The Courtyard House: Xu Damao's Aunt is the Queen of Women

So pure, as innocent as a blank sheet of paper.

Ye Juan opened her mouth, but ultimately did not explain. Ye Xi and He Xiaomeng, who were both introverted, were even less likely to explain.

Naza noticed the strange expressions on Liu Hao's and the others' faces, her eyes filled with confusion: "Secretary Liu, why are you looking at me like that? Did I say something wrong?"

"Ah, right, right! That's so true. Qin Huairu didn't have any meat for Shazhu, but I have meat for you. Hurry up and eat, then get lost."

Liu Hao gave a perfunctory reply and buried himself in his rice.

Naza felt a little wronged and muttered, "Am I that annoying? They actually told me to get lost."

Liu Hao ignored her, pretending not to hear, and focused on eating.

He Xiaomeng, however, found Nazha quite interesting and asked, "Nazha, how old are you this year? Do you have a boyfriend?"

"I'm 20 years old, my birthday is September 12th, and I still don't have a boyfriend! I haven't met the right person yet."

"What constitutes 'appropriate'?"

"Hmm...tall and handsome, gentle and refined, and kind to me—that's not too much to ask, is it?"

He Xiaomeng pondered for a moment, then shook her head: "If there are no requirements regarding family background, then it's not high."

"Family financial situation?"

Without hesitation, Naza replied, "I'm not a snob. If I like him, even if he's so poor he has no pants to wear, I'd be willing to take off my own pants and let him wear them. Of course, the premise is that he can fit into them."

He Xiaomeng chuckled, almost spitting out the food in her mouth onto the table.

Ye Juan and Ye Xi were also amused by Nazha's words and burst into laughter.

Liu Hao glanced up at Nazha and said, "Nazha, your requirements are actually quite demanding. No matter what era it is, good-looking men and women are always in high demand. Add to that a good personality and good character, and even if a man is poor, there will be women willing to marry him. Why would you be in the running?"

Upon hearing this, Naza thought about it carefully and realized it made a lot of sense. With a pained expression, she said, "Then what am I going to do? Will I never be able to get married?"

"You're only 20, what's the rush? The country encourages late marriage and childbirth, take your time, you'll eventually meet someone you like."

"What if we don't run into him?"

Liu Hao was speechless and regretted talking to this stupid girl.

"We'll talk about it later! Shut up and eat."

"Oh~"

……

Ward 95.

Sha Zhu was brought back by a donkey cart used for hauling manure. The warden had Yan Jiefang and Xu Damao change his clothes and wash off the mud and manure.

Yan Jiefang and Xu Damao were extremely unwilling, every cell in their bodies was resisting, but they dared not disobey the orders of the discipline officers, so they could only grit their teeth and bathe and change Sha Zhu's clothes, secretly pinching him several times.

"Ouch...it hurts! Ah!! It hurts so much!"

At 10 p.m., Sha Zhu woke up feeling like his whole body was falling apart, wincing in pain and howling in agony.

The people around, including Yi Zhonghai who were still awake, just glanced at him and no one wanted to pay attention to this scoundrel, including He Daqing.

After being called for a while, Sha Zhu struggled to sit up. The prison cell, converted from a livestock shed, was pitch black, with only a sliver of moonlight seeping through the cracks in the door and windows.

Sha Zhu raised his hand and touched the wound on the back of his head that was wrapped in rags. The stinging pain gradually brought him back to his senses.

Jia Zhangshi!!!

Enraged, Sha Zhu recalled how Jia Zhangshi had thrown mud at him this evening, smashing the back of his head, smearing his head and face with excrement and urine, and even eating a mouthful of it. He also recalled how he had fallen into the reservoir while chasing Jia Zhangshi.

This is an utter disgrace! This is an utter disgrace!

Sha Zhu grew angrier the more he thought about it, his eyes turned red, he rolled over, jumped off the communal bed, and rushed out barefoot.

The women's prison cells were right next door, separated only by a wall.

The moon was very round and the visibility outside was very high. In his rage, Sha Zhu never thought about the consequences of breaking into the women's prison cell. He rushed to the door of the women's prison cell and kicked it.

With a snap, the flimsy double door was kicked open, the door frame and bolt broke off, and the door crashed inward with a thud.

Yu Li, Yu Haitang, Lou Xiao'e, and the others who were chatting on the communal earthen bed were startled. They scrambled to their feet in a panic and were about to shout when Sha Zhu, like a mad dog, rushed in. His scarlet eyes scanned the room, and he grabbed Yang Ruihua by the hair, dragged her off the kang, and kicked her.

After Jia Zhangshi was arrested and imprisoned, she had successfully lost weight and her figure was similar to Yang Ruihua's. Since there were no lights in the cell, Sha Zhu mistook Yang Ruihua for Jia Zhangshi.

???

Yang Ruihua was stunned by the beating. She opened her mouth to scream, but Sha Zhu's stinky feet stepped on her face, making her dizzy and lightheaded. Then he stomped on her several more times.

The force was too great; his lip hit his teeth and was smashed open, bleeding profusely.

Not far away, Jia Zhangshi couldn't help but gasp. The dog sneakily put on his clothes, got off the kang (heated brick bed), slipped on his cloth shoes, and slipped out.

At this moment, Lou Xiao'e finally came to her senses, retreating in terror and screaming, "Murder!!! Murder!!!"

The extremely penetrating sound echoed in the cell, waking Yu Li and the others who were stunned on the kang (a heated brick bed), and all the women screamed at the same time.

"Murder!!"

Xu Damao, Yan Jiecheng, Qin Shouhua, and the others who had run out with Sha Zhu earlier stood at the door looking inside. Although they couldn't see very clearly, they could still see Sha Zhu kicking the people on the ground like a madman.

Xu Damao was a little confused. He had just seen Jia Zhangshi run out. Who was the one that Sha Zhu was beating inside?

Never mind, call for help quickly, we can't let Sha Zhu kill someone.

Sha Zhu will be executed for killing someone; how can that be allowed!

It would be too easy for him to die; he must live and suffer.

Xu Damao took a deep breath and roared at the top of his lungs, "Shazhu killed someone! Shazhu killed someone!"

This roar made the irrational Sha Zhu's eardrums ache.

He was stunned for a moment, but the sharp pain in the sole of his foot instantly brought him to his senses.

Oops... Could this kill someone?

Sha Zhu panicked a little, took two steps back, pointed at Yang Ruihua on the ground and cursed, "Fuck your mother's Jia Zhangshi..."

He had only been halfway through his tirade when Jia Zhangshi's voice came from outside the door.

"Officer Wang, hurry! Sha Zhu's rabies has flared up again, kill him immediately!"

???

Sha Zhu was struck dumb, his whole body stiffened and went numb, his eyes widened and his head was buzzing.

Jia Zhangshi is outside...? And who's that on the ground?

Sha Zhu swallowed hard, mechanically turning his head to look outside. A police baton loomed large in his line of sight and slammed into his forehead with a thud.

With a thud, Sha Zhu swayed and fell straight to the ground.

Officer Wang swung his baton and struck the victim a few more times, then turned and shouted, "Old Ma, quick, save them!"

Old Ma ran in carrying a lantern and gasped when he saw Yang Ruihua lying on the ground with his face covered in blood.

"Xu Damao, come in and carry Yang Ruihua to the infirmary!"

Xu Damao pursed his lips, went inside, picked up Yang Ruihua, and ran out, with Old Ma following behind carrying a lantern.

Officer Wang then called Qin Shouhua and Yan Jiecheng in, carried Sha Zhu to the door of the duty room, and tied him up tightly with a rope.

Yan Jiecheng clicked his tongue and said gloatingly, "If Yang Ruihua dies, Sha Zhu will definitely get shot!"

Qin Shouhua asked in surprise, "Your mother was beaten to death by Sha Zhu, and you're not even a little bit sad?"

"Why should I be sad? What does it matter to me whether she lives or dies?"

"..."