The Fitter Master in the Courtyard: Surrounded by Dead Men

I'll be a leader in the future, so I can't afford to make this kind of mistake again.

"That's right!"

Liu Guangfu spoke before his brother could, his eyes fixed longingly on the plate of oily stir-fried meat slices on the table.

He figured that if he could please his father, he might be able to get a piece or two of meat to satisfy his craving.

"You're so talkative!"

Liu Haizhong glared at his youngest son. "From now on, your brother will be a cadre. If you interrupt, it's considered rude and you'll be punished at work."

Liu Guangfu's shoulders slumped; his last hope had vanished.

He gnawed on his cornbread in silence, determined to become a leader one day and make his father take notice.

Liu Guangtian, sitting across the table, remained silent, only chewing his dry, hard cornbread and a couple of bites of bland cabbage.

At that moment, Liu Guangqi's mind was a complete mess.

What kind of clerical position? What kind of leadership position? He was only gone for half a day, how come he came home like he entered another world, and he can't even understand what his family is saying?

"What are you staring at? Eat up, Guangqi!"

Liu Haizhong picked up a large piece of egg and put it into his eldest son's bowl.

"...Okay, sure."

Liu Guangqi reluctantly agreed, but his stomach felt heavy and bloated.

If he had known his home would be in such a state, he shouldn't have gone out to a restaurant with Xu Banxia that evening.

He had been thinking that there wouldn't be any good food at home anyway, so he decided to have a big meal outside. But when he walked in, he was greeted by this "feast".

Caught off guard.

He struggled to pick up the glistening slices of meat and put them in his mouth, swallowing each bite with difficulty.

Liu Guangfu stared at his brother's twitching cheeks, his Adam's apple bobbing involuntarily.

Liu Guangtian remained expressionless, as if the brownish-yellow cornbread in his bowl was the only real thing in the world.

"Guangqi, ah,"

Liu Haizhong added another spoonful of scrambled eggs to his plate. "Which department have you been assigned to this time?"

"Dad, what department?"

Liu Guangqi paused, his hand holding the chopsticks still, his face full of confusion.

"It's about your job assignment! Such a big happy event, why didn't you tell your family first? We could have made preparations for the celebration in advance."

What's the point of telling Yan Fugui, an outsider?

Liu Haizhong responded with a sound of agreement.

He still felt uneasy about being told about this beforehand.

However, there's no need to be too explicit—after all, Liu Guangqi is destined for great things, and I'll still need to rely on him in the future, so I need to be careful about how I handle things.

"Huh? Not yet, I haven't even settled on a job yet."

Liu Guangqi was taken aback for a moment, then quickly explained.

It was only then that he realized that his father had misheard the news and thought he had already secured a job, which was why his attitude had suddenly softened.

"Then why are you heading to Shimen City tomorrow?"

Liu Haizhong's face darkened, and he pressed for an answer.

Yan Fugui just made it clear that Liu Guangqi is not only going to Shimen, but he has also arranged his work there.

"I...I didn't...I didn't plan to go to Shimen!"

Liu Guangqi panicked immediately.

He hadn't expected his itinerary to be exposed, and for a moment he was at a loss, unable to speak coherently.

"Are you planning to leave with that woman of unknown origin?"

Liu Haizhong's temper flared up.

A while ago, Liu Guangqi brought up the topic of marriage. He even went to Yang Ping to discuss housing, but when he found out that she was a woman with no relatives and who wandered around, he immediately rejected the idea, and the matter was temporarily put on hold.

Now that he has no job, he secretly runs off to Shimen—it's obvious who he's doing this for.

"Dad, I didn't...and she's not some unknown person!"

Liu Guangqi attempted to defend himself.

"You little brat, trying to run off with some wild woman? I'd rather raise a dog than you! At least a dog knows its home and is loyal!"

Liu Haizhong flew into a rage and yanked off his belt.

His eldest son, whom he had painstakingly cultivated and who was the only high school student in the family, on whom he had placed all his hopes, was now about to give up everything for a woman—making all his efforts and expectations vanish in an instant.

it's all over!

Liu Guangtian and Liu Guangfu were deathly pale and felt cold all over.

Every time that belt was raised, it would inevitably lash out at them.

Even if it was the eldest brother, Liu Guangqi, who caused the trouble, it was always the two brothers who got beaten up—they could never escape this fate.

"Liu Haizhong, she's not some shady woman! I'm going to Shimen tomorrow, what are you going to do about it?"

Liu Guangqi stiffened his neck, meeting his father's gaze without yielding an inch.

"I...I'll f*** you, you bastard!"

The belt trembled in mid-air before finally slamming hard into Liu Guangqi's face.

Snapped!Snapped!

Snapped!Snapped!

Once the first strike is made, there will be a second; once the second strike is made, it will be impossible to stop.

That's human nature; once the rule is broken, all that's left is unbridled behavior.

The belt lashed at Liu Guangqi like a torrential downpour.

At first, he gritted his teeth and endured it, but later he couldn't bear it anymore and was in so much pain that he curled up on the ground and rolled around.

Liu Guangtian and Liu Guangfu, who were standing to the side, were stunned.

The two had instinctively shrank back, afraid of being caught in the crossfire, but to their surprise, all the whips landed on the elder brother.

They exchanged a glance, and both saw a glimmer of hope in each other's eyes.

Second Mother was also stunned.

She never expected that Liu Haizhong would actually lay a hand on her eldest son.

Who doesn't know that Liu Guangqi has always been the apple of Liu Hai's eye? In the past, even if he made a mistake, he would only take it out on his two younger sons and never lay a finger on his eldest son.

"In the sea! Stop fighting!"

She lunged forward and stood in front of her son.

Seeing the crisscrossing belt marks on Liu Guangqi's face, his skin torn open, red and swollen, his heart felt like it was being torn apart.

She used her body to firmly protect Liu Guangqi.

Liu Haizhong paused, holding the belt in his hand.

The next second, the belt turned around and lashed out at Liu Guangtian and Liu Guangfu.

What's meant to happen will happen; it's finally here.

"Ouch! That hurts!"

"Dad! Stop hitting him! Please stop!"

Liu Guangfu reacted extremely quickly, leaping away from the sharp leather belt with a quick movement of his foot, letting out a series of groans:

"Dad! Stop hitting me! It hurts so much!"

"Ouch...ouch..."

Not to be outdone, Liu Guangtian, standing to the side, also started shouting at the top of his lungs.

The belt swung around with a whooshing sound, but it never touched them; the two brothers jumped up and down, but kept crying out in pain, as if they had really been beaten until their skin was torn and bleeding.

That piercing cry sounded even more real than if he had been beaten.

Liu Haizhong didn't stop; he swung his arm, and the belt drew arcs of light in the air.

While dodging, the two sons continued to exert themselves, portraying themselves as if they were suffering greatly.

The sounds of pain filled the room, but the actual blows that fell were zero.

The second aunt seemed oblivious to the farce unfolding around her, sitting quietly beside her eldest son, Liu Guangqi, carefully examining the wound on his arm, her eyes slightly red.

Clearly, she ultimately favored her eldest son, who was about to leave home to establish his own career.

Inside the courtyard, the crackling sound of belts being whipped and the wailing of the victims had already penetrated the windows and doors, spreading throughout the entire courtyard.

"Judging from the noise, is Second Uncle disciplining his son again?"

"Screaming so pitifully, he must have been badly injured..."

"Hey, didn't Boss Guangqi just get assigned a job? Old Liu is just venting his frustration because he thinks his two subordinates are useless."

"Liu Guangqi really found a job? That's a job assigned right after high school graduation! He'll probably have a bright future!"

"That's right, we should go and offer our congratulations, so it will be easier to talk to each other in the future."

The crowd gathered in the courtyard, whispering amongst themselves, their words a mixture of envy and scheming.

Yan Fugui, standing in the crowd, suddenly brought up the matter of Liu Guangqi assigning jobs, and everyone's expression changed.

It's unclear who started it, but the group of people all rushed towards the backyard without prior arrangement.

Yan Fugui was stunned for a moment, then slapped his thigh and cursed himself for being foolish—such a good opportunity to make connections had been snatched away by someone else! If he had established a relationship with Liu Guangqi earlier, the Yan family might have been able to benefit from it in the future.

He quickly jogged after him and squeezed into the crowd.

Before long, a large crowd had gathered in the backyard, forming a dense, dark mass.

The commotion in the backyard grew louder and louder. Yang Ping stood at his own door, a smile unconsciously creeping onto his face.

The cries and screams coming from Liu's house sounded somewhat satisfying to him.

The crisp sound of the belt whipping had already echoed throughout the courtyard. Liu Guangqi was probably being beaten at that time, but the boy was stubborn and kept quiet, unlike his two younger brothers, who were used to being beaten since childhood and had developed the ability to dodge and cry.

At this moment, footsteps in the backyard became chaotic, startling the neighbors, who gathered in twos and threes in front of the Liu family's door.

Seeing this, Yang Ping also blended into the crowd—it was difficult to get a close look when he was alone, but now that there were many people around, he could see clearly.

When everyone gathered outside Liu's house, Liu Haizhong was still holding the leather belt in his hand.

The two little ones were curled up on the ground, wailing incessantly, which made the onlookers' hearts tighten, and they began to offer their advice all at once:

"Old Liu, stop! If you keep fighting, something bad will happen!"

"A little discipline is enough when a child misbehaves; why hit them so hard?"

"Sigh, it's heartbreaking for parents... If Guangtian and Guangfu were more sensible, they wouldn't have had to suffer this beating."

"My second uncle has finally made it through the tough times. My eldest son has a job and is still a high school student. He has a bright future ahead of him."

"When will my husband be able to find a proper job...?"

His words of advice were tinged with emotion, and his gaze was filled with envy and longing.

Yan Fugui stood at the front, offering words of advice, but his gaze swept over Liu Guangqi, who was silent to the side—the boy's face and hands were covered in red and swollen marks, clearly indicating that he had just been beaten.

Yan Fugui was stunned for a moment, and a thought popped into his mind: Did Liu Haizhong also take care of his eldest son?

Yang Ping took all of this in, a faint smile still lingering on her face.

Seeing Liu Guangqi covered in wounds, he felt a sense of relief; this kid should have been disciplined a long time ago.

On the other hand, Liu Guangtian and Liu Guangfu, though crying and shouting pitifully, dodged with surprising agility—it turned out they were just acting.

The belt whistled, the cries were piercing, but the drops of blood on the skin were sparse and scattered.

After a beating and scolding, one's throat would probably be parched and burning, and one would need to drink at least two large bowls of water.

This commotion created a strange sight: the person was beaten but showed no signs of injury, yet drank water frequently.

Just as they were watching the commotion, someone in the crowd suddenly exclaimed, "That's strange, how come even Guangqi got caught in the crossfire?"

Everyone turned their attention and, sure enough, saw the red marks on Liu Guangqi's face and hands, and they were all stunned.

This precious child of the Liu family, always pampered and cherished, how could he have ended up in such a sorry state? No one could understand it.

Liu Haizhong stopped slapping his two younger sons, glanced at Liu Guangqi, and said in a deep, hard voice, "He wanted to run off to Shimen with a woman of unknown origin. I wouldn't allow it, so I hit him."

"Dad, Banxia isn't from an unknown background!"

Liu Guangqi retorted again, his neck stiff with sarcasm.

"Orphaned and homeless, drifting from place to place, without even a place to stay in the capital, what else could you be but a self-taught rogue?"

Liu Haizhong snorted coldly.

This is why he stopped his son—how could such a woman be worthy of his eldest son, who had graduated from high school?

A murmur of whispers arose from all around.

Only then did everyone understand the cause and effect.

Yan Fugui listened from the back of the crowd, inwardly groaning, only then realizing that he had been tricked by Yang Ping.

He was initially pleased with himself, thinking he had gotten information about job assignments from Liu Guangqi, but little did he know he had fallen into someone else's trap.

Liu Guangqi was probably beaten up because he had offended Yang Ping before, and now he was stabbed in the back.

Upon further reflection, Liu Guangqi had bullied Yang Ping quite a bit in the past, so this incident was a form of retribution.