Chapter 119: Unfortunate Jia Zhangshi

On the pitch-black street, a staggering figure appeared. After walking a distance, she suddenly stopped, carefully identified the direction, and continued toward her home. This divine person appearing on the street late at night is no ordinary individual—she is an indispensable important figure of the siheyuan, a master of causing a scene, Jia Zhangshi.

Last year, after giving Xu Daming medicine and taking the blame for poisoning the deaf old lady, she got a two-plus-one outcome and was sentenced to one year.

According to regulations, Jia Zhangshi still had to wait two months before she could be released.

However, due to various circumstances, she was released two months early. During her time inside, Jia Zhangshi truly endured bitter suffering and torture, experiencing that kind of ordeal; the stubborn old woman could not even imagine returning to those sunless days. Feeling a bit tired from walking, she sat on the curb to rest a while, cursing some people while pounding her legs with her fists, mentally calculating how much farther she had to go.

It had been ten months since she last saw Jia Dongxu; she didn't know whether he had gained or lost weight. As for Qin Huairu, she wondered if she was pregnant. The person who had poisoned the deaf old lady, Jia Zhangshi cursed her to a miserable death—although the sentence was only six months, because the deaf old lady's poisoning case couldn't be clarified or explained, Jia Zhangshi ended up serving four extra months.

This grudge must be avenged, no matter what.

……

After seeing off the midwife and gaining Shazhu's approval of the person she introduced, his mood instantly underwent a qualitative elevation and he became excited.

One cannot take a wife yet because of age, but that doesn't mean one can't get engaged; everyone has childhood engagements, and getting engaged at eighteen seems rather late by comparison.

These times.

Getting engaged means you two become a couple; barring special circumstances, neither side will casually say goodbye.

Bringing his partner to make an appearance in the siheyuan.

He figured it would scare quite a few people.

It would also make certain people uncomfortable, such as Yi Zhonghai, likewise the big matriarch, and furthermore the deaf old lady who calls herself the patriarch of the great courtyard and thinks highly of Shazhu.

In his previous life, schemed to death by those three scoundrels, he utterly failed to marry before Qin Huairu became a widow, and instead ended up in the widow's hands, never able to turn things around for his whole life.

This time.

He must get married, no matter what.

Once married, I certainly can't keep supporting Qin Huairu after she becomes a widow!

Shazhu also knows this marriage won't be easy to tie the knot.

He needs to overcome three great obstacles.

The first obstacle is Yi Zhonghai; the hypocrite never fights without certainty. Although he looks favorably on Jia Dongxu and has decided that Jia Dongxu will support him in his old age, seeing tonight's situation, the Jia and Yi families seem to have developed a grudge. In the future, when Yi Zhonghai can't act, if Jia Dongxu really gives him some attitude, Yi Zhonghai can only endure it.

Consequently.

Then Yi Zhonghai will seek Shazhu's help for his old-age care, and will introduce Shazhu to a woman who can care for Yi Zhonghai in his old age as a wife; thus Shazhu's marriage really does face difficulty.

The second obstacle is the big matriarch; the strategist big matriarch will give Yi Zhonghai ideas and plans, telling him how to do this and that, how to scheme, etc.

The third obstacle is the deaf old lady; the gluttonous deaf old lady is selfish. In his previous life, she treated Shazhu well only because he was single‑minded and had superb cooking skills that could satisfy her greed.

Bangeng stole He Yushui's rations, causing He Yushui to starve and search the siheyuan for food. He found Yi Zhonghai; Yi Zhonghai and his wife pretended to be clueless, and with no alternative went to the deaf old lady in the back courtyard. At that time, the deaf old lady was eating noodles alone. When He Yushui came begging, she covered the noodles with gauze, and in response to his plea for food due to hunger, she not only refused to help but also feigned deafness, claiming He Yushui needed to buy her meat to eat.

He's simply a bastard plus a son of a bitch.

If Shazhu can't overcome these three obstacles, he can't marry; even if he does, the marriage could be ruined—and in this regard the deaf old lady has a prior record.

Xu Daming's marriage was schemed by the deaf old lady; she had Xu Daming's wife Lou Xiaoe buy shoes, but those shoes ended up on Shazhu's feet. At that time Shazhu was Xu Daming's mortal enemy, and Lou Xiaoe had not yet demanded payment from the deaf old lady for the shoes—effectively Lou Xiaoe bought Shazhu a pair of shoes on behalf of Xu Daming's enemy.

Regarding the matter of dealing with these three obstacles, Shazhu still needs to discuss it with Xu Daming.

Speaking of indecency.

Xu Daming says he's second, and nobody dares claim first place.

Bie Sun makes a move.

Easy capture.

Thinking of this.

Shazhu pedaled his bike a bit hastily, and with another turn, under the night's veil, visibility was poor; in the dimness he saw something squatting ahead.

He didn't think much of it.

He didn't take it for a person.

He barely had time to brake.

The bike went straight over that guy's leg.

Then he heard an "ai you" sound.

Shazhu's head buzzed as if it had exploded.

Jia Zhangshi!

Instinctively he pushed harder on the pedal, turned into the side alley, sped up and rode a distance, then turned back onto the main street from there.

He wondered, wasn't Jia Zhangshi supposed to serve a year? How did she get out after ten months? Well, it's fine that she's out—the troublemaker Jia Zhangshi has arrived at the siheyuan, and he also runs into Jia Dongxu suspecting that Qin Huairu gave birth to Yi Zhonghai's son.

It's a clash of spears and shields—everything's happening at once.

The siheyuan has a good show to watch.

The hypocrite's long‑held dream of becoming the head steward is now shattered.

Don't forget.

The midwife is also a liability; given what happened tonight in the siheyuan, she'll surely gossip about it as a joke.

Yi Zhonghai's reputation will stink.

Qin Huairu's reputation will also stink.

Jia Dongxu will become famous far and wide as the "cuckold hero".

……

Speaking of Jia Zhangshi.

She's run into bloody bad luck.

She hadn't eaten a bite, her stomach growling with hunger, she gritted her teeth and walked over ten li, exhausted, and thought to rest by the roadside; just as she stretched her legs, she was run over by Shazhu's bicycle. What frustrated and baffled Jia Zhangshi even more was that, under the cover of night, she couldn't see clearly who had pressed her; otherwise she would have demanded compensation, as if she'd lost that much money, and she began cursing aloud.

"You damn bastard, I, the old woman, curse you to a miserable death—you're not human, you crushed my old woman, you don't care, what the hell are you?"

In the deep silence of night, people are off seeing Zhou Gong (i. e., sleeping).

Jia Zhangshi's loud tirade, besides being noisy, also carried in the quiet, waking many sound sleepers; the good‑tempered turned over and kept sleeping, while the bad‑tempered joined in the cursing.

Where did this crazy woman come from, not sleeping at night, scolding people, must be mentally ill.

You're the one who's mentally ill, I'm fine, I'm scolding my own, what's it to you?

Believe it or not, I'll go out and whip you.

Come on, come on, my old woman really doesn't believe it, come and whip me.

Son, you're judging like a madman, losing face, listen to me, just unleash the dogs.

You think I'm afraid of you setting the dogs? Go ahead and set the dogs, you degenerate thing, still setting dogs, my old woman, pah, I can tell you're destined to have no offspring.

Jia Zhangshi, cursing away, mistakenly thought the other side was just borrowing a dog to scare her, and continued shouting insults. She vented the resentment from being run over by a bicycle without catching the culprit, until the sound of 'wang wang wang' barks drilled into her ears, and she saw a dog's head lunging at her. Only then did Jia Zhangshi realize they weren't just talking nonsense—they had really released the dogs. She shuddered all over, didn't even care about her leg pain, and fled in a panic toward the Siheyuan.

The more she ran.

The barking behind her grew fiercer.

Under the dog's relentless pursuit, Jia Zhangshi scolded, fell, and crawled all the way, stumbling into the Siheyuan.

Yan Fugui, who was about to close the Siheyuan gate, froze for a moment, vaguely feeling the person before him looked familiar but not knowing who. On one hand it was dark, and Yan Fugui was nearsighted and couldn't see clearly; on the other hand, Jia Zhangshi's appearance was not good, looking like a beggar. Still, Yan Fugui recognized her by her voice after a careful look.

"Are you Jia Zhangshi? Jia Dongxu's mother?" Seeing Jia Zhangshi, Yan Fugui, startled and somewhat blunt, exclaimed, "You weren't supposed to serve a year, it's only been ten months."

Tonight inside the Siheyuan, too many things happened: Qin Huairu gave birth, nearly a case of one corpse two lives, she bore a son, and Jia Dongxu was unhappy, which in effect confirmed the rumor of an affair between Yi Zhonghai and Qin Huairu.

Jia Zhangshi returned.

The Siheyuan was about to be stirred up.

There was drama to watch from the Yi and Jia families.

Yan Fugui's shout caused those inside the Siheyuan to burst out in an instant.

Who?

Jia Zhangshi!

Jia Dongxu's mother.

How did he come back?

Some people remember that when Jia Zhangshi was arrested, they said she would serve a year, so how did she come out after only ten months?

Others were fine with it.

They all had the look of spectators.

Only Yi Zhonghai's face turned somewhat pale.

Damn it.

Plans can't keep up with changes.

Jia Zhangshi has returned!

The return of Jia Laoqianpo made Yi Zhonghai feel a faint hint of danger. Just thinking of Jia Dongxu's hateful expression, Qin Huairu was still doing her postpartum confinement at Yi Zhonghai's house, making it impossible to explain these melodramatic misunderstandings. Jia Zhangshi was still an unreasonable meddler, shameless, causing Yi Zhonghai a huge headache.

You should have stayed behaving in prison, why did you come back?

Huh!

Yi Zhonghai's mind suddenly became bright.

Exactly.

Jia Zhangshi isn't supposed to be serving time, right? Twelve months, only ten have passed, how did she come out? This guy must not be…

A bold idea arose in Yi Zhonghai's mind.

In fact, it wasn't just Yi Zhonghai who had this idea; basically everyone in the Siheyuan, upon seeing Jia Zhangshi, spontaneously had the same thought.

Everyone knows what kind of person Jia Zhangshi is: lazy, gluttonous, and given to swearing and scolding in the streets, with no chance of earning merit or reward; calling her a good person, the neighbors believe none of it; calling her a bad person, they believe it completely—this is why the neighbors suspect she escaped.

With a twelve-month sentence, how did Jia Zhangshi come out after only ten months?

She definitely escaped.

This damn thing, we need to find the police.

Yi Zhonghai is sly, thinking that regardless of whether Jia Zhangshi escaped, he can profit: if she did, he's catching a thief; if not, he can still use the affair to manipulate Jia Zhangshi.

"Jia Zhangshi, did you escape from inside? I warn you, obediently follow the neighbors to the police station to explain the situation honestly, accept their education, don't think about escaping—you can't get away, with so many neighbors around, where could you run to?"

Gather the people's strength to seek personal gain.

Take the opportunity to suppress Jia Zhangshi.

Yi Zhonghai even wanted to cheer for himself.

"Even if you don't think for yourself, you must think for Dongxu—you don't want your son to wear the badge of a fugitive for life, do you? Promotions, raises, etc., will be affected; hear my advice: go back now, it's still in time, I believe the neighbors in our courtyard will speak up for you; even if you don't trust me, Yi Zhonghai, you must trust the neighbors."

Under Long Laotaitai's meticulous teaching of over a year.

Moreover, there was an old lady, this dog-headed strategist, blowing pillow wind day and night.

The hypocrite Yi Zhonghai's moral blackmail tactics are becoming more and more refined.

The face of an old good person.

Paired with Yi Zhonghai's words of feigned concern for you.

Some people unaware of the truth actually thought Yi Zhonghai was considering them, and foolishly fell into his trap.

In fact.

Yi Zhonghai was doing it for himself.

"Jia Zhangshi, if you continue to be obstinate and want to run, the neighbors will resort to force against you—don't blame them, it's about the reputation of our Dayuan, and we can't afford any carelessness."

Jia Zhangshi wanted to say a few words in defense, but having been chased by the dogs earlier had exhausted her last bit of strength; she panted, her triangular eyes glaring malignantly at Yi Zhonghai.

"Neighbors, stop just watching the show—Jia Zhangshi is intent on resisting; arrest her and hand her over to the police station, and that will also count as a merit for us neighbors."

Under Yi Zhonghai's provocation, the neighbors' sense of justice overflowed, and with their preconceived belief that Jia Zhangshi had indeed escaped, they rushed forward one after another, shouting as they charged at her.

Xu Daming was the one at the very front; upon reaching her, he kicked Jia Zhangshi to the ground, then called for everyone to fetch a rope, and in a few quick moves bound her into a large maggot-like creature.

Looking at the rope on her body, Jia Zhangshi stood there dazed like a goose, her mind blank, remembering nothing except that Xu Daming, that bastard, had kicked her to the ground, and in her mouth she didn't know was stuffed a filthy, unwashed sock for several days, reeking to high heaven, making her want to vomit.

Jia Zhangshi opened her mouth to say a few words in her defense, but the smelly sock stuffed in her mouth, aside from being salty, also blocked her only chance to speak.

She was bound with ropes, and a smelly sock was stuffed into her mouth again.

The only thing Jia Zhangshi could rely on was her own body language; he struggled on the ground like a huge loach.

All he wanted was to proclaim his innocence.

During the struggle.

A notice of release after serving his sentence fell from Jia Zhangshi's body to the ground, and along with it came a stack of bills of various denominations.

It was precisely because of this release notice that the neighbors realized Jia Zhangshi hadn't escaped; it was a scorpion pulling... who, by a fluke, caught a lucky break, reported someone with the same number as her, and ended up being released early.

The misunderstanding was cleared up.

It wasn't an escape.

It was an early release.

There was no longer any need to keep Jia Zhangshi bound; the smelly sock was removed from her mouth, and the ropes on her body were untied.

"Huh." Liu Haizhong, feeling he needed to show his presence, raised his head, clasped his hands behind his back, squeezed out from the crowd, in a lecturing tone: "Jia Zhangshi, just come back; our Dayuan is a civilized courtyard. Last year you got yourself locked up because you gave Xu Daming medicine, you gave Long Laotaitai medicine. Fortunately the old lady is fine; if something had happened to her, you'd have to pay with your life no matter what."

"I'm willing to pay with my life." Jia Zhangshi, full of anger, gave Liu Haizhong no face: "What's it to you?"