The grain donation incident was over, the Jia family had grain, and Jia Zhangshi, having eaten her fill and with nothing to do, could once again bicker with the old women in the courtyard.
That morning, some unemployed women in the courtyard gathered in the front yard and chatted about everyday matters, such as family affairs and daily necessities.
Jia Zhangshi, who got up late, had just finished breakfast. Looking at the bowls and chopsticks on the table and then at Qin Huairu, who was playing with her son, Jia Zhangshi spoke up.
"Huai Ru! I'll help you take care of the child. Go and clear the dishes."
After hearing what Jia Zhangshi said, Qin Huairu reluctantly put down her son and walked to the table.
Seeing the bowls, chopsticks, and pile of sweet potato peels on the table, Qin Huairu couldn't help but feel a surge of contempt.
"Jia Zhangshi is a real scoundrel. Not only is she lazy and gluttonous, but you also vomited up the whole table of sweet potato peels after drinking a bowl of sweet potato porridge. How disgusting!"
Although Qin Huairu was unwilling, as a "good daughter-in-law," she couldn't say no and could only diligently tidy up.
Seeing Qin Huairu's performance, Jia Zhangshi was very satisfied, picked up the stalk of the stick and walked towards the front yard.
Several women chatting in the front yard saw Jia Zhangshi coming from afar. As Jia Zhangshi's mortal enemy, how could Widow Wang be willing to give up this opportunity to strike at Jia Zhangshi? She immediately mocked her.
"Sisters, look at this Jia Zhangshi. She gets up later than the sun. If you didn't know better, you'd think she did something shameful last night."
"Hahaha……."
Widow Wang's words drew a burst of laughter from everyone.
"Who can argue with that? She's lucky to have such a good daughter-in-law, unlike me, who's destined to be a hard worker."
"Pah! I think she's shameless. No normal person could sleep until this late."
The neighbors in the courtyard didn't have a good relationship with Jia Zhangshi, and since they had donated grain to the Jia family a few days ago, they harbored resentment and started kicking her while she was down.
"Alright, alright, you two should say less. Madam Jia is coming over. If people hear us, it'll be bad if they gossip behind our backs."
When the old woman saw Jia Zhangshi arrive, she kindly advised her not to gossip behind people's backs.
How could Jia Zhangshi not hear the murmurs of the crowd? The courtyard was only so big, and these people were speaking so loudly, as if they were afraid that Jia Zhangshi wouldn't hear them.
When Jia Zhangshi heard someone speaking ill of her, she hurried towards the gate, her fat jiggling as she walked. Before she even arrived, the voices could be heard.
"Hey! What's that? A bunch of stray dogs barking and biting people all morning. Are they rabid dogs? I think we should find a needle and sew their stinking mouths shut so these beasts won't bite people."
Jia Zhangshi is still the same Jia Zhangshi; her "fighting power" is still top-notch. With just a few words, she offended a group of people.
You should know that several middle-aged women were there, but they didn't say anything bad about Jia Zhangshi. In fact, they even reminded her not to gossip behind people's backs.
Jia Zhangshi's words infuriated the older women. The third woman was about to step forward to argue when the hot-tempered Widow Wang beat her to it.
“Jia Zhangshi, I think you’ve only had a full meal for two days. You’ve forgotten who you are. Who are you calling a stray dog? Explain yourself, or I, Widow Wang, will be the first to not let you off the hook.”
Widow Wang said angrily.
"Whoever answers, I'm talking about them. What, do you really think I, Jia Zhangshi, am made of clay? You think I can be molded into a ball or flattened at will?"
Seeing Jia Zhangshi's smug expression, Widow Wang was furious. She had never won an argument before, and today she wasn't going to argue anymore; she was going to take action.
I'll tear that filthy mouth of yours apart!
After Widow Wang finished speaking, she quickly stepped forward, ready to argue with Jia Zhangshi.
Seeing that a fight couldn't break out, several quick-thinking older women pulled Wang the widow back and tried to persuade her to stop.
Seeing this situation, Jia Zhangshi was not intimidated. She put down the stick in her hand, rolled up her sleeves, and shouted.
"Come on! Who's afraid of who? Anyone who doesn't come is a son of a bitch."
Jia Zhangshi's words enraged the widow Wang, who had just been appeased. The widow Wang struggled desperately to break free, and the people trying to hold her back could barely restrain her.
A great war is about to break out!
"Stop! You two, stop right now! Jia Zhangshi, really, I think you're just bored and have nothing better to do. Even Widow Wang has stopped making a fuss, why are you still stirring things up?"
Seeing that things were getting out of control and fearing that something might go wrong, the three women loudly reprimanded the situation from the side.
Jia Zhangshi was in a good mood today, but as soon as she stepped out the door, she was harassed by a group of old women, and her good mood instantly turned into a bad mood.
Hearing what the third aunt said, she felt that everyone in the courtyard was targeting her, and she felt indignant. She then said fiercely.
"Yang Ruihua, you're meddling in other people's business. Whether I'm full or not is none of your concern. If you're so capable, go home and eat. Stop pretending to be a nice guy here."
Jia Zhangshi's words deeply stung the heart of the third aunt.
Think about Old Yan from their family. Last time he donated 10 kilograms of sweet potatoes, he couldn't sleep well all night afterward. Who would have thought that this is how people would describe their own family?
Thinking about all this, the third aunt felt a dull ache in her heart and then spoke loudly.
“Jia Zhangshi, do you think I’m a dog catching mice? Do you think I’m pretending to be a good person? Do you think my family is starving? Fine, you Jia Zhangshi are powerful, I can’t afford to offend you. My family is lowly, we shouldn’t have donated grain to your family. Please return the grain we donated.”
The old woman's words were resounding and powerful, and the neighbors nearby fell silent, all deep in thought.
"Yes! You can't even feed yourself, yet you donate food to others, only to have them eat their fill and then laugh at you. What kind of logic is that?"
One stone stirs up a thousand waves.
Seeing her neighbor's boiling anger, Jia Zhangshi didn't hold back at all, and instead said something even more explosive.
“Our family earned it through our own abilities, why should we pay it back? If you want to pay it back, go find Yi Zhonghai, don’t talk to me.”
Even an older woman standing nearby couldn't sit still any longer. She pointed at Jia Zhangshi with one finger and said angrily.
"You...you...you, Jia Zhangshi, you are shameless!"
The woman was probably so angry that she stammered for a long time before she could utter a complete sentence.
The women nearby were not so easy to talk to. Jia Zhangshi's words had thoroughly enraged them. One of them said...
"Jia Zhangshi, hurry up and return our grain, otherwise, no matter who comes today, it won't make a difference."
No sooner had he finished speaking than several people rushed forward, preparing to seize Jia Zhangshi, and the scene immediately spiraled out of control.
At this point, Jia Zhangshi dared not argue anymore. A wise man doesn't fight a losing battle, so she abandoned her grandson and ran home.
After being punched several times, Jia Zhangshi managed to escape the group of women and finally got home. She closed the door and refused to open it no matter how much they called from outside.
This scene was witnessed by Qin Huairu, who was washing clothes by the pool. Not knowing what was going on, Qin Huairu did not dare to go forward rashly, so she put down the clothes in her hands and walked to the front yard.
When Qin Huairu arrived at the front yard, she saw an older woman holding her son, Banggeng, and she felt relieved.
"Hey lady, what's going on here?"
Qin Huairu asked.
“It’s Huai Ru. This is a long story, and you can’t handle it. Here’s what we’ll do: I’ll look after the child for now. You go to the steel mill and notify Zhonghai and Dongxu to come back and deal with it.”
"Oh, thank you so much, ma'am! I'll go right now."
After Qin Huairu finished speaking, she ran towards the steel rolling mill without looking back.
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