Even the old man was taken aback by Wang Shouren's statement.
"You child, can't you talk things out properly?" He turned to Yan Bugui and said, "Third Uncle, inform Second Uncle to have everyone in the courtyard come for a meeting."
Then, speaking softly to Wang Shouren, she said, "Don't be anxious or angry. In the meeting later, if you have something to say, just say it. We'll judge for you. Don't worry, everyone here is fair. If Shazhu really wronged you, I'll make him apologize to you."
Sha Zhu didn't dare to make a fuss after hearing Wang Shouren's words.
But when he heard the old man say that, he immediately objected: "Old man, you're being too biased! Look at me, look at me..." He pointed to his swollen pig-like face and grinned.
"Shut up!" An old man glared at him fiercely. "Aren't you chaotic enough already?!"
Fifteen minutes later, all twenty-odd households from the front, middle, and back courtyards had arrived, and they were all discussing the matter animatedly.
Those who were just there are vividly recounting the exciting events that happened earlier.
Xu Damao, in particular, had just gotten home from get off work when he was inexplicably pulled into a meeting. He was getting impatient when he saw Sha Zhu looking like a pig and couldn't help but laugh.
"Hahahaha, hahahahaha..." He laughed so hard he couldn't speak anymore and was almost out of breath.
Sha Zhu wasn't feeling good either. He'd lived for so many years, and his reputation was already well-established. To be defeated by Wang Shouren? That was definitely not appropriate. Seeing Xu Damao grinning like that, he didn't say a word, raising his fists to deliver a couple of punches. But Xu Damao was too shrewd; he knew exactly what Sha Zhu was thinking, and in an instant, he ran away.
"Silly Zhu!" An old man had just finished informing everyone when he saw Silly Zhu about to act recklessly again, and he shouted angrily.
Sha Zhu then stopped.
To be honest, this was the first time Wang Shouren had ever seen a full-scale meeting of the academy in this era. A group of people, surrounded in the courtyard with an empty space in the middle, just staring straight at you, which made him somewhat uncomfortable.
The old man didn't seem to intend to waste any more time, after all, everyone was hungry at this hour. If this matter weren't so serious, he wouldn't have held this meeting at this time. He clapped his hands to attract everyone's attention: "Alright, alright, everyone should know what happened just now. Now, let the two parties involved tell us what exactly happened."
"Shazhu, you go first."
Upon hearing this, Sha Zhu immediately perked up: "Uncle, I'm truly wronged! Today, I was working diligently and as the sun was setting..."
"Pah! Shameless! 'Afterglow' indeed!" A voice rang out from the crowd. "So you're reciting today's broadcaster's script? You're just putting on airs like a pig with a scallion stuck in its nose!"
"Hey, Xu Damao, come out here!"
"Stop joking around, get down to business!" The old man's temples throbbed.
"Oh, that's me. I was just about to give Sister Qin the boxed lunch I got from the cafeteria when this kid attacked me from behind."
Sha Zhu's words, while seemingly casual about being attacked from behind, were actually quite suggestive; it was the first part of his statement that left much to the imagination.
"Hey, give this to Sister Qin, hey." Xu Damao said sarcastically from the side, and the others also showed strange smiles, those who knew, knew.
Qin Huairu shrank back and remained silent. What could she say? She had accepted Sha Zhu's lunchbox; what could she say? She couldn't say anything at all.
"It was my idea for Sha Zhu to bring lunch to Qin Huairu's house. I remember we had already discussed this. Sha Zhu is willing to help families in need in the courtyard, which is great."
"He probably wants to help more deeply," Xu Damao added, drawing laughter from those around him.
"Tch, you guys don't know anything. I'm just being helpful. My relationship with Sister Qin is completely innocent." Sha Zhu's proud expression made Xu Damao feel like he had eaten shit.
"Have you finished speaking?" The old man didn't intend to dwell on the topic any further.
In fact, it was indeed an old man who asked Sha Zhu for help with this matter.
At that time, his apprentice Jia Dongxu had died, and the family wasn't too poor despite receiving a pension. However, the apprentice had left behind an unborn child, Xiao Huaihua, who hadn't been born yet. Although the Jia family was wealthy, the old woman, Jia Zhangshi, was extremely stingy, and Qin Huairu wasn't getting enough nutrition. Yi Zhonghai was there, both as an elder and as Jia Dongxu's master.
These kinds of things should be addressed.
So he pondered how to help. Simply buying things and sending them over wouldn't be appropriate; it wasn't that he was stingy, but these days, even if he had money, it was difficult to get tickets. That's why he set his sights on Sha Zhu. After all, Sha Zhu worked in the canteen; even in a famine, the cooks wouldn't go hungry. Who knew that after Yi Zhonghai suggested it, Sha Zhu immediately agreed.
Let's just agree to it; at least he has a kind heart.
Yi Zhonghai never expected that this fool wouldn't know how to avoid suspicion at all. If you're going to send food, send it discreetly, not in the open. Even if you're going to send it in the open, have your sister do it! Why did you have to send it yourself?
For a moment, Yi Zhonghai couldn't tell whether the fool had done it on purpose or unintentionally.
"Wang Shouren, tell me, we're all from the same courtyard, it shouldn't come to that," the old man said, softening his tone.
Wang Shouren stood up, bowed in a circle to everyone before speaking, "I'm sorry to take up everyone's time. Actually, I've wanted to say this for a long time. Ever since I came to this courtyard, he, Shazhu, has been looking down on me and bullying me from time to time. Everyone has seen these things without me having to say them."
Hearing Wang Shouren say this, the others couldn't help but nod in agreement. Indeed, they all knew how pathetic Wang Shouren had been before. It was just that no one had bothered to do anything about it.
“I’ll let bygones be bygones. I was young then, and I didn’t want to cause trouble for my father. But now…” Wang Shouren’s eyes reddened slightly as he said this: “My father is gone, gone! It’s time for me to support this family!”
His voice rose a little: "Just today, right at the door, I was just about to go home. Without saying a word, Sha Zhu knocked me to the ground from behind. If it weren't for Uncle San pulling me up, I don't know how I would have survived in this freezing weather. Comrades, do you know what I was thinking at the time? I was thinking, if I continue like this, will Sha Zhu really knock me to death one day?"
"What nonsense are you talking about! I just gave it a light tap." Sha Zhu was the first to jump out and object.
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