stonecrandall Chapter 39: Each Takes Their Own Money
Chapter 39: Each Takes Their Own Money
When Yan Bugui heard Zhang Lei ask him a question and looked at the gazes of everyone, he forced himself to say, "As everyone knows, I'm just an ordinary teacher with a low salary of only 27.5 yuan a month."
Hearing Yan Bugui say this, Zhang Lei felt nothing but contempt. Yan Bugui had been a teacher for so many years, his salary must have been more than 27.5 yuan, but since he was willing to understate it, he might as well use him as an example.
At this moment, Zhang Lei looked at everyone and said loudly, "Listen to this, everyone. Our respected Third Uncle only earns 27.5 yuan a month. Everyone knows how many people are in Third Uncle's family. He has four children, and there are six people in the family in total. They live on this 27.5 yuan."
"Why doesn't the Third Uncle's family complain about their difficulties? On the contrary, the Jia family, who have higher wages and fewer family members, are always complaining about their problems. Everyone, think about it carefully, what's going on here? I don't need to say more, do I?"
Seeing that the topic had been steered in the right direction, Zhang Lei stood aside and remained silent, waiting to see what would happen. If these people still didn't understand, he wouldn't bother to interfere any further. After all, you can't save someone from poverty; people have to be self-reliant to save themselves. He wasn't their parent, so there was no need for him to interfere to the end.
Li Dali angrily took two steps forward, walked straight to the donation box, reached in, took out the two cents he had donated, held it up, and said to the crowd, "Everyone, look carefully, I donated two cents, and I'm only taking back my two cents. I didn't take a single cent more!"
As he spoke, he clutched the money and retreated back into the crowd.
This caused an uproar, with everyone rushing towards the donation box, all wanting to get their donated money back.
Yan Bugui, who was closest to the donation box, reacted the fastest. He reached in, pulled out his two yuan donation, and quickly stuffed it into his pocket.
When Jia Zhangshi saw everyone grabbing the money, she became furious and shouted, "Stop it! Stop it! This is the Jia family's money!" as she tried to rush toward the donation box.
Upon seeing this, two middle-aged women immediately stepped forward to stop her, angrily scolding, "Jia Zhangshi, what do you mean by 'your money'? This is our money!"
Jia Zhangshi was pushed and shoved, unable to squeeze in, and was soon pushed to the ground. She immediately lay on the ground, wailing and screaming, "Old Jia! Look at this world! They're all trying to steal our money! Murder! This is terrible!"
Yi Zhonghai stood aside, watching the crowd scrambling for the donations. Not daring to offend the public, he could only silently keep this to himself, his hatred for Zhang Lei growing even stronger.
Looking at the chaotic scene of money grabbing in front of him, Zhang Lei was overjoyed.
Looking at Zhang Lei's happy expression, Ye Shuqin said helplessly, "Honey, you really aren't afraid of offending people!"
Ye Shuhua also stepped forward and quickly said, "Yes, brother-in-law, I just saw the way Yi Zhonghai looked at you. His eyes were bloodshot. He must be holding a grudge against you!"
Zhang Lei waved his hand dismissively as he listened to Ye Shuhua's words: "It's nothing, it's nothing. We'll deal with whatever comes our way. I don't even consider him a threat."
Zhang Lei was actually quite excited. After all, he had been in this world for so many days, and apart from having some things to do at night, the days had been incredibly boring. In this era, there were no cell phones or large color TVs, so the farces of the people in the courtyard had added a lot of amusement for him.
On the other side, Jia Dongxu glared at Qin Huairu and roared, "Qin Huairu, are you dead? Didn't you see my mother lying on the ground? Hurry up and help her up!"
Upon hearing Jia Dongxu's shout, Qin Huairu dared not delay any longer and quickly ran to Jia Zhangshi's side, helping her up from the ground.
After everyone took their money back, the donation box was empty, with only a lonely thirty yuan left, which was the money donated by Yi Zhonghai and Liu Haizhong.
Seeing this, Liu Haizhong tried to reach in and take out his ten yuan, but Jia Zhangshi shoved him aside as soon as he did.
"What do you want to do? This is my money!" Jia Zhangshi shouted sternly, grabbing the thirty yuan from the box and quickly stuffing it into her pocket.
Liu Haizhong was filled with remorse. He should have pushed his way forward too. He had been mindful of his status as the second uncle and hadn't dared to compete with the crowd, thinking it wouldn't matter whether he got it sooner or later. Who could have predicted that Jia Zhangshi would suddenly pull out her hand and grab it?
Looking at the situation before him, Yi Zhonghai let out a heavy snort and said in a deep voice, "Meeting adjourned!"
Before Zhang Lei could react, Yi Zhonghai picked up his water cup and went straight home.
Seeing that the matter was over, Zhang Lei led Ye Shuhua and the others home. Seeing this, everyone else in the courtyard also went home to their own families, leaving only the Jia family members standing alone in the central courtyard.
When Yi Zhonghai returned home, an older woman followed closely behind.
When the older woman closed the door, Yi Zhonghai could no longer contain his anger. He slammed the porcelain cup he was holding onto the table and yelled, "Zhang Lei, you little bastard, how dare you go against me like this? You're courting death!"
The woman was so startled by the sudden noise that she trembled and quickly hid to the side.
Seeing Yi Zhonghai's ferocious expression, the middle-aged woman knew that he was truly enraged.
She could only sit silently to one side, not daring to even breathe, knowing in her heart that doing nothing was the best choice at this time.
Having shared a bed with Yi Zhonghai for decades, she knew this man's two faces all too well—in front of outsiders, he was a kind and generous old man, but at home, he was a completely different person.
If you were to utter even half a word that differed from his opinion at this point, you would inevitably face another scolding and beating.
After Yi Zhonghai finished venting his anger, an older woman stepped forward, poured him a glass of water, and said, "Old Yi, calm down. I think Zhang Lei has changed completely since he came back. He's not the same person as before; he's become cunning and manipulative."
Yi Zhonghai said with a disdainful look, "What tricks and schemes? He's just a greenhorn! He only succeeded today because he seized on some weaknesses of the Jia family. If it weren't for that idiot Jia Zhangshi pointing the finger at me, would Zhang Lei have been able to swagger around like this today?"
As he spoke, he couldn't help but complain about Jia Zhangshi: "Jia Zhangshi is a fool too, more trouble than she's worth!"
An older woman sighed and said, "Old Yi, we've helped the Jia family quite a bit over the years. Although the people in the courtyard don't say it, everyone has some resentment about donating to the Jia family."
Yi Zhonghai looked at the middle-aged woman and said, "Do you think I don't know about this?"
An older woman looked at Yi Zhonghai and pressed him for an answer: "Old Yi, do you know why you still insist on donating to the Jia family?"
Yi Zhonghai sighed heavily, his voice filled with helplessness: "What can I do? I'm doing this for the two of us, isn't it? If you had a son or daughter, would I have to worry so much about the Jia family?"
Hearing Yi Zhonghai say this, the middle-aged woman felt an overwhelming sense of grievance. She also longed for a child, and had taken countless medications over the years, all to no avail. Because of this, she always felt inferior to Yi Zhonghai, and whenever he brought it up, she felt deeply ashamed.
Seeing the aggrieved look on the middle-aged woman's face, Yi Zhonghai softened his tone and waved his hand, saying, "Alright, alright, I wasn't talking about you. Maybe this is just our fate."