Chapter 110

It has become like the old days.

If Yi Zhonghai had a headache or fever, the neighbors would rush over, showing all kinds of concern; even if they cursed his ancestors in their hearts, at the very least they would put on a false show of concern for the hypocrite's body.

When the person leaves, the tea grows cold.

Without the title of Head Steward, his reputation stank, and everyone treated Yi Zhonghai like shit.

As for the vomiting blood incident, not only did it fail to win the neighbors' sympathy, it also earned him a false reputation of deceit; some people bluntly pointed out that Yi Zhonghai was merely performing, putting on a tragic show for the neighbors, his real aim being to avoid facing his own mistakes and refusing the neighbors' help.

The neighbors each turned into Moral Heavenly Venerables, lecturing Yi Zhonghai from a moral standpoint, and also lecturing the eldest aunt.

"Yi Zhonghai, I'm telling you, your approach is wrong; having made a mistake, you must bravely face it—you think spitting a mouthful of blood makes it all right, but that won't do."

"Hypocrite, you used to be the Head Steward, but you're not anymore; you're just like us, you should accept our criticism, and not fear making mistakes—since no sage is perfect, even sages err, let alone you, Yi Zhonghai the hypocrite; bravely face it, bravely correct your mistakes."

"Reporting such things is truly immoral, somewhat depraved; this harmonious Siheyuan is something you, Yi Zhonghai the hypocrite, proposed—you demand we live in harmony, yet you secretly engage in despicable schemes; Yi Zhonghai, you deserve to have no offspring, you deserve to be childless."

"Hypocrite, you yourself are childless—why is that? It's because you're overly scheming, constantly causing trouble for our Siheyuan neighbors; you're hardly human, a bastard, a beast, shit."

Yi Zhonghai felt weary.

The words 'hypocrite' and 'childless'.

It was like several sharp blades heavily striking Yi Zhonghai's body, making him wish to find a hole to crawl into, truly losing face.

The eldest aunt had roughly the same thought.

The couple felt as if sitting on pins and needles.

He felt utterly weak.

When adults scolded them, Yi Zhonghai and his spouse could barely accept it, but what they could not accept was that many of the little brats in the courtyard began lecturing them as well.

The He family's happy little fatty pig, He Yushui, took the lead.

"Head Steward, eldest aunt, our teacher says good children don't lie; you lie, so you're not good children. The teacher catches lying children and makes them write a hundred times 'I lie, I am not a good child.' You are adults, so you must write two hundred fifty times 'I lie, I am not a good adult.'"

The hearts of Yi Zhonghai and his spouse.

As if something were blocking them.

They felt oppressed.

Being made to write homework as punishment by a ten‑year‑old brat.

It spread abroad.

Is he still Yi Zhonghai?

This depression grew stronger after the Jia family mother‑son betrayed him.

The Jia family mother and son, who had close ties with Yi Zhonghai, out of consideration for Jia family interests, joined the faction fighting against Yi Zhonghai; under the leadership of Jia Zhangshi, the Jia mother and son used venomous speech a hundred times more toxic, loudly lecturing Yi Zhonghai and his spouse: 'You deserve to be childless,' 'You're not human,' 'You schemed against our Jia family,' 'Taking Jia Dongxu as an apprentice had ulterior motives,' 'Disrespecting your elders,' etc. —all these words flew from Jia Zhangshi's mouth.

Laoqianpo hasn't even become muddled, and without spouting nonsense using Qin Huairu as an example to prove the Jia family's relation to Yi Zhonghai, this is the sole point that leaves Shazhu dissatisfied.

Now this scene.

If Jia Zhangshi were to reveal the true relationship between Qin Huairu and Yi Zhonghai, the drama in the Siheyuan would surely become even more intriguing.

It's not that Shazhu is idly wasting.

Some matters in the Siheyuan appear plain and unremarkable, with nothing deep inside; but once you delve into them or ponder their intricacies, the truth often turns out to be chilling.

Shazhu suspects that there is an unknown secret between Yi Zhonghai and Qin Huairu.

Jia Zhangshi's abnormal behavior is one factor; she constantly yearned for a grandson, yet when Qin Huairu became pregnant she felt no joy, and taking advantage of the radio incident she deliberately caused Qin Huairu to miscarry; after the miscarriage she specially bought an old hen to boil soup to nourish Qin Huairu.

Yi Zhonghai's abnormal behavior is another factor; he introduced Qin Huairu to Jia Dongxu as a prospective wife, and on their matchmaking day he directly gave Jia Dongxu a brand‑new sewing machine, and on their wedding day he sat in the chief seat reserved for the parents.

Xu Daming also saw Yi Zhonghai staying in Qin Huairu's room until twelve before leaving; earlier, the hypocrite had again given Jia Dongxu a radio, nominally to celebrate Jia Dongxu's regularization as a formal Yagangchang worker, and that day was also when the Jia family confirmed Qin Huairu's pregnancy, yet the hypocrite acted overly excited.

After Qin Huairu's miscarriage, the relationship between the Jia family and Yi Zhonghai's household inexplicably became tense.

Shazhu thought of an idiom.

Borrow a hen to lay eggs.

Yi Zhonghai's childlessness is due to the eldest aunt's inability to bear children; we won't discuss why she can't, but we will argue it on the grounds of 'among the three unfilial acts, having no posterity is the worst.'

The hypocrite thus had a motive to commit the act.

Could it be that Jia Zhangshi has noticed something?

Shazhu's gaze fell on Qin Huairu; just now the scheming woman had been silently paying attention to Yi Zhonghai, which reminded him of the midnight relief incident.

It destroys one's worldview!

When things have reached this point, his participation, active involvement, the grand scene of the whole populace angrily cursing the hypocrite and his spouse is not something that happens often.

"Jia matriarch, Jia Dongxu, to be human one must have a conscience; the hypocrite is utterly wrong, and that's toward us neighbors—his spouse treated your Jia family well, yet you finish your meal, put down the bowl, and scold your mother—why? Anyone can curse the hypocrite Yi Zhonghai and his spouse, but you Jia family cannot."

Yan Fugui secretly let out a sigh.

Shazhu has learned to be bad.

What a fine honest child—aside from hitting Xu Daming, he has no other bad habits.

Look at now: clearly aware that Yi Zhonghai and his spouse are secretly grieving because of the Jia family mother‑son's betrayal, Shazhu deliberately adds fuel to the fire, taking the opportunity of lecturing the Jia mother and son to mock Yi Zhonghai and his spouse.

This is the ultimate way to harm someone.

After scolding you, you still aren't allowed to say anything.

Shama is Shazhu's eternal follower; as soon as Shazhu finished speaking, Xu Daming seized the moment to mock the Jia mother and son's heartlessness and to mock Yi Zhonghai and his spouse's blindness.

"Anyone in the Siheyuan can curse Yi Zhonghai as a hypocrite, curse the eldest aunt as a slut, but you Jia family mother and son may not—far away, the hypocrite arranged Jia Dongxu's marriage to Qin Huairu; up close, he gave you a sewing machine and a radio, also from Yi Zhonghai; you Jia family mother and son once said Jia Dongxu was lucky to have such a fine mentor as the hypocrite, but now that your mentor has fallen on hard times, you Jia family have turned your backs and refused to acknowledge him—what nonsense."

"Can't you stand your Jia family's practices, can you?"

"Shazhu, Xu Daming, what business is it of yours? Our Jia family's affairs—what do they have to do with you?"

The focus of the Siheyuan.

Once again gone off track.

From lecturing Yi Zhonghai and his spouse it shifted to lecturing the Jia mother and son; the two sides went back and forth, the cursing was very lively; mainly Xu Daming was shouting at Jia Zhangshi, the instigator of all this, Shazhu, yet in the midst of the mutual shouting he turned into a bystander watching from the wall, munching melon seeds, and even gave Yan Fugui a handful of melon seeds.

……

Several minutes later.

The public security officers arrived at the door.

The argument, which had gone off track, finally ended.

Liu Haizhong and Yan Fugui hurried over to meet them; before saying a word, they mistakenly thought the visitors had come to arrest Yi Zhonghai or because something terrible had happened to his family.

After asking, they learned.

Only then did everyone realize they had made a mistake.

A good Samaritan on the street heard the words 'drugging' and reported it to the police, who then came to the courtyard.

The atmosphere at the scene.

The atmosphere became tense.

The drugging incident was brought up by Yi Zhonghai himself; given his current behavior, just thinking about it makes one feel nauseous.

The truth is obvious without investigation; the neighbors all believe Yi Zhonghai is trying to pin the blame on Shazhu.

Liu Haizhong and Yan Fugui felt that too many things had happened in the courtyard and they couldn't endure any more trouble, so they used the pretext that no drugging incident had occurred there, hoping to downplay the matter.

But they didn't expect Xu Damiao to speak up.

For Xu Damiao, the police arriving was like a sleepy person finding a pillow; today, after eating something poisoned by Jia Zhangshi, he ran to the toilet over a dozen times, felt weak, his legs went soft, and even fastening his belt was a struggle.

Xu Damiao is a pure scoundrel who believes in repaying grudges. Since Jia Zhangshi poisoned him, he will surely take harsh revenge on the Jia family and Jia Zhangshi. He had originally planned to wait until tomorrow or the day after, when he felt better, then go to the police himself to settle the matter. He didn't expect that, by mistake, someone would accidentally hear the words 'drugging' and, after imagining things, end up reporting it to the police.

The police have already come to the door; we can't let them make a wasted trip!

Besides Xu Damiao being drugged, the deaf old lady in the back courtyard was also drugged; she, like Xu Damiao, ran to the toilet over a dozen times, eventually her legs gave out and she fell into the cesspool. The hypocrite Yi Zhonghai tried to pin the blame for the drugging on Shazhu. If the old lady had been fine, but if she had died, would Shazhu surely face great disaster?

Shazhu is Xu Damiao's brother.

We must get to the bottom of this; otherwise Shazhu will be branded a poisoner, and how will he ever marry?

The thoughtful Xu Damiao started thinking about Shazhu's future over the next few years, making arrangements for Shazhu's lifelong happiness.

The point is, the police can't leave until they resolve this drugging incident.

Xu Damiao believed the deaf old lady, like himself, had also fallen victim to Jia Zhangshi's scheme.

In the recent argument with the Jia family, Xu Damiao saw in Jia Zhangshi's eyes a tremendous hatred, wishing to devour him alive. Jia Dongxu also stood nearby, glaring; if he hadn't known he couldn't beat Shazhu and Xu Damiao alone, he might have already started punching Xu Damiao.

The county official is no match for the local manager.

An opportunity delivered to their doorstep to deal with the Jia family.

Xu Damiao must seize the opportunity.

"Second Uncle, Third Uncle, it's not that I, Xu Damiao, don't want to give you face; it's that this matter really isn't as simple as you imagine."

Xu Damiao has a talent for speaking; his smooth talk comes in endless streams. Although he embarrassed Liu Haizhong and Yan Fugui's attempt to smooth things over to their faces, his tone made them inexplicably feel somewhat comfortable.

Shazhu looked at Xu Damiao.

He silently pondered.

In his previous life.

Xu Damiao fools around outside but suffers no consequences; this is probably thanks to his gift of gab, plus his status as a movie projectionist.

It's basically a dimensionality-reduction strike.

"Comrade police, I'll tell you the truth: the drugging incident is real; this morning I went to the toilet over a dozen times, my legs ached from straining, I really was drugged."

Xu Damiao also dragged the dazed Shazhu into the water.

The two fools of the courtyard must advance and retreat together.

"Have you seen him? He's Shazhu, a scrap-yard recycler; at noon he made meat for the old lady, and in the afternoon she had diarrhea."

He pointed at the prone Yi Zhonghai.

"Just now, this hypocrite, Big Brother, said that Shazhu gave the old lady medicine, causing her to soil her pants and then collapse, weak-legged, into the cesspool; this concerns our reputation, so you two must help us investigate this clearly. In a few years, when we grow up and want to marry, if people find out we've been poisoning others, that won't do."

Shazhu turned his gaze toward Jia Zhangshi; his thought was the same as Xu Damiao's, suspecting Jia Zhangshi of drugging the deaf old lady.

Jia Zhangshi had a motive.

Xu Damiao is an enemy of the Jia family, and the deaf old lady is likewise an enemy of the Jia family.

It was all because of that old hen; the Jia family and the deaf old lady had a big argument, Jia Zhangshi came off worse, and the deaf old lady, the matriarch of the courtyard, beat her with a cane a few times; that is the root of the drugging.

The Jia family also has a grudge against Shazhu.

Since Jia Dongxu lost Shazhu's bicycle, and Xu Damiao helped move the Jia family's sewing machine to Shazhu's home, Jia Zhangshi developed a deep resentment toward Shazhu.

Taking the opportunity, they used that sewing machine as an excuse, claiming Shazhu had stolen their Jia family's sewing machine; as for Jia Dongxu losing Shazhu's new bicycle, the shrewd old woman chose not to mention it.

A scheme to kill three birds with one stone: it took revenge on Xu Damiao and the deaf old lady for their actions against the Jia family, and also pinned the blame for the drugging on Shazhu.

The only thing that surprised Jia Zhangshi.

Was the police showing up at the door.

These past few years.

Big and small matters have always been resolved within the courtyard.

"Comrade police, what Xu Damiao says is true; I made meat for the old lady at noon, she ate it and then ran to the toilet over a dozen times in the afternoon, her legs gave out and she fell into the cesspool; this so-called Big Brother insists I gave the old lady medicine, and if I were to bear the reputation of a poisoner, how could I ever marry?"

The older police officer.

With age comes wisdom.

He saw through the essence of the matter at a glance.

Shazhu made lunch for the deaf old lady; she ate it, got diarrhea; this happened in the afternoon, while Xu Damiao had diarrhea in the morning.

This matter is obvious; it was done by Jia Zhangshi.

With so many people, Jia Zhangshi trembled like a sieve, showing the fear of someone who has done wrong and now faces the police at the door.

It's a clear case of self-incrimination without being struck.

He stepped.

He came up to Jia Zhangshi.

Before he could even speak, the guilty and terrified Jia Zhangshi blurted out the whole story; she admitted to drugging Xu Damiao, but denied drugging Long Laotaitai.

Her claim that she hadn't drugged Long Laotaitai was quickly overturned.

Several aunties in the Siheyuan saw Jia Zhangshi sneakily slip to the back yard and loiter a few minutes outside Long Laotaitai's door.

We need to use glossary names: Siheyuan, Hou Yuan, Long Laotaitai, Jia Zhangshi.

Jia Zhangshi experienced what it meant to have difficulty speaking despite having something to say.

She was taken away by two public security officers.

The Siheyuan fell into an eerie silence.

No one imagined that the person who had administered the drug would be Jia Zhangshi.

Amidst the heated discussion.

Shazhu spat a mouthful of thick phlegm at the hypocrite.

"Big Brother, Yi Zhonghai, you hypocrite, have you seen it? The truth of the old lady's diarrhea, you finally understand, right? Your disciple's mother gave the old lady medicine, you put the chamber pot of medicine on my head, what do you mean? I find calling you a hypocrite is an insult to hypocrites; you are a hypocrite worse than a beast, I spit, what nonsense!"

Thus translation: 「Big Brother, Yi Zhonghai, you hypocrite, have you seen it? The truth of the old lady's diarrhea, you finally understand, right? Your disciple's mother gave the old lady medicine, you put the chamber pot of medicine on my head, what do you mean? I find calling you a hypocrite is an insult to hypocrites; you are a hypocrite worse than a beast, I spit, what nonsense! 」

But need to keep Chinese quotes? The source uses 「」. Should we keep them? Probably keep as is. We'll output the same Chinese quotes? The instruction: translate faithfully. So we should replace Chinese quotes with English quotes? Usually we keep the punctuation but translate content. I'd output English double quotes? The source uses 「」 which are Chinese quotation marks. We could keep them as is, but they are not translated. The rule: translate everything else into natural English. The quotation marks are punctuation, not words. We can keep them as 「」 or change to English quotes. Safer to keep them as they are, but translate inside. I'll keep the 「」.

Thus line: 「Big Brother, Yi Zhonghai, you hypocrite, have you seen it? The truth of the old lady's diarrhea, you finally understand, right? Your disciple's mother gave the old lady medicine, you put the chamber pot of medicine on my head, what do you mean? I find calling you a hypocrite is an insult to hypocrites; you are a hypocrite worse than a beast, I spit, what nonsense! 」

Yi Zhonghai lowered his head.

He didn't speak.

He responded with silence.

The terrible reality no longer allows Yi Zhonghai any words.