Chapter 2220
Comparing Misery
Seeing that everyone was going through the same hardship, the group felt much better.
Yi Zhonghai is truly inhuman.
Under his rule, the younger generation in the courtyard houses could hardly recall any happy memories of the past.
Everyone is complaining about how tough things were back then.
The people who complained the most were from the Yan family.
Yi Zhonghai sought Yan Bugui's help, even though he was paid for it.
Normally speaking, Yan Bugui wouldn't be at a disadvantage.
But Yan Bugui didn't think so.
In Yan Bugui's logic, the reward Yi Zhonghai paid was earned through his own abilities.
That money is personal income.
The money given to the Jia family was contributed by the entire Yan family; all family members had to share the burden.
These two should not be confused.
Therefore, after each time Yan Bugui gave money to the Jia family, he would cut back on household expenses.
The most direct way to do this is to reduce the amount of cornbread you make.
The Yan family's meals were always just enough to keep them from starving.
They are at the age where they are growing, so they digest that little bit of food very quickly.
I ate at 12 o'clock, and my stomach was empty before 2 o'clock. For the rest of the time, I could only endure it.
Yan Jiecheng almost became childless because of this.
If it hadn't caused that incident back then, he and Yan Bugui would have separated.
Several of Yan Jiefang's followers will follow in Yan Jiecheng's footsteps.
In the eyes of the Yan brothers, the Liu brothers were doing better than them.
The two Liu brothers were the ones who suffered the most beatings and never got to eat anything good.
They are able to have enough to eat.
Being able to eat one's fill was a luxury in the Yan family.
The topic gradually shifted from exposing each other's shortcomings to the Liu and Yan families competing to see who could suffer the most.
The Liu brothers were not going to accept this.
Liu Haizhong didn't hold back when beating them. He treated them as class enemies.
Their bodies are covered in bruises every day.
Only they themselves know what it felt like.
When it comes to comparing misery, only Miao Jianye can somewhat rival them.
Those three years in the countryside were truly tough; all the wild vegetables in the fields were dug up.
The family wrote to the city, hoping that their son-in-law, Yi Zhonghai, could help them out.
As a result, Yi Zhonghai was reluctant to give it.
Miao Cuilan secretly sent some food back home.
These were all money that Miao Cuilan had secretly saved.
Without Sha Zhu as a blood donor, Yi Zhonghai had no way to donate money to the Jia family, so he had to cut off his own flesh to feed them.
With the Jia family constantly draining their resources, the Yi Zhonghai family's life wasn't easy either.
Most of the family's belongings were used to support the Jia family, leaving very little behind.
In this situation, there was very little that Miao Cuilan could offer.
Miao Jianye said angrily, "At the time, we thought life in the city was tough, so we didn't investigate further."
Who would have thought that bastard Yi Zhonghai would rather give his grain to his neighbors than send us any life-saving food?
Xu Damao said with a smile, "I'm just afraid that if you find out, you'll come and take advantage of my family's wealth."
Miao Jianye said angrily, "If he takes care of the Jia family, will the Jia family stop eating his childless relatives?"
He's never even met us, how does he know we won't be filial to him?
Nobody knows the answer to this question.
None of those present knew anything about Yi Zhonghai's past.
In Sha Zhu's memory, all he knew was that Yi Zhonghai had fled from Northeast China.
After establishing himself in Beijing, he never returned to his hometown.
Yi Zhonghai never says exactly where his hometown is, nor has he ever brought up anything about it.
Once, when Sha Zhu was drunk, he talked about this with Yi Zhonghai and was lectured by Yi Zhonghai for three days in a row.
When Yi Zhonghai was hospitalized and near death, Sha Zhu wanted to ask him something. He didn't have the strength to scold Sha Zhu at the time, so he used the excuse that his household registration was in Beijing (BJ), which is the name of a Beijing resident, to fool Sha Zhu.
After fooling him, he asked Sha Zhu, "You asked me where my hometown is. Do you want to send me back so you won't burn paper money for me during festivals?"
Back then, Sha Zhu was a devoted son and grandson, so devoted that he wanted to dig out his heart and let Yi Zhonghai test whether he was truly filial.
To show that he was not an ungrateful person, Sha Zhu never mentioned Yi Zhonghai's hometown again.
Xu Damao said, "No matter how close you are, can you be closer than Qin Huairu?"
If Yi Zhonghai weren't infertile, I would have suspected that the three children in the Jia family were his.
It's no secret that Yi Zhonghai and Qin Huairu were having an affair.
These two men often met while everyone else was asleep. Yi Zhonghai also particularly enjoyed providing financial assistance to the Jia family in the middle of the night.
He Yuzhu asked curiously, "Jianye, how did your aunt end up marrying Yi Zhonghai?"
Miao Jianye was unaware of these past events. He wasn't even born when Miao Cuilan married Yi Zhonghai.
However, after Miao Cuilan divorced Yi Zhonghai, her family brought up these past events.
Miao Jianye then learned: "Speaking of which, Yi Zhonghai is my aunt's savior."
When Yi Zhonghai fled, it was during a time of war, when there were rebel soldiers and bandits everywhere, and even the Japanese devils were restless.
Miao Cuilan initially went out to find work with other villagers.
Then they encountered someone shooting.
Those people were fighting fiercely, completely disregarding the lives of ordinary people.
Many people died at that time.
A person next to Miao Cuilan was shot in the head. She fainted from shock after seeing it.
When she woke up again, she found herself in a dilapidated house, where a young man was sitting next to her warming himself by a fire.
This young man is Yi Zhonghai.
Yi Zhonghai claimed that he was also in the crowd at the time and saw that Miao Cuilan was still alive, so he used the corpse to block Miao Cuilan.
Only after those men with guns left did he secretly take Miao Cuilan away.
After hearing this, Xu Damao said in surprise, "A hero saving a damsel in distress? No wonder Aunt Miao listens to him so much."
Miao Jianye nodded.
Yi Zhonghai was Miao Cuilan's savior, and that cannot be denied.
He Yuzhu, however, sensed something was wrong.
Yi Zhonghai is such a selfish person; he's not the kind of person who would risk his life to save others.
He Yuzhu believed him when he said he heard gunfire and ran away by himself.
He's said to be able to save people?
The possibility is extremely small.
He Yuzhu guessed that he had simply hidden to the side. After the shooter left, when he tried to escape, he discovered that Miao Cuilan was still alive, so he did her a favor.
This is what Yi Zhonghai excels at.
However, He Yuzhu has no evidence. Perhaps Yi Zhonghai was a kind-hearted young man when he was younger.
Many people who were full of enthusiasm in their youth have changed after being beaten down by society.
He Yuzhu didn't want to slander Yi Zhonghai, so he didn't voice his speculation.
"That explains why Aunt Miao was so supportive of Yi Zhonghai."
If she hadn't later found out that it was Yi Zhonghai who was infertile, she probably wouldn't have filed for divorce from him.
Xu Damao said, "That's not right. If Yi Zhonghai is Aunt Miao's savior, why would she divorce him?"
Is it just for retirement?
So many years have passed, and given her health back then, she couldn't have children anymore.
Miao Jianye sighed: "I know the reason. My aunt has known about Yi Zhonghai's affair with Qin Huairu for a long time."
She always felt she owed Yi Zhonghai something, so she pretended not to know.
Later, when I found out it was Yi Zhonghai's problem, I couldn't help but speak out.
In addition, the deaf old lady often told her that the Jia family was unreliable in providing for her in her old age.
She wants me to take care of them in their old age.
The aunt never expected that Yi Zhonghai would rather get a divorce than agree to this request.
Later, things escalated, and they had no choice but to divorce.
That makes sense.
It would be strange if Miao Cuilan knew absolutely nothing about it. (End of Chapter)