Courtyard House: The Road to an Industrial Power

Early morning of the first day of the Lunar New Year.

Scattered firecracker debris floated in the courtyard.

The festive atmosphere of the New Year had not yet dissipated when the He family finished their lively dumpling meal.

Yi Zhonghai was also in the deaf old woman's room, holding a bowl of dumplings.

His gaze, however, remained fixed on the direction of the He family's residence in the central courtyard.

Through the crack in the window, one could see Zhang helping Qin Huairu clear the dishes.

He Daqing smoked a cigarette on the side, while Sha Zhu played and laughed with the children.

That lively, bustling atmosphere was like a red-hot branding iron, searing Yi Zhonghai's heart.

On what grounds?

Yi Zhonghai ended up with his wife and children separated from him, and his reputation ruined.

Zhang, that slut, actually got to enjoy a life of leisure with He Daqing?

The deaf old woman sat on the kang (a heated brick bed) and ate two bites of dumplings.

She glanced again at Yi Zhonghai, who was standing by the window with a resentful look on his face.

She snapped irritably, "What are you looking at? There's no use in being envious if they're doing well!"

"I didn't expect that you would not only fail to get rid of this person, but you also failed to do so."

"And now she's even hooked up with that guy He Daqing."

Yi Zhonghai gripped the bowl tightly in his hand, causing the soup inside to tremble slightly.

Yi Zhonghai's lips curled into a sinister smile: "Old lady, if she won't let me have a good time, I won't let her live either."

"What do you want to do?" The deaf old woman looked up, a hint of hesitation flashing in her eyes.

"Nothing." Yi Zhonghai's voice was extremely low.

"Her little house was next to the woodshed in the corner of the yard, which was full of dry firewood."

"With just a fire... no one will know. Even if it burns everything to ashes, they'll just say it was her own carelessness with fire."

The deaf old woman's pupils contracted slightly, then she sneered: "As expected of you, Yi Zhonghai. You killed Jia Dongxu back then, and now you're going after the Zhang family."

"But remember, keep your hands clean and don't leave any evidence. If anyone finds out, we're both finished!"

Yi Zhonghai nodded emphatically, the murderous intent in his eyes becoming impossible to conceal.

From that moment on, he no longer had any affection for his wife; all that remained was the viciousness to eliminate any potential threat.

At that moment, Zhang was chatting with He Daqing and was completely unaware that she had been targeted by Yi Zhonghai.

During the day, Yi Zhonghai pretended nothing was wrong and wandered around the courtyard, but in reality, he was always on guard.

He was assessing the location to attack. He needed to burn Zhang Shi to death while also putting out the fire in time, otherwise all the courtyard houses in this area would be doomed.

At that point, it was beyond his control.

In the corner of the courtyard, there was a pile of dry branches that had been stored for half a month. These were used by Zhang for cooking in the winter and were very flammable.

After observing the situation, Yi Zhonghai stayed at home and did not come out.

During this time, Jia Zhangshi, oblivious to the situation, came up and knocked on Yi Zhonghai's door: "Old Yi, come to my house for dumplings tonight, I made pork dumplings."

When Yi Zhonghai opened the door, he saw Jia Zhangshi and said, "I have diarrhea today, let's do it another day, another day."

Upon hearing that Yi Zhonghai had diarrhea, Jia Zhangshi feigned concern and asked, "Are you alright? Do you want me to go to the hospital with you?"

Yi Zhonghai waved his hand. "It's alright, I just need to rest for a bit."

"Then you must come to me if you can't, Zhonghai!" With that, Jia Zhangshi hurriedly walked home, afraid that Yi Zhonghai would really ask her to help.

It was past midnight, and everyone in the hospital was asleep, making it the perfect time to make a move.

When no one was looking, Yi Zhonghai secretly took half a bottle of kerosene from his home.

Hidden deep within the woodpile in the woodshed, he picked up a few pieces of tattered cotton cloth, crumpled them into a ball, and stuffed them next to the kerosene bottle.

Meanwhile, Zhang's wooden door was smeared with a lot of kerosene, which was prepared for He Daqing.

After doing all this, he took out the matches he had hidden in his pocket and struck one with a "snap".

The faint flames flickered in the darkness, illuminating Yi Zhonghai's twisted and ferocious face.

Without the slightest hesitation, he threw the flame at the tattered cotton cloth soaked in kerosene.

"boom!"

Flames instantly flared up and spread wildly along the kerosene and dry wood.

Within seconds, the door of Zhang's house was engulfed in flames, and the pile of dry firewood burst into flames.

Black smoke billowed upwards, and the flames instantly illuminated half of the courtyard.

"Fire! Help! Put out the fire!"

Yi Zhonghai shouted at the top of his lungs, pretending to be panicked, while backing away.

At this moment, everyone who heard the commotion ran out.

"What happened? Where's the fire?"

"It's the Zhang family's hut! Quick, put out the fire!"

He Daqing was the first to rush out of the house and saw the small house burning fiercely.

His face turned deathly pale, and he roared, "Zhang Shi is still inside!"

Ignoring the raging fire, he grabbed a bucket from the corner of the yard, scooped up snow, and poured it into the fire.

Sha Zhu and Qin Huairu also rushed out, carrying water and putting out the fire. He Xiao and He Nannan were so frightened that they cried loudly.

Everyone in the courtyard was awakened and rushed out to put out the fire. Yan Bugui felt sorry for his own water buckets, but he didn't dare not step forward.

Liu Haizhong carried a basin and pretended to splash water, but his eyes kept glancing at Yi Zhonghai in the crowd.

Yi Zhonghai mingled among the firefighters, holding a basin of water in his hand, but hesitated to pour it out.

As the fire grew larger, a barely perceptible sinister smile crept onto his lips.

Burn it! Burn Zhang to death, burn He Daqing's hopes to the end, burn everything that makes him unhappy to the ground!

Amidst the billowing smoke, Zhang's cough could be heard from inside the house, weak and filled with despair.

With bloodshot eyes, He Daqing rushed towards the burning door, screaming, "Zhang Shi! Hold on! I'm coming to save you!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than He Daqing slammed into Zhang's door.

With a loud "bang," Zhang's door opened.

However, He Daqing did not notice that his clothes were covered in kerosene.

When Yi Zhonghai saw He Daqing break through the door, he smirked. If He Daqing burned to death, all the better; if he didn't, he'd still have to take the blame.

When Liu Haizhong and Yan Bugui saw how brave He Daqing was, they all gasped in astonishment.

"This He Daqing is so brave, daring to rush into such a big fire," Yan Bugui said, pushing up his glasses.

The people around who were fetching water to put out the fire were also stunned.

When He Yuzhu saw He Daqing rush in, he immediately tried to rush in as well, but Qin Huairu held him back tightly.

"Zhu Zi, don't do anything foolish. Dad will definitely get out. But if anything happens to you, how will our family survive?" Qin Huairu cried out.

Sha Zhu stopped abruptly, but his eyes remained fixed on the burning house.

Just then, Liu Guangtian and Liu Guangfu brought a water hose, connected it to a faucet, and started spraying water at the house.

Suddenly, a loud thud was heard, followed by a muffled sound from inside the house. He Daqing rushed out carrying Zhang Shi.

He Yushui rushed over to catch Zhang Shi, only to find that much of her hair had been burned off and her eyebrows had also become bald.

He Daqing also had a full head of curly hair and his face was covered in charcoal ash.

"Dad, are you alright?"

He Daqing sat on the ground, waving his hand and panting, saying, "I'm fine, I won't die."

Everyone gasped in surprise when they saw that He Daqing had actually brought the person out.

"It's really out!"

Liu Haizhong, who was splashing water nearby, shouted loudly, "Everyone, stop standing there and put out the fire!"

With everyone's combined efforts, the fire was extinguished in no time.