Courtyard House: Drunk and tipsy, the whole courtyard exposed at the start.

[Damn it, it looks like the revenge against Yi Zhonghai and Sha Zhu will have to be postponed again.]

Zhang Dabiao went out, found a secluded spot, went into his small apartment, and grabbed some bread to eat.

After causing a ruckus at school for several hours, Zhang Dabiao finally went home with Yan Jiekuang, slapping him on the head every now and then on the way.

"I treated all the young people in the college to dinner the other day, weren't you at the table?"

"Your brother Yan Jiecheng has brought back a lot of leftovers these past few days, and you, Yan Jiekuang, have eaten quite a bit of them, haven't you?"

"And the result?"

"Damn it, you didn't wake me up for school?"

"Are you asking for a beating, kid?!"

Yan Jiekuang was on the verge of tears. "You're 16 years old, and I, a mere 9-year-old, still have to ask you to go to school with me..."

(Yan Jiecheng was born in 40 and will soon be 20 years old; Yan Jiefang was born at the end of 49 and has just turned 11; Yan Jiekuang was born at the end of 50 and has just turned 9 years and 1 month; Yan Jiedi was born in 54 and will soon be 6 years old, in the same year and class as Banggeng - this book is tentative)

You should have said so earlier if you wanted me to call you!

Why didn't you say so sooner?

Of course, he wouldn't dare yell at Zhang Dabiao; he'd almost crippled both Uncle Yi and Sha Zhu. When Zhang Dabiao took revenge, he truly went all out!

Yan Jiekuang is still a child. How could he possibly dare to go against this great demon king? He doesn't even dare to breathe loudly.

The two returned to the courtyard house one after the other. As soon as they entered the courtyard, they heard a commotion in the middle courtyard.

"I don't want to live anymore! Zhang Dabiao is bullying our Jia family! Old Jia, open your eyes and see! Come up here and take this little bastard away!"

"Qin Huairu! You had a marriage certificate, why didn't you say so sooner?! You did this on purpose, didn't you? What will people think of me if I go to the factory?"

"Dongxu, I was wrong, please don't hit me."

"Dongxu, Sister Qin didn't do it on purpose; this marriage certificate was never legal!"

"Auntie, I want to eat meat!"

"No, you can't come in! This is Brother Da Biao's house!"

"Qin Jingru, Jia Zhangshi is Zhang Dabiao's third aunt, and Zhang Dabiao is Banggeng's cousin. What's wrong with him going into his cousin's house to find something to eat?"

"They're proper relatives, you're the outsider! What right do you have to stop Banggeng? Get out of our yard right now!"

"I don't care! No one is allowed in until Brother Da Biao is back!"

The court is in complete chaos again. Judging from the sounds, Jia Zhangshi, Jia Dongxu, and Bang Geng have all returned.

Eh...

Zhang Dabiao sighed. Whether the courtyard was in chaos or not was entirely up to the Jia family.

My fellow readers were absolutely right!

Zhang Dabiao, carrying his schoolbag and with his hands in his pockets, went to the middle courtyard in a nonchalant manner. It turned out that the Jia family was making a scene at their doorstep, and it seemed that a thug was trying to enter their house to steal food. Qin Jingru stopped him.

Jia Dongxu was slapping Qin Huairu repeatedly. They had all heard about what had happened in the past few days, and they were furious!

Qin Huairu and Zhang Dabiao were already engaged, so what was he?

Jia Zhangshi knew all of this, and she couldn't accept being asked by the neighborhood committee to sweep the streets. With no one home, this disaster had struck out of nowhere!

Yi Zhonghai, leaning on his cane, is once again resorting to moral blackmail.

With everyone else out, Qin Jingru, a young girl, was all alone and almost cried, but she still held onto the door tightly with a rolling pin.

That's great!

However, we still have to send her back to Qinjiatun.

"Big Brother Biao! You're back!"

Qin Jingru spotted Zhang Dabiao entering the Central Courtyard, exclaimed in surprise, and then—

The entire venue seemed to have been frozen in time.

Everyone stared at Zhang Dabiao, too afraid to move.

Zhang Dabiao, on the other hand, casually lit a cigarette and, well, he had a match.

I bought 50 boxes for one yuan yesterday!

Then he looked around, picked up a brick from the corner of the wall, tossed it up and down in his hand, and walked towards his house.

"Get out of here!"

Yi Zhonghai screamed in fright and staggered home, leaning on his cane.

That bastard doesn't care about any of that! He's really capable of making a move!

Jia Zhangshi remained defiant: "So what? So what if Zhang Dabiao comes?"

"He dares to hit me, just try it! I'm his third aunt, you know...!"

Zhang Dabiao had already raised his hand.

Jia Dongxu thought to himself, "Alright, I'd better slip away first."

The Jia family quickly pulled the still-nagging Jia Zhangshi back into the house and then closed the door.

You can't just barge into someone's house and start hitting them, can you?

Zhang Dabiao had no choice but to throw the brick away helplessly. "This is just going to keep happening day after day, isn't it?"

However, the Jia family did not enter their room, nor did they steal anything. They are simply disgusting people. Beating them up for this is pointless, as you are not in the right.

So Zhang Dabiao had no choice but to go back, put his things down, and prepare to go to the neighborhood office with Qin Jingru.

Qin Jingru was reluctant to leave because the barbecue she had eaten there last night was the best thing she had ever eaten in her life.

After spending a night with He Yushui, I learned that Zhang Dabiao's mind has recovered, he has a lot of supplies, and he is a righteous person.

Who would want to go back to Qinjiatun, where even cornmeal couldn't fill their stomachs?

But she had no reason to stay. With her lips pursed, she carried her large bag on her back, head down, and didn't say a word.

Zhang Dabiao was about to lock the door when he heard the Jia family next door making a scene.

So he grabbed a handful of flour and sprinkled some on the bedside, the door, the cabinet doors, and under the window.

The Jia family is someone we really have to be wary of.

After locking the door, he went to the neighborhood office with Qin Jingru.

Then, Director Wang of the Subdistrict Office and a clerk took Zhang Dabiao and Qin Jingru, the two "children," to Qinjiatun.

There's a bus at noon, so if I hurry, I can come back after I finish my business.

But after arriving at Qinjiatun, Zhang Dabiao felt utterly disheartened...

It was winter, and there wasn't much greenery to be seen, but after carefully examining the surrounding fields, grass roots, and tree bark, Zhang Dabiao came to a conclusion.

This year's harvest is definitely going to be ruined.

The villagers in the village were all hibernating, and there were very few people outside. First, they went to the brigade headquarters and explained their purpose to the brigade leader, who was also the clan chief, Qin Dingsong.

The captain, smoking his pipe without saying a word, led everyone to Qin Dahe's house for a visit.

They were truly poor!

Qin Dahe's mud-brick house nestled low at the edge of the village. The walls, made of rammed yellow mud mixed with wheat straw, were cracked with several crooked fissures. Several black tiles on the roof were broken, the wooden door creaked, and the house was dark and damp, filled with a musty, earthy smell. A wad of faded cotton wadding lay on the earthen bed, and a cracked water vat in the corner was patched with mud. Apart from a worn-out wooden cabinet with peeling paint at the head of the bed, there wasn't a single decent piece of furniture in the house. It was completely empty, save for the howling wind that seeped in through the cracks in the walls.

The house next door is Qin Dashan's house; the two brothers live in the next room, and things aren't much better for them.

Upon seeing Zhang Dabiao arrive, Qin Dashan, Qin Dahe, Qin Huairu's mother, Qin Jingru's mother, and their siblings all came out.

Qin Dashan was clearly still injured; his leg was wrapped in bandages, and he was using a cane.

I reckon he was injured while hunting wild boar the night before last, or maybe he was beaten by the captain.

Without saying a word, Qin Dashan and his family knelt down before Zhang Dabiao: "Brother Dabiao, our Huairu is so sorry."

"We are kowtowing to you here."

"We really can't afford to pay five silver dollars."

Please spare our family's life.

Wow, in the blink of an eye, I've gone from being Zhang's lad to his nephew—

[Have they become brothers?]