From the very beginning of the meeting, Yi Zhonghai paid close attention to Xu Damao's situation, fearing that the kid might cause trouble. Fortunately, the meeting seemed to proceed relatively smoothly.
However, as soon as the donations began, some people raised objections.
"I have an opinion!" This crisp voice clearly didn't belong to Xu Damao, but to some girl.
Yi Zhonghai looked around at the crowd, but couldn't find anyone after searching for a long time. Actually, it didn't matter whether he found anyone or not; he knew it was He Yushui from the voice. He had planned everything perfectly, but he never expected the first troublemaker to be one of his own.
Just as Yi Zhonghai was looking for someone, He Yushui also squeezed from the back of the crowd to the front. Although she didn't say anything more about her objections, her stubborn eyes said it all.
"Zhu Zi, what's going on?" Yi Zhonghai didn't ask He Yushui directly, but instead asked Sha Zhu.
Sha Zhu had been eager to try, planning to go up and show off in front of Qin Huairu as soon as the old men donated. But ever since he ate the meat, he realized that the previous 20 years of his life had been wasted, and now all he could think about was this.
But for some reason, Qin Huairu has been avoiding him lately. He hasn't even had a sip of soup, let alone any meat, which has made him very frustrated. So, when he heard about the donation drive, he decided to do his best, hoping for some benefits later.
Unexpectedly, his younger sister not only didn't help him, but also caused trouble, directly angering Sha Zhu. His initial remorse for yelling at his sister had vanished without a trace.
"What business is it of yours? Go home and study!" Sha Zhu yelled at He Yushui. As he spoke, he walked over to He Yushui and shoved his younger sister.
Over there, not far from the three old men, the main characters of today's event—the Jia family, including Jia Zhangshi and Qin Huairu—were also looking at Shazhu with encouraging eyes. Just now, if Shazhu hadn't stepped forward, Jia Zhangshi was prepared to personally tear He Yushui apart.
"Brother, let me go! I have to say what I need to say today, or you can forget about the donation today!" He Yushui broke free from Shazhu and said loudly.
Most of the households in the courtyard were dissatisfied with the donations, but since there was no one to lead the way, they usually just spent some money to buy peace of mind. But now that He Yushui took the lead, the others immediately followed suit and expressed their support for him.
Some of the bolder ones directly asked to speak to He Yushui, while the less timid ones offered their support by stomping their feet or banging on the table. Despite her stick-like appearance, He Yushui, a high school student, was quite cultured and had won the hearts of many unmarried young men. She had quite a few supporters, and the scene was more lively than ever before.
Among the three old men, Liu Haizhong and Yan Fugui exchanged a glance, thinking that they might be able to save a few dollars today. So the two of them tacitly kept their eyes down, saying nothing and looking at nothing, leaving everything to Yi Zhonghai to handle.
Seeing that the scene had descended into chaos and that he had few allies, Yi Zhonghai knew he couldn't let things continue as they were, so he had no choice but to order Sha Zhu to release He Yushui.
“Yushui, you’ve been studying at school for a long time, so you may not be familiar with the spirit of mutual help in the compound. Especially since your parents haven’t been around since you were little, you’ve always received help from your neighbors in the compound, so I think you should be even more grateful now.”
Yi Zhonghai, true to his old ways, didn't even touch on the topic of today's donation, but instead brought up the favors the other party had received in the past. In this compound, not to mention He Yushui, even Xu Damao had received help from neighbors since childhood, even if it was just a piece of candy or a cornbread, so these favors were undeniable.
As expected, He Yushui was speechless after Yi Zhonghai's words, standing blankly in the middle of the courtyard. Although she couldn't be said to have grown up on the charity of many families, almost every household in the courtyard had given her food, even the Jia family. Now, standing up for her seemed somewhat ungrateful.
However, He Yushui had been scolded by Sha Zhu that morning. When she returned home alone, she felt increasingly resentful. Her brother, who used to love her, now ignored her, and her once relatively wealthy family was now struggling to afford tuition. Hearing that she had to donate to the Jia family, all her grievances and anger finally erupted.
She had anticipated that her brother would stop her when she arrived, and she was determined to expose the Jia family no matter what. Therefore, although Yi Zhonghai's words made He Yushui hesitate for a moment, she still spoke up.
"Gentlemen, neighbors, first of all, I want to thank you all for your care and help for me and my family over the years. Without your help, I wouldn't have been able to go to high school." After saying this, He Yushui bowed to everyone.
"However, I must say that today's donation is very inappropriate, or rather, we should clarify the money that the Jia family owes our family before making the donation."
Since last year, the Jia family has been constantly borrowing money from my brother, ranging from 2 or 3 yuan to tens of yuan. My brother originally earned more than 50 yuan a month from his salary and the money he made doing banquets for others, plus the money he had saved over the years, which was quite a lot.
But right now, my brother can't even scrape together 100 yuan, and I'm often behind on my living expenses and tuition fees. I hope that the Jia family can give my brother an IOU in front of all the neighbors in the compound today, and say when they will pay it back.
"Until the Jia family repays the loan, our family will resolutely refuse to lend them any more money. Besides, even disregarding the Jia family's own money, the amount my brother lent them is more than enough for their entire family to live on."
He Yushui finally finished speaking. Just as she began, Sha Zhu tried to pull her away, but was stopped by the other neighbors. Everyone was also eager to see just how much the Jia family had squeezed out of Sha Zhu.
This news was quite alarming. It turned out that the Jia family had completely emptied Sha Zhu's pockets. By this calculation, the Jia family had taken at least four or five hundred yuan from Sha Zhu in a year, and now they had to borrow money everywhere.
“What do you know, you little brat? When did our family ever borrow that much money from Sha Zhu? Don’t make baseless accusations. Let me tell you, you’ve already settled the matter yourself, so don’t spread rumors and cause trouble here, preventing other neighbors from helping us.”
Upon hearing He Yushui expose his family's past, Jia Zhangshi naturally couldn't let him continue. Besides, if Qin Huairu hadn't held Jia Zhangshi back, He Yushui would have at least a few slap marks on his face by now.
"Zhu Zi, is this what you meant?" Although Qin Huairu did not make a move, he cast his gaze at Sha Zhu.
Sha Zhu had just been wondering if he really had lent out that much money. He had been genuinely poor lately, but he was happy with his poverty. As long as Qin Huairu gave him a smile, he was full of energy and forgot all about how much money he had lent out.
Anyway, he only had a few dozen yuan on him right now. His monthly salary would arrive in Qin Huairu's pocket not long after it was deposited.
"He Yushui, if you continue to act so recklessly, I will cut all ties with you!" Sha Zhu roared.
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