Courtyard House: A Prosperous and Joyful Life

Fans of multiverse/infinite world novels? Come discover more exciting content!

"Dude! I'm a normal person, not mentally ill. I'm waiting for someone here!" Bang Geng quickly shouted, afraid of being taken to the hospital. If he really ended up in a mental hospital, he would lose face big time, and it would be uncertain whether he would keep his job.

The two well-meaning bystanders were skeptical. "Isn't that what they show on TV? All the mentally ill people claim to be normal." Bang Geng, in a panic, pulled out his work ID and explained with gestures for a long time before the two finally left, looking back several times.

I checked my watch, it was 8:20, and there was still no sign of the deliveryman.

"It's been over twenty minutes, where is everyone?" Bang Geng was panicking. He had invested over eight thousand in this business; six thousand of it was the money Qin Huairu and Yi Zhonghai had given him to open a restaurant, and the remaining two thousand was borrowed from colleagues at work. He had treated them to several drinks to borrow the money. He really hoped nothing went wrong!

He waited from eight o'clock to eleven o'clock, a full three hours, the cold wind making his face sting with tears and snot, but the deliveryman still didn't show up.

"Why isn't it here yet? Did the car break down? Yes, it must be the car that broke down..." Bang Geng wiped his nose while trying to reassure himself. He wasn't stupid; he had sensed something was wrong long ago, but he dared not think the worst.

As he was shivering, a policeman rode up on a motorcycle: "Comrade, you've been standing here for most of the day, what's wrong? Tell me."

Upon seeing the police, Bang Geng's heart skipped a beat. If he confessed to smuggling imported color TVs, he would immediately be in jail. But he couldn't refuse to talk to the police; and if he stood there for so long, he would be even worse off if he were arrested as a spy.

He had no choice but to bite the bullet and say, "Officer, I bought a color TV from someone, and they said it would be delivered at eight o'clock, but I haven't seen anyone yet..."

Before he could finish speaking, the police officer understood immediately: "Did the other party say they could get their hands on imported large-screen TVs cheaply and resell them for a profit? Comrade, you've been scammed. That's a fraud; the deliveryman will never come!"

Bang Geng's mind went blank. His lips trembled as he stammered, "Officer, you...you must have made a mistake? He doesn't seem like a conman..."

The police officer chuckled upon hearing this and said, "That's right, several people have been scammed recently, and their situations are similar to yours. So, you've definitely been scammed."

Upon hearing this, Bang Geng felt dizzy and collapsed to the ground. The flashy trench coat he had worn to impress others was now completely soaked in mud, and the ground beneath him was icy cold.

But Bang Geng didn't care about the cold at all. His mind was buzzing with one thought: over eight thousand yuan! All gone! How was he going to explain this to his family?

He only earns fifty or sixty yuan a month. Even if he doesn't eat or drink, he can only save six hundred yuan a year. This eight thousand three hundred yuan is thirteen years' worth of his salary! What's worse, more than two thousand yuan of it was borrowed from colleagues. If he can't pay it back, where will he put his face at work? Will he be able to keep his job?

Banggeng panicked, muttering incoherently, "Impossible, impossible... I saw the customs approval document with my own eyes, how could it be fake?"

The police officer patiently explained, "The approval document is fake, and the official seal is fake too. These days, you can find any seal-making shop on the street to make one. You're still too young and inexperienced. Alright, accept reality. By the way, how much money did you lose in total?"

Bang Geng's mind had completely blanked out at that moment, and he subconsciously answered, "Eight thousand three hundred dollars..."

When the police officer heard this, his eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. These days, a "ten-thousand-yuan household" is a rare sight; this guy, on the other hand, had been swindled out of almost ten thousand yuan? This was a major case!

The police officer's expression turned serious: "Comrade, your case involves a huge sum of money, we must take it seriously. Come with us back to the station to file a case."

Banggeng, as if grasping at a lifeline, quickly followed them to the police station. After giving his statement, Banggeng asked with a pained expression, "Officer, is there any way to get this money back? I borrowed it all, and if I can't get it back, I'll..."

The police officer sighed and said frankly, "We can't guarantee anything. The swindler has already disappeared with so much money. We will do our best to catch him, but you also need to be prepared that even if we catch him, he will probably have squandered most of the money."

Banggeng understood; what he meant was that the money was in jeopardy.

In that instant, Bang Geng felt a chill run through him, as if all his strength had been drained. His vision went black, and he collapsed to the ground, completely dazed, unresponsive to any calls.

The police officer shook his head upon seeing this. He had seen many cases of people fainting due to severe trauma; some elderly people had even been sent directly to the hospital after being scammed out of their money.

"Comrade Jia Banggeng, you don't seem to be feeling well. Let me take you home; it's on my way anyway."

As he spoke, the police officer helped the distraught Banggeng onto the sidecar of the Changjiang 750 motorcycle, tied his bicycle to the side, and started the motorcycle, heading towards Tongluo Lane.

At that moment, a group of middle-aged women were chatting idly at the entrance of the courtyard. When they saw the police officers "returning" the stick to their homes on a motorcycle, their eyes lit up instantly, and their spirits lifted immediately!

Their keen sense of smell told them that there was more juicy gossip to come!

"What's going on? What happened to Bang Geng? Tsk tsk tsk, the police brought him back, it must be something big!" A group of aunties and grandmas followed the police car, running and talking, all of them full of energy, afraid of missing a single piece of gossip.

A police car pulled up in front of Qin Huairu's house in the Intermediate People's Court. The officers helped the dazed Banggeng out of the car. Seeing her grandson return in a police car, Jia Zhangshi was terrified and rushed out to support him. Seeing Banggeng's disoriented state, Jia Zhangshi burst into tears: "Grandson, what's wrong with you? Say something!"

The elderly women who had gathered immediately surrounded the police officer, bombarding him with questions. The officer explained, "Comrade Banggeng was scammed out of over 8,000 yuan, which has taken a toll on his mental health, causing him to be in this state. He'll be fine after some rest."

"How many slaps?"

The crowd was stunned for a moment, then erupted into a flurry of discussion.

"Wang Jun, don't give me any rash advice. If something bad happens, can you take the responsibility?"

"Exactly, Bang Geng is mentally ill now. If you hit him, isn't that bullying him?"

"However... come to think of it, I seem to have heard this saying of Wang Jun's before back in my hometown. What was it called, something like 'a lucky break' or 'a terrifying experience'?"

Wang Jun, seeing the skeptical looks in everyone's eyes, chuckled confidently: "You don't understand, this is called stimulation therapy. Bang Geng is stuck in a rut, isolating himself. Only by giving him a greater stimulus, even pain, can we wake him up. Don't believe me? Anyone want to try?"

Upon hearing this, Yi Zhonghai frowned. Although he was utterly disappointed in Bang Geng and even felt sorry for his four thousand yuan investment, he couldn't just watch Bang Geng continue down this path of folly. If he really did become foolish, wouldn't all the four thousand yuan he invested be completely wasted? Without even a whiff of it?

Thinking of this, Yi Zhonghai said in a deep voice, "Wang Jun, this is no laughing matter. Bang Geng is in this state now; if he gets beaten again, what if..."

"Uncle, you're too soft-hearted." Wang Jun curled his lip, took a step forward, looked at Bang Geng sitting on the stool with a blank stare and drool even dripping from the corner of his mouth, and shook his head. "Look at this pathetic state, where is his usual arrogant and domineering demeanor? Eight thousand yuan scared the soul out of him?"

Jia Zhangshi was still groaning on the ground. Hearing that Wang Jun was going to hit her grandson, although she was heartbroken, her protective instincts were still there. She struggled to get up, saying, "Who dares to hit my grandson... I'll fight him to the death..."

"Alright! Save your energy, old man!" Wang Jun waved his hand impatiently. "If it weren't for the sake of being neighbors, I wouldn't bother with this. Bang Geng has been swindled out of his money; if he's also mentally unstable, how will he support your family of elderly, weak, and disabled people in the future?"

Upon hearing this, Jia Zhangshi felt as if a thorn had been pierced in her lungs. She was about to unleash a torrent of curses, but suddenly choked back tears, followed by an even more heart-wrenching wail: "My life is so miserable... all the money is gone... my grandson has gone stupid... I can't live like this anymore..."

Yi Zhonghai sighed, looking at Bang Geng's nonchalant attitude, and his anger flared up. What he hated most in his life was a lack of ambition, and Bang Geng's performance had utterly disappointed him.

"Let's give it a try, it's better than being a fool." Yi Zhonghai gritted his teeth, as if he had made up his mind, and turned to look at Yan Bugui beside him, "Old Yan, what do you think of this..."

Yan Bugui pushed up his glasses, his shrewd little eyes darting around, and immediately took a step back: "Uncle, I'm not getting involved in this. What if Banggeng wakes up and comes looking for trouble, saying I hit him? Who am I going to complain to? Besides, I don't know how much force I'm using."

Seeing this, Yi Zhonghai could only shake his head helplessly, his gaze sweeping across the crowd before finally landing on Sha Zhu. But Sha Zhu wasn't there today; he was probably still at the factory working and hadn't returned yet.

"Alright, I'll do it." Although Yi Zhonghai was old, he was still a respected elder and needed to maintain his authority in the courtyard. He rolled up his sleeves, walked over to Bang Geng, and said in a stern voice, "Bang Geng! Wake up! That's eight thousand yuan, not eight thousand pieces of waste paper! Get your act together!"

However, the stick remained staring blankly, showing no reaction whatsoever, and didn't even blink.

"Looks like going easy on him won't work." Wang Jun stood by, arms crossed, watching coldly. "Grandpa, you're just tickling him. You have to go hard, make him feel pain, make him feel fear, only then will he come back to his senses."

Yi Zhonghai took a deep breath, looked at Bang Geng's blank face, remembered his four thousand yuan, gritted his teeth, raised his hand, and with all his strength, slapped Bang Geng hard across the face.

"Snapped!"

The crisp sound of a slap echoed in the room, clearly audible even to the onlookers outside.

"Wow! This old man has a strong grip!"

"This time it's a real beating; it sounds painful."

The slap caused Banggeng's cheek to swell up instantly, and his whole body, including the chair, wobbled.

However, Banggeng remained sitting there blankly, as if the slap had landed on cotton rather than on his face.

"Still not awake?" Yi Zhonghai was stunned. He looked at his palm, then at the stick, and breathed heavily with anger. "This kid, has he really gone stupid?"

"Again! We haven't even slapped the left cheek yet!" Wang Jun chimed in from the side. "Shoot from both sides, it'll be more effective!"

Yi Zhonghai glared angrily at Wang Jun, but since things had come to this point, he could only grit his teeth and raise his hand again.

Just then, the previously dazed man's eyes suddenly twitched slightly, and he let out a muffled growl: "Money...my money..."

As soon as he said this, a chorus of agreement erupted in the courtyard.

"Haha, Wang Jun is right!"

"That method works; a couple of slaps might bring him back to his senses."

"Yes, wake him up!"

Upon hearing this, Yi Zhonghai looked at the stunned Bang Geng on the ground, and a surge of anger welled up inside him. Thinking of how his four thousand yuan retirement savings had all gone down the drain, he gritted his teeth, stepped forward, and delivered two hard slaps.

These two slaps were meant to wake the brat up, and also to vent my anger. This bastard has ruined his savings; a couple of slaps aren't too much to ask, are they?

Bang Geng was jolted to the side by the blow, his cheek burning with pain. He jolted awake, his eyes finally focusing. He stared blankly at the crowd surrounding him, completely unaware of what had happened.

When they saw that Banggeng had woken up, the aunties and grandmas in the courtyard lit up and immediately gathered around, asking all at once how the eight thousand yuan had disappeared.

"Wow, that's great! I heard from the police that you were scammed out of 8,000 yuan? What exactly happened?"

"Yeah, how did you get fooled?"

"Tell everyone about this so we can all learn a lesson."

Banggeng's face turned as black as the bottom of a pot upon hearing these words. He was already upset about being scammed out of more than eight thousand yuan, and these neighbors were rubbing salt into his wounds; it was simply too hurtful.

He shoved the person in front of him in frustration and yelled, "What's there to talk about! Get away from me! Don't bother me! Get out!"

This attitude displeased a group of middle-aged women. Instead of leaving, they surrounded the group even more closely, lecturing them one after another.

"Hey, what kind of attitude is that? No wonder you got scammed!"

"With such a rash way of speaking, it's no wonder she gets scammed; she has absolutely no brains."

"Exactly, I'm asking you a nice question and you don't appreciate it."

Amidst the chaos, Sha Zhu and Qin Huairu rushed into the courtyard. With such a serious incident, they had no heart for work and quickly asked for leave to head back.

Upon seeing Banggeng, Qin Huairu rushed over and asked, "Banggeng! Mom heard you were scammed? Is it true? Tell Mom quickly, how much money were you scammed out of?"

Sha Zhu, his face grim, asked, "Son, what exactly happened? How much did you say you were scammed out of?"

There was no way to hide it anymore. Banggeng lowered his head and mumbled in a voice barely audible, "Dad, Mom... we were scammed out of a total of eight thousand three hundred yuan this time."

"How many?!"

Upon hearing this, Qin Huairu felt as if the sky had fallen and the earth had collapsed. Her vision went black, and she collapsed to the ground.

When she left home that morning, she was full of joy, hoping that the business of selling gongs and gongs would make her family proud. Who could have imagined that instead of making money, she would lose all her savings! Who could bear such a huge drop in fortune?

Qin Huairu collapsed to the ground, tears welling in her eyes. She pounded her thigh and wailed, "It's all over...it's all over! This money was painstakingly saved up from every inch of our being! Gone in an instant! How are we going to live like this...?"

Sha Zhu couldn't sit still any longer. His monthly salary was sixty or seventy yuan, and he earned a little over twenty yuan per catering service, making a total of just over a hundred yuan a month, saving only twelve hundred yuan a year. Eight thousand yuan? That would be seven or eight years' worth of his income!

He quickly grabbed the stick and asked, "Son, have you reported this to the police? You absolutely must! Let the police catch the swindler!"

Banggeng said with a bitter face, "I reported it... but the police said the swindler took more than 8,000 yuan and has probably already run away, so it will be difficult to catch him. Even if they do catch him, they may not be able to get the money back, so I should be prepared."

Sha Zhu's heart sank upon hearing this; the money was gone for good. But then he thought again and felt something was amiss: "Bang Geng, where did you get over eight thousand? Wasn't it only six thousand? Where did the extra two thousand come from?"

Qin Huairu gave him 3,000, and Yi Zhonghai gave him 4,000, totaling 7,000. Bang Geng lost 1,000, leaving him with 6,000. How could he have been swindled out of 8,000?

Banggeng hung his head and honestly confessed, "Mom and Dad, that two thousand... I borrowed it from a colleague, and I have to pay it back tomorrow."

After saying that, his face scrunched up like a bitter gourd. Now he had not only been cheated out of 8,000 yuan, but also owed his colleagues 2,000 yuan. He had lost more than 10,000 yuan in total!

Upon hearing this, Qin Huairu felt a wave of dizziness and nearly fainted. Sha Zhu was furious, itching to grab a stick and beat his adopted son. This good-for-nothing was someone he truly didn't want anymore!