The train driver in the courtyard

Seeing that the leaders were all there, Yi Zhonghai decided to revive his former glory in the courtyard house.

When Xu Damao heard him talking nonstop, he said sarcastically, "Okay, okay, okay, okay, wait a bit before you start. Let's get down to business. Don't make it sound like a meeting with the leaders. When will this ever end?"

"You're not in a hurry. It's the weekend, and we have some activities planned since you're free."

"No!" Yi Zhonghai almost choked on his own words by Xu Damao's words.

What angered him even more was that Director Wang of the neighborhood office agreed with Xu Damao's opinion.

"Comrade Yi Zhonghai, everyone is quite busy, let's not get bogged down in these trivial matters."

"Good good!"

Yi Zhonghai suppressed his anger, nodded obediently, and looked at Jia Dongxu and Jia Zhangshi.

"The leaders from the street and the district are here today. Please explain the matter clearly to them."

Madam Jia had been waiting for most of the day, and as soon as she finished speaking, she stood up first.

She first bowed to several leaders, then took out a white cloth strip and tied it to her forehead, and then took a white cloth from Jia Ba and draped it over her body.

Everyone stared in disbelief. Suddenly, Jia Zhangshi knelt down on the ground with a thud: "Your Honor, I have been wronged! I, Jia Zhangshi, am truly innocent. I suffered misfortune since childhood, and now I am to be thrown out of the house. I must see my dead husband!"

She slammed her hands on the ground, whipped out a non-existent hair whip, and shouted at the top of her lungs: "Blood splatters on white silk, snow falls in June, and drought lasts for three years."

Jia Zhangshi's actions not only baffled the leaders, but also left the onlookers bewildered.

Li Aiguo felt the scene was familiar, but couldn't remember where he had seen it before.

"Good heavens, Dou E has been wronged!" Xu Damao, as expected of a cultural worker, was the first to recognize it.

Isn't this just a line from the Puju opera film "The Tragedy of Dou E"? Li Aiguo saw it in the cinema two years ago.

Li Aiguo also perked up.

I never expected there would be free movies, this is so damn interesting.

Inside the courtyard, Jia Zhangshi was wailing in a high-pitched voice, her voice so mournful and frightening that it gave everyone goosebumps.

Director Wang of the neighborhood office's face darkened instantly, and she glanced at Yi Zhonghai.

Yi Zhonghai was also terrified. He rushed over, helped Jia Zhangshi up, and tore off the strip of cloth in the process.

"Sister-in-law, what are you doing? This is a new society now, you can't do that anymore. If you have a grievance, you can complain to the leaders."

Seeing that Director Wang's face had darkened even more, Yi Zhonghai quickly changed his tune: "Pah, let's get down to business and reason things out."

"Brother, I am suffering! My blood has stained the white silk, snow has fallen in June, and there has been a drought for three years." Without the strips of cloth, Jia Zhangshi had no skin left, and could only wail at the top of her lungs.

She has a very loud voice, and right now, when she's straining her voice, she really sounds like Dou E from the movie.

Yi Zhonghai tried to stop him several times, but to no avail.

Finally, Director Wang of the neighborhood office couldn't stand it anymore and slammed his hand on the table: "Jia Zhangshi, let's talk this out!"

"Hey, okay."

Feeling that she had warmed up the atmosphere, Jia Zhangshi stood up and glanced around at the neighbors.

"Everyone knows that Lao Jia died young, and I raised Jia Dongxu with my own hands and feet."

He saw everyone nod.

Yes, Jia Dongxu really suffered.

As Jia Zhangshi spoke, she looked at Jia Dongxu, which made Jia Dongxu feel somewhat uneasy.

"So here's the question: after all these years of hard work, is it reasonable, legal, or justifiable to kick me out like this?"

"Harmful"

Jia Dongxu had only one thought: Where am I?!
He was about to speak when he was interrupted again.

“I know you don’t approve of my marriage to Jia Ba, and I understand that, but I also contributed to the furniture and other things in this house.”

"Back then, I went to great lengths to find you a wife. Jia Dongxu, you can't be without a conscience."

Jia Dongxu had just opened his mouth, but before he could utter a sound, he heard Jia Zhangshi speak again.

"Everyone, please be the judge. I've worked hard for the Jia family for many years, and now I can finally pursue my own happiness. Is it right for Jia Dongxu to kick me out?"

The most common way rural women argue is by raising their voices, not giving the other person a chance to speak.

Whoever shouts the loudest or interrupts first is in the right.

Jia Dongxu was a complete greenhorn in front of Jia Zhangshi.

In the courtyard, only Qin Huairu could rival her.

However, Qin Huairu has not yet evolved and can only stand by and watch.

Seeing that Jia Dongxu was speechless, the neighbors who had been watching the commotion began to chatter:
"Jia Dongxu did a really bad job."

"After all, she's his own mother."

"Yes, let's give some of it to Jia Zhangshi."

"."

Seeing that her neighbors were all on her side, Jia Zhangshi raised her right hand to her forehead and continued to shout at the top of her lungs: "Blood splatters on white silk, snow falls in June, and drought lasts for three years."

When Director Wang of the neighborhood office saw that Jia Zhangshi had started again, he slammed his fist on the table once more: "Jia Zhangshi, you've finished explaining your reasoning. Now it's Jia Dongxu's turn."

“Okay,” Jia Zhangshi obediently stood aside.

In the first round, Jia Zhangshi defeated Jia Dongxu by a large margin!
Director Wang straightened up and looked at Jia Dongxu: "What are your thoughts?"

Jia Dongxu was still reeling from the injustice done to Jia Zhangshi, when Director Wang asked him again before he finally realized what was happening.

"Director Wang, Jia Zhangshi cheated on my father. If I were to give her a share of her family property, would I be doing right by my deceased father?"

Xu Damao suddenly raised his hand: "Can I interrupt?"

Jia Dongxu rolled his eyes at him: "Don't you dare insert it."

Xu Damao raised his hand again, and Director Wang of the Subdistrict Office, looking exasperated, said, "Xu Damao, hurry up and say it!"

"Okay." Xu Damao walked into the crowd, chuckling, "Jia Dongxu, your father died a long time ago. Does your mother's remarriage count as giving your father a cuckold's horns?"

"Why doesn't it count?"

"You see, to wear a hat, you have to be a living person, right?"

“My father is dead, but he is still my father.”

"Your father is dead."

“That’s my dad too.”

"Father is dead."

"It's my father."

"father."

"Yes!" Jia Dongxu readily agreed.

Xu Damao: "."

As the two began arguing about the issue of being labeled, Director Wang slammed his fist on the table again: "Jia Dongxu, allowing women comrades to remarry is our policy, it has nothing to do with being labeled, you are not right on this point."

In the second round, Xu Damao defeated Jia Dongxu!

Madam Jia shouted at the top of her lungs: "Blood splattered on white silk, snow falling in June, three years of drought."

Director Wang of the neighborhood office frowned: "Jia Zhangshi, what are you doing?"

"Report, this is background music."

"."

Director Wang of the neighborhood office thought Jia Zhangshi had something wrong with her mind, so he ignored her and nodded at Jia Dongxu: "You continue."

Jia Dongxu took a deep breath and continued, "My father's pension from back then was all hidden by Jia Zhangshi. Not only can she not inherit any of the family property, but she also has to return all the money."

"No, that money was spent on your wedding." Madam Jia Zhang didn't care about singing anymore.

"I've given you all my previous salary."

"I'm sick, I need to buy medicine."

"..." This was the first time Jia Dongxu had witnessed the formidable nature of Jia Zhangshi as an opponent, and he was defeated in just two rounds.

He was a little unwilling.

"You've remarried now."

"I'm your mother."

"You are no longer a member of the Jia family."

"I'm your mother."

Jia Dongxu is now in an awkward position. No matter what excuse he makes, Jia Zhangshi is, after all, his mother. Round Three: Jia Zhangshi vs. Jia Dongxu – Jia Zhangshi wins decisively!
The situation on the scene quickly turned one-sided, and the district's objective was achieved. The leaders exchanged glances and nodded.

"Alright, enough of this nonsense." Director Wang of the neighborhood committee slapped the table and stood up. "Jia Zhangshi used to be a member of the Jia family. Now that she's remarried, she should also have a share of the property. What do you all think?"

The residents in the compound all nodded in agreement, since Jia Dongxu's reasons were untenable.

Director Wang frowned when he saw Yi Zhonghai standing there motionless: "Old Yi, what's your opinion?"

"Yes, yes, we should give it to them. We should respect the elderly and care for the young." Yi Zhonghai originally didn't want to offend Jia Dongxu, but now he was forced into the situation and could only agree.

Jia Dongxu never expected to be hit by the boomerang of "respecting the elderly and caring for the young," a tactic they used to deal with the residents back then.

It's a certainty that Jia Zhangshi will have a share of the Jia family's assets.

However, there was no set rules or precedents for how to allocate the funds.

Director Wang from the neighborhood office asked a few questions, but everyone's opinions differed.

Some people believe that Jia Zhangshi, being an elder, should receive the lion's share.

Some people thought that since Jia Zhangshi had already married out, they should just give her something to get rid of her.

He Yushui and Shazhu had separated their families before, but their family situation was simple.

Now that the Jia family has many members, and Qin Huairu is pregnant, how should they divide the property?

Director Wang of the neighborhood office was clearly prepared. He discussed the matter with several leaders and then asked Uncle San to bring paper and pen.

He took it out and started writing quickly on the square table.

"Director, what are you writing?" The old man, being a cultured man, craned his neck to take a look.

Just as the old man was about to peek, Director Wang put down his pen and said:
"Old Yan, take a look, there's no problem. Sign your name as guarantor first."

"What? Sign it if there's no problem?" The old man picked up the paper and looked at it carefully.

Residents who had come to watch the commotion gathered around.

How should the Jia family's assets be divided?

"Uncle, don't just look at it yourself, read it to me!"

"Yeah yeah."

The old man coughed once, facing the enthusiastic residents, and read aloud:

"The personal property owned by Jia Zhangshi before her remarriage belongs to her personally, and she has the right to dispose of it freely after her remarriage."

The moment the first sentence was read, the surrounding area erupted in chaos.

"That's true, it originally belonged to someone else."

"Does Jia Zhangshi have any personal property?"

"that is."

Jia Dongxu excitedly raised his head: "I heard my father say that when my mother married into the family, her only possessions were a set of clothes and a flower hair tie."

The third uncle glanced at him and continued reading:
"Since Old Jia has passed away, Jia Zhangshi is entitled to a share of Old Jia's property. Considering the actual situation of the Jia family, and that Qin Huairu is pregnant, Jia Zhangshi is entitled to one-seventh of the Jia family's total assets."

Before the third uncle had finished reading, Xu Damao saw Jia Dongxu and started to panic.

As soon as the old man finished reading, Xu Damao immediately added fuel to the fire: "We support the neighborhood committee's decision! We would appreciate it if everyone could be a witness."

As he spoke, he took a piece of paper and went to ask people to sign it.

"Just sign here, yes, yes, this is it. What, you can't write? No problem, we have ink pads, you can just leave your fingerprint here."

Seeing this, Jia Dongxu could no longer sit still. He grabbed Xu Damao and shouted, "Xu Damao, I saw it coming a long time ago! You just don't want my country to have a good life. Are you even human?!"

Xu Damao wasn't going to tolerate Jia Dongxu this time. He shoved him hard, making him stumble and almost fall to the ground, and shouted at him:

“Jia Dongxu, do you understand the importance of respecting the elderly and caring for the young? Besides, this is a decision made by the neighborhood committee. What’s wrong with it? Do you want to go against it?”

After saying that, he pointed at Jia Dongxu's nose and continued loudly, "I'm worried you'll make a mistake, it's for your own good, understand?"

Seeing that Jia Dongxu remained silent, Xu Damao scolded him even more harshly: "Let me tell you, Jia Dongxu, there's something wrong with your thinking. You should go to a study group to learn."

After scolding Jia Dongxu, Xu Damao turned to look at the three stewards.

"Grandpa, Grandpa, Grandpa, do you support the decision of the neighborhood committee?"

Upon hearing this, the three stewards dared not object and immediately raised their hands in agreement.

"This is a good decision, as it takes into account both fairness and the actual situation of the Jia family."

"Actually, Jia Dongxu has already benefited."

"I'll sign."

The three stewards signed their names as guarantors, as did the residents of the compound, and even Li Aiguo wrote his name.

In fact, what the three stewards said was correct. If the distribution method of later generations were followed, Jia Zhangshi would have received at least one-third of the property.

Jia Dongxu still wanted to cause trouble, but Qin Huairu grabbed his arm, glared at him fiercely, and looked towards Director Wang, inwardly complaining that Jia Dongxu was being unreasonable.

It's obvious that the district and the subdistrict office have already discussed this; today's meeting is just a formality. If you insist on causing trouble, you're just asking for trouble.

Anyway, the Jia family is so poor they're practically starving, how much wealth could they possibly have?

After realizing this, Jia Dongxu glared at Xu Damao, but still signed the agreement in the end.

Upon receiving the agreement, both Jia Zhangshi and Jia Ba became excited.

"Give us the money, hurry up! We won't ask for more than a hundred yuan."

"what?"

Everyone present was shocked upon hearing Jia Zhangshi's words.

One hundred dollars!
That's three months' salary!

"Jia Zhangshi, you're too cruel!" Upon hearing Jia Zhangshi's words, Jia Dongxu was indignant and jumped up and shouted.

"What? You call this ruthless?" Jia Zhangshi felt that Jia Dongxu was not cooperating, so she clapped her hands together and shouted at the top of her lungs, "Blood splatters on white silk, snow falls in June, and drought lasts for three years."

At this moment, Qin Huairu, who had remained silent until now, stepped forward.

"Mom, you know our family's situation. We don't have that much money. How about we give you all our assets and you give us seven hundred yuan?"

Upon hearing this, her voice choked with emotion, and Jia Zhangshi's face flushed red.

Jia Ba's eyes lit up as he said, "Furniture, houses, all these things combined can be worth quite a bit of money."

"The house was rented by the steel mill, not by the Jia family. As for the furniture, feel free to move it if you want."

Qin Huairu's words left everyone stunned.

No one stood up to refute her, not even Xu Damao, because everyone knew that Qin Huairu was right.

"Also, the noodles in the jar were bought with Dongxu's salary last month, and have nothing to do with Jia Zhangshi."

"You!" Jia Ba was so angry that his nose almost twisted. He had worked so hard for so many days, and all he got were a few pieces of broken furniture.

Jia Ba glared at Jia Zhangshi, who then began to wail at the top of her lungs: "Blood splattered on white silk, snow falling in June, three years of drought."

Director Wang of the neighborhood office stood up and said coldly, "Mrs. Jia, the neighborhood office has already resolved your family's problem. What, are you still causing trouble? Are you trying to deliberately create chaos?"

"Huh?!" Jia Zhangshi shrank back and dared not utter a sound.

What else could she say? If she angered the neighborhood committee now, they would dare to send her back to the police station without hesitation.

Jia Zhangshi didn't want to be locked up for a few more days.

"Yes, and the furniture too!" Jia Zhangshi could only say helplessly.

Subsequently, the three stewards stepped forward again and divided the Jia family's belongings into seven parts.

Jia Zhangshi was given a bed, a stool, and two tattered quilts.

Jia Ba led the donkey cart, loaded the goods onto the cart, and drove off with Jia Zhangshi.

The residents in the compound enjoyed a delicious melon meal.

The district and the street authorities designated this incident as a model, providing a template for the future division of neighborhoods.

It's a win-win situation.

When Jia Dongxu saw that Jia Zhangshi had left, his heart, which had been hanging in mid-air, finally settled down.

"No matter what, we will never have to deal with Jia Zhangshi again."

He returned to the house and suddenly remembered something.

"Qin Huairu, how are we going to sleep tonight?"

Jia Dongxu felt that he was the only one who was hurt.

(Three chapters today, please vote with monthly tickets) (End of this chapter)