Chapter 320

The Jia family's affairs.

There must be an ending.

We can't be making a fuss every day, can we?

The fuss left Liu Haizhong with no time even to beat his son.

Think about it carefully.

Qin Huairu's proposal that one third go to Jia Zhangshi, when analyzed according to some logic, really does have a certain feasibility.

Jia Zhangshi keeps a portion.

Qin Huairu takes a portion.

In the days to come, An Jiahe will again pay Jia Zhangshi three yuan per month as a fee for using his scheming; if spent frugally, it could sustain the Jia family's livelihood for several years.

"Shazhu, what do you think of this?"

Seeing Liu Haizhong turn to him for a decision.

Shazhu decisively withdrew from the matter.

Even though his relationship with the Jia family was decent, he would not participate in any of their affairs, let alone the fact that the two families' relationship was never good to begin with.

"Second Elder, don't ask me about this; I still say the same thing: within the courtyard, I'm just an ordinary resident. For small matters, you and the Third Elder, the two stewards, decide; for big matters, we still have the street office and the police station."

Qin Huairu silently cursed him as a slippery fellow.

She originally intended to use this matter.

To ease her relationship with Shazhu a bit.

She never expected Shazhu to pay no attention to this at all.

Jia Zhangshi was also in a bad mood; looking at Qin Huairu and then at the neighbors, her pent-up grievance had nowhere to vent.

A few unrelated outsiders, with just a few words, decided the detailed allocation of her 1,500 yuan savings, completely without consulting Jia Zhangshi's opinion.

She suddenly missed Yi Zhonghai.

Although she was messing around with Qin Huairu.

At the critical moment.

It really works.

Liu Haizhong did replace Yi Zhonghai as Head Steward, but the problem is he pays no attention to Jia Zhangshi's affairs, pushing them off if he can, and if he can't, he just muddles through.

Money, money, money.

It's all about money causing trouble.

If you have money, grit your teeth, harden your heart, and give it to that ungrateful beast Qin Huairu; the problem is that Jia Zhangshi's total family assets added together amount to only a few yuan at most.

Bangeng, Xiao Dang, and Jia Zhangshi's food, drink, and bodily needs all have to be deducted from this money.

All of it was given to Qin Huairu.

Can we even keep living?

Jia Zhangshi again dared not speak the truth.

One person stood there dazed for a few minutes, a flash of inspiration struck his mind, and his body naturally slumped to the ground.

This scene.

All too familiar.

As expected.

The neighbors' familiar summoning chant flew from Jia Zhangshi's mouth.

"Dong Xu, my son, you've gone, leaving me alone to live in this world—what's the point? Home isn't home, people aren't people; this old woman might as well be dead. My life, how could it be so bitter? The old man died, and after painstakingly raising you, I got you married to a country girl, hoping we could live happily, but I never expected you to die too. Now it's just me left to support your son and daughter. What's the point of my living? I might as well die. Bangeng, Xiao Dang, Grandma, why don't you come with me?"

Jia Zhangshi has become clever.

No more summoning.

She switched to airing grievances.

If you won't let me summon spirits, calling it a bad custom, then I'll pour out my tears and snot in public, airing my suffering—surely you can't forbid me from lamenting life's hardships!

To kill a person, you must first destroy their heart.

It's precisely to use these words to ruthlessly jab at the neighbors' hearts, exposing Qin Huairu's false persona.

After the former daughter-in-law remarried, the former mother-in-law, in front of the neighbors, threatened to live or die.

Going into the novel.

This is a moral issue.

Speaking broadly.

This is a major matter of life and death; the former mother-in-law was driven to the point of being unable to live by the former daughter-in-law's lack of filial piety—how could that be a small thing?

Spread it abroad.

The street office won't let these few stewards of the siheyuan off the hook; appointing you as head stewards is meant to help the street office serve the neighbors better.

A resident was literally driven to death.

If this isn't dereliction of duty, what is?

And Qin Huairu, after remarrying, Jia Zhangshi being her former mother-in-law, has seized control of the Jia family's work, failing to fulfill her duty to care for her former mother-in-law.

What are you doing?

Liu Haizhong and Qin Huairu, having figured out these key points, both changed expression; even though they know Jia Zhangshi is reluctant to die, the so-called grievance airing is merely alarmist talk, yet they still have to take it seriously.

Fear not the ten thousand, fear the one chance.

When people are driven to a dead end, they can do anything.

Back then, the reason Qin Huairu messed around with Yi Zhonghai and bore him a child wasn't just because the Jia family had driven her to desperation, sparking a desire for revenge against them.

You take the first shift.

I am fifteen.

Who said Jia Zhangshi can't do what Qin Huairu does?

Jia Zhangshi, stop crying, still taking Bangeng and Xiao Dang along—what's the point? Isn't it just about money? If you disagree, don't bring up the Jia family's affairs at the courtyard meeting from now on; we've worked out a solution for you—either you disagree or she does, and then the neighbors will do nothing but keep you Jia family people company.

Facing Liu Haizhong's questioning.

Jia Zhangshi's restless heart actually calmed down.

With a face full of snot and tears, they just stared at Liu Haizhong.

It's not really a lament; they're using the lament to gloss over the money matter.

No matter what.

Jia Zhangshi must give a concrete explanation; as a senior widow of over twenty years, she is well‑experienced and her methods far surpass those of Qin Huairu, who has only been a widow a few years and is a country girl.

To lead an ox, you must lead by the nose.

We must focus on the key point.

Jia Zhangshi's crux is money; Qin Huairu no longer covets the so‑called 1,500 yuan in support fees, and must regularly hand over the respect money for Jia Zhangshi's old age to her.

There is no such money.

How to support Bangeng and Xiao Dang?

Even Jia Zhangshi doesn't have enough.

It's not that Jia Zhangshi is crying poverty; the Jia family has no spare money left, reaching a point where they need the neighbors' help.

Just because of the Jia family's infamous title of 'Courtyard Richest,' the neighbors assume the Jia family is wealthy and no longer help them.

There's nothing we can do.

All we can do is hold Qin Huairu.

Blood‑sucking Qin Huairu.

"Qin Huairu, your mother‑in‑law doesn't want to spend this money—what do you mean?"

"Second Elder, if it were another matter, once you bring it up, I have to give you face no matter what I say." Qin Huairu decisively shifted the topic, no longer heeding Liu Haizhong, but instead used the fact that Yi Zhonghai's descendant is Huaihua to excuse herself, saying, "The neighbors all know I was bullied by Yi Zhonghai; for the Jia family I've always yielded, and before his death Yi Zhonghai worried that Huaihua would fare poorly and be bullied by my former mother‑in‑law."

Tears streamed down.

A look of having suffered endless injustice for her daughter.

What she said.

That's also the truth.

The son‑preferring Jia Zhangshi, even when facing her own granddaughter Xiao Dang, kept calling her a money‑losing burden, while Huaihua is still Yi Zhonghai's bloodline.

Jia Zhangshi is very likely to take out her anger on Huaihua.

If that's the case.

Yi Zhonghai's method of using money to buy Huaihua's safety makes sense emotionally.