Chapter 239: The Jia family can be called the richest household in the courtyard

The neighbors in the courtyard.

From the elderly who could no longer move, down to children who had just stopped wearing open-crotch pants.

They were all pondering a question.

The Jia family isn't the most struggling household in the courtyard, right? But if they are the most struggling household, why do they have so much stuff?

They have white flour.

They have rice.

They also have lard and pork.

Do they have money then?

The neighbors turned their gaze to Liu Haizhong.

A train runs fast, all thanks to the locomotive.

It's up to Liu Haizhong to speak.

"Continue helping the Jia family move."

The foolish Liu Haizhong, showing a rare bit of cleverness, came up with an excuse to help with the move; he also wanted to see whether the Jia family actually had any money.

If they had no money, that would be fine.

But if they had money.

Liu Haizhong would surely become a laughingstock.

A few days earlier.

He had organized a fundraising event for the Jia family, but since the neighbors wouldn't chip in, the newly appointed Head Steward Liu Haizhong came up with twenty dollars himself.

Soon.

A wooden box appeared before everyone.

Looking at the small wooden box before them, the neighbors instinctively thought it contained money.

Because Jia Zhangshi's grim expression at that moment had already told everyone the answer.

Jia Zhangshi, tied to the pillar, saw the wooden box being taken from the Jia household and instinctively struggled a bit.

Qin Huairu's eyes, however, lit up.

When Jia Dongxu was alive, she didn't care about money.

After Jia Dongxu's death, she still didn't care about money.

The Jia family had money.

That was Qin Huairu's understanding.

However, Qin Huairu never found where the money was kept; even after sending Bangeng to look, she still couldn't locate the place where Jia Zhangshi had hidden the money.

She never expected.

Jia Zhangshi's scheme of hiding the money in plain sight made it so thorough.

The wooden box holding the money was placed beneath Jia Dongxu's portrait.

Qin Huairu and Bangeng had suspected many places, but they never suspected the wooden box that held the portrait.

They should have thought of it then.

Otherwise, why would Jia Zhangshi have locked the wooden box?

"Put it down here."

Liu Haizhong pointed to the table in front of Jia Zhangshi.

He wanted to open the lock in front of Jia Zhangshi and Qin Huairu to see exactly what was inside.

He also didn't want to be falsely accused by Jia Zhangshi.

One strike with the hammer.

The lock was knocked off.

The lid of the wooden box was opened by Liu Haizhong.

The onlooking neighbors were dumbfounded.

Inside, there really was money.

And it was so much money.

Scattered bills filled the wooden box.

"You, you, and you few, help count—face Jia Zhangshi and Qin Huairu, and count the bills one by one."

Several middle-aged people were named.

The leader was Yan Fugui.

Thus the team to help the Jia family count money was formed.

One dollar.

Ten dollars.

Twenty dollars.

The final total figure stunned everyone present.

Two thousand one hundred fifteen yuan.

This was the total sum of the Jia family's money.

Everyone widened their eyes.

It truly opened their eyes.

The Jia family, who constantly cried poverty in the courtyard, actually had so much money.

My goodness.

In an era when a person's monthly wage was only thirty-five yuan, the Jia family, whom everyone in the compound considered a difficult household, actually had savings of two thousand one hundred yuan fifteen yuan.

What concept?

Definitely a rich man.

The people in the compound were shocked again.

Not knowing if it was an illusion, they each thought that, compared to Qin Huairu's family, they themselves were the ones who needed to be taken care of as difficult households.

Having seen savings of over two thousand yuan, and with meat and white flour at home, they are still relief households, huh?

These funds are probably something even Qin Huairu cannot explain clearly.

Shazhu saw it very clearly.

The scheming woman opened her mouth wide, wearing a ghost‑struck expression as she stared at Jia Zhangshi, who had something stuffed in her mouth; looking at her meaning, she wanted Jia Zhangshi to explain how this money came about.

With something stuffed in her mouth, how could Jia Zhangshi speak?

"Could it be a miscount? How could there be so much money?"

"Impossible to miscount; I counted once, Old Liu counted again, the Jia family really has this much money—two thousand one hundred yuan fifteen yuan."

Speaking of the final amount.

Yan Fugui's voice trembled slightly.

He has lived this long.

He had never seen so much money.

The Jia family.

The richest person in the siheyuan.

"Jia Zhangshi, that's not right. Your family is so wealthy, yet just now you kept saying your family was struggling, that you couldn't afford to cook, that you had white flour and rice, even a jar of lard, and savings of over two thousand yuan—that's what you call poor? You're bullying people."

"Exactly, it's outright bullying. Who does that? You're treating the neighbors like fools."

"Elder, we've helped the Jia family several times; should this money be returned to us?"

"We should return it. Before we didn't know the Jia family had money, we just chipped in; now that we know they have so much, what right do we have to take? Our family's savings aren't even a fraction of the Jia family's."

Liu Haizhong turned into a complete fool.

On one hand, he felt wronged about his twenty yuan.

He knew that, among the over two thousand yuan in savings, there was a share of his own.

On the other hand, he cursed Yi Zhonghai.

Originally, Yi Zhonghai strongly advocated helping the Jia family.

"What bullying? Can't we just have saved up?"

Qin Huairu shouted.

With so much money, she was puzzled and unable to understand.

Yet she also knew that, from now on, the Jia family's prosperity would have to come from this.

With such wealth exposed, the neighbors will keep their distance from the Jia family, and the Jia family can only live off their existing assets.

Spend one fen.

Then there's one fen less.

"Saved up?"

Yan Fugui gave a cold snort.

He couldn't stand Qin Huairu the most.

If Jia Zhangshi were to argue back, Yan Fugui wouldn't necessarily keep the accounts crystal clear.

This isn't about the Yan family losing face over Yan Jiecheng marrying Qin Huairu out of grudge.

They treated Qin Huairu as a thorn in the eye.

"Your family has no wealthy relatives, no valuable property; Qin Huairu earns twenty‑seven point five yuan a month, she's standing in for Jia Dongxu's position, but Jia Dongxu was regularized eight years ago, and before that his wage was seventeen point five yuan. With five people in the household, how could they have saved over two thousand yuan? I tell you, even if this includes the pensions of Old Jia and Jia Dongxu, it's still impossible for them to have that much money."

"Could they be hiding assets? If so, then their family is suspicious."

Jia Zhangshi trembled all over.

Qin Huairu also felt a hint of fear.

If this were labeled as a suspicious case,

then the Jia family would just be the Jia family.

"Part of it was given by Yi Zhonghai."

Between her own family suffering misfortune and just one person suffering misfortune, Qin Huairu cleverly chose the latter, pushing all the blame onto Yi Zhonghai's head.

When a person dies, it's like a lamp going out.

Yi Zhonghai died and his Dao vanished.

Moreover, the matter of Huaihua served as further evidence.

What a case of death without contrary evidence.

Yi Zhonghai's monthly wage was just over a hundred yuan; if he were the one giving the money, it could be explained.