Chapter 548

Because of Bangeng's matter.

Jia Zhangshi and Qin Huairu argue every day.

One complains that the other is not fit to be a mother, can't even educate her own biological son, sending her own son to prison, saying the Jia family's incense line is cut off.

One resents the other for being unreasonable and unfit to be a grandmother, saying she has never seen a grandmother who teaches her grandson to steal and then helps cover up after the theft.

Each side insists they are right.

Neither can convince the other.

Then they came to blows.

Jia Zhangshi, relying on her obese body, unleashes a violent "one force reduces ten" beating on Qin Huairu; unwilling to back down, Qin Huairu uses her youthful figure to seize openings and strike back at Jia Zhangshi.

They keep fighting with crackling sounds.

Neither gained any advantage; both ended up with bruised noses and swollen faces.

The neighbors in the courtyard enjoyed the spectacle for several days, but eventually grew tired of it and treated it as mere background noise.

Even if Jia Zhangshi and Qin Huairu screamed for help, claiming they had caused a death, the neighbors pretended not to hear.

They also resent the Jia family widows for being utterly lacking in virtue; in those first few days, when they heard cries for help, they knew the Jia widows were troublesome, yet they still went to see what was happening, offered a few words of mediation, and told Qin Huairu and Jia Zhangshi not to make such a scene, saying one family shouldn't speak for two—what are they fighting over?

Bangeng is in prison, Xiao Dang has married off to the northwest, Huaihua has run away from home, leaving only the two Jia widows of the five‑person household; if they keep fighting, people will gossip.

What started as goodwill Jia Zhangshi twisted into malice, shouting at the neighbors who tried to break up the fight, saying they speak while standing without back pain, they can't bear to see the Jia family prosper, and though they know Bangeng is the Jia family's sole heir, they not only refuse to help but actively make things worse.

She said if they truly had the Jia family's best interests at heart, they would help rescue Bangeng from the Jia family.

Something even Shazhu cannot accomplish.

The neighbors are even less capable.

Without looking for excuses, I simply state the facts: I cannot do it.

Jia Zhangshi mocked the other, saying if you have no talent, don't show off, recklessly causing a scene and throwing feces at the neighbors.

Over time.

The neighbors in the courtyard stopped dealing with the Jia family altogether; even if Jia Zhangshi and Qin Huairu fought until they were bloody and caused a death, the neighbors couldn't be bothered.

Seeing the neighbors ignore her, Jia Zhangshi felt she ought to pay them attention.

As long as she avoids fighting with Qin Huairu, Jia Zhangshi goes from house to house making a scene, claiming Bangeng ended up in prison because of these people and demanding the neighbors compensate her with a Bangeng.

Unable to tolerate her any longer, the neighbors shoved Jia Zhangshi into a sack and gave her a severe beating.

Jia Zhangshi, now honest, sought out Shazhu, saying the neighbors lack the ability to rescue Bangeng; Shazhu had once been the cafeteria chief at Yagangchang and enjoyed an excellent relationship with Factory Director Yang there, so she asked Shazhu to help locate Yang and, through him, rescue Bangeng, promising that after success Bangeng would call Shazhu his adoptive father.

Shazhu refused; Jia Zhangshi then undid her belt, declaring that if Shazhu wouldn't help rescue Bangeng she would hang herself at his doorstep, condemning him to lifelong nightmares.

Shazhu replied, "If you hang yourself at my door, I'll just move; I even helped Jia Zhangshi tie the noose rope and brought her a stool to step on."

Seeing she could not threaten Shazhu, Jia Zhangshi burst into tears, pointing at his nose and calling him a cold‑blooded beast who watches Bangeng rot in prison without lifting a finger; after Shazhu slapped her twice, she became honest again.

In the days that followed, Jia Zhangshi spent her days trying to rescue Bangeng and her nights arguing with Qin Huairu.

I don't know who said it, but if the Siheyuan neighbors jointly guarantee for Bangeng, he wouldn't need to go to prison; Jia Zhangshi knelt before Yan Fugui, begging him to organize a Dayuan Assembly.

Yan Fugui, worn out by the constant nagging, also knew the person advising Jia Zhangshi was merely teasing her for fun, thinking it would achieve nothing and fearing it would only aggravate her anxiety, so he went ahead and arranged this Dayuan Assembly.

Eight o'clock in the evening.

The neighbors still residing in the Siheyuan gradually gathered in the Zhong Yuan; before dinner, Jia Zhangshi went from house to house notifying everyone.

Thinking it would do no harm, they figured watching the Dayuan Assembly's drama would be fine.

The Dayuan Assembly, which had vanished from the Siheyuan for a long time, reappeared before the neighbors in this manner.

Those present.

They all felt somewhat emotional.

In their memory, the Dayuan Assembly featured Yi Zhonghai in the middle, with Liu Haizhong and Yan Fugui to his left and right; the custom was for Liu Haizhong to open the meeting, Yi Zhonghai to set a high tone and morally coerce the attendees, and Yan Fugui to deliver the closing remarks or handle the wrap‑up work.

Over more than ten years, things and people have changed.

Yi Zhonghai has died, yet Yagangchang still holds him up as a negative example to warn its workers, a typical emblem of infamy for ten thousand years.

Liu Haizhong, having become a lackey of Deputy Factory Director Li, is utterly wicked; now he feasts on free meals and can be described as having brought about family ruin and death.

Yan Fugui may be stingy and calculating, and his son still needs food and housing, but he has managed to settle securely; he is the last remaining steward grandmaster of the Siheyuan.

This time only Yan Fugui presides; the familiar table remains, but Yi Zhonghai and Liu Haizhong are no longer seated behind it.

After the neighbors had gradually assembled, Yan Fugui tapped the large tea jar he had brought especially for the occasion; when their attention turned to him, he spoke a few words.

"Everyone, please settle down; we'll take a few minutes of your rest time. Today's Dayuan Assembly is convened at the request of Bangeng's grandmother, Jia Zhangshi. As for the Jia family's matter, you all know: Bangeng was arrested for eating white rice without paying, and Jia Zhangshi's inquiry at the police station revealed a minimum sentence of ten years."

The crowd instantly erupted in an uproar.

Although earlier rumors had it that Bangeng would be jailed for over ten years, deep down they still felt indifferent—after all, Bangeng had merely eaten a dozen bowls of white rice; it wasn't some heaven‑wrath, people‑resenting offense.

According to Siheyuan custom, if the owed meal money is repaid and Bangeng sweeps the courtyard for a few days, the matter will be settled.

Jia Zhangshi initially seized the house, causing a disturbance that reached the Jiēdào (street office), but it was neither blown up nor played down—it was handled internally.

In the neighbors' eyes, Bangeng's matter is mere petty squabbling; it's Jia Zhangshi using it as an excuse to cause a scene and embarrass Qin Huairu and the neighbors.

No one expected the outcome: Bangeng would be imprisoned for over ten years.

It's hard to understand.

After eating twenty‑odd yuan's worth of white rice, Bangeng—whom even the Zhu Xian Sword could not slay—is headed to prison.

No one expected Bangeng to come to this; no wonder Jia Zhangshi and Qin Huairu have been fighting day after day lately, blaming Qin Huairu for not calling Bangeng back to the city, which led to his being imprisoned for over ten years.

This matter sounded a warning bell for the neighbors.

Some people didn't believe it.

A question was raised.

"San Daye, is this true?"

It's true; our school also received a notice from the higher authorities demanding that we strictly carry out students' moral and intellectual education, and they even cited the incident of Bangeng eating white rice as an example.

Listening to Yan Fugui say that.

The neighbors no longer doubted the truth of the matter.

His mind filled with random thoughts, he began to wildly speculate.

Bangeng's imprisonment was truly the result of Jia Zhangshi and Qin Huairu doting on him together.

"San Daye, you called a meeting of the Dayuan—could this be all you have to say? They've already been sentenced; we ordinary neighbors can't help much."

The neighbors, upon hearing this,

They all felt it made some sense.

Even Shazhu couldn't handle it, let alone the neighbors.

"Jia Zhangshi's idea is for us neighbors to write a joint letter, put our handprints on it, and say this will let Bangeng serve fewer years."

The tone shifted.

They spoke of the Jia family's troubles.

"We're all neighbors of the same siheyuan, living here for years; the Jia family has only Bangeng as their sole heir. Not having offspring is the greatest unfiliality—if he serves over ten years and comes out in his early forties, how will he marry?"

Jia Zhangshi had not yet spoken her stance.

The voices of the surrounding neighbors rose up.

This included Shazhu's voice.

Shazhu, who hadn't wanted to get involved, muttered a vicious curse under his breath, as if possessed.

"San Daye, I think I understand your meaning now. Jia Zhangshi said to have the neighbors vouch for Bangeng as a group; he was originally to serve fifteen years, but with our guarantee it would be reduced to ten."

"Exactly, exactly, that's exactly what I meant."

"I don't know who gave Jia Zhangshi this idea, but I know it won't work."

When Jia Zhangshi heard Shazhu say that, she was about to throw a tantrum, but the instant before her foul mouth could utter a word, Shazhu's icy gaze fell on her; his years as cafeteria chief gave him an air of authority.

This aura might mean nothing to Factory Director Yang and the others, but to Jia Zhangshi, Laoqianpo, it still exerted some pressure.

Jia Zhangshi instantly lost the courage to throw a tantrum at Shazhu.

She was frightened.

"At noon, a leader came for an inspection; I helped prepare the reception meal, and there was a leader who understood law. I heard him say that Bangeng's free-meal incident is a current typical case, resulting from idleness all day; he said Bangeng will certainly go to prison, but how many years depends on the family's attitude of admitting guilt—actively compensating and obtaining the victim's forgiveness, there's something called a forgiveness letter."

"A forgiveness letter."

"San Daye is right—it's about this forgiveness letter. If you have it, they'll suitably consider the current circumstances; although Bangeng will still go to prison, the term can be reduced by a year or two." Shazhu solemnly told Jia Zhangshi: "Jia Zhangshi, what you need to do now is not to have the neighbors vouch for you—it's useless—but to find the restaurants where Bangeng ate for free, seek their forgiveness, and obtain their forgiveness letter."

Seeing Jia Zhangshi's face change color,

Shazhu then deliberately added insult to injury.

"You haven't been doing anything else these days besides arguing with Qin Huairu, have you?"

Jia Zhangshi had no reply.

Things really were just as Shazhu said.

"Although Jia Zhangshi seems busy running back and forth, she's actually been doing useless work."

"Bangeng stole Xu Damao's old hen; I saw it. Thinking the child was young and a reputation for chicken theft would be bad, I went back to the big courtyard and told Qin Huairu, who then told you, Jia Zhangshi. You're a grandmother, she's a mother—you clearly know your eldest grandson brought his two granddaughters to steal someone's old hen. If it were other parents, they'd apologize, pay whatever they owe, but you Jia's grandmother and daughter-in-law not only refuse to pay, you even think about teaching Bangeng, Xiao Dang, and Huaihua to lie. As for Xu Damao, it's just a worthless old hen."

Shazhu's voice rose accordingly.

"Now Bangeng has eaten the free meal at the state-run restaurant, and you Jia family still want to act like ostriches? If you don't solve the problem at its root, can it work? You keep saying you're doing it for Bangeng's own good, not wanting to compensate the loss or seek forgiveness, but instead you're antagonizing the neighbors inside the courtyard—is this how you dote on Bangeng?"

"Old woman!"

"Don't cry—crying more won't save Bangeng; why just stand there? Go get the forgiveness letter from the victims."

Jia Zhangshi hurriedly walked out of the courtyard.

Later she hurriedly returned to the Jia family.

The outward excuse was that it was too late, Jia Zhangshi was afraid, and she said she would go tomorrow to get Bangeng's forgiveness letter.

The next day.

Jia Zhangshi rose early, worked all day, and returned to the siheyuan with a bruised face; the neighbors said she had found a few state-run restaurants where Bangeng had eaten for free and asked them to issue forgiveness letters, but they refused, she threw a tantrum, and they beat her up.

The third day.

Someone delivered Bangeng's verdict.

Over a dozen years without any rumors.

An integer.

Ten years.

Bangeng, after eating free meals for seven or eight days, ended up with a ten-year prison sentence.

Jia Zhangshi, having received the verdict, knelt in the Siheyuan and wailed loudly.

The neighbors all said it served him right.

Taking money to ask someone to issue a letter of understanding, that at least shows an attitude.

Jia Zhangshi showed up shamelessly, empty-handed, with a stiff tone demanding they give him a letter of understanding, not hesitating to resort to the tactic of threatening suicide.

The incident of Bangeng going to prison.

It can be considered a watershed for the Siheyuan, and also for the Jiēdào.

Since this incident occurred, families with children started to care about their own kids, and the Jiēdào also began trying various ways to find jobs for returning urban youths.

Some people even found Shazhu, hoping he could help them find jobs for their children, but Shazhu dismissed them by saying he was just an ordinary cook at the Yagangchang Ershitang; those who wouldn't give up then turned their thoughts to the Bai Xu restaurant, asking Shazhu to help mediate, Shazhu ignored them, but he did find time to go take a look at Bai Xu.

Business was booming extraordinarily.

According to You Fengxia, she said it was nearly full.

You Fengxia did not heed Shazhu's advice, left Bai Xu, but instead said she would stay at Bai Xu to personally witness Huang Shirren's misfortune.

According to You Fengxia's account, Bai Xu's closure was also just a matter of days; behind the booming business lay a large number of IOUs, those who had eaten basically had no money to pay.

They gave it a beautiful name: signing a form.

Actually it's just issuing IOUs.

Shazhu guessed that after a few days, at the month-end review, Bai Xu would see the outcome.