Siheyuan: I will never tolerate gambling and drugs!

Courtyard

Xu Lin brought Tan Shi to the academy assembly once again. Qin Huairu, out of curiosity, secretly watched the assembly in the middle courtyard from the lotus gate between the back courtyard and the middle courtyard. Sha Zhu saw this and even waved to Qin Huairu. This greeting made Xu Damao, Jia Dongxu, Liu Guangqi, and Yan Jiecheng turn their heads to look.

Instantly, everyone was captivated by Qin Huairu and couldn't look away. "Shazhu, who's this? She's pretty," Jia Dongxu asked Shazhu instinctively, while Xu Damao stood by, staring blankly.

"Qin Huairu is from the countryside. She's a friend Xu Lin met these past few days. It seems she came to Beijing to look for someone and had nowhere to stay, so Xu Lin brought her to Aunt Tan's house for a couple of days. She was just at Xu Lin's house for a blind date with me." Sha Zhu said shamelessly.

Jia Dongxu and Xu Damao were both taken aback. "With you? On a blind date with you?" Jia Dongxu blurted out. Sha Zhu nodded nonchalantly to the side, as if he hadn't agreed and had been forced.

Xu Damao gagged twice. "Silly Zhu, you're just bragging. A blind date with you? Let's not even talk about whether you're an adult or not. Even if you were, would such a pretty girl be interested in you? In our courtyard, when it comes to looks, only Xu Lin and Dong Xu can rival me. You look like an old man..."

Before Sha Zhu could react, Liu Guangqi, who was about the same age as Xu Damao, objected, "Go to hell with your stupid hat! Sha Zhu looks just like your dad! You look like a pointy-nosed monkey and you still have the nerve to compare yourself to Xu Lin? It's not that I think highly of Xu Lin, but although he's not much of a guy, he's certainly presentable..."

Even Yan Jiecheng, standing beside him, nodded in agreement with Liu Guangqi's words. However, he didn't say anything to Xu Damao, but instead spoke to Shazhu, "Shazhu, not to discourage you, but even disregarding looks and only considering family background, in our courtyard, Xu Lin is first, Xu Damao is second, Jia Dongxu is third, Liu Guangqi is fourth, and you and I are tied for fifth. What are you going to use to get a wife?"

Judging by age, Jia Dongxu is a bit older than Xu Lin, and they're both adults. The rest of us are still minors; Sha Zhu just turned seventeen. Even if it were a matter of chance, she'd have to dislike Xu Lin and Jia Dongxu for it to be Sha Zhu's turn, right? Do you think that's possible?

Jia Dongxu wholeheartedly agreed with Yan Jiecheng's words, and excitedly declared, "You can just wait to call Qin Huairu 'sister-in-law'! I'll have my mom find someone to act as matchmaker tomorrow."

Upon hearing Jia Dongxu's words, everyone present fell silent. They all wore expressions of disdain, exchanging glances that revealed their mutual contempt for him, especially Xu Da Mao and Sha Zhu.

Xu Damao thought to himself, "The three of us have been to brothels together, we all know each other. What makes you think you can marry such a beautiful wife? Will you even be able to use her? It's better if Xu Lin marries her, then none of us will get a chance."

Xu Lin, who was standing nearby, noticed the commotion caused by Qin Huairu. However, he never expected that, apart from Jia Dongxu and Sha Zhu, all the other young people in the courtyard wanted Xu Lin to marry Qin Huairu. It really proved the saying, "Afraid that their brothers are suffering, even more afraid that their brothers are driving Land Rovers..."

The commotion caused by the young men below did not affect Liu Haizhong's performance on stage. He continued to speak in his usual bureaucratic tone and spout nonsense. Yang, the wife of Yan Bugui, who was sitting below, could no longer stand it and stood up to launch an attack.

"Second Uncle, just get to the point. Today, Xu Damao from the backyard beat my son Yan Jiefang's face so badly it was swollen. What are we going to do about this? We can't just let it go like this, can we? Does that mean that from now on everyone in the yard can just beat whoever they want...?"

"Yang Cuilan, you're so old, don't talk nonsense. Why don't you tell me why I hit your son!" Xu Damao retorted without flinching.

Upon hearing Yang's words and Xu Damao's direct address of Yang Cuilan by her name, Liu Haizhong, remembering his earlier discussion with Yan Bugui and Yi Zhonghai about giving the young people in the courtyard a warning, stopped wasting time and cleared his throat, directly addressing Xu Damao in a stern voice.

"Xu Damao! Stand up!"

Xu Damao, who was refuting Yang's argument just a second ago, was also startled by Liu Haizhong's shout and instinctively stood up.

"Second Uncle, you can't take sides. If it weren't for that brat Yan Jiefang bumping into me with the toilet and splashing my pants with his pee, not only refusing to apologize but also pointing his finger at me and cursing, would I have hit him...?"

Liu Haizhong, being an ambitious official, immediately adopted his well-honed bureaucratic demeanor, saying, "Xu Damao, you are a working professional, how can you argue with a child?"

And is it even appropriate for you to call her Yang Cuilan?! You have completely forgotten the traditional virtues of respecting elders and caring for the young, showing no respect for seniority whatsoever!

Hearing Liu Haizhong say this, Xu Damao knew that the old man was completely biased, so he stopped giving Liu Haizhong face and said, "Liu Haizhong, you're fucking biased and ignoring the facts. What do you mean I don't respect the elderly and care for the young? Come on, let me throw your urine all over you and see how you reason with me..."

Liu Haizhong was speechless, and instinctively reached for his belt. Yan Bugui quickly grabbed Liu Haizhong, urging him to calm down. The situation was about to descend into chaos.

At this moment, Yi Zhonghai stood up. "Quiet down, what's with all this noise? Old Liu, you're the elder, sit down and let's talk this out." Liu Haizhong glared at Xu Damao and sat down. Xu Damao didn't back down and glared back.

Yi Zhonghai cleared his throat and said, "Today's general meeting is mainly because Xu Damao hit Yan Jiefang, the second son of the Yan family, this morning. It was just children playing around and it wasn't a big deal, but the atmosphere in our courtyard has been very bad lately."

As he spoke, he glanced at Xu Lin, who was startled and about to lash out, but Yi Zhonghai immediately looked away and continued speaking.

"After all, we are now advocating a harmonious society. We've been neighbors in the same courtyard for so many years. Why can't we sit down and talk things out instead of resorting to violence? You young people don't know your own strength. If it really gets serious, the consequences are unimaginable."

Xu Damao, putting aside all the grievances you suffered, couldn't you at least have told Uncle San before you acted? Everyone knows kids don't know any better, and we've all been through that.

Take you, Xu Damao, for example. When you were a kid, you used to pee in the pond in the backyard. Did anyone ever hit you? They only ever gave you verbal reprimands. And now you've changed a lot, haven't you? You've become a proud worker at the steel mill.

And you, Zhu Zi, every time you fought with Xu Damao when you were a kid, you always came out on top. Did you ever see your Uncle Xu ever hit you?

"Every time you younger generation get into trouble, we discuss it with your parents first, and we've never actually slapped someone so hard their face is swollen."

As expected of Yi Zhonghai, the Moral Celestial Venerable, his words, disregarding the facts, completely convinced Xu Damao. Seeing that the crowd had quieted down, Yi Zhonghai was satisfied with the effect of his words and continued...

"And just now, Da Mao, you called Third Aunt Yang Cuilan directly. How old are you? How can you address her by her first name like that? Where do you put the faces of us older folks in the courtyard?"

Do you also hope that your younger brothers, Jie Kuang, Guang Tian, ​​and Guang Fu, who are much younger than you, will call your father Xu Wude by his first name? Do you also hope that you won't call Grandma Long "Grandma" anymore, but will call her by her first name instead? Think about it yourself, is that what I'm saying?

Xu Lin, watching from the sidelines, couldn't help but want to applaud Yi Zhonghai. Even Madam Tan was dumbfounded in disbelief. He truly lived up to his reputation as the character in the original story who could manipulate everyone with ease; he really did have some skill.

At least Xu Damao was truly subdued by Yi Zhonghai's words after hearing them. He wished he could kneel down before Yi Zhonghai and slap himself twice. Although he felt wronged, he was also filled with an inexplicable sense of self-reproach.

Sha Zhu, standing to the side, was immediately filled with righteous indignation and stepped forward to support Yi Zhonghai, saying, "The old man is right. Xu Damao, you've gone too far. Hurry up and apologize to the third aunt and Yan Jiefang."

Upon hearing this, Yan Bugui knew it was his turn to step in, and immediately stood up to play the good cop.

"No need, no need. We're all neighbors in the same courtyard. It's normal to have some disagreements. You might even bite your own tongue sometimes. No need to apologize. Next time something like this happens in the courtyard..."

Regardless of whose child or elder it is, I hope everyone can be more understanding and considerate towards them. I thank you all in advance.” After saying this, he gave a perfunctory bow to everyone present.

Liu Haizhong immediately led the applause and cheers. Everyone in the courtyard joined in. Then, Yi Zhonghai gave the final summary and announced the punishment.

"Since Xu Damao has realized his mistake, and Uncle San doesn't hold it against him, I think we should just let this matter go and learn from it, okay?"

Everyone cheered and applauded. Even Xu Damao seemed surprised, but Yan Bugui was somewhat uneasy, thinking, "This isn't right. The script isn't like this. Shouldn't we be discussing compensation now?"

Who knew that Yi Zhonghai's shady tactics weren't over yet, and he immediately launched his big move: "However, this problem, in the end, is caused by the inconvenience of going to the toilet. How about this!"

Since everyone's here today, let's pool our money and donate one yuan from each family to build a toilet in the backyard. Da Mao, if you donate an extra yuan, Uncle San's family won't need to donate. Everyone, what do you say?

Everyone applauded and cheered. Although Xu Damao was reluctant, seeing that all the other residents in the courtyard, except for Xu Lin and Tan Shi, had responded, he had no choice but to nod in agreement.

Seeing this, Xu Lin truly understood Yi Zhonghai's methods. This old guy was like a sow wearing a bra, one trick after another!

So he gestured towards Madam Tan beside him and whispered, "You all saw that, didn't you? I told you the people in this courtyard aren't simple people. They'll sell you out and then you'll still have to count the money for them!"

Madam Tan nodded seriously, completely trusting Xu Lin's words. She realized she really couldn't underestimate the people in the courtyard anymore.

Yan Bugui was also impressed by Yi Zhonghai's actions, but he didn't forget the important matter at hand. He took out paper and pen and started taking notes in front of everyone...

Seeing everyone obediently hand over the money, Yi Zhonghai, Liu Haizhong, and Yan Bugui revealed satisfied smiles, displaying the posture of victors. Xu Lin, having lost interest in watching any longer, prepared to escort the Tan family back to their backyard.

At this moment, Liu Haizhong noticed that Xu Lin was about to leave without donating, and immediately became angry, "Xu Lin, where are you going? Everyone else has donated, why don't you come and donate?"

Yi Zhonghai tacitly approved of Liu Haizhong's attack without saying a word, still plotting whether to kill three birds with one stone and ruin Xu Lin's reputation.

Xu Lin saw that these three old guys were getting a little cocky after winning two games in a row, and they were even eyeing him. So he decided to teach them a lesson. "Liu Haizhong, what donation am I supposed to make? I have my own toilet at home, I don't use your toilets, so why would I donate?"

Upon hearing Xu Lin address him by his first name, Liu Haizhong was overjoyed and immediately started copying his homework. "You! How dare you address me like that? Didn't you hear what that old man said in the yard? Don't you understand respecting the elderly and caring for the young? What did you learn in college?!"

Xu Lin didn't reply immediately. Instead, he took out a cigarette, lit it, and exhaled a puff of smoke before saying in a voice loud enough for everyone present to hear, "Are you three sure you want to mess with me?"

Fearing Liu Haizhong might say something wrong, Yi Zhonghai immediately jumped in to add, "I'm not trying to provoke you, I just want to remind you that I hope you can heed the government's call to respect the elderly and care for the young, and not cause discord with your neighbors..."

Xu Lin interrupted without listening to the end, "So, according to you, we should respect older people? Liu Haizhong, your workshop director, Guo Dapie, is much younger than you, right?"

Why don't you see him respecting you? On the contrary, you're always following him around, serving him tea and water, and greeting him with a smile... How did he end up taking you in as his godson?

Upon hearing Xu Lin's words, Madam Tan chuckled. Liu Haizhong's face instantly flushed red; Xu Lin wasn't finished yet.

"And you, Yi Zhonghai, you said I was causing division with the neighbors. Most of the neighbors in this courtyard work at the steel rolling mill. After the steel rolling mill became a joint state-private enterprise, I was the director of the clinic, so I was considered a cadre."

"You're so brazenly instigating me to be labeled in front of so many workers. What, are you dissatisfied with the current factory leadership team and want to give me a hard time?"

Yi Zhonghai was startled, clearly not expecting Xu Lin to accuse him like this. If word got out, his days at the factory would be numbered. Just as he was about to defend himself, Xu Lin continued...

"If you say I don't respect the elderly and care for the young, ask the Tan family mother and daughter, or He Yushui, or Zhuzi and the others. Have I ever accepted a single penny from them for food? When Zhuzi and the others asked me for money, did I ever refuse to lend them any?

Hearing this, Sha Zhu, Xu Damao, and Jia Dongxu subconsciously nodded in front of everyone before continuing to watch Xu Lin's output.

"But you, Yan Bugui, and Liu Haizhong, you clearly wanted to build a toilet in the yard, and you even charged the entire yard a fee. Why didn't you three build the toilet on the empty land next to your house? Instead, you built it next to Xu Damao's house. You're using the guise of protecting the yard to gain personal profit!"

"Xu Lin! You're talking nonsense!" Yi Zhonghai shouted angrily, but Xu Lin didn't give him a chance to speak.

"Shut up, I haven't finished yet. And you, Yan Bugui!" Yan Bugui's expression changed drastically upon hearing this, unsure how to respond.

"You're always standing at the front door, taking advantage of this neighbor and that neighbor, but have you ever thought about why people should give you a pittance when they've worked hard to buy their vegetables! At first, everyone was too kind to refuse and gave you a little, but you've taken advantage of it and started treating it like your side job."

"I ask you, what gives you the right to leave work early and come back to guard the place? Have you been secretly violating school rules by repeatedly leaving early? Yi Zhonghai and Liu Haizhong may act like bullies in the courtyard, but they're still quite competent when it comes to their work. And you? You are a disgrace to our courtyard!"

"You! You! You..." Yan Bugui pointed at Xu Lin, unable to utter a single word for a long time. Xu Lin completely ignored him and continued to unleash his full power.

"I don't need the public toilet, so I won't donate this one yuan. But you three are accusing me, instigating the other residents, and falsely accusing me because of this one yuan."

You didn't say anything when Xu Damao was urinated on by Yan Bugui's son, and you didn't say anything when his son pointed his finger at you and cursed you. You even want to build a toilet next to his house and make Xu Damao donate double the amount of money. Is this how you do things? When did you three become the ones to decide right and wrong?

Upon hearing this, Xu Damao immediately clenched his fists and stepped forward, "That's fucking right! That's exactly what Xu Lin said! You three are bullying an honest person!"

Yi Zhonghai and his two companions were ashen-faced, filled with regret. Yan Bugui and Yi Zhonghai both secretly glanced at Liu Haizhong, thinking, "Why did you have to provoke him in the first place!" Just then, Xu Damao's shouts and curses rang out.

Yi Zhonghai immediately seized the opportunity to vent his anger, "Xu Damao, who are you talking to? Damn it, who gave you the right to curse people like that!" After saying that, he gave Sha Zhu and Jia Dongxu a look, and the two of them understood immediately and started fighting.

But the two men weren't fools; they could tell right from wrong and didn't use excessive force, merely shoving and pushing Xu Damao back.

Xu Lin glanced at the unfortunate Xu Damao and didn't offer any further assistance. Seeing the situation was one-sided, Yi Zhonghai seized the opportunity to adjourn the meeting, saying they would discuss it again later.

He made Yan Bugui return the money, but Yan Bugui reluctantly pulled out the money he hadn't even had a chance to warm up. He was still hoping to make a profit from it, and now his gaze towards Xu Lin became even more ferocious.

Xu Lin, however, was really into it. He'd enjoyed talking so much, and he'd love to give them a good beating. "What, you want to practice your skills with me?" he said, his expression extremely provocative, practically screaming "Go ahead!"

Yi Zhonghai and his two companions nearly lost their tempers, but the memory of the brutal beating they had suffered a few days prior still lingered. Reason kept them in check, and they merely snorted and turned away. Just as they were about to leave, they heard Xu Lin utter four words in a light but highly sarcastic tone.

"Three cowards!"

"Damn it, get him!" Liu Haizhong, unable to contain himself any longer, pulled out his belt. Yi Zhonghai and Yan Bugui also turned around without hesitation.

Yi Zhonghai waved his hand, "Come here, all of you, attack together!"

Liu Haizhong and Yan Bugui brought their eldest sons, while Yi Zhonghai brought Jia Dongxu and Sha Zhu. Only Xu Damao hesitated for a moment before gritting his teeth and choosing to stand with Sha Zhu and the others. Jia Zhangshi, who had been holding back for a long time, finally let out a shout and stood next to Yi Zhonghai.

Xu Lin pushed the flustered Tan Shi behind him and beckoned Qin Huairu to pull her away.

Then he straightened his sleeves and said, "Hurry up, I'm itching to go back to sleep after beating you guys up..."