Courtyard House: In times of famine, my hamster became a spirit.

Since you want to perform a story from Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio, then I'll give you a lesson in Newtonian mechanics.

At this moment, the deathly silence of the courtyard was shattered by a pig-like scream.

"Old Jia! You died such a terrible death! Open your eyes and look at yourself!"

The gates of the Jia family mansion were flung open, and Jia Zhangshi rushed out with disheveled hair.

His face was painted as if he had just been fished out of a flour vat, but his eye circles were smeared with black. He was carrying a broken earthenware pot that was emitting black smoke, and he was throwing yellow paper money into the sky as he ran.

"Waaaaah... Old Jia has appeared! I can't live anymore!"

"Everyone come out and see! Zhou Jianguo, that jinx, has ruined the feng shui of our courtyard! Xu Damao's gone, and we're next! Old Jia said if we don't get rid of this jinx, the whole courtyard will be wiped out!"

As she yelled, the "ghostly figure" in Zhou Jianguo's room shook violently, its shadow stretching and distorting, looking truly eerie.

"Oh my god!"

The old lady across the street had barely cracked open her door when she saw the white shadow darting around. Terrified, her legs went weak, and she knelt on the ground with a thud: "A ghost! There really is a ghost! Old Jia is back!"

Fear is a contagious thing, faster than the flu.

"What's going on? What is Jia Zhangshi up to?"

"Shh! Look at Zhou Jianguo's window! There's a shadow hanging over there!"

"Hiss—this is really weird! This courtyard is no longer safe to live in!"

As the crowd erupted in uproar, Uncle Er, wearing a Zhongshan suit and with his hands behind his back, strolled out, followed by Uncle Yi Zhonghai, who had a gloomy expression.

With his signature chubby belly sticking out, Liu Haizhong's eyes shone with excitement.

With Xu Damao gone, Yi Zhonghai's prestige has been completely shattered, presenting him with a golden opportunity to usurp power and become a powerful figure.

"Quiet! Everyone, be quiet!"

Liu Haizhong, in a pretentious tone, pointed in Zhou Jianguo's direction and spat as he spoke, "This is a serious... uh, supernatural feng shui problem! Ever since Zhou Jianguo changed his personality, there hasn't been a moment of peace in the courtyard. What does this mean? It means he has too much malevolent energy! He's offended Old Jia!"

Although Yi Zhonghai didn't say anything, his eyes were fixed on Zhou Jianguo.

"Zhou Jianguo!" Seeing that no one dared to utter a sound, Liu Haizhong became even more arrogant. "Look at the mess you've made! You've even angered Old Jia to the point of resurrection! For the safety of the entire compound, you must move out tonight! The house will be taken over by the steward!"

Zhou Jianguo didn't move; he counted silently in his mind.

five.

Four.

three.

When Jia Zhangshi saw that Zhou Jianguo was not speaking, she thought he was afraid, and she became even more frantic.

She jumped to the smoking earthenware pot and grabbed the tether controlling the "ghost" in the shadows with both hands.

"Old Jia! Take this beast away!!"

Jia Zhangshi used all her strength to pull down hard, trying to make the "ghostly figure" pounce on them and terrify them completely.

two.

Just as Jia Zhangshi exerted her strength, the steel wire emitted an extremely faint sound.

One.

The steel wire suddenly snapped in the middle!

The pulling force disappeared, but that wasn't the most dangerous thing. The most dangerous thing was the reaction force, because the other end of the steel wire was tangled in the Jia family's poorly constructed brick chimney.

The broken steel wire, with tremendous rebound force, slammed hard against the base of the chimney.

"Crack—Boom!"

A crisp sound exploded in the night sky.

Under the horrified gaze of everyone in the courtyard, the more than three-meter-tall chimney on the roof of the Jia family's house was cleanly broken off at the base!

"Holy crap?!" The man with the bangs froze in mid-air, his eyes nearly popping out of the window.

The huge chimney didn't fall outwards; instead, it followed the slope of the eaves, accompanied by a whistling wind, and came crashing straight down on Jia Zhangshi's head!

Because of the excessive force used in that pull, Jia Zhangshi was losing her balance and leaning backward.

She stared in terror at the dark shadow crashing down on her head, a distorted scream bursting from her throat: "Oh my god!!"

She tried desperately to dodge, but her foot slipped.

"Splash—!"

The chimney crashed heavily to the ground, sending bricks and stones flying everywhere.

Unfortunately, the heavy chimney head smashed directly into the stone slab cover of the sewer in front of the Jia family's house.

With a muffled thud as the stone slab shattered, a stench that had been building up for months rose into the air.

As Jia Zhangshi was backing away, she followed the dark hole and, in an extremely relaxed backward posture, fell straight in!

"Plop—glug!"

One second they're shouting and yelling, the next they're falling into a trap.

Jia Zhangshi disappeared below the horizon, leaving behind only a pair of old cloth shoes still kicking wildly, and the nauseating sound of bubbles.

Everyone's head was buzzing.

"grandmother!!"

Just then, a scream came from behind the roof.

The powerful flashlight in Zhou Jianguo's hand lit up, and the snow-white beam of light pierced the darkness like a sharp sword, illuminating the dark corner of the Jia family's roof.

Under the beam of light, Bang Geng was writhing in pain, clutching his legs.

A piece of broken brick that had just broken off the chimney landed on his still-healing leg.

Beside him, the white sheets, pulleys, and broken steel wires were all clearly visible under the bright light.

"Is this what you call Old Jia's miracle?"

Zhou Jianguo spoke with undisguised mockery.

The beam of light flickered, illuminating the mechanism on the roof, before moving towards Jia Zhangshi, who was bubbling in the cesspool.

"Help...help me...glug...spit!" Jia Zhangshi's indistinct cries for help came from the cesspool, a stench too unbearable for life.

"Quick! Save them!" Yi Zhonghai snapped out of his daze, his face pale with fright. "What are you standing there for! That's a life!"

Although Sha Zhu was usually a bit of a rascal, he couldn't care less about that now and tried to rush forward while holding his nose.

But as soon as he took a step, the pungent smell made him gag and forcefully pull his foot back.

That's too much!

Just as things were in complete chaos, a dignified and angry shout suddenly rang out from the courtyard gate:

"What are you all doing?! Are you causing a disturbance?!"

Everyone turned around and saw Director Wang from the neighborhood office standing at the main gate with two staff members wearing red armbands.

Director Wang's face was as black as the bottom of a pot.

She came to conduct a surprise inspection of Yi Zhonghai's conduct, but she never expected to witness this surreal scene as soon as she entered the door.

Director Wang strode into the Intermediate Court, his gaze sweeping over the paper money scattered on the ground, the collapsed chimney, and the tools used in the crime on the roof, before finally settling on Jia Zhangshi, who was floundering in the latrine.

As a veteran cadre, she saw through the true nature of the matter at a glance.

"Yi Zhonghai! Liu Haizhong!" Director Wang's fingers trembled with anger. "This is the compound you're in charge of? What do you call this? This is faking it! Practicing feudal superstition! And damaging public facilities!"

Yi Zhonghai and Liu Haizhong trembled with fear, their legs twitching.

These days, labeling someone as feudal superstitious is a serious matter!

"Director Wang, please let me explain, this...this is all a misunderstanding..." Yi Zhonghai wiped away his cold sweat, trying to argue.

"A misunderstanding? That brat dressed as a ghost is still hanging on the roof! This is a misunderstanding?!"

Director Wang pointed at the exposed chimney, its surface completely exposed by Zhou Jianguo's flashlight, his voice stern as he said, "Unauthorized construction caused the chimney to collapse, almost resulting in a death! Are you trying to completely disgrace Nanluoguxiang?!"

"Get them out! Take them back to the subdistrict office!" Director Wang waved his hand, and the staff behind him immediately stepped forward.

The crowd hurriedly found a long bamboo pole, and, suppressing their nausea, dragged Jia Zhangshi, who was already half full, out of the pit.

At this moment, Jia Zhangshi's appearance was absolutely stunning.

Its body was covered in yellow and white substances, and its hair emitted a suffocating stench.

She lay on the ground, panting heavily, unconsciously muttering, "Old Jia... Old Jia, save me..."

"How dare you mention feudal superstition!" Director Wang took two steps back in disgust. "Shut your mouth! This kind of toxic ideology must be made an example of and publicly criticized throughout the entire neighborhood! Yi Zhonghai, bring a written self-criticism to my office tomorrow morning! And that kid, send him to the juvenile detention center for registration!"

A meticulously planned haunting spectacle ultimately ended with Jia Zhangshi's "swimming in the cesspool" and Director Wang's thunderous suppression.

Zhou Jianguo stood at the edge of the crowd and turned off his flashlight.

He didn't move a single finger from beginning to end.

But at this moment, the way his neighbors looked at him changed.

If before I just felt he was someone to be trifled with, now it's pure fear.

This guy is too weird!

Anyone who crosses him will suffer, and it will all be retribution in this lifetime!

As they passed the spot where Jia Zhangshi had just fallen, everyone avoided the stench, except for Zhou Jianguo, who paused slightly.

Using the bricks and stones that had been kicked away in the chaos as cover, he saw half of an iron box stuck in the mud at the edge of the broken sewer opening.

The box, shaken by the impact of the chimney, loosened the dirt and revealed a corner of mottled rust.

In the system's view, this thing was glowing with golden light.

[Special item discovered: Lou Zhenhua's spare funds box hidden in his early years (unique)]

It turns out there was a treasure hidden under the gate of the Jia family's house. No wonder Jia Zhangshi refused to let anyone touch this piece of soil.

Without making a sound, Zhou Jianguo used his body as cover and lightly flicked his toes.

The mud-covered metal box was instantly stored in the system space.