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

Jia Zhangshi was a little unhappy because she didn't get the reaction she wanted, but she didn't stop talking.

"Shu Zhu, stop pretending to be dead, it won't help! Your leg is really broken, your life is really miserable. You think the Yan brothers are easy to mess with? You beat their mother, do you think they'll let you get away with it? You think you're a hero? You're just a brainless pig! Now look what happened, your leg is broken, you're useless, ptooey, serves you right!"

"I bet your leg is beyond repair. You'll be a cripple for life, walking with a limp. Let's see if you'll still be so smug then!"

After saying such a long string of words in one breath, Jia Zhangshi started to pant, bent over and coughed twice, then straightened up, put her hands on her hips, and held her chin high, looking as smug as if she were celebrating some grand festival.

The other inmates laughed, but most remained silent.

It wasn't out of sympathy for Sha Zhu, but rather because Jia Zhangshi, at her age, still had such a sharp tongue and a cruel heart, which gave people the creeps.

As Sha Zhu lay on the stretcher, listening to Jia Zhangshi's rhyming verses, the light in his eyes gradually dimmed.

It wasn't because he was afraid, but because he finally understood that no one would help him in this place.

He had helped countless people in the courtyard at No. 95, but when he fell on hard times, not a single person stood up for him.

He thought Qin Huairu would appreciate his kindness, but Qin Huairu never took him seriously from beginning to end.

His life, Sha Zhu, was nothing but a joke.

When Officer Wang returned from the duty room, he saw Jia Zhangshi still chattering away. His face darkened, and he shouted sternly, "Jia Zhangshi! Shut up! Say another word, and I'll deduct three months' worth of your food allowance!"

Jia Zhangshi's voice stopped abruptly, like a chicken being choked.

She shrank back and retreated to the back of the crowd, but she couldn't hide the smug expression on her face, like a child who had secretly eaten candy, who was still feeling sweet inside even though she didn't say anything.

Sha Zhu stared straight at the sky.

The sky was a dazzling blue, with a few white clouds drifting by slowly, as if nothing had happened.

Soon, Sha Zhu was carried to the farm hospital.

This day in Ward 95 was no different from any other.

Some people had their legs broken, some were taken away, some gloated, and some watched coldly.

But the cotton fields still need to be turned over, the seeds still need to be sown, and life still needs to go on.

The cotton field won't stop its rhythm just because someone's leg is broken.

It was there, silent, waiting, unbiased.

……

Farm hospital.

Despite being called a hospital, it was really just a courtyard surrounded by several rows of bungalows with white walls and gray tiles. A peeling wooden sign hung at the entrance, which read "First Labor Reform Farm Hospital".

Two rows of poplars were planted in the yard, and a dilapidated tricycle was parked under the trees, with several empty medicine boxes piled in the back.

When Sha Zhu was carried over, the temporary splint on his left leg had already come off, and his calf was swollen bigger than his thigh, with the skin stretched so tight it looked shiny, as if it might burst at any moment.

An elderly man in a white coat came out to greet us. He was in his fifties and wore black-rimmed glasses with white tape wrapped around the temples.

He walked over unhurriedly, looked down at Sha Zhu's leg, pressed it twice, and Sha Zhu howled in pain.

"Tibia and fibula fracture, comminuted."

The old man's tone was so calm, as if he were simply saying that the weather was nice today.

"You need surgery and a metal plate. We can't do it here; you have to be sent to a military hospital."

Wang, the clerk, frowned deeply.

"Military hospital? Which hospital?"

"The hospital at Malan base, please admit people like us."

The old man took out a pack of cigarettes, handed one to Wang, lit one for himself, and took a puff.

"But we can't deliver today, we don't have a car. Stay here for now, we'll make arrangements tomorrow morning."

Sha Zhu was carried into a hospital room.

It was called a ward, but it was actually just an empty room with a wooden bed, a gray-white sheet, and eight big red characters painted on the wall: "Reform your thinking and start anew."

The door was made of sheet metal and locked from the outside.

Officer Wang stood at the door, glanced at Sha Zhu, said "Stay put, someone will come to pick you up tomorrow," and then turned and left.

The room fell silent, leaving only Sha Zhu alone.

He lay on the hard wooden bed, unable to move his left leg, and the wound on the back of his head began to throb again.

He stared at the ceiling, where a crack stretched from one end to the other, like a dried-up river.

Sunlight streamed through the gaps in the iron bars, drawing stripes on the ground like the fence of a Beijing detention center.

Sha Zhu suddenly remembered something.

He recalled the first time he entered the detention center, under a similar moonlight.

At that time, he couldn't believe he had really been sentenced; he thought it was a dream and that he would wake up soon.

But as the days went by, the dream didn't end. The wall was still so high, the iron gate was still so heavy. He slowly realized that this was not a dream, but the rest of his life.

Sha Zhu wanted to sleep, but he tossed and turned and couldn't fall asleep, not because his legs hurt, but because he felt anxious.

He knew that after hitting Yang Ruihua and breaking into the women's prison, this matter couldn't just be left like that.

The increased sentence is a foregone conclusion; the key question is by how much.

One year? Two years? Or more?

He dared not think.

The next morning, Sha Zhu was sent to the Malan Base Hospital.

He underwent surgery, had a metal plate inserted in his leg, and received more than a dozen stitches. He was then transferred back to the farm hospital.

"Inmate He Yuzhu violated prison regulations during his imprisonment by trespassing into the female inmate ward and assaulting female inmate Yang Ruihua, causing her minor injury level two. The circumstances were egregious and the impact was extremely negative. In accordance with the Prison Law and relevant regulations, it has been decided to add 5 years to He Yuzhu's sentence. His original sentence was 20 years, and now it will be served concurrently for a total of 25 years, effective immediately."

In the ward, Ye Zhen finished reading the notice of increased sentence, put the paper on the table, and looked at Sha Zhu.

Sha Zhu's expression changed little by little.

At first, I was confused, as if I didn't understand.

Then came shock; his eyes slowly widened, and his mouth slowly opened.

Finally, there was fear, a fear that seeped from the very marrow of his bones, which turned his face instantly white, as white as the layer of lime on the wall.

"Five years?" Sha Zhu's voice trembled.

"Yes, five years."

Ye Zhen's voice was very calm.

"An additional five years?"

"What? You think it's not enough?"

Sha Zhu was struck dumb, five years!

He's thirty years old this year, and in twenty-five years he'll be... fifty-five!

He was fifty-five years old when he got out of prison. He was a cripple with no wife, no children, no job, no house, and nothing at all.

His life is over.

Sha Zhu broke down, his mentality collapsed, he buried his face in the blanket, his shoulders heaving, emitting suppressed whimpers like a wild beast.

Ye Zhen looked at him without saying a word.

After a while, Sha Zhu raised his head, his eyes red and his face covered in tears.

He looked at Ye Zhen, his voice so hoarse it was almost inaudible.

"Director Ye, can I...can I appeal?"