My happy life in a courtyard house with triplets.

Chapter 74: Yi Zhonghai faints from anger

Yi Zhonghai, who was standing to the side, wanted to step forward to support Jia Zhangshi, but Yan Fugui quickly pulled him back and whispered, "Old Yi, calm down and listen to me."

Yi Zhonghai turned to look at Yan Fugui, his brows furrowed: "Old Yan, why are you stopping me?"

Yan Fugui gestured towards the bicycles, lowering his voice even further: "Old Yi, look at his bicycles, they all have steel stamps on them."

Hearing Yan Fugui say this, Yi Zhonghai immediately realized that the car had a stamp on it, meaning it had definitely gone to the police station to complete the formalities. Since it had been to the police station, its entire origin must have been legal and compliant. This immediately put aside his earlier thought of threatening Zhang Lei by calling the police.

Seeing Yi Zhonghai's stunned expression, Yan Fugui pressed on, adding, "Old Yi, don't ask him where the cars came from anymore. Since he dared to push them back to the yard so brazenly, he's not afraid of us finding out. And there were four of them! Do you think Zhang Lei would be stupid enough to push cars of dubious origin and give us ammunition to report him?"

After hearing Yan Fugui's words, Yi Zhonghai slowly nodded, his anger subsiding considerably. He said in a low voice, "Thank you, Lao Yan. Otherwise, I would have really been fooled by this kid."

Although Yi Zhonghai abandoned the idea of ​​calling the police, seeing that Jia Zhangshi was still at odds with Zhang Lei, he frowned and walked over, adopting a peacemaker's stance, saying, "Zhang Lei, look at you, why are you getting angry with your elders? Look at the Jia family, they have it tough too. Dongxu's commute to work is really tiring. You have so many bicycles at home, lending one to the Jia family would show your helpful spirit, wouldn't it?"

Upon hearing Yi Zhonghai's words, Zhang Lei's eyes reddened, and he angrily retorted, "Yi Zhonghai, you've really thrown away all shame for the Jia family! What? Am I Jia Dongxu's father? Or his grandfather? Why should I give him my bicycle?"

Upon hearing this, Jia Zhangshi was so angry that she jumped up and down, shouting in a shrill voice, "Zhang Lei, you little bastard, what did you say? Whose father are you? Whose grandfather are you?"

Zhang Lei glanced sideways at Jia Zhangshi, a mocking smile playing on his lips, and slowly said, "Jia Zhangshi, you old hag, since I'm neither Jia Dongxu's father nor his grandfather, why should I give him my things? How about this, if you want a bicycle, when Jia Dongxu comes back, you have to make him kowtow three times to me and acknowledge me as his godfather. I'll be generous and give him a bicycle, how about that?"

Seeing that Jia Zhangshi was speechless for a long time after his words, Zhang Lei immediately raised his voice and shouted to the surrounding neighbors, "Did everyone hear that? As long as Jia Dongxu acknowledges me as his godfather and kowtows to me three times, he will have to take care of me in my old age and see me off in my final days. I will give him this bicycle for free. I promise I will keep my word and never go back on my word!"

Upon hearing this, the onlookers burst into laughter. Someone winked and shouted at Madam Jia, "Madam Jia, now there's hope! Is Jia Dongxu going to recognize Zhang Lei as his godfather?"

Immediately, someone nearby chimed in, "Yeah, yeah, Jia Zhangshi, haven't you been eyeing that bicycle all the time? Hurry up and agree! Let Jia Dongxu recognize you as his godfather, and your family won't lose out—you'll get a bicycle for free!"

Upon hearing Zhang Lei's words, Jia Zhangshi trembled with rage, jumping up and down as she cursed, "Zhang Lei, you little bastard! When did I ever say I'd let my son recognize you as his godfather? How old are you? Don't you even know your place?! Believe me or not, I'll scratch your face until it's bruised and battered!"

Before she could finish speaking, Ye Shuqin rushed to Jia Zhangshi's side.

With a crisp, loud crack, the onlookers were instantly stunned.

Ye Shuqin glared at Jia Zhangshi, her eyes chillingly cold, and said sharply, "You old hag, if you dare to lay a hand on my husband again, just you wait!"

Seeing Ye Shuqin make a move, Yi Zhonghai immediately adopted his morally upright stance, pointing at Ye Shuqin and sternly rebuking her: "Ye Shuqin, how could you hit your elders? Don't you know anything about respecting the elderly and caring for the young? This is utterly lawless! I'm going to call a general meeting of the entire courtyard and kick you and your husband out! You don't deserve to live in our courtyard!"

Hearing Yi Zhonghai's words, Ye Shuqin frowned and looked at Zhang Lei.

Zhang Lei gave Ye Shuqin a reassuring look, then stepped forward and shouted, "Yi Zhonghai, stop talking about respecting the elderly and caring for the young all the time. Do you really think everyone is unaware of your filthy thoughts? And what kind of elder is Jia Zhangshi? Besides being older than us, when has she ever done anything that an elder should do? Jia Zhangshi's reputation in this alley is worse than stinky tofu. Apart from you, Yi Zhonghai, who spends all their time trying to secure a comfortable retirement by clinging to the Jia family, do you think anyone in the whole courtyard likes the Jia family or Jia Zhangshi?"

Yi Zhonghai stared at Zhang Lei, his chest heaving with anger. He pointed at Zhang Lei, unable to utter a complete sentence for a long time, only managing to squeeze out, "You you you you..."

Zhang Lei interrupted him bluntly, shouting loudly, "Hey Yi Zhonghai, are you stuttering? What the hell are you talking about?!"

Everyone in the courtyard knows what kind of person Jia Zhangshi is, but no one wants to call her out on it! Besides, your monthly salary, Yi Zhonghai, plus subsidies, is over a hundred yuan. The secondhand bicycle I bought here costs about the same. With your family's means, you could easily buy more than a dozen a year!

If you really want to help the Jia family, why don't you just buy them a bicycle and give it to them? Stop using your moralistic rhetoric to blackmail the other people in the neighborhood!

And Jia Zhangshi, if Yi Zhonghai really cared about your family, he would have already given you a few dozen yuan every month to subsidize you. How could he let your Jia family lose all face every day just for a bite to eat?

The onlookers were stunned.

Unexpectedly, Zhang Lei was so outspoken, going straight for the kill without holding back at all.

At this moment, Yi Zhonghai was rendered speechless by Zhang Lei's retort, his face turning pale and then red, and his body swaying.

Jia Zhangshi stared intently at Yi Zhonghai as if she had discovered a new continent.

Yi Zhonghai suddenly felt increasingly dizzy, a sharp pain shot through his head, and he fainted.

This startled everyone. Someone quickly ran over, squatted down, and called out, "Grandpa! Grandpa, what's wrong?"

Immediately, someone nearby shouted, "Oh no! An old man has fainted!"

Looking at the unconscious Yi Zhonghai, Zhang Lei couldn't help but sigh: "His mental fortitude is too fragile. He fainted after just a few words."