mchenry-crisis.org Chapter 35 Jia Zhangshi Comes to Make Trouble
Chapter 35 Jia Zhangshi Comes to Make Trouble
As she spoke, Jia Zhangshi prepared to get up and go out to fight Yi Zhonghai.
They tolerated the schemes and plots the other party had always tried to take advantage of their family. As a widow and orphan, they certainly hoped for a powerful man in the courtyard to support them.
In addition, Yi Zhonghai was a master craftsman at the steel rolling mill, and Jia Zhangshi used to be very proud that her son could learn the trade from him.
Now they've discovered that their son spent three years learning a skill from that person, but not only did he not learn any useful skills, he also went from a junior worker to an apprentice.
Previously, Jia Dongxu earned 300,000 yuan a month, but now it has dropped to 180,000 yuan. This is going to be the death of Jia Zhangshi.
What can 180,000 yuan do? The family's monthly expenses are 150,000 yuan, and Jia Dongxu needs 50,000 yuan for lunch at the factory.
They're already short 20,000, not to mention Jia Zhangshi's own 100,000 monthly pension.
The losses, both inside and out, were too great, and Jia Zhangshi felt she needed to find a blood-making ox to make up for them.
This "blood cow" must be Yi Zhonghai, since he's Jia Dongxu's mentor.
Madam Jia would never believe that it was her son's fault. Her son was so smart; if Yi Zhonghai had taught him properly earlier, he would already be an intermediate-level worker.
In addition, Jia Zhangshi felt that Yi Zhonghai owed her something. On the night Old Jia died, Yi Zhonghai attacked her, but promised to take good care of Jia Dongxu.
At the time, Jia Zhangshi was in a state of complete confusion, and thus she was taken advantage of by Yi Zhonghai, Jia's good brother.
Thinking back to how he used to follow Lao Jia around and call her "sister-in-law" every day, but now he had turned into a hungry wolf, Jia Zhangshi realized that she had misjudged Yi Zhonghai.
Jia Zhangshi had naturally considered resisting, but the other party's question, "You don't want anything to happen to Jia Dongxu either, do you?" shattered all of Jia Zhangshi's resistance. Her only hope now was her son.
For the sake of her son, Jia Zhangshi chose to keep the matter quiet.
Thinking that as long as Yi Zhonghai truly cared for her and her son, raised Dongxu to adulthood, and found him a wife, it would be a fair outcome for Lao Jia.
This is why Yi Zhonghai favored Jia Dongxu so much and felt that the latter was the most suitable person to take care of him in his old age.
However, Yi Zhonghai's stingy nature only allowed Jia Zhangshi to benefit a few years ago.
Later, it became very difficult for Jia Zhangshi to get money from the other party. When pressed, they would only give her ten or twenty thousand yuan to appease her.
It was only after Jia Dongxu went to work at a steel rolling mill that his family had a stable income.
Only after Jia Dongxu became a junior worker did the family finally settle down. Unexpectedly, this good fortune didn't last long, as Jia Dongxu was demoted from junior worker to apprentice.
This fact was like a bolt from the blue for the proud and arrogant Jia Zhangshi.
She bragged about it for a long time in the courtyard today, as if Jia Dongxu's return made him a third-level worker.
Originally, Jia Zhangshi planned to boast that her son would be a mid-level worker, but in the end, she played it safe and only said he would be a third-level worker.
These days, let alone intermediate or third-level workers, even having a first-level worker would be a relief, right?
At Yi Zhonghai's home, Luo Qiaoyun was busy cooking. She already knew that Yi Zhonghai hadn't passed the Level 8 worker exam, and compared to Yi Zhonghai's distress, Luo Qiaoyun was actually quite content.
When Luo Qiaoyun saw Yi Zhonghai return with a gloomy look on her face, she immediately handed her daughter to Yi Zhonghai and then went to busy herself with preparing dinner.
She knew she couldn't say much at this moment; men care about their pride, so it wouldn't be appropriate for her to say anything positive or negative.
Yi Zhonghai hugged his daughter, quickly forgetting his anger. The little baby's whimpering immediately made Yi Zhonghai laugh.
Although he had always hoped to have a son, once he actually had a child, Yi Zhonghai no longer had such a strong obsession.
Yi Zhonghai had already planned it out. With his status and savings, he was confident he could find a son-in-law willing to live with his wife's family.
No matter what, one's own son-in-law is better than other people's children.
In the storyline, after Jia Dongxu's death, Yi Zhonghai quickly placed his care in Qin Huairu's care, which shows that women are the most suitable for taking care of the elderly.
Yi Zhonghai had only used Sha Zhu as a tool to make money for Qin Huairu. Although he hadn't fully figured it out yet, he instinctively felt that his daughter was actually better than his apprentice Jia Dongxu.
After the cellar incident, Yi Zhonghai and Jia Dongxu each harbored their own thoughts. Yi Zhonghai, being a shrewd and experienced man, could easily see through the Jia family's ulterior motives.
He had no choice before; he could only go down a dead-end path. Now that he has other options, he might not be willing to continue being so deeply tied to the Jia family.
Last year during the Spring Festival, several of Liu Haizhong's apprentices came to visit him. Yi Zhonghai waited at home for a long time, but naturally, he didn't receive anything.
Both being apprentices, Jia Dongxu's actions deeply hurt Yi Zhonghai. He didn't care about the small gift; in fact, if the other party came to his door, Yi Zhonghai would even reciprocate with a gift.
The main problem was that Jia Dongxu ignored him, making him doubt that it was inappropriate for him to rely on Jia Dongxu for his old age.
He was particularly upset because he had embarrassed himself at the factory today, failing to pass the Level 8 worker exam.
Yi Zhonghai was genuinely surprised that Jia Dongxu hadn't even passed the first-level worker exam.
It's true that I control him, but I didn't intend for him to remain an apprentice forever.
Yi Zhonghai didn't dare to show his apprentices to anyone. The workshop director had been urging him to take on more apprentices, but Yi Zhonghai always said he only wanted those with good talent.
Now Jia Dongxu is telling everyone that this is what he meant by "good talent".
This situation truly left Yi Zhonghai speechless; he could arbitrarily misinterpret certain ideas within the courtyard house.
Nobody at the steel rolling mill believed his nonsense. Today's double slap in the face almost drove Yi Zhonghai to despair.
The mocking expressions on the faces of the other master craftsmen in Workshop One today made Yi Zhonghai, a man who was particularly concerned about his image, feel uncomfortable.
It's just that he didn't want to fall out with the Jia family, otherwise he would have cursed Jia Dongxu, that idiot, to death long ago.
"Yi Zhonghai, explain to me why my son didn't even pass the Level 1 worker exam? Have you been keeping secrets from me all along? If we had known, we would never have made him our apprentice. If Dongxu had apprenticed under someone else, he would definitely have passed the Level 3 worker exam by now."
Yi Zhonghai was enjoying family time with his daughter when he saw Jia Zhangshi burst in from outside.
Jia Zhangshi's loud questioning nearly made Yi Zhonghai stumble.
Luo Qiaoyun was making braised pork in the kitchen when she turned around and saw Jia Zhangshi arguing, so she quickly came over.
"Jia family, how can you speak of our Old Yi like that? You were the one who begged and pleaded with us. We only took Dongxu as our apprentice because we saw how difficult things were for you, a widow and her orphan. If we had known earlier, we would never have taken Dongxu as our apprentice."
"Luo Qiaoyun, stop pretending to be a good person. We all know each other well! Neither you nor Yi Zhonghai, that childless man, are good people."
When Madam Jia saw that Luo Qiaoyun dared to say such things, as if she wanted to shift the blame onto her son, how could she tolerate it?
This time, the courtyard house made a joke of the Jia family. Even if Madam Jia Zhang suspected that her son was a disappointment, she couldn't let everyone know.
She came here today for two reasons: firstly, to see if there were any benefits, and secondly, to make Yi Zhonghai take the blame for this huge mistake.
"Have you made enough of a scene? If you think I can't teach Dongxu properly, then I'll go to the factory tomorrow and publicly announce that I'm severing my master-disciple relationship with Dongxu."
Yi Zhonghai was also hurt by Jia Zhangshi's unreasonable words; he had already lost face enough today.
Jia Zhangshi actually had the nerve to come to the door and question them, while the other families in the courtyard were already standing in the middle, watching them make a fool of themselves.
Yi Zhonghai has always touted himself as a good person, and Jia Zhangshi's current behavior is tantamount to treating him as a hypocrite.
Yi Zhonghai already had a bad reputation in the courtyard. He had schemed against the He family and then hid in the cellar with his apprentice's wife. After these incidents, it was difficult for Yi Zhonghai to establish his authority in the courtyard.
Now, Jia Zhangshi has come to say that Yi Zhonghai has not put his heart into teaching his apprentices.
This kind of thing can be done, but it can't be proven. Yi Zhonghai naturally has to retaliate, otherwise, if everyone finds out, how will he continue to morally blackmail others?
"Mom, please stop making a scene, Master. It's all my fault. I couldn't stop my mom."
Jia Dongxu then rushed in from outside with Qin Huairu, hurriedly grabbed Jia Zhangshi, and apologized to Yi Zhonghai.
Although Jia Dongxu tried to shift the blame, he still knew he couldn't afford to offend Yi Zhonghai.
At least in the steel rolling mill, if he offended Yi Zhonghai, it would be difficult for him to find another mentor.
Those master chefs wouldn't risk offending Yi Zhonghai for the sake of Jia Dongxu.
Level 6 workers are not as valuable as Level 8 workers, but they are still among the few senior workers in the factory.
If Jia Dongxu is truly expelled from Yi Zhonghai's fold, he will probably never find a mentor to teach him skills again.
This is why he felt increasingly determined not to let Jia Zhangshi continue causing trouble. So Jia Dongxu brought Qin Huairu with him to Yi Zhonghai's house to persuade Jia Zhangshi to leave.
Jia Zhangshi was pulled away by Jia Dongxu. Luo Qiaoyun and Yi Zhonghai, who were originally going to celebrate, are now sitting there eating braised pork and are not happy at all.
"Old Yi, what about Dongxu...?"
Yi Zhonghai understood Luo Qiaoyun's thoughts when he saw the look in her eyes.
"I don't know. Although I control some key technologies, I never expected that he hadn't even passed the first-level worker exam."
Luo Qiaoyun believed it, after all, it was in line with Yi Zhonghai's character.
"So what do we do now? If Dongxu keeps failing to pass level one, everyone will definitely start to suspect you."
Yi Zhonghai is also troubled, and he has been practicing hard recently.
Jia Dongxu also followed along to learn, hoping that through this grading exam, both master and apprentice could finally hold their heads high.
Yi Zhonghai also took the time to check Jia Dongxu's homework. He originally thought that it was hard to say about the third-level worker, but the first and second-level workers would definitely not have any problems.
Everything was fine, but the result was quite surprising.
Yi Zhonghai now suspects that perhaps his own hidden possessions influenced Dongxu. Of course, he would never admit it, so it's all because Jia Dongxu was stupid.
Yi Zhonghai and Luo Qiaoyun were upset at home, and the other families in the courtyard were also talking about it, all thinking that Jia Dongxu was a fool.