Siheyuan: Starting from the driver

Chapter 714: Stealing chicken but losing rice
The next day.

early morning.

Jia Zhangshi got up earlier than usual.

To be more precise, I barely slept a wink all night.

My lower back and back ached so badly that my body was sore and aching that I could barely close my eyes before the pain woke me up. I tossed and turned all night, unable to fall asleep.

When I turned over at noon, Qin Huairu scolded me: "Why aren't you asleep so late? If you don't want to sleep, go and paste some grease!"

Jia Zhangshi was so frightened that she dared not turn over.

I managed to doze off for a while just before dawn, but I had to force myself to get up and prepare breakfast, even though my body was almost falling apart.

Before leaving for work, Qin Huairu looked coldly at the large stack of matchboxes and said, "Finish pasting all the remaining matchboxes today! Don't even think about slacking off! I checked, and the ones pasted yesterday are almost done."

"If things go wrong, you won't be able to eat tonight! We'll have to exchange them for money tomorrow. Don't play dumb with me, you know perfectly well that there are still 19,000 matchboxes left to burn!"

"Oh~" Jia Zhangshi replied meekly with her head down, her heart filled with sorrow.

How did Qin Huairu remember 19,000 so clearly?

As soon as Qin Huairu's figure disappeared outside the courtyard gate, Jia Zhangshi suddenly raised her head.

Where was the trace of timidity on his face?

"Humph!"

Once she was sure Qin Huairu was far away, Jia Zhangshi's gaze fell once again on that despairing matchbox "hill," and she felt a wave of dizziness wash over her.

She relied on her stiff, numb old hands and her broken, frail old bones.

"No way! I can't possibly finish pasting all of these by myself!"

Immediately, Madam Jia went to the bedroom and roughly pulled up the still drowsy Xiaodang: "You brat! Still lying on the bed like a corpse? Get up!"

Xiao Dang shuddered in fright and looked at her grandmother in terror.

"Stop pretending to be a dead cat!" Jia Zhangshi's voice suddenly rose, sharp and piercing.

"What are you standing there for! Get up and eat, and then you'll be making matchboxes! Don't even think about slacking off! We don't support idlers in this family!"

"If you don't get up now, you're not eating! Hurry up!"

A barrage of vicious curses rained down on Xiao Dang, who was so frightened by Jia Zhangshi that she didn't have time to think and quickly got up to wash.

Madam Jia couldn't wait that long. As soon as Xiao Dang finished washing up, she shoved a small stack of matchbox materials into Xiao Dang's arms and pointed to a broken earthenware basin filled with prepared paste: "Take this! Go paste it by the door!"

"Grandma," Little Dang cried, her voice trembling with tears, "I...I haven't eaten yet."

"Eat, eat, eat! All you ever think about is eating?! Is your throat connected to a stove? You were born a glutton!"

Without saying a word, Jia Zhangshi grabbed Xiao Dang's arm and dragged him outside.

"If you don't finish your work, you won't even get to eat shit! Let's go!"

Seeing Xiao Dang's distress, Jia Zhangshi felt only a sense of vengeful pleasure.

'Qin Huairu, if you make me suffer even a little, I'll make your daughter suffer tenfold! Let's see if you dare order me around again!'

I'm going to make that worthless brat taste the exhaustion and scolding I endured yesterday!

Xiao Dang was pushed and shoved by Jia Zhangshi to sit on the ground in front of the house. His little hands clumsily picked up thin pieces of wood and imitated Jia Zhangshi in applying paste and sticking the wood pieces together.

The movements were clumsy and slow.

Upon seeing this, Jia Zhangshi began cursing, spitting as she spoke:

"You're so stupid! What's the point of raising you! All you do is eat! I'd rather raise a pig than you. At least a pig can be slaughtered and eaten when it grows up. You're just a money-losing jinx! You can't even do a proper job!"

Jia Zhangshi sat on a small stool next to him, not working very fast, but her triangular eyes were fixed on Xiao Dang like a venomous snake.

"Look at how clumsy you are! No wonder you lost money! Hurry up! If you don't finish before dark, I'll beat you to death, you useless piece of trash!"

Little Dang was starving, her little hands were weak and unresponsive, and glue was smeared all over her clothes.

But she dared not cry out loud, and could only bite her lower lip tightly, large tears rolling down silently and hitting the rough wooden pieces of the matchbox.

Seeing Xiao Dang's miserable state, Jia Zhangshi felt a twisted sense of pleasure. "Hmph, what a worthless piece of trash!"

The sound of Jia Zhangshi bullying Xiao Dang could be heard clearly throughout the entire courtyard.

Aunt Erda was smearing soot on her stove, and she pursed her lips: "Judging from the noise, that old hag is up to no good again and taking her anger out on Xiaodang."

"Tsk tsk, what a heart! It's harder than a solid outhouse board in the dead of winter."

Xiao Dang's movements became increasingly sluggish due to hunger and fear. Nine out of ten of the boxes he made were crooked and unacceptable, requiring rework.

Madam Jia grew increasingly furious: "Don't you have eyeballs under your eyelids? You've smeared glue all over your fingers! You're so stupid you'll die!"

"Your hand's broken? You're taking as long as an ox plowing a field to glue a piece of wood back together! If you keep dawdling like this, I'll throw you into a mass grave outside the city to be eaten by wild dogs!"

"Crying! You still have the nerve to cry! You can't even finish your work, yet you treat a single drop of cat pee like it's precious!"

Jia Zhangshi launched into a tirade of insults, her spittle practically splattering all over Xiao Dang's face and head.

Several times he raised his calloused, knuckle-covered hand, hovering it above Xiao Dang's head, only to forcefully lower it again in the end!
'No, if we hit her now, that brat will have even less energy to work. All those matchboxes to paste will just end up being wasted on us all by ourselves.'

Xiao Dang hadn't had a drop of water that morning, and the immense psychological fear brought her to the brink of physical and mental collapse.

My vision was blurry; I couldn't tell if it was tears or cold sweat from hunger.

Every time I lifted my heavy arm to pick up a piece of wood, it felt like dragging a millstone weighing a ton.

The small brush used for applying paste became an unruly thing in her hands; it either fell to the ground or she applied too much paste, soiling the surface of the cardboard box.

Several times, rough splinters pierced her delicate fingers, drawing tiny beads of blood. She dared not cry out in pain, and could only quickly tuck her fingers into her sleeve to hide them.

It's approaching noon.

The residents of the courtyard started cooking, and the aroma of the food made Xiao Dang's stomach rumble loudly.

Madam Jia glanced sideways at Xiao Dang, showing no pity whatsoever:

"Still thinking about food? Your stomach's growling? It's no use complaining if you don't finish your work! Lunch is out! Get back to work!"

Upon hearing this, Xiao Dang seemed to lose her last bit of strength, and her tears flowed even more fiercely, silently.

"Wow - wow -"

Suddenly, Kuihua's crying burst out, piercing people's eardrums.

The sound instantly woke up Jia Zhangshi.

But this wasn't due to her conscience.

"Oh no! Qin Huairu is coming back!" Jia Zhangshi suddenly jumped up and shouted that something was wrong. Qin Huairu was coming back at noon to breastfeed.

An old man's face turned deathly pale with fright, his eyes darting around nervously.

"It's over! It's over! If that shrew sees this girl in this cowardly, half-dead state, she'll chop me to pieces!"

If she finds out that Xiao Dang was being abused by her, then we'll be in big trouble.

He immediately glared at Xiao Dang: "You good-for-nothing! Hurry up and go see your troublesome sister! They're both reincarnations of vengeful spirits! They're always causing me trouble! They're making me worry myself sick!"

While cursing through gritted teeth, Jia Zhangshi practically kicked Xiao Dang in the back and shoved her into the house.

She immediately tidied up and prepared to cook, busying herself while thinking about how to hide the matter, her rat-like eyes uneasily scanning the direction of the courtyard gate.

"You worthless brat!" Madam Jia ran into the bedroom, her hideous old face close to Xiao Dang's terrified little face, and sprayed poison gas in her face: "Listen! When your mother comes back later, if you dare to tell her, see how I deal with you!"

Madam Jia's tone was chilling enough to freeze someone to death: "If you say something you shouldn't, I'll have plenty of time to deal with you during the day! I have plenty of ways that your mother can't see!"

"Did you understand?! Speak! Are you mute?!"

"Listen. We've arrived." Xiao Dang, like a frightened bird, chattered.

Her mother isn't home. No one can protect her.
"Hmph!" Hearing Xiao Dang's tearful reply, Madam Jia smiled smugly, but she still felt uneasy.

"You good-for-nothing! If I find out you snitched, I'll have Banggeng beat you up!"

Hearing Jia Zhangshi's continuous threats, the little girl was on the verge of tears; she was truly terrified.

After talking for a while, Jia Zhangshi was convinced that her threat was enough to shut up this little money-loser, and thought that she had succeeded in her "deception".

Only then did he hurriedly go to cook.

Soon.

Qin Huairu returned home exhausted and smelling of grease from the workshop.

As soon as I got back, I went to the bedroom to check on the flowers.

Seeing that Huaihua was still sobbing, she unbuttoned her clothes and breastfed her.

Exhaustion and breastfeeding made her not pay much attention to what was wrong with Xiaodang.

Seeing this, Jia Zhangshi, who was standing in front of the stove, was relieved and thought it was done, so she quickly finished cooking.

Before long, the whole family gathered together for lunch.

Xiao Dang was hungry all morning, and as soon as he sat down, he couldn't wait to pick up his chopsticks and grab a steamed bun.

However, Qin Huairu noticed that her hands were trembling.

"Why are your hands shaking when you're picking up a steamed bun?"

Qin Huairu didn't pay much attention at first and handed the steamed bun to Xiao Dang. However, when she saw Xiao Dang holding the steamed bun in his hand, she immediately noticed the redness and swelling on his finger.

There were a few stark, dried bloodstains on the edge of the cuff!
"Smack!" Qin Huairu slammed down her chopsticks and quickly reached for Xiao Dang's hand.

"Xiao Dang, what happened to your hand?" Qin Huairu tightly gripped her daughter's fingers and held them in her hand.

"No, it's nothing," Xiao Dang instinctively withdrew her hand, not wanting her mother to see.

This unusual occurrence instantly jolted Qin Huairu awake. She grabbed Xiao Dang's hand again and examined it carefully, noticing the tiny bloodstains on his fingers.

"What's going on?!" Qin Huairu shouted loudly, startling Xiao Dang so much that his face turned ashen.

"Clap!"

Bang Geng, standing to the side, was so frightened that he trembled violently, dropped his chopsticks, and fell silent, his eyes darting nervously between Qin Huairu and Xiao Dang.

"No, no. It was just an accident."

"Mom's here, it's okay. Who did this? Tell Mom, and Mom will get justice for you!"

Qin Huairu bent down, trying to soften her voice, but the surging anger in her eyes was impossible to hide.

Xiao Dang still didn't dare to speak, but subconsciously glanced quickly at Jia Zhangshi sitting next to her, her eyes filled with helplessness and panic.

That one glance was like lighting a powder keg!
As if stung by a scorpion, Jia Zhangshi jumped up with a "whoosh," spilling the porridge from her bowl all over the table without a care, and her hoarse voice burst into a wail with unstoppable force:
"Hey! You brat! Why are you looking at me like that?! Are you trying to slander me?! Huh?!"

"Heaven and earth bear witness! This little brat was clumsy and messed things up. He got some paste and dust on his hands while making a box, and he thinks he'd lose a piece of flesh? You think you're so precious!"

"Are your claws inlaid with gold or made of jade? You whine and complain to your mother over a little work! Stop playing the victim! I'll tear your stinking, talking mouth apart!"

Jia Zhangshi's furious and self-righteous attitude was tantamount to a confession.

At this moment, the volcano in Qin Huairu's chest erupted! "Jia Zhangshi! Shut your filthy mouth! Conscience? You still have the nerve to mention conscience?!"

"Xiao Dang is so young, and you're making her do chores? How can you be a grandmother like that! Besides, these are chores that you, Jia Zhangshi, should be doing! How dare you make Xiao Dang do them!"

Qin Huairu gradually approached Jia Zhangshi.

"I told you to stay home and do some work to earn a living, and you take it out on your little one? Bullying her because her mother isn't around?! You're a heartless, rotten old hag!"

Jia Zhangshi was so overwhelmed by the barrage of insults that she saw stars and momentarily forgot to throw a tantrum. She instinctively took a step back, her face turning pale and then red.

Qin Huairu's anger did not subside; on the contrary, it surged even more fiercely because of Jia Zhangshi's brief discouragement.

"Snapped!"

There was a crisp sound.

Qin Huairu would not tolerate Jia Zhangshi's unruly behavior.

Without Jia Dongxu, what is Jia Zhangshi?

"Listen! From today onwards, you'll do all the work yourself! Pasting matchboxes is your job, but if I find you ordering Xiao Dang around again—"

"Believe it or not, I'll take my three kids and move out right now, leaving you all alone and exploited until you die without a trace! You'll die in your house and no one will even know!"

"no no!"

Jia Zhangshi feared nothing except these things: having no descendants and no one to take care of her.

This punishment is worse than going to jail!
"Did you hear me?!"

"I heard you!" Madam Jia replied hastily.

"Xiao Dang!" Qin Huairu looked at her trembling daughter and said, "Xiao Dang, from today onwards, you keep an eye on her. If she makes you work again, or dares to yell at you or hit you, run to the steel mill and tell Mom right now! Mom will back you up!"

Xiao Dang suddenly raised her head, nodded vigorously, and uttered a muffled but firm syllable through her throat: "Mmm!"

That "hmm" was like a thunderbolt striking Jia Zhangshi's head.

Qin Huairu wasn't trying to scare her.

Seeing that the money-losing woman actually dared to "obey orders" to supervise, all of Jia Zhangshi's resentment and unwillingness choked in her throat.

Qin Huairu grew angrier the more she looked at Jia Zhangshi. Pointing angrily at the door, she shouted, "Just looking at you makes me angry! Get out and go paste matchboxes! What are you eating for! All you do all day is eat!"

"You're not getting any food or sleep until you've finished pasting those matchboxes today! I won't even let you go back inside! Sleep outside! Do you hear me!"

"I heard you!"

Not daring to defy the wind, Jia Zhangshi immediately ran to the door to paste matchboxes.

Banggeng, watching the family from the side, was afraid that Qin Huairu's anger would spill over onto him, so he immediately hid a steamed bun.

Qin Huairu's chest heaved violently, and it took her a while to calm down before she said gently, "Xiao Dang, let Mom take a look at your hands."

Xiao Dang's fingers were only pricked by splinters, but fortunately they didn't penetrate the skin or flesh; they were just superficial injuries.

As her mother examined her, Xiao Dang bit her lip tightly, afraid to make a sound, lest she cause her mother trouble.

"Have a meal!"

The three sat down to eat again. Qin Huairu took care of Xiao Dang intentionally or unintentionally, while Bang Geng wished his mother wouldn't notice him.

The family of three watched as Jia Zhangshi pasted matchboxes at the door.

After finishing her meal, Qin Huairu gave a few final instructions before heading to the steel rolling mill to prepare for work.

Only then did Jia Zhangshi dare to eat. Looking at the leftovers on the table, she was already grateful to have anything to eat, so what else could she complain about?

(End of this chapter)