My happy life in a courtyard house with triplets.

Chapter 38: Analyzing the Jia Family

At this moment, seeing things developing in an uncontrollable direction, Yi Zhonghai hurriedly gave Qin Huairu a wink.

Qin Huairu understood immediately and quickly stepped forward to pull Jia Zhangshi, who was throwing a tantrum, away from arguing with the neighbors.

She then squeezed out a few tears, pretending to cry, and said, "Dear aunties and grandmas, my mother-in-law said some hurtful things, I apologize to everyone."

She choked up, her voice full of grievance: "Although my mother-in-law is not good with words, she is absolutely right. Our family is really struggling. The reason why Banggeng looks taller than his peers is because the adults in our family are reluctant to eat and give all the food they save to the children."

Seeing Qin Huairu crying and sobbing, many soft-hearted men felt a pang of pity.

He Yuzhu was the first to step forward, loudly proclaiming, "Sister Qin, don't be afraid. I know your family is struggling financially; I can testify to that!"

He turned and glared at the noisy crowd, then shouted at the top of his lungs, "What are you all trying to do? Are you trying to bully Sister Qin, a weak woman? If you want to bully someone, come at me, He Yuzhu! Come and fight me!"

Seeing He Yuzhu's reckless attitude, everyone immediately fell silent, and no one dared to utter a sound.

Zhang Lei glanced at He Yuzhu and thought to himself, "As expected of the title 'Courtyard War God,' he stunned everyone right from the start."

Zhang Lei wasn't about to let things settle so easily, so he immediately stepped forward and said, "Silly Zhu, you truly live up to your nickname, you're a complete idiot!"

Sha Zhu turned and glared at Zhang Lei: "Zhang Lei, don't cause trouble here! You just can't stand to see my Sister Qin's family doing well!"

Zhang Lei chuckled and looked at Sha Zhu, saying, "Oh, Sha Zhu, you keep calling her 'Sister Qin' so affectionately. What, you want Qin Huairu to remarry and marry you instead?"

Upon hearing this, Shazhu blurted out without even thinking, "That's not impossible!"

The moment Sha Zhu uttered the words, he instantly regretted them, his face turning bright red, wishing he could disappear into the ground. Someone in the crowd immediately started shouting, "Sha Zhu, you really dare to think like that!"

At this moment, Jia Dongxu was furious. He glared at He Yuzhu, his eyes practically spitting fire, feeling as if he were being cuckolded. He roared, "You idiot Yuzhu, you bastard, how dare you covet my wife and son!"

With that, Jia Dongxu, his eyes red, charged at He Yuzhu, clenching his fists to strike him. Seeing Jia Dongxu coming at him, He Yuzhu quickly dodged, waving his hands and shouting, "Brother Dongxu, don't listen to Zhang Lei's nonsense! I haven't been thinking about Sister Qin!"

Hearing him call her "Sister Qin" so affectionately, Jia Dongxu's anger flared even more, and he roared, "How dare you call me that?"

Standing to the side, Madam Jia stared at Qin Huairu for a long time, and the more she looked, the more suspicious she became. Suddenly, she raised her hand and slapped Qin Huairu hard across the face, yelling in a shrill voice, "Qin Huairu, you little slut, tell me! Have you been having an affair with that idiot He Yuzhu and cheated on my son?"

Qin Huairu covered her face, tears of grievance welling up instantly. She cried and protested, "Mom, don't listen to Sha Zhu's nonsense! Nothing happened between him and me!"

Instantly, the entire courtyard was thrown into chaos, filled with shouts, curses, and cries.

At this moment, Yi Zhonghai frowned and looked at Liu Haizhong and Yan Bugui, saying in a deep voice, "Old Liu, Old Yan, have Guangtian, Guangfu, and Jiecheng separate them!"

As if receiving an order, Liu Haizhong and Yan Bugui quickly shouted the names of Liu Guangtian, Liu Guangfu, Yan Jiecheng, and Yan Jiefang, and rushed forward to forcibly separate Jia Dongxu and He Yuzhu, who were wrestling together.

Meanwhile, Jia Zhangshi and Qin Huairu were separated by several older women. Qin Huairu touched her cheek, which was red from being slapped, and tears streamed down her face like broken beads.

Yi Zhonghai slammed his fist on the table and shouted sternly, "Stop it, all of you! What do you think this place is? A bustling marketplace? Making such a racket!"

He glared at Zhang Lei and said in a deep voice, "Zhang Lei, don't talk nonsense here. Zhu Zi is a kind and honest man; there's absolutely nothing between him and Qin Huairu!"

Jia Dongxu, standing to the side, still had a flushed face, glaring fiercely at He Yuzhu, his chest still heaving violently.

Yi Zhonghai then looked at Jia Dongxu and said in a softer tone, "Dongxu, calm down. Don't believe everything you hear. Don't you know what kind of person Qin Huairu is?"

Upon hearing this, Jia Dongxu's expression softened slightly. Although he was still upset, he knew that if the argument continued, it would only make things worse for his family.

Seeing that the situation had finally calmed down, Yi Zhonghai waved his hand and said, "Alright, that's the end of today's meeting."

Zhang Lei immediately saw through Yi Zhonghai's attempt to quickly and decisively gloat over the matter, and quickly stopped him: "Wait! Wait! The money everyone donated hasn't been returned yet, how can we just disperse like this?"

No sooner had she finished speaking than Madam Jia, like a cat with its fur standing on end, pointed at Zhang Lei and began to curse him, her eyes filled with hatred as if she wanted to devour him: "Zhang Lei, you bastard! You little bastard! You little beast! This is money that everyone voluntarily donated to our Jia family, why should we return it!"

Zhang Lei looked at Jia Zhangshi, sneered, and said, "Voluntary? I think it's clearly a scam!"

Yi Zhonghai immediately glared at Zhang Lei, his voice filled with anger as he shouted, "Zhang Lei, are you only satisfied when you've turned this courtyard into a complete mess?"

Zhang Lei looked at Yi Zhonghai without backing down and said loudly, "Yi Zhonghai, don't try to sound so high and mighty. When it comes to donating to the Jia family this time, let me ask everyone, who among you did so truly voluntarily?"

Yi Zhonghai turned to look at the crowd, and everyone lowered their heads, not daring to respond.

Seeing this, Zhang Lei sighed and said, "Fine, since none of you want to say anything, why should I be the bad guy? Anyway, I didn't donate a single penny, so I'm not the one who's losing out."

Upon hearing Zhang Lei's words, everyone felt a surge of resentment.

At this moment, Uncle Li Dali, who was standing next to Zhang Lei, spoke up and asked, "Zhang Lei, I don't quite understand what you're saying. You keep saying the Jia family isn't in trouble. I can't read a single word, could you please give me a proper analysis?"

Seeing someone volunteer to speak up, Zhang Lei immediately chimed in, "Uncle Li, since you want to hear it, I'll give you all a proper explanation. The Jia family says they're struggling, but let's look at how many people are in their family and how much they earn in a month. Jia Dongxu is a level-two fitter; his monthly salary is at least 35 yuan. There are four people in his family. According to our country's poverty standard, a family is considered struggling if they earn less than 5 yuan per person per month. But the Jia family, with four people sharing 35 yuan, that's more than 8 yuan per person. And Banggeng is only five or six years old; according to the rules, he's half a person. So, each person in their family earns more than 9 yuan a month. How could they not have enough to eat? Now, calculate how many people are in your own families and how much you earn in a month. Do you still think the Jia family is struggling?"

Upon hearing Zhang Lei's words, everyone lowered their heads and began to silently plot.

Uncle Li Dali clenched his fists tightly. He had three children, making a family of five. He didn't have a formal job and made a living by carrying heavy bags every day. He worked himself to the bone and only earned eighteen or nineteen yuan a month.

Upon hearing Zhang Lei's words, everyone's anger flared up instantly.

Zhang Lei changed the subject, deliberately looking at Yan Bugui and asking, "Third Uncle, can you tell everyone how much you earn in a month?"

Yan Bugui was taken aback when Zhang Lei suddenly called on him, and his face was full of surprise.