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

"Who goes there? How dare you? Don't you know what death means?"

When Xu Damao saw the state of the room and saw a person tied up on the ground, he was amused.

Without saying a word, he went up and kicked the broken leg.

"Mmmmmmmm!!!!" Then, unable to speak, Qu San writhed wildly like a fish that had just come ashore.

[You lot have no sportsmanship at all!]

"Who the hell dares to mess with us in Dongcheng District? Stealing from my brother Da Biao's house, don't they know the God of War has three eyes?"

Sha Zhu, pulling his clothes tighter, stood at the gate of the courtyard, laughing, "Even I can't beat Zhang Dabiao, has he gone mad and wants to fight Zhang Dabiao?"

"I wonder how many people he's already executed? Has he really lost his mind?"

Sha Zhu was telling the truth. At least everyone in the Dongcheng District knows this: don't mess with Zhang Dabiao. He'll just hand you over to the police station and you could be sentenced to death at any time. There's no chance for mediation.

Xu Damao turned the person over to see who it was, only to find out it was Qu San.

"Oh my gosh? Third Brother?"

"What happened?"

Xu Damao then recognized him and quickly went forward to help Qu San up, but then felt something was wrong and asked Zhang Dabiao.

Now that everyone was there, Zhang Dabiao naturally couldn't kill anyone more.

He could only hide the knife in his sleeve, then shrugged and said innocently, "I don't know either. He rushed at me as soon as I opened the door, trying to hit me."

"I thought I'd been robbed, so I beat him to a pulp in no time."

"After they finished tying him up, I realized it was someone I knew!"

"I'm still wondering whether I should just send him to the police station."

Qu San shook his head frantically. This can't go to the police station! If we go there, things will get really complicated. It's a small matter if he gets arrested, but if the Lou family gets involved, we're finished!

I thought Zhang Dabiao was just a kid, but I didn't expect him to react so quickly and be so ruthless!

He didn't even have time to beg for mercy.

Their mouths are all gagged!

Those smelly socks that can stand up on their own!

I can't vomit it up!

It's almost stuck in my throat!

Xu Damao saw Qu San's crazy hint and hesitated.

He couldn't understand what Qu San was trying to say, but he knew that this matter shouldn't be blown out of proportion.

"Da Biao, how about I send him to the Lou family and let Uncle Lou give you an explanation?"

Xu Damao was just testing the waters. If it worked out, all the better, to give the Lou family face, since he was getting engaged to Lou Xiao'e at the end of the year.

If it can't be done... then so be it.

Who knew Zhang Dabiao would agree?

He nodded and said, "Okay, then Da Mao, please make the trip and take the person there."

"I just got back from shopping today, I'm exhausted, and I have an exam tomorrow, so I can't go with you. I need to go back to sleep."

Zhang Dabiao pointed to a sack by the door and explained to everyone why he was back so late. Then he grabbed Qu San with one hand and threw him by the door.

When it fell to the ground, it hit the broken leg again; the leg was already bent and deformed.

Qu San was in so much pain that his vision went black, but his mouth was still stuffed with a smelly sock.

Xu Damao was stunned. Da Biao agreed so easily?

I had to deliver people to the Lou family at one or two in the morning in the dead of winter.

Forget it, let's just keep going.

"Silly Zhu, lend a hand and come with me on this trip."

"What? What does this have to do with me? It's so comfortable for me to sleep at home in this freezing weather!"

"It's not safe for me to take you there alone so late at night. I can treat you to dinner tomorrow."

"...You, Xu Damao, are treating me to dinner? Okay then."

"Let's go, let's go to Yan Jiecheng's place to get the cart. Where are Mancang and Dabiao's tricycles?"

The crowd dispersed in a short while, and even Fatty Liu ran over, intending to show off his power by calling the police to demonstrate his status as the boss.

But seeing that the thief's legs had been broken, Zhang Dabiao asked Xu Damao to take him away. Liu Guangqi also came out of the house to find out what was going on, and then persuaded Liu Pangpang to go back.

Zhang Dabiao and the Lou family are involved in a matter that costs one or two million yuan. We're not getting involved. Didn't you see that Zhang Dabiao released the people?

If you report this to the police, you'll offend the Lou family and Zhang Dabiao. What are you trying to achieve?

Offend the Lou family?

Liu Pangpang was a little scared, after all, that was a big capitalist, the big boss of Hongxing Steel Rolling Mill before its public-private partnership.

But offending Zhang Dabiao? That's not something to be afraid of.

slip away.

------------

The next morning, Zhang Dabiao continued to go to school with Qin Jingru for the exam.

On the road, they were stopped by Lou Bancheng's old car. They wanted to talk to him about something. Xu Damao and Lou Xiao'e were also there.

But just as Lou Bancheng was about to speak, Zhang Dabiao waved his hand: "I have to go take an exam now, let's talk tonight."

The tide has turned, and it's no longer your place, Lou Bancheng, to speak.

Lou Bancheng was helpless. At 3 a.m. this morning, Xu Damao and Shazhu brought Qu San back on their tricycle, and that's when he found out what had happened.

I wanted to come over early this morning to explain things to Zhang Dabiao, but he didn't take me seriously at all.

The eldest son's wrist was chopped off by Zhang Yaoyang; it was impossible for him not to be furious, but he had to endure it for the sake of the family, especially since Zhang Yaoyang hadn't killed Lou Yufan. Qu Wu's entire arm was severed, and Qu San, having gone to seek revenge on his own, almost got killed by Zhang Dabiao.

It doesn't matter if Qu San and Qu Wu die; they were born into the Lou family anyway, so their lives belonged to the Lou family. But the relationship between the Lou family and Zhang Dabiao and Zhang Yaoyang is getting more and more complicated. The fear is that Zhang Dabiao might suddenly become unhappy and ask the ministry to help him resolve the $72 issue, at which point there would be no possibility of negotiation or delay.

What kind of nonsense is this?

This morning was chemistry and Russian, and this afternoon was history and geography.

I'm not very good at today's lessons, but I should be able to pass by rote memorization.

On his way back to the courtyard house that evening, he was invited over by Lou Bancheng, who specially prepared a banquet at Lou Mansion to apologize to Zhang Dabiao.

After thinking for a moment, Zhang Dabiao told Qin Jingru to go back first. The things he discussed with Lou Bancheng were quite private, and it wouldn't be good for her to know too much.

------------

At the Lou Mansion, Lou Bancheng warmly entertained Zhang Dabiao, with Tan Yali and Lou Xiao'e accompanying him, chatting about trivial matters.

Zhang Dabiao didn't stand on ceremony. This table was filled with authentic Tan family cuisine, much better than Sha Zhu's—in any case, Zhang Dabiao had never tasted a Tan family feast prepared by Sha Zhu.

To be fair, it was much better than the food served in high-end hotels in later generations.

It's also possible that Zhang Dabiao has never eaten anything good.

After a few rounds of drinks, Lou Bancheng asked Lou Xiao'e to bring over a small, heavy box containing five large yellow croakers.

Lou Bancheng pushed the box in front of Zhang Dabiao: "Dabiao, this is our family's apology to you for what happened to Qu San last night."

"He originally intended to teach you a lesson, feeling that you disrespected the Lou family."

"He would have calmed down after I scolded him, but... your brother cut off Qu Wu's (his brother's) arm in Hong Kong, so he's looking for revenge on you."

"I sent him out yesterday after the bones were set, and I promise he won't appear in front of you again."

"Logically speaking, he had a way to die."

"but--"