Jia Zhangshi's words were so obvious that the expressions of the women nearby changed instantly.
With the New Year just around the corner, everyone has many expenses. Although the Jia family has suffered a misfortune and everyone sympathizes with them, appropriate assistance is enough. Why are we asking everyone to donate money again?
So, when everyone saves up some money for the New Year, we have to share some with your family?
All this year has been spent on giving to your Jia family.
Donations are fine, but it has to be voluntary; the Jia family can't just suggest it themselves!
Yi Zhonghai's wife glanced at Liu Haizhong's wife, Yan Bugui's wife, and several other women present. Seeing that everyone's expressions were rather unpleasant, she said, "Sister-in-law, I'll go home and get you some mixed flour later. You can cook something and send it to Dongxu and Huairu tonight."
The women lost interest in staying any longer, exchanged a few words, and then muttered about going home to cook.
"That Jia Zhangshi is really something. Everyone has things to do during the New Year, and now we have to donate money and grain to her family."
As soon as they stepped out of the Jia family's gate, Aunt Zhou from the front yard immediately voiced her dissatisfaction, "It's not that I don't want to donate; everyone should help when their family suffers such a big tragedy. But count how many times we've donated to their family this year! Don't we all have our own lives to live? We're only helping their family, what about our own?!"
Even with Yi Zhonghai's wife present, Aunt Zhou was still full of resentment.
"Who says otherwise? I can only afford two cents if I donate again, but I really don't have any more. My family has a lot of expenses lately."
“My family is also struggling, but we’ve never asked anyone for help. The year before last, my husband fell and injured himself, and we spent a lot of money on medical treatment. Nobody suggested that we donate anything to him. But the Jia family, who were perfectly healthy the year before last, organized a donation for them.”
“I just went to the hospital to see Jia Dongxu. I didn’t come empty-handed; I brought eggs. I can’t afford to donate any more.”
Listening to the rambling of the group, Yi Zhonghai's wife felt a little embarrassed: "What everyone said makes sense. No one is well-off during the New Year. We can't help the Jia family and then make our own lives difficult. We still have to take care of ourselves."
After hearing what Yi Zhonghai's wife said, the women's expressions softened, and they all said that it wasn't that they didn't want to donate, but that they simply couldn't afford it.
After talking for a while, the group dispersed.
When Yi Zhonghai's wife returned home, she told Yi Zhonghai about Jia Zhangshi's idea, and then shared everyone's thoughts.
“This is indeed a difficult matter. We already considered this when we were discussing it. It’s impossible for everyone to contribute too much to help the Jia family.”
Yi Zhonghai sighed, slowly closed his eyes, and after a moment of contemplation, said, "Da Bao has come up with a good solution to this matter. We have already discussed it, and it is highly feasible. Let's proceed according to our plan. You can inform Jia Zhangshi later."
Yi Zhonghai then told his wife about Wang Dabao's idea, praising it highly.
Yi Zhonghai's wife was overjoyed as she listened, and without thinking, she began to praise Wang Dabao as well.
"Old Yi, Da Bao's idea is really good. You used to always look down on him, but look at him now, Da Bao solved the problem with just one move."
"Yes, I didn't expect that either." Yi Zhonghai chuckled and took a sip of tea. "Alright, you hurry up and cook. I'm going to take a nap in the inner room."
Taking care of Jia Dongxu last night really exhausted Yi Zhonghai's old bones.
The average life expectancy at that time was only sixty-five years, far below the standards of later generations. However, people from the high-level working class like Yi Zhonghai would certainly live longer.
But at his age, he is already nearing old age.
This weekend, when Wang Dagangbao arrived home, Wang Tiangao brought food and groceries to him.
Just as the two had finished setting out the food, Sha Zhu came to their door again.
Despite his usual carefree attitude, Sha Zhu is actually quite meticulous in his work. He wanted to stay and join in the fun with Wang Dabao and Wang Tiangao, so he hurriedly went out and bought a bottle of wine.
Sha Zhu drank quite a bit during the meal, and Jia Dongxu's matter made him feel much more at ease.
"Da Bao, do you think Qin Huairu will leave and find another place now that Jia Dongxu is paralyzed?" Sha Zhu asked, holding a wine glass.
"cannot."
Wang Dabao shook his head. "Although I haven't lived here for long and haven't had much contact with Qin Huairu, judging from her daily life, this woman is very strong-willed. I think she wouldn't leave the Jia family even for the sake of her child."
"Even if something bad happens to Jia Dongxu in the future, it shouldn't be a problem."
Finally, Wang Dabao added another sentence.
He thought to himself, "If Qin Huairu had left, you silly Zhu wouldn't have become a blood baby, supporting such a large family. Maybe you could have even gotten married and had a couple of kids, and we wouldn't have almost died out."
"Hey, Brother Da Bao, you have good taste. Sister Qin is a good woman. Look at how Aunt Jia treated her, but she didn't complain at all."
Sha Zhu poured the wine into his mouth in one gulp, "It's just that Jia Dongxu is paralyzed, which is really bad for her."
Wang Dabao nodded, his face full of regret: "What can we do? Natural disasters and man-made calamities are beyond our control. Let's help each other out in the future if we can."
Sha Zhu nodded, then seemed to remember something, and put the wine glass down from his lips.
"Da Bao, what did you just say? You said something bad might happen to Jia Dongxu, meaning he might not survive?!"
Seeing the light of hope in Sha Zhu's eyes, Wang Dabao slowly nodded: "Do you think amputating both legs is as easy as it seems? It will cause a series of complications. Let's not talk about the future. The infection right now is a big problem. It's hard to say whether we can survive it."
"Even if you get through this, can you say that everything will be fine afterward? There are many things we can't predict."
Sha Zhu twitched the corner of his mouth, wanting to laugh, but held it back.
Wang Tiangao, who had been watching everything, laughed and asked, "Hey, Brother Zhu, something's not right with you. Why do you look like you're hoping for his death?"
"Go away, kid, don't talk nonsense. Is your brother Zhu that kind of person?"
Sha Zhu was a little embarrassed when his thoughts were exposed, but not too much. After all, Wang Dabao knew all too well that he was spying on Qin Huairu; the two of them had even talked about it when Sha Zhu was getting a spanking.
"That's absolutely right."
After a drinking session, Wang Tiangao and Sha Zhu became familiar with each other, and Wang Tiangao started to speak more casually, "Brother Zhu, don't deny it, you just have your eye on him. Actually, it's not that difficult, there are plenty of people like that in the countryside."
"For example, if a man in a family loses his ability to work, like this Jia Dongxu, then the wife of that family will find another man, and the three of them will live together."
After listening to Wang Tiangao's words, Sha Zhu remained silent for a while, then shook his head vigorously like a rattle drum.
“No, no, he has an elderly mother and three children. How can I afford to support them? Absolutely not. Besides, I still need to get married. It's not right for a grown man like me to marry a mother of three.”
"Tian Gao, don't give me any bad advice. Zhu Zi knows what he's doing," Wang Dabao chuckled and interjected from the side.
Wang Tiangao pouted: "Brother Zhu, I think you still don't love her enough, you're just lusting after her body."
Wang Tiangao's unintentional remark confused Sha Zhu, who then gulped down the wine in his glass.
In the end, it was Wang Dabao and his companion who carried Sha Zhu back.
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