webnovelfull Chapter 37: Disrupting the Situation
Chapter 37: Disrupting the Situation
While everyone was still frozen in place, Jia Zhangshi suddenly appeared from some obscure corner and rushed towards Zhang Lei. Pointing her finger at Zhang Lei's nose, she launched into a tirade, spitting everywhere: "Zhang Lei, you little beast! My family is already in such dire straits, and you're still causing trouble here!"
She stiffened her neck, her voice shrill and piercing, as if afraid someone in the courtyard wouldn't hear her: "Do you know who organized this donation? It's that old man! Are you trying to offend him by making such a scene, or are you trying to get kicked out of this courtyard?"
Zhang Lei was secretly delighted by Jia Zhangshi's insults. While everyone had only vaguely suspected Yi Zhonghai, Jia Zhangshi's words were practically a death sentence for him. The people in the courtyard instantly understood that the donation was actually supported by the Jia family behind the scenes by Yi Zhonghai.
Yi Zhonghai, standing to the side, had a face as black as the bottom of a pot. He never expected that Jia Zhangshi, that old hag, was more trouble than she was worth, to dare to say such things in public.
Anger surged to Yi Zhonghai's head instantly; he was on the verge of exploding. He roared at Jia Zhangshi, "Jia Zhangshi! Shut up!"
Zhang Lei, always eager for drama, raised his voice at Jia Zhangshi and said, "Oh, Jia Zhangshi, so you're saying Yi Zhonghai was behind all the donations to your family? Then, are you two families splitting the money?"
Hearing Zhang Lei's words, Yi Zhonghai became even more furious, his temples throbbing with anger. He pointed at Zhang Lei and shouted angrily, "Zhang Lei! Don't talk nonsense here! When did I ask the Jia family for a share of the money?!"
Ignoring Yi Zhonghai's angry shouts, Zhang Lei continued, "Yi Zhonghai, if you're not going to share the money with the Jia family, why are you so concerned about their affairs? Besides, the Jia family isn't poor. If there's nothing fishy going on here, why are you so eager to organize donations?"
As soon as he said this, everyone in the courtyard turned to look at Yi Zhonghai, their eyes full of curiosity.
Yi Zhonghai was speechless when Zhang Lei asked him a question. He opened his mouth but couldn't utter a single word in rebuttal for a long time.
Just then, Yan Bugui suddenly stood up, cleared his throat, and said, "Zhang Lei, your words are just empty talk. What evidence do you have that Uncle Yi has something going on with the Jia family? Uncle Yi is just doing this out of kindness; he organized the donation because he saw that the Jia family was in trouble."
As they were talking, Yan Bugui secretly gave Yi Zhonghai a look.
Yi Zhonghai instantly realized what was happening, inwardly cursing himself for almost falling for Zhang Lei's trick. He composed himself, coughed twice, and addressed the crowd, "Third Uncle is right. The reason I organized this donation drive was because the Jia family proactively explained their difficulties to me. I simply acted as a facilitator out of a desire to help others. As for the shady dealings Zhang Lei mentioned, that's completely fabricated!"
Listening to the two men's back-and-forth banter, Zhang Lei thought to himself, "This Yan Bugui is quite good at seizing opportunities. He almost pinned his attack on Yi Zhonghai, but he managed to evade it effortlessly. It seems these three stewards in the courtyard are indeed no simple characters."
However, seeing that he couldn't target Yi Zhonghai, Zhang Lei simply turned his attention to the Jia family, raising his voice and saying, "Oh, is that so? If what Uncle San and Uncle Yi said is true, then the Jia family must have deliberately deceived Uncle Yi, keeping him in the dark and using his name to organize this donation. In that case, it seems that there are some bad people in our courtyard who are deliberately trying to take advantage of us."
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone's eyes in the courtyard turned back to the Jia family mother and son.
Jia Dongxu immediately became agitated, glaring at Zhang Lei and angrily rebuking him, "Zhang Lei, don't talk nonsense! When did we ever deceive my master? Our family is truly in dire straits!"
Jia Zhangshi also joined in with a shrill voice, cursing Zhang Lei with spittle flying everywhere.
Zhang Lei completely ignored the mother and son, turned to all the neighbors in the courtyard, and said loudly, "Everyone, tell me, do you really believe the Jia family is in trouble? If you do, take a close look at the Jia family members' clothes and appearance, then look down at your own, make a good comparison, and see if you can find anything out."
Someone in the crowd couldn't help but speak up: "I don't see any difference between the Jia family and us, except that Qin Huairu is prettier."
As soon as he said this, the courtyard erupted in a burst of laughter.
Jia Dongxu's face instantly turned a deep purplish-red. He rushed out, pointed at the speaker, and roared, "Zhang Mazi, get the hell out of here! If you dare stare at my wife again, believe me, I'll slap you!"
Seeing the situation escalating into chaos, Yi Zhonghai could no longer contain himself. He slammed his hand on the table and shouted sternly, "Enough! Shut up, all of you!"
He turned and glared at Zhang Lei, his tone filled with anger: "Zhang Lei, stop playing games! Everyone can see the Jia family's difficulties, so stop spouting nonsense!"
Seeing this, Zhang Lei stopped beating around the bush. He stepped forward and said loudly, "Alright, since no one can figure it out, I'll analyze it for you. Take a look at Jia Zhangshi standing in front of me. Look closely and see if you can spot anything."
Someone in the crowd immediately chimed in, "Besides being fat, what else could it be?"
Zhang Lei nodded with a smile: "That's right! She's fat! Think about it, in this day and age, who can afford to eat their fill every day? If the Jia family were truly struggling, how could Jia Zhangshi be so fat? And look at the complexions of the whole family, isn't everyone's skin rosy?"
He pointed at Banggeng, his voice growing louder: "Look at your own children again, and compare them to Banggeng! Among children of the same age, Banggeng is at least half a head taller. What does that mean? It means the Jia family's food is excellent! If they were starving every meal, could their children grow so strong?"
Zhang Lei scanned the room, his gaze sharp: "So now, does everyone still think the Jia family is really in trouble?"
At this moment, everyone's eyes turned to the Jia family, scrutinizing them from head to toe, and instantly understood the meaning behind Zhang Lei's words.
Even Sha Zhu couldn't help but look at the Jia family, but his gaze was mostly fixed on Qin Huairu.
Suddenly, a man stepped forward from the crowd and shouted at Yi Zhonghai, "Grandpa! The Jia family isn't in need at all! Don't you owe us an explanation?!"
Madam Jia immediately stormed up to the man, yelling in a shrill voice, "What explanation? What explanation do you want! My Jia family is in trouble! You heartless bastard, are you just jealous of our Jia family's success?!"
Enraged by Jia Zhangshi's retort, the man immediately launched into a tirade: "Jia Zhangshi, you old hag! You're as fat as a pig, and you still dare to say your family is poor! Do you think we're all blind?!"
The people around also joined in the commotion, shouting, "That's right! Jia Zhangshi, give us back our money!"
Jia Zhangshi stubbornly argued, "I'm fat because I have a hot constitution! I gain weight even from drinking cold water!"
Zhang Lei, always eager for drama, immediately chimed in, "Mrs. Jia, since you get fat even from drinking water, why do you need us to donate money? We'll just give each of our families a bucket of water, right?"
As soon as these words were spoken, someone immediately chimed in: "That's right! Jia Zhangshi, if you get fat just by drinking cold water, I'll give you two more buckets!"