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

The neighborhood committee and the police station meant that, firstly, the victim's family had not suffered any losses.

Secondly, since the victim had not yet returned, and both Jia Zhangshi and Bang Geng were injured, they were released after giving their statements. They would decide what to do after Xu Damao returned to Beijing.

So they meant to settle things privately, since the person was so badly injured, while Xu Damao suffered no loss at all.

If you were to call it a burglary, but the theft failed and there was no stolen goods, this would be a classic case of attempted burglary, or as the saying goes, "trying to steal a chicken but losing the rice instead."

At most, Jia Zhangshi would be detained for a few days, and the incident would be reported to the school and the entire neighborhood for public criticism and a stern reprimand. She would then be ordered to be taken home by her family for strict discipline. That's the usual procedure these days.

The neighborhood committee naturally wanted to suppress the matter, firstly because it wasn't a big deal, and secondly because it was annoying.

Therefore, he instructed Yi Zhonghai to wait for Xu Damao to return and mediate. Since there was no significant loss, he suggested that criticizing the Jia family would be sufficient to resolve the matter.

Anyway, seeing Jia Zhangshi on the street is annoying now; she's a real old fox.

But Yi Zhonghai, having obtained the imperial edict, thought he was in control. He thought he could mediate, but the medical expenses—if Xu Damao doesn't pay, the Jia family will try to take advantage of me!

"It's better to die than to die, fellow Daoists," goes the saying. Jia Zhangshi and Bang Geng were injured at your house, so it's only natural that you pay for their medical expenses.

Zhang Dabiao, listening nearby, shook his head. Yi Zhonghai's thought process was truly astounding; he'd mastered the victim-blaming theory to its fullest extent. So, if a thief breaks his leg while stealing from your house, you're expected to pay for his medical expenses?

Xu Damao laughed angrily. He put his hands on his hips and shouted, "No money! You can take my life! No matter how you look at it, this is the Jia family committing burglary. They deserve to be injured!"

At this moment, Qin Huairu, who had been silent all along, began to perform.

She took a step forward, tears streaming down her face like broken beads, and knelt down in front of Yi Zhonghai with a thud.

"Grandpa, please be the judge! Our Dongxu passed away early, leaving us, a widow and her child, to suffer so much." Qin Huairu cried, her voice trembling. "Banggeng is just a child. He just saw that Xu Damao's family had malted milk powder and wanted to smell it because he had never tasted it before. He really didn't mean to steal it."

Everyone laughed. This guy was blatantly lying. Who would believe that Bang Geng only wanted to smell it, not steal it?

"Xu Damao's mousetrap was so vicious. If Bang Geng's fingers are ruined, how will he live in the future? He's only 9 years old, still a child! Brother Damao, it's all our family's fault, but you can't treat him like this."

Qin Huairu's crying immediately drew sympathy from several soft-hearted older women in the courtyard. The tears of this pretty widow were indeed very powerful.

Seeing this, Jia Zhangshi also sat down on the ground and slapped her thigh, crying out, "Heavens above! Xu Damao, that childless man, is bullying us! He deliberately set a trap to harm my grandson; he deserves to die a horrible death!"

Xu Damao was so angry at the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law's back-and-forth that he felt like his lungs were about to explode.

"Qin Huairu, stop pretending to be pitiful! Just because your family is poor doesn't mean you're right to steal from others! Let me tell you, this isn't over! I'm going to send Banggeng to a juvenile detention center!"

Zhang Dabiao finished cracking the sunflower seeds in his hand and dusted off his hands. He glanced at Qin Huairu's pitiful appearance and sneered inwardly. This white lotus flower, it's always the same old trick, shirking all responsibility and using the victim's facade to manipulate everyone.

Just then, heavy footsteps came from outside the moon gate of the central courtyard.

Sha Zhu came home from get off work.

Sha Zhu had been busy all day at the factory canteen and was in a fairly good mood. He carried an empty lunchbox and sauntered into the courtyard.

As soon as he entered through the moon gate, he saw that the courtyard was crowded with people. Looking further ahead, he saw Qin Huairu kneeling on the ground, crying uncontrollably, Jia Zhangshi sitting on the ground throwing a tantrum, and Xu Damao pointing his finger at Qin Huairu and cursing her.

Oh dear, that bastard Xu Damao is back?

Sha Zhu is a simpleton. The moment he saw Qin Huairu cry, his protective instincts surged, and his rationality vanished completely.

In his world, Sister Qin is always right, and anyone who bullies Sister Qin is his enemy.

And Qin Huairu even knelt down!

His sister Qin knelt down; what a great injustice she must have suffered!

"You little bastard! Xu Damao, you've really grown bold, haven't you! How dare you bully Sister Qin!" Sha Zhu roared, slammed the lunchbox in his hand to the ground, and charged at Xu Damao like an enraged bull.

Xu Damao was cursing enthusiastically when he heard the sound and turned around, only to see Sha Zhu's fist, as big as a sandbag, already in front of him.

"Ouch!"

Xu Damao couldn't dodge in time and was punched in the nose by Sha Zhu. He staggered back several steps and almost fell to the ground.

"Idiot Zhu! Are you fucking crazy! You dare hit me!" Xu Damao covered his nose, wincing in pain as blood flowed from his nose.

"I'm going to beat you up, you little bastard!" Sha Zhu didn't give Xu Damao a chance to catch his breath and kicked him again, hitting Xu Damao squarely in the stomach.

Xu Damao doubled over in pain, but he wasn't one to be trifled with. With old and new grudges combined, Xu Damao's eyes turned red, and he started fighting with Sha Zhu, throwing wild punches.

But Xu Damao's thin frame was no match for Sha Zhu, a chef who was used to flipping woks all year round. Before long, Xu Damao was being rubbed to the ground by Sha Zhu.

When Jia Zhangshi saw that Sha Zhu had made a move, she felt that someone was backing her up, and her anger flared up immediately.

"Beat him! Beat this damned, childless bastard to death! Let him harm my grandson!" Jia Zhangshi got up from the ground and limped over. She stretched out her hands, which were never washed and had black grime under her fingernails, and scratched at Xu Damao's face.

"Hiss—" Three bloody marks instantly appeared on Xu Damao's face.

Although Banggeng's right hand was bandaged, seeing his grandmother and Uncle Sha beating Xu Damao ignited his hatred. He felt that Xu Damao had caused him so much suffering, and he had to avenge him.

"Xu Damao, I'll beat you to death!" Bang Geng rushed forward, grabbed Xu Damao's hair tightly with his uninjured left hand, and kicked Xu Damao desperately with his good foot.

Sha Zhu pressed down and hit her, Jia Zhangshi scratched her face, and Bang Geng kicked her legs.

Good grief, it turned into a three-on-one situation.

Everyone in the courtyard was dumbfounded. They were just having a big meeting and trying to reason things out, and now they were all fighting?

Yi Zhonghai stood to the side and symbolically shouted twice, "Shazhu! Stop! Stop fighting!" But he had no intention of stepping forward to break up the fight. He even thought that it would be good for Shazhu to teach Xu Damao a lesson and curb Xu Damao's arrogance, which might make things easier.

Liu Haizhong and Yan Bugui kept their distance, afraid of getting splattered with blood.

Zhang Dabiao sat on a small stool, watching the farce unfold, a cold smile playing on his lips. This idiot Zhu was completely under Qin Huairu's thumb. The moment Qin Huairu shed a tear, he would transform into a mad dog, biting everyone in sight.

"Da Mao!" Lou Xiao'e stood to the side and saw her husband's face covered in blood, and tears welled up in her eyes.

She was heavily pregnant, which already made it difficult for her to move around. But seeing Xu Damao being beaten by three people, she didn't care about anything else and rushed into the crowd.

Zhang Dabiao was taken aback. "Why are you, a pregnant woman, getting involved in this?"