An extraordinary life journey through old Beijing courtyard houses

Jiang Baowen accused, "That little beast took advantage of my momentary lapse in attention and killed me!"

"Ouch! That hurts so much! He kicked my teeth out of shape."

Upon hearing this, the eldest sister-in-law flew into a rage and roared, "Jiang Laosan! I'll fight you to the death!"

She put down the child and reached out with her hooked fingers to grab Jiang Baobin.

Jiang Baobin's mind raced. He wanted to do the same to this extremely annoying woman and give her a good kick.

But in front of everyone, no matter how right he was, hitting his sister-in-law was still a bit inappropriate.

Since he couldn't fight back, Jiang Baobin certainly wouldn't let himself suffer a loss, so he turned and ran.

As a result, she almost bumped into Madam Jiang, who was returning with a lantern.

With the light on, the eldest sister-in-law forgot about taking revenge on Jiang Laosan and rushed over to check on her husband:

"Honey, are you alright? Ouch! Look what you've done to you! That third son is a beast!"

When everyone saw Jiang Baowen's miserable state, they couldn't help but gasp in shock—

His entire face was swollen, his eyes were barely open, and blood was seeping from his nostrils and mouth.

How hard must the kick have been to cause this result?

Jiang Mantang was heartbroken: "You brat! Get over here right now! Look what you've done to your older brother!"

Jiang Baobin had already thought of his words and said loudly:

"I didn't know it was my older brother; the room was pitch black."

He suddenly sat up on the kang (a heated brick bed), which scared me to death!

"I just thought he was a thief! By the way, ask your brother if he's going to slap me again."

"How could I tell if someone was good or bad? So I just kicked him in the stomach."

"He bent over, and I thought he was going to pull out a knife, so I kicked him twice on the head."

"Then I ran out of the house and shouted for help to catch the thief!"

"I never expected it to be my older brother! I really didn't recognize him at the time!"

Jiang Baobin's words convinced the vast majority of people.

On the one hand, he made the cause and effect of the matter seem reasonable, and on the other hand, he benefited from his predecessor's influence.

He was known throughout the neighborhood as an honest and kind child, and usually he was the one who had to suffer.

He wouldn't have hurt anyone if he hadn't been pushed to the brink.

What else could Jiang Mantang do? Although he also loathed his youngest son, his immediate priority was to save lives.

"Baowen, don't worry, Dad will find a doctor to treat you right away, you'll be fine."

Then, Jiang Mantang pointed angrily at Jiang Baobin.

The meaning is clear: You little brat, just you wait! I'll settle the score with you later!

Then she helped Jiang Baowen walk outside.

The sister-in-law cried and cursed Jiang Baobin while supporting her husband on the other side.

Jiang's mother also spoke harshly, but because she had to keep the light on in front of her, she didn't have time to deal with Jiang Baobin.

The onlookers, still wanting more, followed along, eager to see what would happen next.

No, there's still one left.

Jiang Hongsheng was a little confused—why did they all leave? Is nobody taking care of me anymore?

The little guy took off with his short legs to chase after it, but he was too eager and tripped and fell flat on his face, throwing away the watermelon he had half-eaten.

Looks like both father and son are having a run of bad luck today!

The little guy pouted, about to cry.

Suddenly I felt my body lift off the ground and into the air.

It turned out that she had been picked up by someone, and it was her third uncle who usually wouldn't dare to come near her.

Out of curiosity, the little one stared at this unfamiliar relative with his big eyes, forgetting even to cry.

Jiang Baobin, holding him in one arm, went over and retrieved the package hidden among a pile of broken bricks, then went back into the house.

"Kid, you're in luck today."

As Jiang Baobin spoke, he took out a piece of candy from his pocket.

Because Tom liked to tease children, Jiang Baobin also got a few pieces.

It was originally meant for my younger sister, but this kid got it for free.

The parents may be terrible, but the children are innocent.

Besides, toddlers who are one or two years old are just too cute to handle.

Tom didn't care about the candy at all, but for ordinary people today, it's definitely a precious thing.

Jiang Hongsheng had probably never eaten this dish many times in his life, so he immediately fell in love with it.

A pair of small black hands plucked the candy out of its mouth and watched curiously.

At his young age, he really couldn't understand how such a small thing could taste so good.

Then he would put it in his mouth to savor the taste, then take it out to look at it, and then grin foolishly.

Jiang Baobin was scratching his head in disbelief—people these days are so unhygienic.

I wanted to wash his hands, but there was no water at home.

The only water vat was either broken by his grandmother or his mother.

Forget it, a little dirt won't make you sick.

The little guy was so engrossed in studying candy that Jiang Baobin had nothing to do.

It was pitch black; forget about reading.

As Jiang Baobin recalled the English words he had learned in the past few days, he kept an eye on the little guy to make sure he didn't fall off the kang (a heated brick bed).

This is the Jiang family's precious child. If he gets hurt, the consequences will be far more serious than beating his father.

That family must have been completely bewildered; their child was missing, and they hadn't noticed for so long?

"Ah! Ah!" Jiang Hongsheng stretched out his little hands and grabbed at Jiang Baobin while making noises.

Jiang Baobin's eyes darted around, and a mischievous idea popped into his head.

He took out another piece of candy and waved it at Jiang Hongsheng: "Call me Dad."

"Ah! Ah!"

"Dad, Dad, I won't give you any if you don't call me."

As Jiang Baobin spoke, he unwrapped the candy, using the candy to entice him: "Call me, call me Daddy..."

Material stimulation is always effective; after several attempts to provoke it, the little guy started to cry out:

"Pull, pull..."

Jiang Baobin was overjoyed and was about to tease him again when suddenly hurried footsteps came from outside.

Then came the sobbing voice of the eldest sister-in-law: "Hongsheng, where are you? Don't scare your mother!"

With a flick of his wrist, Jiang Baobin pressed the candy under his palm.

Immediately afterwards, my sister-in-law rushed in like a gust of wind.

Seeing her eldest son sitting peacefully on the kang (a heated brick bed), calling out to Jiang Baobin, the sister-in-law felt a great sense of relief.

He knelt on one knee on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed) and picked up the little guy in one swift motion.

"Pooh!"

To cover up their irresponsibility and to vent their resentment.

Before leaving, the sister-in-law spat on the ground.

Jiang Baobin was so angry he almost laughed. This woman was really cunning. If it weren't for him, she would have lost her child.

Instead of expressing gratitude, they repaid kindness with enmity.

With such an unreasonable daughter-in-law, Old Jiang and his wife are in for a world of worry.

Jiang Baobin didn't care. He figured it was only a matter of time before his sister-in-law broke off the relationship, and even if his sister-in-law was a devil, it had nothing to do with him.

He didn't care, but some people didn't.

With a loud "Wah!", Jiang Hongsheng burst into tears—"I've endured humiliation and worked so hard all this time, and I haven't gotten anything in return!"

The little guy twisted his body vigorously, kicking his legs incessantly, while reaching out with both hands towards Jiang Baobin, calling out "Pull, pull" incessantly.

Unfortunately, his objections were in vain, and in the blink of an eye, he disappeared without a trace.

Then the crying echoed through the courtyard and out the gate...