The affairs of the Jia family had once again become a topic of gossip in the courtyard!
Bang Geng was born into the Jia family and had been the apple of Jia Zhang's eye since childhood. Seeing his body covered in scratches while Xiao Dang, that money-losing brat, was completely unscathed, how could he possibly feel balanced inside?
He shouted at Qin Huairu, "Qin Huairu, how are you taking care of the child? How come Xiao Dang wasn't bitten by mosquitoes, but my precious grandson got bitten like this?"
Qin Huairu felt wronged too; she was heartbroken whenever anyone got bitten by mosquitoes, after all, they were all her own flesh and blood! But upon hearing Jia Zhang's words, Panama was also puzzled. Why indeed wasn't Xiao Dang bitten?
However, no matter how much they thought about it, they would never know that the mosquitoes biting them were being controlled by someone.
And it was better if Jia Zhang didn't say anything, but once she did, Bang Geng started to throw a tantrum. He rolled around on the ground non-stop! "Wuwu, Grandma, I'm so itchy, I can't take it anymore!"
"My dear grandson, stop scratching! The more you scratch, the itchier it gets!" Jia Zhang was heartbroken over her precious little one.
Seeing that Qin Huairu remained indifferent, Jia Zhang went up and slapped her.
"What are you still standing there for? Why don't you think of a way to buy some meat to replenish my precious grandson's nutrition? He's lost so much blood, he needs to recover!"
It was said that marrying poorly once was a mistake for a lifetime. Qin Huairu, back in the day, was a flower admired by many in the area, but due to her ignorance, she was deceived and ended up with Yi Zhonghai, eventually believing his words and marrying Jia Dongxu. What did they say back then? Marrying into the city was supposed to be a life of luxury, unlike toiling in the fields.
But what was the reality? Every time she secretly met with Yi Zhonghai, it was a nerve-wracking experience, and she had never enjoyed a single moment of happiness in the Jia family. If things didn’t go smoothly, Jia Dongxu and Jia Zhang would rain down blows on her.
They had said that Jia Dongxu was a formal worker at the steel factory, earning twenty to thirty yuan a month, and that once he got promoted, life at home would get better. But ever since Qin Huairu entered the Jia family, she had never seen Jia Dongxu's salary!
Having married into the courtyard at eighteen, it had already been over eight years, and Jia Dongxu was still bouncing around at a lower position. When the family was short on food, it was her fault for being an incapable mother, and when they were out of money, it was also her responsibility as a mother!
Qin Huairu cursed under her breath. If she had money and food, would she have married into the Jia family?
"Mom, where am I supposed to get money from? Besides, with our family's current situation, who in the courtyard would want to help us?"
Hearing Qin Huairu's complaints, Jia Zhang shamelessly replied, "Don't you have Shazhu? Go find Shazhu! I don't believe that Yi Zhonghai gave that little bastard two thousand yuan, and Shazhu won't get a single cent!"
"Mom, I just asked outside, and Shazhu's money has all been taken by the deaf old lady. She said she was saving it for him for when he gets married!"
Upon hearing that Shazhu wanted to get married, Jia Zhang scoffed, "Him? A fool wanting to get married? He's destined to be childless. Didn't Uncle Yi say he would help our family? Then everything in his house belongs to us! Why should that deaf old lady take our money? And that second fool and that money-losing brat, eating well every day, why don't they help us? I'll just go to their house and take everything back."
Qin Huairu didn’t feel pain when she was slapped, but after hearing Jia Zhang's words, she wondered if this woman was even sane. Calculating behind others' backs was one thing, but how could she say it so brazenly?
One family is surnamed Jia, the other is surnamed He; the two families could at most be considered neighbors. How could their money be considered hers?
Jia Zhang was relentless, "When the time comes, according to Yi Zhonghai's plan, we'll send the second fool from the He family to the countryside. After He Yushui gets married, we'll find a way to get those two rooms for my precious grandson Bang Geng's wedding! Bang Geng, what do you think?"
A child of seven or eight years old is at the age of forming habits and establishing a sense of right and wrong. At an age when even dogs would disdain them, they need their parents' greater patience to help them grow.
But the education in the Jia family was truly hard to describe, and upon hearing Jia Zhang say they would take everything from the He family, Bang Geng immediately spoke up, "Grandma, I'll go take back all their food and fish!"
A child of seven or eight has begun to think independently and explore the world. To prove they have grown up, they start trying to break free from their dependence on their parents, wanting to accomplish things on their own without parental involvement.
It sounds nice to say "take," but did they have the owner's permission? Taking without asking is called theft; taking without permission is being a thief! If there had been proper guidance, telling Bang Geng that this was wrong and that stealing would get him caught by the police, and that if he ended up in a juvenile detention center, he wouldn't have developed the bad habit of stealing!
As for Qin Huairu, having grown up in the countryside, it was common to borrow things from neighbors, and she never thought much of it, which led to Bang Geng rummaging through the big fool's house every few days, thinking it was nothing to be ashamed of, and even having the audacity to say it was to get closer to them. Why not go to someone else's house?
After dinner, He Yucheng asked He Yushui, "Yushui, do you have anything to do today?"
He Yushui replied, "I promised Haitang to go shopping for clothes today! Second brother, I'll go out with you."
Now, wherever they went, they walked. He Yucheng was also thinking about whether to save up for a bicycle. With his Iron Man skills, it would be incredibly easy to piece together a bike.
"Alright, if you're going to play outside today, then have lunch with Yu Haitang. There are some things on the street, so I won't be back for lunch! In the afternoon, I plan to check out the scrap collection place. I'll save up a bike for you, and when school starts, you can ride it to class."
Upon hearing about the bicycle, He Yushui instantly became excited! She happily asked, "Really?"
"Really, second brother isn't lying to you!"
Having sensed from Bang Geng's consciousness that this little thief was about to make a move on their home today, He Yucheng decided to take this opportunity to teach the little brat a lesson.
Let him know that he wasn't the big fool He Yuzhu, and that not just anyone could enter their home.
Moreover, He Yucheng was just in time to take this opportunity to change the rule set by Yi Zhonghai that the courtyard couldn't be locked, and he might even have Yi Zhonghai's family take the lead in locking their door. If the rule he set was broken by himself, wouldn’t that be a slap in the face?
Quietly leaving a clone in his room, He Yucheng closed the door and headed straight to the street!