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

28

The law enforcement officer rubbed his temples: "The old lady inside begged me, and her words gave me a headache. She said that Sha Zhu beat Xu Damao up like that, and Xu Damao turned around and retaliated against Sha Zhu. If no one takes care of Sha Zhu, he'll be completely finished."

"Can you control this? You even said you'd reformed that hoodlum named Yang Yuande, and now he's working at a steel mill and even married a wife."

"You're quite capable, aren't you?"

Fang Chengxuan glanced at him: "You believe that?"

"If thugs were so easy to reform, law enforcement could just arrest a few, give them a lecture, and lock them up for a while, wouldn't they all become good people?"

"Yang Yuande, tell this comrade why you made the change?"

Fang Chengxuan turned around and shouted something to Yang Yuande.

Standing before the law enforcement officers, Yang Yuande was still apprehensive. At 1.8 meters tall, his shoulders unconsciously hunched inwards. When his name was called, he jumped in fright.

Meeting the gaze of the law enforcement officer, he frantically scratched his head: "I used to loiter around on the streets, there was no other way."

"My parents passed away early, and I have no one to help me at home. I don't have any special skills, so how can I survive if I don't just drift through life?"

"Later, I met Brother Fang. He's a really capable person, so I thought I'd work for him. Getting a job at the steel rolling mill was something I had to work hard to get from Jia Zhangshi. I still have to give her five yuan every month, and I also have to bring her some rice and noodles from time to time."

"I only dared to pursue her after I had a stable job. I swore a solemn oath to treat her well and to work my ass off in the future before she agreed to be with me."

As Yang Yuande spoke, he scratched his head, his face showing both panic and bewilderment.

The law enforcement officer glanced at him, then looked back at Fang Chengxuan.

"Do you understand now? For a prodigal son to turn back, he has to want to. Others can only lend a hand at most."

"I did help him get to where he is now, but I didn't force-feed him the food."

Fang Chengxuan's tone was very indifferent.

Yang Yuande and Sha Zhu are not on the same wavelength at all.

Yang Yuande may be a scoundrel, but he knows it's wrong. He wants to change, but he lacks the drive. No one helps him, and he can't survive on his own.

When you encounter a benefactor, you'll naturally settle down and live a quiet life.

He Yuzhu is different.

That person was foolish, stubborn, and inflexible; wherever he went, it was all his own doing.

"Sigh, it's not easy either."

The law enforcement officer sighed.

"Comrade, the person inside is elderly. If they bump into something and get into trouble when they come to see me, I'll be in big trouble."

"Please try to persuade them for me again later."

Fang Chengxuan poured another cup of tea for the law enforcement officer. The fact that the officer was sitting there talking to him meant he wanted to offer him some advice.

Chinese people generally sympathize with the old and the young, and if they can persuade someone to reconcile, they will never advise them to separate.

The law enforcement officer glanced at Fang Chengxuan and shook his head slightly: "You're alright, kid. I'll go talk to him over there."

Knowing that he had been seen through, and knowing that Fang Chengxuan was the kind of person who wouldn't change his mind just because someone offered a few words of advice.

The law enforcement officer got up and went back inside. With a combination of coaxing and intimidation, he finally managed to persuade the deaf old lady to stop making a fuss.

After he finished, he left.

Fang Chengxuan stood up to see the person off, and casually handed them a pack of cigarettes: "Thank you for your trouble today."

"Hey, it's none of your business. Okay, I'm going now."

As the law enforcement officer left, he glanced at Fang Chengxuan with a hint of sympathy in his eyes.

The trouble in the courtyard finally subsided. He Yuzhu returned from the hospital, overheard some gossip from the neighbors, and his anger flared up instantly. He rushed over in a few steps.

"Fang Chengxuan! You forced a deaf old lady to kneel before you?"

Fang Chengxuan turned to look at him, his face expressionless, but his pupils twitched. He Yuzhu felt uneasy under his gaze and unconsciously took a step back.

"If you dare touch me, I'll file a case!"

Yang Yuande rushed forward and kicked He Yuzhu in the stomach: "So what if I kicked you?"

"My brother has something to do right away and doesn't want any trouble. Don't think that just because he's not doing anything to you, I can't do anything about it!"

Yang Yuande was seething with anger, and the sight of He Yuzhu ignited his fury. Coupled with his desire to impress Fang Chengxuan, he didn't hold back in his kick.

He Yuzhu didn't dodge and was kicked, causing him to stumble and fall.

"Yang Yuande, have you gone mad?"

"Are you crazy? Sha Zhu, listen to me clearly—keep an eye on your deaf old lady. If she dares to come to my brother again and kneel and wail like a spoiled child, I'll deal with you too."

"Have you forgotten what I used to do?"

Yang Yuande raised his voice, glanced at the room where the deaf old woman was, and deliberately dragged out the last syllable: "I know a few reckless guys."

"I'll cripple both your legs then."

Inside the house, the deaf old woman sighed and called out, "Silly Zhu, get in here!"

He Yuzhu glanced at Fang Chengxuan and the others, feeling a chill run down his spine. He scrambled to his feet, still defiant, and said, "You just wait. Once my arm is healed, you'll be sorry!"

Yang Yuande sneered, raising his foot to kick again: "Fine, let's see who makes whom look better!"

He Yuzhu quickly dodged and slipped into the deaf old lady's room.

The old lady sat on the kang (a heated brick bed), her brows furrowed. When she saw him come in, tears suddenly streamed down her face.

"Silly Zhu, silly Zhu, what are you going to do now...?"

Today's performance didn't get Fang Chengxuan to back down; instead, it escalated the situation, even attracting the attention of the enforcement team. Their parting words were clearly an attempt to persuade her to stop. But not only did she not stop, she also dragged Yang Yuande into the mess.

She wasn't as muddle-headed as Sha Zhu.

Yang Yuande's last few words, shouted so loudly, were meant for her.

The old lady was silent for a while, then suddenly looked up and said, "Shazhu, listen to me—sign up to go to the countryside."

"Going to the countryside?"

He Yuzhu's eyes widened, his brows furrowed so deeply they could trap a fly: "Grandma, are you running a fever?"

"Why would I go to the countryside when I'm perfectly fine staying in the city?"

The deaf old woman stared at He Yuzhu, her voice low: "Silly Zhu, you're no longer of any use staying in this courtyard."

"Xu Damao is your mortal enemy; he'll never let you off the hook. None of the people in this courtyard will lend you a hand. You're already in your thirties; do you really want to be a bachelor for life, without even leaving any descendants?"

He Yuzhu sat to the side, his face so dark it could drip water.

"Who says I'm single?"

"Lou Xiao'e is my wife! If it weren't for Xu Damao interfering, my son would be old enough to run errands by now!"

The deaf old woman's chest heaved as she slapped her thigh in anger, yelling, "You stubborn fool!"

"Lou Xiao'e isn't coming back, and you're just going to sit here and wait for her?"

He Yuzhu's lips moved, but he didn't say anything.

Seeing his pathetic state, the deaf old woman was filled with regret. If she hadn't brought Sha Zhu and Lou Xiao'e together back then, Xu Damao and Sha Zhu would at most be enemies, and things wouldn't have escalated to this life-or-death situation.

She took a breath, then her tone became more serious: "Shazhu, I said I'd send you to the countryside for your own good."

"If you stay in this courtyard, with Xu Damao watching you every day, where are you going to find another wife? Are you really planning to end up like Xu Damao, without even a son in your life?"

The deaf old woman wished she could rip her heart out and show it to him.

He Yuzhu bit his lip, feeling embarrassed.

"Grandma, it's not as scary as you make it out to be. I know exactly what Xu Damao is capable of."

He looked completely indifferent.

"I'm a legitimate city resident, a worker with a secure job at the steel mill. Sending me to the countryside? That's just embarrassing!"

"What's so embarrassing about it?"

The deaf old woman glared at him: "Which family in the countryside doesn't have a few acres of land? Even if you lose your job, you can still harvest from the land; you won't starve."

"Besides, country girls are honest and kind-hearted. City women might think you're too old, but country women love your honest and simple nature."

"Go downstairs first, find a wife, have a baby, and then come back. With your skills, a cook like you won't go hungry."

As the deaf old woman spoke, her tone was filled with exasperation and disappointment.

He Yuzhu had no desire to go at all.

He has high standards; he wants a wife who looks like Qin Huairu or Lou Xiao'e. How pretty can a country girl be?

Xu Damao's first marriage was to someone from the city, and his second marriage was also to someone from the city. Even Fang Chengxuan's girlfriend was from the city. So why does he have to go to the countryside to find someone?

Isn't this humiliating him?

I won't do it.

He Yuzhu had made up his mind, his face full of impatience: "Alright, alright, old lady, don't worry about my affairs."

I know what I'm doing.

"It's just a wife, right? If I, He Yuzhu, really wanted to find one, surely I could find one?"

He didn't understand the meaning behind the deaf old lady's words at all, nor did he realize his situation in the courtyard. He thought it was the same as before.

The deaf old lady was so angry at his behavior that she kept slapping her thigh.

He Yuzhu came out of the deaf old lady's house, walking quite quickly.

Behind me came the sound of an old woman sighing, filled with frustration, her back slumped.

"Silly Zhu, if you can't figure this out yourself, there's nothing this old woman can do!"

He Yuzhu turned around and said in a nonchalant tone, "You just need to mind your own business. I'm a grown man, you don't need to worry about me."

The deaf old woman stared at his back, shaking her head repeatedly.

In the courtyard, Fang Chengxuan, Yang Yuande, Leng Si, and Zhang Yangde were sitting and drinking tea.

He Yuzhu walked over, his face grim: "Fang Chengxuan, what did you say to that old lady? Why did she insist that I sign up to go to the countryside?"

Fang Chengxuan looked up at him as if he were an idiot: "Are you out of your mind? What did that deaf old lady tell you to do? What does it have to do with me?"

"If it weren't for you, would the old lady have suddenly come up with this idea?"

He Yuzhu's voice suddenly rose.

Fang Chengxuan slammed the cup down on the table with a loud thud: "Try yelling at me again!"

The other three men's gazes also turned cold.

He Yuzhu was a little intimidated, but still stubbornly retorted, "Hmph, don't think I'm afraid of you just because you outnumber me!"

"Fang Chengxuan, let me tell you, no matter what you're up to, I'm not going to do what you want. You want me to sign up for the rural assignment? No way!"

He said that, his face stubborn, and turned to leave.

The four of them watched his retreating figure, and their lips twitched.

"This idiot Zhu used to be pretty normal, but now he's acting like he's really gone idiot?"

Yang Yuande scratched his head: "Speaking of which, why did the deaf old lady insist on sending Sha Zhu to the countryside?"

Fang Chengxuan took a deep breath, suppressing the anger ignited by He Yuzhu's disgust, and a mocking smile appeared on his lips: "The deaf old lady truly opened her heart to He Yuzhu."

"Unfortunately, we can't carry it."

Yang Yuande was even more confused: "Brother Fang, what's the trick to this?"

"He Yuzhu is in the compound, and Xu Damao has already set his sights on him. With his brains, if Xu Damao wants to play dirty tricks, he simply can't withstand it."