Courtyard House: The Fisherman Never Goes Sick

"That kid Yang Wei, eating all by himself again this morning! He's probably going to choke on his braised pork today!"

"He's bound to fall into a ditch and die on his way to work!"

"You'd be killed by the machines if you went to the factory!"

"Even if he doesn't die, he should be fired from the factory!"

The two of them were spitting and cursing at each other, their voices rising very high.

The fact that I've ended up looking like this, neither human nor ghost, is all thanks to Yang Wei.

They come back early in the morning and can't even get a hot meal, yet they're being tempted with braised pork. Isn't this clearly targeting the Jia family?

In the past, Jia Dongxu would have picked up an axe and chopped down Yang Wei's door long ago. Now, crippled and bedridden, he can only be a "keyboard warrior," glaring and fuming helplessly.

"I'm hungry...I want to eat meat..." Bang Geng groaned hoarsely, so hungry that he was too weak to even roll around.

Xiao Dang and Xiao Huaihua were already fast asleep from hunger, their stomachs rumbling loudly, and they probably wouldn't last much longer before waking up.

Qin Huairu frowned and remained silent, stirring the flour in the pot.

Not only was he hungry, but the house also stank, and there was a mountain of chores to clean up, the broken bed to repair, and on top of that, he owed He Yuzhu and Yi Zhonghai money. Although he had no intention of paying it back, the feeling of being in debt was still unbearable. Sigh, how was he going to live like this?

Not only were the Jia family green with envy, but He Yuzhu and Yi Zhonghai, who had just returned home and hadn't even had a bite to eat, were also furious. That kid Yang Wei was deliberately tempting them when they were hungry; he was utterly heartless!

But what can you do? You can only mutter a few words to vent your anger.

Yang Wei had no idea about any of this. He happily finished the last bite of braised pork, wiped his mouth, and went to work.

Having traveled to this era of scarcity, I actually found life quite enjoyable.

Working as a level-three fitter in the factory meant doing all the technical work. The fitter's skills were truly impressive; he was able to do the work with ease, unlike before when he was so tired he couldn't straighten his back.

Before Yang Wei knew it, it was time to leave work. As soon as he entered his home, Yu Li came to clean again.

She still has that same diligent spirit, wiping every nook and cranny several times.

After finishing his work, Yang Wei grabbed two handfuls of candy and stuffed them into her hands, then gently pinched her back; it felt incredibly solid.

Yu Li's pretty face flushed red instantly, and like a frightened cat, she turned and ran away.

No sooner had Yu Li left than Yang Wei spotted a fat old woman rushing aggressively toward his home; it was Jia Zhangshi.

I reckon they're here to seek "justice" for their family's hospitalization last night.

But she recovered way too quickly?

Yang Wei heard everything clearly last night, even though he has excellent hearing now, and he couldn't help but feel uneasy.

"Yang Wei, you heartless scoundrel! You made us eat the shrimp heads, causing your whole family to get food poisoning!"

"You'll die a horrible death; you'll be struck by lightning sooner or later!"

As soon as Jia Zhangshi came over, she put her hands on her hips, pointed at Yang Wei, and started cursing, spitting all over the place. Yang Wei didn't even bother to lift his eyelids and didn't respond at all.

Seeing that she couldn't provoke him, Jia Zhangshi rolled on the ground and started throwing a tantrum: "Everyone, young and old, come and see! Yang Wei deliberately used poisonous shrimp heads to cheat our Jia family, causing everyone to vomit and have diarrhea!"

"This heartless bastard deserves to be struck by lightning!"

"He has to pay for the tens of yuan he spent at the hospital! Not only medical expenses, but also compensation for emotional distress!"

"At least a hundred dollars! If he doesn't pay, I, Jia Zhangshi, will haunt him even in death!"

"Old man, you died young, and now Yang Wei is bullying us orphans and widows..."

"This is unreasonable! This is unreasonable! I won't live without paying you back!"

"Waaaaah... Ahhh..."

Her voice was as loud as a broken gong, and the courtyard immediately erupted in chaos. The doors of every household creaked open as everyone poked their heads out to see what was going on.

Yang Wei originally wanted to raise his hand and slap her twice; he had long been familiar with this old hag's ability to throw a tantrum.

But then I thought, actually taking action would be a bad move, making me look like I only know how to use brute force.

It would be better to lure her out and let the whole hospital judge the matter. It's not too late to deal with her after the truth is clear.

The first to rush over were Yi Zhonghai, Liu Haizhong, and He Yuzhu.

Yi Zhonghai and He Yuzhu were embarrassed by Yang Wei yesterday and were holding their anger in. Liu Haizhong was just passing by when he saw Jia Zhangshi making a scene. He thought that Yang Wei had made him lose the game, lose face, and even lose five yuan. If he didn't kick her while she was down, when would he?

"I don't want to live anymore! Yang Wei poisoned us... and he won't even pay compensation..." Seeing that someone was backing her up, Jia Zhangshi rolled around even more wildly, her voice hoarse from shouting.

Yang Wei was secretly amazed. This old woman had been up all night yesterday, yet she was still able to jump around today. It seemed she was well-fed and had a strong constitution.

"Yang Wei, you're too ruthless!" Yi Zhonghai poked him, his face dark. "Knowing the shrimp heads were poisonous, you still let the Jia family eat them, almost killing them!"

"Exactly!" He Yuzhu chimed in, "If it weren't for you last night, would Qin Huairu have been crying from diarrhea? Jia Dongxu's stench almost knocked me out! And afterwards, he didn't even take her to the hospital. Have you no conscience?"

"Now you won't even pay for medical expenses, are you even human?"

Liu Haizhong also joined in, speaking in a sarcastic tone: "I never expected that you, Yang Wei, would harbor such insidious thoughts, poisoning the entire Jia family!" He couldn't wait to crush Yang Wei into the mud.

"Don't be so quick to label me." Yang Wei stood with his arms crossed, his tone calm. "You keep saying I ruined the Jia family, but do you have any evidence?"

"Do I need evidence?" He Yuzhu sneered. "Yesterday, the Jia family ate the shrimp heads you gave them, and they're so sick they can't stand up straight!" He remembered Qin Huairu's red eyes from crying, and he got angrier and angrier as he spoke.

"I threw away the shrimp heads, so I bear some responsibility," Yi Zhonghai said sternly, as if Yang Wei owed him eight hundred strings of cash. "But isn't the main responsibility yours?"

"Then let me ask you two," Yang Wei raised an eyebrow, "if someone broke into your house, grabbed your knife, and slit their own throat, would you be held responsible?"

"Of course not!" He Yuzhu said without hesitation. "That was their own fault, what business is it of ours!"

"That's right." Yang Wei laughed. "The shrimp heads were the trash I threw away. Jia Zhangshi picked them up and ate them herself. How can you blame me for the food poisoning?"

He Yuzhu opened his mouth, but then fell silent.

"Exactly!" Yu Li came over with her shopping basket. "Yang Wei threw them away, but the Jia family picked them up themselves. Why blame him?" She had received some milk candy from Yang Wei yesterday and was still thinking about how good he was to her.

Yan Bugui, leaning on his cane, also came out. Seeing Yi Zhonghai and the other two surrounding Yang Wei, he was so angry that his beard stood on end: "You three old fools! Yang Wei threw the shrimp heads in the trash heap, and the Jia family picked them up and ate them themselves. Whose fault is that?"

"He brought it on himself!" He jabbed at his cane. "It's the same logic as what Yang Wei said about committing suicide with a knife. He asked for it himself, what business is it of anyone else's!"

Yan Bugui was still cursing when He Yushui came out of the house carrying a cloth bag and interjected, "Third Uncle is right. It was clearly the Jia family's own doing. What does it have to do with Yang Wei?"

"Rain, get back inside!" He Yuzhu's brows furrowed, his voice as cold as ice.

"Brother, I just can't stand by and watch!" He Yushui slung the cloth bag over her arm. "The Jia family got poisoned after picking up food they shouldn't have, and you guys are turning around and blaming Yang Wei, trying to extort money from them? Dream on!"

"You," He Yuzhu was so angry that his nose was flaring up. He never thought that his own sister would publicly help someone he considered an "outsider" and even talk back to him.

Lou Xiao'e also poked her head out from next door, frowning as she chimed in, "Jia Zhangshi, you've created your own mess and you want to blame Yang Wei? You want compensation? Have you no shame! Sha Zhu, Uncle Yi, you've gone too far!"

Yi Zhonghai and Sha Zhu turned pale on the spot, but they couldn't refute it: it was clearly the Jia family who picked up the shrimp heads themselves, what did it have to do with Yang Wei throwing away the garbage?

It's like Yang Wei throwing a knife on the roadside, and Jia Zhangshi picking it up and cutting herself. You can't blame the knife's owner, can you?

"When did Yang Wei get so many people backing him? Even Yan Bugui is on his side?"

Yi Zhonghai was puzzled, but then changed his tone and used moral pressure: "That's true, but this whole mess started because of you littering! The Jia family is in such a state, don't you have any compassion? Yang Wei, pay them a couple of cents to help them out, consider it an act of kindness!"

Goodness, this old man truly lives up to his name; his moral blackmail tactics are so sophisticated that even Yang Wei is impressed.

"That's right!" He Yuzhu quickly chimed in, "If it weren't for the shrimp heads you threw, would the Jia family be in the hospital? Look at Bang Geng, he's completely stunned, and Jia Zhangshi is so thin she looks unrecognizable!"

"Pay me money! If you don't pay me money, I'll haunt you as a ghost!" Jia Zhangshi sat up, glaring, spitting all over the floor.

……

"Yang Wei, you heartless bastard! I'll haunt you even in death if you don't pay me back!" Jia Zhangshi rolled on the ground again, her tantrums so loud that even the chickens in the yard bristled.

"How about I slap you across the face?" Yang Wei raised his hand as if to slap him.

Jia Zhangshi was so frightened that she jumped up with a scream and hid far away. The slap had been too hard, and half of her face was still swollen.

"Yang Wei, you've gone too far!" Yi Zhonghai roared, hands on his hips. "The Jia family is in such a state, and you still dare to lay a hand on them?"

"Yi Zhonghai, you're playing moral blackmail, aren't you? Then I'll make sure you have no face to show in the courtyard!" Yang Wei sneered inwardly, but remained outwardly calm.

"Yi Zhonghai, I usually address you respectfully as 'Master,' but your hypocritical demeanor is no different from that of a scoundrel." He stared into Yi Zhonghai's eyes. "You're so protective of Jia Zhangshi; could it be that you're having an affair with her?"

"What nonsense are you spouting!" Yi Zhonghai's face flushed red, and he almost jumped up. "If I have anything to do with Jia Zhangshi, may I be struck by lightning! If you keep talking nonsense, I'll report you for defamation!"

"Sue me?" Yang Wei raised an eyebrow. "Then tell me, who got up in the middle of the night last night to carry Jia Zhangshi to the hospital? You're as skinny as a monkey, while Jia Zhangshi is as fat as a steamed bun. Could you carry her without some 'true love'? Why didn't Second Uncle and Third Uncle have this awareness? Oh, so only your First Uncle is 'upright and selfless,' protecting the Jia family exclusively?"

Yi Zhonghai was speechless, his face turning pale and then red. He admitted that he had carried Jia Zhangshi on his back last night, but that was to avoid taking responsibility, not out of any "true love." But could he say that? It would be even more shameful if word got out!

Sha Zhu frowned as he listened, Lou Xiao'e covered her mouth and chuckled, while He Yushui gave Yang Wei a thumbs up. That counterattack was ruthless!

No sooner had Yang Wei finished speaking than Yan Bugui chimed in, "That's right! My third uncle has always been upright and selfless, so why haven't I seen him get up in the middle of the night? Why haven't I seen him carry Jia Zhangshi on his back?"

"I think you're really interested in Jia Zhangshi. You might have been having an affair with her all along!" Yan Bugui slapped his thigh and laughed.

Liu Haizhong chuckled and chimed in, "That makes sense. Why didn't my second uncle move around in the middle of the night?" He was just looking forward to a good show. Anyway, he wasn't the one being talked about. He was more than happy to see his second uncle suffer a setback.

"You...you're just being unreasonable!" Yi Zhonghai was so angry his mustache stood on end. "It's late at night and nobody's around. If I don't carry it, who else can I ask to carry it?"

"And..." Yang Wei cleared his throat, pausing deliberately.

"Anything else?" Everyone's ears perked up.

"What else?" Yi Zhonghai's heart tightened; he hadn't expected this kid to be so quick-witted.

"The Jia family's hospital visit must have cost a lot, right? Did your uncle pay a lot of money out of his own pocket?" Yang Wei asked slowly.

"Of course!" Yi Zhonghai said, head held high, a smug look on his face.

"If you didn't really care, would you be willing to give up so much? Besides, you know the Jia family can't possibly pay it back, yet you still gritted your teeth and covered it. What else could that be but true love?" Yang Wei smiled and looked around. "Everyone, tell me, isn't that right?"

Yan Bugui raised his voice even louder: "My third uncle is dirt poor, when has Yi Zhonghai ever given me a single penny? It's clear he truly loves Jia Zhangshi, they're definitely having an affair!"

"Yes, he never gave it to me!"

"My family was poor too, we never benefited from anything!"

Many people nodded in agreement; they had indeed never received any benefits from Yi Zhonghai. Madam Jia remained silent, but her eyes gleamed. If she could truly establish a connection with this old man, wouldn't the family fortune rightfully belong to her?

"Old man, your hypocrisy is just the tip of the iceberg," Yang Wei pressed his advantage, "There's more to the story!"

"Spit it out!" Yi Zhonghai sneered.

"When I first came to the courtyard, Jia Zhangshi wanted to seize my uncle's family property. You, on the contrary, directly sided with her, wanting my uncle's life's work to fall into their hands."

"Tell me, isn't this hypocrisy? Isn't this having an affair with Jia Zhangshi?" Yang Wei's tone was filled with suppressed anger. If it weren't for his memories of his past life, he would have been tricked and killed by these people long ago.

"Yang Wei is absolutely right!" Yan Bugui immediately chimed in, "Back then, you openly helped the Jia family swallow my brother's inheritance!" He saw it with his own eyes.

"I remember now, that's what happened."

"It was clearly left to Yang Wei by his uncle, so why should the Jia family take it?"

"This old man even used the 'Jia family's difficulties' as a pretext, making it sound very respectable, but it's completely unfounded!"

The more they talked, the more enthusiastic they became. At first, they were hesitant to speak because they didn't know Yang Wei well, but now that they saw how genuine he was, they opened up and started talking freely.

"So, this old man is a hypocrite, and he definitely has something going on with Jia Zhangshi!" Yang Wei concluded definitively.

"You..." Yi Zhonghai's face turned a deep purplish-red, and he trembled with rage. "Yang Wei, you're spouting nonsense! I'm going to sue you, call the police to arrest you, and sue you for defamation!" He wanted nothing more than to punch Yang Wei on the spot. If he hadn't been wary of the other man's youth and strength, he would have pounced on him long ago.

"Sir, please make yourself at home." Yang Wei raised the corner of his mouth.

"Fine, you just wait!" Yi Zhonghai said threateningly and turned to leave. But everyone noticed that he didn't leave the yard; instead, he slipped home and didn't dare to actually call the police.

"Could it be that what Yang Wei said is true? Is Yi Zhonghai really that hypocritical? Is he really having an affair with Jia Zhangshi?" Many people wondered to themselves.

"Now that we've talked about the old man, let's talk about you, silly Zhu." Yang Wei turned and looked at He Yuzhu with a smile.

"What's wrong with me?" He Yuzhu asked, taken aback.