Chapter 22: Do we need a letter of understanding?

Two people returned home, took Qin Huairu's 200, added it to make 400, and went to Yang Qing's house.

The couple were airing their bedding in the courtyard, and Yang Qing was hitting it with a stick.

Clouds of dust flew out from the bedding and mattress, a swirl of dust rising.

Yi Zhonghai interrupted Yang Qing's action.

"Yang Qing, stop for a moment, I have something to say."

Yang Qing stopped, Chen Hong heard the movement, and also came out of the house holding a bamboo pole.

A broom with only a few bristles left was tied to the bamboo pole.

The broom is made from broom vegetable, which Yang Qing planted a few plants of in the courtyard; it can be made into vegetable balls to eat for a long time, and when old, the broom vegetable can still be made into a broom, so it can be said to be the best food in famine years.

At this moment, the broom was covered in spider silk.

Chen Hong leaned on the bamboo pole, stood beside Yang Qing, glaring angrily at Yi Zhonghai and Jia Dongxu, a fierce aura sweeping over them.

Yi Zhonghai and Jia Dongxu were cowed by the aura, feeling as if they had shrunk a few inches.

She deliberately raised her voice, sounding aggrieved.

"What business do you have?"

"It couldn't be about Jia Zhangshi, could it?"

"Elder Uncle, yesterday my husband said this to you, you won't have forgotten, will you?"

"How long has it been? In the blink of an eye, my family has been struck by disaster."

"You still have the nerve to come see us; my family does not welcome you."

This round, Yang Qing gave Chen Hong full marks—her aura overwhelmed, she seized the initiative, instantly establishing the advantage in negotiations.

Yi Zhonghai laughed embarrassedly.

"Chen Hong, we're all neighbors; bumps and scrapes are inevitable. If we call the police over this, how will the people in our courtyard continue to live together?"

"Yang Qing, you agree, right?"

Yang Qing shook his head.

"Elder Uncle, this isn't just a bump; I feel it's a premeditated crime."

"You gave us the money just a moment ago, and now it's gone—this makes us have to think a lot."

"If that's the case, and you still want us to act as if nothing happened, then living in our courtyard will require caution."

"Otherwise, who knows whose family might receive wages one day and suffer disaster the next."

"After all, stealing money and getting away with it—don't you all agree with what I'm saying?"

Upon hearing the sound, a crowd came over to watch the commotion, and hearing this, they shouted in agreement.

"Exactly, it's not just one or two cents—it's 196. Jia Zhangshi dares to take that; what else wouldn't she dare?"

"Yes, before she took a potato, a sweet potato, a cabbage from our house, and we didn't say anything; now she dares to take money—this is intolerable."

Jia Dongxu's face flashed black and red; he silently cursed, thinking, 'When we took things from the Yang family, didn't you get a share?'

"Now what are you pretending to be a good person for?"

"How much of your furniture is made from the Yang family's beams? Do you need me to calculate it for you?"

But he also knew his mother had incurred public anger—not because she took Yang Qing's belongings, but because she ruined the courtyard's reputation.

"This matter is now extremely important; a ruined reputation affects a lifetime."

"My own marriage is nothing special; in other families, most have already reached marrying age."

"After such a fuss, it would be strange not to resent their family."

Qin Huairu came in at this moment, tears streaming, and bowed to everyone around.

"I'm here apologizing on behalf of my mother-in-law to all of you."

"She was only scared by Yang Qing into revealing what she did in Shichahai; she couldn't take it, so she went out in the middle of the night to cause damage."

"It was absolutely not intentional; she was simply dazed with anger."

"Sorry, my mother-in-law made a mistake; I'm here kneeling on her behalf to apologize to all of you."

"Please save my mother-in-law."

Saying this, Qin Huairu was about to kneel.

"Even if these people are worthless, we can't let a pregnant woman kneel to them—what would people think if it got out?"

Soon Qin Huairu was stopped.

The crowd also said.

"Hey, Jia Dongxu really married a good wife."

"Yes, yes, she's a good wife; I don't know what blessings Jia Zhangshi cultivated over hundreds of lifetimes to find such a good wife—she's beautiful and filial."

"Huairu, you are you, your mother-in-law is your mother-in-law; rest assured, we still distinguish between the Jia family and Jia Zhangshi."

"Everyone avoided mentioning forgiving Jia Zhangshi; the courtyard's tacit understanding now is to sacrifice Jia Zhangshi to restore the Siheyuan's reputation."

"Even if Qin Huairu pretends to be pitiful, it won't change this outcome."

"Yang Qing looked at Qin Huairu and couldn't help but admire her; a rural woman capable of this level is truly not simple."

"This time Qin Huairu gained big, acquiring a wave of fame, and moreover confused the issue, turning deliberate theft into a dispute of spirit."

"It has quite a touch of Yi Zhonghai's style."

"Chen Hong on this side gave a mocking heh heh laugh."

"You really can do it, Qin Huairu—you can turn black into white."

"If our family didn't worry about the courtyard's reputation, we would have long since spread what your mother-in-law did, and what about the current situation?"

"Furthermore, when we came back, we reminded everyone to keep quiet—not to threaten Jia Zhangshi."

"But to remind her not to expose herself, which is bad for anyone."

In the end, we treated her kindly as if she were a donkey's liver and lungs, yet she bore a grudge and destroyed our family.

Such a petty, narrow‑minded, ruthless person—do you really think she's a good person?

If she can take revenge on our family today, she'll be able to revenge on others tomorrow.

Such a scourge, if we forgive her, would be irresponsible toward the compound.

The group all nodded together.

"Chen Hong is right; Jia Zhangshi really can't be let off like this."

"Indeed, this Jia Zhangshi truly can't tell right from wrong; the elder reminded us yesterday to keep it confidential, and yet when we, the victims, had to keep it secret, she brazenly began a retaliatory strike. Thinking about it is truly frightening."

"Yes, yes."

San Da Ma was at the back, ecstatic to the point of madness, letting you flaunt—so flaunt or not? She got what she deserved.

Qin Huairu didn't expect Chen Hong to cleanly and decisively interrupt her spellcasting.

She had just gathered a wave of followers, intending to leverage the attention onto herself to pressure Yang Qing, but her spell was cut off halfway.

She pitifully shed tears.

"Yang Qing, it's all my fault; I didn't fulfill my mother‑in‑law's duties, causing my mother‑in‑law to act rashly and make a mistake."

"I understand; you have suffered great grievance."

"In this way, we won't ask you to withdraw the case; for the sake of the child in my womb, write a letter of forgiveness for my mother‑in‑law."

"We also won't make things difficult for you; the money my mother‑in‑law took, I will compensate you."

She said, pulling 200 from Jia Dongxu's pocket and handing it to Yang Qing.

Seeing Yang Qing not take it, she pulled out another 200.

"Of course we can't let you suffer grievance for nothing; this 200 is our family's compensation to you."

200 plus 200 makes 400, and a crowd of onlookers grew greedy.

Yi Zhonghai at this moment added fuel to the fire.

"Alright, Yang Qing, you know the Jia Family's situation; this 200 has already emptied their household, and Dong Xu still has to support his whole family."

"He can't produce any more."

Jia Dongxu also spoke at this point.

"Yang Qing, if you think it's insufficient, name an amount; when I receive my salary later, I'll give you a little at a time."