Courtyard House: Starting with a 28-inch motorcycle

Xu Damao lay paralyzed on the bed, barely clinging to life, wishing he could close his eyes on the spot. Now he could be considered "famous" in the courtyard. Even ten jokes combined couldn't overshadow his resounding reputation. At that moment, all his pride and self-esteem collapsed... Take any one of these incidents, and for the next few decades, he would have to keep a low profile in the courtyard.

He was still thinking that Hong Jingqiu, that bitch, probably wanted to kill him by using diarrhea so she could make room to pair up with Sha Zhu. Luckily, he was given feces and survived.

Actually, Xu Damao was dazed right after he finished defecating. Later, he was held down and forced to defecate, so his mind was completely blank. He didn't hear He Yuzhu shouting outside at all. He only remembered Hong Jingqiu rushing into the toilet and locking the door from the inside—so he concluded that she was deliberately hiding from him.

However, once he's calmed down, he'll definitely pay back double tomorrow.

When Yan Bugui heard the commotion and rushed over, Xu Damao had already been carried into the house. He tiptoed and peeked at the door, but finding the smell too strong, he ultimately didn't go in. He regretted missing out on the show.

……

As soon as Liu Haizhong entered the house, he first praised Liu Tianqi for his cleverness, and then showered Liu Guang with compliments. Today, he finally felt relieved, and the pent-up anger in his chest dissipated completely. He knew perfectly well that while Yan Bugui had seemingly pushed him down, it was Hong Jingqiu and Xu Damao who had stabbed him in the back.

It's a pity I didn't get a chance to give Hong Jingqiu a spoonful too, but it was worth it to have caused Xu Damao so much trouble.

He had just reached the toilet door when he saw that Xu Damao was simply exhausted and frozen to the ground. He deliberately made it up as "eating something bad" just to annoy Xu Damao—but an old man intervened and ruined the whole thing.

After the old man returned to the house, he closed the door tightly.

An old man solemnly instructed, "No matter what happens tomorrow, don't go anywhere. Just stay home! Even if Sha Zhu causes a huge uproar, let him handle it himself!"

He was genuinely afraid—even if the old woman said something unintentional, Hong Jingqiu could hold a grudge for ten years. It was safest to stay far away. If Hong Jingqiu dared to harm Sha Zhu, what if she did the same to his own child one day…? He didn't even want to think about the consequences.

An older woman asked in bewilderment, "Honey, what's wrong? The yard was in an uproar just now, with people shouting like crazy."

An old man sighed deeply: "Don't ask anymore, it's a worry. I'll have a meeting tomorrow at noon, and I'm not wearing this 'old man' label anymore. Let the yard do whatever it wants, we'll just stay here with our two kids and live a peaceful life."

After saying that, he stood by the window with his hands behind his back, gazing at the old locust tree in the yard, his brows furrowed tightly. Ever since Hong Jingqiu married into this courtyard, chaos had never stopped, and he hadn't had a single day of peace.

Seeing his expression, the older woman stopped asking questions—she knew her husband was doing this for the child and for her.

As dawn broke, Hong Jingqiu dragged her leaden legs home, eager to see if Xu Damao was awake so she could wash and change him. She knew all too well the suffering he had endured the previous night.

Pushing open the door, a strong stench hit her. Xu Damao lay there stiffly, his eyes vacant, like a corpse just taken from its coffin. The bed was filthy and messy. She gritted her teeth, boiled water, wiped him down, changed the sheets, swept, and mopped the floor. After all that, her forehead was covered in cold sweat.

Hong Jingqiu, clutching a towel, squatted by the bed, gazing at Xu Damao's ashen face, and spoke softly:

Hong Jingqiu: "Goujian endured ten years of bitterness, and Han Xin didn't even draw his sword when he suffered the humiliation of crawling between someone's legs—Da Mao, stand tall, the sky won't fall!"

Before she could finish speaking, Xu Damao abruptly turned his head, his eyes gleaming with icy coldness as he stared intently at her: "Last night, did you really intend to drug me to death so you could have time to flirt with Sha Zhu?"

"Xu Damao!" Hong Jingqiu's voice boomed, and she jumped up. "The day I, Hong Jingqiu, entered this house, I swore an oath while clutching my red veil—I'll follow you wherever you go, whether you're a chicken or a dog! Cheating on my husband? I'd rather dream about it than do that!"

Xu Damao sneered, "How come that silly Zhu is still jumping around like that? You two are both so energetic!"

Hong Jingqiu stamped her feet in frustration: "He rushed into the toilet before us, squatted there for ages without coming out, and then dashed in seven or eight more times, cursing as he ran, 'We have to get an explanation today!' The whole alley could hear him!"

Xu Damao immediately fell silent.

Hong Jingqiu wiped her face: "The most important thing right now is how you will see Sha Zhu—he will never swallow this insult."

Before she could finish speaking, Xu Damao slapped her across the face with a sharp "smack." Hong Jingqiu was stunned. Her lips trembled, and she was about to explain when she saw that her husband's eyes were red and his fingers were shaking. He was clearly bent over by humiliation.

Her anger flared up instantly, and she lunged at him, tearing at him with her nails, leaving several bloody scratches on Xu Damao's neck. Xu Damao initially pushed her away fiercely, but soon he gave up, panting heavily as he sat down to the side, staring at the dying embers in the stove, slowly pondering: We'll find out at dawn whether Shazhu has been affected or not; we'll know everything when we meet again.

Hong Jingqiu curled up on the edge of the bed, sobbing, her shoulders heaving; Xu Damao squatted by the stove, silent, staring at the flickering embers in the ashes.

As dawn broke, He Yuzhu swallowed a pill prepared in his spatial dimension. It tasted slightly bitter, and less than half a quarter of an hour later, his face turned ashen, his fingertips went cold, and he was even panting heavily when he spoke. He looked like he had just crawled out of a coffin all day.

He leaned on a bamboo stick and swayed as he entered the street office, heading straight for Director Hong's office.

"Director Hong, Xu Damao treated me to dinner yesterday, and he spiked the food and drinks on the table! Everyone in the compound saw it. I'm not here to complain, I'm here to demand justice!"

Director Hong frowned deeply: "Dare to drug your neighbor? This is tantamount to stepping on someone's life!" He immediately called three clerks and, together with He Yuzhu, rushed to the Xu family's house.

As soon as he stepped into the courtyard, Yan Bugui, with his sharp eyes, recognized Director Hong and He Yuzhu walking side by side. He immediately grabbed an enamel mug and followed them—saying "Let's see what's going on," but actually hoping that Xu Damao would be embarrassed in public and that he could kick him a couple of times.

The front yard erupted in chaos as Liu Haizhong rushed over, shuffling along in his slippers.

As soon as she lifted the curtain, Director Hong froze: inside, both men had swollen noses and bruises, Hong Jingqiu had blood seeping from her forehead, and Xu Damao had a split lip. She had no time to concern herself with the couple's fight and immediately asked:

"Xu Damao, Hong Jingqiu, did you trick He Yuzhu into attending the banquet and secretly poison him? Is that true?"

Hong Jingqiu's legs went weak and she almost knelt down—this accusation was no small matter; it wasn't just about standing in the corner and writing a self-criticism!

She cried out, "Director Hong, we're innocent! We were both so badly injured we could barely stand, everyone in the hospital saw it! It was probably just leftover food that went bad, nobody noticed..."

He Yuzhu interjected with a sneer: "I was so embarrassed I wanted to disappear, and you just casually say 'I wasn't paying attention'? Do you believe that?"

Director Hong waved his hand, not blaming him for using foul language—anyone in his situation would have already grabbed a stool and stormed over. Looking at He Yuzhu's face, it was ashen and purplish, his lips were dry and cracked, clearly he was extremely exhausted and had only turned to the organization for support because he was afraid of being beaten.

She gently advised, "Comrade Yuzhu, don't worry. We will definitely investigate this matter thoroughly and will not show any favoritism!"

By this time, the entrance was completely surrounded, with everyone chattering away, recounting the whole farce from the previous night. As Director Hong listened, he couldn't help but smile.

An older woman wearing a blue headscarf leaned closer and whispered, "Director Hong, I saw it with my own eyes about Hong Jingqiu's matter..."

Director Hong nodded and turned to He Yuzhu: "Comrade Yuzhu, you heard it too, it was indeed a misunderstanding. How do you plan to resolve this?"

He Yuzhu raised an eyelid: "Misunderstanding? Pay five yuan, not a penny less."

Director Hong turned around, his tone leaving no room for negotiation: "Did you hear me? Pay five yuan."

Xu Damao frowned: "That's too ruthless, at most two pieces."

Liu Haizhong immediately retorted, "Five yuan? You two got a great deal! Sha Zhu earns thirty-four yuan and fifty cents a month at the factory, and he needs egg drop soup to recover after lying down for two days—five yuan for a good night's sleep for you two, is that expensive?"

Director Hong nodded: "It's settled then."

Just as she was about to leave, Liu Haizhong stopped her again: "Director Hong, Xu Damao still owes me three yuan! Yesterday, my son and I helped him with cleaning, carrying people, and emptying his latrines. He agreed to give us one yuan each, and he promised it in front of everyone!"

Xu Damao nodded vigorously—if Liu Haizhong and his son hadn't dragged him back into the house despite the stench, he probably would have frozen to death by the latrine.

Two neighbors squeezed in; they were the two men who had carried him home the night before.

Xu Damao took out some money, first handing five small bills to He Yuzhu, then one yuan each to Liu Haizhong and his son, and the two accomplices, his voice choked with emotion: "Thank... thank you for saving my life."

Director Hong waved his hand: "Alright, it's inevitable that neighbors will bump into each other. Please be more understanding in the future. A close neighbor is worse than a distant relative."

After saying that, he left with his men.

After her figure disappeared, He Yuzhu suddenly turned around, his gaze like a knife piercing Hong Jingqiu: "I'll remember this debt." With that, he strode away, his back so strong that he didn't look like a patient.

……

As Xu Damao watched He Yuzhu's departing figure, the weight on his heart lessened by half. When he turned to look at Hong Jingqiu, the frost on his face melted away, and he began to speak softly and tenderly, coaxing her into smiling through her tears.

But no one notices that once a couple has fought, even if they later become very loving, that scar will always remain in their hearts—no matter how well it is hidden, one day the wind will blow, and the crack will tear open and widen.

Last night, Qin Huairu, holding the reins and supporting Jia Zhangshi, watched with great interest from behind the crowd; this morning, she strolled over again and stood by the wall to listen to the whole thing.

Back home, she leaned against the doorframe, a slight upturn at the corners of her mouth, but the smile didn't reach her eyes: "Tsk, how interesting."

Although Sha Zhu's face was pale, he had a strong voice that shook the roof beams; then look at the Xu couple, they were slumped there as if their bones had been removed, even their coughs were wheezing.

Anyone who gets involved with Sha Zhu is guaranteed to be force-fed a bellyful of excrement soup—Bang Geng tasted it once, and Xu Damao swallowed it twice. She suddenly turned her head, her gaze falling on Jia Zhangshi's face, and smiled silently, as cold as well water.