Siheyuan: Relieve stress and relieve worries

Chapter 1087 Zhonghai's Methods
After listening to Yan Jiekuang's story, the water in the teapot had dried up. Wang Zhan then made another iron kettle of water on the stove. Wang Zhan looked at Yan Jiekuang with a mocking expression and said, "You've been rambling on to me for so long. Did you come here today just to freeload a meal? You've eaten, but I dare not ask too many questions about what's going on in your compound. There are a bunch of monsters and demons there."

Yan Jiekuang was stunned. Although he came for a good meal, he also wanted to hear Wang Zhan's analysis of the upcoming meeting. He wanted to understand some things, but there were still some things he didn't quite understand. When he heard that Wang Zhan had no interest in listening, he became a little discouraged.

Wang Zhan looked at Yan Jiekuang, who was hanging his head, and said, "You're just a kid, why are you thinking so much? Your parents have been short of food and clothing for you. Go to school and eat when you should. What's the use of thinking too much?"

Yan Jiekuang muttered under his breath, "They're all short, and they're still cutting back on my food rations."

"What did you say? Stop complaining so much. Life is like this: whether you're happy or frowning, it's still a day. Finding joy in hardship is also a state of mind. Forget it, you wouldn't understand if I said more. Think about it yourself, kid. Have you eaten yet? If you're full, get lost," Wang Zhan said.

A little brat who doesn't study properly and thinks about power and intrigue all day long, isn't that absurd? Yan Jiekuang made Wang Zhan very unhappy. Fortunately, as the sun set, the hen in the small garden dutifully laid two eggs, which were given to his younger sister as a treat during their evening snack.

Wang Zhan lit a cigarette, squatted down in front of his house, and greeted the neighbors who passed by as he smoked. The sound of "Have you eaten?" echoed through the alley.

As the sun set, golden rays illuminated the entire No. 95 courtyard. Yan Bugui stood guard at the entrance as always. "Oh, Sister Wang, where did you buy this spinach? It's so fresh and green. My husband hasn't been feeling well lately and keeps craving some vegetables."

Old Man Jin's daughter-in-law in the backyard, unable to refuse, grabbed a handful and gave it to Yan Bugui. Only then did Yan Bugui step aside at the doorway and say, "It has to be the Jin family's daughter-in-law. She looks like a kind person. Good people will surely be rewarded."

"Who is this? They've struck it rich! Such a big roast duck! Let me see, let me see!" Yan Bugui's eyes were already drawn to the roast duck, and he didn't even look at the person carrying it.

"Old coward Yan, get your filthy hands off me! This is not your place to touch! My grandson hasn't even eaten yet! Try touching it and see what happens!" Jia Zhangshi's unique howl rang out.

Yan Bugui then looked up and saw that it was Jia Zhangshi. He immediately felt terrible, wondering how he had run into such a shrew. Just as he was about to turn around and leave, he suddenly realized something was wrong. Just two days ago, everyone had donated money to her family. How come the lady of the house was eating roast duck? This was not right.

In fact, many residents in the front yard had already seen Jia Zhangshi carrying roast duck. Although they did not go up to ask her anything, they were very angry. They had all donated money to her family and Old Lady Yang's family. Have you ever seen someone who is being helped eat better than the person who is helping them?

Yan Bugui was furious. He had only intended to donate one yuan as a token gesture, but Sha Zhu forced him to increase it to three yuan. His whole family had never eaten roast duck before, yet this family that was receiving aid was eating it. Yan Bugui asked sternly, "Jia Zhangshi, where did you get this roast duck?"

"What, are you envious? I bought it. My grandson doesn't have a good appetite, so he needs some nourishment. I specially lined up early this morning to buy it. Do you have a problem with that?" Jia Zhangshi said arrogantly.

"You're shameless! We just donated money to your family a couple of days ago, how could you eat roast duck? Isn't your family struggling? We gave them a total of over thirty yuan, and you spent eight yuan on this roast duck? Aren't you cheating everyone in our compound?" Yan Bugui was furious. Following Yan Bugui's outburst, the neighbors also began to criticize him, quickly surrounding Jia Zhangshi, who was carrying the roast duck.

It was the time when the steel rolling mill was closing. While Jia Zhangshi was still arguing with her neighbors in the front yard, Yi Zhonghai and his men from the steel rolling mill returned. As they approached the gate, they heard the commotion in the front yard. Yi Zhonghai quickened his pace, went around the screen wall, and shouted, "What's all this noise about? We can hear you all over the alley. Aren't you ashamed?"

When Yan Bugui saw Yi Zhonghai, his eyes turned red. He took two steps forward, pulled Yi Zhonghai to Jia Zhangshi's side, and said, "Come here, Uncle, our beloved Uncle, this is the poor family you told us about. She just donated money a couple of days ago and then carried a whole roast duck home herself. Tell me, is her family really poor or not? My child is still only half full."

It was only then that Yi Zhonghai realized that the residents of the front yard had surrounded Jia Zhangshi. Upon closer inspection, he saw that Jia Zhangshi was carrying a tempting roast duck dripping with oil in one hand and a paper bag in the other, which clearly read "Quanjude".

Yi Zhonghai was at a loss for words. He glared angrily at Jia Zhangshi. "You old hag, you can buy it if you want, but you can't do it behind people's backs! You don't know how much effort I put into your family the other day, and I even spent more than fifty yuan of my own money. I finally managed to let everyone know that your family was in trouble so that everyone could help out in the future. And now you've ruined all my plans."

Yi Zhonghai was still very shrewd. He watched Jia Zhangshi calmly. At this moment, Jia Zhangshi also knew that she had caused trouble, and her eyes darted around as she thought of a solution.

Yi Zhonghai glared at her and said, "Sister-in-law, what are you doing? Who gave you this duck?"

Upon hearing Yi Zhonghai's question, Jia Zhangshi immediately understood and burst into tears, sobbing as she said, "Uncle, you don't know, I had nothing to do, so I thought I'd ease the burden on my family and went to collect garbage. On my way, I met a kind man driving a car. He saw how pitiful I was and asked if I had eaten. I said I hadn't, but he's a rich man, so he bought me a roast duck from the nearby Quanjude restaurant. I thought about how my children were hungry, so I didn't eat it. That's why I brought it back tonight."

The neighbors who were gathered around were dumbfounded. They thought the matter could be explained away like this, and they would be fools to believe it. But since Jia Zhangshi had said it, no one had any objections for the time being. After all, none of them had witnessed the scene or seen Jia Zhangshi buying the ducks herself.

Yan Bugui, however, was indignant. He looked at Jia Zhangshi and said, "Are you kidding me? You're the kind of person who wouldn't even pick up a fallen soy sauce bottle. You're going to go out and pick up trash? Where are you going to pick up trash? Do you want us to accompany you for a walk?"

Yi Zhonghai was furious when he heard Yan Bugui's words, but he didn't say anything on the surface. Although Jia Zhangshi was making things up, he was still giving her a way out. Everyone could just let it go regardless of whether it was true or not. It seemed that only Yan Bugui was unwilling to let it go.

Yi Zhonghai thought for a moment and said, "Third Uncle, you can't say that. Everyone has their own opinions. Let's put this matter aside for now, go home, have a meal, and if you have any objections, come and talk to us three uncles when you have time."

Everyone was waiting for Yan Bugui to retaliate, but to everyone's surprise, Yan Bugui went home without saying a word.

(End of this chapter)