As soon as he heard Yi Zhonghai say that it was impossible to arrange two rooms for himself now, Jia Dongxu became anxious.
“Master, why is it impossible?”
Yi Zhonghai sighed and said, “Sigh~ You know your mother's reputation in the courtyard. Originally, I could rely on my status as Uncle Yi to suppress this matter, but because of her actions, what has she done? Now not only do people have issues with him, but they also have issues with me. It’s going to be hard to manage from now on.”
Jia Dongxu naturally knew that this trouble was caused by his mother, but life at home still had to go on. He was well aware that the family had money, and he was surprised to find nearly a thousand yuan at home. He had to admit, his mother really knew how to save money; she was like a Pi Xiu, only taking in and never letting out.
“Master, when I go back, I’ll talk to my mom and ask her to keep a low profile in the courtyard!”
“Enough, it’s not just your mom who needs to keep a low profile; we all need to be low-key. Once this blows over, we’ll think of a way! You go back first, and remember my words!”
Jia Dongxu felt an intense hatred in his heart. Living in those two small rooms with the family was unbearable. He had long thought about having a room of his own; living like this was truly stifling. The space was so small that even a fart could be smelled by everyone in the room.
He wanted to have a little married life, but any noise would wake up Jia Zhangshi, and the worst part was that when she woke up, she would start cursing. Qin Huairu would just turn over and not let him make any noise.
Once he had his own room, he could do whatever he wanted, but for now, it was still the same old story: the family was leaking, and the whole courtyard was wary of his family. In this day and age, who didn’t have a clear mind?
Tonight, He Yucheng was in a good mood; at least he could enjoy some peace for a while. He wondered who would dare to jump around now. But that old Yi Zhonghai, wasn’t he fond of causing trouble? He could just give him another lesson, beating him up every few days to keep him from jumping around!
Later that night, He Yucheng was just about to head out to check the black market of this era and sell some of the grains from his space.
As he scanned the courtyard, he noticed that Yi Zhonghai had just gotten up. It was late at night, and he probably wanted to go to the toilet. If someone was going to send him a pillow while he was sleepy, then he shouldn’t come back!
Since Yi Zhonghai had just been beaten up the night before, he didn’t dare to solve things in the alley again. But as soon as he reached the alley entrance, something inexplicably landed on his head.
He heard a chorus of voices saying, “Beat this old fool! Every day he leans towards the Jia family, asking us to donate money and grain, and still gets scolded by Jia Zhangshi. If it weren’t for him, would Jia Zhangshi dare to be so arrogant?”
“Right, and Uncle Yi, all he does is shout slogans about fairness and justice. What fairness? Let’s beat him up and see if he dares to act recklessly in the courtyard again!”
Hearing this, it was definitely the people from the courtyard, but Yi Zhonghai had never heard these voices!
“Oh no, oh no, stop hitting me! I didn’t lean towards the Jia family.”
He Yucheng didn’t care what he was shouting; he just wanted to vent his anger. Yi Zhonghai would have to live with this kind of life from now on. If he wanted, he could beat him up every day. If he had the guts, he could keep jumping around. It wasn’t just Yi Zhonghai; there was also Jia Zhangshi, Jia Dongxu, and Qin Huairu, always scheming against this and that. On the surface, they wouldn’t fight with you, but behind the scenes, they would stab you in the back, ensuring they made your life miserable.
Yi Zhonghai didn’t know how many times he had been hit. When he finally woke up, his whole body was covered in footprints, and everything hurt!
If he were to say who did it, he couldn’t remember at all. He only knew it must have been the people from the courtyard. Had he really fallen to this point? The people in the courtyard dared to lay hands on him?
Thinking of this, Yi Zhonghai couldn’t help but feel a sense of desolation. He had maintained his reputation for a lifetime, but because of the Jia family, it was all gone. The people in the courtyard were already dissatisfied with him, and now they all wanted to beat him up. What was he going to do in the future?
Trembling, he went to the toilet, then returned home, rubbing some ointment on his wounds.
“Hiss, hiss~” It really hurt, and Yi Zhonghai couldn’t help but gasp.
At that moment, Aunt Yi also woke up! “Old man, why aren’t you sleeping so late? What are you up to?”
“I just went to the toilet, and then I don’t know who put a sack over my head and beat me up!”
This time, Aunt Yi immediately woke up, sitting up and looking at Yi Zhonghai’s face, which was clearly more injured. She quickly got up.
“Old Yi, who hit you so hard? If it’s serious, we should call the police and have them arrest all of them. Let’s see who dares to go against you in the courtyard after this.”
Yi Zhonghai thought for a moment and then sighed, “Sigh, let’s forget it. I always say that courtyard matters should be resolved in the courtyard. If this comes to our home and I call the police, what kind of image is that? How will I manage the courtyard in the future?”
Aunt Yi was also angry, “You’ve been beaten up and still think about managing the courtyard. Once there’s a first time, there will be a second. What if something really happens to you?”
Yi Zhonghai comforted her, “Alright, this time it was Jia Zhangshi who went too far. The courtyard has been dissatisfied with the Jia family for a long time, and it just erupted now. Once they vent their anger, it will be fine.”
Speaking of the Jia family, Aunt Yi helplessly said, “Old man, you say Dongxu is going to take care of you in your old age, but I find that completely unreliable. Just the other day, you were knocked out, and I called Dongxu to come help you, but he complained that you were dirty and, after being called by Jia Zhangshi, turned around and went home. Now he doesn’t even want to take care of you. Do you really expect him to take care of you when you’re old and can’t move? I think Zhuzi is more reliable; he took the initiative to help you clean up and even took you to the hospital! I say, just cut ties with the Jia family.”
Jia Dongxu was unreliable; Yi Zhonghai knew that all too well. With Jia Zhangshi around, expecting Jia Dongxu to take care of him was just a dream. From the very beginning, he had no expectations for Jia Dongxu. He was thinking about his good son Bang Geng. When Bang Geng grew up, became sensible, and realized he was from the Yi family, he would let Bang Geng take care of him in his old age!
But could he say this in front of Aunt Yi? Absolutely not! If Aunt Yi found out and made a fuss, then he and Qin Huairu would be finished. He pretended to be helpless and said, “Alright, let’s hurry up and sleep. Dongxu just lacks initiative; he just needs some guidance.”
Jia Dongxu was already twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old, and he lacked initiative? He would never have a good future in this life. That was exactly the effect he wanted; he wanted the Jia family to live in misery and be unable to leave his master, willingly carrying the big black pot for him.