Siheyuan: The Era of Struggle

Chapter 375: The Stupid He Yuanchao

"Father-in-law, I told you that Xiao Zhao is a good child. This is all my fault."

As she spoke, the smile on Zhang Zhao's mother-in-law's face instantly turned into regret, and her eyes began to turn red, as if tears would fall at the next moment.

"If I hadn't been ill and unable to go to work, and if it hadn't been for the fact that I was in trouble for my family, Xiao Zhao would have seen how tight our family was, and the child wouldn't have done such a foolish thing. My father-in-law blames me for this, so if you want to blame someone, blame me."

Zhang Zhao's mother-in-law choked up after saying these two sentences. Her throat seemed to be blocked by something and she didn't speak again. The moment she lowered her head, tears suddenly flowed out.

Seeing this scene, Zhang Lide frowned involuntarily, and He Yuanchao on the side showed an undisguised look of ridicule in his eyes.

It must be said that Zhang Zhao's mother-in-law's acting skills are better than all the current movie stars. Even the most popular Wang Danfeng would have to admit defeat.

Her acting skills, her tears, and her little expressions were all perfectly executed. If someone didn't know her family situation, they would most likely be fooled by her.

According to his mother-in-law Ma Xiufang, Zhang Zhao's father-in-law's family has a total of six people, including adults and children. Except for the youngest Zhang Dongdong who goes to school, the other five are all employed.

Zhang Zhao's father-in-law works at the Quyang County Education Bureau as a level 19 deputy section chief, earning 80 yuan a month. His mother-in-law also works at the Education Bureau as a level 21 section officer, earning 63 yuan a month. Even if they have retired due to illness and are no longer working, their salaries will not be much less.

Lv Wenli, Zhang Zhao's wife, is a teacher at the No. 1 Middle School in the county, with a monthly salary of 42 yuan. The youngest and least promising son of the Lu family is also a formal worker, working in the county machinery factory. Although he does not work hard, he can still get a salary of about 20 yuan per month.

Adding Zhang Zhao's salary of 101 yuan, the Lu family's monthly salary income is about 300 yuan, which basically exceeds 80% of families in the country.

If even families like this are complaining that they can't make ends meet, then how are ordinary families across the country expected to survive? How are families of seven or eight with only 40 to 50 yuan income per month expected to survive? How are people in the countryside who earn only a few dollars a year from work points expected to survive?

Pretentious, hypocritical, whining, selfish and extremely sophisticated egoism.

He Yuanchao couldn't stand people like Zhang Zhao's mother-in-law. Seeing that she was still wiping her tears with her head down, he wanted to say something to her. But just as he was about to open his mouth, he saw his father-in-law Zhang Lide shaking his head to signal him not to speak, so he closed his mouth reluctantly.

Zhang Zhao's mother-in-law choked for a while. Seeing that neither Zhang Lide nor He Yuanchao spoke to comfort her, she looked up in surprise.

Seeing the two grown men looking at her with sharp eyes, she felt a little embarrassed for a moment.

But after all, he is an 'old actor', so he quickly calmed down and said aggrievedly:

"My dear father-in-law, I'm sorry to have embarrassed you. It is said that family disgrace should not be made public, but in the current situation, life at home is really difficult.

I am not so sick. I am the first one to be fed and drank at home. Wenli’s father and brother don’t eat enough every day, especially Xiaodong. He always comes home and complains to me that he is hungry. I am so worried…”

At this point, Zhang Zhao's mother-in-law seemed to have thought of something sad and started crying again.

He Yuanchao had been quite experienced since he started working at the steel mill, and he could basically control his emotions. But when he saw Zhang Zhao's mother-in-law acting like that, he gritted his teeth but still couldn't help it.

"Aunt, our country is a bit short of supplies right now, but for a multi-employee family like yours, as long as you live carefully in your daily life, it shouldn't be that difficult, right?
To take a step back, if it is really like what you said, then I have reason to suspect that your unit or the local government has withheld your daily necessities. Otherwise, let's go to your unit or the relevant government department to ask, if there is really favoritism and fraud in withholding supplies, I will report it to the relevant department after returning to Kyoto and ask for an explanation for you."

Family members know their own affairs, and Zhang Zhao's mother-in-law knows the family situation better than anyone else.

No one in my family works hard to earn money. Although the amount of food distributed is reduced every month and the situation is a bit tight, we can still fill our stomachs by exchanging more coarse grains.

Why didn't I think before I spoke? Oh! It was also my fault that I was too anxious and didn't think of a reasonable excuse.

She was thinking about how to smooth over the matter. He Yuanchao, who had just finished speaking, saw that Zhang Zhao's mother-in-law did not respond, and stood up to leave.

Seeing this, Zhang Zhao's mother-in-law subconsciously asked, "Xiao He, where are you going?"

He Yuanchao stopped walking and turned to look at Zhang Zhao's mother-in-law. He said with a serious expression, "I will go to the Quyang County Government now and find out about the food supply situation in your area from the relevant departments."

After saying this, He Yuanchao turned around and walked out in a hurry without any further delay, as if the issue of grain supply in Quyang County was closely related to him.

When Zhang Zhao's mother-in-law saw this, her head felt like it had been hit hard by a stick. It was buzzing and she was stunned for a moment before she came to her senses.

If an ordinary person said this, she would not care too much, but He Yuanchao was from Kyoto, and most importantly, he was Zhang Lide's son-in-law. He had been an official in the imperial city for more than ten years. Who knew what kind of connections and background he had.

Besides, life is generally difficult these days and her family is still well off. If this matter is brought to the attention of the government or the unit, and they really get serious about it, her family will definitely be the one that suffers in the end.

Although it is true that a strong dragon cannot defeat a local snake, if a young and inexperienced He Yuanchao stirs up trouble and the locals interfere, the result will be hard to predict.

Thinking of the possible consequences, Zhang Zhao's mother-in-law no longer cared about her acting skills. She stood up with a "teng" and hurried out of the house.

"Xiao He, please stop. Whether you are going to the government or the workplace, can we sit together and discuss it before going?"

He Yuanchao just wanted to scare Zhang Zhao's mother-in-law, and didn't intend to really go to any unit or government. It wasn't his family's food rations, so he wouldn't care how much or how little was distributed!
Seeing Zhang Zhao's mother-in-law blocking his way, he stopped and stood in front of the door.

"Don't worry, Auntie. I'll go to your workplace and talk to your leaders to see if they have withheld our food rations. If anyone is playing tricks, I'll definitely get an explanation from you."

As he said this, he raised his leg as if to walk out.

Don’t you love acting? Since you have nothing to do right now, I will act with you for a while.

Seeing that He Yuanchao was stubborn and refused to listen to advice and was determined to go to her unit, Zhang Zhao's mother-in-law was so anxious that she was sweating. She was racking her brains to think of what she could say to keep him here when she suddenly heard the door of her house being opened.

"What's the big deal? Do I have to go to the company to talk to the leader?"

(End of this chapter)