My happy life in a courtyard house with triplets.

Chapter 101: Jia Zhangshi vs. Auntie 1

Half a month has passed in the blink of an eye.

Zhang Lei was lying in the backyard, enjoying Ye Shuqin's shoulder massage.

Suddenly, a chaotic shouting erupted throughout the courtyard, making him feel uneasy.

Zhang Lei stood up and said to Ye Shuqin, "Shuqin, I'm going to the Intermediate People's Court to see what's going on."

Ye Shuqin looked at Zhang Lei and said, "Alright, you go ahead. It's almost noon, I'll go and prepare some food first."

Zhang Lei arrived at the Intermediate People's Court soon after.

He saw a group of people gathered in the courtyard, and Jia Zhangshi was sitting at the door of an old man's house, cursing loudly. He immediately perked up. If it weren't for Jia Zhangshi's outburst, he would have almost completely forgotten about the Jia family's affairs.

Zhang Lei scanned the entire room, wondering to himself: Where is Jia Dongxu?

His gaze had just landed on the door of the Jia family's house when he saw Qin Huairu push open the door and come out, carrying a pile of dirty clothes in her hands.

Zhang Lei strode towards Qin Huairu.

As soon as Qin Huairu reached the edge of the pool, she noticed someone standing in front of her. When she looked up and saw that it was Zhang Lei, she was immediately startled.

Zhang Lei looked at her and asked, "How have you been lately?"

Upon hearing Zhang Lei's words, Qin Huairu replied with a somewhat unpleasant expression, "I don't know how to say it, let's just leave it at that for now."

Zhang Lei smiled and asked, "How come you were discharged from the hospital so quickly?"

Qin Huairu immediately put on a wronged look: "Our family doesn't have the money to continue Jia Dongxu's medical expenses. My mother-in-law just brought things back and said that it's the same whether he's recuperating in the hospital or at home, since his leg is completely broken and he can't stand up anymore."

Zhang Lei feigned sudden realization: "Oh, I see."

He looked at the sweat on Qin Huairu's cheeks and reached out to wipe it away.

Qin Huairu was startled and quickly dodged, frowning and scolding, "What are you doing?"

Zhang Lei raised an eyebrow and said with a smile, "Seeing how hard you've worked, I'm just wiping your sweat. Why are you so scared? It's broad daylight, what could I possibly do to you?"

Qin Huairu smiled awkwardly and said, "No need, I can do it myself."

Zhang Lei looked at her with feigned concern and sighed, "Look at you, you've become so haggard in just half a month. It really breaks my heart."

As he spoke, he looked Qin Huairu up and down again, and then said, "Look at you, you've lost a lot of weight."

Hearing Zhang Lei's words, Qin Huairu just wanted to get rid of him as soon as possible. She lowered her head and said, "I need to do laundry. If you don't have anything else, you can leave now."

Seeing Qin Huairu's eagerness to avoid him, Zhang Lei didn't make things difficult for her any further. He turned around and headed towards Auntie's house, ready to see what was going on with Jia Zhangshi.

Meanwhile, in the central courtyard, Madam Jia Zhang was standing with her hands on her hips, arguing with an older woman. She glared at the woman, her brows furrowed, and shouted, "Liu Cuilan, you and Yi Zhonghai are both no good! My son has been sick for so long, and you, as his master and mistress, haven't even bothered to look at him. Do you think the Jia family has no one left to bully us like this?"

An older woman, hands on her hips, retorted to Jia Zhangshi, "Jia Zhangshi, don't be so unreasonable! Our family doesn't owe your family anything, why should we contribute money or effort? Besides, Jia Dongxu is an apprentice. Since ancient times, it has been the apprentice who is filial to the master, not the other way around. Jia Zhangshi, you are being completely unreasonable!"

Jia Zhangshi was so angry that her face twisted, and she spat out a mouthful of phlegm that just grazed the old woman's face, scaring the old woman into backing away.

She pointed at the middle-aged woman's nose and yelled, "When my son was healthy, why didn't you two say this? My Dongxu was so respectful to you two back then, and he never missed out on gifts from you during holidays. Now that his leg is broken and he can no longer be filial to you, you turn your backs on us! How can you be so heartless? My Dongxu broke his leg, and we can't even afford the hospital bills, and you won't even lend a hand. Don't you have any humanity or conscience left?!"

The middle-aged woman was so angered by Jia Zhangshi's words that her chest tightened. She clutched her heart, breathing heavily, her voice trembling: "Jia Zhangshi, what exactly do you want?"

Seeing the old woman's demeanor, Jia Zhangshi immediately straightened her back, a smug look on her face: "I won't ask for much, just lend me two thousand yuan, I'll use it for my son's medical treatment!"

"Two thousand yuan?"

Upon hearing this, not only the middle-aged woman but also the surrounding neighbors who were watching the commotion gasped in shock, whispering among themselves that Jia Zhangshi was asking for an exorbitant amount and was simply insane.

The middle-aged woman was trembling with rage. Pointing her finger at Jia Zhangshi's nose, she yelled, "Two thousand yuan? You're dreaming! Who would lend you that much money? Besides, everyone knows the Jia family's character; they never pay back what they borrow! This isn't borrowing money; it's robbery!"

Like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, Jia Zhangshi jumped up from the ground and screamed in a shrill voice, "Liu Cuilan, who are you calling a robber?!"

Liu Cuilan pointed at Jia Zhangshi and retorted without backing down, "Jia Zhangshi, I'm talking about you!"

Jia Zhangshi was completely enraged, and she shouted, "Liu Cuilan, don't play dumb! Don't think I don't know your family's situation! Yi Zhonghai earns a little over a hundred yuan a month, and over the years he's saved at least eight thousand, if not ten thousand!"

She became increasingly smug, raising her voice, "I'd believe anyone else couldn't come up with that much money! But if you say your family can't, I'll write my name backwards!"

Upon hearing Jia Zhangshi's words, the onlookers immediately erupted in discussion, whispering among themselves and finding some truth in what she said.

These were all things that someone had privately told Jia Zhangshi before, but she never expected that she would reveal them all at this critical juncture.

On the other side, Zhang Lei leaned against the wall with his arms crossed, watching the commotion with amusement.

Hearing Jia Zhangshi's words, the old woman's heart skipped a beat, and she muttered to herself: How does Jia Zhangshi know so much about my family's situation?

She forced herself to retort, "Jia Zhangshi, don't talk nonsense! Where would our family get that much money? I've been sick for years, and most of Lao Yi's salary goes towards my medical expenses!"

Madam Jia sneered, her voice sharp as she retorted, "Liu Cuilan, do you think I'll believe you just because you say that? What illness do you have? I don't think you have anything wrong with you! You just can't have children. You're just a barren hen. Do you really need to spend so much money on that?"

Upon hearing these insulting words, Liu Cuilan could no longer hold back. Her eyes reddening, she retorted, "Jia Zhangshi, you're a shrew! You're the one who can't lay eggs!"

Before she finished speaking, she lunged at Jia Zhangshi with bared teeth and claws.

Jia Zhangshi was not one to be taken advantage of, and immediately started fighting with the older woman. At first, the older woman gained the upper hand with a sneak attack, but as the fight went on, she began to struggle. She never expected Jia Zhangshi to have such good stamina.

Gradually, it was Jia Zhangshi who started hitting the old woman.

The onlookers were stunned. Before things could escalate further, the second and third aunties quickly led a few people forward and forcefully separated the two who were wrestling.