Jia Zhangshi was so frightened by the old lady that she fled in panic, leaving Ma Hua utterly bewildered. Logically, why would Jia Zhangshi, a woman known for her unreasonable and troublesome ways, be so afraid of the old lady? He just couldn't understand it.
Seeing this, Qin Huairu hurriedly stepped forward to dissuade her, saying, "Grandma, please forgive my mother-in-law this time. She didn't mean it that way. You've misunderstood her."
"Pah, Qin Huairu, you jinx! What misunderstanding? She herself said that she's old and has bad teeth, so she can only drink porridge. What does that have to do with me?"
Jia Zhangshi immediately retorted, feeling even more dissatisfied with Qin Huairu. She was only thinking of Bang Geng's best interests, and Qin Huairu was undermining her.
The old lady was quite old, and after only a few steps, she started panting, her eyes red as she looked at Ma Hua.
Ma Hua shrugged, indicating it was none of his business, but inwardly he was extremely curious about what it would be like to care for the old lady in the Jia family. Would she pass away this month, and the whole family be feasting? He was really looking forward to it.
“Ahem, Madam Jia, I have to criticize you. The old lady is so old, she can’t eat corn porridge every day,” Yan Bugui coughed twice and stepped forward to say.
"Grandma, don't worry, I'll definitely add some pickled vegetables to every meal, okay?" Under the old lady's expectant gaze, Yan Bugui gritted his teeth and said with a touch of heartache.
The old lady was utterly speechless. What was she thinking, going to eat your pickled vegetables?
Yi Zhonghai, standing to the side, was overjoyed. "Look, old lady," he thought, "who else but me would be willing to take good care of you? Let's see if you still dare to act arrogantly towards me."
"Pah, you old Yan, what are you trying to prove to me? I think you're after the old lady's house. You're not worthy to compete with me for it!"
Standing to the side, Jia Zhangshi reacted as if her tail had been stepped on, and began to curse at Yan Bugui. "You dare to compete with me? You think you're worthy? I'll curse you to death!"
"I think we should discuss this privately. Let's all tell the old lady the terms and conditions, and let her choose carefully. Look at how things have gotten to this point."
"What kind of talk is this! If word gets out, people will laugh at us. Do you think this is acceptable?"
Yi Zhonghai said with a displeased expression, "Damn it, you old hag, you actually dared to threaten me."
"Oh, Yi Zhonghai, what do you mean by that? Are you saying the old lady is dissatisfied with the conditions we offered? But the Jia family is so poor, they don't even know where their next meal will come from!"
This is already the best they could offer. According to you, the old lady is highly respected and at her age, she would surely understand. Are you suggesting that you, Yi Zhonghai, and the old lady are conspiring to play us all for fools?
MCA fanned the flames from the sidelines.
Everyone was taken aback at first, then looked at the old lady and Yi Zhonghai with unfriendly expressions. Yi Zhonghai was actually overjoyed when he heard Ma Hua say that.
She blushed and said, "How could that be? No, it's not like that."
"Oh, that's good. I knew it. Now that the old lady's past has been exposed by the neighborhood committee, you, Yi Zhonghai, are trying to avoid us. How could you possibly be plotting against us all again?" Ma Hua added fuel to the fire.
"Ma Hua, what do you mean? Uncle Yi isn't that kind of person," Sha Zhu said angrily. He had just wanted to say in front of everyone that he would take care of the old lady until her death.
But Qin Huairu stopped her every time, and now, hearing Ma Hua slandering Yi Zhonghai again, she couldn't hold back any longer.
"Shazhu, what are you yelling about? My dad is the only big shot in our compound," Yan Jiecheng said angrily to Shazhu.
Yan Bugui also looked at Shazhu with some displeasure. His son was right; from now on, there would only be "Uncle Yan," no more "First Uncle" or "Second Uncle."
"Tch, I called him Uncle Yi, not Uncle Yi. Did your PE teacher teach you Chinese? Tsk tsk, everyone says your dad was an elementary school Chinese teacher, how come you're so uncultured? Does your dad know?"
Sha Zhu, with his neck stiff and his arrogant spirit rising again, thought, "Who am I? The War God of the Courtyard! How dare Yan Bugui make me bow down? He's not worthy!"
Everyone was taken aback at first, then burst into laughter. "Old Yi, you have a good surname."
"Uncle Yi, Uncle Yi, hahaha, I'm dying of laughter!"
When Yi Zhonghai heard Sha Zhu say that, he could hardly hide the smile in his eyes. Sha Zhu was right. No matter how powerful your neighborhood committee is, the people in the courtyard still call me "Grandpa"!
When Yan Jiecheng heard this, he wanted to say something, but Yan Bugui stopped him. He knew that there was no point in reasoning with Sha Zhu; his own weaklings would only get beaten up if they went up against him.
“Alright, Sha Zhu is right, Yi Zhonghai is your grandpa, your grandpa. Call him that if you want,” Yan Bugui said with a smile.
"That's right," Sha Zhu said with a smug look. Of course, Yi Zhonghai had been so good to him, and he always remembered it.
"Alright, it's getting late, we have to go to work tomorrow. Grandma, we've lived in the same courtyard for so many years, do you know the situation of everyone else?"
I think you already know the answer. Tell me, who do you really plan to rely on for your old age?
Yan Bugui also realized that the old lady's talk of providing for someone's old age was clearly a pretext for a conflict between her and Yi Zhonghai, intended to sow discord between them.
“That’s right, Grandma, you can choose with confidence. I know you’re not a snob, right, Zhuzi?” Qin Huairu quickly chimed in to explain.
While seemingly trying to exonerate the old lady, he had already prepared a slap on the wrist, accusing her of being a snob and a gold digger. Everyone in the courtyard knew that the Jia family was the poorest, and if she didn't choose him, it would mean she was a snob and a gold digger.
When Sha Zhu heard Qin Huairu say that, he happily advised the old lady, "Grandma, I think Sister Qin is right. Sister Qin is very good at taking care of people. Choosing her family is definitely the right choice!"
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