Chapter 156: Jia Zhangshi and Yi Zhonghai's Schemes

Jia Zhangshi sat on a stool, letting Qin Huairu give her a haircut while she thought about everything that had recently happened in the courtyard.

Yan Jie Cheng got married, Sha Zhu got married, Xu Damao got married, Zheng Changgu died, his wife and children also moved away, and then a widow with four children came.

In the courtyard, a toilet was installed and they started growing trellis vegetables.

The eldest was half-dead, Er Da Ye couldn't hold up the situation, San Da Ye had defected.

Yang Qing's relationship with the courtyard had improved greatly, many people had turned to the Yang Family, and the Yang Family had also taken in an old lady; the deaf old lady now often went to the back courtyard.

During this period, the Jia Family not only cut off Yang Qing's support, but also cut off Sha Zhu's lunchbox, now relying on Yi Zhonghai's support to get by.

This grudge is hard for her to repay.

The deaf old lady, Yi Zhonghai, and Sha Zhu—the three great mountains of the Jia Family—have fallen.

Thinking and thinking, Jia Zhangshi became so angry that smoke seemed to come out of her nostrils.

"I've only been gone a few days, and you've turned the courtyard's relations into this?"

"Without the support of these few families, will we not have a hard time surviving from now on?"

Qin Huairu nodded, her voice full of grievance.

"Yeah, Mom, without you at home, I've been walking on eggshells all this time."

"You've finally come back; from now on, our family will have to rely on you."

Qin Huairu's flattery made Jia Zhangshi feel very pleased; she, because she was dependent, during labor reform, often got squeezed out, and no one thought highly of her.

Sometimes, because she slacked off and played tricks, delaying work, she would even have to be cleaned up by her bunkmates at night.

Fortunately, in the last two months she reacted quickly and followed a big sister, which allowed her to persevere until now.

As for that place, she didn't want to go back at all.

"So that means we can only make up for it from Yi Zhonghai now?"

Qin Huairu nodded and said.

"Yeah, Mom, if it weren't for the eldest's care, we wouldn't know how to survive."

Jia Zhangshi snorted.

"That's what he should do; since he took on an apprentice, he must see it through to the end."

Qin Huairu said at the right moment.

"Mom, the eldest's support for us is also limited; when you weren't back, we were tight."

"Now you're back, and I'm about to give birth, adding two more mouths; how do we fill this gap?"

"Dong Xu has sounded him out; the eldest won't give any more."

"He also said… he also said…"

Seeing her like that, Jia Zhangshi felt a sudden, unexplained panic and urged anxiously.

"What else did he say?"

Qin Huairu seemed very angry and said resentfully.

"He also said, let you go back to the countryside to farm, earn work points, and support yourself and your grandsons and granddaughters."

Upon hearing this, Jia Zhangshi's face turned pale instantly, and she looked at Qin Huairu with an expression of questioning.

Qin Huairu continued without waiting for her to find fault.

"We certainly disagree; you raised Dong Xu from shit and piss, it was no easy feat—how could we become such unfilial children?"

Only then did Jia Zhangshi let out a breath of relief and said satisfiedly.

"Consider you filial."

Qin Huairu felt a surge of complaints in her heart; we actually wish you would go back to the countryside, but will you?

But she said aloud.

"How could we do something as despicable as that? That is, the eldest said support can't be given without limits."

"He also said… he also said…"

Jia Zhangshi felt another wave of panic.

"What else did he say?"

Qin Huairu hesitated.

Seeing this, Jia Zhangshi anxiously urged her.

"What on earth did he say? Come on, say it."

Qin Huairu spoke out, angry and embarrassed.

"He said to let you go out to work to ease the family's burden."

"He also had me take odd jobs with the sewing machine, and then go to the Jiedao to get work pasting matchboxes."

Jia Zhangshi understood; Yi Zhonghai no longer wanted to be a sucker, wanting them to be self-reliant.

"He's dreaming; he slept with the old lady, still scheming to have my son support him in his old age, and he still wants nothing else."

"He's dreaming."

"Huairu, you don't need to worry; Mom will take the lead on this."

"Mom would rather lose face than let Yi Zhonghai have it easy."

"He gives over a hundred a month; what's wrong with giving us a little support? We're not asking for everything."

But in her heart she was thinking: Looking at things now, the easiest person to bully might be the eldest; if not him, who else?

That night, Jia Zhangshi and Yi Zhonghai went into the vegetable cellar of the Zhengyuan for half a day; no one knows what exactly happened.

The next evening.

Yi Zhonghai notified the convening of a courtyard meeting.

Yang Qing heard that Jia Zhangshi had returned, and seeing that Yi Zhonghai was about to convene a courtyard meeting, he had some suspicions.

Chen Hong was a bit doubtful.

"Husband, you said the First Elder called a courtyard meeting—what is this for?"

Yang Qing indicated he didn't know.

"Who knows? Maybe it hasn't been held in a long time, just a drill."

Chen Hong rolled her eyes.

I don't believe you.

In the courtyard, the First Elder sat upright and solemn in the center, while the Second and Third Elders sat on either side, guarding left and right.

Liang Ladi, Lou Xiao'e, Liu Shumin, and Yu Li curiously gazed at Jia Zhangshi.

Jia Zhangshi had become much thinner, and after half a year of labor reform, she looked rather like a pitiful rural woman.

Yi Zhonghai called this meeting today, completely forced into it.

Either he would pay all the money himself, or he would shift the burden, making the whole courtyard suffer misfortune.

Seeing that almost everyone in the courtyard had arrived, he nervously lifted the tea jar and took a sip.

He no longer had that decisive aura; his heart was filled with anxiety.

"Cough cough..."

"The main reason for calling this courtyard meeting today is that the Jia family is facing difficulties; let's all think together how to solve it."

"Mutual help and support—it's our fine tradition."

"I believe nobody will watch the Jia family fail to survive."

He glanced at Jia Zhangshi and gave her a look; she immediately understood and stood up.

She appeared trembling and feeble, looking pitiful, still wearing the clothes from labor reform.

She spoke with a sobbing tone, as if gathering all manner of suffering into herself.

"We can't go on, we can't go on—everyone knows our family; only Dong Xu has a fixed amount."

"The other four of us all rely on expensive grain to live."

"Now the price of coarse grain in the pigeon market is seventy or eighty mao, and ordinary grain starts at one yuan."

"Even if we eat as little as possible, the four of us need eighty catties of coarse grain a month just to barely survive—that's at least sixty yuan."

"Dong Xu's monthly wage is only about fifty yuan, which really isn't enough."

"Huairu is still pregnant and can't just eat coarse grain either—that's another ten yuan."

"Adding Dong Xu's own share, we need thirty yuan for famine relief each month."

Jia Zhangshi's calculation frightened a group of people—damn, it turns out rural folk living in the city actually cost this much money.

Jia Dongxu's wage as a third-level worker isn't even enough; we still need to add another twenty or thirty yuan.

At that moment, Qin Huairu pulled her two children out, also looking miserable and wretched.

"We really can't go on; for the children's sake we've come out shamelessly, hoping everyone will pity us and give us a way to live."

"That voice was as mournful as it could be."

Many people, after hearing Jia Zhangshi's account and seeing Qin Huairu's performance, felt their sympathy rise instantly.

Even those who bear a grudge against the Jia family would feel embarrassed to step forward at this time.