Courtyard House: Starting with a 28-inch motorcycle

The woman's face changed drastically, and she realized something was wrong. She turned around and ran towards the backyard—there was no way to stop her; someone had to be found to calm things down!

Inside the Jia family's house, things had quieted down.

Jia Zhangshi was feeling smug, thinking that the steamed buns and cured meat were a gift from an older woman. Who would have thought that Yushui had taken them to give away? At the time, she didn't hear clearly, rushed out, grabbed them, and ran away, pushing Yushui along the way, afraid that someone would chase after her.

When they returned, Qin Huairu frowned, wanting to persuade him, but Banggeng jumped up and down, shouting, "Mom! Where's the meat? I want to eat meat!"

But Madam Jia Zhang argued vehemently, "That meat didn't belong to the He family; it was given to me by an old lady! What's wrong with me taking it? Do you expect me to let my child go hungry while others feast?"

Jia Dongxu nodded in agreement. Lately, the family had been eating bland food, just cornbread and pickled vegetables every meal; they were practically losing their color. Today, seeing the cured meat, both he and Banggeng's eyes practically glued to it; they wanted nothing more than to pounce on it and take a bite.

A fist-sized piece of cured meat and four steamed buns were devoured by the three people in the blink of an eye.

Qin Huairu didn't get a single piece of cured meat, and she only managed to snatch half a steamed bun from the scraps. But before she could even take a bite, an older woman burst through the door, launching into a tirade of abuse—"You Jia Zhangshi, you even steal food from a child! Don't you have any conscience?!"

Madam Jia Zhang, however, showed no remorse whatsoever. Instead, she retorted defiantly, "Auntie, we're so poor we can't even afford to eat. Our children are so hungry they're eating plaster off the walls. Instead of helping us, you're sending all the good stuff to whoever's family? Dongxu is Old Yi's apprentice; shouldn't we be the ones given priority out of consideration?"

The old woman trembled with anger: "What nonsense are you spouting! That meat was originally meant by He Yushui to exchange for steamed buns! She didn't want to take it from me for nothing, so she offered cured meat as payment! And you, not only did you snatch the meat halfway there, but you also pushed her child! When Sha Zhu comes back, let's see how you clean up this mess!"

After saying this, the old woman turned and left, heading straight to the He family to comfort He Yushui.

As soon as the person left, Jia Zhangshi and Jia Dongxu panicked. Jia Dongxu remained relatively calm. He had long since exchanged his meal tickets at the factory for dry rations and had been bringing his own cornbread to work lately, so he wasn't worried about He Yuzhu making things difficult for him in the canteen.

But Madam Jia was getting nervous, fearing that Sha Zhu would come knocking on her door and attack her. She quickly tugged at her son's sleeve and pleaded in a low voice, "Dongxu, I'm not being greedy. It's just so you kids can have a taste of meat..."

Qin Huairu, listening nearby, sneered: "That piece of cured meat probably ended up in your mouth; I didn't even see a speck of fat." Jia Dongxu, forcing himself to speak, said, "What's there to be afraid of! We'll lock the door and not go out. Let's see what he can do. It's just a piece of cured meat; is it really necessary to shout it out to the whole courtyard?"

"Mom, go and lock the door! Don't open it no matter who knocks. They can yell at you from outside, but they can't kick the door down, can they?"

Madam Jia nodded hastily, her plump body swaying as she moved to the doorway. Just as she was about to bolt the door, she peeked through the crack and her face turned deathly pale, her voice trembling:

"Oh no... Sha Zhu is back!"

Before the words were finished, a furious roar erupted from outside the door—

"Jia Zhangshi! You old hag, get out here right now!"

"Second Uncle! Old Liu! Something's happened!"

In the backyard, in front of Liu Haizhong's house, an older woman was frantically banging on the door. A few seconds later, a second older woman opened the door, saw it was the older woman, and quickly asked, "What's wrong?"

"Is Old Liu here?" an older woman asked, panting.

Inside the house, the second uncle came out upon hearing the noise. Seeing her posture, he frowned and asked, "What happened? Why are you in such a hurry?"

"Just now, Jia Zhangshi and He Yushui had a fight. Jia Zhangshi snatched the cured meat that He Yushui was exchanging for steamed buns, and even pushed the child down! Now Shazhu has just returned, and he's furious, threatening to settle scores with the Jia family! You're in charge of the courtyard, go and try to calm them down!"

Upon hearing this, the second uncle immediately turned hostile: "That Jia Zhangshi is a troublemaker all the time! And Sha Zhu is no pushover either; he can make such a fuss over a piece of cured meat. He's really a disgrace to our compound!"

While cursing, he didn't stop: "Call Guangtian Guangfu out here, come with me to take a look!"

After saying that, he led his two sons straight to Zhongyuan. Guangtian was only a teenager, and Guangfu was about the same age as He Yushui. They would definitely be no match for each other in a fight, but they could still stand by and cheer, and put on a good show—the Liu family had many people and their momentum couldn't be lost.

The older woman still felt uneasy after watching the younger man leave. The younger man, unable to control the situation, simply turned around and knocked on the deaf old woman's door again. Although she had been taking care of Yi Zhiliang more lately, she hadn't missed a single meal for the deaf old woman.

Many families in the central garden and front yard heard the shouting outside and immediately understood—it must be Jia Zhangshi provoking the He family again.

Many people in the courtyard were afraid of He Yuzhu. First, he was a good fighter; he could take down three or five people by himself. Second, he held a powerful position: the canteen director of the steel mill, the only cadre among all the courtyard houses in the entire area. It was best not to offend him, especially when it came to meals.

Thirdly, He Yuzhu frequently goes to the subdistrict office and wins every lawsuit, always finding himself in the right. With these three points combined, everyone in the nearby compound avoids the He family.

The He family was living a very comfortable life. A few years ago, they had meat with every meal, which was so delicious that people were envious. But He Yuzhu had established his authority a few times in the past, so now there were basically no people who dared to come to their door to cause trouble.

But this time, Jia Zhangshi had lost her mind and dared to provoke He Yuzhu.

The Jia family.

Startled by He Yuzhu's angry roar, Jia Zhangshi was so frightened that she didn't even bother to lock the door. She turned around and tried to crawl into the house, hiding behind Jia Dongxu like a coward.

Unfortunately, just as she took a step, the door was kicked open with a "bang," sending splinters of wood flying. The Jia family members were all stunned, and then their eyes all turned to the doorway—the figure was tall and imposing, exuding a murderous aura.

"You old hag, Jia Zhangshi, where do you think you're going? Get out here right now!"

He Yuzhu spotted Jia Zhangshi trying to slip away, took a step forward, and grabbed her by the back of her collar with an iron grip, pulling her like a dead dog. Although the old woman was fat, she was as light as a sack in his hands and couldn't break free at all.

"Silly Zhu! You bastard, let me go! Old Jia—help! You're bullying an old man..."

Jia Zhangshi howled and writhed like a punctured pig's bladder. But He Yuzhu sneered, ignoring her completely, and dragged her out like a scrambling sow.

Seeing his mother being humiliated like this, Jia Dongxu felt a surge of anger and jumped up, roaring, "Shazhu! Don't go too far!"

"Jia Dongxu?" He Yuzhu turned around abruptly, his eyes like knives. "If you're looking for death, go ahead! Let's see if you can save your useless mother!"

That one look was fierce and domineering, making Jia Dongxu's heart tremble, his legs go weak, and he fell back onto the bed, not daring to move.

Seeing that Jia Zhangshi was still struggling, He Yuzhu simply raised his hand and slapped her twice on the forehead, cursing, "Get out here obediently! If you make a fuss again, I'll break your leg!"

After two slaps, Jia Zhangshi's head was buzzing, she saw stars, and she was completely limp, letting He Yuzhu drag her out of the courtyard.

By this time, a crowd had gathered in the central garden, packed full of onlookers and peekers. He Yuzhu casually tossed Jia Zhangshi to the ground. The old hag lay there for half a second, then immediately began to wail at the top of her lungs:

"Oh my god—this bastard! My old bones have been violated by this little beast... I can't live anymore!"

Before the words were finished—

"Slap! Slap!"

Two more crisp slaps echoed throughout the courtyard. The howling stopped abruptly.

Jia Dongxu heard it clearly and knew his mother had been beaten. Actually, he had thought about hitting her; whenever his mother cried and screamed for his father, he would get annoyed and want to slap her. But she was his own mother; he could think about it, but in the end, he couldn't bring himself to do it.

"Huairu! Take Xiaodang and stop him!" He stood up abruptly and roared at Qin Huairu.

Qin Huairu was taken aback: "Xiao Dang? And what about you?"

"Snapped!"

A slap landed squarely on his face, stinging intensely. Jia Dongxu's face contorted in pain as he growled, "Just go! What are you talking about?!"

He couldn't or dared to help his own mother who was being humiliated outside, so he could only vent his anger on his wife.

Only after Qin Huairu rushed out the door carrying the swaddled Xiao Dang did Jia Dongxu slump down, gulp down a mouthful of wine, grit his teeth, and say, word by word, "Idiot Zhu... I'll kill you sooner or later."

His clenched teeth and glaring eyes made even Bang Geng, who was hiding in the corner of the bed, tremble and shrink into a ball, not daring to make a sound.

Outside, Liu Haizhong and his two sons had just arrived at Zhongyuan when they witnessed He Yuzhu slapping Jia Zhangshi. He immediately shouted angrily, "Foolish Zhu! Stop!"

At this moment, Qin Huairu rushed out, holding the child and crying, "Second Uncle, please do something! My mother-in-law is going to be beaten to death..."

As soon as Liu Haizhong arrived, neighbors from both the front and back yards gathered around. Seeing Jia Zhangshi sitting on the ground with her face swollen like a steamed bun, everyone knew what was going on—it was indeed that old witch causing trouble again.

"Stop?" He Yuzhu sneered, his gaze sweeping over Liu Haizhong. "She was throwing a tantrum and cursing in the yard just now, where was your second uncle to uphold justice? Now that I've taught her a lesson, you're jumping out—did you two conspire together?"

As soon as he finished speaking, he gave Jia Zhangshi a light kick in the stomach. It wasn't hard, but it hurt so much that she cried out and rolled on the ground.

He Yuzhu was sensible; his kick only caused her pain, not injury.

"I warned your Jia family before, don't mess with me again." He glanced around, his tone icy. "You think you can take my kindness for a few days by keeping quiet? Jia Zhangshi, let me tell you straight—I still have two pounds of meat left. If you dare to lay a finger on me, I'll make sure you spend the rest of your life on crutches!"

Still not satisfied with what he said, he raised his hand and slapped her twice more, landing solid blows across her face.

"Slap! Slap!"

This time, Jia Zhangshi's face swelled up like a pig's head, and she couldn't even groan.

As soon as he said this, all the neighbors in the courtyard understood—it turned out that Jia Zhangshi had snatched the meat first. Looking at the broken porcelain shards all over the ground in front of the He family's door, it was probably true.