Chapter 60: Law-Defying Madman Zhang San VS Vampire White Lotus

Just as Director Wang was at her wit's end, He Yushui ran back into the inner room. A moment later, she came out holding a piece of paper. "Director, these are the records of the money my brother lent to the Jia family over the past two years."

Who on earth keeps a ledger when lending money to our Jia family? This little brat is utterly detestable! Mrs. Jia's heart skipped a beat, but she stiffened her neck and wore a defiant expression. "You say he lent it, so he lent it? Who knows if you just made this up out of nowhere?"

He Yushui gave Mrs. Jia a calm look, unhurriedly pointing at the entries on the paper: "Old woman Jia, I know your family loves to default on debts. Every time Silly Zhu lent your family money, I recorded the date and the reason."

Director Wang peered closely and saw, sure enough, rows and columns neatly written in childish handwriting.

"January 12, 1955: Qin Huairou borrowed three yuan, reason being to visit her maternal home and bring gifts to her family."

"January 20: Qin Huairou borrowed fifty cents, reason being she wanted to buy two hair ties."

"January 20: Borrowed three yuan to buy a chest binder."

"Bought socks..."

"Bought vanishing cream..."

"Bought Da Qianshan cigarettes for Jia Dongxu..."

"Bought underpants for Mrs. Jia..."

The residents' expressions turned peculiar as they all turned their gazes toward Jia Dongxu. Is this wife ultimately Silly Zhu's, or his? Jia Dongxu's face turned green.

"Below are the records of Mrs. Jia borrowing money from Silly Zhu."

"February 2, 1955: Mrs. Jia borrowed two yuan to go to the hospital for painkillers."

"March 2, 1955: Mrs. Jia borrowed two yuan to go to the hospital for painkillers."

"April 2... two yuan... painkillers."

"May 2... painkillers..."

"You've bought fifty or sixty pills worth of two yuan painkillers—can Mrs. Jia possibly consume all of that?"

Director Wang's expression turned serious as she frowned and looked at Mrs. Jia. "Did you used to smoke opium?"

Before the liberation, colonialists and feudal forces used opium to brutally exploit the common people. Countless tragic stories of selling sons and daughters unfolded across the country, ultimately leaving the people impoverished and the nation weak, subjected to bullying. The Japanese invaders even pushed a drug-poisoning policy in Beijing, utilizing the "Anti-Opium Bureau" to openly sell opium. After the liberation, the people became the masters of the country, and the authorities immediately launched a specialized rectification campaign. Opium scattered among the populace was confiscated everywhere, and lists of opium addicts were registered. Those who failed to cooperate were brought to justice. As a grassroots unit, the neighborhood committee was responsible for screening opium addicts within its jurisdiction. Just through Director Wang's own hands, dozens of opium addicts had been sent away.

Mrs. Jia was well aware of the stakes. Shaking with fright, she hurriedly explained, "It's a misunderstanding, an absolute misunderstanding. When I gave birth to Dongxu, I caught a chill, and my constitution has never been good. If I don't take painkillers, my whole body aches."

Having heard about the miserable fates of those opium addicts after being taken away, and seeing Director Wang's skeptical look, Mrs. Jia cried out in a weeping tone, calling for Jia Dongxu. "Dongxu, tell the director quickly, I am really not an opium addict!"

Jia Dongxu said in a low voice, "Director, my mother, she..."

Opium addicts were invariably scrawny, yet Mrs. Jia was plump and fair-skinned, physical traits that didn't match at all. "Alright, I know," Director Wang waved her hand to interrupt him, looking coldly at Mrs. Jia. "Is there any discrepancy in what He Yushui recorded?"

"...I haven't remembered for a long time."

"If you don't remember, then these accounts are all facts." Director Wang picked up a pen to calculate, then nodded. "It totals two hundred and thirty yuan."

Hiss.
Hiss, hiss.
Hiss, hiss, hiss.

Hearing this figure, the surrounding residents couldn't help but gasp, the temperature in the room instantly rising. Silly Zhu's monthly salary was only thirty-two yuan. Qin Huairou had been married into the Jia family for less than two years, yet Silly Zhu had actually lent the Jia family two hundred and thirty yuan. It was almost equivalent to Silly Zhu's entire year's salary. No wonder He Yushui couldn't even get a bite of coarse corn bread. Asking the Jia family to return two hundred and thirty yuan was akin to unearthing their ancestral graves and tap-dancing on top of them.

Mrs. Jia's hair stood on end, her eyes bulged, and she wanted to flare up right then and there. Qin Huairou gently tugged at the hem of her jacket and blinked. 'Mother, let me handle this!'

Knowing full well that Qin Huairou was now outperforming her master, Mrs. Jia slowly nodded and handed the task of frontline combat over to Qin Huairou.

True to her reputation as a veteran actress, Qin Huairou entered her role in one second, shed tears in two, and assumed a bitter expression in three. She lightly stroked her hair, wiped away her tears, and bit her trembling lip. "Director, because our family couldn't make ends meet, we indeed borrowed money from Silly Zhu."

"Silly Zhu is a wonderful person, and our whole family is grateful to him."

"However, that money belonged to Silly Zhu, not He Yushui."

Straightening her back with her chest heaving, she said with indignation, "Asking us to return the money to He Yushui today is simply unfair!"

Director Wang hesitated. What Qin Huairou said seemed to make a certain amount of sense. The surrounding residents also furrowed their brows. That's right, the Jia family didn't borrow money from He Yushui, so why should they return the money to her?

What a fantastic teammate! Mrs. Jia applauded inwardly. Qin Huairou cast a provocative look at Li Aiguo. So what if you took the betrothal gifts and called off the marriage? You didn't suffer any loss, is there any need to push things to annihilation? Wouldn't it be better if everyone lived harmoniously as neighbors and played together nicely?

Heh, this woman really has some tricks up her sleeve. But as a man who had read the complete collection of *Outlaw Zhang San*, how could he be bewitched by such flowery rhetoric?

"Aiguo, what do you think?"

Facing Director Wang's gaze, Li Aiguo softened his tone. "The money was indeed lent by Silly Zhu to the Jia family."

Hearing this, Qin Huairou breathed a sigh of relief and smiled smugly. No need to pay back the money, awesome!

However, Li Aiguo's next words made her heart leap into her throat.

"However."

"Silly Zhu and He Yushui are members of the same household. His salary belongs to the communal property of the siblings."

"Before the household is formally divided, He Yushui has no right to demand the return of this money."

"Now that the household division is taking place, that external debt also belongs to Silly Zhu's assets, and He Yushui naturally has the right to reclaim it."

Li Aiguo surveyed the surroundings. "To give an analogy: if the Zhang family is preparing to divide their household property, and Zhang San secretly gives money and belongings to a friend in advance to evade property division, should Zhang Fourth just stand by and swallow the bitter pill?"

The analogy was vivid, graphic, and easy to understand. Especially in this era, people had many siblings, much like a large tree that branches out as it grows. The residents of the courtyard had all experienced family divisions and understood the twists and turns involved. They nodded in agreement one after another.

"That's right, Aiguo is right. Whether He Yushui lent the money out or not, as long as they are family, He Yushui has the right to take it back."

Outlaw Zhang San versus Vampire White Lotus.
Outlaw Zhang San wins!

Hearing the residents' chorus of approval, Qin Huairou's complexion paled a bit, her fists clenching so hard her nails dug deep into her flesh.

Director Wang asked, "Comrade Qin Huairou, what do you think?"

Qin Huairou opened her mouth, but not a single sound came out.

Mrs. Jia shot her a sideways glance: Useless thing!

Qin Huairou felt a grievance she couldn't articulate, her chest feeling utterly stuffy. Even a sure-win situation could be turned around by Li Aiguo; what could she do?

At this point, Mrs. Jia no longer had the bandwidth to be angry with Qin Huairou. She hurried up to Director Wang and stamped her foot. "Director, even if we return just half of it for now, over a hundred yuan is no small sum. You know very well that my Old Jia died young and life has been hard..."

Director Wang interrupted her. "Zhang Erhua, stop putting on a pitiful act in front of me. When Old Jia passed away back then, the steel rolling mill gave a three-hundred-yuan relief fund, and Jia Dongxu took over his job, earning a salary every month. Are you here crying poverty to me now?"

As the neighborhood committee director, Director Wang was crystal clear about the circumstances of the residents in her jurisdiction.

Mrs. Jia was rebutted until her face flushed red and her neck swelled. She took a few deep breaths, still wanting to explain (fabricate excuses).

Seeing that the general trend was lost and that continuing to wrangle would only incur Director Wang's annoyance, Yi Zhonghai quietly nudged Mrs. Jia. "Older Sister-in-law Jia, the director is right. Debts must be repaid—it's only natural and right. Stop arguing."

Mrs. Jia rolled her eyes. "My family has no money. Why don't you lend me some first?"

Jia Dongxu mumbled, "Master, just lend my family some money. As soon as my salary is issued, I'll pay you back immediately."

Yi Zhonghai looked deeply at Jia Dongxu and nodded. "Alright, my monthly salary just came down as well. I'll lend you one hundred yuan first."

Mrs. Jia beamed with joy. With Yi Zhonghai's one hundred yuan, she would only need to scrape together another dozen yuan or so to pay off He Yushui.

Seeing all this, Director Wang sighed silently in her heart. This old Yi really had an obsession with finding a son to support him in his old age; sooner or later, he was going to suffer a huge loss. However, she didn't say much more. As long as the Jia family could pay He Yushui back, she would have completed her mission. Where the money came from didn't matter.

He Yushui accepted the money from Mrs. Jia's hands, signaling that the household division matter had come to a temporary close. However, He Yushui would be living alone from now on, and Director Wang felt a bit uneasy. She turned around, called over several elderly women from the courtyard, and instructed them to take good care of He Yushui in the future.

He Yushui was a sensible and sweet-tempered child, well-liked by all the old women in the courtyard, who readily patted their chests in assurance.

Seeing that the grand drama had come to an end, Li Aiguo prepared to head back to sleep when he noticed Granny Liu waving at him from the side.