Courtyard House: Starting with a 28-inch motorcycle

Yu Li sneered, her lips clenched tightly. He had tried to force her to submit by withholding her money, but now that he heard she had a secure job, he was flustered and felt weak in the knees, wishing he could immediately push her back onto the bed.

In any other family, once their daughter becomes a full-time employee, they would be setting off three strings of firecrackers. But Xu Damao's face was full of displeasure, as if he had swallowed half a fly.

Yu Li knew perfectly well that this man was no longer on her side. She lamented that she had been blind to his sweet words and hadn't seen through his calculating and cold-hearted nature.

When she first approached Lou Xiao'e, she specifically asked Xu Damao what he thought; if he had waved her away, she wouldn't have taken another step forward.

Later, it was all Xu Damao's own fault for his loose tongue—his sharp tongue stirred up trouble everywhere, only to end up burning himself, leaving Yu Li to clean up his mess. If He Yuzhu hadn't been so indignant and quietly told the purchasing department the truth, Xu Damao would probably still be squatting in the countryside showing movies!

Moreover, he was the kind of projectionist who wouldn't even dare to ask for a free-range egg—if he dared to take a basket of sweet potatoes, the purchasing department would immediately grab a notebook to record it, and once they had enough evidence, they would punish him severely.

With two purchasing teams taking turns monitoring him, how could he possibly hold out for two years? He must be incredibly resourceful.

"I don't care about any of that! You're not allowed to do this job! Tomorrow I'll find someone to take your place, and you just stay home and stay put!"

Xu Damao gritted his teeth and uttered those words, but in his mind he had already calculated another thing: if he could resell this job, he could easily pocket five or six hundred yuan, and his pockets would immediately bulge.

He glared at them, raising his voice eight octaves: "I'm in charge here! I'll get your people in tomorrow, and you won't be stepping foot inside the factory!"

"Bullshit!"

Yu Li jumped up, poking Xu Damao's nose with her finger, her voice cracking: "No one can take my job away from me! Do you think I don't know what's going on in your head?"

"This is outrageous!"

Xu Damao's temper flared up instantly, and he raised his hand to slap Yu Li across the face. With a crisp "smack," Yu Li swayed twice, and her left cheek swelled up instantly, with a clear fingerprint that looked like a red stamp.

She covered her face, frozen for a moment, then felt a fire explode in her chest, screaming as she lunged forward: "Xu Damao! You dare hit me? I'll fight you to the death!"

With a sharp scratch of his fingernail, several bloody cuts appeared on his face and neck. The two immediately began to wrestle, causing the tables and chairs to clang loudly.

This time, Yu Li was furious—not only did he try to take away her job, but he also slapped her hard across the face!

She was never one to swallow her pride, and now that she had a secure job, she stood tall with her head held high. On top of that, the Xu family treated her coldly and even tried to pin the blame for her being "infertile" on her... She didn't want to endure this for another day.

The fighting grew increasingly intense. Seeing that she couldn't outmatch Xu Damao in strength, Yu Li grabbed bowls, plates, kettles, and enamel mugs and smashed them over Xu Damao's head.

The house was filled with clanging and clattering, and shards of broken porcelain flew everywhere. The noise was so loud that the roof tiles in the backyard were shaking.

As soon as Uncle Liu Haizhong pushed open the door, he immediately recognized the noise coming from the Xu family's house—much louder than the last argument, as if the roof had been lifted off.

Just by listening to the sound, you could tell that more than three or five bowls had been smashed, and the fists had landed solidly on flesh.

Old Wang also came out in his slippers, leaned close to Liu Haizhong and whispered, "Second Uncle, why don't you go up and try to stop them? If this keeps going, someone might get killed..."

Liu Hai's heart skipped a beat: Just two days ago, the two of them were banging on the table and hurling insults at each other, and today they've started fighting. This is unacceptable!

He rushed to the Xu family's door, banging on it loudly, "Xu Damao! Yu Li! What are you two doing? The whole courtyard can hear you!"

There was a two or three-second silence in the room before Xu Damao responded in a muffled voice, "It's nothing, Second Uncle..."

Before she could finish speaking, Yu Li flung open the door and screamed, "What do you mean, 'nothing's wrong'? Xu Damao, I'm divorcing you today!"

Upon hearing this, Liu Haizhong's heart sank—this fight had escalated to the point of threatening divorce!

"Divorce? Yu Li, are you crazy? I won't agree!"

"What good is it if you don't agree! Xu Damao, you spineless henpecked husband, I'm getting a divorce today!"

"Yu Li, are you looking for death?!"

Hearing this from outside, Liu Haizhong was terrified. He quickly banged on the door and yelled, "Alright, alright! Stop arguing! Everyone come out, let's have a hospital-wide meeting!"

After saying that, he turned to his two sons and said, "Guangtian, Guangfu, quickly go and inform everyone in the yard! The front yard and the middle garden, everyone must assemble immediately—Xu Damao, Yu Li, you two come out too!"

"Okay, Dad!"

Liu Guangtian and Liu Guangfu took off running, and Lao Wang knocked on every door, but the deaf old lady's room didn't move—the old lady was hard of hearing, and she was never invited to these kinds of meetings.

Yu Li flung open the door and came out. Liu Haizhong looked up and his heart sank: the girl's face was covered in bruises, blood was seeping from the corner of her mouth, her hair was disheveled, her cuffs were torn in two places, and although her clothes were barely straightened, they couldn't hide her disheveled state.

Xu Damao followed behind with a gloomy face. Several bloody marks on his face were glaring, and a bump had bulged on his forehead, but compared to Yu Li, his injuries were much less severe.

Liu Guangtian and Liu Guangfu worked quickly and soon gathered everyone in the front yard and the middle garden. Liu Haizhong had his two sons bring over a square table and place it steadily in the open space of the middle garden.

Once everyone had arrived, Liu Haizhong glanced around and his brows furrowed sharply: "Where's Lao Yi?"

An older woman replied, "She just went out; she'll probably be back in a minute."

"We're not waiting any longer! This meeting is specifically for Xu Damao's family."

He slammed the enamel mug down and slammed his hand on the table. Everyone turned to look at Xu Damao and Yu Li. They should have looked, because their hearts tightened at the sight: the two had bruises on their faces and their clothes were disheveled, looking as if they had just rolled out of a mud pit.

"For some reason, the two of them started fighting in the house. They were hitting each other hard and fast, and Yu Li immediately shouted that she wanted a divorce! That's why I called everyone over so that we could settle things in person."

Before he could finish speaking, Lou Xiao'e interrupted with a sneer: "Xu Damao, you're really something—beating your wife into this state. You've probably never even touched a woman before, have you? Let me tell you, if you lay a hand on a woman these days, the Women's Federation will definitely be calling you in for a talk!"

Upon hearing the words "Women's Federation," Xu Damao's Adam's apple bobbed, but he remained defiant: "Lou Xiao'e, mind your own business! These are matters that happen behind closed doors; what right do you have to interfere?"

"If you beat someone until they vomit blood, it's no longer a family matter..."

"What happened?"

Before Lou Xiao'e could finish speaking, two people strolled in through the central archway—the first one was Yi Zhonghai; Lou Xiao'e's eyes twitched, surprised by the person behind him: Deputy Director Ma from the street office.

Liu Haizhong recognized Deputy Director Ma. His gaze swept past Yi Zhonghai, and he immediately put on a smile, rising to greet him: "Director Ma, hello! I'm Liu Haizhong, the manager of this compound. What brings you here?"

Deputy Director Ma nodded slightly: "I have some information to pass on. Mr. Liu, are you in a meeting right now?"

Liu Haizhong quickly smiled apologetically: "Oh, it's just a minor squabble, a small family dispute. Please go ahead, it's a matter of great importance for the leader!"

Yi Zhonghai stood to the side, not even lifting his eyelids, but inwardly he scoffed: Once you hear that you've become an "old man" again, let's see if you can still keep that face.

"Okay, then I'll take a few minutes of your time."

Deputy Director Ma walked straight to the open space in the central courtyard and announced loudly, "Neighbors, I'm here today to announce a decision—Comrade Yi Zhonghai has consistently performed outstandingly, and after deliberation by the street committee, he is officially reinstated as 'Manager Uncle'; at the same time, Comrade Yan Bugui is also reinstated! From now on, the three of you will work together for our courtyard!"

The courtyard fell silent for a moment; no one had expected this outcome.

clap clap clap!

Qin Huairu was the first to clap her hands; the Yan family's sons were stunned for half a second, then immediately joined in the applause—their father's reinstatement was a truly joyous occasion for the Yan family.

The applause spread like wildfire throughout the venue; however, the applause from the Jia and Yan families was loud and clear, while the applause from the rest was sparse and perfunctory, so much so that they didn't even bother to warm their palms.

The one who couldn't hold back the most was Liu Haizhong. His lips were twitching upwards, but his face was ashen, like it was covered in soot. He slapped his hand so hard it was deafening, as if every extra thud could cover up the pent-up anger in his heart.

Deputy Director Ma waved his hand and turned to the three men: "Alright, my task is finished. You three can handle this mess from here on out."

As soon as he finished speaking, Yi Zhonghai, leaning on his cane, moved steadily to Liu Haizhong's side, his steps slightly shaky; his face remained calm, but his knuckles were clenched so tightly they turned white. Yan Bugui had already grinned, head held high, and returned to his seat, only to find there were no sunflower seeds on the table.

Yi Zhonghai turned his head to the side, his tone calm: "Old Liu, I just came in. What happened in the yard? Can you give me a heads-up?"

"...The Xu couple started fighting, and Yu Li was badly injured. She declared she absolutely had to get a divorce!"

Liu Haizhong gritted his teeth and swallowed the whole story, telling Yi Zhonghai everything without missing a single word.

Yi Zhonghai nodded, then turned to look at the two of them: "Da Mao, Yu Li, why did you two get so worked up? And why are you even talking about breaking up? If you really divorce, neither of you will have a good life."

"Sir, she's the one who said we should get a divorce! I haven't said a word about it!"

Xu Damao blurted out, his heart pounding – Yu Li hadn't even secured the job yet, and now they were getting a divorce? It was like a cooked duck flapping its wings and flying away!

"Didn't she find a new job? I'm thinking, since there's no one to look after the house while she's gone, why not ask a trustworthy relative to take her place at work? That way, she can get some income, and the family won't be in trouble—isn't that killing two birds with one stone?"

"Then without saying a word, she pounced on me and started scratching me! Look at my neck—how am I supposed to face my coworkers tomorrow?"

After listening, Yi Zhonghai nodded slowly, then turned to stare at Yu Li: "Yu Li, you've gone too far with this. Da Mao's suggestion sounds practical. If you really go to work, the Xu family's kitchen will be cold, and the children will be left unattended—that's indeed a difficult situation. Even if you're not happy about it, you can sit down and discuss it, or have the three of us judge it. There's no need to escalate it to this point..."