Chapter 630: Yi Zhonghai Proposes Terms

Seeing Yi Zhonghai steer the topic toward Shazhu's kindness to the Jia family, he spoke even more emphatically about facts the Jia family widow could not deny.

The Jia family widow's heart was suddenly stabbed with pain.

It was just a short dozen or so seconds.

The Jia family widow's stabbed heart soon returned to normal.

Shazhu is already dead, the situation is set, and the living are what matter most.

The Jia family members are still alive.

An unnatural flush spread across her face, a few points of awkward smile, she wanted to use the smile to conceal something, mainly she was flustered.

Yi Zhonghai observed the embarrassment on Qin Huairu's face.

He let out a cold snort through his nose.

"Such a person who has done great kindness and virtue for your Jia family, yet for your own selfish gain you Jia family gave Shazhu poison and even killed him, this matter you also blame me, I bear responsibility, had I known your Jia family widow was so black-hearted, worse than beasts, I would not have, out of consideration for your Jia family widow's difficulty, matched Shazhu with Qin Huairu, this is all my Yi Zhonghai's fault."

Yi Zhonghai wore an expression of repentance.

He repeatedly voiced his own mistakes.

"Back when Lou Xiaoe brought He Hui back, I should have let Shazhu follow them, it was my selfishness at work, I let Shazhu down, to make up for my mistake I will seek justice for Shazhu and make your Jia family pay the price."

His voice suddenly rose sharply.

It startled the Jia family widow so much she jumped.

A feeling of creepy horror.

At this moment he turned his attention to the Jia family widow.

Even flies won't lay eggs in a seamless crack.

But Shazhu's matter is greatly related to the Jia family, if someone heard Yi Zhonghai say one moment the Jia family widow poisoned Shazhu, the next the Jia family widow killed Shazhu, and took it as truth and spread it, it would be troublesome.

Although it is true, the Jia family widow is self-deceiving, unwilling to be known, they all know the consequences of the matter being exposed, which they cannot bear.

Speaking of which.

If it were not true, the Jia family widow would not be so frantic.

Feeling manipulated by Yi Zhonghai.

By now.

Only then did Jia Zhangshi and Qin Huairu, the two widows, see the comparison of their chances of winning, Yi Zhonghai unconcerned and having the capital to be so, while the Jia family, because of its current great prosperity, truly cannot engage in this mutual destruction with Yi Zhonghai, after all eighty-something Jia Zhangshi still wants to live well, even letting Qin Huairu go out to draw lightning, causing a commotion, the Jia family widow thus started internal strife first.

Bangeng and the other two perhaps also saw this, no longer sitting steady as before like they were fishing.

Yi Zhonghai has a saying that is quite correct.

Jia Zhangshi truly is a good grandmother to Bangeng, Xiao Dang, and Huaihua, when Bangeng was little she spent all day urging him to steal things, not hesitating to personally teach him stealing techniques, when discovered Jia Zhangshi still helped cover up, using shrewd and aggressive tactics to turn the blame onto others, saying the Jia family is poor, saying Bangeng is not stealing, this is Bangeng creating opportunities for neighbors to do good deeds.

Now she again urges Bangeng and them to kill, to drive Shazhu out to freeze to death, equivalent to letting Bangeng, Xiao Dang, and Huaihua all bear the reputation of murderers.

To survive, yet again unwilling to help draw lightning.

She is the Jia family's greatest instability factor, Bangeng and them even feel that Jia Zhangshi this biological grandmother is far less useful than Shazhu this stepfather.

She then said nothing, instead standing honestly in place.

Later feeling things were not right, worried about being overheard, Bangeng took Xiao Dang and Huaihua to the junction of the central and front courtyards, looking around furtively at the front courtyard, seeing who was there, whether they had heard Yi Zhonghai's earlier words, and making corresponding countermeasures.

If Yi Zhonghai's speculation that the Jia family widow poisoned Shazhu is his own imagination, upon seeing the Jia family three little white-eyed wolves' hearts so terrified they feared being discovered, Yi Zhonghai's heart's stone settled completely, knowing He Yushui's statement that the Jia family drove out Shazhu letting him die miserably is an ironclad fact the Jia family cannot deny.

Thus he had no burden.

He deliberately laughed loudly hehe in his mouth.

This laugh, heard in Qin Huairu's ears, became the greatest mockery.

The corner of his eye glanced at the Jia family three little white-eyed wolves, knowing they unknowingly aided Yi Zhonghai in verifying certain facts, yet he could do nothing about it.

Who let this deadly matter be the Jia family's doing, and yet they are hesitant, unable to handle it perfectly.

If it were someone else.

Who would think this way.

Even ants cling to life, let alone humans.

Qin Huairu struggled to calm her heart.

She slowly spoke to Yi Zhonghai.

"Granduncle, Shazhu's kindness to our Jia family, our Jia family people will remember it in our hearts for a lifetime, we will also in the next life repay Shazhu by being cattle and horses, but now the matter is Shazhu is dead, you have no one to support you in old age, do you think what I Qin Huairu say is right or not?"

"Right or not? Shazhu is dead, who will Yi Zhonghai rely on for old-age support? Is it not our Jia family? We Jia family gave her face, agreed to support him, yet he still finds fault."

"Mom, if you can settle Shazhu's matter, I Qin Huairu will not say a single word now, you come, if you cannot settle it, you hurry up and shut your mouth for me, okay?"

Seeing Jia Zhangshi interrupt her several times, turning what could have developed well into something worse, Qin Huairu could no longer bear it, she spoke up and retorted Jia Zhangshi a few sentences, instantly making Jia Zhangshi honestly close her mouth.

Jia Zhangshi clearly knows, knows what her position is.

The Jia family ancestor.

That is the role Long Laotaitai formerly held.

After great difficulty wanting what she wants, extra burden Shazhu still not here, this is Jia Zhangshi's understanding of a wonderful life, such a life she does not want to just casually throw away.

Yi Zhonghai's matter.

Jia Zhangshi has not the slightest advantage.

Yi Zhonghai will also not give Jia Zhangshi any face.

Better to let Qin Huairu come forward.

Jia Zhangshi wisely said nothing.

Qin Huairu fiercely glared at Jia Zhangshi one eye, turned her head, a smile appeared on her face, she looked at Yi Zhonghai with a smiling expression.

"Granduncle, my mother-in-law this person, you can ignore her, some things we two will talk about."

She pointed her finger at the house behind Jia Zhangshi.

Yi Zhonghai looked.

He couldn't help but probe inwardly.

This is Shazhu's house, bought by his father He Daqing with money in the years before the great change, and because of this house, after He Daqing left, many people schemed over it, never expecting that in the end it would fall into the hands of the Jia family widow, and yet Shazhu did not even die in this house at his last breath.

Diagonally opposite.

Was Yi Zhonghai's former old house.

Originally it was a house of the Yagangchang, later during the period when public assets were transferred to private hands, Yi Zhonghai paid to buy it, turning it into his private property.

Seeing the object, thinking of the person.

He and Shazhu could be considered brothers in misfortune.

Shazhu's house, having gone to the Jia family, he was driven out of his home and met a miserable death, his posthumous affairs likely handled by He Yushui, and He Yushui's children helped break things.

Looking again at Yi Zhonghai, he is now ninety years old, eyeing the point of reaping the fruits of his labor, yet due to the Jia family widow's ruthlessness and heartlessness, Yi Zhonghai's retirement plans were instantly ruined, and after death, it's truly unclear who to rely on, and even the one who broke the basin is gone.

Yi Zhonghai suddenly realized, without Shazhu, he is nothing.

The dead are dead, the living must live on.

Not even a place to live.

Originally there was a house.

But due to various scheming, it became a classic case of cleverness backfiring, letting others not die while turning his own house into the Jia family's house.

Seeing Jia Zhangshi's expression, she also didn't want to let him in, so she simply didn't go in to join the fun.

Some things can be said outside as well.

"If there's anything, let's discuss it here." Yi Zhonghai waved his hand in refusal: "This place is also fine, spacious, convenient."

"Yi Zhonghai, are you afraid our Jia family will eat you?" Jia Zhangshi could no longer restrain herself, speaking out: "When did your courage become so small? What's wrong with talking indoors? Discussing matters in our house, you wrong Yi Zhonghai?"

"Yes yes yes, I really am afraid you Jia family widow will eat me—Shazhu could be killed alive by you, I'm an outsider, I'm so afraid."

"Mom, can't you shut up? Is it that our whole family must die before you're satisfied?"

"Huairu, Mom doesn't mean that."

"Shut up." Qin Huairu turned her head to look at Yi Zhonghai, "Elder Grandfather, look at what you're saying—broad daylight, even if we could do it, we wouldn't dare."

"Forget it, let's just talk here."

Qin Huairu saw Yi Zhonghai stubbornly refusing to follow her into the house, so she knew his attitude was firm, inwardly cursing Jia Zhangshi a few times, blaming Jia Zhangshi for lacking brains.

"Let's lay it all out plainly—Shazhu's matter, you know, we know too, he's gone, as the old saying goes, the dead are dead, the living are the living, we living people don't concern ourselves with the dead's affairs, we only manage our own, you have no children, Elder Grandmother also passed, you're a lonely solitary person, no one to care for you—isn't that unacceptable? Your original intention in matching me with Shazhu wasn't just to have Shazhu support you in old age, and to have Shazhu's wife also support you in old age, was it?"

Yi Zhonghai did not say yes.

Nor did he say no.

He looked at Qin Huairu with a face full of strange, mocking smiles.

This made Qin Huairu very surprised, the widow at that time still trying to read Yi Zhonghai's thoughts from his face to devise targeted countermeasures.

Never expecting that on Yi Zhonghai's face, from beginning to end, was always a look of mocking the Jia family.

This is looking down on the Jia family widow.

Looking down is looking down.

Qin Huairu's primary thought was to make Yi Zhonghai honestly shut his mouth, and when necessary, still say a few kind words to the Jia family widow, to smooth over the matter of Shazhu's death.

To make Yi Zhonghai become a witness for the Jia family.

In Qin Huairu's heart.

Although Yi Zhonghai did not exterminate Shazhu, he remains something attached to the Jia family's broken ship, and if the Jia family's broken ship sinks, Yi Zhonghai will not fare well either.

This is fundamental.

This is also confidence.

Knowing that Yi Zhonghai, because of Shazhu's matter, has developed a wariness toward the Jia family.

Putting oneself in another's shoes.

If she Qin Huairu were in Yi Zhonghai's position, she too would have to consider as Yi Zhonghai does.

We are all people.

Knowing what the other thinks in their heart is enough.

"Elder Grandfather, Shazhu is dead, your support in old age naturally falls to our Jia family."

Seeing Yi Zhonghai about to speak up to interrupt.

Qin Huairu quickened her tone, laying out the following reasons.

"On one hand, we've been neighbors in this siheyuan for many years, the old saying goes well—distant relatives are not as good as near neighbors, not seeing when lowering head, not seeing when raising head, a good neighbor is better than anything. On the other hand, my husband Dong Xu, was your former disciple, when you first took him as disciple, wasn't it with the thought of letting Dong Xu support you in old age? A disciple is half a son! The matter is simply this: as Dong Xu's wife, and as Bangeng and her children being Dong Xu's offspring, we must support you in old age no matter what."

"Elder Grandfather, our Jia family will support you in old age, rest assured—where we have a bite to eat, you also have a bite to eat."

Yi Zhonghai glanced askance at the cooperating Jia family widow.

He lightly replied in return.

"Shazhu died at the hands of your Jia family people, and I dare let your Jia family people help support me in old age?"

"Elder Grandfather, I know what you're worried about—why not do this: our Jia family people write you a guarantee, a guarantee to support you in old age, this guarantee, you hold it, and you can also give it to the street office—if our Jia family does poorly, you hold the guarantee and speak of it, what do you think?"

This is what Qin Huairu came up with after deep consideration.

She thought it out as the sole method she believed could resolve the current dilemma.

Besides this method.

She truly could not think of another method.

Yet she did not expect that Yi Zhonghai's current retirement hopes now have no reliance on the Jia family people—even if the Jia family people kneel begging to support Yi Zhonghai in old age, Yi Zhonghai would not dare entrust this matter to them.

And if another uproar like the Dalang taking medicine story were to happen, only death would remain.

Yi Zhonghai shook his head.

Seeing Yi Zhonghai disagree with her proposal for his retirement, Qin Huairu felt a jolt in her heart, glanced at Yi Zhonghai, and said: "Elder Yi, what do you think? Just tell me, and I'll do it. As long as it's something I, Qin Huairu, can do, I, Qin Huairu, guarantee I'll do it."

"First of all, I never had the intention of letting your Jia family support me in my old age. I did before, but not anymore. I also want to end up like Shazhu."

"Yi Zhonghai, who do you think you are? Our Jia family is eager to support you in your old age—this is giving you face. Don't refuse face when it's offered."

"Now that there's no retirement support anymore, your mother-in-law starts making excuses and delaying. I dare not let the widows of your Jia family support me in old age. As for my previous house, you all know how it was given to Shazhu. Shazhu gave the house to your Jia family, and that's also the reason for his demise and disappearance. I don't want anyone else's house—I only want the house that was originally Yi Zhonghai's. Give me the house, and Shazhu's affairs have nothing to do with me. I know nothing about it."

The implication was.

The house is just something to make me shut up.

Qin Huairu fell into thought.

Jia Zhangshi, however, refused to accept it, and without thinking, started cursing. Yi Zhonghai dared to ask Qin Huairu for the house right in front of her—this was nothing short of demanding her life.

"Yi Zhonghai, what good thing are you thinking about? Asking for the house back? This is our Jia family's house. On what grounds do you demand it? What qualifications do you have to claim this house?"