay.

Zhang Chengfei then changed his tune: "Mom, didn't you just say you wanted me to get married early? I spend money like water, if I had all the money, I could spend it all."

Zhang's mother thought about it and realized that was indeed the case. Young people don't understand how difficult it is to earn money, let alone how difficult it is to save money.

So he immediately made a decision: "From now on, you can send money home every month, and I'll save it for you."

That concluded the topic, and the family of four sat together chatting warmly. This was the first time Zhang Chengfei had met the Zhang family since he transmigrated.

Perhaps it was because he still harbored feelings for his predecessor, or perhaps it was because he had warm memories of the Zhang family. In any case, he got along very well with them.

As she was speaking, Zhang's mother suddenly slapped her thigh: "Where's the stuff I brought for the third son? I think I forgot it at Er Ya's house."

"I didn't forget, so I didn't bring it to Er Ya's house." Zhang Chenggong got up, walked to the corner of the wall, picked up a bag, and started taking things out.

Dried green beans, dried eggplant, dried potatoes, homemade vermicelli, and even two live old hens.

He took everything out; the old hen had its wings and legs tied, and was stuck on the ground, unable to move.

Zhang's mother laid the items out on the table one by one: "You need money and coupons to buy anything in the city, and even with these, you can't buy many things. These are all mountain products that I made myself. Third son, you keep them to improve your meals."

Zhang Chengfei gasped, "You even kill and eat an old hen?"

Zhang's mother poked his forehead: "What are you saying? You're keeping the old hen to lay eggs."

These days, old hens are known as "chicken butt banks" because ordinary families wouldn't dare eat them.

Zhang Chengfei hesitated, "I don't have time to feed the chickens. You should take them back with you."

Zhang's mother said that now that there's a cafeteria, meals are free.

"I've handed over most of my belongings. These are things I secretly hid because I knew you'd be starting your own business after graduation. If you don't want them, I'll just have to give them to the cafeteria when I get back."

Zhang Chenggong also said, "It's okay if you don't have time, but you don't have a good relationship with Er Ya, do you? Let her or her grandson feed her."

Zhang Chengfei thought to himself, "Let the Thief Saint feed the chickens? My second brother is really something else." But keeping the chickens is better than handing them over.