Siheyuan: I will never tolerate gambling and drugs!

Yi Zhonghai's house, east wing of the central courtyard.

"Old Yi, this can't just end like this. That little bastard Xu Lin stole our Jia family's daughter-in-law and completely disregards you three managers. Now even Xu Damao and his gang of young men are getting arrogant. You need to step up and come up with a plan!" Jia Zhangshi glared with her small, triangular eyes, her face full of bitterness as she complained endlessly to Yi Zhonghai, Liu Haizhong, and Yan Bugui.

"Alright, alright, you don't need to say that. It's already annoying enough. Can't you see the three of us with bruises and swelling every few days? I'd pay you to ruin him!" Yan Bugui, sitting opposite Jia Zhangshi, retorted with disgust after being sprayed in the face by her.

Liu Haizhong and Yi Zhonghai were smoking cigarettes on the side. The four of them sat around the table in silence. Yi Zhonghai's wife, Zhou Jinzhi, sat to the side. Seeing the four of them together again, she frowned and muttered to herself, "These four unlucky bastards, they get beaten black and blue by Xu Lin every day, why don't they learn their lesson..."

After a moment of silence, Jia Zhangshi remembered the task Yi Zhonghai had given her to spy on him when they were having an affair in the vegetable cellar. Unable to hold back any longer, she spoke first, "How about I spy on Xu Lin outside his house every night? I refuse to believe that little bastard is so clean. He eats and drinks the best food every day, and he's so close to a house full of women—how could he be clean! I refuse to believe that Xu Lin didn't have an affair with Tan Shi, and that Qin Huairu is definitely no good either..."

The people present were all stunned when they heard the words "cheating" come out of Jia Zhangshi's mouth.

Liu Haizhong and Yan Bugui felt that today, it seemed that Xu Lin had accused Jia Zhangshi of having an affair with someone in the courtyard, and you hadn't said a word in rebuttal. How could you say such righteous indignation about others now?

Yi Zhonghai glanced at Jia Zhangshi with some annoyance, thinking that she was really brainless for bringing up such a sensitive topic.

Yi Zhonghai's wife, Zhou Jinzhi, looked at Yi Zhonghai and Jia Zhangshi with suspicion. She hadn't known about Yi Zhonghai sneaking out late at night last time, but she knew he had returned and been rummaging through drawers taking money.

She asked Yi Zhonghai about it, and he said that Jia Dongxu wanted to borrow money to get married. Although she was a little curious as to why Jia Dongxu would come to borrow money in the middle of the night, she thought that Jia Dongxu was Yi Zhonghai's apprentice, someone she and Yi Zhonghai had watched grow up. Yi Zhonghai was counting on Jia Dongxu to support them in their old age, a fact that the two families had already discussed. Borrowing money wouldn't warrant coming over in the middle of the night, would it?

However, thinking it might be due to pride and fear of being seen during the day, she didn't think much of it and went back to sleep. It wasn't until today, when she heard Xu Lin say that Jia Zhangshi was having an affair with a man in the courtyard, that she became somewhat alert and suspicious. Now that Jia Zhangshi had brought it up again, she immediately began to observe the three people in front of her.

Yi Zhonghai also noticed Zhou Jinzhi's gaze, so he quickly changed the subject, "That's the only thing we can do. Last time, the three of us spent a whole day staking out the place, and although we didn't catch him red-handed, we still found something. The footprint that Lao Yan saw must have been left by Xu Lin and Tan Shi when they were having an affair. Now, with Jia Zhang Shi watching the second half of the night, and the three of us taking turns watching the first half, I don't believe we can't catch him red-handed."

Hearing Yi Zhonghai's words, Liu Haizhong and Yan Bugui perked up. Ever since Xu Lin arrived in this courtyard, it seemed as if he was specifically there to deal with the three of them. Nothing they did went smoothly, and they were constantly bruised and battered. The authority and prestige they had built up over the years had all been shattered by that brat Xu Lin's punches and kicks.

Especially Liu Haizhong, who used to beat his son, now gets chills when he sees the look in his son's eyes when he whips him with a belt. Before, if it were Liu Haizhong, he would have gotten more and more excited as he hit his son, afraid that he wouldn't get his satisfaction if the beating wasn't hard enough.

"Okay, let's do it this way!"

Liu Hai, harboring resentment towards Xu Lin, gritted his teeth and nodded in response. Yan Bugui, on the other hand, wholeheartedly agreed; he was the one who initially instigated this.

"Then let's start today. I'll do the first half of the night, and Jia Zhangshi will do the second half. Lao Liu and Lao Yi, you two should rest and recover today. Lao Liu, you can come tomorrow. Lao Yi's face still hasn't healed for some reason, let him rest for a couple more days."

Yan Bugui also volunteered to take on the first day's duties, but he didn't expect that the second half of his words would truly strike a chord with Yi Zhonghai. If we were to discuss who among the three younger generation lacked authority, Yi Zhonghai would definitely be number one. There was nothing he could do; it was Jia Zhangshi who insisted. Now, Yi Zhonghai regretted it, thinking, "Damn it, I was the one who was forced into this!"

Zhou Jinzhi couldn't hear these thoughts, but if she had, she would have definitely had a classic exchange.

Zhou Jinzhi: "Why did it take so long?"

Yi Zhonghai: "She insisted on..."

Zhou Jinzhi: "You gave it to me?"

Yi Zhonghai: "She insisted!"

Zhou Jinzhi: "You had to give it to me? Who told you to give it to me! Didn't I tell you?!"

Yi Zhonghai: "I told her I wasn't coming! She said she was already here, so I said I'd save it for her, and she kept pestering me for a long time."

Zhou Jinzhi: "And then?"

Yi Zhonghai's shy demeanor...

Zhou Jinzhi: "Say something! And then?"

Yi Zhonghai smiled without saying a word.

Zhou Jinzhi deceived herself: "Hahaha, it didn't work! It didn't work! Hahaha."

.......

In the dead of night, in the corridor outside Xu Lin's house in the west wing of the front yard...

"Old Yan~ Old Yan~"

Jia Zhangshi furtively shuffled along her short, thick legs and stealthily found Yan Bugui, who was keeping watch.

"How's it going, Lao Yan! Any noise in the first half of the night? Is that brat still home?"

"He should still be there. Earlier, Tan and Qin Huairu tidied up his room before going back to the backyard. He hasn't come out since he closed the door, and there's been no movement from the window of the back room either." Yan Bugui whispered to Jia Zhangshi, also acting suspiciously.

"That little bastard, if I catch him, I'll make sure he and his mistress, Tan, are paraded through the streets!" Jia Zhangshi cursed as she looked in the direction of Xu Lin's house.

Standing behind Jia Zhangshi, Yan Bugui saw Jia Zhangshi, dressed in thin clothes, sticking out her big buttocks and keeping watch. He immediately became interested and asked Jia Zhangshi in a lewd manner, "Xiao Hua, there's no one around now. Tell me who your lover is. I want to learn from him and have some questions."

When Jia Zhangshi heard Yan Bugui call her by her childhood nickname, which hadn't been used in many years, she felt a little dazed for a moment. But when she saw Yan Bugui's old, wrinkled face approaching, she instantly lost her appetite. "Exchange my ass! Ask about the Dao? Ask about what! What are you trying to show me with your little tricks? When I first came to this courtyard, you bunch of young rascals were all hanging around me every day. If it weren't for you guys asking me to drink every few days, would I have been scared to death by people coming to collect debts after losing money gambling?"

"Hey, Xiaohua, you're not right. Old Jia didn't drink the day he lost the betting," Yan Bugui argued.

"I don't care! It's all your fault that I've been a widow for so many years! Now, because some little brat who just came into the courtyard made up a few words about me, you all believe I'm having an affair! Why is my life so miserable!"

Seeing that Jia Zhangshi was about to cry and fearing that the noise would wake people, Yan Bugui quickly grabbed Jia Zhangshi's hand and pulled her aside.

"Little Flower, don't cry. Brother Yan was wrong, okay? Brother Yan shouldn't have believed that little bastard Xu Lin's rumors. If you're still angry, hit Brother Yan a few times, and Brother Yan definitely won't utter a sound."

When Jia Zhangshi heard Yan Bugui say this, she was amused and said, "Get out of here, you old rascal. You're almost fifty years old and you're still calling yourself Brother Yan. Do you still think you're a young man?"

Seeing that things were looking promising, Yan Bugui didn't let go of the hand he had just been holding. "Xiaohua, you've been alone for so many years. It's not good to keep it all bottled up like this. Why don't you talk to your brother Yan more?"

When Jia Zhangshi heard Yan Bugui say this, she spat inwardly. With your shrewd and stingy ways, I'd probably have to pay you to help. Then she rolled her triangular eyes and said, "What's there to talk about with you? Dongxu and I, a widow and orphan, were almost starving to death, and you didn't lift a finger to help us."

Yan Bugui understood the implication in Jia Zhangshi's words, but he wasn't annoyed. He chuckled twice and said, "Well, Cuilan was also pregnant at the time, so it was indeed difficult for her. But now, we can help out..."

Upon hearing Yan Bugui's words, and recalling Yi Zhonghai's lack of success last time, Jia Zhangshi remarked out of the blue, "I've been busy arranging a wife for Jia Dongxu lately, but we haven't had any food for days..."

Yan Bugui immediately understood Jia Zhangshi's meaning. After looking around to make sure no one was around, he put his hand into his pants and took out two cents from the pocket of his shorts in front of Jia Zhangshi.

"There's everything here. That should be enough to buy some meat and have a good meal."

Jia Zhangshi didn't mind at all. Before Yan Bugui could finish speaking, she grabbed the two cents, stuffed them into her pocket, and headed for the backyard.

"Huh? No? Xiaohua, what do you mean by this?" Yan Bugui immediately became furious. Could it be that you're trying to scam me out of my money!

When Jia Zhangshi heard Yan Bugui's words, she was also dumbfounded by Yan Bugui's stupidity.

"Stop talking nonsense and keep up! Do you think this is a stage for a grand opera performance, something you can put on in the yard..."

Yan Bugui immediately understood and followed with a beaming smile, saying as they walked, "Xiaohua is so thoughtful, she listens to everything you say."

As Jia Zhangshi passed by Yi Zhonghai's house, she was also tempted.

"Zhonghai, this isn't my fault, Lao Yan insisted on it."

Yi Zhonghai: "You'd give it to him just because he wants it?"

Yi Zhonghai: "Speak!"