Yi Zhonghai thought about it for a while, but finally decided to wait and see. Wei Baoguo had just sacrificed his life, and it would be too disgusting for him to seize the house now.
If things escalate, even a level 6 fitter like myself won't be able to easily resolve the situation. Besides, this isn't something that can be done simply by my word. For something like this, the consent of the other two elders is absolutely necessary. Only by gathering the wishes of all three elders and the other residents of the courtyard can this matter be accomplished.
Otherwise, relying solely on his authority as an elder, he wouldn't be able to make this happen. So Yi Zhonghai gave Jia Zhangshi a meaningful look, signaling her not to act rashly for the time being.
Jia Zhangshi, who had been itching to make a move, immediately stopped all her actions upon receiving instructions from Yi Zhonghai. She chose to stand aside and quietly watch the spectacle.
At this moment, the deaf old lady finished the whole bowl of fried rice. After finishing, she didn't forget to wipe her mouth with her sleeve.
"Grandson, next time you have this, give it to Sha Zhu. Sha Zhu's cooking skills are far superior to yours. It's a waste for you to cook this."
"You still have a lot of pork cracklings here, so I'll take some back with me. Next time, I'll have Sha Zhu stir-fry them for me; I'm sure you won't mind."
Without giving Wei Hua any time to consider, she poured the fried pork cracklings directly into the bowl.
Seeing the deaf old woman's reckless behavior, Wei Hua didn't stop her. He wouldn't have cared if she wanted to take all the fried grease residue away. What Wei Hua cared about was what kind of retribution the deaf old woman and Yi Zhonghai would face.
"Grandma, what goes around comes around. Sometimes you shouldn't go too far, or God might punish you."
But hardly anyone in the courtyard believed these things. If they did, they wouldn't have chosen to do bad things.
Now everyone had their own opinions about Wei Hua. Yan Bugui secretly regretted not being more assertive. If he had been more assertive, he might have been able to gain some advantage.
The others shared similar thoughts with Yan Bugui. They were all thinking about how to take advantage of Wei Hua. Seeing Wei Hua walk into the kitchen, one by one, they went over to him.
Seeing that everyone was trying to take advantage of the situation, Wei Hua simply closed the door. He then went to the kitchen to cook dinner alone. To celebrate his haul, Wei Hua decided to treat himself. He not only took out a few eggs but also prepared some pork cracklings.
Wei Hua ignored the people outside the courtyard. Seeing that Wei Hua had even closed the door, the others could only leave indignantly.
In the eyes of the deaf old lady and Yi Zhonghai, Wei Hua's behavior was cowardice. They both decided to continue to take advantage of Wei Hua next time.
"Grandma, it seems that Wei Hua is a relatively easy kid to handle."
"This kid is indeed a bit weak-willed. But we shouldn't push him too hard. As long as he lives in the courtyard, he'll never be able to escape our grasp. If we push him to the point of desperation, it will be bad for both of us."
"Don't worry, ma'am! I know how to handle this. I'll help you to my house to rest now. I'll have Xiao Juan make you something nice later."
Hearing Yi Zhonghai's words, the deaf old lady nodded. She allowed Yi Zhonghai to help her out of the Wei family home. The reason they dared to bully Wei Hua like this was mainly because the Wei family no longer had any adults.
In their eyes, Wei Hua, who had just turned 18, was nothing. If Wei Hua dared to resist, Yi Zhonghai had plenty of ways to make sure that Wei Hua couldn't stay in the steel rolling mill.
If Wei Baohua were alive, Yi Zhonghai would never have dared to do this. Wei Baohua had connections within the steel rolling mill, but now that Wei Baohua is dead, Yi Zhonghai is used to the idea of people being forgotten once they're gone.
No one would risk offending a level 6 fitter like himself for the sake of a newly promoted level 1 fitter. He had apprentices in every workshop, and those people could easily destroy Wei Hua.
Just as they turned to leave, Wei Hua smiled as the system's voice rang in his mind again.
"Cause and effect settlement in progress. Congratulations, host, for receiving a thousandfold critical hit."
"Congratulations, host, for gaining 3000 points of fitter experience and a plaque for the family of a first-class meritorious official. Congratulations, host, for gaining two large fat pigs and 500 catties of superior grain. Congratulations, host, for gaining an extra 100 yuan in cash."
Upon hearing the system's voice, Wei Hua walked into the kitchen with a grin, preparing to cook himself a new meal.
Just as Wei Hua turned to walk into the kitchen, an accident occurred involving Yi Zhonghai and the deaf old lady. Yi Zhonghai tripped and fell on his way back to the courthouse. In the fall, he pushed the deaf old lady away.
Fortunately, neither of them was seriously injured. Yi Zhonghai only scraped his lip, and the deaf old lady only twisted her ankle.
An older woman saw the two of them fall and immediately came out of her house. She helped the deaf old lady to a stool and then took a towel from her house and handed it to Yi Zhonghai.
Neither of them took it to heart. Yi Zhonghai simply assumed he had tripped over the platform while walking. Back at his home, he took the fried grease from the deaf old woman's arms.
"Hurry up and take the pork cracklings to stir-fry some vegetables. Let's have a good meal today."
After hearing Yi Zhonghai's words, the older woman hesitated for a few seconds, but still accepted the fried pork cracklings he offered. Soon, a dish of stir-fried pork cracklings was served.
Upon seeing the fried pork cracklings served on the table, Yi Zhonghai immediately took a bowl and divided out a small portion. He then delivered this half to the Jia family.
The older woman watched all this, tears welling up inside her. Although she wanted to get angry, Huang Xiaojuan couldn't express her grievances.
Because she had been married to Yi Zhonghai for nearly 20 years. A woman who couldn't have a child after 20 years was considered to have a sin. No matter how outrageous Yi Zhonghai's actions were, Huang Xiaojuan, an older woman, could only endure it.
He didn't even dare to show any dissatisfaction on his face. If he did, he would be severely punished by Yi Zhonghai that night.
The deaf old lady wisely refrained from mentioning it, though she was still somewhat dissatisfied. She had clearly brought the pork cracklings herself, yet she hadn't even eaten half of them.
To avoid being taken advantage of, the deaf old woman didn't wait for Yi Zhonghai at all, and started stuffing the fried dough bits into her mouth. By the time Yi Zhonghai returned, only half of the fried dough bits remained.
Yi Zhonghai didn't pay any attention to this and sat down at the table to eat heartily. Only after seeing Yi Zhonghai start eating did the older woman, Huang Xiaojuan, dare to pick up her own chopsticks and eat the pork cracklings.
Perhaps because the oil residue is so oily, the coarse grain buns that are usually hard to swallow seem to taste even better now.
Since there wasn't much pork crackling, half of it was given to the Jia family, and it was all eaten up in no time. After finishing, Huang Xiaojuan even held a cornbread bun and twirled it around in her bowl a couple of times.
"Xiaojuan, could you please help me to the restroom? I think I ate too much greasy food; my stomach feels a bit uncomfortable."
Upon hearing the deaf old woman's words, an older woman named Huang Xiaojuan immediately went to her side. She helped the old woman out of the courtyard. After the old woman finished using the toilet, she helped her to her own home.
Less than five minutes after Huang Xiaojuan left, the deaf old lady felt unwell in her stomach again. After getting out of bed, she prepared to use her cane to go to the toilet again.
But no sooner had the deaf old lady gotten out of bed than she tripped and fell. By sheer bad luck, her face struck a nail on the wall. And the nail, of all things, pierced right into her ear. The intense pain caused her to faint.
When the people in the courtyard heard the deaf old woman calling, they all rushed over. But everyone just stood outside the deaf old woman's house, and no one went inside.
Seeing that no one was going in, Yi Zhonghai stepped out from the crowd. He lit the kerosene lamp as soon as he entered the room. By its light, he could see the deaf old woman slumped against the wall, and there was a lot of blood on the floor.
Seeing the deaf old woman bleeding, Yi Zhonghai quickly went over. After calling her name a few times without response, he checked her breathing. Finding she had simply fainted, he carried her on his back.
"Dongxu, quickly grab the lantern and light the way ahead. The deaf old lady has fallen. You and I will take her to the hospital together."
Upon hearing Yi Zhonghai's words, Jia Dongxu immediately stepped out from the crowd. He took the kerosene lamp from Yi Zhonghai and began walking towards the hospital.
The others saw Yi Zhonghai carrying the deaf old woman away and stopped paying attention to the matter. As for the outcome, someone would naturally tell others tomorrow.
Even Jia Zhangshi stopped paying attention to the matter. Originally, Jia Zhangshi had wanted to discuss with Yi Zhonghai when to get a larger house for the Jia family, as living there was indeed a bit awkward. Now that Yi Zhonghai had left, Jia Zhangshi could only bring it up again in a couple of days.
Yi Zhonghai was unaware of Jia Zhangshi's urgency. The reason Yi Zhonghai brought Jia Dongxu along was to use him.
Whenever Yi Zhonghai got tired, he would have Jia Dongxu carry him for a while. The two of them took turns bringing the deaf old lady to the hospital. Since the deaf old lady was a recipient of the Five Guarantees (a government-provided social welfare program for the elderly and disabled), she didn't need to pay for medical treatment; she only needed to hand over her Five Guarantees certificate to the hospital staff.
They brought the deaf elderly woman to the doctor and quickly had him examine her. After looking at her, the doctor shouted a few words into her ear.
"What happened to this old lady? Why is her ear so badly injured? It looks like the nail has pierced her eardrum. It's a miracle she's not dead."
“We don’t know much either. All I know is that the old lady tripped and fell at home, and by the time we went to check on her, she had already passed out.”
"Given her condition, it's likely that she will lose hearing in her left ear in the future, and even her right ear may be affected for a short period of time. We need to get her admitted to the hospital as soon as possible, and then we'll get her treatment right away."
Upon hearing the doctor's words, Yi Zhonghai handed the deaf elderly woman's documents to Jia Dongxu. Jia Dongxu took the documents and quickly began processing the hospital admission procedures for her. After completing the procedures, Jia Dongxu waited patiently by her side.
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