Chapter 301: An Jiahe and Jia Zhangshi—who is scheming against whom?

It's equivalent to a cat-and-mouse game.

An Jiahe stared at Liu Haizhong.

Liu Jianguo stared at An Jiahe, and following An Jiahe's gaze, he noticed Liu Haizhong.

Regarding Liu Haizhong.

He hadn't paid much attention to him before.

He realized this was an oddball in the siheyuan.

He beats his son whether there's a reason or not.

From An Jiahe's perspective, Liu Haizhong clearly also has issues.

He has three sons just like the others, so why not beat the eldest but instead beat the second and third to a pulp?

Could there be a possibility?

Beating is a means of transmitting a signal.

As for the behavior of beating every day,

it is easier to explain.

to numb these people in the siheyuan.

Liu Jianguo rubbed his chin with his hand, looking through the glass toward the An family across the way, raising his eyebrows and leaning his face toward the glass.

An Jiahe came out of the house, holding a large bowl in his hand, and walked toward the back courtyard.

He's going to deliver dumplings!

To the Jia family?

Or to Liu Haizhong?

Worried about startling the snake by beating the grass.

He didn't follow out.

……

The Jia family.

Jia Zhangshi, smelling the fragrant dumplings, had already been drooling.

Yet she still forced herself to put on a tough front.

"Xiao An, what are you doing? Auntie told you before, Auntie helps the neighbors and asks for nothing. In these times, who doesn't want to eat meat? Who doesn't want to eat dumplings? Auntie's household is like this—orphans and widows have it hard, relying entirely on my daughter-in-law Qin Huairu to hold things together."

In her eye sockets.

A few drops of crocodile tears welled up.

Made Qin Huairu, sitting in the back,

feel nauseated.

She had figured it out.

Jia Zhangshi wanted to turn An Jiahe into Yi Zhonghai, to supply the Jia family with blood to suck.

"Our Jia family may be poor but our ambition is not small; we won't take anything that isn't ours, no matter what you say. These dumplings, take them back, save them for tomorrow to eat again."

"Gurgle!"

Inside Bangeng's belly.

A timely hymn of hunger rose.

Jia Zhangshi's heart.

It landed.

"She thought to herself, 'Although I said I'd refuse the dumplings, my eldest grandson is hungry—I can't possibly have you take them back again, would you feel okay doing that?'"

The Jia family isn't just these two widows.

There are also three children.

The children are Jia Zhangshi's reliance.

It's the kind of mindset that wants to be a slut while also craving a chastity archway.

Even without Bangeng's hunger prompting her, Jia Zhangshi would find a way to make Bangeng and the others cry, using the children as an excuse to keep An Jiahe's dumplings.

The sound of resistance from the Five Organs Temple saved Jia Zhangshi much trouble; she deliberately showed An Jiahe a helpless expression.

"These dumplings aren't for adults, they're for the children—let the children have a taste."

"How embarrassing!"

"What's there to be embarrassed about? If it weren't for you two ladies helping me today, I couldn't even boil water, let alone eat dumplings."

An Jiahe saw through Jia Zhangshi's calculations at a glance.

Showing his own incompetence.

You aren't trying to scheme against me through your help, are you?

I'll give you a chance.

"Xiao An, Auntie thinks you're not bad, that's why I'm saying these things to you. You don't even know how to boil water—what should we do? Hurry up and call your wife over; a home needs a woman to be called a home."

Jia Zhangshi probed An Jiahe.

To see if he had a wife.

As the old saying goes.

When you scheme against others, others are also scheming against you.

The self-assured Jia Zhangshi.

Mistakenly thinking she had An Jiahe wrapped around her finger.

Little did she know.

The Jia family is the one that gets eaten.

"Aunt, I'm alone."

"Alone?"

The one speaking was Jia Zhangshi.

He gave Qin Huairu a look.

It's just that Mom isn't lying to you—An Jiahe really is a bachelor, you really need to snag him, that sort of thing.

"I'm alone; people look down on me for being useless, I've been away for years and haven't come back."

"Little An, it's fine; with Aunt here, I'll definitely introduce you to a girl better than her. As for your family's business, let's do this: since you can't handle it anyway, when Aunt has time she'll help you tidy the house, when she doesn't, Huairu will help you tidy the house. As long as you don't look down on our Jia family's widows and orphans, and don't mind that our two widows from the Jia family are dragging down your reputation."

"It's not that I dislike you; I feel I'm burdening you, so I ought to give you money."

"Neighbors, we run into each other all the time—what money do you need? If it gets out, what will people think of our Jia family? We don't want anything; let's just leave it at that."

"Then thank you, Aunt, thank Huairu—calling you that is fine, right?"

An Jiahe is also an opportunist.

In front of Jia Zhangshi.

He called her Huairu directly.

"No problem, I now treat my daughter-in-law as my own daughter; after my son passed, I just want the family to be safe and sound." Jia Zhangshi, facing An Jiahe, shouted at Qin Huairu: "Huairu, Mom still says the same thing: as long as nobody minds that you're a widow with three kids and a mother-in-law, and is willing to marry you, Mom won't stop you."

"Someone as good as Huairu will surely find a good husband. Aunt, I have nothing else—I'll head back now; you can give me the bowl whenever."

"I'll wash it shortly and have Huairu send it over."

An Jiahe also went to great lengths, sending the Jia family a big bowl full of dumplings—there looked to be about forty or fifty.

They haven't had meat in a long time.

Bangeng and Xiao Dang were like hungry ghosts reborn—too lazy to use chopsticks, they dug in with their hands, waving five-pronged forks as they gulped down the dumplings.

They didn't mind the heat either.

They grabbed a dumpling, chewed it a few times, and swallowed it.

When Jia Zhangshi finally reacted,

only two or three dumplings and a bit of soup remained.

If you didn't call Bangeng and Xiao Dang pure Jia family ingrates, any other kid their age—twelve or thirteen—would know to be filial to parents and elders.

But Bangeng had no such notion.

Xiao Dang was no different.

They were both intent on eating first.

Jia Zhangshi snatched up a pair of chopsticks and lashed them at Bangeng and Xiao Dang's hands.

"Okay, stop eating—leave one for your mother."

The bowl was set before Qin Huairu.

"Huairu, have one."

Qin Huairu had originally wanted to refuse.

But her body betrayed her.

The meat scent of the dumplings entered her nose, stirring her craving; she pursed her lips, took up the chopsticks, and ate two dumplings.

Jia Zhangshi ate the last dumpling, then gave the clean bowl to Bangeng, telling him to take Xiao Dang to return it to An Jiahe's house.

Bangeng eagerly led Xiao Dang away.

Taking advantage of the two youngsters being away,

Jia Zhangshi began working on Qin Huairu's mind.

"Huairu, don't look down on Mom's nagging, and don't act up with Mom; you understood what An Jiahe just said, and Mom understood too—people have that intention, and they don't dislike Bangeng and the others. If you want to remarry, Mom agrees; if you don't want to remarry, just bring An Jiahe back as a live-in son-in-law for the Jia family. After marriage, you'll live in the central courtyard, Mom and Bangeng and the others will live in the rear courtyard, and it won't interfere with your caring for the children."