Chapter 674: People

Ghosts are actually not scary at all.

What truly frightens people is the human heart.

Bangeng, who had returned to the Siheyuan, concluded from the neighbors' accounts and Jia Zhangshi's burning incense all over the courtyard that she, like him, had also seen something unclean.

He deliberately stepped up to Jia Zhangshi and muttered softly.

"Grandma, did you also encounter that kind of thing?"

Jia Zhangshi's heart.

He brought it up right to her throat.

Just now he was scolded by Goudanniang.

Jia Zhangshi suddenly realized, thinking she was just scaring herself; Shazhu could not possibly return as a spirit, having been burned to bone scraps—where would he come back from?

As a result, Bangeng brought this up to her, and after explaining the situation, without waiting for Jia Zhangshi's reply, he muttered to himself.

"I also encountered it; Shazhu is unwilling to rest. While alive, he was schemed against by our Jia family, died, and wants to take revenge on our Jia family."

The Protective Amulet bought for two hundred cash.

He pulled it out.

He showed it off to Jia Zhangshi.

"Did you see it? It's specially for self‑defense; as long as you wear it, not even Shazhu, let alone ten Shazhus, can get near me."

Bangeng's self‑display made Jia Zhangshi, who originally did not believe in seeing ghosts, waver instantly; she cursed Goudanniang a few times in her heart, saying Goudanniang saw her scold Goudan, clearly knowing she had encountered a ghost, yet she told her lies, claiming there are no ghosts in the world, actually doing a 'kill with a borrowed knife' scheme, hoping to let Shazhu take her away.

What a beautiful thought.

This old woman hasn't lived enough yet.

Don't look at Jia Zhangshi, who has been a necromancer all her life; from time to time she shouts for Old Jia, asking Old Jia to come help her, and from time to time she shouts for Little Jia, saying she's been bullied and asking Jia Dongxu to stand up for her.

In her bones.

Very timid.

Bangeng's words frightened her, and she firmly believed that Shazhu would return as a spirit.

She also began to cherish her own life all the more.

"Bangeng, Grandma has treated you well, hasn't she?"

"What are you trying to do?"

"This Protective Amulet—do you have any to spare? If so, give Grandma some."

"There's only one—how can I share it with you?"

"Give this to Grandma, then go ask for another one yourself."

"What time is it? If you want to ask for one, you'll have to wait until tomorrow."

"Bangeng, you're young and strong; Shazhu's spirit fears you, unlike Grandma, who is seventy or eighty, in the twilight of her years, with not many days left to live."

Bangeng paid no heed to Jia Zhangshi's moral blackmail; if Jia Zhangshi didn't want to die, Bangeng could easily die himself—why should the Protective Amulet he obtained be given to Jia Zhangshi just because she's his grandmother? What good deed is that?

It's a matter of life and death.

Grandma isn't worth a fart.

He took off running.

Unable to catch Bangeng, Jia Zhangshi cursed him a few times in her heart, then saw Xiao Dang and Huaihua returning from outside, apparently also holding Protective Amulets.

She ran over.

She forced them to hand over the Protective Amulets.

What had just happened was repeating itself; Xiao Dang and Huaihua, who shared Jia Zhangshi's belief that a haunting was impossible, upon seeing her demand Protective Amulets from them and hearing that Bangeng had also asked for one, instantly believed a little, thinking they themselves had seen a ghost the previous night.

Xiao Dang gave the extra talisman he had obtained to Jia Zhangshi.

Jia Zhangshi, in Xiao Dang's presence, carefully placed the talisman into her pocket.

……

Eight o'clock in the evening.

While eating.

He complained to Qin Huairu about these things.

I had thought Qin Huairu would step forward to oppose, but unexpectedly she solemnly told the three children that 'this is the best course.'

The indoor atmosphere.

Became even more eerie.

Jia Zhangshi also seemed to feel a faint chill.

She instinctively wrapped her clothes tighter.

Everything was fine, the door was closed, the heater was on—how did it suddenly turn cold?

It meant nothing else.

She simply thought of that.

Without thinking, she blurted it out.

"Shazhu, when a person dies it's like a lamp going out. I know you have helped our Jia family all these years, you have done us good; your ending like this is our Jia family's responsibility, we admit it, but please stop haunting our Jia family. For your great kindness to our Jia family, Qin Huairu will repay you in her next life by being an ox and a horse."

Xiao Dang, Bangeng, and them.

At once they focused their gazes on Jia Zhangshi.

Seeing Jia Zhangshi's calm complexion and clear gaze, with no sign of possession, they each grew afraid.

Strictly speaking.

These people are all the chief culprits responsible for Shazhu's death.

Following the principle that grievances have a head and debts a master, as Shazhu becomes a ghost, the first to bear the brunt is to take revenge on these three juniors.

My scalp feels a bit numb.

Silly Dad, I'm Xiao Dang—I'm also begging you to spare my life. That was my mistake. Considering all the years I've called you Silly Dad, please stop hassling me. I know I was wrong, I'm sorry. Tomorrow I'll definitely go to the cemetery to burn paper for you, lots and lots of paper.

Huaihua didn't want to say anything.

But when I saw everyone else saying it.

I was afraid Shazhu would misunderstand me.

I just went along and said a few things.

Dad, I'm Huaihua—I feel the same as my sister. Since you've passed, just rest in peace down there; don't come up here causing trouble. I know you're bitter, feeling your efforts haven't been rewarded, but what does this have to do with our Jia family? You should take it up with Yi Zhonghai—this is all his idea.

Shazhu, I'm Bangeng. I think my sister's right—you shouldn't blame our Jia family; we were pressured too. My mother had an abortion, and that was all Yi Zhonghai's idea. You're worried that if you have a child, you won't support him properly in his old age, and you threatened my mother, saying if she doesn't stay with you, you'll drive our Jia family out of the siheyuan and the steel plant. I know you look down on me, calling me immature, but that's not my fault—I've made it obvious. You just refuse to see it, insisting on following Yi Zhonghai and getting mixed up with our Jia family.

They pulled out the protective amulet.

They made a gesture around.

Do you see this? This is the protective amulet I asked for. If you dare show up, I'll definitely knock your soul out of your body. Final warning: don't go looking for trouble.

Shazhu, it's all me, Qin Huairu. I schemed to support you, ruined your blind dates, refused to let you have children, making you childless—all of it was me, Qin Huairu. You're angry, take it out on me, Qin Huairu. I'd even give my life for you, but don't harm my children—they're innocent.

Huaihua, and me, and me too.

Jia Zhangshi meant for Qin Huairu to also remove her Jia Zhangshi.

But I never expected Qin Huairu wouldn't even bother to respond to her.

You're sick, you can't create profit for my Jia family. I, Qin Huairu, think you're redundant—I despise you, I find you lacking in every way. It was I, Qin Huairu, who had Bangeng and them drive you out. I, Qin Huairu, am the mastermind behind your death, Shazhu. If you want to kill or attack me, come at me, Qin Huairu. I did this for the Jia family's benefit, scheming against you, Shazhu, and against Yushui, preventing Yushui from getting into college. I admit to all these crimes.

Qin Huairu's reckless talk was actually the greatest insult to the late Shazhu.

For the widow, I jeopardized my younger sister's future.

Who among ordinary people could do such a thing?

Only Shazhu.

Who let the living Shazhu's most important person be Qin Huairu?

The person he cared about most ended up hurting him the deepest, leaving Shazhu with no place to be buried.

The meaning in Qin Huairu's words clearly paints Shazhu as a wholeheartedly devoted big fool, deserving to be drained by the Jia family.

He Yushui had a saying that was absolutely right.

For the widow, Shazhu reduced himself to having no heirs, to being a lonely widower, to being a poor soul who died miserably under the overpass.

After listening to Yi Zhonghai's words, Shazhu, who treasured Qin Huairu as his heart's treasure, ended up supporting Qin Huairu in every way, which left his treatment of He Yushui completely neglected; sometimes for the Jia family, he would give away He Yushui's rations, leaving the Jia family fed while He Yushui went hungry.

This matter is deeply etched in the Jia family's memory.

The image of He Yushui wandering the siheyuan begging for food still lingers in the Jia family's minds—the deaf old lady who ate Shazhu's filial offerings, faced with He Yushui having no food, urged her to go find Yi Zhonghai for a solution.

This also made He Yushui fully realize the truth, and she began to curry favor with Qin Huairu; as Shazhu's younger sister, she actually had to flatter Qin Huairu to get what rightfully belonged to her, then she lived a life of alternating hunger and fullness, never got into college, and went straight to work at the textile factory.

…… (ellipsis, no name)

At night.

Qin Huairu dreamed again of Shazhu.

In the dream, Qin Huairu brought a mask bag and had Shazhu help steal something; in the end, both were caught and locked up in a room.

Qin Huairu wanted Shazhu to help bear the thunder, but seeing Shazhu shoved in from outside, the widow swayed her big hips and immediately went up to him.

During the procession.

Qin Huairu wielded her tears like a weapon.

Looking at Shazhu with a pear-blossom-in-the-rain expression, she grabbed his arm, and feelings of heartache, grievance, and helplessness showed through Qin Hu

Without such a heartfelt performance, how could Shazhu be willing to take the thunder for her?

He ought to give Shazhu a bit of a sweet treat.

Qin Huairu expressed her concern for Shazhu in a tender, caring tone.

Zhuzi, no one else is to blame for this but me, Qin Huairu. If I hadn't found you late at night, told you we couldn't make ends meet, couldn't even keep the pot boiling, and asked you to pick up some flour, you wouldn't be dragged into this by me.

Thus we need to output Zhuzi for 柱子. Also we need to include Zhuzi in the glossary list? The glossary output should list every name that appears in these lines. Since 柱子 appears, we need to include it with original term 柱子 and English Zhuzi. However we must reuse the EXACT English already in the glossary above if present. It's not present, so we need to add it.

Similarly, later lines may have other nicknames: "柱子" appears again in line 104 etc. We'll handle.

Continue scanning.

Shazhu didn't say a word.

He just stared at Qin Huairu.

Just now, when Qin Sister was locked up here, she realized you are a great benefactor of the Jia Family. Tonight's trouble also stems from me, Qin Huairu, and we must not jeopardize your future. You should put all the blame on me, Qin Huairu, and say I forced you to help me steal things. Zhuzi, our affairs don't matter; what matters is that you come to no harm. Over the years, you've helped us so much that we cannot let you suffer misfortune because of me, Qin Huairu.

You really think that?

Shazhu's words.

It left Qin Huairu stunned.

He sensed something wrong in the tone.

Now that it's come to this, for her to get out of it, Shazhu must step forward and take the thunder for Qin Huairu.

Zhuzi, how can you say that? How could I possibly have any ill intentions toward you?

Qin Huairu, smiling, played the emotional card, trying to make Shazhu take the blame; first she had to smooth things over with him, just as she had once made Shazhu take the fall for Bangeng's chicken‑theft reputation—she knew how to do that.

You have done so much for the Jia Family, Qin Huairu, that I truly don't know how to repay you; being able to take the blame for you is the only thing I can do for you, and this matter indeed arose because of me, Qin Huairu.

So, do I still need to thank you, Qin Huairu? Shazhu's expression carried a hint of strangeness. "Qin Huairu, how should I thank you?"

Zhuzi, as for the relationship between our two families, there's no need for thanks—just put this matter on me. Don't worry about me; I know what to say. I'll tell them you see how hard it is for the Jia Family's orphaned widows and mothers, a widow raising three children and an elderly mother, living a tough life. As a resident of the Siheyuan, you've helped me, and you haven't let the Jia Family come to bloodshed—this is also fortunate for the Yagangchang.

…… (ellipsis)

Shazhu.

Jia Zhangshi knelt properly before Shazhu's portrait.

She had no choice but to kneel.

She also dreamed of Shazhu, unlike Qin Huairu's dream; in Jia Zhangshi's dream, besides Shazhu, there were Lao Jia and Xiao Jia.

But we need to see if there is any existing glossary for these? Not provided. So we will add them.

Shazhu, laughing hehe, said to Lao Jia and Xiao Jia, saying that when he was alive, Jia Zhangshi would from time to time have both Lao Jia and Xiao Jia on her lips.

He died.

Out of respect for Qin Huairu, we had to help Jia Zhangshi see this through, no matter what.

Old Jia and Little Jia stretched out their bloody hands, about to drag Jia Zhangshi to the dumpling gathering.

After a scream.

Jia Zhangshi woke up.

Clutching incense sticks, panting, she came to burn incense for Shazhu.

Inside this house.

There was nothing, only Shazhu's portrait hung on the wall.

The Jia family members, scared badly last night, all began to huddle together for warmth.

They slept in a room; Qin Huairu, Xiao Dang, and Huaihua slept in the inner chamber of the Jia family's old house, while Jia Zhangshi and Bangeng slept in the outer chamber; as for the husbands of Xiao Dang and Huaihua, after Shazhu's funeral arrangements were settled, they made an excuse and went back to their own homes, taking their children with them, so the Jia family members ended up crowded together again.

"Jia's elder mother knows you're a good child; the whole courtyard belongs to you, the kindest-hearted. Seeing how hard it is for us widows and orphans, you bring us food and even help the Jia family with money. The Jia family's current situation is all thanks to your efforts, Shazhu. We Jia family members don't deny that this estate is what you, Shazhu, have earned back."

He gave a loud kowtow.

"Shazhu, I, the old woman, know you're angry, but what can anger do? Grievances should be resolved, not deepened. Considering how many years you and our Huaihua have been close, let this matter pass. You rest well below, we Jia family members will be fine above; on holidays we'll burn paper for you, lay out offerings, treat you as Bangeng's father. Don't let me have nightmares anymore—I'm timid, I can't withstand your threats, Shazhu."