Courtyard House: The Thief System of All Realms

"Old Jia, you left so early, leaving me, an old woman, to be bullied to death by outsiders. Couldn't you have shown your power and taken this heartless little beast away? Old Jia, look at me..."

Just as Jia Zhangshi had been persuaded to catch her breath, seeing that the onlookers had not yet dispersed, her stubbornness surged up again. She struggled to sit up, then slapped her thigh and collapsed onto the ground, wailing in a shrill voice, cursing Sun Jingyuan in every word, showing no regard for neighborly relations.

Qin Huairu was carrying clothes she had just taken down from the clothesline into the house when she heard the heart-wrenching wailing at the door. Her heart tightened immediately, fearing that her mother-in-law's outburst would become uncontrollable. She quickly walked to Jia Zhangshi's side, reaching out to help her mother-in-law up from the ground, and gently advised, "Mom, the ground is cold. Get up and talk to her first. Don't get angry and hurt yourself."

Snapped!

A crisp, loud slap suddenly rang out in the courtyard, particularly jarring.

Without the slightest hesitation, Jia Zhangshi slapped Qin Huairu hard across the face, the force so great that Qin Huairu's head snapped to the side. Qin Huairu clutched her instantly burning, swollen cheek, her eyes reddening, tears welling in them, but she could only lower her head and stammer in protest, "I...I was collecting clothes inside and didn't hear anything outside..."

"Put in the laundry! All you ever do is put in the laundry! I was almost beaten to death before you finally came out? What did I marry you for? You can't even be a helper when it matters, you're just a piece of trash!" Madam Jia Zhang's eyes widened with anger as she pointed at Qin Huairu's nose and cursed, venting all her anger on her daughter-in-law, completely disregarding the gazes of the surrounding neighbors, her tantrum and bullying were on full display.

Not far away, Sun Jingyuan leaned lazily against the wall of his own courtyard, watching the farce with an indifferent expression, his eyes showing no ripples.

He took out a pack of Daqianmen cigarettes from his pocket, picked one out between his fingers, and handed it to Yan Bugui, who was watching the commotion from the side, in a calm and indifferent tone.

He then lit one himself, struck a match, and slowly exhaled a smoke ring. Looking at Jia Zhangshi, who was still throwing a tantrum, he said with undisguised mockery and sarcasm, "Old hag, keep shouting. Why are you so tired now? Weren't you wailing and screaming so loudly just now?"

Yan Bugui took the cigarette and quickly clutched it tightly in his hand. His eyes flickered, and he dared not say a word. He silently shrank back, afraid of being dragged into this trouble and getting into a lot of trouble.

Jia Zhangshi, already seething with pent-up anger, was provoked by Sun Jingyuan's words, causing her slightly calmed emotions to explode completely. She slammed back to the ground, slapping her thigh and continuing to wail, her voice even shriller and more piercing than before: "Old Jia! Come up here and take a look! This little beast is going too far, riding right up to our doorstep and acting like a bully! If you're watching from heaven, teach this arrogant bastard a lesson!"

"Mom, stop it!"

An impatient shout suddenly came from outside the gate. Jia Dongxu helped Yi Zhonghai in and walked in with a group of steel mill workers who were returning home after get off work.

As soon as everyone entered the courtyard, they saw Jia Zhangshi sitting at the door making a scene, crying and wailing. They all stopped and gathered around, all looking on with a desire to watch the spectacle, and no one took the initiative to step forward and persuade her.

Upon seeing this, Yi Zhonghai's face instantly darkened. He pushed through the crowd and stepped forward, first glancing sideways at Sun Jingyuan, then adopting a stern expression and the imposing demeanor of an elder, demanding in a stern voice, "Dr. Sun, what exactly happened? This peaceful courtyard has been turned into chaos. You should give the courtyard and everyone here an explanation!"

Sun Jingyuan raised an eyebrow, shrugged innocently, flicked his cigarette ash, and spoke casually, seemingly unconcerned about the scene before him: "Uncle, that's a strange question. I just got back to the courtyard after get off work, stood against the wall for a while, did nothing, said nothing, just watched Aunt Jia sitting here wailing and chanting. In my opinion, this behavior is clearly promoting feudal superstition, which is now strictly prohibited. You always claim to be fair and impartial, why don't we invite the comrades from the neighborhood committee to come and judge this? If that doesn't work, we can just call the police and let everyone know what's right and wrong."

Upon hearing this, Jia Zhangshi, who had been wailing hysterically just moments before, stopped crying abruptly, immediately shutting her mouth and not daring to even breathe.

Although she was unreasonable and prone to tantrums, she knew how powerful the neighborhood committee and the police were. She knew that not only would she lose face, but her whole family would also be gossiped about by the neighbors.

She stared intently at Sun Jingyuan, her eyes brimming with resentment, but she dared not waile or utter nonsense any longer.

Yi Zhonghai's expression suddenly changed, and he hurriedly tried to smooth things over, waving his hand to stop her: "What feudal superstition? It's just a few words between neighbors. Sister-in-law Jia was just angry and spoke without thinking. We all live in the same courtyard and see each other all the time. There's no need to alarm the street office and the police over such a trivial matter. If word gets out, people will just laugh at our courtyard."

"Just a quarrel?" Sun Jingyuan's lips curled into a cold smile as he feigned surprise and looked at Yi Zhonghai, his tone full of incomprehension. "Uncle, Aunt Jia was crying and making a scene, maliciously cursing people, and even physically assaulting her own daughter-in-law. If this is considered a small matter, then what is considered a big matter? If everyone in the courtyard acted like her, what would become of the rules of this courtyard house? Would the neighbors ever be able to live peacefully again?"

Yi Zhonghai was rendered speechless by Sun Jingyuan's retort, and immediately lost his confidence. He could only sternly reprimand Sun Jingyuan, forcibly adopting the air of an elder: "I said it's a small matter, so it's a small matter! You've only been living in this courtyard house for a short time, and you don't know any of the rules and customs here. Stop meddling and pointing fingers. Learn to be more harmonious with your neighbors in the future, and stop trying to cause trouble!"

"So that's how it is. You've thought things through much better, Uncle. I was just ignorant. I've learned something." Sun Jingyuan smirked and gave Yi Zhonghai a perfunctory thumbs-up. His tone was undisguisedly sarcastic, and he didn't take Yi Zhonghai's criticism to heart at all.

Seeing Yi Zhonghai embarrassed, Sun Jingyuan slowly turned to Yan Bugui beside him and added in a low voice, every word hitting the nail on the head: "Third Uncle, you are a schoolteacher, the most reasonable and knowledgeable about rules. In my opinion, you should invite the comrades from the street office to come and give a good talk about the rules of promoting feudal superstition in the courtyard, so that everyone can remember them and prevent anyone from causing trouble and disrupting the order of the courtyard in the future."

Yan Bugui was shrewd and calculating, and his eyes lit up instantly when he heard this. He was about to speak up when Yi Zhonghai glared at him fiercely, so he could only swallow the words that were on the tip of his tongue.

Yi Zhonghai's face turned as black as the bottom of a pot. He immediately shouted to disperse the crowd: "Everyone, disperse! It's just some neighborhood gossip, nothing to see here. Go back inside and eat, don't gather around here and make a scene!"

After saying that, Yi Zhonghai glared at Jia Zhangshi, signaling her to stop causing trouble.

Jia Dongxu quickly pulled his mother back from her tantrum and said in a low voice, "Mom, stop making a scene. Master has already said that if we attract the neighborhood committee, we won't get anything good out of it and will only suffer!" He knew that his master was giving his family a way out. If they really made a big fuss, his mother would definitely be punished, which would be a complete loss.

Jia Zhangshi was held back tightly by her son, and fearing Sun Jingyuan's suggestion to call the police or contact the neighborhood committee, she could only suppress her anger and glare fiercely at Sun Jingyuan's back, but dared not cry out or act out anymore.

Sun Jingyuan noticed that all the neighbors' eyes were on him, but he remained indifferent and shrugged. He turned and walked towards his west wing without glancing at the Jia family or Yi Zhonghai again, as if he had just resolved a trivial matter.

"You little beast! Just you wait, you'll get your comeuppance sooner or later!" Jia Zhangshi watched Sun Jingyuan's retreating figure, gritting her teeth and spitting out a mouthful of saliva. She had nowhere to vent her resentment, so she could only resort to verbal attacks.

Yi Zhonghai and Jia Dongxu stood there, their teeth clenched in hatred.

During the day, Sun Jingyuan publicly undermined Sha Zhu in the canteen, making him lose face. Those who followed Sha Zhu were also pointed at and gossiped about by the factory workers, and could no longer hold their heads up.

What alarmed them even more was that Sun Jingyuan never mentioned the previous incident where everyone conspired to seize his house. If this matter were reported to the factory or the neighborhood committee, the reputation of the old men in their courtyard would be completely ruined.

"Master, this kid is too arrogant. He doesn't respect us at all. We must find a way to teach him a lesson and let him know the rules of this courtyard!" Jia Dongxu said in a low voice, his face full of gloom, his tone full of resentment and bitterness.

"That's right! We have to teach him a lesson and let him know who's in charge of this courtyard. He shouldn't be so arrogant!" Madam Jia echoed from the side, her eyes filled with barely concealed resentment.

Qin Huairu stood aside, covering her burning cheeks. Seeing her husband and mother-in-law so focused on revenge, she wisely kept her mouth shut and stood there silently, afraid that saying anything more would only make things worse and invite further scolding from her mother-in-law and husband.

Yi Zhonghai frowned, sighed, and shook his head helplessly: "Treat him? What can we do to treat him now? He is a formal doctor in the factory clinic, but his job has nothing to do with the workshop. He usually stays in the clinic and doesn't come out. If we want to cause trouble for him, we don't even have a chance to make a move. We can only endure it for now and plan for the long term."

"This little bastard is actually the factory doctor?" Jia Zhangshi froze on the spot, her jealousy and resentment intensifying. Why did this outsider get a good apartment in the compound and such a respectable job as the steel mill's doctor? He got all the good things!

"Alright, stop standing around here. Go back inside and eat. We'll talk about this later." Yi Zhonghai couldn't think of a way to deal with Sun Jingyuan for the time being, so he could only wave his hand impatiently and lead everyone away, no longer dwelling on the matter at hand.

On the other side, Sun Jingyuan returned to the west wing and casually closed the door.

The house was filled with brand-new kitchen utensils, and in the corner were piles of pork, eggs, fine flour, and even a few unopened bottles of good wine. Supplies were plentiful.

Looking at the ingredients and coal stove in front of him, he had no desire to cook at all. He was not good at cooking, and he was even more unfamiliar with cooking with a coal stove in this era. Even with the best ingredients, he couldn't make a meal that tasted good.

He stood in the house for a moment, then immediately had an idea. He turned around, picked up an unopened bottle of Erguotou from the table, and walked straight to the backyard.

At this moment, in the backyard, Sha Zhu walked into the house with his head hanging low and a gloomy expression on his face.

During the day, Sun Jingyuan publicly humiliated him in the cafeteria, and he was subsequently summoned to the cafeteria director's office and severely reprimanded for the entire afternoon, receiving a lot of scolding. If it weren't for the factory director needing him, the cafeteria's head chef, to prepare the food for important guests tonight, he would definitely have received a demerit and his bonus for the month would have been completely lost.

"Damn Sun Jingyuan, don't let me catch you, or I'll teach you a lesson!" Sha Zhu cursed angrily, kicked the stool in the corner of the room hard, and was about to rummage through some leftovers to make do with a quick meal to fill his stomach.

Bang!

With a dull thud, Sha Zhu's door was kicked open from the outside, the door shaking violently and dust falling down.

Sha Zhu whirled around, saw Sun Jingyuan standing in the doorway, and instantly his eyes widened in anger as he shouted, "Sun Jingyuan, what do you want by barging into my house?"

Sun Jingyuan stood at the door, his expression indifferent. He raised his hand and shook the bottle of Erguotou he was carrying. The clear liquor swirled gently in the bottle. His tone was calm: "I'm here to have a drink with you."

Sha Zhu stared at the bottle of mellow Erguotou (a type of Chinese liquor), subconsciously swallowing hard. A flicker of interest crossed his eyes, but his face remained wary as he coldly said, "You'd be so kind as to invite me for drinks? You're probably up to something. I'm not falling for your tricks!"

Sun Jingyuan scoffed, looking at him with disdain, his tone full of provocation: "Look at you, so timid and cowardly. It's just a little argument in the cafeteria during the day, is it really worth holding a grudge? What, the famous He Yuzhu, do you think you're afraid of a doctor from the infirmary harming you?"

These words instantly struck a nerve with Sha Zhu, who couldn't stand being called a coward. He immediately retorted, "Who's being a coward? Who's afraid of you!"

"In this courtyard, everyone else is just a bunch of spineless cowards who only know how to talk big. I only thought you, He Yuzhu, were a man with some backbone, which is why I thought of inviting you to have a couple of drinks with me." Sun Jingyuan leaned against the door frame and said slowly, "I've prepared all the good wine and food. I'm just asking you one question: do you dare to come with me? If you're really too cowardly to go, then just pretend I didn't say anything."

"Coward? I, Sha Zhu, have never even learned the word 'coward' in my life!" Sha Zhu slammed his hand on the table, his anger and arrogance surging up as he strode out. "Let's drink! Who's afraid of who! I'll go with you today and see what tricks you can pull!"

Sun Jingyuan looked at Sha Zhu, who had been successfully provoked, but his expression remained unchanged. He turned around and led him toward his west wing.