Chapter 635: Liu Haizhong provokes Yi Zhonghai, Liu Lan informs Ma Hua

Shazhu's death.

Broke Yi Zhonghai's defenses.

It caused Yi Zhonghai's many schemes to lose their room to unfold all at once, as the person meant for elder care died before the elder, which is one reason.

On the other hand, in the matter of Shazhu's death, there are also many unexpected mishaps that Yi Zhonghai did not foresee.

For example, the Jia family drove Shazhu away, causing him to die miserably.

Another example: in Yi Zhonghai's elder-care plan, the person he had looked after for elder care suddenly died.

Such mishaps made Yi Zhonghai, when facing Liu Haizhong, unexpectedly envy him; although Liu Haizhong's son is unfilial, after all he is Liu Haizhong's son and should care for him.

In contrast, Yi Zhonghai.

He has nothing left.

Once Shazhu died,

He is worthless.

Looking at Liu Haizhong, Yi Zhonghai's pent-up worries had nowhere to vent.

The current situation.

Has reversed.

When Liu Haizhong went bankrupt and was abandoned by his own son, Yi Zhonghai comforted him with kind words, urging him to be more open-minded, saying there is no obstacle in the world that cannot be overcome.

Now it was Liu Haizhong's turn to comfort Yi Zhonghai; the words Yi Zhonghai had spoken to Liu Haizhong were used by Liu Haizhong, unchanged, upon Yi Zhonghai.

"Old Yi, just looking at you I can tell you already know about Shazhu's matter, eh."

Liu Haizhong let out a long sigh.

This matter.

He is also powerless.

Who made him not the King of Hell, unable to control Shazhu's life and death.

"Shazhu is dead; exactly how he died is now a matter of conflicting opinions, each with their own version. I know you have been hoping Shazhu would support you in your old age. While he lived, anything could be discussed; now that he's dead, you must find someone else for your elder care. Your situation is better than mine—I have three sons, but not one of them is human."

Yi Zhonghai glanced at Liu Haizhong.

He always felt Liu Haizhong was showing off that he has a son.

He wanted to say something.

But the words reached his lips.

And he swallowed them back down.

Without Shazhu, Yi Zhonghai lost his backbone. When Liu Haizhong gets beaten, he can have his son stand up for him; when Yi Zhonghai gets beaten, he can only balance a chamber pot on his head, pretending to be a tortoise to amuse others, acting like a clown to beg them not to hit him.

"That day you went to the hospital, Shazhu brought you back, and he was fine. I saw him at my gate; he joked with me, saying he might die before me, asking me to burn paper for him and if I had any words to give my old wife, he would pass them along for free. I then scolded Shazhu, saying he was too young to talk nonsense, how could it be that I, Liu Haizhong, would burn paper for your Shazhu."

The tone shifted.

His face showed an expression that the matter was indeed so.

"Who would have thought? Shazhu actually guessed right—though young, he walked ahead of us two old men. What do you call this? It proves the saying that worldly affairs are unpredictable; no one knows what tomorrow will bring. Shazhu has died, and as his second grandpa, I anxiously must burn a paper for him. Are his after‑arrangements being made in the siheyuan?"

Seeing Yi Zhonghai's brows not unfurrowed,

he looked weighed down by worry.

Liu Haizhong patted Yi Zhonghai's shoulder.

"Old Yi, this is not how you should be. I recall you once told me, one must look forward; no matter how great the trouble, grit your teeth and you'll get past it. I give you this advice: you must be stronger; Shazhu wouldn't want you to collapse all at once."

"This matter, I, I, I, eh."

Yi Zhonghai, not knowing what to say,

uttered several "I"s.

then let his head droop.

"Old Yi, let me ask: who will smash Shazhu's brazier now that he's dead? Is it Bangeng? Shazhu does have a biological son." Seeing Yi Zhonghai looking at him, Liu Haizhong called out He Xia's name: "He Xia, according to the old custom, Shazhu's brazier must be smashed by He Xia. But these years Shazhu has had no contact with Lou Xiaoe or He Xia; nobody knows where they are, so the brazier can't be smashed. If Bangeng smashed it, it would violate the custom."

Liu Haizhong wore a teasing look.

While comforting Yi Zhonghai with his words,

inside he was hoping to see Yi Zhonghai's misfortune.

In the steel plant, Liu Haizhong had been trodden on all his life; in the siheyuan, he had been suppressed all his life; even his sole advantage over Yi Zhonghai—having a son—was twisted by Yi Zhonghai into something sordid, and he bluntly said that having a son was worse than having none.

One by one,

item by item,

were etched in his heart.

If Shazhu were not dead,

he would not have said a word.

Shazhu died.

then this resentment also dissipated.

Initially, Lou Xiaoe brought He Xia back to the siheyuan, standing imposingly in the central courtyard; many knew why Lou Xiaoe had appeared with the child.

One reason was to demonstrate,

demonstrating to the neighbors of the siheyuan.

Xu Daming had slept with Qin Jingru inside his marriage; the neighbors knew, but kept it from Lou Xiaoe. After Lou Xiaoe learned of it, the neighbors in the courtyard still judged her low birth and helped Xu Daming manipulate her.

Their impression of the neighbors was not good either.

The other reason was aimed at Liu Haizhong.

What he himself had done,

Liu Haizhong knew.

If it weren't for Shazhu pleading with the top leader, letting Lou Xiaoe's family go, Liu Haizhong would really have sent Lou Xiaoe's family to work underground.

This time.

That time.

More than ten years later, Lou Xiaoe, who returned to the Siheyuan with her children, became someone Liu Haizhong could not afford to provoke.

In order to keep people from recalling those past unpleasant matters, Liu Haizhong behaved timidly, tail between his legs, yet the incident of Lou Xiaoe and Qin Huairu fighting over Shazhu occurred. Yi Zhonghai worried that Shazhu would run off with Lou Xiaoe, with no one to support him in his old age, so he deliberately brought up how Liu Haizhong had almost wiped out Lou Xiaoe's family back then, and in the end, using the tactic of diverting the disaster eastward, he helped Qin Huairu successfully keep Shazhu.

Heaven pities the pitiful.

That period of time.

Liu Haizhong kept dreaming of his great-grandmother.

Liu Guangtian and Liu Guangfu were left penniless by Xu Daming, Liu Haizhong lay on his bed at home, Yi Zhonghai wore a victorious grin, speaking down to him, saying things Liu Haizhong both knew and didn't know.

Old-age support.

Yi Zhonghai told Liu Haizhong that, several years ago, he had already decided that his own old-age support could only rely on Shazhu.

Why?

There is also the deed of Long Laotaitai.

Shazhu felt grateful to Long Laotaitai for letting him be Lou Xiaoe's man for a few days, and he cared for Long Laotaitai wholeheartedly; Yi Zhonghai, seeing Shazhu's meticulous care for Long Laotaitai, chose Shazhu as his old-age supporter.

These words.

Liu Haizhong simply didn't believe it.

Yi Zhonghai knew what kind of person he was; for any matter, he sought a fail-safe plan, while striving to have offspring, he took Jia Dongxu as a disciple, thinking that if he couldn't have children, Jia Dongxu would help with old-age support; once he confirmed he couldn't father children, Jia Dongxu became Yi Zhonghai's official old-age supporter, and Shazhu was the backup.

Singing and rapping in the toilet.

This is talking about feces.

He kept thinking about how to return these words to Yi Zhonghai.

Now.

Liu Haizhong seized the opportunity.

Using the incident of Shazhu's tragic death needing someone to break a bowl to trap Liu Haizhong, everyone knows that back then it was Yi Zhonghai who helped Qin Huairu drive away Lou Xiaoe, leaving Shazhu without a son to break a bowl for him, a tragic scene.

Grudges have a source.

Debts have an owner.

This matter is the wrongdoing you, Yi Zhonghai, have done; you must repay it.

"Old Yi, Hexiao making Shazhu break a bowl—this matter still requires you, the former Head Steward of the Siheyuan, to step out; then the neighbors will trust you. Bangeng making Shazhu break a bowl—whether Jia Zhangshi agrees or not is another matter; even if she agrees, spreading it will just be a lot of gossip. If this gets dragged onto your head, Old Yi, you'll essentially lose face. Don't you think that's the case?"

Yi Zhonghai looked at Liu Haizhong.

He said something unlike what Liu Haizhong had imagined.

"As for the bowl-breaking matter, take it slow—I don't even know where Lou Xiaoe is now, so how would I find Hexiao to have Shazhu break a bowl? Old Liu, I'll keep you company tonight."

Who makes Shazhu break a bowl doesn't matter; the important thing is where Yi Zhonghai will stay tonight.

When Shazhu was still alive, Yi Zhonghai lived in his former old house; after Shazhu died, Jia Zhangshi, wanting to cut off Yi Zhonghai's retreat, directly locked the house where Yi Zhonghai lived.

Just now, Yi Zhonghai, while in the Zhong Yuan, also saw the Iron General guarding the gate.

Just thinking that when people leave, the tea gets cold.

No place to live.

Deliberately coming to talk with Liu Haizhong, he had the idea of squeezing into the same room with him.

Yi Zhonghai, who listed double insurance as his life motto, worried that if one person slept alone indoors, he would fall into the Jia family's scheme and meet the same tragic end as Shazhu; thus he thought that having people around would make the Jia family wary, and Liu Haizhong entered his sight under those circumstances.

Yan Fugui isn't dead, so why not go sleep with him?

It's because Yan Fugui's wife is doing well.

Liu Haizhong's wife died the year before last, and he, like Yi Zhonghai, is a retired worker of the Yagangchang; given this inherent factor, if Bangeng were to come at night to silence him, Liu Haizhong could also serve as a shield for Yi Zhonghai for a while.

"What are you looking at me for? I just want to chat with you—those factory matters between us two, those Siheyuan matters, we could talk all night."

"Old Yi."

"That's how it's decided."

"Isn't that inappropriate?"

"What's inappropriate about it? I'm this old, you're that old—let's cherish the present. Let's talk properly tonight, and I'll cook whatever you want to eat so you can taste my cooking."

Yi Zhonghai shamelessly clung to Liu Haizhong's room.

Their movements.

The Third Aunt heard everything clearly.

Returned home.

He told it like a joke to Yan Fugui.

Yan Fugui smiled and said nothing.

……

"Thus: Thus: Mahua."

Liu Lan's urgent voice.

Quickly passing through the door curtain, it flew into Thus: Thus: Mahua's ear curtain.

Following closely after.

It was Liu Lan's figure, having rushed through the door curtain into the back kitchen.

She sent her voice to Thus: Thus: Mahua's ear a step ahead of her own body.

Thus: Thus: Mahua, busy with his hands.

Frowning, he would be so panicked at the sight of his own twitching versus the motionless Liu Lan, as steady as a mountain.

They didn't speak.

He looked at Liu Lan.

Seeing that Thus: Thus: Mahua still had the calm composure of someone sitting firmly on the Diaoyutai.

Liu Lan was also furious to the extreme, opening her mouth to spew vulgarities, ready to give Thus: Thus: Mahua a good scolding.

Upon further thought,

I didn't say anything, so Thus: Thus: Mahua naturally wouldn't know what happened; being dazed and confused is understandable.

He forcibly swallowed the vulgarities in his mouth, tried to calm his anxious feelings as much as possible, and in a heavy tone told Thus: Thus: Mahua that Shazhu had died.

"Thus: Thus: Mahua, you probably don't know yet—Shazhu died, your master Shazhu died."

No sooner had he spoken.

Liu Lan instantly felt like a balloon pricked by a needle.

She slumped powerlessly onto the stool.

Shazhu died.

Her mood was truly terrible.

Thinking back on all the little moments with Shazhu, Liu Lan simply couldn't believe that Shazhu had just died like that—Shazhu's mouth was truly foul, a typical sharp tongue that offended everyone, but he wasn't malicious at heart; otherwise he wouldn't have been schemed against by Qin Huairu and Yi Zhonghai to the point of neglecting even his own son.

Ten years ago

The Yagangchang's benefits suddenly deteriorated.

Liu Lan was forced into early retirement, receiving only one-third of her original wages, and sometimes not even that, while having to support elderly parents above and school-age children below.

Having no other recourse, Liu Lan approached Deputy Factory Director Li, only to be snubbed by him with a cutting remark.

It was because Deputy Factory Director Li now had a younger, more beautiful You Fengxia.

Later, by chance, Liu Lan ran into Shazhu; hearing of her difficulties, Shazhu lent her his wages. But when Qin Huairu saw that Shazhu hadn't handed over his wages, she confronted him, and Shazhu admitted the truth, saying he had lent the money to the struggling Liu Lan. Qin Huairu then thought Liu Lan was trying to seduce Shazhu, found Liu Lan, slapped her twice, uttered a few harsh words, and took back Shazhu's wages.

When Shazhu learned of this, he found Liu Lan, apologized on Qin Huairu's behalf, brought her to the restaurant where he did odd jobs, and had her help out there.

Years later.

Thus: Thus: Mahua also went out on his own.

Shazhu brought Thus: Thus: Mahua to work as a chef at a new restaurant, then summoned Liu Lan, explaining that they felt empty without her cooperation.

Liu Lan knew that Shazhu was worried she would suffer grievances at the previous restaurant, and that the new restaurant paid higher wages.

Relying on this job,

Liu Lan gradually stabilized.

She also dreamed of someday opening her own restaurant, hiring Shazhu to cook for her, and giving him half of the profits.

But she never expected Shazhu to die.

Liu Lan felt terrible inside; after repeated confirmation, she finally learned that the news of Shazhu's death was not a rumor but an undeniable fact.

She ran all the way to her workplace, told Thus: Thus: Mahua about Shazhu's gruesome death, then sat stunned on a stool, thinking of her moments with Shazhu, until Thus: Thus: Mahua shook her shoulder and brought her back from her grief-stricken reverie.

"Liu Lan, what did you just say? Saying my master died? I tell you, if you keep joking like that, I'll slap you silly."