Chapter 79 Sowing Discord
No one knew what happened that night; everyone was fast asleep.
The next morning, the residents of compound number 35 woke up to the usual clanging and banging sounds.
Cheng Jiajia and Yu Junsheng were preoccupied with their own thoughts, and they woke up as soon as they heard a noise.
Yu Junsheng first went to the kitchen to put the porridge on the stove to simmer, and then went outside to wash up.
He stood next to Cheng Jiajia. The young couple would glance at each other while brushing their teeth, which made several middle-aged women nearby burst into laughter.
The courtyard was filled with laughter and chatter when, with a creak, the door to the west wing opened, and Zheng Haiyang came out carrying a washbasin.
Cheng Jiajia was taken aback. Well, how should I put it?
Zheng Haiyang was a far cry from his recent gloomy demeanor. Although he wasn't exactly beaming, he was certainly in high spirits, and it was clear to everyone that he was in a very pleasant mood.
A few old men winked and made faces at him when they saw him.
Ma Gaosheng jokingly added, "Hey, Haiyang, you and your wife must have had quite a bit of fun last night, right? How are you feeling?"
"Ha ha ha ha"
Everyone immediately burst into lewd laughter.
Yu Junsheng frowned; he didn't want his wife to hear such foul language.
These people are really something, they don't even know when to joke around.
Before he could even speak to stop him, Zheng Haiyang's face darkened. "What nonsense are you talking about! There are women here, so don't speak so rudely."
Everyone was stunned, even Yu Junsheng looked at Zheng Haiyang in surprise.
What's wrong with this person?
Men often like to make slightly suggestive jokes, and as long as they're not too outrageous, everyone just laughs it off.
They'd joked with Zheng Haiyang before, and he'd always just laugh it off. Sometimes they'd even crack a few risqué jokes, but nobody took it to heart.
But this time Zheng Haiyang's expression changed. What did he mean?
Regardless of Zheng Haiyang's meaning, Yu Junsheng quickly nodded in agreement, "That's right. There are quite a few young women and wives here. Everyone should be careful with their words and not scare the women or bring shame to us men."
Cheng Jiajia and several other young wives were washing up by the pool, all looking embarrassed.
Ma Gaosheng was a little embarrassed. "Alright, alright, the young female comrades are here, so I won't say anything more."
However, he secretly thought to himself, "Yu Junsheng is fine, after all, he never liked to get involved in these things before. But Zheng Haiyang is such a pretentious guy. They've talked about these things in the courtyard before, and Zheng Haiyang has said them too."
Why are people so particular about these days?
Pah! What a pretentious show!
Cheng Jiajia: "..."
Despite being 'thoughtful' by Zheng Haiyang, she wasn't particularly happy.
Cheng Jiajia glanced at Zheng Haiyang, whose face had suddenly darkened, and felt something was off.
She didn't think Zheng Haiyang was such a considerate person to women; she'd heard him making lewd jokes with the men in the courtyard before.
Looking closely at Zheng Haiyang's eyebrows, well, they do indeed resemble those of someone who just... well, you know.
Looking again at Jiang Qiubai, who was still busy in the kitchen, oblivious to everything, Cheng Jiajia suddenly realized something.
She nudged Yu Junsheng's arm.
Yu Junsheng raised an eyebrow; this was interesting.
This is really unexpected. These two are so fast. I thought Zheng Haiyang would have to hold out for a while.
What's wrong?
Without him and Cheng Jiajia, those two eyesores, does the so-called love between the male and female leads become so fragile?
...
On the other side, Ren Wenhua also looked at Zheng Haiyang with a meaningful gaze.
Last night, he suddenly had a stomachache in the middle of the night. Although he was afraid of the legends about female ghosts in public restrooms, he couldn't care less about that at the time because of the stomachache.
Unexpected! Unexpected!
This trip, however, allowed him to hear some other commotion.
At first, he thought it was some kind of female ghost, which scared him so much that he almost pulled up his pants and ran away.
But after listening carefully for a while, I realized something was wrong.
Those moaning and groaning sounds, aren't they just the sounds men and women make when they're having sex?!
Damn it, so someone was having an affair behind the public toilet!
Ren Wenhua cursed under his breath, wishing he could go out and wake everyone up so they could catch the adulterous couple in the act.
But upon listening again, Ren Wenhua paused, because he realized the voice sounded somewhat familiar.
Ren Wenhua immediately recalled the scene he had witnessed outside the bathhouse during the day.
I began to have some doubts.
Seeing Zheng Haiyang like this today only confirms that.
Zheng Haiyang and Bao Dayan had indeed gotten together.
Ren Wenhua's eyes darted around quickly, his mind racing with calculations.
Later on, I can use this to control this kid and make him use me.
...
Feeling guilty, Zheng Haiyang was particularly sensitive to the stares of others. Suddenly, he felt a burning gaze fixed on him from behind.
He was startled and quickly turned his head, only to see Ren Wenhua and Grandpa Guo brushing their teeth with their heads down. Everyone around them was doing their own thing and no one was paying attention to him.
Could it be that I'm just imagining things because I'm too nervous?
Zheng Haiyang looked at Ren Wenhua and Grandpa Guo with suspicion.
Ren Wenhua calmly brushed his teeth, seemingly unaware of his gaze.
Grandpa Guo noticed it when he looked up, paused for a moment, and then suddenly smiled brightly at him, "Haiyang, I knew you had the kindest heart. Did you feel sorry for me because I don't have hot water to wash my face, and were you going to pour me some hot water?"
Zheng Haiyang: "..."
He himself wouldn't even use hot water to wash his face, yet he poured it for this stingy old man?
Is water free? Is the plum for boiling water free?
Why should he give it to this stingy old man?!
Just as Zheng Haiyang was about to make an excuse, he said, "Uncle Guo, my hot water is also..."
Before he could finish speaking, Grandpa Guo looked at him with a pained expression, "No way, no way? Haiyang, I'm an elder who watched you grow up. You wouldn't even be reluctant to spend this little bit of hot water, would you?"
Zheng Haiyang: "..."
Damn it, you old miser, you've said everything, what else is there for him to say?!
Seeing that his neighbors were all frowning and looking at him disapprovingly, as if they would all criticize him if he didn't give it to them.
Zheng Haiyang looked constipated.
In an effort to salvage his image after the recent setbacks, Zheng Haiyang had no choice but to hold his nose and pour a basin of hot water for Grandpa Guo.
Grandpa Guo didn't mind at all; freebies are always the best!
It tastes even better when it's taken from that old shrew Chang Dafeng's house!
Grandpa Guo happily washed himself with the hot water that Zheng Haiyang had just poured from the kettle, and sighed contentedly.
Praise poured out like water: "Oh, Haiyang, you are such a filial and good child. You are steady, promising, and respectful to your elders. I knew I hadn't misjudged you!"
Zheng Haiyang forced a smile. "Uncle Guo, I don't deserve your praise. As you said, you're an elder who watched us grow up. How could I just stand by and watch you suffer? A little hot water isn't a big deal." After saying that, he glanced meaningfully at Yu Junsheng, who was watching the fun from the side, implying that Yu Junsheng was stingy, miserly, and disrespectful to his elders.
Yu Junsheng gave him a half-smile and ignored him.
He didn't take these tricks seriously.
However, he wanted to see how Zheng Haiyang would handle the situation. Did he really think that the elderly folks in the courtyard were easy to please?
Sure enough, the eyes of the surrounding elderly women and men lit up, and they all praised it in unison:
"Yes, yes, Haiyang has been a filial and sensible child since he was little. We've watched him grow up, how could we be wrong?"
"Haiyang, I knew you were going to be successful when you were a child. You're a good person, and you know how to care for us elders."
"Hey, Haiyang, your aunt has rheumatism and can't touch cold water, could you pour her some more?"
"Haiyang, Grandpa has rheumatism in his legs, pour me some too!"
"ocean……"
Zheng Haiyang: "..."
Zheng Haiyang doesn't want to fail.
But he was lifted up high by several elderly men and women, and in the end, he had no choice but to put on a blank face and pour hot water for each of them.
He had just finished boiling a kettle of water at home, and those older women actually asked him to boil another one.
Anyway, I'm definitely taking advantage of his family.
Zheng Haiyang: "!!!"
Chang Dafeng clutched her chest at the door and cursed, "My coal! My coal! You greedy parasites, you parasites!"
She didn't want to give hot water to these greedy people, but her son said that their family's reputation wasn't what it used to be, and if they refused now, these people would spread rumors about them and slander them behind their backs.
Chang Dafeng didn't care about reputation, but her son still had to work in the factory, so she had to be careful. She could only grit her teeth and accept it.
Chang Dafeng stared at these people as if they were using her blood, not her hot water.
The older women didn't care; it wasn't easy for them to get a good deal from Chang Dafeng's family!
Normally, she's the one who takes advantage of others!
This hot water feels so comforting!
Yu Junsheng witnessed the whole scene and almost couldn't help but burst out laughing.
Is it really okay to lift a rock only to drop it on your own foot?
Cheng Jiajia went even further, expressing her schadenfreude: "He deserved to have his reputation built on your mistakes!"
...
Because of all the busy work last night, Bao Dayan woke up quite late.
Like rain after a long drought, after a night of nourishment, her eyes were radiant, and her skin was no longer as dull as before.
Bao Dayan looked at herself in the mirror and was very satisfied.
It seems that some people still need to have that kind of thing.
Liu Xiaohong grumbled in the kitchen, "Lazy woman, what time is it?! My life is so hard! I've given birth to so many children, and not one of them understands me! I, as their mother, have to get up early to cook for these unfilial brats!"
Ignoring her mother Liu Xiaohong's sarcastic remarks, Bao Dayan quickly washed up, grabbed her handbag, and rushed out the door without even having time to eat.
Unfortunately, they bumped into Chang Dafeng, who was out buying groceries.
"Ouch!"
The two bumped into each other face to face, and Qi Shuangshuang covered her forehead.
Bao Dayan said irritably, "Aunt Chang, why don't you watch where you're going?!"
Bao Dayan thought about it and realized she had indeed run into him. She immediately felt guilty, but still tried to sound tough, saying, "I can't be bothered to talk to you!"
She left after saying that.
Chang Dafeng was furious.
Chang Dafeng spat at her rosy-cheeked face as soon as she saw it, "Pah! I wonder which guy she hooked up with to make her look so radiant!"
Her eyes darted around, and she began to calculate which man in the courtyard was having an affair with Bao Dayan.
In Aunt Chang's mind, all the men, from Ma Gaosheng and Zhu Ziqiang in the front yard to Wang Xiaowu in the back yard, were suspects.
Bah! Not a single one of them is any good!
...
Cheng Jiajia had a general idea of what was going on between Zheng Haiyang and Bao Dayan, so she didn't pay much attention to it anymore.
She was thinking about how to cause trouble for Qin Weimin. People can't be too idle. When they're idle, they like to scheme against others. Only when they're busy do they not have time to cause trouble for Yu Junsheng.
Unexpectedly, the opportunity came at noon.
When Cheng Jiajia finished eating and went to the sink to wash the dishes, she heard Qin's eldest and second sisters-in-law complaining that their parents-in-law favored their youngest daughter-in-law, Wu Meifang.
"We're all the same daughters-in-law, so why is it that Wu Meifang's dowry is two hundred yuan while mine was only fifty yuan?! Why does Wu Meifang not have to do any work after she enters the family, and we two sisters-in-law have to serve her? She doesn't cook, she doesn't wash the dishes, and she even throws her own smelly clothes at us to wash. How can you treat people like this! Bah! Does she really think she's some kind of capitalist's daughter?!"
"Tell me, how did we end up with this kind of in-laws? If they want to lick Wu Meifang's stinky feet, then they can lick them, but why do they dump all the work on us?!"
Qin's sister-in-law, Sun Hongmei, was throwing and smashing the dishes as she washed them, which showed how deep her resentment was.
Qin Ersao Jin Qiaoqiao comforted her, "Hey, don't be angry. Who told her to be so precious? It's our fate to have such a lowly life! Let's get back to work!"
Sun Hongmei's eyes immediately reddened, and overwhelmed with grief, she threw down the rag in her hand and cried, "Why is my life so bitter!"
Cheng Jiajia: "..."
Cheng Jiajia was stunned.
Qin Ersao seemed to be comforting Sun Hongmei, but in reality, she was raising Sun Hongmei's anger to another level.
Brilliant, absolutely brilliant!
Cheng Jiajia's gaze was too intense, and Sun Hongmei quickly noticed. Upon seeing Cheng Jiajia, Sun Hongmei was reminded of her comfortable life with Yu Junsheng.
He immediately glanced at her sideways and said sarcastically, "Qiaoqiao, tell me, what's wrong with all these young wives these days? They're all so lazy! When we got married, we were never like this! They never do any housework, all they know is how to seduce their men, are they that dependent on them?"
"Hey, sister-in-law, don't say that. These days, young wives are valued more than men like us. You can't say anything about it."
Jin Qiaoqiao also made this comment, seemingly to stop it.
There's nothing else to it, I'm just jealous of how happy Cheng Jiajia is!
Why is it that everyone gets to be someone else's wife, but Cheng Jiajia gets to live a carefree life with her husband while she has to get involved with her husband's entire family, and now she even has to serve a domineering sister-in-law?!
She's just jealous of Cheng Jiajia!
Cheng Jiajia: "..."
Are you guys sick in the head?
She had never provoked those two sisters-in-law, so why were they making veiled accusations?
Do you really think she's someone to mess with?
Cheng Jiajia's eyes darted around, and she immediately looked at the two sisters-in-law of the Qin family with envy.
"Oh, my two sisters-in-law, I really envy you."
What the heck?!
Did they hear me right?
Are you envious of those who are controlled by their in-laws and have no money?
Or do you envy them for being treated like slaves by their sisters-in-law?
Sun Hongmei and Jin Qiaoqiao both stared wide-eyed at Cheng Jiajia.
His eyes practically screamed, "Are you sick?"
Cheng Jiajia seemed oblivious, speaking with a hint of envy.
"Yes, I envy you because you have in-laws to take care of you. Your life is so peaceful."
“I hand over my entire monthly salary to my in-laws and don’t have to worry about anything. Yu Junsheng and I are just the two of us, and we don’t have any elders to look after us. We have to discuss for a long time before deciding what to eat when we buy groceries. Sometimes we crave meat and use up our meat coupons in the first half of the month, so we can only eat vegetables for the next half of the month. Unlike you, you have two elders above you and a large family at home. Although you can’t eat many bites of meat each, you can at least plan ahead.”
“Whenever Yu Junsheng and I went to the supply and marketing cooperative, we couldn’t help but buy whatever we liked. After buying it, we felt bad about the money we spent. Unlike you, who hand over all your wages and don’t have a penny in your hands, you don’t have this concern at all.”
"Look how good Uncle Qin and Aunt Yan are to you! I'm so envious!"
Sun Hongmei and Jin Qiaoqiao's faces immediately darkened.
Damn it, that little bitch Cheng Jiajia isn't envious of them at all.
Is this a deliberate attempt to mock them for being controlled by their in-laws and having a hard time?
Cheng Jiajia acted as if she hadn't seen their angry faces, and said very sincerely, "Everyone says it's good to be in charge, but I really envy you guys who have someone to take care of you. Even though you don't get your own salary after working for a month, you don't have to worry about anything."
Cheng Jiajia left after a brief conversation at Versailles, leaving Sun Hongmei and Jin Qiaoqiao with dark expressions.
Sun Hongmei was indignant and started cursing.
"What's so great about her?! So what if she married a lonely star who has no parents? Back then, that Yu family boy was a ragpicker, she really wasn't picky at all!"
Her husband is a level four fitter, earning over forty yuan a month! How could Cheng Jiajia, this country bumpkin, possibly boast about that?!
Jin Qiaoqiao was a shrewd person. She got angry after hearing Cheng Jiajia's words, but after she calmed down, she seemed to be deep in thought.
Cheng Jiajia is right. Why is she living such a comfortable life? It's because she doesn't have in-laws to keep her in check. The young couple earns their own living, so of course they're doing well.
Unlike her and her husband, who give all of their monthly salary of seventy-odd yuan to their parents-in-law and still live a very frugal life, struggling to even afford a bite of meat and having to ask their parents-in-law for money to buy anything.
The key issue is that the in-laws might not even give it to them.
Things were fine before; at least the expenses for both bedrooms were about the same. The money was just sitting in the old couple's hands.
But ever since Qin Laosan got married and brought Wu Meifang, that ancestor of his, into the family, this balance has been broken.
Wu Meifang's mother-in-law often bought chicken, duck, fish and meat to nourish her body, and said that the money came from the family fund.
It sounds nice that it's a public institution, but how many years has Qin Laosan worked? His wedding was such a grand affair, it cost a lot of money. How much of his earnings would he have left?
It's all thanks to the money earned by the first and second wives.
The money they earned was not used by themselves and their children, but was instead given to their husband's younger brother and his wife by their parents-in-law.
Jin Qiaoqiao was living a very stifling life.
No, this team has to get points!
Otherwise, given how much the in-laws favor the third son's family, it's uncertain who will ultimately get the money.
Jin Qiaoqiao pulled Sun Hongmei aside and whispered something to her.
Hearing the commotion behind her, Cheng Jiajia slightly curled her lips.
Strike first and you'll have the upper hand; strike later and you'll suffer the consequences.
She wanted to see if Qin Weimin would still have time to scheme against Yu Junsheng when things got heated in the Qin family's backyard.
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