The Yan family wasn't good people, but neither was the Xu family. After exchanging a few sarcastic remarks, the Xu and Yan families started arguing.
Xu Damao has basically recovered. Sweeping the streets is a long-term job, and although it's not well-regarded, at least he can earn money. However, three of the four members of the Yan family are lame.
Xu Damao and Xu Fugui are truly father and son, each more cunning than the last. They've done countless schemes against the Yan family behind their backs, making their lives increasingly difficult.
Yan Bugui usually made a living by begging, but the Xu family father and son spread rumors about him everywhere. They recounted all the things Yan Bugui had done in the past, embellishing the stories as they went.
People around him knew that Yan Bugui was a morally corrupt person, so who would be willing to give him anything?
This meant Yan Bugui couldn't get anything from begging. If that were all, it wouldn't have been so bad, but Xu Fugui was also targeting the Yan brothers. He frequently whispered about their personalities at the job postings, constantly trying to ruin their reputations.
Now, people in the neighborhood simply refuse to let anyone with a limp into their homes to avoid getting into unnecessary trouble.
The Yan family's life suddenly fell into hardship. After they learned that it was the Xu family father and son who were behind it, the three of them did their share of harmful and self-destructive things. Whenever Xu Damao finished cleaning, they would go and cause trouble.
Sometimes he would deliberately knock over the trash cans, scattering trash everywhere. This made it impossible for Xu Damao to work properly.
This meant Xu Damao was either being criticized or on his way to being criticized. Today he was being criticized, tomorrow his wages would be docked. The conflict between the two families escalated, almost to the point of physical violence.
Just as the two families were having a falling out, things were getting increasingly interesting with the He family.
After marrying Ma Xiaorong, He Daqing's quality of life declined significantly. Having grown accustomed to a comfortable life, He Daqing simply couldn't adapt to his current situation. Especially with Ma Xiaorong constantly nagging him.
Seeing that Sha Zhu's family had fewer and fewer good things, He Daqing couldn't help but turn his attention to the hotel. He would bring back some things every time he finished get off work.
This caused Ma Xiaorong and her children to gain weight. In order to live a better life, Ma Xiaorong could only complain incessantly to He Daqing. He Daqing could only try to find solutions from both the hotel and Sha Zhu's family.
Since it was now 1965, Wei Hua went up the mountain less and less often. Even He Yuzhu's family didn't have much left, especially since Yu Li was pregnant.
Once or twice is one thing, but who can stand He Daqing coming over every few days to plunder the rich? Even if someone is truly a landlord, they'll probably be completely ripped off by He Daqing.
Even if there were any leftovers when they got home, Sha Zhu would always leave them for Yu Li and the children. This made Sha Zhu increasingly resentful of his father.
The fact that He Daqing was willing to abandon his two children for the widow Bai shows that Sha Zhu meant nothing to him. He Daqing didn't care whether Sha Zhu and the others were doing well, as long as he could live a good life.
Especially after Ma Xiaorong became pregnant, He Daqing visited the courtyard house even more frequently, and only stopped when he had eaten almost all of Sha Zhu's food.
During this time, He Daqing and Sha Zhu argued quite a bit. This made their father-son relationship very strained. Although it wasn't as bad as the Liu family father and son, they would always have a few words exchanged whenever they met, and even Yu Li didn't like her father-in-law anymore.
Seeing his son and daughter-in-law's increasingly worse attitude towards him, He Daqing's feelings for them also deteriorated.
Seeing that they didn't have much left to lose, He Daqing turned to look at Wei Hua's house. It wasn't that He Daqing wanted to do such a thing, but the hotels were being inspected more and more strictly these days.
If he couldn't find an opportunity at the hotel, He Daqing would come to the courtyard house. If his son had something, he would take it from his son's house. If his son didn't have anything, he would try to get something good from Wei Hua to supplement Ma Xiaorong's nutrition.
The reason nothing happened before was mainly because Yang Tao tacitly approved of it. Over time, Yang Tao also developed more and more resentment towards He Daqing.
Yang Tao couldn't possibly stay in the courtyard 24 hours a day. After Yang Tao left, He Daqing started taking things without asking.
Wei Hua, who was at the steel rolling mill, suddenly heard the system's voice.
"Congratulations to He Daqing and the host for forming a karmic bond. The karmic system is currently settling accounts. Congratulations to the host for receiving a thousandfold critical hit. The host is rewarded with a space upgrade card, a top-tier cooking skill card, a mid-level fighting skill, 3000 cash, and 10 points of physical fitness."
Although Wei Hua had been mentally prepared, he hadn't expected He Daqing to change so quickly after getting married. He Daqing had only been back for a little over a year, and he had gone from being a good father and grandfather to what he was now.
It seems men change after they have a woman. If Sha Zhu had firmly opposed He Daqing and Ma Xiaorong's relationship, things might not have turned out this way.
Now Wei Hua is more concerned about what kind of retribution He Daqing will receive.
Since the hotel's working hours were considerably later than the steel rolling mill's, He Daqing took the preserved rabbit home after receiving it, and then went to work at the restaurant with Ma Xiaorong.
Everything was fine until He Daqing was taking his lunchbox home when the restaurant manager called him to the second floor.
A significant amount of food was missing from the kitchen, and the manager called all the chefs upstairs for a stern reprimand. Everyone was used to it, and no one paid much attention. The manager had brought this up quite often lately. After the manager finished speaking, everyone dispersed; those who were supposed to leave were preparing to go home.
As He Daqing was going downstairs, he slipped and fell, tumbling down from the second floor. Several lunchboxes hidden in his clothes fell out, spilling all the food onto the ground. He Daqing was knocked unconscious by the fall.
He Daqing was much bolder than Sha Zhu, bringing four lunchboxes, each filled with hidden items. The hotel manager, a man who couldn't tolerate any wrongdoing, immediately notified the police station.
The laws of this era were different from those of later generations. As long as a thief wasn't killed, it was fine, especially since He Daqing had injured himself in that fall.
The hotel staff had no intention of taking He Daqing to the hospital. They simply left him lying on the first-floor floor. Everyone was talking about it, surprised that He Daqing had brought so much stuff with him; no wonder things kept going missing from the cafeteria.
"Stop talking. Leave everything to the police station. If any of you dare to bring anything again, don't blame me for being ruthless. He Daqing's case is the best example; I will deal with it severely."
Hearing the manager's words, Ma Xiaorong, who was standing to the side, was startled. She had originally thought that following He Daqing would bring her a happy life. But who would have thought that He Daqing would do such a thing?
Given the manager's current attitude, He Daqing will likely end up in jail. And the things that went missing from the cafeteria will probably all be blamed on He Daqing.
This made Ma Xiaorong resent He Daqing, blaming him for not being able to handle such a small matter. She never considered why He Daqing brought things from the kitchen in the first place; it was all because Ma Xiaorong constantly complained about her family's poor living conditions.
If Ma Xiaorong hadn't complained every day, He Daqing wouldn't have gone back to the courtyard house every day to take advantage of He Yu's place.
If Ma Xiaorong hadn't gotten pregnant with He Daqing's child, He Daqing wouldn't have undergone such a dramatic change in less than six months.
Seeing He Daqing lying on the ground, Ma Xiaorong secretly slipped out the back door. Ma Xiaorong knew that He Yuzhu was the only one who could save her husband now. She couldn't think of anyone else besides He Yuzhu.
After leaving the hotel, Ma Xiaorong ran towards the courtyard house as fast as she could. As soon as she arrived, she went straight to Sha Zhu's side.
“Zhu Zi, you have to save your dad right now! Something happened to him today. He tripped and fell while carrying his lunchbox, rolling all the way down from the second floor to the first floor. And the manager is going to take him to the police station.”
"I sneaked out the back door when the hotel manager wasn't looking. You need to think of a way to save your dad. What will happen to me and the kids if something happens to him?"
Upon hearing Ma Xiaorong's words, Sha Zhu froze on the spot. If it were just a fall, a trip to the hospital for treatment would suffice. But stealing public property was a different story. At the very least, he would be expelled, and in more serious cases, he could spend his entire life in jail.
"Now you know to come to me? Why didn't you think of us when he was stealing? You only know to ask me to save him, but what do you expect me to use to save him? He stole public property."
Although Sha Zhu said that, his body language betrayed him. He had already taken off his outer robe and started walking outside.
Ma Xiaorong didn't refute Sha Zhu's complaints. As long as Sha Zhu could rescue He Daqing for her, Ma Xiaorong didn't care if Sha Zhu just complained a few times or even cursed her.
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