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

Zhang Dabiao was standing in an open space not far away. He didn't intervene, nor did he go over to offer any advice. As a member of the facility, it wouldn't be appropriate for him to remain silent in this kind of search for missing children, but to say he was particularly concerned would be a lie.

He held a cigarette in his mouth but didn't light it, watching Liu Guangqi pull out that mud-covered, monkey-like stick.

In his eyes, this was all "a historical inevitability." As long as Sha Zhu still coveted that widow's pot, and as long as Yi Zhonghai continued to dream of a comfortable retirement, this conflict was bound to erupt sooner or later. It's just that this time, blood was spilled, and things went a bit too far.

He nodded to Liu Guangqi, indicating that once the person was found, they should be taken to the hospital immediately.

As for what Banggeng was thinking—whether he regretted pushing him or was afraid of going hungry—Zhang Dabiao had no interest whatsoever. He was just thinking that, with this part of the play going on, that old bastard Yi Zhonghai's face was probably going to be sore for a while.

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

The hospital ward was filled with a lingering smell of medicine.

Qin Huairu lay on the hospital bed, her face as white as paper, her hands still dripping with fluid. She lay there quietly, staring blankly at the ceiling, as if her soul had not yet returned from the nightmare she had just experienced.

The ward door was gently pushed open, and Banggeng shuffled in, sobbing. This child was nothing like his usual little tyrant self. His clothes were torn, he looked like a mud-covered monkey, and stood by the bed like a beggar.

"mom……"

Bang Geng's voice was terribly hoarse, and his two small hands were clenched into fists, trembling incessantly. He wanted to get closer, but seemed afraid of being pushed away by Qin Huairu, so he stood there wiping away tears.

Qin Huairu moved her eyes and looked at her son. In that instant, the light in her eyes was so complex it was chilling—there was resentment, there was fear, but more than anything, there was an unyielding, almost pathological maternal instinct.

"Mom, I'm sorry... Please don't abandon me. I was wrong, I'll never do it again." Banggeng knelt by the bedside, the sobs coming from his throat heartbreaking to hear.

Qin Huairu reached out tremblingly and touched Banggeng's mud-covered head. She didn't speak, tears sliding down her cheeks and into the pillow.

Liu Guangqi and the others only breathed a sigh of relief after they arrived at the hospital and learned that the person was alright.

If it's true that Bang Geng personally pushed his own mother to the point of miscarriage...

Forget about the reputation of the courtyard; they themselves would find it unlucky.

Sha Zhu stood at the door, watching this scene through the crack. All the comforting words he had prepared remained unspoken. He suddenly realized that between him and Qin Huairu, there was not only Jia Zhangshi, but also this child capable of killing his own mother.

He quietly closed the door and retreated to the terrace at the end of the corridor.

Remarry?

Ha ha.

He chuckled self-deprecatingly. Those two words would likely become taboo in the hospital for the next few years.

Zhang Dabiao had somehow slipped up behind him and, without saying a word, simply offered him a cigarette.

Yes, a special offer of 18 yuan, the Yellow Crane Tower without any inscription.

Sha Zhu took it, lit it, and took a deep drag. He inhaled too forcefully and coughed repeatedly.

"Da Biao, when you told me about my fate before, I didn't believe it." Sha Zhu exhaled a puff of smoke, looking at the dark street in the distance. "Now I believe it. Is this what they call fate? I even tried to help them out, wanted to be the father of their child, but the child hates me to death, and I even ruined his mother along with him."

Yi Zhonghai also came over. The old man looked particularly dejected at this moment, as if he had aged ten years in an instant.

Zhang Dabiao glanced sideways at the two "hidden dragons and phoenix chicks," his tone utterly unfriendly: "Are you two out of your minds? She's pregnant with a child born after her death, and you're talking about remarriage at this crucial moment? Do you think Jia Zhangshi has lived too long, or that Qin Huairu is too resilient?"

Sha Zhu gave a wry smile and remained silent.

Yi Zhonghai coughed awkwardly, wanting to explain, "I was thinking that if it's legitimate, it'll be easier to take care of Zhuzi..."

"Convenient my ass!" Zhang Dabiao interrupted directly. "The premise of legitimacy is that everyone has to be alive. If someone really dies this time, Sha Zhu, you'll be stuck in jail for the rest of your life, and Yi Zhonghai, you can forget about being a grandpa and just go sweep the streets."

He stubbed out his cigarette, looking at the two of them helplessly: "I was just offering a suggestion, thinking that you, Yi Zhonghai, had been a big shot for so many years, you should have some shrewdness, right? You must know about the right time, place, and people, right? After all, you've been scheming against so many people in this compound for so many years. But what was the result?"

Zhang Dabiao now despises Yi Zhonghai, and he never gives Yi Zhonghai any face, saying very harsh things.

"I can understand why Sha Zhu is in such a hurry, but why are you in such a rush, Yi Zhonghai? It's not like you're getting married."

"Let's leave it at that for now. Let's wait until Qin Huairu gives birth to the child and the baby is a bit older before making any further plans. Anyway, I've already given you the idea, so whether you can handle it or not is up to you. I won't be involved after that."

Sha Zhu nodded, this time he was truly convinced. The weariness that seeped into his bones made him no longer have the energy to compete for anything.

Yi Zhonghai lowered his head, inwardly blaming himself—[Zhang Dabiao may not be a great person, but what he said was right, wasn't it?]

[Why the hell am I in such a hurry? It's not like I'm getting married.]

【Wouldn't it be better if I used this to keep that idiot Zhu hanging?】

"Sigh...it's no use regretting it now...we'll have to wait at least a few more years..."

"Alright, you guys take your time thinking about it. I'm heading back." Zhang Dabiao waved his hand. "Why the hell am I getting involved?"

"Hey, you idiot, remember to ride my tricycle back home! If even one screw is missing, I'll kill you tomorrow!"

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

Walking back to the hospital, the night breeze was chilly. Zhang Dabiao and Liu Guangqi walked in front, while Guang Tian, ​​Guang Fu, Yan Jiecheng, and others followed behind, watching Bang Geng return. Their shadows were stretched long by the streetlights. He Yushui had already gone back to the hospital to report the news, while Sha Zhu and Yi Zhonghai stayed at the hospital to keep him company.

Zhang Dabiao scoffed inwardly. What do you call this? This is the inevitability of history.

Some people are destined to struggle in that quagmire. All Zhang Dabiao can do is put up a barrier around the edge to keep the mud from splashing on him. As for whether Sha Zhu wants to jump out? Judging from his expression just now, he'll probably stay in there.

This is fate.

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

When we got back to the courtyard house, it wasn't even 10 p.m., which should have been the time for everyone to wash up and rest. But no one in the courtyard was asleep; they were watching a play in the middle courtyard.

To be fair, Jia Zhangshi's wailing did have a certain rhythm.

She was sitting on the bluestone slab in the central courtyard, slapping her thigh and wailing loudly. The sound was so penetrating that it made the soil on the eaves fall down in a flurry.

"Oh my God! You heartless He Yuzhu, you jinx! And that old widow Yi Zhonghai! You two are conspiring to drive us, a widow and her children, to our deaths!"

She slapped her thighs loudly, a sound Lou Xiao'e had never seen before. Every time Jia Zhangshi slapped, Lou Xiao'e would tremble. Meanwhile, that idiot Xu Damao was laughing at Lou Xiao'e, which made Lou Xiao'e slap him on the shoulder.

Jia Zhangshi's sobbing voice, with its twists and turns, carried a fierce determination that wouldn't stop until it had to tear a hole in the sky.

Upon his return, Zhang Dabiao could only offer one concurring comment—

The sun sets in the west, and darkness falls—