The Life of a Son-in-Law in a Courtyard House

Yang Dalin first arrived at the street office with Lao Huang, an old employee sent by Director Wang of his street office, as well as acquaintances from his street police station, Captain Yang of the security team, and his deputy, Xiao Lu.

Captain Yang was assigned by the police station chief when he heard it was about Yang Dalin.

They were all acquaintances of Yang Dalin.

First, I went to the other street office and asked someone there to explain my purpose before they sent someone to cooperate.

Then the group marched in a grand procession toward Brother Ma's home in the West District.

When Ma San saw that Yang Dalin had called for a lot of people, it didn't seem like they were going to fight.

However, he wisely refrained from asking.

Just follow Brother Dalin's arrangements.

Passersby on the road saw this large group of people heading towards a certain place and knew there was bound to be something interesting to see.

Those who were alright followed behind.

When Yang Dalin and his group arrived at the courtyard where Ma Bao, the third brother of Ma San, lived, they were followed by a large group of people.

The new home that Ma Bao, the third brother of Ma San, moved into was the west wing of the central courtyard in a three-courtyard house.

The elderly people in the courtyard who weren't working tried to stop Yang Dalin.

When they saw that there were also comrades from their neighborhood, they stopped.

Knowing that there were street officials and police officers with them, they definitely weren't there to fight.

They won't fight.

As long as a fight doesn't break out, things are fine.

Yang Dalin pointed to the door of the west wing: "San'er, is this it?"

Ma San nodded.

Yang Dalin stepped forward and pounded on the door, but accidentally used a little too much force.

One of the doors on the other side collapsed with a bang.

This caused the onlookers to exclaim in surprise, "Wow, that guy has such a strong grip!"

Suddenly, a shrill voice came from the west wing: "Which bastard dares to kick down my door?"

A woman with a sharp and mean-spirited appearance rushed out of there, and immediately put her hands on her hips and shouted.

His cheeks were thin and sunken, and his chin was long and pointed, giving him a truly mean appearance.

Unfortunately, as soon as she came out and saw so many people outside, she stopped talking abruptly.

Then she saw Ma San standing behind Yang Dalin and suddenly screamed, "Ma Bao, your third son has brought people to smash our door! Come out quickly!"

Soon, a man who looked somewhat like Ma San but with an even more ruthless appearance came out of the house.

He was still fastening his belt as he came out.

He kept the door closed in broad daylight, and I have no idea what he was doing inside. He even wore a belt when he came out.

The buttons on his cotton-padded jacket weren't fastened properly.

As soon as Ma Bao came out, he saw so many people.

A little scared, he looked at his own door lying on the ground and forced a calm expression, saying, "You mistress, you brought outsiders to smash my door, you're really something!"

Ma San was about to speak.

Yang Dalin stood in front of him and shouted loudly, "Stop talking nonsense, everyone quiet down and listen to me."

I just took a normal picture of the door, but who knew that its door was so flimsy that it collapsed right away. Everyone saw it, right? You can all be my witnesses, right?

The police and street personnel are here now!

Those watching the commotion from behind shouted, "Yes, we can vouch for you! We just knocked on the door normally. Who knew this door was so flimsy?"

We all saw it, guys, we're all your witnesses.

Yang Dalin turned around and cupped his hands in thanks to everyone, saying, "Thank you all for coming to watch the excitement. I'll explain this matter clearly in front of everyone, including the police officers and neighborhood committee members."

Let's see what really happened, and let everyone be the judge.

"Okay, sir, you tell us, and we'll be your judge."

There have always been people who enjoy watching a spectacle.

Yang Dalin also saw many teenagers climbing onto the walls and rooftops to watch the excitement.

Yang Dalin said first, "Everyone can enjoy the excitement, but please be careful when climbing walls and rooftops."

"If anything goes wrong, I can't afford to compensate you."

The people watching from the top of the wall and the roof shouted righteously, "It's okay, buddy, you can say whatever you want, we won't bother you if we fall."

"that is,"

"Yes, hurry up and tell us, we still need to go home for dinner later."

Yang Dalin nodded: "Okay, then I'll begin."

Yang Dalin tugged at Ma San and stood on the steps in front of Ma Bao's house, shouting loudly, "I am Yang Dalin from No. 95, Nanluoguxiang, Jiaodaokou Street."

This is my brother Ma Qiang and Ma San from the courtyard diagonally across from mine.

Ma San has two older brothers, and both his parents have passed away.

This is his older brother Ma Bao and his sister-in-law.

Ma San is fifteen years old this year. When he was thirteen, his parents passed away one after the other.

Then his eldest brother Ma Bao and second brother Ma Guo moved to different houses one after another, and his eldest brother moved here.

Only Ma San, a thirteen-year-old boy, was left to live alone.

They were so hungry and cold that they couldn't get enough to eat or wear.

He had no income, so he stopped going to school.

He usually makes a living by collecting garbage.

Last year, someone from a neighboring courtyard falsely accused him of stealing steamed buns.

The child cut open his own stomach, intending to pull out his intestines and die to prove his innocence.

To prove that he did not steal the steamed buns.

Everyone knows how tough life is these days.

This thirteen-year-old boy would rather cut open his stomach to prove himself, so that he could still be considered a good boy who had not stolen anything.

I was there at the time, so I quickly took him to the hospital.

During his more than ten days in the hospital, neither his brother nor his sister-in-law came to visit him even once.

If they didn't come, they didn't come. Let's just consider it as a separation from our two older brothers' families.

That's it, we'll just never see each other again.

Then I saw that San'er was all alone and looked really pitiful, so I helped him borrow a tricycle from Uncle Qi, the gatekeeper of our courtyard.

Let the three brothers drive the tricycle so they can earn some food.

I also arranged for him to have dinner at my aunt's house every day.

My aunt saw that San'er was pitiful, so she made new clothes for him and washed his bedding.

Every night, we made sure Ma San ate his fill at our house, treating him like our own son, and I treated him like my own brother.

San'er is also a grateful person; he gives all the money he earns every day to my aunt.

They said it was time to pay for meals.

My aunt couldn't refuse it.

Later, my aunt said that she would keep it for San'er and save it for him to get married in the future.

Isn't this good enough?

Upon hearing this, everyone praised Aunt Qi for her kindness and righteousness, and commended Yang Dalin for his good deeds.

Yang Dalin gestured downwards with his hand: "Everyone, don't rush, let me finish."

Thank you for the compliments. Actually, it's nothing to mention. I know many of my fellow villagers in Beijing do the same, helping their neighbors out of the ordinary.

Some people may be in poorer circumstances, so they might help with something like a cornbread or some porridge.

Just like us, we don't distinguish between big and small acts of kindness.

As the saying goes, one should not refrain from doing good because it is small, nor should one do evil because it is small.

Most of our fellow villagers in Beijing are good people.

But then two such scoundrels emerged.

These are Ma San's eldest brother, Ma Bao, and Ma San's second brother, Ma Guo.

"Has Ma Guo come, comrades from the neighborhood committee?"

A voice came from the crowd behind: "They're here, they're here, everyone make way, everyone make way."

A comrade from the local street office walked over from the crowd with two other people.

These two are Ma San's second brother and sister-in-law.

They were clearly dragged here by people from the neighborhood committee.