Chapter 19: You Won't Be Impoverished by Eating or Wearing, but You'll Suffer from Poor Planning
Granny Zhou looked at Huang Weiguo in surprise: "Weiguo has become quite sensible after recovering from his illness."
Huang Weiguo said: "This is all thanks to my mother's teaching!"
He couldn't very well say that he had come here with modern memories and knew everything about this place like the back of his hand.
After leaving Granny Zhou's family, everyone in the entire Siheyuan knew that Huang Weiguo had earned money from hunting and was going door to door repaying past kindnesses.
Upon hearing this, Jia Zhangshi turned livid with anger and shouted: "Heavens above, this is truly an outrage!"
Huang Weiguo himself eats and drinks lavishly, yet he doesn't care about the life or death of us orphans and widows!
He gives grain to other families. Clearly, our Jia Family is the most destitute, so why doesn't he give any to our house?"
Jia Dongxu's face also looked very unpleasant at this moment. He had just received his wages today and originally wanted to show off and bask in glory within the Siheyuan.
But as a result, all the limelight was stolen by Huang Weiguo.
One family owning two bicycles! Even his own wife's eyes sparkled when looking at Huang Weiguo.
Qin Huairu looked at Jia Dongxu's pathetic state, how he had to rely on his master for everything, and felt very uncomfortable inside.
Had she chosen the wrong person?
Should she have chosen Weiguo back then?
But she didn't dare say this out loud. If she angered Jia Dongxu and Jia Zhangshi, she would definitely get beaten.
Qin Huairu raised her head and happened to see Huang Weiguo carrying a large bag of grain heading towards the front courtyard.
Her eyes slightly reddened, and she suddenly felt somewhat wronged.
Even if she married Jia Dongxu, did Huang Weiguo have to be so heartless towards her?
After all, they used to get along quite well.
Under everyone's gaze, Huang Weiguo arrived at the front courtyard.
It's just that Old Lin wasn't home; only Old Lin's eldest daughter, Lin Shuitao, was home alone.
Seeing Huang Weiguo enter the house, Lin Shuitao's eyes looked somewhat flustered. She said: "Weiguo, you're here? Come in and sit, I'll pour you a cup of water!"
Huang Weiguo said: "Sister Shui Tao, don't trouble yourself. When I was sick before, I relied on Uncle Lin's help.
Now that I can hunt and earn money, I've come to bring Uncle Lin some grain!"
Lin Shuitao stared at the ten jin of cornmeal and two jin of white flour before her, her eyes wide with astonishment. She quickly waved her hands in refusal.
She claimed she had only given him a small amount of white flour before, never this much, and simply couldn't accept such a thing.
With sincere earnestness, he urged Sister Shui Tao to accept it, saying it was merely a small token of his gratitude.
Meanwhile, Old Lin was telling the visitor with a troubled expression that his family currently really didn't need to sell the house and suggested they ask other residents in the courtyard.
Old Lin walked into the house with a grim expression, spotted Huang Weiguo at a glance, was momentarily stunned, and asked him what he was doing.
Huang Weiguo explained his purpose for coming. Seeing Old Lin about to refuse, he immediately changed the subject and asked Uncle Lin if he had just been talking to Third Uncle about selling the house.
Old Lin squatted on the ground, took a puff of his pipe, and slowly began to explain. He said it was because the family really couldn't go on any longer, so he was thinking of selling the house and taking Shui Tao back to the countryside.
He added that Third Uncle had previously said he wanted to buy the house for his eldest son, but now, hearing their family was struggling to survive, he had changed his tune and said he wouldn't buy it.
Not buying it was one thing, but he also wouldn't let others come to view the house. Clearly, he wanted to wait until their family was truly desperate so he could buy it at a rock-bottom price.
Old Lin turned livid with anger, feeling Yan Bugui's calculations were far too shrewd.
If Old Lin's family could sell the house slowly, they might still get a decent price; but if they waited until they were at their wits' end to sell, wouldn't the price be whatever Yan Bugui decided?
After all, when people are in desperate straits trying to survive, they can't afford to consider much else.
Huang Weiguo carefully observed Uncle Lin's house. He knew from the original story that this house was precisely Yan Jiecheng and Yu Li's marital home.
It seemed that in the original plot, Yan Bugui's scheme succeeded. He forced Old Lin to sell the house when he couldn't go on any longer, definitely at a heavily suppressed price. That's why, when the Siheyuan storyline began, Yan Jiecheng already had a house and a wife.
Originally, when Huang Weiguo read the original novel, he thought Yan Bugui was just stingy and fond of scheming, not inherently bad, and even helped Sha Zhu collect scrap to repay debts.
But being personally in this environment, he now understood how vicious Yan Bugui's scheming truly was!
Huang Weiguo advised Uncle Lin, saying that returning to the countryside might not necessarily be a good solution.
With grain becoming scarcer by the day, he and Shui Tao at least still had urban household registration, making it easier to find work.
If they returned to the village and the harvest failed, they would truly be crying out to heaven with no answer, crying out to earth with no relief.
He knew in his heart that once the supply system was implemented, the Lin family would have rationed grain. Counting it out, it was only about a year away.
For the Lin family to leave now would be a truly huge loss.
Old Lin sighed and said he understood this reasoning too, but he really couldn't go on.
Huang Weiguo stated that he had earned some money from hunting and asked Uncle Lin how much he still needed. He could lend it to Old Lin, to be repaid slowly when Old Lin had the means.
Old Lin looked at Huang Weiguo with reddened eyes, hesitated for a moment, and said no. Huang Weiguo wasn't married yet, and that money was for important life matters.
Huang Weiguo told Uncle Lin to rest assured. His money was enough to start a family, and moreover, he had found a job. It was just that the specific arrangements weren't finalized yet; he would report for duty once everything was settled.
Old Lin looked at Huang Weiguo excitedly and asked if this was true. At this moment, Huang Weiguo seemed to have become the Lin family's last lifeline.
Huang Weiguo affirmed that it was true but cautioned Uncle Lin not to spread the word, as Old Lin knew the situation in the courtyard.
Old Lin nodded, saying he understood, and added that the grain Huang Weiguo brought would last them a few days. He would go out these next few days to look for work again. If the family truly couldn't hold on any longer, he would then ask Huang Weiguo for help.
Huang Weiguo agreed.
As Huang Weiguo walked out of the Lin family's house, he happened to hear cheers coming from Yan Bugui's home.
Yan Bugui said smugly to Yang Ruihua that Old Lin's family probably couldn't hold on much longer.
Even with the grain Huang Weiguo gave them, at most five days, they would surely beg their family to buy the house. Then they could push the price down hard, and Jiecheng's house would be settled.
Yang Ruihua praised her husband for being truly capable.
Yan Bugui said smugly, "Of course. You won't be impoverished by eating or wearing, but you'll suffer from poor planning. The art of calculation is profound."
Huang Weiguo paid no mind to Yan Bugui's scheming. This time, his plan was bound to fail, and it would also serve to repay the Lin family's kindness.
Returning to his own home, Huang Liying urgently came up to him, scolding Huang Weiguo for arguing with the Deaf Old Lady / Grandma Long.
She said that behind this Old Lady was Yi Zhonghai. That hypocrite was even more fearsome than a petty villain like Xu Damao. If provoked, he would definitely target Huang Weiguo.
Huang Weiguo asked his mother how Yi Zhonghai could target him. The house was their own privately purchased property, not rented. It was impossible for Yi Zhonghai to drive him out of the compound.