Courtyard House: In this life, I have a new home!

2

"Brother Fang, everything is ready."

Fang Chengxuan nodded, and the two walked towards the backyard. As they walked, Fang Chengxuan said, "Yang Yuande, you should know why I'm helping you."

"Brother Fang, I know what I'm doing."

Yang Yuande nodded repeatedly, a smile plastered on his face.

"Don't worry, from now on, if anyone dares to cause trouble for you in the courtyard again, I'll be the first to rush out and stand in front of them. Especially that Qin Huairu, I won't let her get close to you."

Fang Chengxuan bent down and picked up the parts on the ground. Most of them were taken from old bicycles, and it was not difficult to put them together.

Watching from the side, Yang Yuande couldn't help but praise, "Brother Fang, you're really something, you can even assemble a bicycle."

Fang Chengxuan glanced at him and said, "Watch carefully. If you can learn this, you won't suffer any losses later."

Yang Yuande, quick-witted, immediately thanked him, "Thank you, Brother Fang, you're so kind to me."

"Don't value money too much. Learn the craft well from your master, and even if you want to leave later, the factory won't want to let you go."

Fang Chengxuan's words had a hidden meaning.

Yang Yuande nodded vigorously: "Brother Fang, I've got it."

"Alright, go get your marriage certificate. I wish you two a prosperous life together."

Fang Chengxuan stood up, washed his hands, and asked Yang Yuande to push the car away.

Yang Yuande, grinning foolishly, pushed the cobbled-together bicycle past Qin Huairu. Her gaze was like a knife, piercing his back.

After Yang Yuande left the courtyard, Qin Huairu walked around from the moon gate, biting her lip and staring at Fang Chengxuan with resentment in her eyes.

"Fang Chengxuan, we need to talk."

Fang Chengxuan didn't even look up: "There's nothing to talk about."

Fang Chengxuan wiped his hands clean, glanced at the clock on the wall, and turned to walk into the house.

Fang Chengxuan.

Seeing that he hadn't stopped, Qin Huairu cried out anxiously, rushed over, and grabbed him from behind, hugging his waist. "Can't you just turn around and look at me? You can do whatever you want, I beg you, please let me go this time, okay?"

Caught off guard, she was suddenly embraced by someone—it was Qin Huairu.

Fang Chengxuan got goosebumps on his back. Without the slightest hesitation, he grabbed her wrist, flung her arm, and threw her out.

"Qin Huairu, I think we weren't tough enough last time."

The coldness on his face could freeze a person to death.

Qin Huairu stumbled and fell, using her hands to push herself up. When she looked up, her eyes were already wet. "Fang Chengxuan, my mother-in-law gave her job to Yang Yuande. She only gives me five yuan a month. My child and I are almost starving."

She was sobbing, her eyes filled with pitifulness.

"I'm truly desperate, can't you give me a way to survive?"

By now, Qin Huairu had long since abandoned all pretense of dignity. The privileged life she used to enjoy was gone; she didn't care about anything anymore.

Fang Chengxuan looked at her with nothing but disdain.

This woman wants a way of life where he has a boyfriend but still flirts with her, and then, like Sha Zhu, Xu Damao, and Yi Zhonghai, he pays her money every month to support the family.

He smirked and laughed out loud.

"A way out?"

"I'm afraid I've left you too much."

Fang Chengxuan's face turned ice cold. He strode forward, grabbed Qin Huairu by the collar, and dragged her toward the central courtyard without any tenderness.

Along the way, the neighbors in the courtyard who didn't have to go to work saw this scene and their eyes widened, looking over with excitement.

Fang Chengxuan walked to the entrance of the Jia family's house in the Intermediate Court, kicked the bench next to him hard, and the wood hit the door, smashing it open with a bang.

"Jia Zhangshi, come out and control your daughter-in-law."

"Having been a widow for so long, you've lost all shame, haven't you? Coming here to act like a scoundrel?"

His voice wasn't loud, but it was just enough for everyone watching in the courtyard to hear him clearly.

Everyone was in an uproar.

"Wow! Jia Zhangshi's daughter-in-law is being a scoundrel to Fang Chengxuan? Tsk tsk, that makes sense. In the whole courtyard, apart from Yi Zhonghai, Fang Chengxuan's family is the wealthiest."

"It's tough being a widow, isn't it? Who doesn't know about Qin Huairu's affair with that old man in the cellar? She washes Sha Zhu's underwear all day long, probably trading her body for food stamps. Now that she sees Fang Chengxuan has money, she wants to follow his example, but who knew he wouldn't fall for it."

Some people were skeptical, saying, "That can't be right, Qin Huairu doesn't seem like that kind of person."

Someone immediately chimed in, "Doesn't seem like it? Then why are Uncle Yi, Sha Zhu, Xu Damao, and a bunch of other men from the factory all rushing to help her? Why don't they help us out?"

Qin Huairu was thrown to the ground, and these words felt like knives scraping against her ears. Her face first turned bright red, then turned deathly pale.

She yelled at the top of her lungs, "Fang Chengxuan, you're talking nonsense! I didn't!"

"No?"

Fang Chengxuan didn't even raise an eyebrow. "If you didn't do anything indecent, how come you were sent to a labor camp for almost a month?"

He curled his lips into a chilling smile.

Fang Chengxuan raised his voice and shouted, "Even a grown man like me knows to avoid suspicion; I usually steer clear of you. But you, a widow, keep hanging around me every day. What's the meaning of this?"

He could hear the gossip in the compound clearly.

The people in this courtyard sympathized with the weak, but they preferred watching the spectacle unfold at the widow's house. Qin Huairu was weak, but she was also the spectacle itself. The men pitied her and were willing to stand up for her. But the women were sharp-eyed; everyone had their own sense of right and wrong, and none of them were willing to speak up for her.

Fang Chengxuan kicked the stool away again, glanced at the Jia family's direction, and sneered, "Jia Zhangshi, when you lie in bed at night, do you dream about your son?"

Behind the door, Jia Zhangshi's eyes were filled with hatred, and her chest heaved violently.

Outside the door, Qin Huairu cried and shouted, "I didn't do that kind of thing! Don't make false accusations! Fang Chengxuan, what grudge do you hold against me that you have to bully a widow like this?"

Her voice shrill: "I don't want to live anymore!"

As he spoke, he rushed towards the wall.

Someone instinctively reached out to pull.

Fang Chengxuan swept a glance over—a gaze as cold as a knife, sending chills down the spine. The man froze on the spot, his hand retracting.

Fang Chengxuan looked at everyone in the courtyard one by one.

Everyone lowered their heads.

Qin Huairu stood there, stunned, and no one pulled her away.

"What's wrong? Don't you want to die? Go ahead and crash into me."

Qin Huairu stood there, unsure whether to go up or down.

She gritted her teeth: "Fine, I'll just kill myself right here today, at least that way I can live a life of integrity!"

This time she really did run into the wall.

She thought to herself, "Someone must be stopping me."

But no one moved.

She paused for a moment, then slowed her pace.

After two such incidents, even the most clueless person would have figured it out. Someone pursed their lips.

Qin Huairu made a tough decision and banged her head against the wall. It looked like she was hitting it hard, but she was actually holding back—after hitting the wall, she slumped to the ground and pretended to faint.

"Ouch, we really bumped into each other."

"Not even a scratch on the scalp."

No one spoke.

Fang Chengxuan looked down at Qin Huairu lying on the ground and said coldly, "One yuan. Who will go and get a bucket of manure?"

"I'll do it!"

Some people, not wanting to miss out on the excitement, grabbed the money and ran.

Qin Huairu, lying on the ground, felt a sudden tightness in her chest.

A moment later, just as she opened her eyes to the smell, a bucket of dark, gooey stuff was poured over her. She instinctively screamed, "Aaaaaah—!"

Fang Chengxuan threw down the bucket and looked at the filthy person who jumped up.

"Fang Chengxuan, if you do this, I'm going to report you to the law enforcement office!"

"Go ahead."

Fang Chengxuan's eyes were cold, and a disdainful smile played on his lips.

Qin Huairu's eyes flickered—if she really went to report it, Fang Chengxuan would definitely insist that she was the one who started it. She still had a criminal record.

"Waaah... I don't want to live anymore!"

Qin Huairu ran away crying.

The people in the courtyard looked at each other, and no one said a word. When they looked at Fang Chengxuan again, their eyes met, and they quickly looked away, without even realizing it—their eyes were full of fear.

"Jia Zhangshi, you better keep an eye on your daughter-in-law. She's already lost her job once; if she loses it again, she can forget about ever getting back into a factory."

Fang Chengxuan shouted into the room, knowing that Jia Zhangshi was hiding behind the door and wouldn't come out. He snorted coldly and turned to leave.

Back in the backyard, he raised his hand and tapped his brow with his knuckles.

Qin Huairu was furious with him today. If Xinrui knew about this, who knows what she would think of him.

"Aunt Chen, could you boil some water for me? I want to take a shower."

Fang Chengxuan said to Chen Ying, whose face was full of worry.

Chen Ying nodded and turned to get back to work.

Fang Chengxuan carried a bucket of water into the house to wash up. He lay down on a chair, his mind racing with all the messy things that happened in the courtyard house, and his temples throbbed.

evening.

As soon as the steel rolling mill's closing bell rang, workers from each household returned one after another. News of what had happened during the day quickly spread, and the courtyard was filled with discussions.

Lin Qinqin stood at the door for a while, then gasped. She turned and walked towards the backyard, and just as she reached the door, she saw Fang Chengxuan standing there.

"Sister-in-law, I have something to tell you."

Fang Chengxuan called out to her.

Lin Qinqin asked, "What is it?"

Fang Chengxuan leaned closer and spoke in a low voice.

After listening, Lin Qinqin looked up at him and asked, "What about my man?"

"Don't worry, I'll make arrangements to get him out as soon as possible."

Fang Chengxuan didn't care about letting Zhang Yangde go this time. Zhang Yangde was just a nobody in the courtyard; his wife, Lin Qinqin, was being treated differently by Yi Zhonghai, and he was already fed up with the old man and his gang. After returning, he was probably much more obedient than He Yuzhu and the others.

Fang Chengxuan's idea was to manage the compound well and prevent these disgusting things from reaching Rong Xinrui's eyes. There was only one way—to get all the residents, except for the troublemakers, to stand on his side.

"I understand, I'll do as you say."

Lin Qinqin took a deep breath, a calculating glint in her eyes.

From that day on, Lin Qinqin began visiting each household. Using the events of the day as a starting point, she recounted every single thing Qin Huairu had done, peeling away the woman's facade bit by bit.

On the Jia family's side.

Qin Huairu had just washed off the excrement and urine and put on her clothes when she was met with a broom.

"Qin Huairu, you shameless bastard! You've cheated on my son! You've gone too far!"

When Jia Zhangshi thought about how Fang Chengxuan had blocked her door and scolded her during the day, she was so frightened that she didn't even dare to show her face. She vented all her anger on Qin Huairu.

"Look at yourself now! Everyone knows you're having an affair! Qin Huairu, you...you!"

Jia Zhangshi went all out, swinging a broom and whipping Qin Huairu.

Qin Huairu dodged and cried, tears streaming down her face: "Mother-in-law, I didn't! That was Fang Chengxuan's wicked scheme. He said that on purpose to harm me!"

That night, the Jia family was in complete chaos. The neighbors heard the commotion, peeked out, and then quickly retreated back inside.

When Uncle Yi Zhonghai returned home and heard about this, he went to the Jia family's door. Hearing Qin Huairu crying and Jia Zhangshi cursing inside, he raised his hand and knocked on the door.