Chapter 597: Qin Huairu finally woke up, but also regretted it

With Qin Huairu ignoring Jia Zhangshi and Bangeng imprisoned for ten years, the aging Jia Zhangshi started scheming for herself; she could only place her own eating, drinking, urinating, defecating, and sleeping problems on Xiao Dang.

She planned to have Xiao Dang support her.

Her miserable state, crying more than she urinated, made Xiao Dang's heart feel a bit refreshed, and also gave him a strange sense that his scheme had succeeded.

The problems Jia Zhangshi could think of.

Xiao Dang could also consider them.

Now the situation of the Jia family is undoubtedly exactly what Xiao Dang most wanted to see.

Only because Jia Zhangshi had no one else to use would she regard Xiao Dang, whom she had always looked down on, as her last lifeline.

Xiao Dang is in an invincible position: he can manipulate Jia Zhangshi, conspire with her to pressure Qin Huairu, or retreat and join forces with Qin Huairu to drive Jia Zhangshi away.

He might as well consider it revenge for himself and Huaihua.

He felt hatred to death inside, but squeezed out a smile on his face, instantly putting the Jia family into the harmonious atmosphere of a kind grandmother and filial granddaughter.

Xiao Dang reached out and wiped the tear stains from Jia Zhangshi's face.

"Grandma, I understand what you mean. Rest assured, as long as I have a bite to eat, you will have a bite too. My father died early; if it weren't for your sternness, my mother would probably have remarried long ago. Which stepfather would welcome stepchildren? It's a beating to death! Not to mention my brother; even I and Huaihua would be bullied by others. Wearing others' cast-off ragged clothes, doing work others don't want, eating others' leftovers, drinking others' unwanted water, sleeping in a drafty, leaky house—scorching hot in summer, freezing cold in winter."

Jia Zhangshi looked at Xiao Dang foolishly.

In her lifetime.

For the first time, she truly looked Xiao Dang in the eye.

She never expected Xiao Dang to utter such a wise saying.

She prevented Qin Huairu from remarrying purely for herself, worried that Qin Huairu would take the children and leave her, sending her back to the countryside to make a living.

Xiao Dang said that, and Jia Zhangshi would not foolishly blurt out the truth, saying you all misunderstood; it wasn't for you, it was for myself, that I stubbornly refused to let your mother remarry.

She went along with it and accepted the tall hat Xiao Dang threw at her.

"Being a stepmother is no easy task; if you can understand my grandmother's painstaking efforts, that's enough!"

Jia Zhangshi let out a faint sigh.

An appearance of willingness to be misunderstood for your sake.

"Grandma, to be honest, at first I didn't quite understand, but later I became a mother myself and had my own child; that feeling of love for one's own child truly cannot be described in words, and only then did I realize how difficult it was for you back then."

"Xiao Dang, Grandma apologizes to you; Grandma even thought you didn't care about her either."

Jia Zhangshi's eyes filled with hot tears once again.

This time there was no acting involved.

It was purely because she was moved.

She felt Xiao Dang had grown up, and no longer harbored the initial suspicion that he had returned to take revenge on the Jia family.

Mainly because the Jia family now consists of only three people, one of whom is still Jia Zhangshi's adversary; left with no choice, Jia Zhangshi could only choose to believe Xiao Dang's words.

The two sat down, exchanging a few words, chatting for a while.

Xiao Dang suddenly shifted the conversation to Qin Jingru.

"Grandma, just now I greeted my little aunt, but she ignored me and even slammed the door shut—what's going on?"

"I originally didn't want to tell you, but since you asked, Grandma will tell you."

Jia Zhangshi told Xiao Dang, in detail, everything about Lou Xiaoe's coming and going.

What Qin Jingru divorcing Xu Daming, what Xu Daming taking back the house in the rear courtyard, what Qin Jingru, with Lou Xiaoe's help, renting Shazhu's house.

Xiao Dang's facial expression went from disappointment to despair.

Although Qin Jingru had just slighted his face, he didn't feel embarrassed; instead he saw it as a good opportunity, preparing to apologize to Qin Jingru and use the apology to draw closer.

Thinking that the relationship between Qin Huairu and Qin Jingru could not be severed.

They are paternal cousins.

He thought: if he thickened his skin and kept trying to get close to Xu Daming—if one day didn't work, then two days, if two days didn't work, then three—he would make Xu Daming acknowledge him as a relative, use Xu Daming's connections to find himself a job; Xu Daming, having been a film projectionist for years, surely knew many people.

Better safe than sorry.

Xu Daming helped look for work, and Shazhu also helped look for work.

Then, seeing which job was good, taking that job, and selling the unwanted ones for money to subsidize the Jia family.

The result was the facts Jia Zhangshi related.

It frightened Xiao Dang so much his back molars almost flew out.

One step behind, and every step behind.

Qin Jingru not only divorced Xu Daming but also married someone inferior to Xu Daming in every way; as long as she didn't bleed the Jia family dry, it would be fine, yet the Jia family still wanted to find work from her.

Dream on.

In dreams, anything is possible.

Helpless Xiao Dang could now only place his hope on Shazhu.

She opened her mouth to ask about Shazhu, but unexpectedly Jia Zhangshi gave an irrelevant answer, instead asking Xiao Dang whether he had borrowed money from You Fengxia.

Bangeng wanted cigarettes, but the Jia family had no money.

Jia Zhangshi had also specially instructed Xiao Dang to borrow money from You Fengxia.

Looking at Jia Zhangshi with an expression of taking it for granted.

Xiao Dang also no longer bore the burden of scheming against the Jia family.

He said nothing.

He shook his head.

Jia Zhangshi's foul mouth immediately rang in Xiao Dang's ears.

"Shameless flirtatious vixen, she earns thirty-something to forty-odd dollars a month, knowing full well that our Jia family is the most destitute in the compound, yet she doesn't give a cent; look at her attire—what's the difference between her and those little sluts in the Eight Great Alleys? Who knows where she'll go flirt today! I had once hoped she'd become my granddaughter-in-law, but rotten mud can't support a wall—I spit, she still won't."

……

Yagangchang.

Qin Huairu, responsible for cleaning the street area's hygiene.

She put the broom in her hand aside, saw a small wooden stool nearby, and plopped down on it.

Tired.

Wanted to rest a while.

She tapped her slightly numb leg with her hand, lifted her head to look at the sun in the sky; sunlight shone on her body, warm and comfortable, and she involuntarily let out a moan.

In the not‑far sky, several sparrows flew over and landed on the tree beside Qin Huairu, chirping nonstop.

Qin Huairu watched those sparrows, and a feeling of envy suddenly welled up in her heart.

Able to fly.

They go wherever they think of, with no one to stop them.

Then she looked at herself.

Villagers all said Qin Huairu had married into the city and was enjoying blessings; many said they should take her as a model and strive to marry into the city to eat the city's rations.

Only Qin Huairu herself knew.

It was not enjoyment at all, but purely a fire‑kang; she has spent her whole life scrambling in the fire pit.

The biggest obstacle.

It was Jia Zhangshi.

It was also the main source of Qin Huairu's hardships.

Jia Zhangshi had always wanted the Jia family to become a dual‑worker household that everyone in the siheyuan neighbors envied; her ideal daughter‑in‑law was a woman with a job, education, and good background. Before Qin Huairu married Jia Dongxu, Jia Zhangshi had already asked a matchmaker to find a partner for Jia Dongxu, but because of Yi Zhonghai, Qin Huairu ultimately became Jia Dongxu's wife.

All this.

Was caused by Qin Huairu herself.

In order to marry into the city, during the period when Yi Zhonghai led a support team, Qin Huairu could actually harden her heart and go all out—she sneaked into Yi Zhonghai's bed in the middle of the night and had intercourse with him, then forced Yi Zhonghai to solve her problem of marrying into the city, otherwise she would accuse him of sleeping with her.

The coerced Yi Zhonghai could only let Jia Dongxu take the blame.

He manipulated Jia Dongxu in every way.

The young Qin Huairu was truly beautiful; even in a rural woman's attire she bore the grace of a painted fairy, and Jia Dongxu fell for her.

With Yi Zhonghai's help and Jia Dongxu's reasoned arguments, Qin Huairu successfully married into the city and became a member of the siheyuan.

This was also the beginning of Qin Huairu's suffering.

Dissatisfied that Qin Huairu had no job, Jia Zhangshi, the day after the wedding, completely ignored Qin Huairu's discomfort and drove her like an ox and a horse—either to wash dishes, cook, tidy the room, or, in a hurry, to massage Jia Zhangshi's legs and pound her shoulders.

Qin Huairu also bore responsibility; she hoped to use these chores to establish an image of a virtuous daughter‑in‑law in the neighbors' minds, thinking that since she was being filial, Jia Zhangshi could not possibly still be dissatisfied with her.

She underestimated Jia Zhangshi's shamelessness.

The more Qin Huairu showed obedience, the more Jia Zhangshi thought she was easy to manipulate and the more she acted like a domineering mother‑in‑law; thus, over more than ten years, until Jia Dongxu died.

Jia Zhangshi, worried that Qin Huairu might remarry, controlled her in every way, becoming increasingly a wicked mother‑in‑law.

Only today did Qin Huairu realize that she had purely made a bad move back then; she should have firmly sent Jia Zhangshi back to her rural hometown.

Because Jia Zhangshi stayed in the siheyuan, the once‑good Jia family was utterly ruined; Bangeng would have to eat free meals for ten years, while Xiao Dang and Huaihua successively ran away from home.

Xiao Dang has returned now, but Qin Huairu saw hatred in Xiao Dang's eyes.

She could only give a helpless, wry smile.

Who let Qin Huairu make mistakes and fail to educate the children properly?

These inner grievances, which she had originally suppressed in her heart and never intended to speak of in a lifetime, were unexpectedly stirred up by a few freely flying sparrows.

Squinting her eyes.

She glanced at the sparrows perched on the branches.

She waved her hand and said hello.

"Hello."

With a "whoosh," they all flew away.

Watching the receding sparrows, Qin Huairu made up her mind; having muddled through most of her life, she awoke and felt she should live for herself once.

She let out a sigh, rose from the stool, grabbed the broom, and swept the fallen leaves on the street meticulously; after finishing, she tidied up and prepared to go to the Ninth Workshop to find Old Liu.

Old Liu was more than ten years older than Qin Huairu.

He was a part‑time safety officer in the Ninth Workshop and a well‑known warm‑hearted person in Yagangchang; when Qin Huairu first started working at the factory, Old Liu told her many precautions.

First, cut off her long hair, saying the Ninth Workshop is a machine‑tool processing shop with rotating machinery; if her hair got caught in the equipment…

…it would easily cause an accident.

Qin Huairu, loving her beauty, had her mind confused by the nickname "Pretty Widow" from Yagangchang; she thought cutting her hair would mean she was no longer the factory's "single flower."

She kept her long hair all along and still wears a big braid to this day.

Second, have Qin Huairu study diligently; if she encounters something she doesn't understand, she should come to him, and if he can't solve it, she should ask other workers.

He said it's rare for a woman, and even rarer for a widow.

Nobody can be relied on; only self‑reliance works. If Qin Huairu studies hard, once she reaches the rank of third‑level technician she can support her whole family.

Qin Huairu was lost in the beautiful dream of being the "Pretty Widow" and the "single flower"; seeing people voluntarily bring her meals, steamed buns, and money, and hearing Jia Zhangshi's nonsense, she cast Old Liu's warnings behind her back.

Third, he said that as a woman one must love oneself, and especially as a widow one must be self‑reliant and self‑strengthening.

Qin Huairu looked good; people called her the Pretty Widow, so surely men would pay her attention. Therefore, when she had nothing to do, she would hold a stick, and when she encountered philanderers, she would beat them with the stick a few times, after which they would dare not scheme against her.

Qin Huairu didn't listen; she wandered all day among those men.

Fourth, either remarry or properly educate the children; as a widow, her future hope could only lie in the children, and Qin Huairu could, when necessary, send Jia Zhangshi back to her rural hometown—she need not fear Jia Zhangshi making a fuss; a little firmness would make Jia Zhangshi back down.

Qin Huairu still did not listen.

Moreover, she gradually drifted away from Old Liu.

Think about it.

What others say is truly right.

It is truly a heartfelt consideration for Qin Huairu.

Frank advice is hard to hear but beneficial to action.

On the contrary, those who all day praise Qin Huairu for daring to keep long hair and for daring to fish in troubled waters are the real culprits causing Qin Huairu's downfall.

I have no intention of settling scores with these people.

Who let Qin Huairu not love herself?

She prepared to find Da Liu, properly apologize to Da Liu, and say sorry.

Although it's over ten years late, it's still better than nothing.

As a member of Nine Vehicle Workshop who had been driven out, Qin Huairu's arrival instantly drew the attention of those people; the busy scene turned into an ocean of astonishment, questioning how Qin Huairu came.

Most were longtime employees of Nine Vehicle Workshop, knowing those things about Qin Huairu, each giving her a respectful gaze.

The workshop director in charge of production immediately came to Qin Huairu's front, stretching out a hand to block her path.

His expression was extremely cold.

"Qin Huairu, how did you come here? This is the Yagangchang workshop for producing and processing parts, which has little to do with your Cleaning Section. Moreover, workshop hygiene has always been handled by the workers of our workshop taking turns. Outsiders have no right to enter Nine Vehicle Workshop; on one hand for safety, on the other hand to avoid unnecessary trouble. As for what unnecessary trouble, you were once a member of Nine Vehicle Workshop, you know."

A hint of embarrassment flashed across Qin Huairu's face.

But she still spoke her purpose.

"Director, I know the rules of Nine Vehicle Workshop; I won't go in, I just want to find Older Sister Liu to say something. Please notify Older Sister Liu; I'll wait for her at the gate of Nine Vehicle Workshop. Thank you, Director."

Worried, not helping to shout for Da Liu.

Qin Huairu even gave the director a deep ninety-degree bow in public.