Chapter 503
The neighbors who took in every change of expression on Jia Zhangshi and Bangeng's faces.
Their emotions were even more heightened.
In their eyes, the more Jia Zhangshi and Bangeng were angry—so much that their gums itched—the more their words hit Jia Zhangshi and Bangeng's lungs.
Only You Fengxia.
Why on earth should she have to marry your family's Bangeng?
Just look at Bangeng's current appearance and the Jia Family's predicament—how could they possibly be worthy of You Fengxia?
A graceful, virtuous lady.
A gentleman seeks a good match.
Viewing Bangeng from the perspective of a romantic rival.
Their words became even more intense.
Their tone was also that of someone who enjoys a spectacle and doesn't mind stirring up trouble.
"I just saw, Bangeng's face is all scars—definitely because Bangeng didn't want to bring the widow back to the city and got his face scratched by the widow."
"What? Scratched by a widow." The unwilling-to-resign Jia Zhangshi casually made up nonsense: "Our Bangeng encountered bad people on the road, and while fighting them, he got injured."
"Do you believe what Jia Zhangshi says? Anyway, I don't believe it."
In response to Wang Yaxiong's questioning, the neighbors' booming laughter rang out.
Jia Zhangshi also knew these people were not easy to deal with; after muttering a few words under her breath, she turned her gaze to You Fengxia. Her target was You Fengxia—as long as You Fengxia had feelings for Bangeng, that would suffice. As for those neighbors present, in Jia Zhangshi's eyes, they were simply people who couldn't eat grapes and thus complained they were sour.
"You Fengxia, I, the old lady, still say what I just said: our Bangeng is coming back this time and won't leave; he made a small mistake back in the countryside, but now he has no ties to that widow; you know the Yagangchang, right? Our Bangeng will go straight into Yagangchang as a cadre; if you marry our Bangeng, you'll be a cadre's family member!"
Jia Zhangshi's bragging wasn't finished yet.
You Fengxia couldn't be bothered to listen; she took Weiguo's hand and walked toward the former Yi Zhonghai residence, which after Shazhu bought it back became Weiguo's room.
You Fengxia lived in the room previously occupied by Yushui.
Seeing You Fengxia leave without letting her finish speaking, Jia Zhangshi felt a flicker of displeasure and silently cursed an ill-mannered little slut.
She tried to chase after You Fengxia for a few steps.
But Wang Yaxiong and the others deliberately blocked her path.
Regardless of whether Bangeng is a match for You Fengxia, Wang Yaxiong and the others just want to break them up.
Seeing she couldn't catch up to You Fengxia, Jia Zhangshi shouted across the crowd at her.
"Dang Xianghong, think it over—once you pass this village, there's no such shop; our Bangeng is set to become a cadre at Yagangchang."
The surrounding people listened to Jia Zhangshi's words, which were like an ultimatum.
The laughter was even more unrestrained.
How could a withered tree attract a phoenix!
As for the Jia Family now, not only is its reputation ruined, but Bangeng also bears the infamy of a Chen Shimei who abandoned his wife to return to the city, and his face was further scratched by Shi Jiahong.
Marry a wife.
It's truly not an ordinary difficulty.
Having seen enough of the Jia Family drama, the neighbors each left, taking with them the news of Bangeng's return to the city and of his becoming a Chen Shimei for the sake of returning.
……
Night fell.
Shazhu's home.
Shazhu, while eating dinner, couldn't help but frown.
Mainly because there was a constant chattering sound beside his ear that wouldn't quit.
Weiguo recounted everything that had happened in the courtyard that daytime in detail to Shazhu: that Bangeng had returned, that Bangeng was a Chen Shimei, that Bangeng had been introduced to You Fengxia by Jia Zhangshi.
Hearing that Bangeng had returned, Shazhu was somewhat indifferent.
Just now, when entering the Dayuan, Yan Fugui pulled Shazhu aside and mysteriously said that Bangeng had returned, that Bangeng had divorced Shi Jiahong, and that Shi Jiahong had ruined Bangeng's face.
The Jia Family has only Bangeng as its sole heir; they could not possibly let him stay in Dongbei.
What truly made Shazhu feel astonished.
Was that Qin Huairu actually managed to bring Bangeng back, and it's said she didn't spend a penny, just got Bangeng to divorce the widow Shi Jiahong.
This counted as a small surprise for Shazhu.
But after hearing that Bangeng's face now bore several visible scars, his doubts dissolved, and he inexplicably looked up to Qin Huairu a bit more.
A scheming slut is also an anti-conformist.
They actually dare to use Bangeng's facial scars as gossip!
Just let him come back.
Without Bangeng in the Siheyuan, it inexplicably felt a bit less lively.
Shazhu scooped a few spoonfuls of thin porridge into his mouth; just as he set the empty bowl on the table, You Fengxia beside him promptly added another small bowl of thin porridge.
"You Fengxia, I said, I'll do it myself; you've been busy all day."
"Brother, it's just scooping you a bit of congee, no big deal!"
"You Fengxia."
Shazhu looked at You Fengxia.
He admitted that You Fengxia was not bad-looking, in her early twenties, in the prime of her youthful beauty, her whole person exuding a charming charm.
He felt no romantic love toward You Fengxia.
He simply regarded her as his own sister.
"There are some things I've thought about and still think I should tell you."
"Brother, you speak, I'll listen."
When a boy grows up, he should marry; when a girl grows up, she should marry.
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This is English instruction line, but it contains no Chinese? Actually it contains English only. However it's part of the prompt, not a line to translate? The user included it as part of the block. It says "【82】 It says..." This line is English, no Chinese. Should we translate? It says "It says..." but it's already English. If we output it as is, we would be outputting English, which is fine. However the instruction says "Translate each FULLY into natural English." If it's already English, we can just output it as is (ensuring no Chinese). But we must check if there are any Chinese characters inside quotes? No. So we could output "【82】 It says "Reuse the EXACT English already in the glossary above." However we need to keep the quotes? The original line includes double quotes inside. We should keep them? The instruction says output exactly one line per item as: 【N】
We saw Wang Yaxiong appears in line 73, but it's not in the glossary. Did we miss it? Let's check line 73: "Brother, Jia Zhangshi really said that; many people around can bear witness—the three elders of the front courtyard, Wang Yaxiong and the others in the back courtyard—all personally heard Jia Zhangshi say that." Indeed Wang Yaxiong appears. Not in the glossary. Maybe we need to include it but translate? The glossary didn't provide an English form for Wang Yaxiong. According to the rules, we should translate the meaning unless it's a name used as a name. Wang Yaxiong is a person's name (likely a nickname or actual name). Since it's a person's name, we should romanize using pinyin: Wang Yaxiong. However, the glossary didn't list it, but we still need to include it in the list. The instruction says 'Reuse the EXACT English already in the glossary above.' That may only apply to those terms that are in the glossary. For others, we need to provide appropriate English translation (likely pinyin for personal names). We'll do that.
Similarly, we may see other names: Qin Huairu appears later. Also Xiao Dang, Huaihua, etc.
Let's continue scanning.
Shazhu shook his head. Likely a typo: 'Shazhu ya de' maybe 'Shazhu ya de'? Anyway the name is Shazhu.
Jia Zhangshi! Jia Zhangshi! Name: Jia Zhangshi.
This is for fear that Bangeng will fail. Name: Bangeng.
He understands Jia Zhangshi's feelings; he hasn't been suppressed for long, and wants to show off the Jia family's advantage from marrying You Fengxia. But doing so is tantamount to gambling away the Jia family's future. Names: Jia Zhangshi, Jia Family, You Fengxia.
Jia Zhangshi underestimated human nature. Name: Jia Zhangshi.
Or perhaps joy has turned to sorrow. No names.
No wonder he's a godlike figure who specialized in sabotaging his own teammates in a past life. No names.
Shazhu believes that, with this matter involving Jia Zhangshi, Bangeng can't even hope to become a factory cadre; even becoming an ordinary factory worker is a pipe dream. Names: Shazhu, Jia Zhangshi, Bangeng.
I haven't heard He Weiguo just tell Shazhu that Wang Yaxiong wants to go to the steel mill to ask the leaders why Bangeng, who made a mistake, can work at the steel mill, while someone far more capable than Bangeng cannot get in. I've heard that many neighbors support Wang Yaxiong's suggestion and want to go together to ask the leaders for an explanation. Names: He Weiguo, Shazhu, Wang Yaxiong, Yagangchang, Bangeng. Also 'leaders' is generic.
In that case. No names.
Bangeng cannot get into the steel mill. Names: Bangeng, Yagangchang.
A few words from Jia Zhangshi destroyed Bangeng's hope. Names: Jia Zhangshi, Bangeng.
Because no one would do something that brings trouble upon themselves for Bangeng or Qin Huairu. Names: Bangeng, Qin Huairu.
In the previous life. No names.
Bangeng returned from the countryside, couldn't find work, eventually sought refuge under Xu Daming, studied film projection for a while under Xu Daming, but later was dismissed for taking kickbacks out of greed. Names: Bangeng, Xu Daming.
The main problem is that Bangeng doesn't know how to behave. Name: Bangeng.
You should share some of the money with Xu Daming. Name: Xu Daming.
Bangeng embezzled that sum of money. Name: Bangeng.
Xu Daming plotted to get Bangeng fired; seeing Bangeng idling around all day, Qin Huairu arranged for him to get a job sweeping streets, but Bangeng did the job unwillingly and resentfully. Names: Xu Daming, Bangeng, Qin Huairu.
Three days fishing, two days drying nets. No names.
After seeing this, Qin Huairu began to use Shazhu's connections, saying that as long as Shazhu resolves Bangeng's work situation, Bangeng will change his attitude toward Shazhu and agree to Qin Huairu marrying Shazhu. Names: Qin Huairu, Shazhu, Bangeng.
To bolster their numbers, Qin Huairu also persuaded Xiao Dang and Huaihua to work together on influencing Shazhu's thinking. Names: Qin Huairu, Xiao Dang, Huaihua, Shazhu.
In the end, it was the new TV that Shazhu bought by doing odd jobs and saving money; after Shazhu's family had it set up for just a few minutes, Qin Huairu incited the two daughters to move it to the Jia family's home. Names: Shazhu, Qin Huailu, Jia Family.
The Jia family members happily watched the TV that Shazhu bought. Names: Jia Family, Shazhu.
Qin Huairu then stayed in Shazhu's room for a long time; no one knows what the two did. Names: Qin Huairu, Shazhu.
The next day, Shazhu found Bangeng, gave him the driver's learner's permit, letting Bangeng learn to drive and drive for others' leaders; later Bangeng met Tang Yanling, they got married, and so on. Names: Shazhu, Bangeng, Tang Yanling.
Shazhu now wonders: without him, Bangeng still can't work at the steel mill; can Bangeng still marry Tang Yanling as he did in his previous life and live in the house that originally belonged to Shazhu, living happily? Names: Shazhu, Bangeng, Yagangchang, Tang Yanling.
I heard that Bangeng's face was scratched by someone. Name: Bangeng.
He was wearing Chen Shimei's hat on his head. Name: Chen Shimei.
Even thinking about it is hard. No names.
"Dad, what are you thinking about?" No names.
"Dad is thinking about your aunt's marriage." No names.
Shazhu wouldn't just casually tell his own son his thoughts; he made up an excuse, following He Weiguo's lead, and then dragged the topic onto Bangeng and Jia Zhangshi. Names: Shazhu, He Weiguo, Bangeng, Jia Zhangshi.
"Xiang Hong, you're an adult; I won't hide things from you. You're old enough—what kind of son-in-law do you want? You and your sister-in-law have time to talk; we'll do our best to help you figure things out. But remember this: stay far away from the Jia family across the street. You've only been living in the courtyard house for a little over a month, you already know the general situation of the courtyard, you've figured out what kind of people the neighbors are, and you know what kind of life Qin Huairu leads. If you marry Bangeng, you'll become the next Qin Huairu. Do you understand? When a woman marries, it's like a second rebirth; you need to open your eyes." Names: Xiang Hong, Jia Family, Siheyuan, Qin Huairu, Bangeng. Also 'sister-in-law' generic.
You Fengxia knows that Shazhu does not associate with the Jia family. Names: You Fengxia, Shazhu, Jia Family.
At first, there was some lack of understanding. No names.
Only later did they realize that Shazhu was right. Name: Shazhu.
The Jia family across the street. Name: Jia Family.
Can be called the epitome of shamelessness. No names.
She nodded readily. No names.
"Brother, I know what I need to do; sister-in-law, that's troublesome for you." No names.
"You child, why are the families speaking as if they were two households? What's the trouble, or lack thereof?" No names.
"Your sister-in-law makes sense." Shazhu then told Yu Li: "Daughter-in-law, regarding Xiang Hong's marriage, you should give it some thought; she should be tall and stately, of clean background, educated, non-violent; try to find someone meeting these conditions. Also, the mother-in-law cannot be someone like Jia Zhangshi." Names: Shazhu, Yu Li, Xiang Hong, Jia Zhangshi. Also 'sister-in-law' generic.
"I understand." Yu Li helped Shazhu pick up a piece of pickled vegetable, "Let's eat." Names: Yu Li, Shazhu.
"Xiang Hong, if the Jia Zhangshi across the street keeps bothering you, don't give her a good face; us not causing trouble doesn't mean we're afraid." Names: Xiang Hong, Jia Zhangshi.
You Fengxia readily nodded. Name: You Fengxia.
To deal with Jia Zhangshi and Bangeng, there's actually no need for You Fengxia to intervene—the Siheyuan is full of good-natured neighbors who take issue with Jia Family.
……
Jia Family.
On the dinner table, they placed a chicken, a rare sight.
Bangeng has returned.
For the Jia Family.
Good news.
Since it's good news, we should naturally celebrate it properly.
Jia Zhangshi took out money to buy a chicken; Qin Huairu, Jia Zhangshi, Huaihua, and Bangeng sat together, their faces showing joy mixed with a hint of displeasure.
The main reason is that Xiao Dang is not.
Feeling that it's not complete enough.
"Bangeng! Don't worry about your sister's situation; after a while, once you enter Yagangchang and become a cadre, find a way to bring your sister back and arrange a livelihood for her at Yagangchang."
Bangeng nodded.
He also believed Jia Zhangshi's nonsense, thinking that his entering Yagangchang as a cadre was an ironclad fact.
A hint of conflict flashed across his face.
His mood also turned strange.
Only Qin Huairu did not think so; after going to Yagangchang to cancel her leave and just returning to the Siheyuan, she heard the neighbors arguing inside the compound, saying that Jia Zhangshi had said that Bangeng was a cadre at Yagangchang, urging You Fengxia to consider her relationship with Bangeng soon, otherwise Bangeng would marry another female comrade.
She had a bad feeling.
But she held back due to certain concerns and did not speak it out.
Jia Zhangshi saw Qin Huairu's expression was off, knew what she was thinking, and gave an explanation.
"Don't you think I shouldn't have said that Bangeng would go to work at Yagangchang as a cadre?"
Qin Huairu said nothing.
But she responded with her gaze to Jia Zhangshi's question.
"You step forward, I'll rest easy; Bangeng is such a fine young man, if he enters Yagangchang and doesn't become a cadre, it would be a waste of his talent. Our Jia Family has only one room; if Bangeng marries, we can't all crowd into one room. Huaihua is also grown up; a daughter should avoid her father and brothers."
Jia Zhangshi explained her reasons for saying that.
She laid it out.
"I say this also for the Jia Family's sake; think about it—if I don't speak well of Bangeng, would Dang Xianghong agree to marry him? In these days you've been away, the youths outside don't say it, but the youths inside say it, those in the rear courtyard like Wang Yayong and Zhao Zhijun, and those in the central courtyard like Li Shengji and Wang Zhichao—who isn't eyeing Dang Xianghong? I'm moving first, laying out Bangeng's conditions—would Dang Xianghong disagree? Many people want to be a cadre's family."
"Has Dang Xianghong agreed to date Bangeng?"
"Not yet, but soon." Jia Zhangshi said, suddenly widening her eyes, and instructed Huaihua: "Huaihua, go over to the opposite side and find Dang Xianghong; just say your brother Bangeng has returned, our family bought a roasted chicken, and have her come over to eat it."
End of Chapter
