Chapter 304: An Jiahe: I will properly educate Bang Geng and Xiao Guo

"You wanting to die is your own business; don't drag me, He Yuzhu, into it. My child just turned a hundred, I still have a wife and kids to look after—I can't afford to mess around with you. As for this banquet, do whatever you want; it has nothing to do with me, not even a penny's worth. I also don't know anything about you arranging this banquet; you never told me about it from start to finish."

Shazhu's attitude.

Astonishing.

It drew many sideways glances.

Jia Zhangshi also sucked in a breath of cold air.

It was somewhat different from what she had imagined.

Liu Haizhong and Yan Fugui both stepped forward, and with so many neighbors around, Shazhu didn't follow the expected pattern, and vaguely revealed the implication that the Jia family's banquet was courting disaster.

"Shazhu, even though my family's Huairu is remarrying, and even though she's a widow, to me it's still a joyous occasion; even if you became the canteen head, you can't be so overbearing, can you?"

Has this turned into a falling-out?

Or is she simply trying to show off Jia Zhangshi's formidable side in front of An Jiahe?

Shazhu didn't think much about it.

He couldn't be bothered to deal with Jia Zhangshi.

But some things still need to be said.

Just these bastards in the siheyuan.

Typical of the poor hating the poor.

They can't stand to see you even a little bit well-off; they'd rather you be perpetually unlucky.

If Shazhu doesn't give a detailed explanation, before long he'll be labeled by everyone as a bully who throws his weight around as the canteen head, arbitrarily mistreating the neighbors in the courtyard.

The stormy season is not far off.

Not much time left.

Unless we completely let things go to ruin.

Shazhu has a younger sister, a wife, and children.

How to let things go to ruin?

He doesn't just think for himself; he also has to consider his family.

Both emotionally and logically.

He had to lay it all out to Jia Zhangshi and everyone else.

"Jia Zhangshi, don't, in front of the neighbors, put a label on me, He Yuzhu; if you want to drag the neighbors into misfortune, that's your business—your scheming against me is over."

Jia Zhangshi's face stiffened.

The neighbors were also quite taken aback.

Only An Jiahe and Liu Jianguo had amused expressions on their faces.

"What year is it now? Don't you know?" Shazhu shouted back at everyone, also turning his focus to Jia Zhangshi: "The sixteenth workshop—I won't say it, but you all know what's going on. The people in the sixteenth workshop, the core of the entire steel mill, mostly lack nutrition—is it because they don't want to eat, or are they just stupid?"

His tone became ringing and forceful.

His moment of glory.

He had to maintain a high profile.

He also had to use the neighbors' mouths to pass this matter on to Deputy Factory Director Li's ears.

Golden thigh.

Only a fool would refuse.

With Deputy Factory Director Li standing in front to block things, Shazhu's life over the next decade or so will be much better.

"I'm telling you, especially you, Jia Zhangshi and Qin Huairu, because the factory simply can't get any extra supplies; the current supplies are just enough to barely keep our stomachs full, and many people faint at work—not from exhaustion, but from hunger. It's because they have no fat in their diets; Factory Director Li, wanting them to eat well, racked his brains and searched everywhere, contributing his own things. Under these circumstances, you, the Jia family, for the sake of collecting gift money from the neighbors, serve both meat dishes and dumplings."

Shazhu certainly wouldn't do something that would offend all the neighbors in the siheyuan.

The matter was stirred up by Jia Zhangshi.

Just knock Jia Zhangshi down and it's settled.

"I know the neighbors aren't well-off; they barely get a few decent meals a year, a little white flour, and they want to save it for New Year's to make dumplings."

Raising a tiger's skin as a banner.

Shazhu dragged the elderly into it again.

"The crucial point now is that these are special times; we can't just think of ourselves—we also have to consider others. The elderly have started cutting back on their own rations, donating all the supplies they were given, and for a long time they've seen no meat or fish—don't you feel sorry for them? Anyway, I do."

Yan Fugui slapped his thigh.

He echoed a sentence.

"What Shazhu said is correct; a few days ago I even saw a related report in the newspaper: someone heard that the elderly hadn't had meat or fish for months, so they sent a five‑jin carp to the elderly, who then passed the fish on, saying they wanted to guarantee the nutrition of those ** families."

Liu Haizhong was dumbfounded.

Jia Zhangshi turned into a second fool.

Qin Huairu and An Jiahe were the same.

Those surrounding them, who wanted to attend the banquet, also changed their expressions.

This matter.

If this were to be escalated to the higher-ups, anyone involved would not end well.

Fortunately, it never happened.

Precisely because I thought of this.

Only then did I feel a sense of having survived a catastrophe.

The look they gave Shazhu was no longer the malicious glare of someone denied a banquet; it turned into gratitude.

It saved a life!

"Jia Zhangshi, look at the good thing you've done, yet you still try to pin a label on Shazhu; if this hadn't happened, nothing good could have come of it."

I'm not muddled, am I!

Jia Zhangshi flusteredly carried out her defense.

She broke out in a sweat all over from fright.

"Whether I'm muddled or not doesn't matter; what matters is that this kind of thing can't continue." Liu Haizhong, in his role as steward elder, gave his final conclusion on this matter: "Neighbors, you're all here; I announce one thing: Jia Zhangshi has acknowledged Qin Huairu as her daughter, and Qin Huairu, as a daughter of the Jia family, has brought Bangeng and the others to marry into An Jiahe's family. Special cases deserve special treatment—you Jia family will go out shortly to buy some candy and melon seeds, distribute them house to house, then we'll disband."

Eldest Elder, please wait a moment, I still have something to say.

The speaker.

It was An Jiahe.

The Jia family's future matters.

The neighbors vaguely guessed something.

Being a stepfather is no easy task.

Especially having to deal with Jia Zhangshi, such a bastard grandmother, who stubbornly turned Bangeng into a delinquent; his petty thieving is closely tied to Jia Zhangshi.

And Xiao Dang is no good either.

Whenever he's hungry, if Bangeng is near her, he'll get Bangeng to steal things.

What role will An Jiahe play!

A kind father?

A strict father?

Very much worth looking forward to.

"Regarding Bangeng and Xiao Dang, I, An Jiahe, will apologize face-to-face to the neighbors and also make my intentions clear to Mother and Qin Huairu. Bangeng, Xiao Dang, and Huaihua—I will treat them as my own biological children. In order to let them become pillars serving the nation, I am willing to bear the blame of being a stepfather. Whenever Bangeng or Xiao Dang steal from the neighbors, or the neighbors see them stealing and tell me, An Jiahe, I will certainly give the neighbors a satisfactory explanation."

"This is what a real father should be like." In the crowd, someone who loves to stir up trouble added fuel to the fire, saying: "An Jiahe, you're a real man."

"Mom, Qin Huairu, when the children make mistakes, we can't neglect education nor let them run wild; that's irresponsible toward the children. I still say: to let Bangeng and the others bring honor to the Jia family and make you feel proud, even if you argue with me, I will harden my heart to educate Bangeng and the kids."

The words are rough, but the reasoning is sound.

Although the words are unpleasant to hear.

Yet they contain some truth.

Shazhu still praised An Jiahe's remarks.

If Bangeng had made mistakes a few years ago, Jia Zhangshi or Qin Huairu, or even the still-alive Jia Dongxu, giving him a beating, he wouldn't have turned out to be the hated, annoying person he is today.

Hit him.

That would work too.

Maybe if Bangeng got a beating, he would improve.

"Bangeng, Xiao Dang, I know you resent me, thinking I stole your mother, thinking I'm surnamed An while you're Jia, and as a stepfather I'm not qualified to educate you kids. I've laid out my words—I truly am qualified to educate you. I'd rather you hate me than stand by and watch you go down the wrong path, make mistakes; if you deserve a beating, you get it—no beating, no talent."

Jia Zhangshi's eyelids twitched wildly a few times.

Watching An Jiahe harshly warn Bangeng and the others.

Her heart suddenly felt a faint regret; she felt that something had gone wrong somewhere in this matter.

An Jiahe at this moment.

Revealing a side unknown to others.

"When children make mistakes, parents must discipline them; for things parents can't handle, there's school and the police station. Bangeng, do you understand what I mean? I hit you for your own good; if you ever commit a major crime and end up in the police station, even if you beg me to hit you, it will be of no use."

Truly a little white-eyed wolf.

Also hostile toward An Jiahe.

Purely asking for a beating.