An extraordinary life journey through old Beijing courtyard houses

Chapter 254 A clean break, emitting blue smoke

"Yi Zhonghai! You stand right there!"

Jia Zhangshi, who was waiting for Yi Zhonghai to come out of the toilet, called out to him, but Yi Zhonghai was still trying to avoid her.

With a sour face, she demanded, "Hey, Mr. Yi, what do you mean? Are you trying to deny everything?"

Jia Zhangshi's bluntness was so outrageous that Yi Zhonghai was terrified.

Looking around, I saw that several people were indeed looking at me strangely.

Yi Zhonghai quickly gave Jia Zhangshi a meaningful look, while loudly proclaiming, "Ah, don't worry, how could I deny it?"

"I only owe you two feet of cloth. I'll buy it and pay you back later. Don't make a fuss."

Then, lowering his voice, he said, "Are you crazy! Shouting and yelling outside?"

Madam Jia was secretly pleased, but she spoke softly, "Who told you to avoid me? I see now, you just want to back out!"

Yi Zhonghai was utterly exasperated: "I said, why did you say such awful things—"

"If you want to hear something nice, you can, but don't hide from me."

"Why don't you give me all the money now, and we'll call it even?"

"If I still bother you then, I'm not the one I nurtured!"

Yi Zhonghai glanced at her—she's really obsessed with money, no wonder people say prostitutes are heartless.

I was completely bewitched! How could I have fallen for her trick? I regret it so much!

Yi Zhonghai was more at ease now: "You don't need to swear an oath."

"Didn't I say I wouldn't give you the money? It'll be there in a couple of days at most."

"You're not lying to me?"

"At a time like this, what's the point of me lying to you?"

"That's not necessarily true. You said it would take three months, how can you just say you're not coming?"

Yi Zhonghai either didn't understand the meaning behind Jia Zhangshi's words, or he pretended not to.

Anyway, it doesn't matter anymore. They say a woman's heart is like a needle at the bottom of the sea.

When a man's heart changes, he's just as capable: "Let's end things here."

Madam Jia didn't dare ask why, she just stared at him.

Yi Zhonghai sighed: "Jiang Baobin had already pointed this out to me before the meeting the day before yesterday."

"Later, he mentioned Liu Haizhong twice more, and then I understood everything."

"It must be Liu Haizhong who reported our affairs to him, trying to take advantage of the situation—"

Jia Zhangshi couldn't help but burst into a tirade: "That bastard Liu Haizhong! A troublemaker! He can't stand seeing others do well!"

Then he cursed Jiang Baobin: "Jiang Laosan is no better! What's wrong with him?"

"Someone who doesn't even respect their own parents has the nerve to boss others around?"

Yi Zhonghai's expression didn't change at all; he had made up his mind.

There's no point in saying anything else now, so he continued his train of thought: "You don't understand, I'm grateful to him, even if he were to team up with Lao Liu."

"So now I'm either a piece of stinking dog shit, or a yes-man they can mold and manipulate at will, and you—"

He didn't mention Jia Zhangshi again, but said, "Jiang Baobin doesn't want to deal with us, so he's using words to warn me."

"If I'm such a grown-up and still don't know right from wrong, I've really wasted my life."

"Then—" Madam Jia hesitated, as if she wanted to say something but then stopped.

Yi Zhonghai sighed again: "We've been working on this for two months, and it still doesn't work."

"Forget it, I've given up. This is my fate."

After saying that, he headed towards the compound; his body was particularly hunched over today.

Humans are emotional beings after all, and Jia Zhangshi opened her mouth to call out to him:

Try someone else; maybe there's still hope.

But that thought vanished in an instant, and what came to her mind immediately was: If a person doesn't look out for themselves, they'll be punished by heaven and earth!

If Yi Zhonghai really had a son, what benefit would it bring him?

Only Yi Zhonghai, who has no descendants, is a good Yi Zhonghai.

It is also a vengeful creature that can continuously suck blood from others.

She was very confident in dealing with him.

She's got her hands on Yi Zhonghai's dim-witted wife, too.

Of course, a little disappointment is inevitable.

After all, once such a relationship is broken, it can never be rekindled.

But Zhang Cuihua knew in her heart that this was bound to happen sooner or later.

Does the daughter-in-law still want to maintain the marriage after she's married into the family?

Then you don't need to care about your reputation anymore.

So let's break up! Who's afraid of who? It saves me a lot of trouble!

With no more worries, Madam Jia Zhang twisted her plump buttocks and ran to the backyard.

She was going to find the deaf old lady and negotiate the price properly.

That's right, even the old widow is buying a house.

There's a saying that goes, "Women who become bad get rich."

Okay, let's not throw dirty water on the old widow.

Since Old Jia passed away, Jia Zhangshi has only gotten her shoes wet twice.

One instance was his entanglement with Yi Zhonghai, from which he reaped considerable benefits.

It can be said that Yi Zhonghai single-handedly found a wife for Jia Dongxu.

Another time, I arrived very early; people wanted to try it out, so I gave them a really generous amount.

At that time, Jia Zhangshi was feeling lost and helpless. Driven by greed, she gritted her teeth and...

Even now, Jia Zhangshi has never regretted living in this world. Everyone has their share of ups and downs, and everyone has their share of flaws.

However, I absolutely cannot do this in the future, because once my daughter-in-law enters the family, she will soon have a grandson.

No matter how much face you have, you can't afford to lose face in front of the younger generation.

Ten days later.

"Mountains rise one after another, white clouds drift among them, terraced fields stretch layer upon layer of green, and songs drift on the wind. Ah! Who doesn't say my hometown is beautiful? Oh, oh, oh, oh—"

Gao Yueyuan finished singing her song.

Dressed much more simply, Gao Danyan stepped forward and asked loudly, "Did you like it?"

A few young people in the audience led the shout: "It sounds great!"

The village where the performing arts troupe is currently performing is located in the suburbs, so the villagers are much more open-minded.

"You guys really know your stuff!" Gao Danyan praised with a smile.

This drew laughter from the audience.

"This song is called 'Who Doesn't Say My Hometown Is Good,' and it's by our team leader."

"It is also a work recently created by the great writer Comrade Jiang Baobin."

"Don't let our captain's youthful appearance fool you; he looks like a middle school student. He's a very talented person."

"The song 'Me and My Motherland,' which was often played on the radio before, was written by him. It's a really nice song."

"So you're in for a treat now, when this song 'Who Doesn't Say My Hometown Is Good' is broadcast on the radio."

"Then everyone can proudly say that this song was first sung in our village."

"What you've heard is what we've already heard, right everyone?"

"Yes!" the young men shouted, accompanied by the laughter of the villagers.

At the entrance.

Jiang Baobin, who had just put down his accompaniment instrument and put on an inexpensive tuxedo, was waiting backstage.

Beside him was Hu Hongjun, his so-called mentor with whom he had maintained constant contact.

This time, reporter Hu was here for an interview, of course.

After Jiang Baobin handed her the article he had written about the art troupe.

She thought the topic was novel, so she reported it to her superiors.

The editor-in-chief (who has since been replaced) felt that this topic was of great contemporary significance.

So they rejected the short piece written by Jiang Baobin and instead sent the talented Hu Hongjun to conduct an exclusive interview.

At this moment, even the master calligrapher was caught up in the enthusiastic atmosphere.

Looking jokingly at Jiang Baobin's attire, he teased, "Does this make you prone to heat rash?"

Jiang Baobin shrugged: "Magicians can't change their appearance by wearing tank tops, so they just have to endure it."

(Annoying: Who said that? You think you can change?)

(Jiang Baobin: Don't do anything bad. If I dared to do that, I wouldn't be far from being arrested and used for research.)

Hu Hongjun laughed, then exclaimed sincerely, "I never expected that four people could actually form an arts troupe."

Jiang Baobin: "There's nothing I can do, even though it's a free performance."

"But we still need to find a place to eat and stay on the spot."

"If there are too many people, it will place too much burden on the villagers."

Hu Hongjun nodded repeatedly: "You're absolutely right."

"If the public doesn't feel relaxed and happy while watching the program."

"Instead, if you feel uneasy and worried that you won't be able to entertain them, then it loses its meaning."

"That's what we all think too, so we all have multiple skills."

"Like this actor now, he used to only know how to play the piano and sing."

"But she is proactive, has excellent qualities, and is highly adaptable."

"So now I'm not only a singer and accompanist, but also an announcer and my acrobatic partner."

"We are currently rehearsing a new program, and she will also be a crosstalk performer in the future."

Hu Hongjun exclaimed in amazement, "You guys are truly amazing!"

"Writer Jiang, I've noticed that no matter what you do, you always achieve remarkable results!"

Just as Jiang Baobin was about to speak again, Gao Danyan, who was in front, finished her joking remarks: "Next, please enjoy the magic show—the amazing pigeons!"

Jiang Baobin waved and smiled as he walked towards the stage.

After Gao Danyan came down, Hu Hongjun pulled her aside for another interview.

Gao Danyan was thrilled to hear that she was going to be in the newspaper.

My goodness! My family's ancestral graves are finally emitting auspicious smoke!

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