Chapter 2212
Yi Zhonghai's New Idea
The three people entered the courtyard, and the third aunt was the first to come up.
"Old man, tell me the truth, what did you do all day?"
Yan Bugui had prepared himself on the way and showed no sign of guilt: "I'm going to collect recyclables."
"Collecting recyclables? You're going to drive me crazy!" The third woman couldn't accept it for a moment.
Yan Bugui awkwardly explained, "Listen to me. I'm just contributing to the city's appearance."
Do you know how much money I can make a month collecting recyclables?
The three women didn't seem to care: "How much money can you make?"
"That's equivalent to two months of my salary."
As soon as Yan Bugui said that, the three women were stunned: "Can you really earn that much?"
“If you don’t believe me, you can ask Lao Yi and Lao Liu. I just sold some scrap metal today and made over ninety yuan.” Yan Bugui pulled Yi Zhonghai and Lao Liu out.
Liu Haizhong said, "That's right, Lao Yi and I saw it with our own eyes."
Old Yan did indeed earn over ninety today.
Also, I've decided that I'll go collect recyclables with Lao Yan tomorrow.
Now it was Auntie Er's turn to be unhappy: "Old Liu, you..."
Liu Haizhong said domineeringly, "What do you mean, 'I'? I can't count on my three unfilial sons."
If I don't find a way to make some money, how will we live in the future?
Upon hearing this, Qin Huairu, fearing that everyone would have complaints about her meals, pretended to be aggrieved.
"It's all my fault for being incompetent..."
Yi Zhonghai sighed: "Huai Ru, it's not your fault. It's us old guys who dragged you down."
I've decided too; I'll go with Lao Liu and Lao Yan tomorrow.
Qin Huai looked at Yi Zhonghai with a puzzled expression.
You have to understand that Yi Zhonghai is a man who cares a lot about his image, so how could he possibly lower himself to pick up trash?
"Old Yi, you..."
Yi Zhonghai looked helpless: "I also want to lighten your burden a bit."
If you can take care of us, you're much better than Sha Zhu.
We cannot take your care for granted.
Once the three old men had made their decision, no one objected anymore.
The three women got anxious: "I'll go with you tomorrow too."
Knowing that collecting trash can be so lucrative, how could the three women possibly miss out?
Everyone knew the personalities of Yan Bugui and his wife, so no one stopped them.
Auntie Er hesitated for a moment, then said, "Maybe I should go too."
When Liu Haizhong saw that Yan Bugui and his wife were together, he agreed.
"Okay, let's do it together, you and me."
When Qin Huairu saw that everyone was going, she became anxious: "Since you're all going, I can't not go either. I'll go with you."
In terms of greed, Qin Huairu was even more so than Yan Bugui. If Yan Bugui and his wife couldn't bear to give up this opportunity to make money, how could Qin Huairu possibly do so?
Yi Zhonghai, however, was unwilling, not because he was reluctant to part with the money, but because he had to consider his own food.
"Huai Ru, if you go with us, who will cook?"
Qin Huairu said, "You've all gone, leaving only my mother-in-law and me at home. How much can we possibly eat?"
"We can cook dinner when we get back."
With things said to this point, Yi Zhonghai had no reason to object anymore.
And so, a group of people began their life of collecting scraps.
They went out in the morning, went to a place far away from Nanluoguxiang, changed their gear, and then went out separately to collect scraps.
With so many of them, and not going very far, they often ran into people they knew.
Soon, the news that these people were collecting scraps spread and reached the ears of a few people.
During this period, Yi Zhonghai did nothing but collect scraps and figure out how to make money.
What he wanted most was for He Yuzhu to obediently come back and take care of all of them.
He knew it was unlikely. He Yuzhu wouldn't see them at all, and his tricks were useless against He Yuzhu.
Aside from He Yuzhu, the only other option is to look for their respective children.
After some time of thought, Yi Zhonghai came up with a rather underhanded method.
Having heard the rumors circulating outside, Yi Zhonghai felt it was time to speak out.
He gathered everyone together.
Liu Haizhong asked, "Old Yi, we've all had a long day and want to go back and rest. What's the matter that you called us for?" The others also looked at Yi Zhonghai.
Yi Zhonghai said, "Don't rush, let me explain slowly."
Everyone has surely heard the rumors circulating outside.
Yan Bugui said, "Let them say what they want. As long as we benefit from it, that's fine."
"Old Yi, if you're not happy, you can quit. Nobody's stopping you."
Upon hearing this, Liu Haizhong also believed that Yi Zhonghai was going to withdraw.
He said with dissatisfaction, "You were unwilling from the very beginning."
Now you're saying this again. If you're really not happy about it, then don't do it.
Qin Huairu sensed that Yi Zhonghai's purpose was probably not that, but she pretended not to understand.
She earned more from collecting recyclables during this period than she did when she was a factory worker.
She couldn't bear to give up this great job.
Yi Zhonghai never puts himself in opposition to the majority.
He quickly said, "When did I say I was going to quit?"
Can you please let me finish?
Everyone fell silent, waiting for Yi Zhonghai to speak.
Yi Zhonghai stopped being coy and said directly, "We did make some money by collecting scraps, but this is not a long-term solution."
What will we do when we get old and can't walk anymore?
Liu Haizhong was a little tired and didn't want to think: "Everyone has to get up early tomorrow to collect recyclables. There's no time to play riddles with you."
Just say what you need to say.
Yi Zhonghai said, "Okay, then I'll get straight to the point. I don't think relying solely on scavenging is a safe bet."
Eggs cannot be put in one basket.
What I mean is, we can have the Liu family's children and the Yan family's children come over."
“No.” As soon as he finished speaking, Liu Haizhong and Yan Bugui immediately stood up to object.
"Old Yi, what do you mean? Do you want me to lose face in front of my son?"
"Let them know that I can't live without them, right?" Liu Haizhong, with his quick temper, immediately questioned him.
Yi Zhonghai quickly explained, "That's not what I meant."
The second aunt said, "That's not what you meant. What did you mean?"
Liu Guangqi's wife, Qi Hong, never liked the old couple.
If Qi Hong knew they were collecting scraps, she would look down on them even more.
The second aunt still hoped that one day Liu Guangqi would change his mind and remember the love they had shown him back then.
Yi Zhonghai said, "I'm just thinking that your children will be filial to you."
Sooner or later, news of our scavenging will reach their ears.
They'll find out eventually.
I think we should try to negotiate with them before they find out.
For example, they could give you living expenses every month and visit you every month.
I'm doing this all for your own good.
"When they come over, you can have a heart-to-heart talk with them and ease the tension."
Liu Haizhong and the second aunt exchanged a glance, both somewhat tempted.
The third aunt was also somewhat tempted by this. She also hoped that her child would come and be filial to her.
Yan Bugui remained silent for a while, feeling that Yi Zhonghai's method was not very reliable.
He couldn't say what the Liu family's children were like, but he knew about the Yan family's children.
However, even if he is asked to object, he cannot state his reasons for objecting.
That would only embarrass him.
Yan Bugui chose to wait and see.
Seeing that no one objected, Yi Zhonghai said, "No matter what, we should give it a try."
We made money by collecting scraps.
But money can't solve all problems.
In two years, if we get sick and are hospitalized, we won't even have anyone to take care of us.
I think we should take a gamble. (End of Chapter)