Courtyard House: Purchasing Agents' Comeback from the Great Famine

Officer Chen scanned the room, and seeing that no one answered, he turned his gaze to Liu Haizhong and spoke in a deep voice:

"Is what the Liu brothers, Liu Haizhong and Liu Guangtian, said true?"

Liu Haizhong's face flushed red as he forcibly suppressed his anger and said:

"Officer Chen, Guangtian and Guangfu are my sons. It's not illegal for me to beat my sons, is it?"

"Nonsense."

Officer Chen shouted, staring coldly at Liu Haizhong, and yelled sternly:

"Liu Haizhong, you beat Liu Guangtian and Liu Guangfu for no reason. This is abuse, this is domestic violence. You are turning back the clock and putting on the feudal patriarchal system."

"Even though they are your sons, you absolutely cannot treat them like this. Comrade Liu Guangtian told me he wants to separate from you. What do you have to say?"

Liu Haizhong's face was terribly gloomy, and in the end he could only grit his teeth and nod in agreement.

"I...have no objection."

"Very well, Liu Haizhong, I'm warning you, if you dare to beat your son again without any reason, I will report it to Director Wang and have you paraded through the streets."

"Also, I don't care how you divide the family property with Liu Guangtian, but at least make sure he has a place to eat and stay."

Officer Chen gave Liu Haizhong a stern warning and continued, "I'll go back to the subdistrict office later and tell Director Wang about this. You'll have to wait for further notice as to whether you can continue as the liaison officer."

Meeting adjourned.

After saying that, Officer Chen didn't even give Liu Haizhong a chance to refute him, and left without looking back.

After seeing Officer Chen leave, Yan Fugui patted Liu Haizhong on the shoulder, sighed, and said:

"Old Liu, I told you long ago that Guangtian and Guangfu are your own sons. You always beat them up for no reason and take your anger out on them. Sooner or later, something bad would happen. See, trouble has come your way."

"Can't you all talk things out properly? Why do you have to resort to violence? Are you satisfied with this mess now?"

"That's it, everyone disperse."

Yan Fugui waved his hand, let out a long sigh, and walked towards the front yard, shaking his head.

Seeing this, everyone in the courtyard dispersed.

Liu Haizhong's eyes were bloodshot, his fists were clenched, and he stared at Liu Guangtian's back with gritted teeth. In the end, he could only sigh and return to the backyard.

When Wang Feng and the other two returned to the room, Qin Jingru couldn't help but complain, "Brother Wang Feng, today's college-wide meeting was so boring. I thought Liu Guangtian and Liu Haizhong would definitely start arguing at the meeting, but I didn't expect to see Secretary Chen instead."

"Hehe, Sister Jingru, you're so naughty! You're just stirring up trouble, aren't you?" Lu Banxia chuckled.

Wang Feng waved his hand with a smile: "Alright, Jingru, stop complaining. There will be plenty of fun things to do in the future. You should go and cook."

"All right."

Qin Jingru nodded, picked up the kitchen knife from the table, and went back to the kitchen to cook.

......

The backyard, the Liu family's house.

When Liu Haizhong returned to the house, he saw Liu Guangtian and his brother sitting on stools talking as if nothing had happened. His anger surged.

He strode up to Liu Guangtian and roared, "Guangtian, you little brat, you actually went to the neighborhood committee to report my father! I'll beat you to death today!"

As he spoke, he reached for the Seven Wolves sword at his waist.

"Dad, Officer Chen just left, and you still dare to hit us? Do you believe I'll go to the neighborhood office right now and call Officer Chen over?"

Liu Guangtian stared coldly at Liu Haizhong, his eyes showing no fear whatsoever, and his tone even carried a threat.

"you……"

"You are a traitor... you are a traitor!"

Liu Haizhong pointed his index finger at Liu Guangtian, who was trembling with anger. But remembering Chen's warning, he lowered his hand.

He never expected that his son, whom he had beaten since childhood, would be like this lately.

How come they dare to fight back no matter how much I hit them? I don't know where I met this friend, who not only lent him 600 yuan to buy him an apprenticeship job, but also dared to report him to the neighborhood committee?

If he hadn't been certain that these were indeed his sons, he would have thought that his two sons had been switched.

The second aunt wiped away her tears, looked at Liu Guangtian, and cried out:

"Guangtian, you ungrateful wretch! Your father raised you with such hardship, how could you go to the neighborhood committee to report him? That's incredibly unfilial!"

Liu Guangtian snorted coldly: "Mom, how am I unfilial? Do you expect me to be beaten by Dad every day, taking my anger out on us when he's in a bad mood, and eventually being beaten to death by him? Is that what you call filial piety?"

"Were we born just to be used as punching bags by Dad?"

"You...me!"

The second aunt was speechless after Liu Guangtian's question, but she still insisted:

"No matter what, we raised you with great difficulty, so you must listen to us. If you don't listen, you are being unfilial."

Liu Guangtian shook his head with a cold smile. He didn't want to say anything more right now. He looked at Liu Haizhong and said in a deep voice:

"Dad, Mom, things have come to this, let's go our separate ways from now on. You should have heard what Officer Chen said earlier, right? I just want the room I'm living in now. I'll take all my old household items, pots, pans, and cooking utensils with me. Give me another thirty pounds of cornmeal, and we'll consider it a separation."

Upon hearing this, Liu Haizhong was instantly enraged and roared:

"You little brat, you're dreaming. If you want to split the family, then split the family. I'll give you at most one room, but you can't take a single hair of the rest with you."

"Dad, Officer Chen just said you have to guarantee me a place to eat and stay during this time. If you don't give me these things, where am I supposed to eat and stay? Should I call Officer Chen over again?"

"you……"

"Alright, alright, here's what I'm giving you. Now take the stuff and get out of here!"

Liu Haizhong was furious, but he had no choice but to compromise. If that brat Guangtian called Chen again, he would definitely lose his position as the second uncle.

The matter hasn't escalated too much yet. Given Director Wang's character, he probably wouldn't remove his second uncle from his position over such a trivial matter.

"Old Liu, how...how could you have agreed?"

Auntie Er looked at Liu Haizhong with disbelief, her tone full of dissatisfaction.

"Old Liu, in my opinion, we should just kick Guangtian, that ungrateful brat, out of here. Don't give him anything, let him fend for himself out there, and also..."

Auntie Er wanted to say something, but Liu Haizhong raised his hand and interrupted her.

"Alright, let's leave it at that."

When Liu Guangtian heard his mother say such vicious words, his heart sank, and he remembered it firmly.

However, separating the family is the priority now, and he doesn't want to argue with his parents anymore. He can only hold on until he gets his salary next month.

Soon, he and Guangfu took his daily necessities, pots and pans, cornmeal, and other essential items to his room.

However, he only took one month's worth of consumables and didn't take any more. This marked his official separation from his parents.