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

Before Yi Zhonghai could figure it out, Jia Zhangshi sprawled on the ground, rolling around and wailing. Her hair was disheveled, her fat face was flushed red, and she kept slapping her hips with her hands, her cries shrill and piercing, disturbing the peace of the entire courtyard.

"I can't live anymore! Heaven is blind! Zhang Dabiao has turned my precious grandson of the Jia family to death! I can't live like this anymore!" Madam Jia wailed, glancing out of the corner of her eye towards the east courtyard. Seeing that Zhang Dabiao hadn't come out, she got up and pointed at the gate of the east courtyard, cursing, "Zhang Dabiao, you damned dog! What kind of sorcery did you use? You turned my fat grandson into a worthless burden! You owe me the male heir of the Jia family! You dead child, you're going to be punished by heaven!"

This tantrum-throwing act was a trick Jia Zhangshi had used for half her life in the courtyard, and she was a master of it. She wanted to use everyone in the courtyard to force the blame for giving birth to a daughter onto Zhang Dabiao, and hopefully extort some compensation.

The neighbors, who were washing up and getting ready for work, all gathered around when they heard the commotion. They pointed and whispered among themselves at Jia Zhangshi. "Whether it's a boy or a girl is determined by God. Who can change the sex of a baby in the womb? This old hag is completely insane!"

Zhang Dabiao, his face grim, strode out of the gate of the side room. He had just returned to fetch water to wash his face, and was carrying a basin of water. He suddenly flung it, and the basin of water, with a strong gust of wind, splashed all over the blue brick floor in front of Jia Zhangshi's feet with a "whoosh," soaking the old woman's trousers.

Startled, Jia Zhangshi let out a scream and jumped back three feet, comically shaking off the water stains on her body.

"If you keep spewing nonsense, I'll tear down your wall!" Zhang Dabiao's eyes were icy cold as he slammed the enamel basin down hard on a pillar in the covered walkway with a loud "bang."

Jia Zhangshi was instantly speechless, because no one else would do the demolition of the wall, but Zhang Dabiao was definitely capable of it.

But she was also feeling aggrieved. She had consulted a fortune teller before, who said that Qin Huairu was carrying a boy, but now it had suddenly become a money-losing baby. Who could she complain to?

"I don't care, what makes you so sure it was you who changed it? You have to give me an explanation!"

Jia Zhangshi was still unconvinced.

"Explanation?" Zhang Dabiao sneered, his tone calm yet firm: "As for Jia Zhangshi, I already said it last night. At that time, Qin Huairu had just been sent away and hadn't given birth yet, nor had she been given a name."

"This was predicted by my father long ago. He told me that your Jia family would have a third child, a girl, and that she would be named Huaihua. Do you think my father's prediction was inaccurate? Do you think I used witchcraft?"

Zhang Dabiao took a step forward, staring intently at Jia Zhangshi: "Then why don't you go down and confront my father face to face!"

"Go ahead!"

"As long as you dare to go, and as long as my dad says he miscalculated, I'll pay whatever compensation you ask!"

"I'm a man, I can afford to pay for it! It's up to you whether you dare!"

The moment those words were spoken, the entire courtyard erupted in uproar. Zhang Dabiao's words were too brilliant; he had directly invoked the name of the deceased Zhang Banxian. In those days, people held a certain degree of awe towards ghosts and spirits, especially since Zhang Banxian had indeed had a somewhat mystical reputation in the alleyways back in the day.

Xu Damao and Yan Jiecheng are half-extinct, and Jia Dongxu won't live more than two years—which of Zhang Banxian's things can be considered a mistake?

Although it's considered feudal superstition... Zhang Banxian didn't make any mistakes in his calculations—if he didn't make any mistakes, then it's not superstition, right?

As for going down to confront Zhang Banxian—that would mean forcing Jia Zhangshi to commit suicide!

Who the hell would be so crazy as to commit suicide to confront Zhang Banxian? Even if you did find Zhang Banxian, what if he said he made a mistake?

Once you go down there, you can't come back!

Jia Zhangshi was speechless, utterly dumbfounded. She was a cowardly bully, superstitious to the core. Asked to go down and confront Zhang Bansian? She had no guts! Besides, she wasn't stupid; once she went down, she wouldn't come back. Zhang Dabiao was sending her to her death!

"I was just asking a question, and you're pushing me to my death?! How can this kid be so vicious?!"

She trembled with fear, swallowed hard, and her finger, which was pointing at Zhang Dabiao, froze in mid-air, unable to utter a single word.

"Don't dare to go? If you don't dare to go, then shut your stinking mouth and get back inside!" Zhang Dabiao was too lazy to pay attention to her anymore. He picked up the washbasin, turned around, went back to the yard, and slammed the gate shut.

"Why are you wailing so early in the morning? It's bad luck!"

Jia Zhangshi stood alone in the courtyard, surrounded by disdainful looks from her neighbors. Yan Bugui shook his head, put his hands behind his back, and walked away, muttering, "Incomprehensible, utterly absurd."

The others also dispersed, none of them wanting to pay attention to this crazy woman. Seeing this, Jia Zhangshi could only slink back to the front yard.

They've offered to pay compensation, but you're too afraid to confront them, so there's nothing more to say.

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

Three days later at noon.

Sha Zhu, sweating profusely, pulled the borrowed cart into the courtyard. Thick quilts were laid on the cart, and Qin Huairu, with a headscarf wrapped around her head, tightly held a small baby in her arms.

Logically speaking, when someone in the courtyard has a new addition to the family, even if it's a girl, the neighbors should exchange pleasantries and offer their congratulations. Sha Zhu thought so too. He had just parked his cart in the middle courtyard, preparing to show off his hard work over the past three days and let everyone see what a responsible man he, He Yuzhu, was.

But when he looked up, he realized something was wrong.

Several people were eating in the courtyard when they saw them enter, and they all stopped eating. Liu Guangqi, Xu Damao, Yan Jiecheng, and Yan Bugui from the front yard all had extremely strange looks in their eyes. There were no congratulations, no pleasantries; they were all staring intently at the child in Qin Huairu's arms, their eyes looking as if they had seen a ghost in broad daylight.

Sha Zhu felt a chill run down his spine from the stare. He unbuckled the leather belt from his shoulder and yelled, "What are you looking at? Never seen a baby being born before? Third Uncle, you've got a really fresh perspective on me. Do I have flowers growing on my face?"

"Where are Jia Zhangshi, Bang Geng, Xiao Dang, and everyone else?"

Yan Bugui, carrying the empty bowl he had just finished eating and was about to wash, rushed over. He glanced at Qin Huairu on the cart, then lowered his voice, his tone revealing barely concealed nervousness: "Shazhu, Huairu's baby... is it really a girl?"

Sha Zhu rolled his eyes: "Of course it's true! What's wrong with a daughter? Boys and girls are the same!"

"Then...the name..." Yan Bugui swallowed hard, his eyes widening. "Really...Huaihua?"

Sha Zhu froze, looking at Yan Bugui with a suspicious expression. He took the towel off his neck to wipe his sweat and asked, "What's wrong? It's called Huaihua. An old man at the hospital came up with the name on the spot, saying he liked the old locust tree outside the window, so he named it Huaihua. The old man came back and said... It's a nice name! What's going on?"

As soon as these words were spoken, a unified gasp of astonishment rippled through the courtyard.

Xu Damao dropped the half-eaten steamed bun in his hand to the ground. Liu Guangqi looked towards the east courtyard in shock.

Although they already knew, everyone still had some doubts. But now that the child was right in front of them, and recalling Zhang Dabiao's words that night—

That's incredibly accurate!

Grandpa Zhang is truly a demigod!