Siheyuan: I am the Smart Pillar

Another week passed quickly. Without Jia Zhang's disturbance, the life of every household in the courtyard was very peaceful. Everyone liked such days very much, but what was coming would always come. On this afternoon, Jia Zhang came back from prison.

Although he only spent a few days in prison, they felt like years to Jia Zhang. He counted the days in prison every day, and finally he was released. Jia Zhang was very happy, and finally he didn't have to suffer in that place anymore. After waiting at the prison gate for a while, she found that her son didn't come to pick her up, and she felt very disappointed.

The fire in my heart was constantly erupting, and I had to walk back to the courtyard alone. Because it was afternoon, the old ladies in the courtyard were sewing shoe soles and chatting. Aunt Yang Ruihua was chatting with neighbors. Seeing a man wearing dirty clothes, I thought he was a beggar. I said very rudely, "Hey, hey, hey, where did you come from, beggar? This is our courtyard, get out of here quickly."

When Jia Zhang heard this, she could no longer hold back her anger. With a dark face, she yelled, "Yang Ruihua, are you using your eyes to vent your anger? Can't you see it's me? Are you kicking me out? I'll give you 100 guts." Everyone looked over and sized up Jia Zhang. Yang Ruihua said tremblingly, "Jia, Jia, Jia Zhang."

Jia Zhang put her hands on her waist and said proudly, "It's me, you who look down on others with your dog eyes, do you see who I am?" The aunts around listened to what Jia Zhang said, and the fire in their hearts immediately burned. Most of them had experienced war, so naturally they didn't have good tempers.

Seeing a big teapot under the tree, Jia Zhang grabbed it and drank the red date tea in it in one breath. This made Yang Ruihua very angry, and he said with a dark face, "Are you shameless? This big cup of tea is mine." Jia Zhang wiped her mouth and didn't care about Yang Ruihua's words at all. Looking at the teapot, she said disdainfully, "Isn't it just a little water? Is it necessary to be so stingy? I have walked more than ten miles of mountain roads. Can't you be kind to me?"

Yang Ruihua curled his lips and said with disdain in his heart, "You deserve it. You are so arrogant even in jail. You deserve to suffer so much." No one around wanted to care about Jia Zhangshi, because when Jia Zhangshi was not in the courtyard, their life was very prosperous and very quiet. Now Jia Zhangshi is back again, which makes them very unhappy. How long have they lived in peace? Why is Jia Zhangshi back again?

Jia Zhang didn't realize that the people around her were ostracizing her. Seeing an empty stool in front of her, Jia Zhang sat on it. Leaning against the wall, her stomach growled with hunger. Jia Zhang touched her stomach and said to Bai Xiuying mercilessly, "Mr. Yi, I'm so hungry. Can you give me a bowl of noodles to try?"

Bai Xiuying said with a dark face, "No, Jia Zhang, do I owe you anything?" Bai Xiuying felt a little puzzled. This Jia Zhang was really too shameless. Jia Zhang didn't care about what Bai Xiuying said at all. She smiled and imitated Yi Zhonghai's tone and said, "Isn't our courtyard a courtyard where people help each other? I have been walking here since 4 o'clock in the morning. I am really hungry. Doesn't your old Yi always say that I am for everyone and everyone is for me? Just help me. I am so hungry that I am shaking all over. What do you think of the old Yi family?"

The people around looked at Bai Xiuying. Bai Xiuying shook her head and said, "I don't care. If you want to eat, you can go to your home and cook for yourself. Otherwise, you can be patient for a while. I believe those people working in the courtyard will go home soon. Then let your son cook for you. We are just neighbors. Why should I cook for you?"

Jia Zhang felt that her calculations were not well made, and she glared at Bai Xiuying with a dark face. But she was so hungry that she had no choice but to return to her home. She found a movable brick in the kitchen, took it down, and found a small bag wrapped in cloth inside. This was Jia Zhang's small treasury, and there was still a lot of cash in it.

Jia Zhang secretly took out 5 yuan from the money and decided to go out to eat some meat to make up for the suffering she had endured in prison. After changing into a relatively clean set of clothes, Jia Zhang went out directly. The onlookers began to talk about it, and Liu Erjia said with a smile, "It seems that this old man went out to eat a good meal. He is so selfish."

Aunt Liu sighed and said, "Who can blame the Jia family for being so rich? They can't spend all the money." Some people around were skeptical. How much money did the Jia family have? Although they didn't know the exact number, they could roughly estimate it. Aunt Liu smiled and said, "Don't forget, the Jia family had an accident in the steel mill. Boss Lou paid a lot of compensation at the time. Add to that the salary his son Jia Dongxu paid every month. I think the Jia family has more than 1000 yuan in savings."

The new daughter-in-law Ma Xiaoya was very surprised. Their family didn't even have 1000 yuan, let alone 100 yuan. Ma Xiaoya thought for a while and said, "Aunt Liu, I don't think so. How can the Jia family have so much money? Didn't Aunt Jia often say that their family didn't have enough food to eat?"

Several elderly ladies around laughed. Yang Ruihua said with a smile, "Little girl, this is why the old thing Jia Zhang is so clever. He disguises himself as a very poor family, so that no one will come to borrow money from them. Besides, he can cry poor and get some benefits. Who will admit that they have money these days? They are all pretending to be poor."

Aunt Liu nodded and said with a smile, "You young people must know the principle of not showing off your wealth. Before liberation, any smart person would not say that he was very rich, but would say that he was very poor. Because only in this way can you avoid being targeted by people with ulterior motives."