My happy life in a courtyard house with triplets.

Chapter 161: Compensation from the Jia, Xu, and He Families

Zhang Lei looked at everyone and continued, "While it's understandable that Jia Dongxu defecated in his pocket, the Jia family failed to handle the situation properly, allowing it to become public knowledge and disrupting Second Uncle's wedding banquet. That's the Jia family's fault. What do you all think? Isn't that right?"

The crowd below nodded in agreement, with one person loudly proclaiming, "Yes, that makes sense! Even if it's urgent, we should take them back and settle things quickly. We can't just leave them there and cause more trouble!"

Seeing that everyone agreed, Uncle Liu Haizhong also showed a satisfied expression.

At this moment, Zhang Lei changed the subject and raised his voice a few decibels: "But then again, this matter shouldn't have escalated to this point. Xu Damao and Shazhu were laughing and playing around in the yard, deliberately pushing and shoving each other, and in the end, they both fell down, and coincidentally, they pulled down Jia Dongxu's pants."

"That's what really escalated things—turning Jia Dongxu, who was already paralyzed and unable to move, into that 'human shit cannon.'" He paused, his gaze sweeping over Xu Damao and Shazhu. "They're clearly involved in this, don't you all agree?"

At this moment, Jia Zhangshi excitedly stood up, slapping her thigh and shouting, "Yes, yes, yes! It's all their fault! It's all their fault!"

Xu Damao immediately stepped forward, indignant, and said to Zhang Lei with a stern face, "Zhang Lei, you're wrong. How could I have done it on purpose? It was clearly Sha Zhu who touched me inappropriately, and I accidentally pulled down Jia Dongxu's pants. If anyone's to blame, it's Sha Zhu!"

Sha Zhu glared at Xu Damao, his neck stiff, and said, "Xu Damao, what's it to me? I didn't pull down Jia Dongxu's pants!"

"If you hadn't grabbed me and chased after me, would I have fallen down? If I hadn't fallen down, would I have been able to grab Jia Dongxu's pants by chance?" Xu Damao retorted, his neck stiff with resentment.

"That's what you deserve! Who told you to be so foul-mouthed and provoke me?" Sha Zhu retorted, his voice growing louder and louder.

Seeing that the two were about to start arguing again, Zhang Lei quickly raised his hand to stop them: "Stop, stop, stop! Are you two ever going to stop? If you can't get to this point standing here, let's just call the police and let them judge who's at fault!"

Upon hearing the words "call the police," Yi Zhonghai frowned and said in a deep voice, "Zhang Lei, you can't call the police. This is a matter within our compound. What kind of image would it have if it got to the police? It would be embarrassing if word got out!"

Zhang Lei turned to Yi Zhonghai and said with a hint of teasing, "Grandpa, I was just trying to scare them and make them stop arguing. Why are you in such a hurry?"

Seeing that Xu Damao and Shazhu had stopped arguing, Zhang Lei asked, "Do you two agree with what I just said?"

The two looked reluctant, but still nodded reluctantly.

Seeing that everyone tacitly agreed with this statement, Zhang Lei looked at everyone and said in a deep voice, "Alright, I've figured out the whole story. Let me summarize: the whole incident was caused by Jia Dongxu, so the Jia family bears the main responsibility. As for how things escalated to this point, it was because Xu Damao and Shazhu pushed and shoved each other, so they bear secondary responsibility."

Zhang Lei paused briefly, then turned his gaze to Liu Haizhong: "As for compensation, I've roughly calculated it out. The wedding noodles, the prepared food and drinks, and the scene that was disrupted—all added up, the losses are probably around three or four hundred yuan."

At this moment, Zhang Lei looked at Liu Haizhong and asked, "Second Uncle, is the price I quoted correct?"

Liu Haizhong nodded repeatedly: "Yes, yes, yes! I spent three hundred yuan just on meat and vegetables. Other seasonings, drinks, and the shed I set up, all sorts of miscellaneous things, must have cost another hundred or so. It's over four hundred yuan in total!"

Zhang Lei then turned to the crowd: "Did everyone hear what Second Uncle said? Now I'll tell you the amount of compensation. The Jia family bears the main responsibility and will compensate Second Uncle's family three hundred yuan."

"What? Three hundred yuan?" Upon hearing this, Jia Zhangshi immediately flew into a rage, standing up abruptly and pointing at Zhang Lei. "Zhang Lei, have you lost your mind? Where would we get so much money!"

Zhang Lei looked up at Jia Zhangshi, his tone calm yet undeniably firm: "Jia Zhangshi, if you disagree, that's fine too. Then I'll have Second Uncle call the police. You can talk to the police and let them judge whether Second Uncle's wedding banquet is worth the price."

Liu Haizhong immediately chimed in, "That's right! The meat and vegetables I bought were all at the real price. If you don't believe me, go to the market and ask for yourself to see if they're worth it! Or how about this, you don't have to compensate me. Just buy back all the vegetables I bought and return them to me exactly as they were. I won't even make you pay for the seasonings!"

The people around them also chimed in.

"That's right, the dishes at Second Uncle's house were really decent, it's a pity such a good feast was wasted," someone sighed.

Another person chimed in, "Absolutely! They had all sorts of meat and fish—a real feast. I ate that meal in the backyard; it really satisfied my craving."

"I'm the one who's really disappointed," someone else interjected. "They ate at the Central Court and then threw it all up. What a waste of all that good food."

The crowd chattered amongst themselves, and Jia Zhangshi's face flushed red and then paled. She forced a fierce but weak expression and said, "Who knows if what you're saying is true or false? How would I know how much stuff your family actually bought?"

Seeing that she was about to act shamelessly again, Liu Haizhong's face immediately darkened: "Jia Zhangshi, if you're going to try to renege on your promise, then let's not waste any more words and just call the police! Let's see if you can still be so stubborn then!"

"Old Liu, don't get agitated." Yi Zhonghai quickly stepped in to smooth things over, then turned to Jia Zhangshi in a serious tone, "Jia Zhangshi, no matter where you go about this, your Jia family is in the wrong. If you insist on not compensating, and your second uncle really calls the police, I can't stop you."

Upon hearing the words "call the police," Jia Zhangshi panicked, her arrogance immediately diminished, and she helplessly stomped her foot: "Fine, fine, we'll pay! We'll pay! Consider it bad luck for our family!"

Upon hearing that Jia Zhangshi had agreed to pay compensation, Zhang Lei raised his hand to signal everyone to be quiet and continued, "Since the Jia family is willing to take responsibility for compensation, let's move on to Xu Damao and Sha Zhu. They bear secondary responsibility, and the remaining losses will be shared by them—Xu Damao will pay 30 yuan, and He Yuzhu will pay 50 yuan."

Sha Zhu was displeased upon hearing this, and retorted, "Zhang Lei, why should I pay 50 while Xu Damao only pays 30? That's not fair!"

Xu Damao immediately stood up to retort: ​​"That's because everyone knows you deliberately started the fight, so isn't it only right that you pay more compensation?"

"You're talking nonsense!" Sha Zhu, stung by the revelation, raised his voice even higher. "If you're going to pay, it should be the same amount. I'm not paying 50; I'll only pay 30!"