Chapter 8: Jia Zhang’s Show-off! (Please collect and recommend!)

After the engineer who lived in the villa moved out, Jia Zhang set her eyes on the house in the villa. When she woke up from her nap at noon, she learned that the villa had been divided out, so she thought about making some noise to see if she could get a room. It was not until she learned that the owner of the house was most likely her eldest son who had been lost for many years that she ran outside the villa to wait for Jia Dongming’s return.

Jia Zhang, who was crying sadly, stopped crying immediately when she heard Jia Dongming mention the other courtyard. She said to Jia Dongming excitedly, “Dongming! Those rooms in the other courtyard have been empty since the previous tenants moved out. If we don’t clean them up, they really can’t be lived in.”

“You sit here first. Mom will go find Jiefang from Third Uncle’s house and ask him to go to the factory to call Qin Huairu back. Ask Qin Huairu to help you clean the rooms in the other courtyard inside and out so that you can move in.”

When Jia Dongming heard Jia Zhang’s instructions, he immediately stopped her and said, “Mom! I can clean up by myself. There’s no need to call my sister-in-law back from the factory.”

In Jia Zhang’s subconscious mind, Qin Huairu was just a servant and a reproductive machine for their Jia family. Moreover, in Jia Zhang’s eyes, her eldest son was a cadre and the pillar of the Jia family, so naturally he could not do such dirty work as cleaning.

Facing Jia Dongming’s obstruction, Jia Zhang did not compromise with Jia Dongming as she had done before, but took full responsibility and replied: “Dongming! You listen to me on this matter. You rest in the room first. I will go find Yan Jiefang and ask him to go to the steel mill to call Qin Huairu back.”

As Jia Zhang said this, she didn’t care whether Jia Dongming agreed or not. She picked up Xiao Huaihua, who was lying on the bed sobbing, and walked out of the house.

Jia Dongming watched Jia Zhang holding Xiao Huaihua and walking out of the house, with a helpless expression on his face. He looked at Xiaodang who was sucking his fingers in his arms, and then he remembered his promise to give Xiaodang candy. He quickly opened the cloth bag on the table, took out a White Rabbit candy from it, and asked Xiaodang affectionately, “Xiaodang! Tell uncle, how old are you this year?”

When Xiaodang saw Jia Dongming take out the White Rabbit candy from the cloth bag, his eyes suddenly lit up. Facing Jia Dongming’s question, Xiaodang swallowed his saliva and answered in a baby voice: “Uncle! Xiaodang is four years old this year!”

When Jia Zhang came out of the Jia family holding Little Sophora japonica, she saw Third Auntie sitting in the middle courtyard chatting with the women in the courtyard. She quickly walked up to Third Auntie, took out a dime from her pocket, and said to her with a smile, “Third Auntie! I’ll give you a dime and ask your Jiefang to help me go to the steel mill and call Qin Huairu back to me!”

Third Aunt Yang Ruihua, after hearing what Jia Zhang said and seeing the dime in Jia Zhang’s hand, happily took the money from Jia Zhang and assured her, “Sister-in-law of the Jia family! Don’t worry! I will let our family Jiefang go to the steel mill and help you call Huairu back.”

Seeing the three aunts going back to the front yard to call Yan Jiefang, thinking of the fact that her eldest son was the security chief of the steel mill and his monthly salary was 135 yuan, Jia Zhang’s face showed a proud expression. She proudly introduced him to the aunts and young wives gathered in the middle yard: “Dear neighbors, our Dongming has just been retired from the army and is now the security chief of the steel mill. His monthly salary is 135 yuan. The villa where Engineer Xue used to live has now been allocated to our eldest son by the steel mill.”

When Jia Dongming came to the courtyard to look at the house, the aunties and young wives in the courtyard had already learned from the third aunt that the other courtyard was allocated to the security chief of the steel mill, so the residents who had originally had ideas about the house in the other courtyard had to give up their previous ideas. Previously, when they saw that Jia Zhang was going to summon Lao Jia in the courtyard because of the house, the original aunties and young wives were ready to watch the show. However, what these aunties and young wives did not expect was that the security chief of the steel mill mentioned by the third aunt turned out to be Jia Zhang’s eldest son who had been lost for many years.

When Jia Zhang mentioned Jia Dongming’s position and salary, the smug look on her face made the aunties and young wives in the yard envious and jealous, especially the second aunt who lived in the backyard.

It is said that if you marry a chicken, you follow the chicken; if you marry a dog, you follow the dog! Liu Haizhong is a typical official fan. Influenced by Liu Haizhong, Second Auntie is also obsessed with officialdom, a typical snob, just like Liu Haizhong.

Among the more than a dozen families in this courtyard, the person that Second Aunt despises the most is Jia Zhang from the Jia family.

Now that she knew that Jia Zhang’s long-lost eldest son was actually the security chief of the steel mill, with a monthly salary of 135 yuan, Second Aunt looked at Jia Zhang with an envious expression, and said to her in a fawning manner: “Sister-in-law of the Jia family! I never thought that Bang Geng’s uncle was actually the security chief of our steel mill. From now on, with Chief Jia around, you can enjoy the good life!”

Second Aunt’s compliment made Jia Zhang feel very happy. Thinking of Jia Dongming’s meritorious service on the battlefield, Jia Zhang replied with a proud look on her face: “Second Aunt! This is all earned by our Dongming who risked his life on the battlefield. Otherwise, the steel mill would not have allocated the entire villa to our Dongming.”

When the aunties and young wives in the courtyard heard Jia Zhang mention the separate courtyard, they all showed envy on their faces. Yi Tan, the eldest aunt, who had asked her husband many times for a house in the separate courtyard, smiled and said to Jia Zhang: “Sister-in-law of the Jia family! In the past, you always said that the house at home was not big enough. Now that you have these houses in the separate courtyard, you don’t have to worry about not having enough houses anymore.”

In the past, the Jia family needed Yi Zhonghai’s help. Jia Zhang relied on Yi Zhonghai and his wife and wanted Jia Dongxu to take care of them in their old age. She never took Yi Tan seriously and even secretly called her a hen that doesn’t lay eggs.

When Jia Zhang heard what Yi Tan said, she thought of the truth about Jia Dongxu’s death from a work-related injury, and sneered with resentment: “Although our Dongxu is gone, God has opened his eyes and sent our Dongming back. Unlike some people, they can’t even lay an egg until now. If they die in the future, I’m afraid no one will break the pot for them.”

When Yi Tan heard Jia Zhang’s insinuating mockery of her, calling her a hen that couldn’t lay eggs and saying that she would die in the future and no one would see her off, she immediately felt a sharp pain in her chest. She instinctively reached out to cover her chest and cursed Jia Zhang with rapid breathing, “Jia Zhang! What do you mean by this!”

“Mom! What nonsense are you talking about?” When Jia Zhang heard Yi Tan’s question and saw the painful expression on her face, she was planning to press the advantage and humiliate Yi Tan. However, before she could finish her words, she heard Jia Dongming’s voice stopping her from behind.

(End of this chapter)