Chapter 600: Jia Zhangshi wants work, Qin Huairu won't give it

If you would just stop pretending to be a wicked mother-in-law manipulating Qin Huairu so she won't let the widow remarry, and instead earn a little money to support the Jia family, the Jia family wouldn't have fallen to this state.

Saying the family is destroyed and its people dead is not an exaggeration.

Jia Zhangshi worried that Qin Huairu would remarry, leaving her without support, and she also didn't want to return to her rural hometown to face relatives' looks. She single-mindedly adopted the persona of a wicked mother-in-law to intimidate the men who expressed affection for Qin Huairu, forcing Qin Huairu to serve the Jia family as a beast of burden for life, which led to the Jia family's current situation.

Loving to eat and being lazy is the foundation; doting on Bangeng is the crux.

Qin Huairu, manipulated by Jia Zhangshi, could only think of ways to earn extra income from outside, using her advantage as a widow to support the Jia family.

Many things.

There is Jia Zhangshi's responsibility, and also Qin Huairu's reasons.

But at this time Qin Huairu puts all the blame on Jia Zhangshi's head, treating Bangeng's imprisonment as a weapon to attack Jia Zhangshi.

"Bangeng has been taken in, are you satisfied?"

Jia Zhangshi, upon hearing Qin Huairu say that,

She became anxious.

She glared at Qin Huairu with a murderous look, and let out a cold snort.

"Qin Huairu, don't put a chamber pot on this old woman's head; I am Bangeng's biological grandmother. A tiger's poison does not eat its own cubs. As a grandmother, could I just watch Bangeng be taken away? How have I treated Bangeng? Let the neighbors say—when have I ever mistreated Bangeng?"

"Yes, yes, yes, you treat Bangeng well, you dote on him as your heart's treasure, yet you ultimately sent him away. If it weren't for your indulgence, could Bangeng have ended up in there? I still say what I just said: the Jia family's fall to this state is all your doing. Petty theft of a needle, grand theft of gold—such a simple principle, you couldn't not know it. You know, you deliberately encouraged Bangeng to steal things, saying it wasn't stealing but taking, claiming you were hungry and went to neighbors to take food, which is not theft."

Xiao Dang deliberately did this in front of Jia Zhangshi.

She pulled Qin Huairu's hand.

She said nothing, but the meaning of helping Jia Zhangshi out of the predicament was already clearly expressed.

In the drama of the Jia family widows, Xiao Dang wanted to participate actively, to let Jia Zhangshi see her standing alongside Jia Zhangshi, jointly targeting Qin Huairu.

Qin Huairu didn't respond to Xiao Dang.

She had a slight idea of what her own daughter was thinking.

Although Xiao Dang concealed it well, the resentment that occasionally showed in her eyes still made Qin Huairu feel uneasy.

Because she had the thought of remarrying, she withdrew from Jia family affairs, and also took pleasure in seeing Jia Zhangshi suffer at Xiao Dang's hands, so she pretended not to notice.

Sometimes she even had to cooperate with Xiao Dang to scheme against Jia Zhangshi.

The three members of the Jia family each had their own thoughts, and each believed they had the upper hand, having deceived the other two.

"I know why you're doing this. In your heart, Bangeng has always been the offspring that Qin Huairu and I, Yi Zhonghai, created together, and you deliberately teach him bad ways. Today, in front of Xiao Dang, I'll tell you the truth: Bangeng has no financial ties to Yi Zhonghai whatsoever; he is your biological grandson, the son of Jia Dongxu. You have educated your own biological grandson to end up in prison—you really are a good grandmother, the best grandmother in the world. Moreover, you know Bangeng is your biological grandson; when we went to the countryside, I remember you took Bangeng for a blood test."

Such a big hat.

Jia Zhangshi wouldn't wear it; she would rather cover Qin Huairu's mouth.

Some words.

They are facts.

But they cannot be brought out into the open; saying them would make it impossible to maintain the previous calm.

Besides, Xiao Dang is there, yet Xiao Dang happens to be Jia Zhangshi's reliance for food, drink, and daily needs; she worries that if Xiao Dang hears these words, she will turn against Jia Zhangshi and refuse to support her.

Jia Zhangshi is sixty-eight years old this year.

They say reaching seventy is rare since ancient times.

Looking at Jia Zhangshi's physique, she could easily live another ten or more years, provided someone supports her and is willing to let her live a life of eating well and doing little.

Otherwise, Jia Zhangshi would have to find her own means of subsistence.

Who would hire a seventy-year-old woman? Even the young and strong Xiao Dang can't find work, let alone the frail, elderly Jia Zhangshi.

People aren't hiring ancestors.

At that point, Jia Zhangshi would have nothing left but to drink the northwest wind.

She hurriedly countered Qin Huairu with words, not daring to mention again whose child Bangeng is, and directly demanded work from Qin Huairu, saying this job was obtained by Jia Dongxu with his life and must remain in the Jia family.

"Qin Huairu, this old woman won't argue with you; right is right, wrong is wrong. Now I'm talking to you about work. You just said you want to remarry, that I won't be your mother-in-law soon—when the sky rains, the mother must remarry. This old woman can't stop you from remarrying, Qin Huairu; if you want to remarry, I'll go along with your wish."

Xiao Dang's heart.

became excited.

She guessed what Jia Zhangshi would say next.

Work.

If it weren't for this job, Xiao Dang wouldn't go so far as to play the suffering filial drama.

Knowing the current situation—a standoff between the two widows of the Jia family—as both granddaughter and daughter, she can only do her best to adapt.

According to the developments, she chooses her own path.

"I won't stop you, Qin Huairu, from remarrying, but before you do, you must leave the job at the Yagangchang for our Jia family. This job was passed down from Dongxu's father to Dongxu, and then from Dongxu to you, Qin Huairu. If you don't remarry, you are our Jia family's daughter-in-law, and you can keep this job—no one can take it from you. This old woman will not allow it first, but if you do remarry, and it's your own proposal, the Jia family's job must still be retained."

Jia Zhangshi looked at Qin Huairu.

She unnaturally intensified her tone.

"This is the job Dongxu obtained with his life; you can't possibly not give it to our Jia family, can you?"

He is also a good neighbor of Yi Zhonghai.

He employed the same moral blackmail tactics that Yi Zhonghai once used on the neighbors.

But Qin Huairu didn't buy it.

"If there's no job, there's only life; I'll keep the job in the Jia family—what will I, Qin Huairu, eat, drink, spend, earn?"

Jia Zhangshi's complexion.

changed greatly.

Just knowing Qin Huairu wouldn't easily hand over the job.

In her heart she had prepared herself for Qin Huairu not handing over the job, but when Qin Huairu expressed her stance with righteous words, Jia Zhangshi's heart still sank a little.

Qin Huairu intends to take the Jia family's job and run.

He slapped the table.

He focused and said: "You're trying to eat dead people's food; this is the Jia Family's work."

"You also haven't admitted it's not the Jia Family's work, huh?" Qin Huairu replied in a flat tone to Jia Zhangshi, "I admit this is your Jia Family's work, alright?"

She had made up her mind firmly; no matter what, she couldn't give the work back. With work in hand, she, Qin Huairu, was a worker everyone admired; without work, who would look up to Qin Huairu?

Moreover, it was a critical juncture for remarriage.

Although they had never met, Qin Huairu had already guessed some facts; at her age, potential remarriage partners were limited: either the man's wife had died, or he had driven his wife away, or they were divorced, and he was eager due to an unpleasant mother-in-law or sister-in-law, all kinds of dissatisfaction.

Under these circumstances, the other party definitely had children, and his son was about the same age as Bangeng and them.

If Qin Huairu married into that family, she would be the stepmother.

Dog meat doesn't stick to a sheep's body.

A stepmother struggles to gain the acceptance of stepchildren, and Qin Huairu didn't want to end up being kicked out someday; her work in hand thus became her means to establish herself in that family, with this work she would have some monthly income, earning as much as she spent, and could even save some money in the bank.

If she gave away the work, Qin Huairu would have nothing.

After experiencing a series of events with the Jia Family, Qin Huairu wouldn't fall in the same place twice; the Jia Family's work was also her reliance.

Qin Huairu's attitude was quite clear.

She wouldn't give up the work, yet she wanted to remarry.

Jia Zhangshi couldn't stop her, and Xiao Dang had no reason to stop her either.

The initiative lay in Qin Huairu's hands; a hint of disdain squeezed onto her face as she deliberately gave Jia Zhangshi a sideways glance.

"I've been toiling for the Jia Family for so many years, taking care of you for so many years; surely I can't end up with no benefits at all, can I?"

"It's not that I won't let you profit, but this work was earned by Dong Xu with his life; why don't you return the work?"

"Why should I return the work?"

"If you don't return the work, what will the Jia Family eat?"

"If I return the work to you Jia Family, what will I, Qin Huairu, eat? Your food and drink, you can earn them yourselves." Qin Huairu pointed out a way for Jia Zhangshi: "Since Dong Xu's accident, you've been making cloth shoes every day, solidly for seventeen or eighteen years; you're now a well-known cloth shoe expert in the Capital City, you can support yourself making cloth shoes. One pair a day, each pair sells for one dollar, making thirty pairs a month gives thirty dollars, better than a salaried job."

Seeing Qin Huairu unmoved, still having her earn a living by making cloth shoes.

Jia Zhangshi trembled all over with anger.

Feeling dizzy, it came over Jia Zhangshi; she felt her head a bit light, so she simply sat on the stool arguing with Qin Huairu, thus not collapsing onto the ground.

Watching Qin Huairu eat, Jia Zhangshi was furious, and she spat her saliva, "ptui ptui ptui," into the food on the table.

She wanted to disgust Qin Huairu, telling her that if she didn't return the work to the Jia Family, she had no right to eat Xiao Dang's food.

She had thought she could anger Qin Huairu, but she hadn't expected Qin Huairu to not follow the usual pattern; seeing Jia Zhangshi throw a tantrum and spit saliva into the food.

She laughed.

"You think doing this can control me, Qin Huairu? You look down on me, Qin Huairu. Back when I was starving, let alone food with saliva, even swill I had to drink down; I'll treat this as returning to those days, I don't despise you."

Qin Huairu gripped her chopsticks, speaking while looking at Jia Zhangshi, and opened her mouth to eat the food that had been mixed with Jia Zhangshi's saliva.

Xiao Dang looked a bit queasy.

If it were her.

Really, there's no way to be like Qin Huairu, unafraid of Jia Zhangshi's saliva at all.

Actually, it's not that Qin Huairu isn't afraid of Jia Zhangshi's saliva; she also feels disgusted inside, but some things only she knows, and she can't tell outsiders.

Once facing the saliva-laced food, if Qin Huairu showed any fear, Jia Zhangshi would push further, dealing with Qin Huairu in an even more despicable way.

How could one guard against thieves all day?

Thus, right in front of Jia Zhangshi, she staged this big drama.

Midway through eating, Qin Huairu even pushed her bowl toward Jia Zhangshi, letting her continue spitting saliva.

Jia Zhangshi ignored Qin Huairu; seeing she couldn't get the work from Qin Huairu, she shifted the topic to Xiao Dang, getting Xiao Dang to demand work together with her.

Thinking that Xiao Dang is Qin Huairu's daughter and also my granddaughter, giving the work to Xiao Dang is undoubtedly the most effective solution now.

She spoke up.

"Qin Huairu, you want to remarry but don't want to return the work; I know what you're thinking—you worry about being looked down on after marrying in—but this work is the Jia Family's work; I, the old woman, propose a compromise: you hand the work to Xiao Dang, let her work at the Yagangchang, she is your daughter, you are her mother."

Taking the opportunity, she goaded Qin Huairu.

"Xiao Dang is flesh from your body; you wouldn't even distrust your own daughter, would you? After Xiao Dang works, she'll give you one‑quarter of her wages each month as your support, giving you income, so you can feed yourself, and the husband's family won't look down on you."

The idea wasn't bad.

But they underestimated Xiao Dang's calculations at this time.

She knew this work was meant to be kept for Bangeng in the future.

So Xiao Dang is somewhat unwilling; she does not want to be used by Jia Zhangshi as a flag for scheming, nor is she satisfied that Jia Zhangshi made a decision for her, giving Qin Huairu one‑quarter of the wages—does she also have to give Jia Zhangshi one‑quarter, and save one‑quarter for Bangeng.

Based on Xiao Dang's understanding of Jia Zhangshi, Jia Zhangshi will definitely do that.

Xiao Dang felt now was not the time to state her position, and she spoke a few sentences that Jia Zhangshi did not want to hear.

"Grandma, I don't want my mother's job."

Jia Zhangshi's eyes.

Stared, eyes wide and round.

Damn it.

What are you saying? You're saying you don't want this job.

You don't want it, but Grandma needs it, Bangeng also needs it.

"Xiao Dang, you must not be foolish; this is the Jia Family's work, you bear the Jia surname, you are our Jia Family's child."

"Grandma, I know I am a child of the Jia Family, I also know this is the Jia Family's work, but I really do not need this job. Nowadays, jobs are hard to find, as the saying goes: Heaven does not betray those who put in effort; as long as one is willing to put in the work, I will surely find a job. I feel my mother needs this job more than our Jia Family does; she has to face a whole host of unfamiliar relatives, and the job in her hands is her support. As for you, I know what you worry about—you worry that my mother will remarry and no one will look after you. Rest assured, you still have me; I am your granddaughter, I could never neglect you."

Jia Zhangshi's throat.

It felt as if a large stone had been lodged, blocking all the words she wanted to say, not a single word escaping her mouth.

Looking at Xiao Dang, who looked righteous and solemn.

Jia Zhangshi suddenly felt a headache.

Jia Zhangshi thought about it.

Jia Zhangshi wanted to cry.

Indeed, living up to being a mother-daughter bond, they were truly a family; she, Jia Zhangshi, instead became an outsider. In her mind, she recalled her own child, Jia Dongxu.

If he were here, it would be fine.