Chapter 174: Guiding Qin Huairu

Everything is an accident, truly an accident, but everything is also destined.

All coincidences gathered together become inevitable.

If it weren't a famine year, Jia Dongxu could have eaten his fill; perhaps he wouldn't have been so easily fatigued.

If there had been no workforce reduction, his work wouldn't have been so much.

If Jia Zhangshi hadn't come back, perhaps he wouldn't have had so much pressure.

If there were no mother-in-law and daughter-in-law conflict, he wouldn't be so heartbroken, nor would he lie awake all night.

If it weren't for Yi Zhonghai's reprimand, perhaps he wouldn't have zoned out.

Fate seems to have arranged everything in advance, or rather, the editor had already written the ending.

Upon seeing Jia Dongxu's still-intact corpse, Yang Qing felt a bit relieved.

He passed away peacefully.

He wasn't struck in the lower body, didn't suffer paralysis, and certainly wasn't despised by Jia Zhangshi and left to rot on the kang.

After Jia Dongxu's body was brought back, the factory sent three hundred yuan for funeral expenses.

The remaining compensation could not proceed because Qin Huairu and Jia Zhangshi were arguing irreconcilably.

Qin Huairu, dressed in plain clothes, disregarded the hot weather and brought money to Jia Dongxu's spirit.

The people in the courtyard, after trying to persuade several times with no effect, left, making the Zhengyuan seem a bit desolate.

Jia Zhangshi then took her grandson and went to nap.

Yang Qing braved the heat and also gave some money to Jia Dongxu.

Qin Huairu said thank you.

Yang Qing, taking the opportunity while giving money, spoke softly.

"The person is gone; saying anything now is too late, but you still have to live."

"These years after Old Jia's passing, Jia Zhangshi should have saved about two thousand."

"Given Jia Zhangshi's love of money, Dong Xu's older brother's sum will likely be hard for her to let go of."

"If you keep arguing with her, she has money and can drag it out, only making the delay longer."

"But can you afford to drag it out? How much money do you have?"

"You can drag it out, but Dong Xu can't afford to wait; in this heat, if we don't send him off soon, he might deteriorate."

"You have three children and also urgently need a job to obtain urban residency."

"So, you might as well use Dong Xu's older brother's substantial compensation as leverage to secure the job."

"You can first take on Yi Zhonghai's work, have him communicate with the factory, and secure the job for yourself."

"You have three children; the factory will likely consider giving you the job."

"Because if your job issue isn't resolved, the factory will have to support your three children until they come of age."

"Put bluntly, Jia Zhangshi has no obligation to raise three children; giving the job to her would cause the factory the greatest loss."

"As long as you and the factory reach an agreement on this, Jia Zhangshi won't be able to get the job."

Qin Huairu raised her head upon hearing this; she had been feeling uneasy lately, afraid that Jia Zhangshi would snatch the job away.

Then her sole chance to change her fate would also be gone.

"Will the job really be given to me?"

She lacked confidence.

Yang Qing nodded and said affirmatively.

"Jia Zhangshi is merely Jia Dongxu's mother, not his wife; you are his wife."

"It is you who raises the children, not Jia Zhangshi; she doesn't have much say in that matter."

"Don't be frightened by her fussing."

"As long as you don't relent, no one will dare give the job to Jia Zhangshi."

"This concerns your three children."

Yang Qing's words gave Qin Huairu great confidence.

"You mean Dong Xu's compensation should rightfully be mine?"

Her eyes lit up.

Yang Qing could tell at a glance that this woman was overthinking.

"That's true, but Jia Zhangshi is after all Dong Xu's older brother's mother."

"The factory also couldn't possibly ignore Jia Zhangshi's needs."

"Don't overthink it; this matter still requires Jia Zhangshi's approval."

"So I still say the same thing: make good use of the compensation money to secure the job."

"If possible, strive for Jia Zhangshi to receive the factory's support allowance."

"It should be about eight yuan per month."

"Otherwise, Jia Zhangshi will definitely make you pay that money."

Qin Huairu didn't understand these matters.

"Does the factory still provide support allowance?"

Yang Qing nodded.

"You need to talk with the factory; they say it exists, but in practice it might not."

"Do you understand what that means?"

Qin Huairu looked utterly bewildered.

At that moment, the Jia family stirred.

Yang Qing got up and left.

After Yang Qing left, Qin Huairu carefully pondered Yang Qing's words.

The unease in her heart had largely subsided.

At that moment, Jia Zhangshi swaggered out.

Having napped, she was all sore and weak; upon seeing Qin Huairu, she snarled.

"Qin Huairu, after you see Dong Xu off, get out of here."

"Go back to your village."

"You still want compensation from Dong Xu? Don't even think about it."

"Even if I sold the job, I wouldn't give it to you."

"You broom spirit."

Qin Huairu was too lazy to bother with her; the two had completely torn their relationship apart.

She thought in her mind what she should do, then got up and returned to Yi Da Ma's house.

Jia Zhangshi, seeing Qin Huairu leave, muttered curses, took over for her, and kept sending money to Jia Dongxu.

In this regard, the two were quite in sync.

At Yi Da Ma's house, Qin Huairu explained once to the eldest man the work matters that needed to be reported to the factory.

Yi Da Ma pondered for a moment.

"I'm afraid you can't rely on Old Yi; Dong Xu said that Bang Geng should acknowledge him as a godfather."

"Now Bang Geng won't go along with you."

"He wouldn't offend Jia Zhangshi."

Qin Huairu felt a weight settle in her heart.

"What should we do then?"

"Without this job, I might really have to return to the countryside."

"Even though you want to keep us, relying only on us, we can't manage."

Yi Da Ma let out a sigh.

It's true; the living expenses of three rural households are too high.

"If we lose Yi Zhonghai, does that mean nothing gets done?"

"Otherwise, shall we beg the old lady?"

"Both of them have ties to the military."

"I heard that Factory Director Yang also came out of the troops."

Qin Huairu felt very insecure.

"Will it work? Will they help me?"

Yi Da Ma smiled slightly.

"Don't think the deaf old lady has a close relationship with Yi Zhonghai."

"Haven't you noticed that ever since Sha Zhu's relationship with our family soured, the deaf old lady has also become less close to us?"

"In the end, the old lady is close to us because we take care of her."

"But Sha Zhu is the old lady's godson."

"Moreover, the one who mainly looks after the old lady is me."

"It doesn't have much to do with Yi Zhonghai."

"Wait for me a moment; I'll go ask."

After saying that, Yi Da Ma went to the backyard.

The deaf old lady was cooling off at Yang Qing's house, under the osmanthus tree on a rocking chair; the two old ladies were listening to the radio, half-asleep.

Upon seeing Yi Da Ma, the two of them perked up.

"It's such a hot day, not watching the kids, why did you still come over?"

"Because of Jia Dongxu?"

Jia Dongxu lay there, indeed a bit off‑putting.

Yi Da Ma shook her head.

"Just now, Yang Qing went over and said to Huairu…"