Siheyuan: I will never tolerate gambling and drugs!

In the backyard of the Tan family

After Xu Lin comforted Tan Shi for a while, she finally returned to normal. After pushing Xu Lin away, both of them tacitly ignored the embarrassed Qin Huairu standing to the side.

"Alright, it's getting late, Xu Lin, you should go back now. Many people in the courtyard must have known you came. If you go back late, someone might report you behind your back and ruin your reputation." Madam Tan gently patted the wrinkles on Xu Lin's shoulder and said softly.

Xu Lin nodded, then gently bit Tan's lip before turning and waving goodbye. As he passed Qin Huairu, he winked at her, instantly making her blush.

After Xu Lin left, Madam Tan closed the door and sat down next to Qin Huairu. "You should have known about my relationship with Xu Lin long ago," Madam Tan said calmly, taking a sip of tea from the small table in front of her.

Qin Huairu was instantly thrown into a panic, not understanding what Madam Tan meant. She immediately began to explain, "Sister Tan, it was an accident last time. I didn't mean to eavesdrop..." Madam Tan raised her hand to interrupt Qin Huairu's explanation, and then asked with a half-smile, "Do you know my background?"

Qin Huairu didn't speak, but shook her head in denial.

Tan, without any hesitation, introduced herself to Qin Huairu, "I used to be a capitalist's concubine, one of his three wives. Later, without getting a divorce, I got together with Xu Lin, just like you overheard before."

Later, I got divorced and moved to this courtyard. Xu Lin then used his connections to get me a job in the neighborhood. Only today do I finally have a life under the sun.

Qin Huairu silently refilled Tan's teacup without saying a word.

"I also long to marry him, but I know I can't ruin his life. If I marry him, he'll truly be burdened by me for the rest of his life. But I can't leave him either, Huai Ru, do you understand what I mean?"

Qin Huairu immediately stood up and nodded seriously.

"Sister Tan, you and Brother Xu are both good people. I understand now why Brother Xu didn't marry you but is already with you. I promise you, if Brother Xu takes a liking to someone like me from the countryside, and I can marry him, I will never forget your kindness, Sister Tan..."

As Qin Huairu was about to kneel down to Madam Tan, Madam Tan immediately stopped her, saying, "Silly girl, this is a new society now, not like before when there were first and second wives. As long as you don't hate me as your older sister in the future, let's make a good life together, that's better than anything else."

"You should go and get your marriage certificate with Xu Lin tomorrow. You've been away for two or three days; you need to go back and give your family an explanation. I'll talk to Xiao Lin about it."

Upon hearing that Madam Tan had considered her family's situation, Qin Huairu excitedly threw herself into Madam Tan's arms, tears streaming down her face. Madam Tan patted Qin Huairu's back and whispered, "I hope you won't blame me for hurting you in the future."

Upon hearing this, Qin Huairu, disregarding the tears streaming down her face, immediately looked up at Madam Tan with a firm gaze, "No, this is the path I chose myself. No matter what happens in the future, I will accept it."

After nodding, Madam Tan pulled Qin Huairu upstairs to wash up and rest...

In the courtyard of the siheyuan (traditional courtyard house), Sha Zhu, Jia Dongxu, and Xu Damao waited until late at night before sneaking out through the main gate.

"Speak first, we can't stay overnight!" Jia Dongxu reminded the two of them again.

"Let's go, don't worry! We definitely won't stay overnight." Xu Damao pushed Jia Dongxu forward while responding hurriedly, and Sha Zhu nodded repeatedly beside him.

As soon as the three left, Jia Zhangshi sneaked to Yi Zhonghai's window and imitated three cat meows, two long and one short. Then she went alone to the vegetable cellar in the backyard.

Yi Zhonghai was about to go to sleep at home, but upon hearing Jia Zhangshi's coded message, he couldn't help but curse her under his breath as an "old dog." He then turned over, intending to continue sleeping and ignore her. However, for some reason, the image of Tan Shi's graceful figure kept appearing in his mind.

With a determined look, and after confirming that his wife was asleep, he secretly got up and slipped away to the cellar...

"Why did it take so long?" Jia Zhangshi complained to Yi Zhonghai.

"Come on, you've got to go. That brat Xu Lin beat me up today and my back still hurts. I don't have the energy for this little 'crotch thing'..." Yi Zhonghai said, his face displeased.

"Don't mention that little bastard, my face still hurts, look at me, I almost got disfigured..." Jia Zhangshi said, shoving her greasy face plate in front of Yi Zhonghai's face.

Yi Zhonghai pushed Jia Zhangshi's large face aside with disdain, "Alright, alright, who knows why your son Jia Dongxu is so wasteful?"

"I can't help you at all. It seems this Jia Dongxu is definitely your dead husband Lao Jia's son, and has absolutely nothing to do with me!"

"You're so tough, but I didn't even see you withstand a few punches from that little bastard. There's not a single man in this yard, the old ones are useless and the young ones are no good either..." Madam Jia curled her lip, rolled her triangular eyes, and disdainfully berated the men in the yard.

Yi Zhonghai couldn't stand it anymore and interrupted Jia Zhangshi, "Alright, enough nonsense. I have something to tell you. Liu Haizhong, Yan Bugui, and I have agreed that the three of us will take turns keeping watch outside Xu Lin's house."

"Since you have nothing to do every day anyway, you can take over the 3 AM to 7 AM shift, and the three of us can take turns taking the 10 AM to 3 AM shift..."

When Jia Zhangshi heard that she would have to do the work herself, she immediately became unhappy. "I'm not feeling well and can't get up in the morning. I can't do this. Besides, why should I keep an eye on him? Am I afraid he'll go to brothels? With his pretty boy looks, he could probably make some money even if he went to brothels. Keeping an eye on him is just a waste of time..."

"I told you to keep an eye on him, so keep an eye on him. Don't you want Xu Lin's house? If you find something on Xu Lin, if you catch him having an affair with the Tan family, you can easily blackmail him into giving you a room..."

"Xu Lin and the Tan family are having an affair! Is the news accurate?"

"It's almost certain. Old Yan saw footprints under the window behind the Tan family's house. Who else could it be but Xu Lin..."

Hearing this, Jia Zhangshi gritted her teeth in hatred. This was a chance to get rid of two enemies at once, and Jia Zhangshi instantly became enraged.

"Okay! I'll keep an eye on it. Make it clear first, if they catch him, I have to get one of Xu Lin's houses first..."

After speaking, Yi Zhonghai, too lazy to pay any more attention to Jia Zhangshi, waved his hand and turned to leave. Jia Zhangshi, seeing this, immediately stepped forward and grabbed Yi Zhonghai's trousers.

"Old Yi! Old Yi! Don't go! You've come all this way, why are you going back now? Play for a while before you leave."

"You son of a bitch, you just got beaten up today and you're already getting all worked up. You're a bit of a jerk, aren't you? You need to get back at me."

Yi Zhonghai waved his hand in refusal again and pulled Jia Zhangshi away. Jia Zhangshi, however, became even more determined.

"You shameless bastard! Have you been bewitched by that vixen Tan from the backyard? You look down on me now! You weren't like this when I came into the yard. You would struggle for a while just to get a vegetable..."

Yi Zhonghai was somewhat embarrassed and angry when he heard Jia Zhangshi mention the past. "You know it was when you first came to this courtyard. Look at you now, so lazy and greedy, and as fat as can be! You need to get yourself fixed!"

Seeing that force wasn't working, Jia Zhangshi lowered her voice again, "Old Yi, you're not feeling well today, can't I do it myself? Just stand up, don't bother..."

"You son of a bitch!"

"Come on, come on..."

Yi Zhonghai was also helpless. If it weren't for the fact that Jia Zhangshi, who was always idle, could keep an eye on Xu Lin, he would never have come here today.

And so, Yi Zhonghai reluctantly submitted to Jia Zhangshi...

On the other side, Jia Dongxu, Shazhu, and Xu Damao were already on their way back to the courtyard.

"Dongxu, you're not doing well either! Did Xu Lin beat you up? You've only been watching me and Shazhu struggle..." Xu Damao said, trying to get to the heart of Jia Dongxu. Shazhu, on the other hand, was still reminiscing about the fight and didn't notice what Xu Damao was saying.

"Get lost! I already said I'm not going, I'm not going. I've been too tired lately, and with what happened at the hospital today, I simply don't have the energy for this," Jia Dongxu argued, his face flushed and neck red.

But he himself was starting to worry. This had been going on for more than a day or two. Ever since he'd fought with the two of them all night, he hadn't thought about his crotch at all, and hadn't paid much attention to it. It wasn't until today, when he still couldn't get to the battlefield, that he started to get anxious. But he couldn't lose face, so he stubbornly made up excuses.

Little did he know that his own mother, fearing he would squander the family fortune and ruin his health by going out and having affairs, had listened to his stepfather Yi Zhonghai's deception and given him a drug to reduce his desires. Coincidentally, Jia Zhangshi, wanting to save trouble, added three days' worth of the dosage to Jia Dongxu's food in one day, making it even stronger, which resulted in him becoming impotent...

Xu Damao curled his lip in disdain upon hearing Jia Dongxu's explanation. Sha Zhu, still lost in thought, simply imagined the protagonist, Widow Chen, to resemble Qin Huairu.

"How about we go back and launch a surprise attack?" Sha Zhu suddenly blurted out. Xu Damao and Jia Dongxu were both taken aback.

"Silly Zhu, are you really stupid? With your skills, you could have finished in no time. Widow Chen wasn't even ready yet, and you were already up and running back. Go back and do some handiwork yourself." Xu Damao continued his steady delivery of insightful remarks, and Silly Zhu, hearing Xu Damao's words, became indignant.

"That's still better than you. You spent ages doing that until the end, and people were wondering what you were doing all that time, not even going in..."

Xu Damao was deeply hurt by Sha Zhu's words and instantly became furious.

"You! You're talking nonsense."

Taking the opportunity to get revenge, Jia Dongxu added, "I heard it too. Widow Chen's sister even asked, 'What are you loitering around at the door for? Why aren't you going in?'"

"Hahahaha!" Jia Dongxu finished speaking, and Sha Zhu and he both burst into loud laughter. Xu Damao wanted to argue, but after thinking about it, he decided to just let it go. He was better than both of them anyway; they were just envious...

After the three returned to Sha Zhu's house, Xu Damao went back to the backyard, while Jia Dongxu wanted to stay overnight at Sha Zhu's place, fearing that, like last time, his mother, Jia Zhangshi, would find out and bombard him with endless questions.

Xu Damao hadn't even reached his doorstep when he felt the urge to urinate. Looking around the empty yard, he headed straight for the corner where the cellar was.

Just as he was about to pull down his pants, he noticed the cellar door was open, and he could hear faint noises coming from inside. Xu Damao was about to shout when it suddenly dawned on him, "Wait a minute, someone's sneaking around having sex in the middle of the night!"

So, forgetting all about urinating, he excitedly ran back to Sha Zhu's house, tiptoed through the door, and rushed to the two of them, almost incoherent with excitement.

"Shazhu, Dongxu, wake up! Get dressed and come with me! Something terrible has happened..."