Chapter 657: Drunk Bangeng Confronts Jia Zhangshi in Public

The disheartened Bangeng.

He found a tavern.

Under the numbing effect of alcohol, he got drunk, staggering with blurred vision, he returned to the Siheyuan and appeared before the anxious Jia family.

Seeing Bangeng drunk, Jia Zhangshi was the first to come forward, supporting him with her hand, smelling the alcohol on him, she muttered a few complaints.

"Bangeng, what are you doing? How did you drink so much alcohol? Who did you drink with? You've drunk too much, you're completely drunk."

"I'm not drunk, I'm completely sober." Bangeng swayed as he looked at Jia Zhangshi; to prove he wasn't drunk, he raised his hand and pointed at her head, saying, "I know you, you're my grandmother. Strange, grandmother, why does a pig's brain grow on your neck? You're a goblin, not my grandmother—beat the goblin, drag my grandmother."

He swung his fists, intending to strike Jia Zhangshi, but because he was drunk, he staggered and collapsed onto the stool.

Jia Zhangshi laughed and cried at once.

Cry.

Bangeng was speaking drunken nonsense.

Laugh.

She really couldn't laugh, as Bangeng said her head was a pig's head and waved his fists, wanting to beat her.

This was stabbing at Jia Zhangshi's heart—who doesn't know that Jia Zhangshi is obese, and during those toughest years her weight never dropped?

He is her eldest grandson.

He drank again.

It's not worth arguing with a drunkard.

Jia Zhangshi turned her head and instructed Xiao Dang and Huaihua beside her.

"Xiao Dang, pour some water and apply a hot towel to your brother; Huaihua, don't just stand there—make him a hangover soup; Huairu, help me—this child has drunk too much."

Qin Huairu reached out and, together with Jia Zhangshi, helped Bangeng onto the sofa.

Jia Zhangshi reached out and touched Bangeng's forehead.

She let out an "aiyo."

She turned her head to Qin Huairu and began to explain the reason for Bangeng's drunkenness.

In Jia Zhangshi's view, Bangeng drank solely because he had divorced Tang Yanling, or because Tang Yanling wanted to marry before he did.

Otherwise, Bangeng wouldn't have gotten drunk.

This is heartbreak.

Heartbreak must be healed with love.

Jia Zhangshi, relying on her own imagination, tried to persuade Qin Huairu, urging her to join in arranging Bangeng's marriage.

"Huairu, look, what I said isn't wrong at all—Bangeng was provoked by that immoral woman Tang Yanling, he's holding in his anger with nowhere to vent, so he can only drown his sorrows in drink; as the old saying goes, "drinking to forget sorrow only makes sorrow worse." For the sake of our Jia family, for Bangeng, we Jia folks must all get moving, pool our strength, and strive to marry him off before Tang Yanling does—only then will our Jia family not lose face, and we'll be able to suppress that woman Tang Yanling."

Qin Huairu looked at Jia Zhangshi.

She said nothing.

Bangeng is her son; she knows he wouldn't get drunk just over a woman.

The cause of his drunkenness.

It's something else.

What's wrong with Bangeng?

As Qin Huairu racked her brains for the reason, Bangeng, leaning on his drunken talk, blurted out that he had been fired.

"Grandma, you're wrong—I'm not drunk because of Tang Yanling; I haven't even seen her, you know? I'm drinking because I got fired."

Qin Huairu widened her eyes; she didn't think this was Bangeng's drunken nonsense.

It's the truth.

He was fired.

Why?

Unconsciously, her mind went to the worst possibility.

When Bangeng first returned from the countryside, he couldn't find work and didn't want to do menial jobs like street sweeping; this was the best job Qin Huairu could find for him.

She thought it was better than nothing.

But she underestimated Bangeng's strong sense of pride.

In the end, she had no other recourse but to turn to Shazhu.

Because Qin Huairu knew Shazhu had an excellent relationship with a leader, and that leader valued Shazhu greatly, she thought that if Shazhu just said a word to the leader, Bangeng's job would be secured.

Because Qin Huairu used Bangeng's disagreement as an excuse, she kept Shazhu waiting for eight years.

She worried Shazhu would bear a grudge and refuse to help.

She moved into Shazhu's room overnight and lived together with him.

Shazhu, too, thanks to Qin Huairu's pillow talk, found the leader and secured countless enviable jobs for Bangeng.

He became a driver that everyone envied.

When Shazhu died, Bangeng was fired; if there's any connection, it means Shazhu's people have turned against the Jia family.

If the leader doesn't speak, his secretary doesn't speak, just mention He Yushui or Lou Xiaoe, and they could easily crush the Jia family like trampling an ant.

What Qin Huairu worries about is this.

A feeling of impending disaster surged into Qin Huairu's mind, and her body shuddered involuntarily.

Seeing Qin Huairu trembling, Jia Zhangshi thought something was wrong and casually said a few things to her.

"Huairu, it's not me, your mother‑in‑law, saying this—why is your courage so small? Bangeng's drunken words aren't to be taken seriously; what firing, how could he just be fired? There must be a reason for a dismissal—you can't just say "fired" and leave it at that."

She took the hot towel from Xiao Dang's hand.

She placed it on Bangeng's forehead.

"This Bangeng child has always been strong‑willed; because of your affair with Shazhu, you ignored him for eight years and also blamed you. Surely it was Tang Yanling's matter that provoked him—he cares about face, feels embarrassed, and made up the excuse of being fired by his unit. The unit's leader values Bangeng highly; he became the driver of the motor pool, and just a few days ago he told me that the logistics director is about to retire and that he has a good chance to become director. Then our Jia family would truly have a leader—a glorious, ancestoral‑honoring achievement."

The conversation took a turn.

He even steered the conversation toward finding a wife for Bangeng.

According to me, the most important thing right now is to find a match for Bangeng so our Jia family can flourish—that's what really matters; everything else is irrelevant.

But I don't think Bangeng was just speaking drunk.

Qin Huairu spoke up.

Instantly, the atmosphere in the room grew tense.

Jia Zhangshi stared fixedly at Qin Huairu.

Qin Huairu, what do you mean? How can a mother not want the best for her own son? How did this even happen? As I said before, we should fire Bangeng—but only with cause. To fire him without reason? I, the old lady, won't let this go.

Bangeng, who had been lying on the sofa with a hot compress.

He suddenly sat upright, clutching the towel from his forehead.

His eyes were glazed with drink.

His gaze landed on Jia Zhangshi.

Who says there's no cause? They have a cause—they have a reason to fire me.

Bangeng, tell me why you were fired, and I'll take care of it.

Decide? How can you decide? Do you think you can decide for my grandmother?

Qin Huairu turned to look at Jia Zhangshi.

Bangeng says his firing is because of Jia Zhangshi.

Seeing Qin Huairu's gaze, Jia Zhangshi understood Bangeng's point and felt awful, wondering, 'When have I ever done you wrong, Bangeng?'

We need to clarify this.

Bangeng, how did Grandma get you fired? Tell me.

How else could you be fired? Is it really because you were arranging a match for me?

It's true. So what? Just because you're divorced doesn't mean you can't remarry. Is it wrong for Grandma to find a match for her grandson? Is it taboo?

Bangeng, tell me straight—what's really happening?

Today the HR manager from our workplace called me in, asking if I'd divorced Tang Yanling—I said yes. He asked whether it was true that Grandma had loudly arranged a match for me—I said yes. He asked if Grandma insisted the woman be flawless in every respect and a young maiden—I said yes. Then they said someone had reported me, claiming I'm Chen Shimei, that I dumped a yellow‑faced wife to pursue a young maiden, that I'm more impressive than ancient emperors, that I've damaged the unit's reputation, and therefore they fired me.

Why would I scare you? I wish this were just a threat, but it's real—I was fired. You know, I was so close to becoming the logistics chief; now I'm not only denied that post, I've been fired outright. Those people are supervising my departure, just short of searching my body. I feel wronged and bitter—how could they fire me?

Bangeng's thumb.

It stood upright before Jia Zhangshi.

His tone carried a hint of eeriness.

You're such a wonderful grandmother—you've outright ruined my prospects. You talk about arranging a match and then say you'd give the matchmaker five hundred yuan as a gift after it succeeds—do you really dare say that? Our leaders have told me your Jia family is so rich, so maybe this position should go to those who need it more. Grandma, you're kind, truly kind.

The indoor atmosphere.

It had become oppressive to the extreme.

Qin Huairu and the others all focused their gazes on Jia Zhangshi.

Feeling their gazes upon her.

Jia Zhangshi felt immense pressure.

Looking at Bangeng's face, she felt a bit bitter, never imagining she had done something superfluous.

Bangeng, I didn't mean to do this—I just wanted to find you a partner so Tang Yanling wouldn't laugh at us. Who knew it would get you fired? Let's go talk to your leaders.

You never expected this—I've lost everything. Grandma, I beg you, please don't destroy me, don't destroy our Jia family. Let's just talk about Shazhu: if you hadn't said he was useless, we wouldn't have driven him out of the house to his death. If Shazhu hadn't died, Tang Yanling wouldn't have divorced me, I wouldn't have been fired for marrying, and you'd be the cause of it all—am I right?

Bangeng!

Never mind what else—it's too late now. I've lost my job, but at least I have time to go on a blind date with you. Let's go on a blind date, let's go.

His voice grew louder and louder.

The atmosphere became increasingly eerie.

Jia Zhangshi grew more and more worried.

In this tense atmosphere, Bangeng suddenly turned to Xiao Dang and Huaihua and spoke.

Xiao Dang, Huaihua, my brother was fired because Grandma was too showy. You two also need to be careful—don't follow in his footsteps and end up fired too, or else our Jia family will become a laughingstock. Even if Shazhu isn't dead and doing fine, if he dies, everything is nonsense.

Could it be He Yushui or Lou Xiaoe?

Jia Zhangshi, eager to shift the blame.

She spoke two names.

The matter of Shazhu.

It only concerns those two women—one is Shazhu's sister, the other his ex‑wife; besides Shazhu, there's no one else.

Grandma, you're passing the buck—this is exactly it.

Bangeng's thumb.

Once again it stood upright before Jia Zhangshi.

Good things are yours, bad things are others'—did He Yushui and Lou Xiaoe force you to find me a match? Did they push you to loudly arrange a match for me? No!

That's Yi Zhonghai!

Jia Zhangshi, desperate and grasping at straws.

She shouted out the last person's name.

Yi Zhonghai.

The indoor atmosphere, as the three words 'Yi Zhonghai' flew out, gradually sank into an ever more eerie state.

Yi Zhonghai.

The indoor atmosphere unexpectedly, as the three words "Yi Zhonghai" were spoken, gradually sank into an increasingly eerie state.

Most people believed it.

Even Bangeng was half doubtful, half believing.

Seeing their gazes, Jia Zhangshi felt the stone in her heart drop; at last she could finally get rid of this pot, otherwise she truly wouldn't know what to do.

Bangeng flew into a rage.

"Bangeng, you just said someone deliberately told this matter to your leaders; think about it, who bears a grudge against our Jia Family and wishes us ill? He Yushui, you say it's impossible; Lou Xiaoe, you say they look down on our Jia Family; then it can only be Yi Zhonghai."

Jia Zhangshi's tone.

Things went very smoothly.

"Shazhu is dead, and Yi Zhonghai has no one to support his old age either. Recently, for the sake of old age, you made a fuss with our Jia Family, saying my mother was Pan Jinlian, saying Bangeng was Ximen Qing, saying Grandma was Wang Po; after being beaten by you, you weren't deterred, and specially caused trouble at Shazhu's memorial hall. The day before yesterday, you even brought gifts to our Jia Family, shamelessly saying you wanted to marry Grandma, worried she wouldn't marry, you said you'd marry into our Jia Family, and our Jia Family people kicked you out. All this is true; what kind of person is Yi Zhonghai? Your mother knows best, Qin Huairu, right?"

Qin Huairu nodded.

Yi Zhonghai is a person with deep scheming and a strong desire for revenge; originally, because of the struggle over the head steward position of the Siheyuan, he bore a grudge against He Daqing, and finally took revenge on Shazhu, duping him into helping our Jia Family.

This Laoqianpo.

She really doesn't know how to speak.

"Seeing that our Jia Family didn't support his old age and even beat him, Yi Zhonghai also knew that Grandma had arranged a match for you, and he wrote a letter to report you; that's completely normal—this is Yi Zhonghai's revenge on our Jia Family. Bangeng, don't worry; Yi Zhonghai is someone Grandma will deal with."

"Brother, I also think Yi Zhonghai is up to mischief; he's a complete hypocrite."

"Grandma too was schemed against by Yi Zhonghai; don't blame yourself, if you lose your job, you lose it—worst case, we'll help you look for another job; we won't let you sit at home doing nothing all day. Take this opportunity to spend more time with Mom and be more partial to the children."

Grandma was also schemed against by Yi Zhonghai; don't hold a grudge—if you lost your job, you lost it, worst case we'll just find another job. We'll also keep an eye out for you, won't let you sit at home doing nothing all day. It's a good chance to take advantage of this opportunity to spend more time with Mom and dote on the children.

Bangeng could only warmly accept it.

Seeing Bangeng's attitude ease a little, Qin Huairu also let her heart settle.

With this matter pinned on Yi Zhonghai's head, that feeling of uneasy constriction also disappeared.

Jia Zhangshi also let out a sigh of relief.

Jia Zhangshi also let out a sigh of relief.