A hundred flavors of life

Chapter 1435 Recruiting Lin Wufeng! (Please Subscribe!)
Grandpa Zhuang was taken to the hospital, where tests revealed that his symptoms were caused by high blood pressure and that he was fine. The Zhuang family breathed a sigh of relief.

When Zhuang Ganmei and his wife rushed to the hospital, after hearing Grandma Zhuang's complaint, they pointed at Hua Shier and were about to start criticizing him.

Huawei 12 preemptively launched a counterattack:
"How can you be such a son? Your grandfather is old and has high blood pressure, so don't let him run around. It's only at my uncle's house that he has an attack. If he had an attack on the street, people would think he was trying to scam someone. They would think, 'What kind of family do you have?' It would damage your reputation, don't you understand?"

"I"

Zhuang Ganmei had barely uttered a single word when Hua Shier immediately retorted:

"Yes, I'm talking about you. Even though you are that kind of person, it's not good to involve us!"

"And if you can't afford to raise a son yourself, just give one away and make your old man beg for food. Have you no shame?!"

Zhuang Ganmei blushed and wanted to curse, "You little brat!"

Hua Twelve interrupted directly:
"Calling me 'Little Ancestor' won't change anything. Even if we're relatives, I won't say anything if you're wrong?"

"Your uncle raised two children, and you're going to raise two children too. If others can afford to raise them, why can't you?"

"You're a grown man. Look in the mirror every day and reflect on yourself. Are you lazy, greedy, and cunning? Have you not worked hard enough? Have you been indulging in eating, drinking, gambling, and who has spent all your money on?"

"After all these years, you haven't saved a single penny?"

"How can you be a son, a father, a husband?"

Zhuang Ganmei's face turned red at first, then she was sprayed until she was short of breath, and then her vision went black and she suddenly fainted.

Zhuang Chaoying quickly helped her up, and Grandma Zhuang and Ganmei's wife called out with tearful voices:

"Ganmei, Ganmei, what's wrong with you? Doctor, doctor!"

After examination, it was found that Zhuang Ganmei's fainting was caused by a sudden drop in blood pressure due to emotional excitement, resulting in insufficient blood supply to the brain. She was not seriously injured.

Zhuang Ganmei's wife immediately tried to argue with Hua Shier, and Zhuang Chaoying couldn't stop her.

Hua Shier looked at his second aunt and said, "Now I'll address your question."

Before he could finish speaking, the beautiful wife felt a chill run down her spine. Thinking of her father-in-law's high blood pressure and her husband's low blood pressure, she immediately cowered and turned to go into the ward, not wanting to say another word to Hua Shier.

Hua Shier then turned his gaze to Grandma Zhuang: "Grandma, I have something on my mind, but I don't know if I should say it!"

Grandma Zhuang's hair stood on end: "I'm a little thirsty, I'm going to the restroom."

After saying that, he made a tactical move, jogging away with remarkable agility.

Zhuang Chaoying pointed at Hua Shier: "You, you, look how angry you've made your grandfather and second uncle! I don't even know what to say to you!"

Huang Ling watched her mother-in-law's retreating figure, a smile playing on her lips, and whispered:

"Chaoying, have you noticed that your mother has never walked so nimbly since she broke her leg that year? Look, she's even jogging now. Don't you think Pengfei cured her leg problem with just a few words?"

Zhuang Chaoying was speechless; he felt he couldn't manage this family anymore.

Hua Shier wanted to stay at the hospital with her grandparents a little longer, but Zhuang Chaoying sent her back home.
"Take Xiaoting home right away! If your grandfather sees you again, his blood pressure will never come down!"

Hua Shier suggested, "Then I'll go keep my second uncle company; he has low blood pressure."

Zhuang Ganmei: Don't come any closer!

Grandpa Zhuang and Zhuang Ganmei are both in good condition. Once Hua Shier leaves, they will be halfway recovered and will be discharged from the hospital and go home after their IV drips are finished.

Zhuang Chaoying and Huang Ling returned home. The former felt increasingly uneasy, and upon entering the room and sitting on the bed, she began to criticize Hua Shier:
"Pengfei, you're becoming more and more outrageous!"

Huang Ling quickly stood up to protect her son:

"Chaoying, wait a minute. I won't stop you from criticizing Pengfei. You're his uncle, and you have a responsibility to educate him. But if you're going to criticize Pengfei because of what happened today, I'd like to ask you: what did Pengfei say today that was wrong?"

Zhuang Chaoying was stumped by his wife's question.

Was Hua Shier wrong to say that Grandpa Zhuang has a retirement pension? No!
If my father just takes out a portion of his retirement pension, wouldn't the problem of catching up with the US be solved?

And Pengfei's words about catching up with the US, although harsh, are clear to everyone today: the old men and women coming here are trying to catch up with the US.

Zhuang Chaoying sighed and looked at Hua Shier: "Pengfei, you can't talk to your elders like that. It's too impolite. You need to be polite."

Hua Twelve laughed:
"Uncle, if we're being polite, this matter won't be easy to explain!"

"My second uncle's factory can't pay wages, but my eldest aunt can't pay wages either. Why should you be the one to subsidize my second uncle?"

“I said last time that the money my grandparents saved, and the old house, were all left to my second uncle. There’s no reason for you to subsidize him. Isn’t that blatantly bullying our family?”

Zhuang Chaoying wanted to say that this wasn't bullying, but rather a bit of favoritism, but the words turned into a bitter smile:
"I'm the older brother, it's only right that I help my younger brother!"

"But that only applies if they really need help!"

Hua Twelve continued:
"Grandpa's retirement pension isn't being used to help my second uncle. Grandma's idea is to cut off my and Xiaoting's milk supply and use it to supplement Zhendong and Zhenbei's nutrition. I don't know how she could say such a thing!"

"You don't want our family to live a life of hardship, do you? You don't want Xiaoting to suffer, do you? Then someone has to stand up and say these things, and be the villain!"

Hua Shier shrugged:

"You're not suitable to be the villain, and neither is my aunt. Only I, as a junior, am the most suitable. Because I'm young, whatever I say is just childish talk. If they take it seriously, it won't be good for them if word gets out. Don't you agree?"

Huang Ling covered her mouth and laughed, while Zhuang Chaoying looked at his wife with a dark face. The former explained:

"Pengfei is the most eloquent person I've ever met; even Song Ying is no match for him!"

After Huang Ling finished speaking, she stopped covering her mouth and started giggling:

“Good nephew, what you said is exactly what your aunt thinks, but if your aunt said these words, she would really be known as a wicked daughter-in-law.”

Zhuang Xiaoting, who had been somewhat apprehensive, now smiled and secretly gave Hua Shier a thumbs-up from an angle where Zhuang Chaoying couldn't see.

Zhuang Chaoying sighed and finally admitted:
"Pengfei, you're right. Your uncle has to thank you for what happened today!"

He suddenly had a feeling that he might have gone stupid from teaching. His nephew, a high school student, seemed to see things more clearly and understand more than he, an adult.

The matter did not end there. After Grandpa Zhuang was discharged from the hospital, the family became increasingly angry.

Just after Zhuang Hualin arrived in Tianjin, he called and left his contact number. Grandma Zhuang called back and gave her a good scolding, telling her daughter to teach her son a lesson.

The next day, Zhuang Hualin called the Li family's public phone, looking for Hua Shier:

“Son, although your grandparents and I have had some disagreements, I am still their daughter, and you are their grandson. No matter what happens between us adults, you, as the younger generation, cannot disrespect them.”

Hua Twelve only said one sentence:

"Grandma wants to stop giving me milk and give Zhendong and Zhenbei more nutrition, saying they are still growing!"

Zhuang Hualin paused for a moment, then refused to continue:

"Why should I sacrifice for this family? You made me sacrifice for this family back then, and now you're bullying my son. Pengfei, don't be afraid, with your mother here, no one can bully you!"

Hua Shier laughed and said, "Don't worry, no one can bully me. I'm already being nice by not bullying them."

After hanging up the phone, Zhuang Hualin became increasingly angry. She called her family home from a public phone and asked Aunt Wang to call them.

When Grandma Zhuang came to answer the phone, Zhuang Hualin had a big argument with his mother.

Grandma Zhuang was furious after hanging up the phone and complained to Aunt Wang:

"I've raised this daughter for nothing, and that grandson of mine, it's just like the old saying goes, a grandson is like a dog that eats and then leaves!"

Aunt Wang grimaced as she cracked sunflower seeds:
"Auntie, don't say that. Everyone knows what happened to Hualin. Back then, you insisted on giving the factory job to Ganmei and sending Hualin to the countryside in Guizhou. Do you think it's easy for a girl like her? Look at other families with both sons and daughters, who doesn't send their sons to the countryside to suffer while keeping their daughters at home? You two are just biased!"

"And everyone in this area knows that when your grandson came to Suzhou, you wouldn't take him in. He stayed at Chaoying's house, and Huang Ling took care of him. He hasn't eaten a single meal at your house in years, and you even cut off his milk. What do you expect from him?!"

"If the elders can't have the right mindset and can't treat everyone equally, they shouldn't accuse the younger generation of being unfilial. They should first examine whether they themselves have done the same!"

Grandma Zhuang blushed deeply at his words: "You, how did you know?"

Aunt Wang spat out a mouthful of sunflower seed shells:

"Your grandson said so? He came over yesterday and chatted with all the old ladies in our neighborhood for an entire afternoon. He told us everything, and he talked like a storyteller. We were completely engrossed. You can't lie about this now!" Grandma Zhuang was speechless and turned to leave.

Aunt Wang quickly called out from behind, "It costs one cent to answer the phone, Auntie, you need to put it on the tab!"

Grandma Zhuang was so angry she was trembling. She came back, took out a dime, and slapped it next to the telephone: "Here you go!"

Watching Grandma Zhuang's departing figure, Aunt Wang curled her lip and thought to herself, "She's so biased, how dare she complain to Hualin? Bah, shameless!"

From that day on, the Zhuang family noticed that every time they went out, their neighbors would point and whisper behind their backs.

This is what it feels like to be talked about behind your back; it's incredibly painful.

Grandpa Zhuang, Grandma Zhuang, and Zhuang Ganmei and his wife were all furious at Hua Shier's 'storytelling'. They thought that most families would keep their dirty laundry in the dark, but Hua had spread the news everywhere.

So they often say at home that their grandson or nephew is a good-for-nothing.

This caused Zhuang Zhendong and Zhuang Zhenbei to have many complaints about Hua Twelve.

These two brothers had been beaten up by Hua Shier before. Several years had passed, and the brothers had grown up. When they heard their elders talking badly about the former, and learned that the reason their family was being talked about behind their backs was related to that cousin, old and new grudges surged into their hearts.

After school that day, Hua Shier was riding his bicycle with Wu Shanshan on his back when they were stopped by Zhuang Zhendong and Zhuang Zhenbei.

Hua stopped the car, braced himself on one foot, and looked at the two brothers with a smile:
"Hey, isn't this Zhendong and Zhenbei? What are you two doing here?"

Zhuang Zhendong clutched his military-green canvas backpack tightly with one hand, his tone somewhat stiff:
"Xiang Pengfei, come down here, we have something to say to you!"

Wu Shanshan sensed something was off and asked softly, "Pengfei, who are they?"

"My brother."

Hua Shier answered easily, but his gaze fell on the schoolbags that the two of them hadn't let go of, and his smile deepened:

"Is there a brick or a kitchen knife in the backpack?"

Zhuang Zhendong gritted his teeth: "What do you care about pretending! Do you dare to go chat in the alley next door!" Alley is the Suzhou term, which means hutong (traditional alleyway).

"Pengfei, don't go!" Wu Shanshan grabbed the back rack of the bicycle.

Zhuang Zhenbei shouted from the side, "Xiang Pengfei, if you're a man, come with me into the alley!"

Hua Shier got out of the car: "Since we've come this far, let's go inside and talk."

He patted Wu Shanshan's hand: "Don't worry, you know me, I'll be fine."

Wu Shanshan shook her head and lowered her voice: "What I meant was, go easy on them, don't really hurt them."

Zhuang Zhendong and Zhuang Zhenbei: "."

Hua Shier left Wu Shanshan outside to watch the bicycles while he and the two brothers turned into the alley next door.

As soon as they entered, Zhendong and Zhenbei hurriedly pulled two bricks out of their schoolbags.

Hua Shier found it amusing. Before they could even raise their arms, he swiftly reached out and grabbed the last two ribs of each of them.

Two cries of pain rang out as the brick hit the ground with a thud. The two brothers immediately went limp on one side, breaking out in a cold sweat.

"Stop yelling!"

Hua Shier didn't loosen his grip: "Speak properly. If you call out again, I'll really go all out."

Zhuang Zhendong and Zhuang Zhenbei were in excruciating pain and could only beg for mercy: "Let go, let go now!"

Hua Shier, on the contrary, increased his pressure by three points: "Who are you talking to? You have no manners!"

"Brother Pengfei, it hurts so much to let go!"

"Why would I press on you if it didn't hurt?" Hua Shier laughed. "Letting go is out of the question. Didn't you want to talk? Let's talk like this!"

Ignoring their grimaces, he continued talking to himself:
"I can probably guess why you're here to ambush me. You're all in middle school now. Whether your grades are good or not is another matter, but you should at least understand the principles of being a good person."

“Your father and grandmother went to your eldest uncle’s house a few days ago and asked him to stop giving me and Xiaoting milk and instead give your family thirty yuan a month, saying it was to supplement your nutrition.”

"Holy crap, you guys are stealing milk from Xiaoting! Tell me, is this even right? Don't you have any shame?"

Zhuang Zhendong and Zhuang Zhenbei came to cause trouble because they felt ashamed that their family was being talked about.

Now that Hua Shier has exposed him to his face, his face turns red and white in turns, and he can't say a word.

Seeing their reaction, Hua Shier let go of their hands.

The two men were bent over, wanting to rub their ribs but not daring to touch them, looking quite disheveled.

"You need to think things through yourself more often, and don't follow the older generation's example of being biased!"

“Your father was spoiled by your grandparents and can’t stand on his own two feet. I think you two will be just as capable soon.”

That's so blunt, it's like being slapped in the face.

Zhuang Zhendong and Zhuang Zhenbei stared at each other, their faces full of dissatisfaction.

Hua Shier then grabbed the two men's ribs on the other side:

"What, you don't accept it?"

"I give up," the two said, their voices trembling with pain.

"Am I right or wrong?"

"You're right about everything. Let go, bro, it hurts too much!"

"That's more like it." Hua Shier released his hand with satisfaction. "Alright, go home early."

He turned and walked out of the alley, got on his bike, and drove away with Wu Shanshan in his car.

In the alley, Zhendong and Zhenbei faced each other in silence, wanting to cry but unable to shed a tear.

They came to teach someone a lesson, but ended up being taught a lesson themselves. Both of their ribs were numb with pain, and they couldn't straighten their backs. The two brothers were hunched over, looking like Liu Luoguo (a legendary hunchbacked monk).

Zhuang Zhenbei complained, "How come he's so amazing? But what he said seems to make some sense!"

Zhuang Zhendong nodded, his expression complex.

During the summer vacation of 85, Zhuang Tunan did not return to Suzhou, but instead went to Yunyao with teachers and students from the Department of Architecture at Tongji University to conduct surveying.

Zhang Amei's daughter, Zhang Min, has completed all the courses at the textile technical school after two years of study. As is customary, she will be interning at a cotton mill after the summer vacation.

But Zhang Min herself didn't want to do it anymore, saying she couldn't endure the hardship and wanted to learn beauty and hairdressing, so the Wu family was in turmoil throughout the holiday.

In the second half of the year, Hua Shier and Wu Shanshan entered their senior year of high school, and the countdown to the college entrance examination began.

Just then, a misfortune befell the Lin family.

At first, it was a good thing. Lin Wufeng was included in the candidate list for deputy director of the transformer factory because of his excellent performance and outstanding achievements.

But then trouble struck. His competitors seized on his weakness and reported that Lin Wufeng had sold off factory technology and was suspected of economic crimes.

In reality, they discovered that Lin Wufeng had gone to a collective enterprise to provide technical guidance.

This wouldn't be a big deal in later years, but at that time, it was shortly after the reform and opening up, and many policies were still unclear. Some people made a big deal out of it, and the problem could easily escalate.

Lin Wufeng was not only stripped of his eligibility to be nominated as deputy director by the transformer factory, but was also suspended from his post for self-reflection. According to the factory, he may also face legal trouble.

Suddenly, the entire Lin family was shrouded in gloom.

After careful consideration, Lin Wufeng decided to head south to Pengcheng to develop his career there.

At this time, Li Yiming, at the behest of Hua Twelve, visited Lin Wufeng and invited him to work as an engineer in their factory to develop home appliances such as refrigerators and air conditioners under their own brand.

　Thanks to brother 08a for the donation, and thanks to the brothers who voted with monthly tickets and recommendation tickets, thank you very much!

　　(End of this chapter)