Courtyard House: Drunk and barging into the Xu family's house, I woke up numb.

"The old man is right. Our meeting today is to help Sha Zhu solve his problems, but not to take on everything."

"I know that things aren't going too well for our department."

“Like my family, before Jie Cheng got married, our family of six relied entirely on my salary.”

"My salary is so low, even with all the miscellaneous fees, it's only 29.05 yuan."

“If it weren’t for the city’s regulation that tuition fees would be waived if living expenses were less than five yuan, none of my children would have been able to afford to go to school.”

"Over the years, I've relied on my careful budgeting, plus my husband earning a little extra money by pasting cardboard boxes to supplement our household income."

“My son Jiecheng was dragged into marriage until he was twenty-six. Other people’s grandsons are already old enough to run errands, but my grandson is still nowhere to be seen.”

Cao Xu was already hospitalized when his second aunt confronted Yi Zhonghai, and upon hearing Yan Bugui's remarks, he couldn't help but give him a thumbs up.

Yan Bugui is truly a shrewd person who learns quickly. No sooner had his second aunt finished crying about being poor than he immediately started playing the victim. They're all experts.

However, he was curious to see how much money Yan Bugui, this third uncle, could spare to humiliate Yi Zhonghai.

"I can't compare to Uncle One and Uncle Two at all. Uncle Two's monthly salary is equivalent to mine for two months and he still has some left over."

"But as the old man said, as Sha Zhu's elder and a leader in the courtyard, I can't not step forward and set an example."

"Okay, I don't have any more, so I'll just give you ten yuan."

"His second aunt just said she would introduce a girl to Sha Zhu, which is quite thoughtful of her."

"Then I'll put in some effort, and when everyone donates money later, I'll send it all to me."

"I will record everyone's contributions in one go, and I will make sure you know exactly how much money you contributed and which household contributed."

"When the time comes, I'll give these accounts to Sha Zhu so he'll know who helped him."

Cao Xu thought to himself that Yan Bugui was indeed a teacher; his words were truly eloquent.

It has both substance and appearance, leaving no room for criticism.

Even the deaf old lady sitting to the side couldn't speak and could only stare blankly.

Although the donation matter had been largely disrupted by Aunt Erda and Yan Bugui, Yi Zhonghai still had to go through the proper procedures.

"I've said what I needed to say, and now the three of us old men have set a good example for everyone."

"Now please go to Uncle San to register and contribute a little bit, whether it's more or less."

"Don't worry, everyone. You helped He Yuzhu today, and He Yuzhu will help you in the future when you encounter difficulties."

As Yi Zhonghai finished speaking, those in the crowd who were on good terms with He Yuzhu stepped forward first.

Then the others came out one after another. Since the three old men had made the decision, these people couldn't say anything more.

However, as the third uncle said, the people in the courtyard were not very wealthy, so they did not contribute much money.

Those with whom I had a closer relationship gave five yuan, those with whom I had a casual relationship gave three or two yuan, and those with whom I didn't usually interact gave one yuan as a token gesture.

As for those with whom he didn't get along, like Xu Damao, he would just throw down a 50-cent bill and leave.

Seeing this, the third uncle, Yan Bugui, hurriedly stopped him.

"Xu Damao, you earn thirty-two yuan a month, and you only give out fifty cents? Who are you trying to embarrass?"

Xu Damao looked up and said.

"Uncle, I earned thirty-two yuan, that's my own skill, what does it have to do with that idiot Zhu?"

"If it weren't for the sake of these three gentlemen, I wouldn't even be willing to pay five cents today."

"If you think it's too little, I'll take it back, so as not to embarrass you."

As they were talking, Xu Damao reached out his hand, intending to take the money back.

Yan Bugui quickly pressed the money down with his hand and looked at Yi Zhonghai beside him.

"Grandpa, he's..."

Yi Zhonghai shook his head.

"Never mind, at this point, it's all up to your heart, and we can't force it."

“Since Xu Damao is only willing to pay 50 cents, then it’s 50 cents. Write it down for him.”

Yan Bugui nodded helplessly and waved to Xu Damao.

"Alright, that's settled then. Go back and sit down."

"Five cents is five cents. If the person in charge doesn't feel ashamed, what do I, the bookkeeper, have to be afraid of?"

With Xu Damao's departure, only the deaf old lady, the Jia family, and the Cao family remained on the field.

Needless to say, the deaf old lady is not included; no one would ask her to pay.

So everyone's attention fell on Qin Huairu in the front row and Cao Xu chatting with someone in the back.

Cao Xu's actions over the past two days have instilled a greater sense of fear in Yan Bugui.

Sha Zhu broke off the engagement, and after being beaten up, he was even taken to the security department.

Bang Geng wanted to occupy his house, but he was tricked into going to the police station.

Jia Zhangshi bullied Lou Xiao'e, taking her away in the middle of the night and eventually sending her to a denunciation meeting.

The person has been released, but there's still no word on how the neighborhood will handle the situation.

So he didn't want to provoke this guy, and turned his attention to Jia Zhangshi and Qin Huairu in the front row.

"Qin Huairu, how much will your family contribute?"

Qin Huairu stood up and said to Yan Bugui.

"Uncle, although the cause of Sha Zhu's accident was not in our family, it is still more or less related to our family."

“Shazhu has helped our family a lot on a regular basis, and I, Qin Huairu, will always remember this kindness.”

"If I had money, I would be willing to pay all 2,600 yuan for Sha Zhu."

"But as everyone knows, this is not realistic for our family."

"However, this is to express my gratitude for Sha Zhu's help over the years."

"I've decided that our family will just contribute two hundred yuan, just like the old man!"

Qin Huairu's words shocked everyone present.

Yi Zhonghai stared wide-eyed at Qin Huairu, unable to believe that she had said those words.

He knew the Jia family's situation very well; he estimated that Qin Huairu probably couldn't even come up with twenty yuan right now.

Where did she get the confidence to offer two hundred yuan?

Cao Xu, who was chatting with someone in the back, was also extremely surprised. What was Qin Huairu up to?

P.S.: Thank you so much for the flowers! I'm adding an extra chapter to express my gratitude!

Chapter 52 Colluding with each other, Qin Huairu, you truly live up to your reputation!

When Jia Zhangshi heard that Qin Huairu wanted to donate two hundred yuan to Sha Zhu, she immediately objected.

He knew exactly how much money his family had.

Qin Huairu is demanding 200 yuan. If she can't come up with the money, won't she try to take advantage of me?

Since Qin Huairu started working, she has been asking for three yuan a month for retirement funds, and it has been almost four years now.

In addition to doing odd jobs, she has saved up about two hundred yuan over the years.

In addition, she also held Jia Dongxu's 300 yuan pension, which she had initially said was to keep for her grandson's future use.

Actually, she was just afraid that Qin Huairu might one day consider remarrying, so she would send her back to her hometown in the countryside.

This money will be her retirement fund, a way to secure her future.

"Qin Huairu, are you crazy? Why should you give Sha Zhu two hundred yuan?"

Xu Damao, standing to the side, tended the fire.

“Aunt Zhang, your family has taken the most of the things that Sha Zhu has stolen from the factory over the years.”

"Just for this one thing, your family shouldn't be short two hundred, even five hundred wouldn't be too much, don't you all agree!"

When Yi Zhonghai announced his intention to donate money to Sha Zhu, the crowd was already very resistant, especially since Yi Zhonghai made such a high-profile announcement.

Later, Aunt Er and Yan Bugui came out to stir things up, so these people stopped saying anything and just paid a few dollars to avoid further trouble.

"Xu Damao is right, the Jia family should contribute more."

"That's right, we've never eaten a single thing that Sha Zhu stole from the factory."

"Yes, Grandma Banggeng, you can't always rush forward when it's time to reap the benefits, but then shrink back when things get tough!"

“That’s right. Over the years, the Jia family has received a lot of favors from Sha Zhu. Two hundred is not much. I agree!”

"I agree too!"

"I wholeheartedly agree..."