Qin Huairu knew what her mother-in-law was thinking. It was precisely because she knew what her mother-in-law was thinking that Qin Huairu knelt down to apologize.
Once everyone got back on their feet, the conflicts within the Jia family disappeared. Those who didn't know the situation might have thought that the Jia family had never had any conflicts at all.
Returning to the table, Jia Zhangshi took some pickled vegetables from her bowl and gave them to her son. With a moment to herself, Qin Huairu thought back to what had happened that afternoon.
“Mother-in-law, why are we calculating the Wei family’s house but not their job? If we could get a job from Wei Hua, our situation would improve.”
“If I get a job at the steel rolling mill through a substitute program, I’ll be a permanent employee right away. That way, we’ll have two workers in our family. With my and Dongxu’s salaries, we can earn about 60 yuan a month.”
"Don't think about those irrelevant things. Do you really think Yi Zhonghai has that much power? Do you think I haven't thought about having a job?"
“Yi Zhonghai is just the eldest son of the family in the courtyard house, and with the help of the deaf old lady and others, once the Wei family’s house is in our hands, it’s basically impossible to return it. That house will then belong to our Jia family.”
“But the Wei family’s job is completely different. Yi Zhonghai is just a level 6 fitter in the steel rolling mill. The Wei family’s parents sacrificed their lives for the steel rolling mill. If things really get out of hand, even Yi Zhonghai won’t be able to handle it.”
“The steel rolling mill not only has a factory director and deputy factory director, but also workshop directors and deputy directors. With so many leaders around, Yi Zhonghai simply cannot control everything.”
“If things get out of hand, not only will Yi Zhonghai lose his job at the steel mill, but he'll also lose his job at Dongxu. But the housing issue is different. I heard that the deaf old lady has quite a few connections in the neighborhood committee. Director Wang of the neighborhood committee owes the deaf old lady a favor.”
"With him around, even if the house still belongs to the neighborhood committee, once we move in, it belongs to the Jia family. Nobody can kick us out of the house."
"You don't need to worry too much about the job. After all, Yi Zhonghai is a level six fitter at the steel rolling mill. As long as the steel rolling mill recruits again or expands, we can get a job by paying a small price."
“If Yi Zhonghai does nothing, I will go and make a scene with him. Even if he doesn’t want our family to live a good life, he will have no choice but to take care of this matter.”
"However, you should also be wary of Yi Zhonghai. Don't be fooled by how good he is to our Jia family; Yi Zhonghai is extremely selfish and unwilling to invest."
“If Yi Zhonghai truly cared for our family, he could easily buy us jobs. He just wants our Jia family to always owe him a favor. The more favors we owe him, the harder it will be for Dongxu to get rid of him in the future.”
“He is Dongxu’s mentor and has done so much for our family. If Dongxu doesn’t take care of him when he gets old, people will gossip.”
"That's why I don't let Dongxu be in charge. If that day ever comes, as long as I'm still here, I can completely let Dongxu leave it to his own devices. That way, no one will talk about Dongxu anymore."
"Even if others say something, they'll only say I'm mean-spirited and ungrateful. But it won't have much impact on Dongxu. You can just accept the benefits Yi Zhonghai gives you. Let this old woman bear the blame for being a bad person all by herself."
Hearing his mother's words, Jia Dongxu was filled with doubt. He felt an urge to voice his questions.
"Mom, can you tell me the real relationship between you and your master? You always say that your master is not a good person. But he has sincerely done things for our family. He has also taken good care of me at the steel rolling mill."
"If it weren't for him, our Jia family wouldn't be living such a comfortable life."
But Jia Dongxu's response was a resounding slap in the face.
"Dongxu, you're an honest person, so I don't blame you. But you must be able to tell whether the people around you are good or bad. Do you really think your master is a good person?"
"If he were truly a good person, do you think he would scheme against the Wei family's house? When Wei Baoguo was alive, he never uttered a single word. Yet, only 20 days after Wei Baoguo's death, Yi Zhonghai started bullying his son."
"You must remember this lesson today. Hard work will only lead to poverty and blindness. Seizing by trickery and force will only lead to a long and miserable life. In this world, apart from your parents, no one will treat you wholeheartedly."
"To survive in this courtyard house, you have to be on guard against others at all times. Sometimes, if you don't scheme against others, they will scheme against you. Kindness can sometimes be a sin."
"Do you really think Yi Zhonghai is good to you? If Yi Zhonghai is truly sincere towards you, then it wouldn't be unreasonable for you to take care of him in his old age. Now answer a few questions for me, and after you've answered them, you'll know what kind of person Yi Zhonghai really is."
"In which year did you become Yi Zhonghai's apprentice?"
Jia Dongxu thought for a moment and then spoke without hesitation.
"Mom, I became Yi Zhonghai's apprentice in 1951, and seven years have passed since then."
"It's good that you haven't forgotten. Now let me ask you again. When did Weihua from the front yard join the steel rolling mill?"
"Wei Hua joined the steel rolling mill three years ago. He was just officially hired two months ago."
"Then let me ask you something else. Wei Baoguo always says that Wei Hua is a blockhead. He's always acting without any sense of propriety and has no talent for being a fitter at all. But your master always says that you have good talent, so why are you still only a level 1 fitter?"
Upon hearing his mother's words, Jia Dongxu was suddenly stunned. He didn't know how to answer the question.
Even Qin Huairu, standing beside him, was stunned. Qin Huairu's thoughts were far more complex than Jia Dongxu's. Her first reaction was that Yi Zhonghai hadn't truly taught her husband the skills. Otherwise, her husband wouldn't still be a level 1 fitter after seven years.
If the first three years were spent honing skills, that's understandable. But the last four years were a bit excessive. If one lacked talent for the fitter profession and made little progress in four years, that would be somewhat understandable.
Yi Zhonghai kept saying her husband was very talented, but his skills hadn't improved at all. Qin Huairu wouldn't believe it if there wasn't something fishy going on.
"Now let me ask you something. What level have your fellow disciples reached now? I don't expect you to be exceptionally talented, but you shouldn't be lacking in talent, otherwise Yi Zhonghai wouldn't have praised your talent."
Hearing his mother's words, Jia Dongxu's face darkened considerably. While Jia Dongxu was indeed honest and filial, that didn't mean he was foolish.
Most of the people who apprenticed with him were already at the level of Level 2 fitter. Those with better talent had already reached Level 3. There was even one person who had become a Level 4 fitter.
Even those without any talent for fitter work seem to have become level 2 fitters. Only I have remained a level 1 fitter.
Even a fool would know at this point that there were other issues involved. Otherwise, he wouldn't have remained at the level of a Level 1 fitter for four years.
"Now you know what kind of person Yi Zhonghai is, right? So with someone like Yi Zhonghai, you just need to make the most of him. Never open your heart to him, or he'll betray you without you even knowing it."
“Yi Zhonghai keeps shouting in the courtyard about respecting the elderly and caring for the young. But when have you ever actually done it? The deaf old lady is a recipient of the Five Guarantees, and everything she needs is paid for by the state. Yi Zhonghai only occasionally brings her some food.”
“The Wei family’s daughter-in-law has only been dead for less than 20 days. Look at the clothes on the deaf old lady, don’t they already smell bad? Think more carefully in the future when you encounter problems.”
Hearing his mother's words, Jia Dongxu felt his worldview shatter. But upon reflection, he realized his mother was right.
It's really unreasonable that Wei Hua's master started targeting him so soon after his parents died.
"Mom, can you tell me why my master has always helped our Jia family? If there's no special relationship, why would my master keep taking care of our Jia family?"
Hearing her son's words, Jia Zhangshi hesitated for a moment, but finally decided to tell the truth. In order to beautify her image, Jia Zhangshi decided to tell a few small lies.
"It all started with a joke. Your father and Yi Zhonghai were very close. When your father and I got married, many people got drunk. Yi Zhonghai accidentally ended up sleeping in our bed."
"Since we were all drunk, there was no wedding night. Your father, in order to scheme against Yi Zhonghai, deliberately made my family take off our coats, and then somehow got some blood and smeared it on the bed."
“He deliberately made me cry there while he lay down next to me pretending to be asleep. When Yi Zhonghai woke up, he thought something had really happened between us. That's why Yi Zhonghai always suspected that you might be his child.”
"Don't think you can control him with this kind of thing. If he really cared about you, he wouldn't have stopped teaching you skills. You're just a puppet he's raised for his retirement."
"You must not tell anyone about this. You must keep this to yourselves. As long as Yi Zhonghai doesn't know the truth, he will continue to do favors for our Jia family. When Yi Zhonghai thinks he has you completely under his control, he will pass on all his techniques to you."
Hearing his mother's words, Jia Dongxu nodded earnestly. A trace of resentment towards Yi Zhonghai also arose in his heart.
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