Chapter 21: The First Fundraiser in the Siheyuan

"My son! What has happened now!?"

Jia Zhangshi had been sleeping like a dead pig at home, not even hearing Jia Dongxu and Qin Huairu arguing, if not for Jia Dongxu vomiting blood and fainting.

Perhaps this old hag would still be sleeping soundly.

Many people here also realized that the situation had blown up; they hadn't expected Jia Dongxu to be so angry that he vomited blood, and Qin Huairu was also dumbfounded, not knowing what to do.

"It's all because of you, you husband-killing jinx!" Jia Zhangshi's eyes blazed with fire, and she slapped Qin Huairu across the face, sending stars spinning before Qin Huairu's eyes.

It was all the Jia Family's bad luck; they hadn't checked the feng shui properly when taking in a daughter-in-law, and had brought this jinx home.

Qin Huairu didn't dare to talk back after being slapped; after all, she bore some responsibility for Jia Dongxu's current state.

The only person present who was somewhat happy was probably Shazhu; after all, Shazhu already had the idea of taking over for Qin Huairu, and such a young woman shouldn't be left to live as a widow while her husband was still alive.

"Alright, stop crying, hurry and send Dongxu to the Hospital," Yi Zhonghai felt a bit annoyed, then looked at Zhao Gangzi, who was eating and watching the show on the side, and said coldly: "Are you satisfied now? You won't stop until you've ruined someone else's family, will you?"

"First Uncle, what kind of talk is that? I didn't do anything!"

Zhao Gangzi let out a cold snort.

Now this old thing was pretending to be a good person, but he still remembered clearly that this old guy had embezzled his family's subsidies for a long time and hadn't coughed them up.

But in this situation, there was no time for bickering; Jia Dongxu's illness had relapsed and he had to be sent to the Hospital for emergency treatment immediately.

It wasn't until midnight that Jia Dongxu was resuscitated.

The doctor said it was an acute surge of blood to the heart, causing the wound to reopen; in any case, it was a serious matter, and if they had arrived any later, he might have kicked the bucket.

Only now did Jia Dongxu and the others realize that this was a trap set by Zhao Gangzi; no matter what, the two-yuan subsidy could not be recovered.

After all, Jia Dongxu had almost lost his life.

"First Uncle, the medical compensation from the factory for our family is almost spent, and the Hospital says we are still short ten yuan; our family really can't come up with it, woooo..."

In the Hospital corridor, Qin Huairu kept wiping her tears in front of Yi Zhonghai.

And it must be said, Yi Zhonghai really fell for this.

His heart softened immediately, but ten yuan was indeed not a small amount; he certainly wouldn't pay it himself, but as the person in charge of the Siheyuan, he had his ways.

"Don't cry, Dongxu's wife; after all, Dongxu is someone we old folks watched grow up. Don't worry about this ten yuan, it will be delivered tomorrow," Yi Zhonghai promised.

"Then thank you so much, First Uncle. If it weren't for you, our Dongxu might have been gone long ago. You really are a gentleman!"

"Wool comes from the sheep's back"—this saying was absolutely true; soon, First Uncle brought people back to the Siheyuan and, as soon as he returned, announced that he would hold a fundraiser for the Jia Family.

This was also the first full-courtyard meeting held in the Siheyuan since Zhao Gangzi transmigrated into this world.

Right in the spacious area of the Middle Courtyard, a large Eight Immortals table was set up, with First Uncle Yi Zhonghai sitting in the center seat, and Second Uncle and Third Uncle sitting on either side.

Opposite the Eight Immortals table, many long benches were placed, and all the old and young in the courtyard sat there, while many who couldn't grab a seat stood around lazily.

"Old Yi, why did you get us all up so early? What is there to announce?" Second Uncle Liu Haizhong glanced at First Uncle and asked with some impatience.

Third Uncle Yan Bugui also had some complaints; he was a primary school teacher at Hongxingxiaoxue, and seeing that it was time to go to work, he hadn't expected to be blocked at home by this old thing.

It could be said that everyone living in the Siheyuan, except for the Deaf Old Lady, had arrived at the scene, and Zhao Gangzi was no exception.

"Ahem, this full-courtyard meeting is called to implement the moral spirit of mutual help and willingness to assist others!"

"Everyone surely knows that our good neighbor Jia Dongxu, because of someone's framing, has suffered a relapse of his old injury and is lying in the Hospital!"

"And he still owes the Hospital 30 yuan in medical expenses. As comrades of the new era, we have an obligation and must help!"

First Uncle rambled on for a while, but it all boiled down to one thing: he wanted money, and it wasn't a loan, it was a donation—the kind that wouldn't be paid back.

He even inflated the ten-yuan medical bill to 30 yuan; one could imagine how black-hearted this old dog was, appearing upright and righteous on the surface.

At this time, the Jia Family had not yet become notorious as true vampires, and many people were still quite sympathetic to their plight.

Especially those who were soft-hearted, who were already wiping away tears.

"Sigh, Dongxu is so young and already crippled, and now he's run into such a thing."

"There are two children at home, it's not easy, not easy..."

"Indeed, I still have some spare money, First Uncle, I'll donate five mao!"

Many people had already started taking money out of their pockets.

Meanwhile, Jia Zhangshi, acting as the atmosphere-setter on the side, wiped her tears while covering her mouth to hide a smirk; it turned out the money of the Siheyuan neighbors was so easy to earn.

If she had known, she would have let First Uncle ask for 50 yuan from the start.

"You are all good comrades!"

Yi Zhonghai sighed, then led by example, taking out a huge sum of two yuan, and even Shazhu took out one yuan and five mao.

Second Uncle and Third Uncle had ugly expressions; both of them had large families and were already tightening their belts to get by, so donating meant eating two fewer meals.

But they couldn't refuse to donate, and First Uncle even donated an extra yuan on behalf of the Deaf Old Lady, which made Jia Zhangshi keep flattering him on the side.

"First Uncle is truly a great filial son! Even donating for his godmother; our Dongxu is saved!"

"First Uncle must have a place in the Twenty-Four Filial Exemplars..."

Shazhu was also frantically flattering him on the side.

"Zhao Gangzi, everyone else has donated; as the culprit, you should show some gesture too," Yi Zhonghai looked at Zhao Gangzi.

Zhao Gangzi was leaning against the wall eating melon seeds, and when he heard someone call him, he unhurriedly rummaged through his trouser pocket for a while, then pulled out a one-fen coin, held it in his hand, and said: "Fine, fine! Then I, the bigger person, won't hold a grudge against the small, and will donate a huge sum of one fen to Jia Dongxu!"

Then he tossed the one-fen coin up and flicked it with his index finger, landing it perfectly on the Eight Immortals table, right in front of First Uncle.

"This..."

First Uncle didn't react in time.

He had been quite happy to see Zhao Gangzi about to pay, thinking he had found his conscience, but he hadn't expected him to produce such a pittance.

"What is the meaning of this? Zhao Gangzi, aren't you being a bit too stingy!" Even Shazhu couldn't watch anymore; he had donated a whole yuan, yet this Zhao Gangzi only donated one fen—there was no greater way to humiliate someone than this.