Chapter 623: Yi Zhonghai: Who Will Provide for My Elderly Care and See Me Off?

Yi Zhonghai's attention.

His attention was instantly drawn to the two words "Shazhu".

He unnaturally pricked up his own ears, listening carefully to the noises next door; not knowing whether it was due to some innate premonition, he always thought that the "Shazhu" mentioned in the other party's speech was the same person he had in mind for his own elderly care.

He felt a bit startled.

He even felt a chill down his spine.

Shazhu is dead.

Who will provide for his elderly care and see him off in death?

Who will dress in mourning for him?

Things that Shazhu couldn't fathom, Yi Zhonghai could see through clearly; people like Jia Zhangshi, Qin Huairu, Bangeng, and the like, described in plain language, are fundamentally corrupt.

Yi Zhonghai is not a living member of the Jia family; he is a living Shazhu.

If Shazhu meets with misfortune, what can Yi Zhonghai do?

This is the crux of the matter.

Over the years, Shazhu could still bring benefits to the Jia family; out of consideration for money, the Jia family would still give him some face. Qin Huairu called him the head of the household; Bangeng, Xiao Dang, and Huaihua three called him dad; without the "silly" modifier, Jia Zhangshi kept calling him "Shazhuzi".

If Yi Zhonghai hasn't misremembered, that nickname "Shazhuzi" should be the exclusive term used by Long Laotaitai.

Speaking of this old lady.

Yi Zhonghai sincerely admires her.

Having flaunted his might in the Siheyuan for a lifetime, although he had no heirs, he was still sent off in grand style.

Those who contributed money, manpower, and effort.

It was no one else.

It was precisely Shazhu.

Dressed in mourning, they held Long Laotaitai's ashes and buried them.

Yi Zhonghai gazed on with envy, wishing he too could be as splendid as Shazhu in sending off Long Laotaitai; sensing his own days were numbered, he tried to get as close to Shazhu as possible, saying things only the two of them knew—actually instructions for Shazhu: saying that after his death he wanted several pairs of paper boys and girls, what pattern of funeral garments to wear, what material the urn should be made of, etc.

More importantly, he wanted Shazhu to break a basin for him.

According to the old customs of the capital city.

Breaking a basin has always been the son's duty.

Yi Zhonghai had no son, being an extinct line, yet he did not want his own funeral to follow the extinct-line custom even in death; he repeatedly worked on Shazhu's thoughts, insisting that Shazhu must break a basin for him.

That night.

Shazhu sent Yi Zhonghai a bowl of big meat.

After eating.

Yi Zhonghai was exhausted, and Shazhu carried him to the hospital.

Lying in the hospital bed, he thought of many things and felt he had let Shazhu down, after all, it was for his own elderly care that he had ruined Shazhu's happiness.

Otherwise, Shazhu would surely have grandchildren surrounding his knees; unlike now, where even his elderly care is adrift.

Before a long illness, there is no filial son.

The Jia family, considering Shazhu's ability to earn money for them, could not possibly fall out over money.

People who eat grains inevitably suffer various ailments; once unable to move, given the Jia family's beastly nature, it is highly likely they would ignore Shazhu and let him fend for himself.

Surely at that time, Shazhu would curse Yi Zhonghai's eight generations of ancestors with a hundredfold venom.

One cannot possibly be scolded even after death.

Yi Zhonghai also worried that Shazhu would throw his ashes into the toilet, which would truly be a stench lasting ten thousand years; he figured it was his conscience speaking, and wanted to remind Shazhu.

He was also the person who least wanted to hear that Shazhu had met with misfortune.

Holding a hundred thoughts in his heart, he shifted his butt slightly toward the neighbors next door, and his voice seemed to grow louder.

"Dog meat doesn't stick to a sheep's body; not being one's own biological child, it's no wonder they're unreliable—they deserve to be driven out to a miserable death."

"Even one's own biological child, when anxious, is unreliable—let alone someone who isn't."

"Some children are not bad."

"Others have a sense of gratitude, but the Jia family is purely lacking in virtue; those two widows are rotten to the core, despicable people."

Yi Zhonghai, harboring some hesitation, if not for his throat blocking him, might truly have been frightened out of his wits; beforehand there were rumors of Shazhu's death and disappearance, afterward the answer that the Jia family were beasts.

Shazhu, the Jia family.

The answer was about to surface.

His heart instantly turned into a tangled mess.

How is he to handle his elderly care?

A desperate patient, rushing to seek medical help, asked a question.

"Sir, you just said Shazhu is dead and that the Jia family are beasts; among the people I know, there happens to be another person called Shazhu, and also a neighbor surnamed Jia; I'm wondering if it's someone I know—could you tell me?"

"Who are you?"

"Those who know me call me Lao Yi."

"Old One?"

Yi Zhonghai did not deny it.

With a go‑with‑the‑flow mindset, he nodded.

If the affair between Shazhu and Qin Huairu were true, surely someone would investigate the cause; he, Yi Zhonghai, the matchmaker who paired young bachelors with a widow bringing three children, would also be dragged out and whipped; some things simply cannot withstand any scrutiny.

The Jia family were stabbed in the back.

Yi Zhonghai too would be despised for countless years.

The hypocrite deliberately refused to acknowledge his identity.

Last night, under the Chengnan Overpass, a major criminal case occurred; a man named Shazhu died miserably there, and his feces and urine turned into armor.

Yi Zhonghai's heart hung in midair.

Finally, it could land.

Shazhu was born in 1935; now it's 1990, he is only fifty-six. Based on a hundred-year lifespan, he has lived only half his life, with plenty of years left to enjoy.

He must be someone with the same name and surname as Shazhu.

He just knew Shazhu wouldn't die so easily.

"That's pretty miserable."

"Who says no? The Public Security Bureau took away the corpse and specially conducted an autopsy, saying there was nothing in the stomach, giving the explanation of death by starvation or thirst. We were just talking about how, instead of raising one's own biological son, they support a widow with no blood relation— isn't that just asking for trouble?"

"I heard Shazhu had a son named Hexiao; over ten years ago, he came specially to the Capital City to find Shazhu. After hearing the words of one called Yi Zhonghai, a beast, from the Siheyuan, Shazhu stubbornly cut ties with his biological son, which let the Jia Family's Bangeng and others drive him out of his home. With nowhere to go, and last night's weather so cold, he was frozen to death alive."

Yi Zhonghai froze on the spot.

Yi Zhonghai felt conflicted.

Deep down, they strongly disbelieved, refusing to believe Shazhu had died.

How strong must the body be of someone who could carry him from the Siheyuan to the hospital without stopping to catch their breath?

How could such a strong person just die, or die miserably after being driven out of their home by the Jia Family?

Shazhu died.

Who will support him in his old age?

The Jia Family?

Shazhu didn't even get a good outcome; what gives Yi Zhonghai the right to be supported by others?

Unwilling to accept all this, but the names spoken by those around—Hexiao, the Jia Family, Yi Zhonghai, and so on—are not the answer.

This left Yi Zhonghai no possibility to deny.

The worst feared thing happened.

Not only did Shazhu die and vanish, but Yi Zhonghai also became a rat crossing the street.

This made Yi Zhonghai, who had enjoyed a lifetime of being seen as a good person, unable to accept it.

Their heart pounded wildly, and their face turned grim.

"Old brother, you're also sad for Shazhu, right? hearing this, we're all furious. Shazhu, also called He Yuzhu, spent a lifetime helping the Jia Family's widow, not caring for his own son, but taking care of the widow's three children, finding them wives, finding them husbands' families, and even calling the widow's mother-in-law 'mom'."

That old brother, unaware of Yi Zhonghai's identity, seeing the hypocrite's ashen face, mistakenly thought they were alike, also sharing hatred for the Jia Family.

"Such painstaking kindness, yet they couldn't secure a peaceful old age—unable to move, feces and urine on the bed, driven out of home, left to Shazhu's fate—is this how humans live? This is beastly."

"Worse than a beast, I heard someone deliberately planned this."

"I know, it must be the shameless Jia Family."

"Don't say that—there are many Jia Families in the world, but only a few shameless ones: Jia Zhangshi, Qin Huairu, Bangeng, Xiao Dang, Huaihua."

The tone suddenly shifted.

"The truly shameless person isn't the Jia Family—it's the Head Steward Yi Zhonghai of their Siheyuan."

Yi Zhonghai's face flushed.

Yi Zhonghai was finally named.

"This Yi Zhonghai, having no children, never thought of adopting one to support him in old age; instead, he schemes with everyone in the Dayuan to get help for his old age—this idea, unless his brain was kicked by a donkey, is unimaginable, not something a person could devise."

Yi Zhonghai thought Shazhu was fine, but worried that after Shazhu married his wife wouldn't support him in old age, so behind the scenes he sabotaged Shazhu's matchmaking, teaming up with Qin Huairu to keep stringing Shazhu along, keeping him dangling until he was in his early forties, seeing that he couldn't get a wife, he had no choice but to partner with Qin Huairu to live together.

Doesn't Shazhu have a son?

We just said that, didn't we? Lou Xiaoe brought Hexiao back to see Shazhu; I heard she was preparing to marry Shazhu then, and Yi Zhonghai panicked, because after Lou Xiaoe married she would surely take Shazhu with her. As for Yi Zhonghai himself, who treats him like a ball, he again deceitfully misled Shazhu, saying even if a biological son is good, he has no connection with you. You've looked after Qin Huairu for so many years, and Bangeng's three children never treated Shazhu as an outsider, saying your future support—I, Yi Zhonghai, have seen it clearly, can only rely on Bangeng. Shazhu actually took those words to heart and cut ties with his biological son.

How foolish—whatever Yi Zhonghai says, he believes it. If Yi Zhonghai had slept with Qin Huairu and told Shazhu he was tutoring Qin Huairu in fitting techniques, Shazhu would probably believe that too.

Besides, the Yagangchang really does have such a rumor: that when Yi Zhonghai first went down to the countryside, he already had an affair with Qin Huairu, turning her into his daughter-in-law in name, because back then a divorce would sound bad, so the helpless Yi Zhonghai came up with the idea of 'substituting peach for plum'—he had his disciple Jia Dongxu marry Qin Huairu, then deliberately arranged for Jia Dongxu to work the night shift so he could sneak around with Qin Huairu.

So you're saying Bangeng's three children are Yi Zhonghai's kids?

They must be Yi Zhonghai's children; otherwise how could he scheme against Shazhu like that?

Yi Zhonghai, truly shameless, a beast.

Several neighbors around.

They all chimed in.

Only Yi Zhonghai hesitated, looking at those people before him; they cursed Yi Zhonghai as a beast, but as the genuine Yi Zhonghai himself, he couldn't very well curse himself, could he?

Seeing everyone staring at him eagerly, he simply turned his head to the side; after thinking it over and realizing it was wrong, he instead leaned on the back of the chair, pulled himself up to stand, and step by step walked toward the outside of the hospital.

He sat here, waiting for Shazhu; if Shazhu really was as those people said—driven out by the Jia family to die miserably—then even if he waited until this time next year, he wouldn't see a corpse.

With a faltering gait, he walked toward the hospital's main gate.

Behind him.

Came the sound of cursing Yi Zhonghai.

"Ay yai yai, I just realized—this is that Yi Zhonghai who eats people's food but does nothing decent."

"Is he Yi Zhonghai?"

"Even turned to ashes, I'd still recognize him."

"Judging by his looks, he's quite an honest person."

"There's an idiom, 'human face, beast heart,' which describes someone like Yi Zhonghai."

"No wonder I just sensed a foul smell—it's that hypocrite sitting beside us, the ill-fated Yi Zhonghai; we'll see when you meet your downfall."

"It's Yi Zhonghai's turn now—Shazhu has already been kicked out by the Jia family, what right does Yi Zhonghai have to live in their house? Besides, he lives off Shazhu; if Shazhu dies, Yi Zhonghai will be left sucking the northwest wind."

The words are rough but the reasoning is sound.

Shazhu is dead.

Who will support Yi Zhonghai in his old age?

Hearing the other's weighty truth, Yi Zhonghai's mind went blank, his whole self immersed in intense regret.

After countless calculations, he still missed a point.

Shazhu died right in front of him.

Yi Zhonghai was no longer feeling distressed for Shazhu; he felt bitter about his own old-age support.

Who can support him in his old age?

The house at home was given to Shazhu, and then Shazhu gave it to the Jia Family.

He didn't even have the qualification to live in the siheyuan.

He felt numb.

Only when a shout rang in his ears did Yi Zhonghai's confused thoughts gain a little comfort, and he turned his gaze to the person who called him.

His pupils shrank sharply, then dilated considerably.

He Yushui!

The person calling him was He Yushui.

Even thinking with his toes, he knew what Yushui wanted from him.

After the chicken-stealing incident at the siheyuan, He Yushui resented Shazhu for ruining her marriage, was forced to go work at her partner's house, and never appeared at the siheyuan again; even her marriage was arranged by herself, she sent herself off to marry.

This matter.

Yi Zhonghai heard it from others.

Although he didn't verify it, it was roughly accurate.

Just thinking about Shazhu's matter.

Yi Zhonghai didn't know how to face He Yushui, he gave a slight nod, then darted into the side alley.

Feeling ashamed to meet He Yushui.

But he didn't expect He Yushui, relying on her youth, to stride a few steps and block his path.

Her contemptuous gaze.

Her gaze fell upon Yi Zhonghai.

A hint of a mocking smile appeared at the corner of her mouth.

She said, "Isn't this the eldest uncle? Seeing me, He Yushui, why are you still hiding? Do you feel ashamed to meet our He family? After all, you've done so many things that let down our He family; surely you worry that the He family will come settle scores with you, so hiding away is understandable. It seems you must have learned something, so you're anxious about your own old-age support."