Chapter 61: The Jia Family's Sky Falls, The Foolish Pillar's Rebirth

Qin Huairu's weeping sounded exceptionally harsh in the quiet courtyard, resembling a dying night owl whose neck had been stepped on. However, not a single person came out to look, let alone anyone to offer words of comfort. This massive courtyard, home to dozens of people, felt like a cold graveyard at this moment, and she was nothing more than an unattended, lonely ghost.

After a long while, she slowly staggered to her feet. Dragging her leaden legs, she shuffled back to the home she once considered a cozy nest, but now found suffocating.

Inside, the room was dimly lit. Mrs. Jia sat on the kang, her old face drawn longer than a donkey's. The moment she laid eyes on Qin Huairu's ghostly appearance, the fury in her heart flared up instantly. "You still have the nerve to come back! You've completely shamed the Jia family! Now the whole courtyard is laughing at our expense! You jinx, you bringer of bad luck!"

Qin Huairu no longer had the strength to even argue with her. Numbly, she walked over to the table, poured a cup of cold water, and gulped it down, trying to extinguish the heap of dead ashes in her heart.

"Elder Sister... is what they're saying at the factory true?" Qin Jingru asked timidly from the corner, her eyes filled with terror. Today, listening to the gossip circulating around the courtyard, she felt as if the sky was falling down. How could her cousin—the one she took such pride in, the clever woman who could always wrap men around her finger—have become a venomous woman reviled by everyone? And why was she sent away to clean toilets?

"Get out!" Qin Huairu slammed the teacup down onto the floor with a harsh shattering sound. "It's all because of you! If it weren't for you, this good-for-nothing parasite, how could I have ended up in this state today? Get out of my house! Get out right now!"

She vented all her suppressed resentment onto this cousin whom she had also treated as a mere pawn. She hated everyone! She hated Chen Mo, she hated Silly Zhu, and she also hated Qin Jingru, who was incapable of success but proficient in ruining everything!

Frightened out of her wits by Qin Huairu's ferocious expression, Qin Jingru burst into tears with a wail.

"Why are you yelling at Jingru?!" Mrs. Jia leaped off the kang, pulling Qin Jingru protectively behind her, and pointed right at Qin Huairu's nose as she cursed, "Feeling capable now, are you? Daring to smash things in front of me? You drove Silly Zhu away, so what are the rest of us going to eat and drink from now on? Banggen needs money for school! Xiaodang and槐花 need to eat! Your wages for this entire month have been docked, how do you expect us to live?!"

"Live? If we can't live, we'll all die together!" Completely broken, Qin Huairu screamed with disheveled hair and the appearance of a madwoman, "I was transferred to the boiler room to clean toilets! My life is completely ruined! It's all because of you! It's all because of you, old hag! If you hadn't nagged in my ear every single day, telling me to scheme against this person and plot against that person, how would I have ever come to this point?"

This was the first time she directed the resentment she had suppressed for over a decade straight at Mrs. Jia.

Taken aback by this roar, Mrs. Jia stood stunned for a moment before erupting into an even more shrill and piercing scolding, "You've really rebelled, Qin Huairu! You barren hen, living off the Jia family's food and drinking the Jia family's water, and yet you dare to blame me? Without me, you and those two little girls would have starved to death on the streets long ago!"

The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law went at each other like two rabid dogs, viciously tearing into one another inside the room. Banggen hid in the inner room, covering his head with the quilt and not daring to make a sound. Xiaodang and Huaihua shrank into a corner, trembling uncontrollably. Watching this hellish scene unfold before her eyes, Qin Jingru had only one thought in her mind: Run! She had to escape this place immediately!

Taking advantage of the two women tearing into each other while nobody was paying attention to her, she quietly pulled open the door and fled back to the countryside in the middle of the night. She swore that for the rest of her life, she would never set foot in this courtyard again.

***

Unlike the chaotic and gloomy atmosphere of the Jia household, Silly Zhu's room exuded an unprecedented sense of freshness.

He cleared out everything in his room that had any connection to Qin Huairu. The sewing kit Qin Huairu had given him in the past, the old clothes she had mended for him, and even the stool she used to sit on—finding it dirty, he carried it all outside the courtyard, leaving it for anyone who wanted to take it.

Bucket after bucket of clean water was fetched, and he scrubbed the floor of his room three times. The table was wiped five times. Finally, he even set up a stove, boiled a large pot of wormwood water, and fumigated the entire room, as if trying to banish the bad luck associated with Qin Huairu that had lingered there for over a decade.

When all of this was done, he looked at his thoroughly rejuvenated room and let out a long breath of stale air. As that stale air left him, he felt his entire being, from inside out, lighten up. The massive boulder that had been pressing down on his heart for over a decade was finally removed entirely. Although the process had been agonizing, tearing at his very soul, the relief that followed was unprecedentedly comforting.

The next morning, Silly Zhu woke up bright and early. He didn't wander over to check whether smoke was rising from the Jia family's chimney as he usually did. Instead, humming a little tune, he prepared a lavish breakfast for himself: two poached eggs, a bowl of millet porridge, and two large, white steamed buns. Once he was fully fed, he patted his belly and headed off to work in high spirits.

When he arrived at the cafeteria, even Fatty noticed something was off about him.

"Brother Zhu, did you... pick up some money today? You're grinning like that?"

"Go on with you!" Silly Zhu laughed and scolded, "This is even better than picking up money! My friend, starting today, I'm born anew!"

As he spoke, he swung the large ladle and started stir-frying dishes. His touch was unusually inspired today; even a simple dish of stir-fried vinegar cabbage was infused with robust wok hei, tangy and appetizing.

At noon, Chen Mo and Lin Wanqing came to the cafeteria for lunch. Seeing them, Silly Zhu broke with precedent—instead of turning away and walking off, he took the initiative to greet them.

"Doctor Chen." His voice was somewhat hoarse, but his attitude was sincere.

Chen Mo glanced at him and nodded. "figured it out?"

"figured it out." Silly Zhu scratched the back of his head, looking somewhat embarrassed. "In the past, I was a fool. Thanks."

This expression of gratitude came straight from the heart. Although Chen Mo's words had pierced him like a knife, it was precisely those few cuts that had jolted him awake from his deep coma. Otherwise, he would still be dancing in the palm of Qin Huairu's hand, and perhaps he would have been the one being publicly denounced today.

"Don't thank me. Thank yourself for not being a complete idiot," Chen Mo said indifferently.

Standing nearby and watching this somewhat awkward yet sincere exchange between the two men, Lin Wanqing couldn't help smiling. She felt that the courtyard was slowly beginning to shift in a positive direction.

However, just as some people wished to turn over a new leaf, others were destined to sink deeper and deeper into the quagmire.

After making a scene at home for two days, Mrs. Jia realized that Qin Huairu had completely degenerated into a piece of useless mud—she didn't talk back when scolded, didn't resist when hit, and returned every day reeking of sewage only to collapse and fall straight to sleep. She knew she could no longer count on this daughter-in-law.

Her private retirement savings had long been squandered on food and drink. This month, Qin Huairu's wages were withheld, and the family's rice jar was on the verge of hitting rock bottom.

When people are driven to poverty, evil thoughts naturally arise. Mrs. Jia's greedy, triangular eyes began to roam around the courtyard. Eventually, her gaze landed upon the brand-new, impressive-looking engineer's building.

Chen Mo.

Right, Chen Mo!

He caused our family to end up in such a miserable state, he has to pay compensation!

A malicious scheme began to brew frantically inside Mrs. Jia's mind. Chen Mo was a bachelor living in such a large apartment, and besides being a favorite of the factory leadership, he must have plenty of good things! Stealing just a little bit of it would be enough to feed and support their family for a while!

Moreover, Mrs. Jia felt not a shred of psychological burden about stealing from him. In her view, everything Chen Mo possessed had been "robbed" from the Jia family. Silly Zhu originally belonged to their household, and Silly Zhu's money was essentially their family's money. By sabotaging Silly Zhu, Chen Mo had essentially stolen their money! Now, she was simply "taking back" what rightfully belonged to her.

This absurd and vicious logic quickly took shape in Mrs. Jia's mind. The more she thought about it, the more feasible it seemed.

She called Banggen, who was currently busy with his homework, over to her side.

"My good grandson, do you want to eat meat?" A smile akin to the Big Bad Wolf appeared on Mrs. Jia's face.

Banggen looked up, his eyes lighting up. "I do!"

"If you want to eat meat, you have to listen to Grandma." Lowering her voice, Mrs. Jia leaned close to Banggen's ear and instilled her dirty plan into the half-grown child.

Upon hearing this, Banggen's face revealed hesitation and fear.

"Grandma... this, this is stealing... If we get caught, Uncle Policeman will arrest us."

"Bah! What stealing!" Mrs. Jia glared. "That Chen Mo drove our family to this miserable state, he owes us! We're just taking back what's rightfully ours! Besides, you're my good grandson, and your hands and feet are so nimble, who's going to find out? When we get the money, Grandma will buy you big chicken drumsticks! You'll get to eat meat every day!"

Enticed by the prospect of "big chicken drumsticks" and "eating meat every day," the trace of fear in Banggen's heart was quickly replaced by greed. Having been raised under Mrs. Jia's direct tutelage since childhood, he had already developed the habit of pilfering and petty theft—stealing chickens from Xu Dajia's house or taking dried vegetables that people had laid out in the courtyard were nothing major in his eyes.

"Alright! Grandma, I'll listen to you!" Banggen nodded firmly.

The old woman and the young boy both wore identical expressions of greedy, foolish smiles.

Little did they know, an invisible net had already been cast for them.

When Chen Mo returned home, the system prompt rang out right on schedule.

[Ding! Detected that target perpetrators 'Mrs. Jia' and 'Banggen' have formed a major criminal intent. Target: Residential Burglary! The beastly conduct of the beasts is about to reach its peak!]

[Triggered Ultimate Retribution Mission: Sweep Them All Away!]

[Mission Description: The Jia family is the source of all evil; their deep-rooted malice has penetrated to the bone, beyond redemption. Please set up a foolproof plan by the host, completely expose the Jia family's final sins to the sunlight, use legal weapons to sweep them all away in one fell swoop, eliminate future troubles once and for all, and completely purify the courtyard environment!]

[Mission Rewards: Retribution Points +2000! Ultimate Reward: Divine-tier Medical Skill [Bring the Dead Back to Life, Flesh on Bones]!]

[Bonus Item: Advanced Security Formation (Introductory Version). Effect: Can cover the entire house, inflicting various negative states on illegal intruders such as systemic itching, relentless diarrhea, ghost-wall disorientation, etc., while automatically triggering an alarm.]

A cold curve formed at the corner of Chen Mo's mouth.

There is a road to heaven which you refuse to take, yet you insist on crashing through the gates of hell.

Mrs. Jia, Banggen, since you are rushing to throw yourselves at death's door.

Then I will simply help you along the way.

He looked at the newly acquired "Truth Serum Formula" in the system inventory, and then glanced at the newly obtained "Advanced Security Formation."

A flawless plan to ensure the Jia family could never make a comeback slowly took shape in his mind.

This time, what he wanted was not merely public disgrace and ruined reputations.

What he wanted was the judgment of the law.

He wanted the cancerous tumor of the Jia family to be uprooted entirely and cast into the dustbin of history!