Chapter 51: Bang Geng Steals Money, Qin Mu Benefits, He Yuzhu Continues Spreading Rumors

The little bit of love Qin Mu had for Bang Geng and Xiao Dang had long been worn away by survival and time. Besides, Bang Geng and Xiao Dang were only Qin Mu's grandson and granddaughter; she had her own grandsons and granddaughters, and since she didn't see them for years at a time, the affection was naturally thin.

The only thing that made Qin Mu worry-free was that Xiao Dang was relatively obedient; she did whatever she was told and ate whatever she was given, never being picky, unlike Bang Geng, who had been clamoring to eat meat several times in just two days.

After Qin Mu finished eating and waited for Xiao Dang to finish, she cleaned up, not caring at all whether Bang Geng ate or not.

Bang Geng didn't dare to throw a tantrum at home because Qin Mu really dared to beat him.

"If you don't give me meat, I'll find a way to get meat myself. If I get meat, I won't give you any either," Bang Geng muttered.

Qin Mu cleaned up and lay on the bed to sleep. This was a habit she had developed over the past two years; for no other reason than that this was the only way to conserve energy to the maximum and reduce food consumption.

Qin Mu fell asleep quickly, and Xiao Dang also fell asleep quickly. Xiao Dang had never been full before; now that Qin Mu had arrived, Xiao Dang could finally eat her fill. Xiao Dang was still young, so she naturally felt sleepy after eating her fill.

After Qin Mu and Xiao Dang fell asleep, Bang Geng climbed up. Bang Geng didn't dare to turn on the light, fearing he would wake Qin Mu. He found the family's oil lamp, lit it, and then began to search for Jia Zhangshi's hiding place for money.

Perhaps Bang Geng had a talent for this, or perhaps Jia Zhangshi hadn't avoided Bang Geng when hiding or taking money in the past, but Bang Geng found Jia Zhangshi's hiding place in just a few moves.

Jia Zhangshi hid her money at the wall behind her pillow. Bang Geng spent a lot of effort to pry out the brick behind the pillow, took out an iron box from inside, and when he opened it, his eyes lit up.

He saw quite a bit of money and coupons in the iron box. Bang Geng took two yuan directly from it, then covered the iron box, put it back, and restored the brick to its original state.

Afterwards, Bang Geng tucked the money into his clothes and happily began to sleep, fantasizing about eating meat tomorrow.

Bang Geng didn't know at all that his every move was seen by Qin Mu.

The Jia family was only so big. To prevent the children from getting into trouble, Qin Mu specifically slept next to Bang Geng. Qin Mu didn't sleep very soundly, so when Bang Geng moved, Qin Mu naturally sensed it.

Qin Mu looked at the hiding place for money thoughtfully, a faint smile appearing at the corner of her mouth. Qin Mu decided that this money was hers now.

If it were in the past, Qin Mu might have been wary of Jia Zhangshi and wouldn't have dared to touch this money. Now, Qin Mu was unscrupulous and unbridled.

Because Qin Mu understood that now it was Jia Zhangshi who needed Qin Huairu, not Qin Huairu who needed Jia Zhangshi—the positions of offense and defense had shifted!

A thought suddenly rose in Qin Mu's mind: she must provide for her grandsons and granddaughters to go to school, and she must let them learn knowledge and law.

If they didn't understand these things, Qin Huairu would be manipulated, ordered around, and bullied by Jia Zhangshi for a lifetime. Qin Huairu would be a beast of burden for the Jia family for a lifetime, and still have to support the lazy Jia Zhangshi.

Qin Mu knew too well what kind of person Jia Zhangshi was. In the past, Qin Mu and Qin Huairu didn't understand the law, so they were naturally deceived and bullied by Jia Zhangshi. Now, the tides had turned, and it was Qin Mu's turn to bully Jia Zhangshi.

This was the power of knowledge!

Qin Mu made up her mind that even if she had to smash the pots and sell the iron, she would provide for the children to go to school. She didn't ask for great wealth, only that they wouldn't be bullied for no reason.

Qin Mu did as she thought. After Bang Geng fell into a deep sleep, she took out the money Jia Zhangshi had hidden—a total of 323 yuan, five silver dollars, and a gold ring.

Qin Mu thought for a while and decided to take it all, not leaving a single cent for Jia Zhangshi. Qin Mu believed that this was what Qin Huairu deserved. Qin Huairu had served Jia Zhangshi like a beast of burden for so long, so this money should be Qin Huairu's.

Qin Huairu's was hers.

As for the two yuan Bang Geng stole, it was just right to pin that pot on Bang Geng.

After Qin Mu put the money away, she slept happily.

After He Yuzhu returned home, he made do with a couple of bites. He Yuzhu found that his home also only had cornmeal and corn buns, no white flour. The key was that this cornmeal wasn't like the cornmeal of later generations, but had the corn cob ground into it, which was very hard to eat.

He Yuzhu went out with a cigarette in his mouth. He Yuzhu originally wanted to go to Yan Jiecheng's house to let Yan Jiecheng spread the rumor that Bang Geng was Yi Zhonghai's child, but thinking of the Yan family's cautious nature, Yan Jiecheng might not spread it, so he decided to find Xu Damao.

Xu Damao would definitely spread this kind of thing. He Yuzhu came to Xu Damao's house and knocked gently on the door, then regretted it. According to his old habits, he should have kicked the door open.

Just then, Xu Damao opened the door and was stunned to see it was He Yuzhu.

"Sha... He Yuzhu, what are you doing coming to my house to find me?" Xu Damao asked in surprise, then pondered whether he had offended Shazhu recently and if Shazhu had come for revenge.

"Sha Mao, I came to ask you something. You are the smartest person in our courtyard. I can't tell if it's true or false, so you help me judge it." He Yuzhu didn't enter the door, but stood at Xu Damao's doorway and spoke loudly, wishing everyone in the courtyard could hear his words.

"What is it?" Xu Damao was even more surprised and couldn't help but ask.

At the same time, Xu Damao was overjoyed, thinking to himself: "Shazhu said I am the smartest person in the courtyard and came to ask for my advice. Does this mean Shazhu is bowing his head to me?"

"I heard rumors in the factory when I got off work that Bang Geng is Yi Zhonghai's child. The reason is that Bang Geng and Yi Zhonghai both have curly hair, while in the Jia family, whether it's Lao Jia, Jia Zhangshi, Jia Dongxu, or Qin Huairu, their hair is straight."

"Coincidentally, not long after Bang Geng was born, Yi Zhonghai changed his hairstyle from long hair to a crew cut."

"Another thing is that Bang Geng was a premature baby, but his weight was full. Rumors say that our factory happened to send people to the countryside to support construction eight or nine months before Bang Geng was born, and Yi Zhonghai happened to be among them. And very coincidentally, the place Yi Zhonghai went to was Qin Family Village."

"The rumors also say that Jia Dongxu didn't die by accident, but that after Jia Dongxu learned the truth, he went to extort Yi Zhonghai. As a result, because the conditions Jia Dongxu set were too excessive, Yi Zhonghai had murderous intent toward Jia Dongxu, so Jia Dongxu died."

"These rumors sound very plausible. You help me judge, is this true?" He Yuzhu said loudly.

Xu Damao couldn't help but widen his eyes, not expecting to hear such explosive news.

Not only was Xu Damao shocked, but Liu Guangtian, Liu Guangfu, and others who came to watch the excitement were also shocked. When He Yuzhu was looking for Xu Damao, some people had already come to watch. At this time, there were even more people watching.

"Boom~" With a sound, the people watching started discussing. In less than half an hour, except for Qin Mu, Bang Geng, and Xiao Dang who were already asleep, everyone in the entire Siheyuan knew these rumors and started discussing them.

"You don't say, Bang Geng really doesn't look like Jia Dongxu and Qin Huairu, he looks very much like Yi Zhonghai, especially his nose and lips, they are simply carved from the same mold."

"That's right, the most important thing is the hair. I hadn't noticed this point before, but now that it's mentioned, it really is like this. Yi Zhonghai used to have curly hair, and he changed his hairstyle not long after Bang Geng was born. This was because he was afraid we would see the trick."

"Yes! Yes! I really didn't notice this point before, but now that it's mentioned, it really is."

"That's right, many things match up. Eight or nine months before Bang Geng was born, your wife also followed Yi Zhonghai to the countryside, right? And the place they went to was Qin Family Village, right?"

"Yes, they went for more than twenty days, nearly a month."

"Now that you mention it, many things match up. And the Jia family's sewing machine, Yi Zhonghai paid for it at the time, saying it was for his apprentice. It turns out it was for Qin Huairu."

"Exactly. Who couldn't Qin Huairu have married? She had to marry Jia Dongxu. Who doesn't inquire before marrying off a daughter? In the whole alley, the whole street, who doesn't know Jia Zhangshi's evil reputation? Marrying into such a family is like pushing a daughter into a fire pit..."

"So it turns out all of this was premeditated. According to this, Jia Dongxu's death might really have been Yi Zhonghai's dark hand..."

The people in the Siheyuan chatted away. Seeing that his goal had been achieved, He Yuzhu didn't wait for Xu Damao to give him an answer and left the backyard to return to his own home.

Xu Damao finally reacted and realized he had been used by He Yuzhu.

"Heh, when did this Shazhu wake up? I hope it's not just a flash in the pan, and that he'll turn back into the old Shazhu after Yi Zhonghai fools him with a few words, Qin Huairu sheds two tears, and the Deaf Old Lady fools him again," Xu Damao chuckled and thought to himself.

Anyway, it was Yi Zhonghai and the others who were unlucky, so Xu Damao was naturally happy about it.

"By the way, what did that bastard Shazhu call me just now? He called me Sha Mao. Shazhu, you wait, we're not finished," Xu Damao said through gritted teeth.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 52 =====