After a few rounds of drinks, Yi Zhonghai spoke first, revealing the inappropriate aspects of his previous interactions with Sha Zhu.
Sha Zhu was quite drunk at this point. After hearing this, he laughed and patted Yi Zhonghai on the shoulder, almost calling him "brother": "Uncle, oh no, I mean Uncle Yi, I used to be impulsive and didn't think before I spoke. You know me, I hope you won't take it to heart if I say something wrong."
"I feel relieved that you said that, Zhu Zi. What's past is past, let's get along well from now on."
Yi Zhonghai was overjoyed and immediately invited everyone to eat and drink.
Seeing this, Wang Dabao raised his glass, and the atmosphere became more harmonious.
Just as the three were eating and drinking, there was a knock on the door.
Yi Zhonghai's wife ran out of the small kitchen to open the door and saw that it was Jia Dongxu.
It turned out that, according to his and Jia Zhangshi's plan, Jia Dongxu brought an empty salt jar to Yi Zhonghai's house to borrow salt.
Not far away, Jia Dongxu could hear bursts of laughter coming from Yi Zhonghai's house. Upon closer listening, he recognized Sha Zhu's voice. He felt a surge of resentment and thought to himself, "Didn't that old bastard Yi Zhonghai break up with Sha Zhu? How come they're eating together again now?"
Just as he raised his hand to knock on the door, the sounds inside the house abruptly stopped.
When Yi Zhonghai's wife opened the door and saw Jia Dongxu, she was slightly taken aback, but quickly regained her smile: "Dongxu, what's the matter so late?"
Jia Dongxu held up the salt jar, pretending to be a little flustered: "Master's wife, my salt jar was knocked over, and all the salt spilled into the water. I wanted to come and borrow some salt."
Just as Yi Zhonghai's wife was about to speak, Yi Zhonghai's voice came out: "Oh, it's Dongxu. Come inside and talk."
Upon hearing Jia Dongxu's voice, Yi Zhonghai's face flashed with displeasure, but he quickly concealed it. Although he had doubts, the man was still nominally his apprentice, and he couldn't very well refuse him entry.
After entering the house, Jia Dongxu's eyes darted around. He saw fine wine and food laid out on the table, with Sha Zhu and Wang Dabao sitting at the table. He roughly understood that Yi Zhonghai had been preparing to entertain Wang Dabao and Sha Zhu at his home for the evening.
That's why he sent me away when I left work.
Seeing Yi Zhonghai's expression, Jia Dongxu quickly picked up the salt jar and said, "Master, my salt jar was knocked over, and we ran out of salt halfway through cooking, so I thought I'd come and borrow some."
Yi Zhonghai knew it was an excuse as soon as he heard it, but he didn't show it on his face. He just frowned secretly.
"Come on, Dongxu, give me the jar." Yi Zhonghai's wife smiled as she took the jar, then turned and went into the kitchen to fill it with salt.
Taking the opportunity, Jia Dongxu glanced at the table and saw Xifeng liquor and some meat dishes that were rarely seen, which made his mouth water. However, since Yi Zhonghai didn't speak, he couldn't show any intention of staying for the meal.
Sha Zhu squinted at Jia Dongxu, then teased, "Jia Dongxu, you really know how to join in the fun. Why don't you stay and have a drink with us?"
"No need, my dinner will be ready soon."
Jia Dongxu and Sha Zhu didn't get along, and he knew that if he agreed immediately, Sha Zhu might do something sarcastic to him.
"Why don't you sit down and have a drink, Dongxu?"
Wang Dabao had a faint smile on his lips as he echoed Sha Zhu's words.
When Jia Dongxu saw that Wang Dabao also invited him to sit down, he began to hesitate. If he refused once or twice, he really wouldn't be able to sit down soon.
However, he still hoped that Yi Zhonghai, the host, would invite him, so that he could take the opportunity to get a free meal and find out what the three of them were talking about.
Little did he know that Yi Zhonghai had no intention of letting him sit down to eat at all.
After standing there awkwardly for a moment, Jia Dongxu forced a smile: "Since you're so..."
Before Jia Dongxu could finish speaking, Wang Dabao slapped his forehead and said in surprise, "Oh, I forgot, Dongxu, your foot injury hasn't fully healed yet, right? Then you shouldn't drink alcohol, it's not good for the recovery."
Jia Dongxu choked on his words, his face turning bright red.
“That’s right, your whole family is waiting for you to earn money. Don’t compare yourself to me. At work, I just talk. Now I don’t have to flip the wok.” Sha Zhu chimed in, nagging Jia Dongxu.
At this moment, Yi Zhonghai's wife came out.
Jia Dongxu accepted the salt jar, thanked him, and then turned and left Yi Zhonghai's house.
After getting up and closing the door, Yi Zhonghai shook his head helplessly and turned to call Sha Zhu and Wang Dabao to continue drinking.
"Let's not worry about that. Let's have a good drink and talk about something happy today."
As he spoke, Yi Zhonghai poured the two men a full glass of wine, and the room was once again filled with laughter and cheerful conversation.
Jia Dongxu stormed home, his heart filled with hatred for Sha Zhu, Wang Dabao, and Yi Zhonghai.
"Hmph, let's see how long you can be so smug. One day I'll make you pay."
Back home, seeing Qin Huairu busy cooking and Bang Geng clamoring for meat, Jia Dongxu felt even more irritated. He plopped down in a chair, the scene of being humiliated at Yi Zhonghai's house replaying in his mind.
"It's all because of you that I was fined and demoted at the factory, I can't even hold my head up in the yard, and I feel so stifled at home."
Jia Dongxu clenched his fists, his eyes turning sinister.
We must find a way to get revenge on them!
After much deliberation, Jia Dongxu still couldn't come up with a good solution. In the end, he realized that he couldn't do it on his own and needed to team up with others.
At Yi Zhonghai's house, the three of them had already drunk one bottle, and at Sha Zhu's insistence, Yi Zhonghai had no choice but to refill the three glasses.
As he drank more and more, Yi Zhonghai gradually became tipsy and couldn't help but talk about the rumors that had been plaguing him for the past two days.
“Dabao, Zhuzi, you two tell me, I earn almost a hundred yuan a month, do I need to steal those pittances from the factory, risking being fired? These people spreading rumors can make up anything, and yet so many people believe them!”
After saying that, Yi Zhonghai sullenly downed the wine in his glass.
"Hey, Uncle Yi, wait for Da Bao and me! If you finish this, how are we supposed to drink it?"
Sha Zhu chuckled, raised his glass, and clinked it with Wang Dabao's. Then he looked at Yi Zhonghai and said, "They just spread rumors without thinking too much. As long as someone believes them, the one who suffers is the one being slandered. If no one believes them, it doesn't matter. It's just a matter of talking. It's really despicable."
"That's right, it's ruined my life." Yi Zhonghai continued pouring wine, his face flushed. "Zhuzi, Dabao, you two have no idea. Because of this, I've aged several years. The person who spread these rumors is a real scoundrel."
Sha Zhu, holding his wine glass, frowned and suddenly asked, "Hey, Uncle Yi, haven't you thought about who's trying to harm you?"
Yi Zhonghai shook his head and sighed, "It takes only a mouth to spread rumors, but it takes a lot of legwork to refute them. Where are you going to find someone to help with something like this that has no evidence!"
"I think it's definitely one of those people in our compound!"
Sha Zhu slammed his chopsticks on the table and said confidently, "It might not be just one person, but Xu Damao definitely can't escape."
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