Courtyard Houses: The Great Masters of a Nation Hidden Within

What Sha Zhu said was pretty much the truth.

Xu Damao, that kid, goes out to show movies. He's holding his ration book in his hand; he's a full-time employee, and he's presentable enough.

He's impeccably dressed, spends money freely, and has a silver tongue. It's not uncommon for him to hook up with a widow he's never seen before.

His mother was trying to set him up with Lou Xiao'e, and he was still dreaming of marrying a swan. To avoid any complications, he behaved himself for a while.

Unexpectedly, Lou Xiao'e's plans fell through, and Xu Damao, feeling disheartened, simply let loose.

Unfortunately, he had bad luck and got into trouble with someone he couldn't get rid of.

In the middle of the crowd, a woman clung tightly to Xu Damao, sniffling, and cried out to the neighbors who had formed a circle around her.

Her voice trembled with tears: "Da Mao told me that we were dating freely and that he didn't mind that I was a widow. But he turned his back on me and disappeared for more than ten days. I was desperate, so I hid outside his factory and secretly waited for him. I finally managed to catch him tonight, so I followed him to his house."

Changing the subject, she turned to Xu Damao and said, "Damao, I was afraid of affecting your reputation at work, so I didn't even cause trouble at your factory, did I? I only stopped you here because I had no other choice."

The woman looked to be in her mid-twenties, about the same age as Xu Damao. Her words were pleasant to hear, but her eyes darted around and her face showed signs of having frequented brothels.

At this moment, Wang Tiezhu whispered to Gao Jianguo, "Is that the man you mentioned, Xu Damao? He's even more impressive than I've heard. I recognize this woman; she used to work in the sex trade. We dealt with her during our reform movement."

Gao Jianguo felt a sudden sense of relief.

Although efforts to eradicate the underground businesses that existed before liberation have been ongoing for the past two years, it's impossible to clean them all up in one go. The crackdown didn't gradually come to an end until 1958 or 1959. So it's not surprising that Wang Tiezhu and his group reformed her.

No wonder this woman is so shameless. Most widows probably wouldn't have the guts to tear off a piece of dough and stomp on it.

Seeing that it was just a minor squabble between a man and a woman, and the conflict hadn't escalated into a full-blown argument, Gao Jianguo and Wang Tiezhu didn't move and simply stood aside to watch the show.

Besides, they've already been reformed. It's a new society now. These shady characters are looking for a better future. Wang Tiezhu shouldn't interfere in their private affairs, otherwise he'd be breaking the rules.

However, he still told Wan Yueying and Lou Xiao'e to take Xiao Fang back to Gao Jianguo's room first, as this messy scene shouldn't be seen by the little girl.

Yi Zhonghai, who had squeezed into the crowd, was now in the middle.

Liu Haizhong, leaning on crutches and dragging his broken leg, insisted on showing himself off; he just loved to make his presence known.

He and Yan Bugui were at their wits' end with this woman.

Liu Haizhong and Yan Bugui were fine handling things within proper rules and regulations, but when it came to this shameless woman, they were completely helpless. Yan Bugui even started lecturing this woman about the traditional virtues of obedience and submission, which was utter nonsense.

Upon seeing Yi Zhonghai, Liu Haizhong quickly said to the woman, "Miss, our patriarch has arrived. If you have anything to say, just tell him and let him handle it." At this point, he stopped mentioning that he was the second patriarch.

Upon hearing this, the woman grabbed Yi Zhonghai's arm: "Boss, you have to stand up for me! Xu Damao lied to me and now he's denying everything!"

This woman, though making a scene, wasn't brainless. She kept insisting that Xu Damao had lied to her, but she wouldn't utter a single word about what he had lied about or to what extent.

They probably understand that with so many people around, gossip can run wild, and saying things too bluntly can not only make them lose face, but also easily ruin things.

She knew exactly how to handle things. If she lied to Xu Damao too little, he would be considered a scoundrel. But if she lied too much, in this day and age, neither of them would be considered a good person. If things really came to that, even if they managed to get in, they wouldn't be able to stay in the courtyard any longer.

Yi Zhonghai said to the woman, "Young lady, I'm not a leader, just an ordinary worker. It's just that in this courtyard, the neighbors give me a word because of my old face."

As he spoke, he glanced around and decided that making a scene in the street was indeed inappropriate. He then turned to the woman and said, "How about this, girl? There are too many people here, and it's not good for yourselves to argue. Why don't we find a place, right here in Xu Damao's house, where you can sit down with him and sort this out properly? What do you think?"

This woman is quick-witted. As long as she can get into Xu Damao's house, she's already won half the battle. She doesn't care how she gets in. If they can't reach an agreement after sitting down, she can just go outside and throw a tantrum again.

Seeing that her expression was beginning to relax, Yi Zhonghai added fuel to the fire: "Look, the officers from the police station and the deputy captain of our factory's militia team happen to be here. If you're still worried, have them come along too. They can be witnesses, and at least you'll be safe. You should feel more at ease then, right?"

As he spoke, he pointed towards Gao Jianguo and Wang Tiezhu.

The neighbors from the No. 3 Rolling Mill in the courtyard realized what he meant when they heard this. Indeed, Gao Jianguo, the deputy captain of the factory's militia team, lived in this courtyard.

The woman felt a little flustered when she glanced at Wang Tiezhu, and her eyes began to dart around. She recognized what kind of business he was in, and when she heard Yi Zhonghai's words, it became even more certain.

But then she thought, "I want to have a free love relationship and a good future. The police station can't interfere with that. 'Reform yourself properly and pursue tomorrow openly.' Isn't that what you said to us? You should be on my side in this matter."

Those who have been through the wringer in that kind of environment sometimes have a roguish, unruly spirit deep down.

With a determined heart, she grew bolder, but she also knew that she must not drag others into this mess. If she really angered someone, she would be the one who suffered.

She bowed slightly to Gao Jianguo and Wang Tiezhu: "Leaders and government officials, then I'll trouble you two to be my witnesses. You can rest assured, don't interfere. I'm in the right, I'll speak to the Xu family myself."

That was a clever remark, quickly clearing the two people of any wrongdoing. However, the mention of "government" revealed a bit about her past.

Gao Jianguo had been eagerly waiting to get a piece of this juicy gossip. The courtyard had been as calm as a mirror lately, so why turn away a juicy piece of gossip that had been delivered to his door? Anyway, it wouldn't affect him, so he just pulled up a chair and watched the show.

He grinned and said, "I'm not a proper leader, and that's not my job, but I can still be a witness."

Wang Tiezhu, who was in charge of mediating these trivial matters among the neighbors, couldn't possibly refuse to go. He smiled and exchanged a glance with Gao Jianguo: "Okay, I'll go too."

Seeing that the two had agreed, Yi Zhonghai waved to the people in the courtyard to disperse. There was no need to crowd around their little romantic affair. Regardless of whether Xu Damao was coaxing or deceiving, just tell me whether they were dating or not. Right now, they were getting along quite well.

Gao Jianguo was also curious. Given Xu Damao's personality, he couldn't possibly get him to admit anything just by talking. What was this woman holding onto that allowed her to control him?