Chapter 509

In order to stay in the city.

Jia Zhangshi didn't even have the capacity to consider the future of her beloved obedient grandson Bangeng.

Even if Qin Huairu tried to manipulate Jia Zhangshi with Bangeng's marriage and the Jia family's incense, warning her not to ruin Bangeng or the Jia family.

Yet Jia Zhangshi persisted in her notion of not wanting to return to her hometown.

Several years ago.

Jia Zhangshi's hometown suffered a disaster, and those relatives, bringing their whole families, came to seek refuge with Jia Zhangshi.

Just as they entered the siheyuan, before they could even touch the Jia family's gate, Jia Zhangshi unleashed a torrent of foul abuse that drove them out of the siheyuan.

When those relatives were about to leave, they let out harsh words saying they had no relatives like Jia Zhangshi.

Fortune turns like a wheel.

If Jia Zhangshi were driven back to her hometown by Qin Huairu, those relatives who already harbored resentment toward her past actions might well take revenge on her.

They would likely repay Jia Zhangshi a hundredfold for the humiliation she once inflicted upon them.

There would be no way to survive, and it wouldn't be as comfortable as staying in the city, where one could do nothing all day, have food brought to the mouth and clothes handed over.

In the rural hometown, everything would have to be done by Jia Zhangshi herself.

Farming is not an easy task; it requires arduous labor. The plump Jia Zhangshi would then cry more than she urinates.

Just thinking about such consequences.

Laoqianpo then trembled all over.

She will not go back.

She also cannot go back.

"Huairu, there's nothing left in the hometown; at my age, if I return to the rural home, will I still have a livelihood? Give me a chance, Mom, I promise to turn over a new leaf." Jia Zhangshi lifted her smiling face and said to Qin Huairu: "Yes, yes, yes, that's exactly turning over a new leaf, Huairu, Mom can't bear to part with you."

"Even if you can't bear to part, you must let go." Qin Huairu, with a faint expression, gave Jia Zhangshi an icy ultimatum: "If you stay in the Jia family, our Jia family will have no good."

Times are different now.

Jia Zhangshi no longer has any leverage to counterbalance Qin Huairu.

Before, she could still use filial piety as a pretext to manipulate Qin Huairu, but now Qin Huairu doesn't even observe that filial pretense, and instead uses Jia Zhangshi's ruining of Bangeng's prospects to turn the tables on her.

If it really comes to the point where the whole neighborhood knows.

That would also be Jia Zhangshi's humiliating end.

Jia Zhangshi, fully aware of this, seeing that she couldn't persuade Qin Huairu, turned her hopes to Bangeng and Huaihua, wishing they could help her mediate.

"Bangeng, help Grandma say a word: Grandma doesn't want to go back, she wants to stay in the city. Huaihua, you also plead for Grandma; Grandma has been good to you. Your brother's job matter—Grandma made a mistake, she shouldn't have shown off in front of the neighbors, but she also said she'll go to Jiēdào to ask about your brother's job, which means kneeling before Director Wang, I'll also have to kneel to get Bangeng's job back."

Jia Zhangshi mistakenly overestimated her standing in Bangeng's and Huaihua's hearts, and also underestimated the cold-bloodedness of those two white-eyed wolves.

Bangeng's hatred toward Jia Zhangshi reached its extreme.

A perfectly good job, yet Jia Zhangshi managed to ruin it; moreover, she even bragged beforehand, saying Bangeng would enter the factory as a cadre; added to that, Bangeng's having dumped Shi Jiahong and returned to Jia Shimei's reputation could be summed up with the four words 'infamous far and wide'; Bangeng could already imagine how the neighbors would mock him tomorrow, especially potential rivals like Wang Yaxiong, who would bear even more grudge against Jia Zhangshi.

"Grandma, just follow my mother's wish and return to the rural home! You yourself said earlier that I am the Jia Family's male descendant, the family's incense depends on me to continue; we only have one house, we can't possibly take a wife and have three generations living together, right? My mother doesn't not want you; she's just letting you go home temporarily, and during the holidays I and Huaihua will come to the countryside to visit you."

"Grandma, my brother is right; if you stay in the city, you can only ruin our Jia Family's good fortunes. Look at the ideas you've come up with—forget it, I won't say more; in a moment I'll help you pack your luggage."

Jia Zhangshi, who failed to achieve the expected effect.

She stared foolishly at Bangeng, then at Huaihua!

She was stunned.

In her mind, she involuntarily recalled the words Shazhu had once uttered when he severed ties with the Jia Family.

You Jia Family people are all ungrateful white-eyed wolves, with not a shred of gratitude; whoever gets involved with your Jia Family is damned.

Back then, Jia Zhangshi even argued with Shazhu, saying he was putting a hat on the Jia Family's heads; all the surrounding big courtyards knew the Jia Family had decent character, and Bangeng was a good child.

And indeed Shazhu turned out to be right.

Truly an ungrateful white-eyed wolf.

Being cold-hearted toward outsiders, Jia Zhangshi could still accept that.

Bangeng and Huaihua kept Jia Zhangshi at a respectful distance.

Such an attitude.

Like countless sharp needles piercing her body, it caused Jia Zhangshi to feel a sharp pain throughout her; this is the beloved grandson Bangeng she had high hopes for, this is the granddaughter Huaihua she valued; seeing her mother Qin Huairu intending to send her back, even though she pleaded with Bangeng and Huaihua to say a few good words for her, they still responded coldly to Qin Huairu's suggestion, wanting to send Jia Zhangshi back to her hometown, without considering whether Jia Zhangshi could still survive if she returned.

Seeing that kind words could not move Qin Huairu and her two companions, which only strengthened their resolve to send her back home, Jia Zhangshi simply changed tactics, switching from soft to hard.

She glanced at Qin Huairu, Bangeng, and Huaihua.

"I won't go back; this is my old woman's home, and even if I die, I will die in this house. You are juniors; you ought to be filial."

In Bangeng's gaze toward Jia Zhangshi,

there was a faint resentment.

This grandmother Jia Zhangshi not only ruined his job, but also wants to ruin his marriage.

Huaihua is right; as long as Jia Zhangshi is in the house, they cannot have any good.

Directing Huaihua,

this would mean driving Jia Zhangshi out of the Jia Family overnight.

Qin Huairu remained still, letting Bangeng and Huaihua pull and drag Jia Zhangshi out of the Jia Family, while a hint of ferocity flashed across her face.

Jia Zhangshi, as the double-fat of the siheyuan,

weighing two hundred jin,

is no exaggeration.

Bangeng, weakened from toiling in the countryside, and Huaihua, being a girl, together could not overcome Jia Zhangshi; during the struggle, someone slapped her, and after a crisp slap, a clear five-finger mark appeared on Jia Zhangshi's fair cheek.

Looking at the size of the palm print, it was about the same as Bangeng's palm.

Bangeng slapped Jia Zhangshi!

A godlike turn.

It made the indoor atmosphere somewhat eerie for a moment.

Jia Zhangshi froze, feeling the pain on her cheek, looking at Bangeng and his raised hand in disbelief; she had been slapped by her own grandson, and the force was still tremendous.

Qin Huairu also stared in shock; Bangeng hitting Jia Zhangshi was something she never expected, and a sense of ambiguous conflict welled up in her heart.

A flicker of contempt crossed Huaihua's eyes.

"I'm your grandmother, and you actually hit me—this is unfilial, Qin Huairu, won't you intervene? You just stand there watching them hit me? What do you mean 'not hit'? How did the slap mark on this old woman's face appear?"

Inside the quiet siheyuan.

Suddenly, Jia Zhangshi's questioning shout rang out.

No one needed to specially instruct.

Hearing the sound, the neighbors came out of their houses one after another; in a short while they gathered at the Jia family's gate, craning their necks to watch the Jia family's drama.

Even an upright official finds it hard to settle family matters.

The Jia family's affairs.

It can be seen.

Can't participate.

If Jia Zhangshi were to blackmail them, it would be terribly unpleasant.

Seeing the neighbors come out, Jia Zhangshi was furious about the slap she had just received and angry at Bangeng and Huaihua's white‑eyed wolf behavior; she insisted on being sent back to her hometown, hoping to rally the neighbors' strength to turn the tables on Bangeng and the others, so she fixed her plan on Yan Fugui.

Of the three stewards of the siheyuan, only Yan Fugui remains; who else would you look for if not him?

"Third Elder, you really need to decide for this old woman."

Yan Fugui, not paying attention, had his leg grabbed by Jia Zhangshi; a faint look of resignation flashed across his face as he glanced at the crowd, then at Bangeng and the others, and began to persuade Jia Zhangshi.

"Grandma Bangeng, let go; if you have something to say, just speak—don't keep grabbing people's legs, that's wrong. Besides, the street now has a policy: the siheyuan steward system has been abolished, so from now on there are no stewards. I'm just an ordinary citizen like you, Jia Zhangshi—what authority do you expect me to have? Even if I wanted to decide for you, I couldn't; nobody in the courtyard listens to me, Yan Fugui."

"I don't care; I'm going to find you."

Jia Zhangshi clearly intended to cause a scene.

There was nothing else to be done.

If she didn't cause a scene, she would be sent back to her rural hometown.

Enjoying blessings or not.

Jia Zhangshi understood the distinction clearly.

"Bangeng's mother, say something; Bangeng, Huaihua, stop staring—come over and lend a hand to help your grandmother back into the Jia household."

"I won't return to the Jia household; this old woman can't go back to that Jia household."

Jia Zhangshi let out an anguished cry.

She lifted her head and burst into bitter tears.

The siheyuan's spirit‑summoner, Jia Zhangshi, who had lain dormant for over a decade, now spoke again before the gathered neighbors, voicing her plight.

"Dong Xu, open your eyes and look—your good wife Qin Huairu wants to send this mother of mine back to the countryside, your good son Bangeng and your good daughter Huaihua aren't helping me; they even want to send me away overnight. How easy is that for me? I'm a widow who raised you with painstaking effort, yet I haven't enjoyed even a few good days—I, with white hair, am sending off black‑haired ones; my heart feels chillingly cold. Dong Xu, my good son, please help me speak up; I have no choice—if I go back to the countryside, it's a dead end. With this body of mine, can I still till the land? Old Jia, you're dead and enjoying your blessings, leaving me, this old woman, to suffer alive; your son is gone, your daughter‑in‑law is unfilial, and your grandsons and granddaughters are white‑eyed wolves."

In the crowd.

Standing Shazhu.

A sense of desolation rose in his heart.

From Jia Zhangshi's pitiful, weeping scene, he saw the shadow of his former self.

In his previous life, he too had begged Bangeng, Xiao Dang, and Huaihua as pitifully as Jia Zhangshi did, just to enjoy his twilight years in the siheyuan.

That scene.

He never dared to forget it.

……

"Shazhu, I've found you a place to stay; move there that day."

"What do you call me? Shazhu? I'm your father!"

"What do you mean, my dad? When did you become my dad? My father is Jia Dongxu, you are He Yuzhu. Shazhu, don't joke. I'm not your son, you're not my father."

"I married your mother, Qin Huairu—aren't you my son?"

"Brother, look how you've angered our father."

Huaihua's remark led Shazhu to mistakenly think she was standing with him; unbeknownst to him, Shazhu was being overly sentimental, and just as he assumed, Huaihua spoke a few words to him with an ulterior motive.

"Dad, you say you're our father—there's no parent who doesn't consider their children. You live in the siheyuan, we see it and feel resentful and uneasy. Since you claim to be our father, live up to that role: move out, and my older brother will pay three months' rent for you."

Even a fool could understand the meaning in Huaihua's words.

This was meant to make him earn his own rent money.

In other words.

Shazhu was kicked out by the Jia family's three white‑eyed wolves.

"Dad, don't look at us like that—these are what we ought to do. For strangers, we'd give just one month's rent to an unrelated old man or woman, but we gave three months' rent all at once. See how filial we are? You, go ahead and enjoy yourself secretly."

"I won't go; I have a son—what right do I have to live outside?"

"You have a son? Who is your son?"

"He Xiaoxi is my son."

"Hahaha…"

Bangeng, Huaihua, and Xiao Dang burst out laughing; especially Bangeng, who laughed so hard he couldn't catch his breath, clutching his stomach in hysterics.

"You."

"Silly Dad, are you confused? You once told He Xiaoxi that you didn't have him as a son, that having us three was enough."

"Xiao Dang."

This is my house.

Translation: "Silly Dad, hear me out, you should move out; there's no place for you to stay in this courtyard."

It's not that I want to drive you away; it's that you staying here is inappropriate.

Thus: 【121】 Silly Dad, hear me out, you should move out; there's no place for you to stay in this courtyard.

Sis, listen to bro—we'll kick Shazhu out; he's not our real father, yet you're putting on airs like a father.

That was him back then.

Translation: "This is my house."

"This is my house." Good.

Shazhu, returning his spirit from the unpleasant memories, took a deep breath, smiled at Yu Li to indicate he was fine, then turned his gaze toward the Jia family.

I thought I had let it go.

The so-called letting go is merely an illusory facade; the hatred toward the Jia family has always been hidden deep in Shazhu's heart from beginning to end.

It welled up in Shazhu's heart.

【127】 I said I'd support you back then, but now I don't want to—no way.

【128】 Why are you wasting your breath on him? Just kick him out!

【129】 Sis, listen to me—let's kick Shazhu out. He's not our real father, yet you're acting like one.

【130】 Shazhu was thrown out of the courtyard by the Jia family's three white‑eyed wolves.

【131】 That was him back then.

【132】 He also wept like Jia Zhangshi, cursing Yi Zhonghai and Qin Huairu, saying they had ruined his whole life.

【133】 Yu Li, standing before Shazhu, sensed something was wrong, touched him, and asked a question.

【134】 Dad, are you okay?

【135】 Shazhu, shaking off the unpleasant memories, took a deep breath, smiled at Yu Li to show he was fine, then turned his gaze toward the Jia family.

【136】 Looking at Qin Huairu, Bangeng, Huaihua, and Jia Zhangshi, his body inexplicably trembled slightly and his fists clenched involuntarily.

【137】 I thought I had let it go.

【138】 Only now do I realize.

【139】 The so‑called letting go is just an illusion; the hatred for the Jia family has always lain deep in Shazhu's heart from start to finish.

【140】 A trace of viciousness.

【141】 It welled up in Shazhu's heart.

Now we need to output each line with 【N】 prefix and translation on a single line.

After all lines, output a names list:

The names written on the property deed are Jia Geng, Jia Dang, and Jia Hua; there is no He Yuzhu. You claim this is your house—show the evidence.

Translation: "The names on the property deed are Jia Geng, Jia Dang, and Jia Hua; there's no He Yuzhu. You say this is your house—show us the evidence."

The names written on the property deed are Jia Geng, Jia Dang, and Jia Hua; there is no He Yuzhu. You say this is your house—produce the evidence.

We'll produce: "The names on the property deed are Jia Geng, Jia Dang, and Jia Hua; there is no He Yuzhu. You say this is your house—show the evidence."

Xiao Dang, you also want to drive me away?

Translation: "Xiao Dang, you also want to drive me away?"

It's not that I want to drive you away; it's that your staying here is inappropriate.

Translation: "It's not that I want to drive you away; it's that you staying here is inappropriate."

You said you would support me in my old age?

Translation: "You said you would support me in my old age?"

Back then I said I would support you, but now I don't want to support you anymore—no way.

Translation: "Back then I said I would support you, but now I don't want to support you anymore—no way."

What are you wasting words with him for? Just kick him out!

Translation: "What are you wasting words with him for? Just kick him out!"

Sis, listen to bro—we'll kick Shazhu out; he's not our real father, yet you're putting on airs like a father.

Translation: "Sis, listen to bro—we'll kick Shazhu out; he's not our real father, yet you're putting on airs like a father."

Shazhu was kicked out of the siheyuan by the Jia family's three white-eyed wolves.

Translation: "Shazhu was kicked out of the Siheyuan by the Jia family's three white-eyed wolves."

That was him back then.

Translation: "That was him back then."

He also wept like Jia Zhangshi, cursing Yi Zhonghai and Qin Huairu in his words, saying they had ruined his whole life!

Translation: "He also wept like Jia Zhangshi, cursing Yi Zhonghai and Qin Huairu in his words, saying they had ruined his whole life!"

Yu Li, standing before Shazhu, sensed something was off, touched him, and asked a question.

Translation: "Yu Li, standing before Shazhu, sensed something was off, touched him, and asked a question."

Dad, are you okay?

Translation: "Dad, are you okay?"

Shazhu, returning his spirit from the unpleasant memories, took a deep breath, smiled at Yu Li to indicate he was fine, then turned his gaze toward the Jia family.

Translation: "Shazhu, returning his spirit from the unpleasant memories, took a deep breath, smiled at Yu Li to indicate he was fine, then turned his gaze toward the Jia family."

Looking at Qin Huairu, Bangeng, Huaihua, and Jia Zhangshi, his body inexplicably trembled faintly, and his fists clenched involuntarily.

Translation: "Looking at Qin Huairu, Bangeng, Huaihua, and Jia Zhangshi, his body inexplicably trembled faintly, and his fists clenched involuntarily."

I thought I had let it go.

Translation: "I thought I had let it go."

Only now do I realize.

Translation: "Only now do I realize."

The so-called letting go is merely an illusory facade; the hatred toward the Jia family has always been hidden deep in Shazhu's heart from beginning to end.

Translation: "The so-called letting go is merely an illusory facade; the hatred toward the Jia family has always been hidden deep in Shazhu's heart from beginning to end."

A trace of viciousness.

Translation: "A trace of viciousness."

It surged up in Shazhu's heart.