Courtyard House: Purchasing Agents' Comeback from the Great Famine

Hearing Liu Haizhong's words, Old Hu curled his lip: "Second Uncle, it's true that Guangtian and Guangfu are your sons. If they have indeed made a mistake, I have no objection to you beating them."

After a pause, Old Hu continued, "But it's a bit unreasonable to use them as punching bags, isn't it? Anyone who didn't know better would think they weren't your own sons, and that you were treating them like livestock."

"Old Hu...you!"

Liu Haizhong pointed at Lao Hu, his whole body trembling and his face flushed. He was speechless after being asked by Lao Hu and didn't know how to start the conversation.

Seeing that Lao Hu and Liu Haizhong were about to start arguing, Yi Zhonghai quickly pressed his hand down to stop them.

"Old Hu, this is Old Liu's family matter, so you don't need to get involved."

Old Hu frowned and retorted, "Uncle, that's not right. If you're going to hold a hospital-wide meeting but then tell us not to speak, what's the point of having a hospital-wide meeting? Why don't you just make the decision directly?"

"Yeah, old man, has our courtyard become your personal playground? Are you not allowing anyone to speak?" Xu Damao chimed in, stirring up trouble.

"I...that's not what I meant."

Yi Zhonghai quickly explained, "What I mean is, we are discussing the matter of the Guangtian and Guangfu brothers beating Lao Liu. Let's discuss it one by one."

After getting dressed, Liu Guangtian quickly explained, "Uncle, let me clarify first, Guangfu and I were just fighting back; we didn't hit my dad on our own. Please don't get this mixed up."

"That's right, old man. My dad beat me and my brother without asking any questions. Are we just supposed to passively take the beating?" Liu Guangfu chimed in.

Yi Zhonghai spoke in a deep voice: "Guangtian, Guangfu, I'm asking you, what exactly happened today?"

"Uncle, Uncle, fellow elders in the courtyard, here's what happened. At noon today, we were eating at home. Guangfu and I had cornbread with pickled vegetables, while my dad had scrambled eggs. Guangfu couldn't resist and stole a piece of my dad's scrambled eggs, and then my dad started hitting my brother and me."

Liu Guangtian looked at Liu Haizhong, his eyes flashing with anger, and continued:

"I told my dad I didn't steal his scrambled eggs, but he said he's in a bad mood today and he's going to beat us up to vent his anger, whether I stole them or not. Tell me, does a father have the right to beat his son without any reason?"

Upon hearing this, the people in the courtyard understood the whole story, but they remained silent. This was a matter that could offend someone, and they were unwilling to offend Liu Haizhong, the second eldest uncle in the courtyard, for no reason.

After all, Liu Guangtian and his brother had been beaten since they were young. If the people in the compound wanted to take care of them, they would have done so long ago, instead of waiting until now.

Old Hu didn't really want to meddle, but what could he do? His house was right next to Liu Haizhong's. Recently, Liu Haizhong had been beating his son more and more severely. The screams of the Liu brothers had scared his grandson to tears several times. If this continued, his grandson would definitely be traumatized.

Yi Zhonghai had already heard about this from Liu Guangtian and his brother in the backyard, but he asked again to ensure fairness and impartiality.

"Guangtian, Guangfu, even so, you two shouldn't have laid a hand on your father. After all, without your father, you wouldn't exist. There are no parents who are always wrong; haven't you heard that?"

"And also, Old Liu, as the second oldest man in the courtyard, you should set an example. Although Guangtian and Guangfu are your sons, you can't just beat them up all the time. Look at the wounds on their bodies. How ruthless were you? Aren't you afraid of seriously injuring them?"

Yi Zhonghai acted as a peacemaker, hoping to quell the matter and ensure that no more incidents of elderly people being beaten occurred in the nursing home in the future.

"Okay, Guangtian and Guangfu, you apologize to your father. Old Liu, you also have to promise that you will never hit Guangtian and Guangfu so easily again. Do you agree?"

Upon hearing this, Liu Guangtian immediately shouted, "I disagree! I will never admit my mistake. We did nothing wrong. Guangfu and I can't just be beaten to death without fighting back, can we?"

"Yes, sir, we did nothing wrong," Liu Guangfu added.

Seeing that these two brats still refused to admit their mistakes, Liu Haizhong was instantly enraged and coldly said:

"You two little brats are something else! You've really grown up, hitting your father and still refusing to admit your mistake?"

"Fine, fine, you're so capable, so great. But when you're starving, don't come looking for me. From now on, I'll feed my food to dogs rather than give it to you two ungrateful wretches."

Seeing that neither side would back down, Yi Zhonghai roared:

"Shut up, all of you."

"Guangtian, Guangfu, Lao Liu, if none of you are willing to back down, then we'll have to report this to the subdistrict office."

After a pause, Yi Zhonghai's tone became threatening: "Guangtian and Guangfu, no matter what your reasons are, beating your own father is a very serious matter. If you two refuse to back down, you might be made an example of and paraded through the streets."

"Old Liu, and you too! You beat your son for no reason and used him as a punching bag. If Director Wang finds out about this, you'll definitely lose your position as the second uncle."

When Wang Feng saw that Yi Zhonghai was suddenly so concerned about the Liu Guangtian brothers, he shook his head speechlessly.

For a while, Yi Zhonghai was like a ghost in the nursing home, unwilling to care about anything. It seemed like he was obsessed with anything related to elderly care.

When Liu Guangtian and his brother heard that they were to be paraded through the streets, they looked at each other, their eyes filled with stubbornness.

"Uncle, even if you report this to the neighborhood committee, I won't admit my mistake. Guangfu and I are not at fault."

Liu Haizhong hesitated. He didn't care about anything else, but he absolutely couldn't accept losing his position as the second uncle.

His lifelong dream was to become an official. Now that he couldn't become an official in the factory, he was at least the leader of about a hundred people in the compound.

Thinking of this, he looked at Yi Zhonghai, then coldly glanced at the Liu brothers, and said in a deep voice:

"I can promise that I won't hit them again, but I also won't care about them anymore. Whether they starve or freeze to death, I won't care."

"Old Liu, this is absolutely unacceptable." Yi Zhonghai's tone was resolute.

"Old Liu, before Guangtian and Guangfu can support themselves, you, as their father, must take care of their food and lodging. Otherwise, not only will the neighborhood committee punish you, but the police station will also get involved."