MM Racing Page 241
Page 241
"You're just the He family's mother-in-law, what right do you have to talk to us like that?"
Upon hearing this, He Hongyang grabbed his wrist: "Although she is the mother-in-law of the He family, she is also a member of this family. Now that something like this has happened, of course she can stand up and speak out."
“Tell me where you got your manure buckets from. If you don’t tell me, I’ll report you to the neighborhood committee for stealing from the manure collection team.”
He realized he was being mistaken for a thief.
If He Hongyang doesn't admit that he was shoveling latrines, he really will report him to the local authorities.
Jia Zhangshi looked at Yi Zhonghai pleadingly: "Why don't we just tell the truth?"
Yi Zhonghai would never say that.
He used to be a master craftsman at a steel rolling mill.
If people found out that this is the kind of job I'm doing now, wouldn't I be incredibly embarrassed?
He stubbornly insisted, "I'm not a thief at all. You have no evidence, you can't arrest me!"
He Hongyang knew perfectly well that he didn't want to lose face.
He gave Sha Zhu a look.
Sha Zhu immediately understood what he meant.
Holding a washbasin, he banged on it while shouting.
"Neighbors, come quick! Someone is washing a manure bucket in the yard's trough."
"Someone's stealing the night soil buckets from the night soil collection team! There's a thief here!"
Very early in the morning.
Some people haven't gotten up yet.
As soon as I heard him shout that.
He immediately crawled out of bed.
Soon, the courtyard was surrounded by people.
Upon closer inspection, it was Yi Zhonghai and Jia Zhangshi.
Then they saw that He Hongyang had grabbed their wrists.
They simply wouldn't listen to their explanations.
There was a lot of discussion.
"Are those two families so poor they have nothing to eat that they resorted to stealing? They might as well just hand them over to the neighborhood committee!"
"Both of them have criminal records; one was arrested and the other was fired from the factory. Neither of them is a good person."
"Everyone is struggling these days, but even if we're starving, we absolutely cannot steal from the government!"
"Everyone should keep a close eye on their doors at night, because these thieves might be used to stealing from homes."
Yi Zhonghai was shocked.
Unexpectedly, not a single person from the dozen or so households in the entire courtyard spoke up for him.
These people not only didn't speak up for him, but they also criticized him like this.
They called him a thief, said he stole manure buckets, and said his family lived in poverty.
When he worked at the steel rolling mill, these people didn't treat him like this.
Even if he's expelled, he's still a senior member of this institution.
At his age, how could he tolerate these young people pointing fingers at him?
"What nonsense are you talking about? I'm not a thief at all."
Xu Damao and Yan Jiefang were shocked to hear that he still dared to talk back.
They wanted to grab him from both sides and take him away.
"Since you didn't steal it, why don't you say where you got it from?"
"Brother He saw it with his own eyes, are you still trying to deny it? I think you're just asking for trouble, wanting to experience what it's like to be locked up!"
He Hongyang became increasingly popular at the steel rolling mill, and everyone working there wanted to curry favor with him.
Since the He family was able to procure grain, the other people in the courtyard were even more eager to flatter him, hoping he would give their families some grain as well.
It's like the wind and water are constantly turning!
Previously, Yi Zhonghai was the one who acted arrogantly in this courtyard.
Now, He Hongyang is the one who has the final say.
Before he could even speak, someone stood up and spoke up for him.
Before he could even act, someone else took his place.
Yi Zhonghai stared wide-eyed.
"Although I am not capable now, I am still of a certain age, so you cannot take advantage of my position to bully me."
Madam Jia Zhang added, "That's right. We are the elders of this courtyard. You must know how to respect your elders. You can't just repeat whatever He Hongyang says."
Surprisingly, the two of them actually became quite resilient.
He Hongyang sneered: "Don't talk to me about elders. Does doing something wrong mean you have to distinguish between elders and juniors? Just because someone is an elder doesn't mean they can be disrespectful."
"You two just denied stealing the latrine bucket. Could it be that you both work for the latrine-collecting team, which is why you denied it?"
"Uu——"
A gasp of surprise rang out from the crowd.
"Are they working for the latrine cleaning team? No wonder it smells so bad, no wonder they're washing buckets here so early."
"The work there is dirty and tiring, and the pay is very low. Why would they go there?"
"They must be starving. Only Jia Dongxu works in the Jia family, and no one in the Yi family works."
"Didn't Yi Zhonghai used to be a heavy porter? When did he start shoveling manure?"
"I heard that there are more and more people carrying big people these days, and people his age simply don't want him."
"Even if you go, you can't be with Jia Zhangshi. Weren't they rumored to be having an affair before? How come they're together again now?"
"Who said she was having an affair with Yi Zhonghai? Wasn't she clearly having an affair with Master Liu?"
"She's really strange. All the gossip comes from the outhouse. It seems she has a special fondness for that place. No wonder she goes there to find work."
"Haha, be careful they don't hear us."
Jia Zhangshi's face flushed red and then turned pale.
But they still refuse to admit it.
“Who said I work for a sanitation team? It’s dirty and tiring there. I would never go. I have my son to support me. I can just sit at home and do nothing.”
He Hongyang pointed to the words on the bucket: "Your and Yi Zhonghai's names are clearly engraved on it, yet you still want to deny it."
Everyone looked at the names on the screen without prior arrangement.
Now they really have no way to deny it!
The number of buckets used by the sanitation team is limited. To prevent personal loss and to prevent them from being secretly taken home, each bucket is engraved with the team member's name.
Whoever owns the bucket is responsible for its safekeeping; if it gets lost, that person is held accountable!
Seeing that there was no way to deny it.
He Hongyang continued.
"Although this job is dirty and tiring, there is no distinction between noble and lowly jobs. You just denied it, but you clearly looked down on this job. If you look down on it, why do you still do it?"
“I will tell the neighborhood committee about this, and they will tell the sanitation team that you don’t want to do this job at all, and it seems you won’t need to go anymore.”
Yi Zhonghai quickly stopped him: "Who said we're not going? We still need this to make money."
Listen to him.
"Hahaha!"
Laughter erupted from the crowd once more.
He just denied it to the death, stubbornly clinging to his pride and continuing to deny it.
Now, however, she's stopping He Hongyang, saying she needs this job.
Let's do it.
There's nothing shameful about making money.
It seems he'd rather be a thief than tell anyone he works for a sanitation team.
Hearing everyone's laughter, Yi Zhonghai turned purple with anger.
As soon as I got back, I was given a good scolding.
"Now that things are cleared up, can I go back?"
"You can't leave, because I have something more important to say!"
He Hongyang pointed to the water trough in the middle of the yard.
"Do you know what he was doing just now? He was actually cleaning the latrine bucket in here."
Another gasp came from the crowd.
No wonder they smelled a foul odor.
They were cleaning this in the sink in the yard.
Are these two crazy?
Does working for the latrine-cleaning team mean the whole courtyard has to smell this stench?
"My mother-in-law just said a few things to him, and he didn't like it. Now I want to ask, what is this sink used for?"
Yi Zhonghai and Jia Zhangshi knew they were in the wrong, so they silently lowered their heads.
"This is for everyone to wash vegetables and clothes, and you're using it to wash yourselves? Not only do you have no sense of public morality, you're utterly heartless!"
"Why don't you take it outside to wash? Are you going to contaminate everyone in the yard just to save trouble?"
"I saw it today. If I hadn't seen it, would I have kept it a secret from everyone and kept it from them forever?"
Pointing at Yi Zhonghai: "Why aren't you saying anything now? You love to make excuses, so now give us an example."
Yi Zhonghai looked at He Hongyang's serious expression.
What is he doing?
It was just washing a bucket.
This is tap water; the water is flowing.
No matter what kind of dirt it is, just let the water wash it away.
Why make a mountain out of a molehill?
But he knew that everyone was on He Hongyang's side now.
He could only admit his mistake: "Then I won't wash here anymore."
Jia Zhangshi didn't want to continue being criticized by so many people.
Working for the sanitation team was already shameful enough; she didn't want to make herself even more shameful.
"I will never wash here again."
Unexpectedly, He Hongyang shouted, "Is it okay if you don't wash here? Are you going to secretly wash in the front yard or the back yard?"
The people in the front yard immediately objected.
The three older women jumped in and said, "Our son often brings his girlfriend home, so we can't let her smell this in the yard."
"Several families live in the front yard; we can't let them all smell it."
The people in the backyard also objected.
Aunt Er said, "We definitely can't go to the backyard. The backyard is already poorly ventilated. If we add this smell on top of that, we'll be smelling stench all day long."