Traveling back to 1952, starting a comeback from a relief station

"Neighbors, please be the judge! How could I, in my miserable life, have raised such an ungrateful son!"

With a sob in her voice, Jia Zhangshi recounted in detail how Jia Dongxu had been hiding at the entrance of the alley, eating alone.

As soon as he finished speaking, the neighbors in the courtyard started pointing and whispering about Jia Dongxu, full of condemnation.

Wang Anping and Qin Huairu stood beside the hanging flower gate.

Looking towards the central courtyard, I saw a lively scene.

Hearing about the Jia family's troubles, Qin Huairu felt a surge of relief. Luckily, she hadn't married into the Jia family back then, otherwise, she would have been dealing with these trivial and unpleasant things every day, and her life would definitely have been filled with unrest.

In the middle courtyard, Madam Jia glared at Jia Dongxu and said sternly:

"Tell me honestly, how much money do you have left?"

"Take it all out!"

Jia Dongxu was dragging his feet, still trying to hide something.

Seeing his appearance, Jia Zhangshi became even angrier and reached out to grab a broom from the side, as if to hit him.

Jia Dongxu was startled.

He quickly reached into his pocket and took out all the money.

Jia Zhangshi snatched the money, squatted down and started counting it. After she finished, she plopped down on the steps, slapped her thighs, and burst into tears.

"Dongxu, oh Dongxu, what happened to you?!"

"It's only been a few days this month, not even halfway through, and the three yuan I gave you for food has already gone down to one yuan and twenty cents!"

"You used to say you lost money every month, so you were secretly buying things to eat, weren't you?"

"He's hiding from me and eating alone."

"Is this how you show filial piety to your own mother?"

"I've been asking Aunt Li to introduce you to potential partners every day, hoping you'll settle down and start a family soon, but instead, you're just causing all this trouble!"

"I can't live like this anymore, I might as well be dead!"

After wailing for a while, Jia Zhangshi suddenly remembered something, turned to look at Yi Zhonghai in the crowd, and shouted at the top of her lungs:

"Yi Zhonghai! Dongxu is your apprentice."

"When Old Jia passed away, he specifically entrusted his son to you, asking you to teach him well! Today, you must discipline him properly, or you will be letting Old Jia's spirit down!"

Yi Zhonghai coughed lightly, walked up to Jia Dongxu, his brows furrowed, and said in a deep voice:

"Dongxu, how have I usually taught you?"

"You absolutely must be filial to your mother!"

"Tell me yourself."

"Why would you do such a despicable thing!"

Jia Dongxu finally seized the opportunity to speak and hurriedly defended himself:

"Master, this can't be entirely blamed on me!"

"I'm working and earning a salary now. The work in the factory is so tiring, I should eat something good to nourish myself so I have the energy to work, right?"

"But my mother insists that I hand over all my salary, and only gives me three yuan a month for food!"

"I just indulge occasionally."

"Besides... isn't Wang Anping the same way?"

"Isn't he also receiving his uncle's pension, living a life of luxury every day!"

Upon hearing this, the expressions on everyone's faces in the courtyard became quite interesting. They all turned to look at Wang Anping, who was watching the show from the side, with a half-smile on his face.

Wang Anping himself was stunned.

Little did he know that he would become Jia Dongxu's "role model," imitating his eating and drinking habits.

This kid is still trying to drag me down with him even now; he probably needs to be taught a lesson!

A thought suddenly occurred to me.

Wang Anping munched on the cornbread in his hand and slowly walked into the middle courtyard.

On the other side, when Jia Zhangshi heard her son dare to bring up his father's pension, her face immediately darkened.

He swung the broom in his hand and started hitting Jia Dongxu, cursing as he did so.

"I'll teach you to talk nonsense!"

"What business is it of yours how other people live their lives?"

"You dare to imitate other people's bad behavior!"

"I'm going to teach you a lesson today!"

But she swung the broom like she was sweeping the floor, and only the tip of the broom grazed Jia Dongxu's cotton coat, causing no pain or itch, and had no deterrent effect whatsoever.

Wang Anping pushed his way to the front of the crowd and announced loudly:

"Dongxu, what you've done is absolutely outrageous!"

"We're all neighbors in the same compound, and I usually treat you like a brother. But today, as the older brother, I have to say a few words to you!"

"Even if you have a sweet tooth and want to eat something nice after you've made money, that's fine."

"Just buy it."

"But can't you eat with your mother?"

"What you did was extremely serious!"

"You're already neglecting your mother before you've even gotten married. What will you do after you do? Won't you just kick your mother out of the house?"

"And judging from this, this isn't the first time you've done this."

"They need to be taught a lesson!"

He turned to look at Madam Jia, his tone sincere:

"Dongxu's mother, your pretense won't do any good!"

"He's twenty years old already. If we don't teach him a lesson, he won't learn his lesson at all!"

"Give me the broom, I'll clean it up for you!"

For some reason, Jia Zhangshi actually handed over the broom.

She had initially felt somewhat uncomfortable with Wang Anping, but his words just now hit the nail on the head and startled her.

She only has one son.

If she lets him be so heartless and abandon her in the future, how will she live?

Although I don't like Wang Anping, I have to admit that the kid is smart and what he says is always right!

Not just Jia Zhangshi.

The neighbors in the courtyard also felt that what Wang Anping said made sense.

But watching him walk towards Jia Dongxu with the "imperial sword" given to him by Jia Zhangshi, I always felt that the scene was a bit strange.

Wang Anping waved to the side:

"Shazhu, Damao, Guangqi, come over here and hold Dongxu down, don't let him escape!"

"We're all brothers from the same hospital. If he went astray, we, as his brothers, also bear some responsibility."

"He must realize his mistake and correct it!"

Sha Zhu and his gang of mischievous lads, how could they possibly miss out on such a spectacle?

They immediately swarmed forward, pinning Jia Dongxu down and forcing him to lie face down on the ground.

Wang Anping turned the broom around, gripped the thick broom handle, and smacked Jia Dongxu's buttocks with it.

"ah--!"

Jia Dongxu screamed in pain.

Knowing the opportunity was rare, Wang Anping couldn't give Jia Zhangshi time to react, and immediately followed up with a few more blows.

He even lectured her in a righteous and indignant manner:

"Tell me, did you make a mistake?"

"Still not talking? Haven't you realized your mistake?"

"Did your mother raise you with such hardship? And this is how you show her filial piety? From now on, you must be properly filial to your mother, do you hear me?!"

Seeing Wang Anping whipping her without a care in the world, Jia Zhangshi finally came to her senses.

He quickly stepped forward and grabbed Wang Anping's arm.

"Anping, slow down, slow down."

"You didn't even give Dongxu a chance to speak!"

Wang Anping then stopped, stared at Jia Dongxu who was crying uncontrollably, and said in a deep voice:

"I'm asking you a question, haven't you learned your lesson yet?"

Jia Dongxu felt extremely wronged.

Looking at my own mother, I really want to ask myself if I am her biological son—how could she let an outsider beat me up!

But before he could struggle, Wang Anping's broom handle came down again.

"what!"

"I've got it, I've got it... Waaah!"

"Say thank you, Brother Anping!"

"Thank you, Brother Anping..."