Courtyard House: The Road to an Industrial Power

With the farcical wedding of Sha Zhu over, everyone in the courtyard went home, leaving only a few older women and Qin Huairu to clean up the mess.

In the early morning at the courtyard house, Qin Huairu was seeing Shazhu off to work. She was wearing a newly made blue cotton jacket, her face flushed with the rosy glow of someone newly married, and she handed Shazhu his lunchbox, saying, "Drive carefully on the road, and remember to eat lunch on time."

Sha Zhu took the lunchbox, smiled and nodded: "Okay, don't overwork yourself at home. If you need anything, just call Wei Dong or Sister Xiu Lan."

The two had barely exchanged a few words when the door to the west wing was kicked open with a bang, and Jia Zhangshi rushed out with her hands on her hips, her hair disheveled, and her eyes so sinister they looked like she wanted to devour someone.

"Qin Huairu, you ungrateful wretch! You came to meet my Dongxu on a blind date, and then you turned around and married that bastard Sha Zhu. Now look at you, strutting around in your new clothes, you have no shame whatsoever!"

Qin Huairu's smile vanished instantly. She was no pushover either. After marrying into the He family, she had no more worries, and her inherent shrewishness completely erupted: "Jia Zhangshi, watch your mouth! Just because I went on a blind date with your family doesn't mean I'm part of your family. Marriage is a matter of personal freedom. I can marry whoever I want, and it has nothing to do with you."

Madam Jia was so angry she jumped up and down, spitting as she shouted, "You dare talk back! I think you've been bewitched by Sha Zhu! What future can a cook have? You'll starve to death sooner or later!"

Qin Huairu retorted, "What's wrong with the cook? Sha Zhu earns more a month than your son, and he can afford to feed me meat every meal. Unlike some people who are incompetent, all they do is complain at home, they can't even afford a piece of meat, yet they're always eyeing other people's food!"

Sha Zhu initially didn't want to stoop to Jia Zhangshi's level, but upon hearing her insult Qin Huairu, he instantly flew into a rage, rolled up his sleeves, and was about to step forward: "Jia Zhangshi, how dare you insult my wife? I'll beat you up!"

Qin Huairu grabbed Sha Zhu, "Zhu Zi, don't do it! You don't need to use your hands to deal with this kind of person; just verbally abuse her until she's thoroughly humiliated!"

She turned to Jia Zhangshi, unleashing her full fury: "Jia Zhangshi, instead of wasting your time cursing me, you should be thinking about how to find another wife for your son! But I doubt it. With your mean-spirited nature, what girl would dare marry into your family? Your son will probably be a bachelor for life!"

Speechless with anger, Jia Zhangshi trembled with rage, her eyes fixed on Qin Huairu as if she wanted to devour her whole. Just then, Lin Weidong came out of the house with his schoolbag on his back, heading to school. As he passed by the two, he merely glanced at them indifferently, making no attempt to interfere.

But Madam Jia was already seething with anger, and when she saw Lin Weidong, she immediately turned her rage on him: "It's all your fault, you little bastard! If you hadn't egged Sha Zhu on to steal my daughter-in-law, would she have married Sha Zhu? I'll beat you to death!"

As she spoke, Jia Zhangshi lunged at Lin Weidong like a madwoman, reaching out her claws to scratch his face. Lin Weidong was prepared and easily dodged her attack by sidestepping.

Jia Zhangshi missed her target, lost her balance, and staggered forward a few steps. Lin Weidong took the opportunity to extend his foot and gently trip her, while simultaneously pushing her from behind.

"Ouch!" Jia Zhangshi screamed and fell heavily to the ground. Her forehead hit the steps, and blood immediately flowed out, running down her cheeks. She looked disheveled and frightening.

Qin Huairu and Sha Zhu were both stunned, not expecting Lin Weidong to act so decisively.

Lin Weidong clapped his hands and said innocently, "She pounced on me and tried to hit me. I was just acting in self-defense. It has nothing to do with me."

After saying that, he slung his schoolbag over his shoulder and walked out of the courtyard without looking back, leaving Jia Zhangshi wailing on the ground. Qin Huairu and Shazhu exchanged a glance but ignored her.

After crying for a long time, seeing that no one paid attention to her, Jia Zhangshi could only get up by herself, cover her bleeding forehead, and limp home. She hated Lin Weidong to the bone and vowed to take revenge.

In the afternoon, Jia Dongxu returned home from get off work and saw Jia Zhangshi sitting on the kang (a heated brick bed) crying, her forehead wrapped in gauze. He quickly asked, "Mom, what happened to you? Who beat you like this?"

Upon seeing her son, Jia Zhangshi cried even harder: "Dongxu, you must avenge your mother! It was that little bastard Lin Weidong who pushed me down, and that ungrateful Qin Huairu also joined in cursing me!"

She embellished her account of what happened that morning, portraying herself as the victim and describing Lin Weidong and Qin Huairu as utterly wicked.

Jia Dongxu was already furious about Qin Huairu marrying Sha Zhu, and now that he heard his mother had been beaten, he was enraged. He grabbed a carrying pole from the corner of the wall and was about to go and settle accounts with the Lin family.

"Mom, you wait! I'm going to beat that little bastard Lin Weidong up right now and show them that the Jia family isn't to be trifled with!"

Madam Jia quickly grabbed him: "Dongxu, are you sure you can go alone? The Lin father and son are both pretty good fighters. Why don't you ask Uncle Yi and the others for help?"

Jia Dongxu was brimming with confidence. "No need! I'm young and strong, how could I not beat that father and son? Today I'm going to teach them a lesson!"

After saying that, Jia Dongxu broke free from Jia Zhangshi's hand, picked up the carrying pole, and rushed out of the house, heading straight for the Lin family.

At that moment, Lin Jianjun was talking to Lin Weidong in the courtyard when he saw Jia Dongxu rush in carrying a carrying pole, his eyes fierce. Lin Jianjun immediately stood in front of Lin Weidong and said in a deep voice, "Jia Dongxu, what do you want to do?"

"What are you doing?" Jia Dongxu roared. "Lin Jianjun, your son pushed my mother down, causing her to fall and bleed profusely. Today, I'm going to avenge my mother!"

As he spoke, he raised the carrying pole and swung it at Lin Weidong. Lin Jianjun reacted quickly, grabbing the pole and pulling it away forcefully. Jia Dongxu, caught off guard, was pulled and stumbled.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Lin Weidong stepped forward and kicked Jia Dongxu in the knee, causing Jia Dongxu to fall to his knees with a thud.

Lin Jianjun released the carrying pole and punched Jia Dongxu in the chest: "Jia Dongxu, you attacked without even asking what happened. Do you really think our Lin family is easy to bully?"

Jia Dongxu struggled to his feet, still trying to resist, but Lin Weidong had already circled behind him and kicked him in the lower back again, causing Jia Dongxu to fall to the ground once more. Lin Jianjun stepped forward and began punching and kicking him, beating Jia Dongxu until he cried out for mercy.

"Stop hitting me! Stop hitting me! I was wrong!" Jia Dongxu curled up on the ground, covering his head and not daring to move.

Just then, Yi Zhonghai, Liu Haizhong, and Yan Bugui rushed over. It turned out that Jia Zhangshi was afraid her son would suffer, so she secretly went to tell Yi Zhonghai and the other two, asking them to help her.

Seeing Jia Dongxu's bruised and swollen face, Yi Zhonghai was secretly pleased, but outwardly feigned anger: "Lin Jianjun, you've gone too far! How could you beat someone like this? Stop it!"

Liu Haizhong chimed in, "That's right, Lin Jianjun, let's talk this out. What kind of behavior is it to resort to violence? Jia Dongxu came here to demand an explanation, how could you hit him so hard?"

Yan Bugui added insult to injury: "Lin Jianjun, your son pushed Jia Zhangshi down, and now you've beaten Jia Dongxu like this. You and your son are utterly lawless! I think this matter must be reported to the police station so the police can settle this!"