Courtyard House: Starting with a 28-inch motorcycle

Yu Li's chest heaved, and she was about to speak when Lou Xiao'e stepped forward, her voice sharp as a knife: "Uncle, you didn't even listen to a word of her suffering before you rushed to label her? Open your eyes and look—Xu Damao has a few red marks on his face, Yu Li's lips are bloody, her fingernails are full of dead skin, and even her phlegm is tinged with red! Is your 'fairness' based on just one eye?"

Yi Zhonghai's face suddenly darkened, and the thorn in his heart was pierced again—the He family, and He Yuzhu's illegitimate son, were like a stubborn plaster that he couldn't get rid of, making it impossible for him to sleep soundly at night.

Lou Xiao'e ignored his expression and raised her voice even louder: "Besides, women can't beat men? Everyone's eyes aren't blind! Look closely and you'll see who got hurt harder and who hit harder! The leader said 'Women hold up half the sky,' but in Xu Damao's case, it becomes 'You don't have to take responsibility for hitting women'?"

"Yes! If he dares to lay a hand on me, I dare to fight back!"

Yu Li cast a burning, grateful look at Lou Xiao'e—she was all alone in the courtyard, a stranger with no parents or relatives, unlike Xu Damao, who was born and raised in the courtyard, his roots even embedded in the cracks of the bricks; if Lou Xiao'e hadn't spoken up, she would have been left speechless, unable to express her suffering.

"Besides, Xu Damao was spewing nonsense just now. He slapped me first! Feel the burning mark on my face, it's still warm! Now he's trying to turn the tables and make me give up my secure job? Bah! Ask everyone, who would just give up a permanent position to someone else? I know perfectly well how powerful your Xu family is—among your relatives, which one can take over the job at the factory? Which one can fill in at the bureau?"

"What are you, Xu Damao, after? Don't you know yourself? You just want to sell my job, then lock me up by the stove and the edge of the kang (heated brick bed) in your Xu family, keeping me completely under your control, like a puppet on a string!"

Yu Li went all out, exposing Xu Damao's dirty schemes completely. She clung to this job tightly, having gone to the factory a few days earlier to complete the onboarding process, all to guard against his tricks.

Now, no one can take anything away from her!

Xu Damao stamped his feet in frustration, his finger almost poking Yu Li's nose: "Once you go to work, who will wash the pots and pans? Who will wash the baby's diapers? Besides, how many cousins ​​does my Xu family have? Who gave you the right to check our household register?"

"That's a job I risked my life for, it has absolutely nothing to do with your Xu family! Did you pay a single penny of relocation allowance? Xu Damao, you were ten days late with the household expenses last month, what are you pretending to be so generous for? Do you really think I'm blind? Do you really think I'm mute?"

Yu Li's voice was loud and clear, each word striking the ground and making Xu Damao's heart tremble.

"This crazy woman is going to expose all my secrets!"

A chill ran down his spine—his biggest fear was that Yu Li would publicly reveal his collusion with the He family and his scheming against Sha Zhu. The couple's words were sharper than knives; if word got out, who would believe him and not her?

Xu Damao's anger subsided, but his eyes remained fixed on Yu Li's face like poisoned nails.

At this moment, Yi Zhonghai slowly spoke up: "Xu Damao, Yu Li, you need to think this through. Divorce is not child's play; it's a painful matter. Besides, Yu Li, now that you've married into the Xu family, you have to listen to your family."

"That's right, you've got a stable job now, but before that, who fed you and provided for you? To start a fight right after you found a job... isn't that going too far?"

Upon hearing this, many people in the courtyard nodded in agreement. Counting the days, Yu Li had been married into the Xu family for almost two years, eating Xu family food and burning Xu family charcoal. Now that she had grown up and wanted to fly away, it was truly astonishing.

Yu Li felt nauseous listening to this, and sneered as she stared at the newly appointed old man—his words were calm and collected, but in reality, every sentence was a smear against her, specifically targeting her with accusations of "freeloading" and "ingratitude."

"Uncle, that's really funny."

Lou Xiao'e's lips curled up, her voice clear and bright: "Yu Li has never cooked for Xu Damao? Never washed his clothes for all four seasons? Never swept his floor or wiped his windows? Why don't you ask him to his face if he dares to slap his chest and say 'no'? How come in your mouth, she's become a freeloader who leeches off the Xu family?"

"According to your logic, this old woman lives with you every day, and you support her, so she doesn't do any work? Doesn't she worry about anything? Doesn't she ever stay up all night?"

Yi Zhonghai's face stiffened at the choking, and he retorted angrily, "When did I say that? Today we're talking about the Xu family! Lou Xiao'e, everything I said is true..."

"So everything I said was a lie? Did Yu Li cook? Did she do laundry? Did she mop the floor? Did she run errands for Xu Damao? Did she help out with his elderly relatives?"

Lou Xiao'e speaks quickly but not erratically, like popping beans. She has spent more than a year working at the neighborhood office, learning mediation from Aunt Zhang. She has long since developed a set of flexible yet firm, tactful, and persuasive communication skills to deal with unreasonable, domineering, and feigning-confusion people.

"Marriage is about two people working together, united as one. Only when the family is stable can the whole family feel at ease. How come in your eyes, Uncle, Yu Li has become a mere decoration, lying around waiting to be served, only taking and never giving?"

"Don't forget, Xu Damao's mother used to come over every few days to clean the house and change the bedding; as soon as Yu Li came in, she took over all those chores, rain or shine. Isn't that real physical labor? Isn't that a real financial contribution?"

Yi Zhonghai opened his mouth, but couldn't utter a single word for a long time.

He already disliked Yu Li's shrewishness, and when he saw her upright posture and piercing gaze, he suddenly remembered Zhang Shufen who had talked back to him years ago—women should be submissive and cautious in their words and actions. Someone like Yu Li, who dared to tear off the mask, was just a troublemaker in the courtyard! Today she dared to yell at Xu Damao, tomorrow she would dare to curse him, an old man. He had to be suppressed!

Lou Xiao'e is even more formidable; her words are sharper than a knife, and her mind is as precise as a scale. She's just another Sha Zhu—you can't afford to offend her, and you can't swallow this insult.

Yi Zhonghai gritted his teeth: Sooner or later, he would uproot the entire He family to vent his anger!

Seeing Yi Zhonghai blushing with embarrassment, Yan Bugui quickly stepped forward, intending to help the old man out of the predicament. He wasn't helping for nothing—Yi Zhonghai had given him a push behind the scenes, and he had to repay that favor.

"He family daughter-in-law, you can't say that. What's the most precious thing these past two years? Grain! If Xu Damao hired people to do housework with grain, the line would be so long it would block the alleyway. Is that the same as getting a wife?"

Lou Xiao'e scoffed, "So our Third Uncle really thinks marrying a wife is like hiring a day laborer? In your Teacher Yan's eyes, a daughter-in-law has to sign a contract of servitude as soon as she enters the family? She eats a bite of your food and has to be your slave for life? Deputy Director Ma, did Director Qian really choose this person personally?"

Yan Bugui and Deputy Director Ma's expressions changed simultaneously. Deputy Director Ma quickly waved his hand, "I really don't know about this. You should ask Director Qian directly tomorrow..."

"Uncle Yan, don't make baseless accusations! I didn't mean that!" Yan Bugui was sweating profusely—if this got out, matchmakers would probably have to avoid his house when his three sons were looking for partners.

"But you're implying this in every single word. Grain is expensive? It's as if the Yu family is so poor they can't even afford a bowl of rice for their daughter. Have you forgotten? Back then, matchmakers wore down the Yu family's doorstep. Without Xu Damao, Yu Li couldn't get married?"

"What I mean is... settling down and starting a family, yes! No matter what, Yu Li has been married into the Xu family for two years and hasn't gotten pregnant yet. As a daughter-in-law, she hasn't fulfilled her duties!"

Yan Bugui was so anxious that he kept rubbing his hands, his words tumbling out in a rush, until Lou Xiao'e's barrage of questions left him tongue-tied. He never expected that Lou Xiao'e's tongue had become so fluent in the past two years that even he, a schoolteacher, couldn't keep up.

"Yan Bugui, what nonsense are you spouting!"

The taut string in Yu Li's mind snapped—hearing him use childbirth as an excuse to smear her own image, her anger surged to the top of her head, and she pointed her finger at his nose and yelled.

"You can't get pregnant? Blame me? Xu Damao, isn't that what you always say behind my back? Fine, then don't blame me for being ruthless!"

Before she finished speaking, she turned and walked quickly and firmly toward the backyard, heading straight for the medical examination report in the drawer.

"Yu Li! Stop right there! Where are you going?!"

As soon as Xu Damao saw her set off, his heart tightened, and he wanted to chase after her.

Lou Xiao'e, however, preemptively shouted, "Xu Damao, you dare touch her? I'll go call the Women's Federation right now!"

The shout was like a block of ice hitting him, and Xu Damao froze on the spot, his feet rooted to the spot, not daring to move an inch.

Yu Li rushed across the courtyard and disappeared into the backyard in the blink of an eye; Xu Damao watched her disappear, knowing he couldn't stop her, a surge of anger rising in his teeth, and he glared fiercely at Lou Xiao'e—his gaze was chillingly cold.

Lou Xiao'e felt a chill run down her spine, and her heart sank: If she had known this would happen, she really shouldn't have been soft-hearted and spoken up for Yu Li. She had to quickly talk to Yu Zhu's senior brother and ask the film crew if they could still send Xu Damao back to the countryside to show films.

People like this should just sit obediently on the edge of a field and crank a projector; they don't deserve to stay in Beijing and breathe.

A short while later, Yu Li returned clutching a piece of paper, the edges still damp with sweat. She held it up high, flashing it to everyone, her voice clear and energetic: "I've heard a lot of rumors these past two years, and it's been worrying me, so I went to the First People's Hospital for a thorough checkup—the doctor himself said I'm in excellent health, having a baby? No problems at all!"

As soon as she finished speaking, Xu Damao's eyes instantly became bloodshot and red!

"She actually dared... she actually dared to expose this!!"

His nails dug into his palms, his teeth aching with hatred: He should have hit her harder! If he had beaten her so badly she would have been bedridden for half a month, this whole drama wouldn't have happened!

Everyone else in the courtyard was stunned, and a buzzing sound suddenly erupted.

No one expected that Yu Li would actually investigate! But weren't all those rumors just things they talked about? Especially the third auntie, she was the most talkative.

Back then, Yan Jiecheng insisted on marrying Yu Li, but when he noticed that her belly hadn't started showing any signs of pregnancy, his third aunt would often mutter in the yard, "This girl probably has a congenital problem..."