Chapter 512

Jia Zhangshi, crying and sobbing.

He regarded Shazhu, who had spoken up for her, as his own lifeline.

Tears flowed, even more than urine.

He repeated the whole story of the incident.

"Shazhu, I never expected it would be you who stood up for me, this old woman. My heart aches; for the Jia Family, I've toiled my whole life, only to end up like this. Shazhu, you must decide for me, this old woman—I don't want to go back to my hometown."

Unlike what Qin Huairu said, in Jia Zhangshi's account, she is the victim, while Qin Huairu, Bangeng, and Huaihua are the perpetrators; the three women teamed up to deal with Jia Zhangshi—that's roughly the meaning.

It's also just someone making things up in their head.

Taking the opportunity when Shazhu spoke up, Jia Zhangshi thought for a moment and felt that Bangeng hitting her was actually Qin Huairu secretly stirring trouble behind the scenes.

Why would she do that?

Surely they think Jia Zhangshi is old and feeble, no longer useful, and want to drive her back to her hometown to let her fend for herself.

In Jia Zhangshi's heart.

Bangeng is actually a good child.

He has always been very filial.

It's impossible for him to do something beastly like slapping himself.

It must be Qin Huairu who instructed Bangeng to do this; even the job Qin Huairu mentioned in her words for Bangeng is just a random fabrication she made up.

If Qin Huairu didn't say that, how could she use the pretext of Jia Zhangshi ruining Bangeng's job to openly drive Jia Zhangshi away?

It's because Qin Huairu thinks Bangeng is old enough to marry; she wants to stage the long-suffering daughter-in-law becoming mother-in-law drama. If Jia Zhangshi stayed in the Jia Family, it would be like having a Buddha on Qin Huairu's head—how could she then control Bangeng's wife?

If Bangeng's wife teamed up with Jia Zhangshi to scheme against Qin Huairu, Qin Huairu would surely have no good days—she'd have to obey Jia Zhangshi and also take care of her daughter-in-law.

Based on this calculation, Qin Huairu deliberately set a trap for Jia Zhangshi to drive her away, yet the neighbors still couldn't speak ill of Qin Huairu.

Besides this explanation, there is none other; Jia Zhangshi doesn't believe any other explanation and simply concludes that Qin Huairu set the trap for her.

"At my age, I might not see tomorrow; who knows when I won't be able to get up? If I go back to my hometown, will I still have a way to live?"

The neighbors thought this was Jia Zhangshi's karmic retribution.

Initially, they scolded their own relatives until they were covered in filth.

Jia Zhangshi deserved her bad luck.

"Qin Huairu is unfilial; she thinks this old woman is useless, a burden. Poor this old woman—for the Jia Family, she ends up dying alone in her hometown. My life, how could it be so bitter? Old Jia died, and I raised Dong Xu with my own sweat and urine, found him work, got him married, thinking we'd have good days. Instead, this old woman sees her white hair sending off black hair—Dong Xu didn't make it, and this old woman again raised Bangeng with her sweat and urine. Now Dong Xu's wife Qin Huairu wants to drive me away, even going so far as to put a feces chamber pot on this old woman, wuwuwu."

Jia Zhangshi's lament.

It continued.

However, Shazhu no longer had the inclination to listen.

The scene before his eyes.

It made Shazhu confront himself for the first time, realizing he actually harbored strong hatred toward the Jia Family members—this hatred couldn't be explained in a sentence or two, nor would it simply fade as Shazhu kept his distance from the Jia Family; it had always been repressed deep in his heart.

Originally, he thought staying away from the Jia Family would quell his anger.

In fact.

Shazhu has been deceiving himself.

The scene of internal strife within the Jia Family before his eyes was like a lit fuse, exploding the self-deception Shazhu had used to mask his hatred for the Jia Family, allowing him to confront his hatred toward the Jia Family for the first time.

Jia Zhangshi cannot leave.

Laoqianpo won't do it; how else can Shazhu use Jia Zhangshi to scheme and take revenge on the Jia Family?

The Jia Family's current situation is like lice on a monk's head—an obvious fact: a small room, with Jia Zhangshi sleeping inside, Qin Huairu living inside, and Bangeng and Huaihua also staying inside.

What was called in childhood.

One family doesn't speak the words of two families.

The problem is that Bangeng is now grown, he married a widow then divorced her, and Huaihua is in her mid-teens, bright and youthful; they share the same mother but have different fathers.

Staying under one roof.

It's always somewhat inconvenient.

Bangeng marrying a wife instantly created the biggest problem.

House!

It's a simple principle: Bangeng married a wife, so the couple can't still be crammed into one house with Jia Zhangshi and Qin Huairu; how is the Jia Family's incense to be resolved?

Should Qin Huairu and Jia Zhangshi wait at the door while Bangeng and his wife inside go about producing offspring?

Even if Bangeng agreed, and Qin Huairu and Jia Zhangshi were willing, Bangeng's wife would not agree.

Marry a man, marry a man—just to have clothes and food.

The house is useless, the job is useless—why marry you? It's just for Bangeng's reputation as a Chen Shimei!

Moreover, Jia Zhangshi's reputation for being gluttonous and lazy is known far and wide.

The family has an evil grandmother, yet there is no house to live in.

Under these circumstances, Bangeng wanting to marry a wife is no ordinary difficulty; just looking at these neighbors in the courtyard, one can see what troubles the Jia Family will face—moreover, it's not Shazhu scheming against the Jia Family voluntarily; it's the Jia Family members scheming against Shazhu. If the Jia Family does the first, then He Yuzhu naturally does the fifteenth.

Isn't it just blaming everyone from a moral standpoint?

In his previous life, he was screwed over so badly by Yi Zhonghai that Shazhu learned a few of Yi Zhonghai's tricks.

He coughed lightly, and when the neighbors' gazes all gathered on Shazhu, Shazhu then slowly rebuked Jia Zhangshi with a sentence.

"Dong Xu's mom, stop talking—everyone in the neighborhood already knows the ins and outs. You say you're right, he says he has evidence; right or wrong, while the neighbors are all here, let's hash it out properly; otherwise, if word gets out that a grandson beat his grandmother or a daughter-in-law drove out her mother-in-law, how will the young bachelors and young ladies in our courtyard find partners?"

The way to address Jia Zhangshi.

He played a little trick.

He didn't call Bangeng's grandma, nor did he use Jia Zhangshi; instead, he called Dong Xu's mom.

Dong Xu died; as his wife, Qin Huairu morally has the duty to support Jia Zhangshi, and she has taken over the Jia Family's position.

Fortunately Yi Zhonghai died; if Yi Zhonghai were alive, seeing Shazhu say this, he'd have to praise that there's a successor.

'Shazhu!' Jia Zhangshi handed Shazhu a good-person card, saying, 'You are a good person.'

'Dong Xu's mom, stop crying; if crying could solve problems, cry your heart out—we neighbors watch you cry; when you've cried the matter out, we'll talk.'

Seeing Shazhu's reasoning, Jia Zhangshi gradually stopped crying, her face upturned with tears pooling, looking pitifully at Shazhu.

Now Shazhu truly is Jia Zhangshi's last reliance.

His mind was also full of wandering thoughts.

Who would have thought it was Shazhu speaking up for her.

Jia Zhangshi had considered anyone, except Shazhu; she even maliciously guessed Shazhu would stand aside and watch the show.

'Shazhu, I won't cry.'

'Bangeng, I still say that, in front of all the neighbors in the courtyard, pat your own conscience and say whether you hit your grandmother.'

Bangeng glanced at Qin Huairu.

He felt somewhat embarrassed.

When he first slapped Jia Zhangshi, he was initially startled, but after ten or so seconds, the startlement turned into feeling justified, thinking that even if Jia Zhangshi were his grandmother, she deserved the slap.

If it weren't for Jia Zhangshi's talkativeness, if it weren't for her bragging, could Bangeng's getting into Yagangchang have come to nothing?

Not being able to become a cadre, he lost even the right to enter Yagangchang's gate, and was mocked by the courtyard's neighbors, ridiculed and humiliated by romantic rivals like Wang Yaxiong.

If he wanted to enter Yagangchang, unless Bangeng took over Qin Huairu's feces‑scooping ladle and entered Yagangchang as a night‑soil worker.

That job.

Bangeng couldn't accept it, and also couldn't accept it.

Although he slapped Jia Zhangshi and resented her, he highly approved of her saying, 'Our Jia Family's Bangeng has talent; entering Yagangchang as a cadre is giving face to Yagangchang.' This damn thing went straight to night‑soil work, utterly wasting Bangeng's talent.

It's also bad for Bangeng's future; when talking about a partner, if Bangeng says he does night‑soil work at Yagangchang, the partner will likely say goodbye right away.

He harbored hatred in his heart.

He also knew he couldn't speak the big truth that he had slapped Jia Zhangshi.

A close grandson violently beat his own grandmother.

The 'beast' label surely can't escape.

Faced with Shazhu's questioning, he instinctively glanced at Qin Huairu, wondering how to answer Shazhu's pressing question.

Qin Huairu saw Shazhu speak up and was a bit stunned, but when Bangeng turned to her for help, she reacted quickly, saying softly.

'Shazhu, do you really suspect Bangeng hit his grandmother?'

Yu Li quit.

The tone of a scheming bitch.

Made her very displeased.

No wonder everyone scolds Qin Huairu; she really is a shameless woman, in this situation, in front of the courtyard's neighbors, she's trying to seduce Shazhu.

'Bangeng's mom, what expression is that? Your tone is also off—how all‑bitchy?'

'Weiguo's mom, I.'

'Daughter‑in‑law, say a few less words; I have it figured out.' Shazhu comforted Yu Li, then turned to Qin Huairu: 'Qin Huairu, I'm asking your son—ask him whether he hit his grandmother; your son isn't unable to speak, what are you interjecting for?'

His voice suddenly rose.

His tone also became somewhat stricter.

'Bangeng, speak—did you hit or not? If you hit, you hit; if you didn't, you didn't. You're a man who stands tall, your word is bond.'

'Didn't hit.'

Bangeng had just finished speaking.

Shazhu, who had long hated Bangeng to death, finally seized the opportunity.

When Yu Li had just retorted at Qin Huairu, she loosened her grip on Shazhu's collar.

Shazhu could finally act freely.

Taking the chance to move, Shazhu raised his palm and fiercely slapped Bangeng's cheek.

A crisp slap sound.

It caused the onlookers to erupt in an uproar.

Good fellow.

Shazhu slapped Bangeng in the face in front of Jia Zhangshi and Qin Huairu.

He truly used all his strength.

He slapped Bangeng's right cheek into a pig's head.

This was also because Shazhu worried Bangeng was physically weak, so he gave him a big slap; otherwise his idle legs would inevitably have close contact with Bangeng's body.

Bangeng was hit.

This is one of the strange sights.

The one who hit Bangeng was Shazhu.

This is the second strange sight.

The third strange sight is that after Bangeng was slapped by Shazhu, he could do nothing; Jia Zhangshi, the top protector of the young, unusually did not rush to Bangeng's side to check his injuries, nor did she step forward to shriek at Shazhu; aside from a hint of surprise on her face, Jia Zhangshi did nothing else.

It seems.

Jia Zhangshi isn't stupid either; she knows right from wrong, knows she feels sorry for Bangeng, but she can't cause a scene with Shazhu who hit Bangeng; the whole courtyard wants Jia Zhangshi driven out, with only Shazhu stepping up to speak for her; even if Jia Zhangshi were foolish, she wouldn't push her sole able‑bodied force onto the opposing side.

Seeing Jia Zhangshi unmoving, Qin Huairu was compelled to speak to Shazhu.

'Shazhu, why did you hit my son? What have I, the Jia Family's orphaned widow, done to you? You struck so viciously—look what you've done to my son! If something happens to him, what am I to do?'

Crying is just crying.

However, there was no intention of sending Bangeng to the hospital for treatment.

At this time, this era.

Fighting was commonplace; if you hit him, he'd lose, you'd be the stronger, and the other side wouldn't go to the hospital to extort money—they'd just look for a way to fight you again.

Even if you beat someone until their head is split and bleeding, the victim goes to the hospital for a look and gets bandaged; the aggressor, upon hearing that the person is in the hospital, brings two jin of apples or two cans of food, or a box of pastries to pay a visit, says a few kind words, leaves the gift, and the fight is considered settled.

No one looked down on you for fighting, nor for being beaten.

In general, people treat fighting with a normal attitude.

Qin Huairu hides behind the pretense of being an orphan and widow to blame Shazhu—not using fighting as an excuse—and her resentment toward Shazhu comes from the influence of the era's rules and regulations.

"Qin Huairu, don't try to silence me with a tall hat—I'm not bullying the Jia family's orphans and widows. I hit Bangeng for a reason; you, Qin Huairu, should know why."

"I know the reason? What reason do I know?"

Seeing Qin Huairu still pretending.

Shazhu then knew Qin Huairu wouldn't cry until she saw the coffin.

He repeated Qin Huairu's accusation that Jia Zhangshi had ruined Bangeng.

"Qin Huairu, you just said Dong Xu's mother, in order to frame Bangeng, slapped herself, then blamed Bangeng, saying he hit her grandmother."

Seeing Qin Huairu's face change.

Then one knew Qin Huairu would change her story.

He hastily added a sentence.

"Don't look for excuses; all the neighbors in the courtyard clearly heard you, Qin Huairu, say that Jia Zhangshi hit herself and then blamed Bangeng; you can't deny it."

Some neighbors who dislike the Jia family.

They spoke up in agreement.

"Yes, yes, yes, we all heard it; your meaning, Qin Huairu, is that Jia Zhangshi hit herself and then blamed Bangeng—surely we neighbors couldn't all have misheard."

"Qin Huairu, don't change your story; this happened ages ago—what's the point of changing it again?"

"You think that if you change your story we'll believe you? Qin Huairu, you're treating us like three‑year‑olds."