Courtyard Houses: Starting with the principle of hard work paying off

Chapter 145 Jia Zhangshi is captured and publicly executed! (4k)

"Mom, why don't we just not sell it? The grain won't spoil if we keep it at home. It'll just take up some space. We won't really suffer any loss..."

Listening to Jia Zhangshi's smug boasting, Qin Huairu felt a little uneasy. After a moment of hesitation, she couldn't help but offer some advice.

I heard from Jia Zhangshi that she ran into Li Hongbing at the market today. Even if, as she said, Li Hongbing didn't recognize her this time, what about next time?

Even if the next time you run into someone other than Li Hongbing, it's never a good thing, no matter who you know.

Be careful to make a thousand-year ship.

If you accidentally fall into a ditch, it will be too late to regret it.

Compared to the potential gains, Qin Huairu felt that taking such a risk was not worthwhile.

It's easy to end up losing more than you gain.

"Qin Huairu, what are you saying?"

Just as Jia Zhangshi's mood had improved, she heard Qin Huairu's advice and immediately frowned, saying in a very displeased tone, "Who am I working so hard for and taking such a big risk for?"
Is it for my own sake?
Do you think I want to carry a big bag of grain out every day?

Isn't it better to stay at home?
Why do you have to go out and make yourself suffer?

I'm doing this for the sake of this family.
Isn't it all for you and Dongxu?
For the sake of our family's hamburger?

As a mother-in-law, I suffer all this outside, and when I come home, I don't even get a kind word. What sins did I commit in my past life...?

"Mom, Mom... I was wrong, it was my fault, I shouldn't have said that, I didn't mean anything by it..."

Seeing her mother-in-law becoming more and more aggrieved, and in the end it sounded like she, as the daughter-in-law, was bullying her, Qin Huairu felt completely numb and quickly admitted her mistake and apologized.

Her words just now, besides not wanting to take any risks, also reflected her concern and sympathy for her mother-in-law, Jia Zhangshi.

I don't know what happened, it's like I stepped on Jia Zhangshi's tail.

"Huai Ru!"

Glancing at her daughter-in-law Qin Huairu, Jia Zhangshi composed herself and said earnestly, "You know Dongxu's current situation. He only earns so little each month, not even enough for the three of us to eat, and now there's an extra burden."

We used all our money to buy grain before. If we don't sell the grain now, where will we get the money to buy vegetables and meat?
"Isn't it all to nourish you, to make you old hen and fish soup so you can help your son produce milk, all for you and your baby..."

"Mom, you've suffered so much."

As Jia Zhangshi spoke these words, Qin Huairu felt extremely guilty and remorseful, and a sense of indebtedness welled up in her heart.

After marrying into the Jia family, Qin Huairu was actually quite satisfied with her life.

Although her mother-in-law, Jia Zhangshi, wasn't very kind to her when she first married into the family, Qin Huairu knew that she looked down on her because she was from the countryside. Her mother-in-law spoke to her harshly and dumped all the housework on her, whether it was washing clothes, cooking, or cleaning.

But these are much easier than working in the fields in the countryside.

Back when they lived in the countryside, Qin Huairu did a lot of work besides working in the fields, including washing clothes and cooking.

The key point is that both Jia Zhangshi and Jia Dongxu are people who will not mistreat themselves.

Although Jia Dongxu's salary is not high, less than half of his master Yi Zhonghai's, his daily food and drink are no worse than Yi Zhonghai's, and he can eat meat several times a month.

Because Jia Dongxu was the main breadwinner and economic pillar of the family, and Jia Zhangshi was an elder, the meat, vegetables, and steamed buns in the house were always given to them first. However, no matter what, Qin Huairu could still get some food along with them.

Even so, the income is much better than when we lived in the countryside.

Soon.

With the joint efforts of Jia Dongxu, Qin Huairu became pregnant. Although she was still the one doing the laundry and cooking, her food treatment improved significantly. Her mother-in-law, Jia Zhangshi, stopped being sarcastic and started speaking kindly to her.

Qin Huairu knew that it was all because of the child in her womb.

Fortunately, her womb cooperated, and she gave birth to a boy for the Jia family with her first child, which can be considered as her status rising because of her son.

To ensure that the piglet had enough milk, Qin Huairu's food standards during this period were even higher than those of Jia Dongxu, the so-called head of the family.

As for Jia Dongxu's salary reduction, it seems to have a great impact on the Jia family, but with the help of Yi Zhonghai, a senior fitter, their standard of living remains the same as before and has not declined much.

In fact, things are even better than before because Qin Huairu is pregnant.

The matchmaker Sun was right. With Yi Zhonghai, a master fitter, as their mentor, they really couldn't compare to others.

That's why Qin Huairu couldn't refute Jia Zhangshi's words at all.

the next day.

After everyone in the courtyard went out to work, Jia Zhangshi soon followed suit, carrying a bag of grain.

Li Hongbing was off work yesterday, but he will definitely be at work today, so Jia Zhangshi doesn't need to worry about running into him at the market again.

And today she specifically chose a different market.

Once a transaction was completed at a market, Jia Zhangshi would never go back, because she was afraid of running into the same buyer again and getting into trouble.

Although no transactions were made at yesterday's market, Jia Zhangshi felt it was unlucky to run into Li Hongbing, so she decided to go to another market.

Upon arriving at the market, Jia Zhangshi, just as she had done in the previous days, disguised herself as a rural woman, carrying her bag of grain, and began looking for people to trade with.

Less than two months after the implementation of the unified purchase and sale policy for grain, some farmers in rural areas still secretly sold their own reserved grain at the suburban market in order to earn some money, at a price slightly lower than that of the grain store.

If it's not cheap, no one will buy it.

It was because of this discovery that Jia Zhangshi was given an opportunity to take advantage of the situation.

"Young man, want to buy some grain? It's homegrown, cheaper than at the grain store."

"so cheap?"

"It's ten yuan cheaper per pound."

"Only ten yuan?"

"Ten yuan per jin, ten jin is one hundred yuan, fifty jin is five hundred yuan, you do the math."

"I'll sell them as a package. If you buy them all at once, I'll give you a discount of 1,000 yuan, and I'll round it down to zero."

"..."

After searching for several people, Jia Zhangshi finally met someone who was greedy for small gains. After the other party inspected the grain, she borrowed someone to weigh it at the market.

After weighing the money and calculating the weight and price privately, Jia Zhangshi quickly counted the money and then happily prepared to leave.

Just as she made a move, someone came up behind her and pushed her down. Jia Zhangshi immediately shouted in terror, "What are you doing? Are you trying to rob me in broad daylight?"

There were many people in the market. Jia Zhangshi sensed the "danger" and quickly shouted loudly, hoping to attract the attention of those around her and get them to help.

For a while.

Everyone around turned to look at them.

"Enforcement team, investigate!"

The man who had restrained Jia Zhangshi did not let go. Instead, he looked at the crowd, revealed his identity, and sternly rebuked them, "Behave yourselves!"

Upon hearing that it was the law enforcement team, some people who were about to step forward to help immediately took a few steps back.

And at this time.

Jia Zhangshi was clearly stunned.

How did we end up attracting the enforcement team? "I didn't, you've got the wrong person!"

Seeing that a crowd had already gathered around, Jia Zhangshi immediately pretended to be confused and denied it outright, saying, "I just arrived at this market and was just about to buy an old hen to make soup for my daughter-in-law. I haven't done anything yet, and I don't know anything about reselling grain. You must have mistaken me for someone else."

Realizing that her theft of grain might have been exposed and she had been discovered by chance, Jia Zhangshi calmed down at this moment.

Jia Zhangshi's thinking was very simple.

Now that the grain is no longer in her hands, as long as she doesn't admit to selling the grain, the other party can't do anything to her.

Its main characteristic is its stubbornness.

"I saw it all just now, how dare you lie?"

Hearing Jia Zhangshi's sophistry, the law enforcement officers' faces hardened, and they angrily rebuked her in public: "The state has now implemented a unified purchase and sale system for grain, and private buying and selling is not allowed. Don't you know that?"

"I...of course I know, but I didn't sell any grain. That person just now wasn't me. Maybe you mistook him for someone else. Besides, you said it yourself: the country doesn't allow private grain trading now. How could I possibly do something that violates the policy?"

Jia Zhangshi admitted that she knew about the policy, but was unwilling to admit that she had done anything that violated the policy.

Once you admit something but don't explain it "clearly," it's tantamount to admitting it yourself.

The other party had seen Jia Zhangshi, a cunning and stubborn person, more than once, and was naturally not easily fooled by her. He immediately said righteously and sternly, "It's no use being stubborn now. Come back with us for investigation, and we'll see if you still tell the truth then."

Upon hearing this, Madam Jia panicked.

If I go back with them, my identity will definitely be exposed, and they might actually find out something.

In desperation, Jia Zhangshi, who was originally quite docile, took advantage of the other party's momentary lapse in attention and suddenly broke free, attempting to escape.

In Jia Zhangshi's view, escaping is her only way out now.

Anyway, the law enforcement team doesn't know her, and she's wearing a mask right now.

As long as she runs away, nothing will happen.

Moreover.

She already has the money in her hands and has no more worries.

however.

She had only taken a couple of steps when her path was blocked by the very person who had just bought her grain.

"Jia Zhangshi, right?"

The other person looked at her and couldn't help but sneer, "You secretly sold grain and tried to run away, you've got some nerve!"

"How do you know me?"

When the other party was able to utter the three words "Jia Zhangshi", Jia Zhangshi, whose escape was thwarted, was completely dumbfounded.

"Jia Zhangshi, we received a report that you violated the national policy of unified purchase and sale by selling grain privately. You've blatantly defied the rules and been caught red-handed. Now you're trying to escape. You're really something!"

"Are you in the same group?"

Upon hearing those words, Jia Zhangshi was stunned, her heart sinking to the bottom, feeling utterly cold.

Upon hearing Jia Zhangshi's description, the law enforcement officers who had regained control of her immediately turned hostile.

What do you mean by "in cahoots"...?

These upright law enforcement officers were made to look like a criminal gang by Jia Zhangshi's words.

"Jia Zhangshi, now that we've caught you red-handed, what do you have to say for yourself?"

The stern-faced law enforcement officer kicked the bag of grain on the ground and questioned him on the spot.

He hadn't revealed his identity earlier, and Jia Zhangshi had tried to deny it. Let's see what she has to say now.

"How can you prove this bag of grain is mine? My name isn't written on it!"

Jia Zhangshi remained unconvinced.

Confess to be lenient, sit in prison, resist strictness, and go home for the New Year.

I don't know about anything else, but Jia Zhangshi remembers this sentence very clearly.

Since I've already been stubborn, there's no turning back. I might as well stick to my guns and maybe there's still a glimmer of hope.

"Old Ding, go and find that stall owner from earlier. Let's see how she tries to talk her way out of this."

Even with all the evidence laid out before them, Jia Zhangshi still stubbornly refused to admit it. Her arrogance and obstinacy got the other party determined to make her confess on the spot.

soon.

The enforcement officer, known as Lao Ding, went directly to find the stall owner who had lent them the scale earlier and brought him over to testify to what had just happened.

Although Jia Zhangshi did not tell the truth when she lent the bag the contents, and the stall owner did not know what was in the bag, it at least proved that Jia Zhangshi had made the transaction and directly exposed her lie.

“I can attest that I saw her carrying that bag of grain in the market.”

“I can also attest that this woman just approached me secretly and asked if I wanted to buy grain. However, I know that buying and selling grain privately is wrong, so I ignored her. I didn’t expect her to dare to do this.”

“I’ll expose her too! It was her! She contacted me before…”

"I never expected this guy to be so stubborn in front of the law enforcement team. He's practically fearless!"

"Oh dear, I almost fell for her trick just now. I didn't expect her to be full of lies and not telling a single truth."

"How can there still be people like this? It's outrageous!"

"..."

As more and more people gathered, faced with the irrefutable evidence from law enforcement officers and witness testimonies, some people stepped forward to accuse Jia Zhangshi.

With so many people at the market, no matter how secretive or well-disguised Jia Zhangshi's act of stealing and selling grain was, there was no point in trying to deny it when caught red-handed by law enforcement officers.

Faced with this situation, Jia Zhangshi felt utterly hopeless and completely gave up the struggle.

At this moment.

Tao Cuilan, who was mixed in with the crowd, looked at the scene in front of her and couldn't help but show a smug look on her face. She felt an indescribable sense of revenge.

Next.

In front of everyone in the market, law enforcement officers tore off the mask that Jia Zhangshi had used to cover her face, publicly executed her, and conducted legal education on the spot.

"Everyone, take a look, this is the person!"

"They openly sold grain at the market, violating the state's policy of unified purchase and sale. Not only that, after we caught them red-handed and caught them red-handed, they were still fearless, refusing to admit anything and even trying to escape!"

"If such a situation occurs again, we hope that everyone will actively expose and report it to uphold our country's policies."

"At the same time, we would like to emphasize that you must not engage in private grain trading, as this is a violation of policy."

"If you need to buy grain, please bring your grain purchase certificate and go to the designated grain store to make your purchase..."

"..."

(End of this chapter)