When Yi Zhonghai heard the old woman's question, he tried to speak while panting, but his chest ached from being swung around by Sha Zhu and he couldn't utter a word.
He hadn't expected things to turn out this way. He had indeed mentioned to Sha Zhu before that it would be great if either Jia Dongxu or Sha Zhu were his son.
When the older woman saw that Yi Zhonghai didn't say anything, tears streamed down her face.
She looked at the man in front of her with disappointment, turned around and staggered away amidst the astonished gazes of the crowd.
Seeing this, Sha Zhu hurriedly chased after the old woman and helped her up, comforting her as they walked: "Auntie, don't be too sad. Yi Zhonghai is indeed a scoundrel. I only acted because I was angry. But I have always respected you. I was just bluffing you. I wouldn't dare to really lay a hand on you."
Yi Zhonghai strained to lift his head, watching the two figures disappear into the distance, his heart filled with mixed emotions.
He knew he would have a hard time explaining himself this time, after all, he had been very biased towards the Jia family before.
When he was being beaten, Jia Dongxu just watched from the sidelines without making any move to help him, which made him realize his mistake.
Imagine if it were Lao Jia who was pinned down by Sha Zhu, then even if Jia Dongxu injured his toe again, he would still rush over without hesitation.
Ultimately, it's no good if the child isn't your own; they're not on the same page as you at all.
After being brutally beaten by Sha Zhu, Yi Zhonghai realized that he would have to reconsider his retirement plans after today. But for now, he needed to appease the old lady. It didn't matter if no one took care of him in the future, as long as he held onto his money tightly.
"Master, Master, how are you? Your disciple is useless. I was in so much pain that I couldn't move and could only watch as that bastard Sha Zhu bullied you."
With tears streaming down his face, Jia Dongxu rushed to Yi Zhonghai's side and called over Qin Huairu, who was standing there in a daze. Together, the two of them helped Yi Zhonghai sit up.
Wang Dabao and the others were also stunned.
What kind of mess did Sha Zhu make? He beat up Yi Zhonghai, and then he even sent a heartbroken old lady home.
He left such a mess behind and just ran away?!
"Hey Lao Yi, are you alright? That idiot Zhu is such a jerk, how could he hit you so hard?" Yan Bugui rushed over and asked with concern, "Lao Yi, are you feeling unwell? Should we take you to the hospital?"
Yi Zhonghai's face was covered in bruises, and he felt like his whole body had been beaten to a pulp by Sha Zhu.
"No...no need."
With a weak wave of his hand, Yi Zhonghai struggled to stand up, but cried out in pain and sat back down on the ground, clutching his lower abdomen.
Jia Dongxu cried bitterly: "Master, it's all because your disciple is incompetent that you have suffered so much. You are my master, you are my father. From now on, I will never let Sha Zhu live under the same sky. This compound is either him or me, it's either him or me."
"Hey, Jia Dongxu, you son of a bitch, you think I'm not coming back? You still dare to talk tough to me."
Sha Zhu, swinging his injured arm, rushed over like a gust of wind, grabbed Jia Dongxu by the collar and shoved him hard, sending Jia Dongxu tumbling to the ground.
Xu Damao shrank back as he watched.
Sha Zhu's fighting power seems to be a bit overpowered tonight.
The two brothers, Liu Guangtian and Liu Guangfu, standing nearby, also shuddered.
Sha Zhu and Liu Haizhong have always been at odds. These two have disliked Sha Zhu for a long time and were looking for an opportunity to teach him a lesson. But tonight, they were surprised to find that even the One-Armed Hero was no match for Sha Zhu.
The two brothers looked at each other and shook their heads simultaneously.
"Jia Dongxu, your son burned down my house, what are you going to do about this?"
Sha Zhu glared at Jia Dongxu, baring his teeth as if he was about to bite him.
"Shazhu, you...you're talking nonsense! What does your house fire have to do with my son? Don't try to pin this on others without warning!" Although Jia Dongxu was scared, he knew he couldn't admit to this. "I haven't even settled accounts with you for smashing my windows and hitting my master, and you dare to slander my son!"
Jia Dongxu paused for a moment, glanced at Yi Zhonghai who had a stern face, and seemed to realize that it was not in line with his status as a disciple that he had not stepped forward to help. He immediately raised his voice and said.
“A teacher for a day is a father for life. If you lay a hand on my master, you are hitting my father. I’ll fight you to the death, even if it costs me my life, to get justice for my master.”
After saying that, Jia Dongxu propped himself up and rammed his head into Sha Zhu.
Jia Dongxu knew he couldn't avoid this meal. Without Yi Zhonghai's help, the Jia family wouldn't even have cornmeal to eat, let alone the large sum of money they had borrowed from Yi Zhonghai.
I still absolutely won't pay it back, but if I don't behave myself next time, I won't be able to borrow from you again!
"You dare to play dirty tricks on me? You must be blind."
Seeing Jia Dongxu charging towards him, Sha Zhu remained calm, dodging the attack and kicking Jia Dongxu in the groin. "Go to hell! Now you know how to avenge your master? What were you doing earlier? You're a little late in showing your loyalty."
Jia Dongxu cried out in pain as Sha Zhu kicked him down the steps, rolling twice before he landed face down in the yard.
"Well done! You really think you're something special!"
The deaf old woman slammed her cane down hard, then pointed it at Sha Zhu, yelling, "Zhu, you bastard! How could you act so arrogantly towards your old man? Apologize to your old man right now and slap yourself twice!"
"Why should I!" Sha Zhu tilted his head. "Yi Zhonghai is biased. Just look at me these days, whenever I have a conflict with the Jia family, he always helps the Jia family bully me. Is that even possible?"
Yi Zhonghai took a deep breath: "Grandma, no need. Don't worry, I won't report it to the police, and I won't let Zhuzi pay my medical expenses. Let's leave it at that."
As he said this, Yi Zhonghai's face remained expressionless, and he didn't even glance at Jia Dongxu, who had been kicked into the yard.
"Old Yan, help me up."
Yi Zhonghai sighed deeply, stood up with Yan Bugui's help, first shook his head at the deaf old lady, then looked at Jia Dongxu lying in the yard and the neighbors watching the commotion, and then turned his gaze to Wang Dabao, Liu Haizhong and the others.
"As the old man in charge of the courtyard, I took Jia Dongxu as my apprentice because the Jia family had a difficult life in the early days, and Jia's sister-in-law had a hard time raising Dongxu.
"Perhaps because I've gotten used to helping them, I'm always worried that their family won't have a good life, and I'm afraid that I, as the person in charge, will neglect my duties. Gradually, this has led to what everyone calls favoritism!"
"I apologize to everyone here!"
As he spoke, Yi Zhonghai didn't forget to bow to the neighbors in the courtyard.
"Now, I announce that I am stepping down from my position as the steward. You may elect someone with both virtue and talent to take over."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
