Chapter 604

If Shazhu remembers correctly, Xiao Dang should be twenty-five years old now, two years younger than You Fengxia.

But she stands side by side with You Fengxia.

The difference between them is immediately clear.

You Fengxia completely crushed Xiao Dang.

Xiao Dang's face gives people the greatest imagination; the wrinkles on her face and the skin tone from years of labor under the sun make her look more than ten years older than her actual age. Saying Xiao Dang is in her early forties, many would believe it. Standing next to Qin Huairu, no one would say they are mother and daughter; they would say they are sisters, and even Xiao Dang would be considered Qin Huairu's older sister.

She looks terribly aged.

Xiao Dang's face is not the complexion a young woman should have.

It is said she married poorly—her husband is seventeen or eighteen years older than her, and her mother-in-law is as wicked as Jia Zhangshi, if not worse, controlling Xiao Dang in every way, treating her like an ox or horse to be driven.

I thought it was just a rumor.

Looking at Xiao Dang's cheeks, it seems not to be a rumor; this girl married into the countryside and suffered greatly.

Jia Zhangshi, Qin Huairu.

The Jia family widow truly deserves her fate.

Shazhu knows about Xiao Dang running away from home; back then, to save Bangeng's life, Jia Zhangshi and Qin Huairu even came to Shazhu to borrow money.

If it were just ten or twenty yuan, in a life-or-death situation, he would have lent it.

But the Jia family widow dared to open her lion's mouth wide—she asked Shazhu for two thousand yuan, with the attitude of "I'll pay you back when I have the money."

The Jia family widow earns thirty yuan a month; even if she ate and drank nothing for a year, she couldn't save four hundred yuan, clearly showing she had no intention of repaying.

Shazhu's money doesn't come from the wind; he refused and drove the Jia family widow away.

Because of this, the Jia family widow called Shazhu a stingy iron rooster, watching Bangeng die without lifting a finger. When Shazhu heard this, he slapped Jia Zhangshi hard several times in front of the neighbors and gave Qin Huairu several hard slaps, then symbolically compensated her one fen for the assault.

The Jia family widow gained nothing from Shazhu; for money, she wanted to sell Xiao Dang, telling her that the man was a man in his teens who drank alcohol and beat his wife, whose wife couldn't endure the beatings and took medicine to die, equivalent to pushing Xiao Dang onto a fire kang. After learning this, Xiao Dang ran away from home, and later word came back that she had married in the northwestern countryside to a man who could be Qin Huairu's husband.

The neighbors in the Siheyuan all say Xiao Dang is taking revenge on the Jia family.

But the price of revenge is a bit high—it has destroyed Xiao Dang's lifelong happiness. The utterly destitute Xiao Dang before us is the best proof.

The Jia family's affairs have nothing to do with Shazhu.

Seeing Xiao Dang's pitiful state before him, Shazhu just wants to laugh.

It feels great.

In his previous life, he was ruthlessly calculated against by the Jia family people.

The old widow Jia Zhangshi used excuses to pressure Shazhu, demanding he give her three yuan a month as pension money before agreeing to let him call her mother.

The young widow Qin Huairu, to let Bangeng have a house to marry and a job to support the family, not only occupied Shazhu's salary but also his room. After seeing Haitang divorce and grow close to Shazhu, she feared Shazhu would marry Haitang, causing the Jia family to suffer losses, so she moved her bedding into Shazhu's room, saying she wanted to end his bachelor life and let him experience the days of a wife, children, and a hot kang. The next day, she outwardly claimed she had married Shazhu, become his wife, and that Bangeng and their three children had become Shazhu's children.

Half a year later.

Louxiaoe brought He Hui back to the Siheyuan.

The sudden appearance of a son before Shazhu's eyes completely exploded the Siheyuan's pot.

Yi Zhonghai was the first to unable to sit still; he found Shazhu, advised him not to leave Qin Huairu, saying Louxiaoe's words couldn't be trusted, she said He Hui was Shazhu's biological son—was He Hui really Shazhu's biological son? He bluntly said Louxiaoe was using He Hui's matter to provoke and retaliate against Permale. Or He Yushui appeared, glanced at He Hui, and said, "This is just a little Shazhu," confirming He Hui was Shazhu's son.

Yi Zhonghai, one plan failed, he made another: saying although He Hui is Shazhu's biological son, but having long been with Louxiaoe, how did the courtyard neighbors originally treat Louxiaoe? He bluntly said Louxiaoe's return, besides retaliating against Permale, also wanted to retaliate against the Siheyuan neighbors. Liu Haizhong led part of the Siheyuan neighbors and part of the Yagangchang workers, ransacked Louxiaoe's home—if not for Shazhu pleading with the top leader, Louxiaoe's family would have likely gone underground to work.

This is a great grudge.

Let Shazhu stay away from Louxiaoe, saying he is doing it for Shazhu's consideration, and still saying that raising is not as great as nurturing grace, saying Bangeng and their three children regard Shazhu as their biological father, and the Jia family people cannot leave Shazhu.

Bangeng, Xiao Dang, and Huaihua, also probed Shazhu indirectly, asking whether he chooses Qin Huairu or Louxiaoe, and in their words, they mentioned house, savings, and work several times.

Later, learning that Louxiaoe had money, invested over three million to open a restaurant, the originally death-defying Jia family white-eyed wolves, who refused to let Shazhu meet Louxiaoe, completely changed their former ways, told Shazhu that He Hui is also Shazhu's son, and as Jia family's children, they felt paternal love from Shazhu, but He Hui did not, so Shazhu should take the opportunity when He Hui is in the Capital City to accompany him more, let He Hui feel paternal love.

Shazhu finally fell into the trap; the restaurant Louxiaoe invested in and opened became stubbornly the Jia family's business. Qin Huairu entertained the entire Siheyuan neighbors with a meal, at the door, facing Yan Fugui's inquiry, she shamelessly said out the figure of three million yuan spent.

Third Aunt said Louxiaoe is truly amazing, actually spending three million to open a restaurant.

Yan Fugui meaningfully replied, no matter how amazing, it's still not as amazing as Qin Huairu.

These things from the previous life, after seeing Xiao Dang's pitiful appearance, inexplicably floated into Shazhu's mind, making him unable to avoid thinking about them.

This damn thing is Xiao Dang?

Simply an old woman.

Shazhu's gaze unconsciously lingered a little longer on Xiao Dang's body.

After Xiao Dang entered Bai Xu, she kept observing the reactions on everyone's faces present, and also saw the contempt from Thus: Thus: Mahua, You Fengxia, and others toward her.

She didn't think much about it.

The Jia family's children have always had thick faces.

What she cares about is how Shazhu views her, whether he can keep her.

These days, especially today, on the way here, she inquired about many things regarding Bai Xu, knowing Shazhu is truly the person in charge of Bai Xu, like Thus: Thus: Mahua, You Fengxia, Liu Lan, etc., who are supposedly kitchen supervisors, second-floor supervisors, etc., are actually just Bai Xu's workers—whether to keep them or not is purely Shazhu's word.

A small ambition arose in her heart.

Since Bai Xu is whatever Shazhu says, can she work on Shazhu? She also wants to wear the fashionable clothes You Fengxia wears, to be pursued like You Fengxia, not wanting to be stabbed in the back, said to be Qin Huairu's shameless daughter, not wanting to be pointed at like that.

She nodded toward Shazhu and spoke up: "Shazhu uncle, I am Xiao Dang, the Jia family's Xiao Dang."

Petty thoughts at work.

Thinking Shazhu is now the person in charge of Bai Xu, also living in a private Siheyuan, and even riding a motorcycle, those who flatter Shazhu must be many.

How can she stand out?

Just those childhood things.

In childhood, Bangeng and Huaihua's way of addressing Shazhu was just like in the previous life—each calling him Shazhu; the only difference from the previous life is that Shazhu's family did not open their doors to Bangeng and them, so when Bangeng was hungry, he couldn't go to Shazhu's house to get things.

Xiao Dang doesn't know whether it was taught by Jia Zhangshi or Qin Huairu, or perhaps this child has been different since young; seeing Shazhu, she didn't directly call him Shazhu, but called him "uncle long uncle short," with a modifying "silly" character in front. As in the previous life, she called Shazhu "Shazhu uncle," and after Shazhu married Qin Huairu, she became "Shazhu dad."

Two lifetimes as a person.

Hearing Xiao Dang call him Shazhu uncle, Shazhu's mood became mixed with five flavors. Among the Jia family's three children, he understands Xiao Dang the least.

Bangeng's personality and conduct, looking at it, has some similarity to Jia Dongxu, after all, he is Jia Dongxu's son. Huaihua's personality, or rather temperament and nature, leans more toward Qin Huairu, many people say Huaihua is a small version of Qin Huairu. Only Xiao Dang, neither like Jia Dongxu nor like Qin Huairu, the whole person is carefree and unrestrained.

In my previous life, when the big girl in her early twenties saw Shazhu come back, she didn't say a word and just rummaged through Shazhu's satchel, and even made Shazhu carry her on his back.

A crazy person, not like Huaihua looking for someone to marry, but wanting to take in a son-in-law who lives with the wife's family.

Daming Mao said that because Xiao Dang had such a temperament, Qin Huairu gave Jia Dongxu a green hat, and he kept saying over and over that Xiao Dang was the child Qin Huairu had with another man.

Who is this man?

Many people say it's Yi Zhonghai.

Yi Zhonghai didn't admit it, but Jia Zhangshi argued with Yi Zhonghai for several days over it.

Besides this matter, there is another thing that makes Shazhu remember it deeply: that he and Daming Mao got into an argument, bought a fourteen-inch television, and just as he M moved it back, Huaihua brought Xiao Dang to snatch it away; Shazhu could see that Huaihua was the ringleader, and Xiao Dang still couldn't get over it in her heart.

These are all things from my previous life.

They are already in the past.

What Shazhu needs to do now is how to face Xiao Dang, who has come to him at this time to look for work.

The matter laid out in the open.

No need to think too much about it.

Just now, Thus: Thus: Mahua and You Fengxia said a lot again about how the Jia family's Xiao Dang schemed against You Fengxia.

Combining these facts.

Xiao Dang's true intention in coming to Shazhu's door to look for him is about as clear as lice on a monk's bald head—obvious beyond doubt.

He composed himself.

He replied to Xiao Dang with a blank expression.

"Are you Xiao Dang?"

"I really am Xiao Dang, foolish uncle, you used to hold me when I was little."

Nobody believed those words at all.

Given Shazhu's relationship with the Jia family, which has been completely severed since 1951, holding the little brat Xiao Dang was pure nonsense, a blatant lie.

The surprising thing is that Shazhu didn't expose Xiao Dang's lie, but instead shifted the topic elsewhere with a change in tone.

"When did you come back? How did you change so much? People said you had a hard time in the countryside, and I thought it was just gossip, but it turns out to be true."

Liu Lan and the others were stunned.

Shazhu's godlike turn of phrase.

Left them dumbfounded.

Originally thinking Shazhu had taken the wrong medicine—this is a Jia family person, after all—but I didn't expect Shazhu's countermove here, which is tantamount to openly poking Xiao Dang in the windpipe.

Xiao Dang's smile froze on her face.

Having touched upon her past sorrow, though she had a favor to ask of Shazhu, she felt unhappy inside but had to endure it, and honestly told the truth.

"Life has been rough; I married a man twenty years my senior, who drank heavily and beat me; I endured it for several years downstairs, finally couldn't take it anymore, I found a chance and ran back here—I've been back for several days now, thinking to look for foolish uncle, but didn't expect foolish uncle no longer lives in the siheyuan, nor do I know his new address; later I heard people say foolish uncle is the person in charge at Bai Xu, so I thought to come to Bai Xu to look for foolish uncle."

"Don't call me uncle; my relationship with your family is known to all the neighbors."

Liu Lan silently said to herself.

This is the Shazhu I know.

Not having been dazed by the Jia family's fox spirit.

And still knows to keep distance from the Jia family.

Yu Li, however, blinked her eyes, staring fixedly at Shazhu, always feeling his words carried a hint of calculation; she shifted her gaze to Xiao Dang's body.

As expected.

Upon hearing Shazhu frankly say he wasn't familiar with the Jia family, Xiao Dang felt a few points of loss in her heart; hearing that Huaihua initially came to Bai Xu to look for work and also tried to feel out the neighbors through Shazhu, only to be told by Shazhu, "I'm not familiar with your Jia family," she then firmly refused Huaihua's request to work at Bai Xu.

She muttered to herself.

Could it be that the next step is just getting kicked out?

She nodded.

Counted as agreeing to Shazhu's request.

Then she stood silently in place, looking like a criminal awaiting judgment.

To stay.

Or to be driven away.

It depends on Shazhu's decision.

"You came to Bai Xu to find me—could it be just to say these things?"

"Foolish uncle." The little Xiao Dang who called him uncle shouted, seeing Shazhu's expression turn unfriendly, she quickly changed her tone, "Sorry, I blurted it out, Director He."

Xiao Dang, who didn't know what to call Shazhu.

Remembered that Shazhu used to be the canteen director at Yagangchang.

On a whim, she shouted out the title of director.

"I just came back; my family situation, Thus: Thus: Mahua bro definitely told you—my grandma and my mom have been making a huge fuss, I want to stay and work at Bai Xu."

Worried Shazhu would say no.

She hurriedly knelt on the ground, without a word, about to kowtow.

With Liu Lan and Yu Li standing nearby, they naturally wouldn't let Xiao Dang get away easily—this damn thing, if word got out that Xiao Dang knelt and kowtowed to Shazhu for a job, Shazhu would definitely be called in for several days of investigation; at this critical juncture of the loan, we absolutely cannot have even the slightest slip-up.

To prevent Xiao Dang from kneeling, Yu Li and Liu Lan two people tightly held her back.

Xiao Dang, being held up and unable to move, could only express her urgent need for work through her mouth.

"Director He, I really need a job, please keep me."