Siheyuan (traditional courtyard house): Don't touch my parents!

He grabbed Xu Damao and forced him onto the kang (a heated brick bed).

He grabbed a feather duster and lashed it out hard.

In an instant, a series of mournful howls, "Woo~ Awoo~," rang out from the Xu family's courtyard.

Anyone could see that Xu Damao had been thoroughly beaten this time.

"My dear grandson, everyone in the yard has left. Who are you trying to impress by lying on the snow like this?"

Come quickly and help Grandma to your house.

That brat Da Mao was wailing and howling over there; it was giving me a headache.

"hey-hey."

He Yuzhu nimbly flipped over and stood up from the snow.

He quickly walked to the deaf old lady's side in a few steps.

First, he carefully bolted the gate for her, and then gently helped the old woman walk back to her home.

As for why Yi Li didn't stay in the Central Court to mediate the fight...

She was by nature an honest, unassuming person who didn't like to argue.

She couldn't persuade either of the two unruly and unreasonable women.

I was even more afraid that if I talked too much, I would end up getting into a "double whammy" that pleases neither side, so I simply gave up.

Only after Jia Zhangshi stormed into the backyard did she go out and head towards the He family's house.

Let's return to the story of Jia Zhangshi.

As soon as she brought Jia Dongxu back to her house, she immediately tried to pull down her son's pants to check his injuries.

Jia Dongxu gripped his waistband tightly, pleading with a sob in his voice:

"Mom, it really doesn't hurt anymore, you don't need to see me anymore."

"You little brat, I'm your own mother. What part of you haven't I seen before?"

Let Mom take a good look. What if it's really badly injured?

Mom absolutely has to go and settle accounts with those two from the Xu family!

"Mom, it's really nothing. Xu Damao's moves weren't that strong at all."

It hurt a lot at first, but then it gradually got better.

As Jia Dongxu spoke, he turned and ran out into the outer room.

"It's not up to you!"

Jia Zhangshi persisted, relentlessly pursuing him from behind.

"Mother, I...I need to go to the outhouse!"

Seeing that he couldn't avoid it, Jia Dongxu had a sudden inspiration and came up with an excuse.

He took off running and rushed out of the courtyard.

"Stop right there! Going to the outhouse is fine, but you're not allowed to use that as an excuse to sneak out into the street and run around!"

"Okay, Mom!"

Jia Dongxu's face turned bright red with embarrassment.

She just wanted to get as far away from her mother as possible immediately.

He was going through puberty, his mind was hazy and sensitive.

Occasionally, the child wets the bed at night.

How could she withstand her mother's persistent and inquisitive questioning?

He Yuzhu helped the deaf old lady step into the He family's courtyard.

Then they heard Yi Lishi inside the house vividly describing the "pig and tiger fight" that had taken place in the backyard to Chen Shuxiang.

Hearing the door open, Yi Li nodded slightly towards the doorway.

He slowly stood up from the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed).

Upon seeing that it was a deaf old woman, he said to Chen Shuxiang:

"Sister-in-law He, I'll head home now."

As she passed the deaf old woman, she paused slightly.

He greeted her politely, "Grandma, please take care on your way."

"Um."

The deaf old lady responded faintly.

Holding onto the wall, he walked straight into the inner room.

"Hello, Auntie!"

He Yuzhu quickly followed suit and greeted them as well.

"Hey, Zhu Zi, how are you too?"

The deaf old lady casually agreed.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Yi Li turned and walked out of the He family's gate.

The deaf old woman walked to the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), reached out and braced herself.

He sat down on the kang (a heated brick bed) with practiced ease.

"Shuxiang, has Grandma come down yet?"

"Not yet, ma'am."

"Alas, in these chaotic times of war, with the Qing Dynasty having been gone for so many years, finding a lactating ewe is probably harder than climbing to heaven."

When your man comes back, ask him if he can ask someone he knows to try and get some foreign baby formula. If all else fails, even Japanese formula will do.

"That stuff is extremely precious. Where could we possibly find it in our poor, remote little town?"

Chen Shuxiang sighed softly, her face full of trouble.

"Hmph, he works at Fengzeyuan and has cooked for those Japanese a lot. Surely he can get some noodles?"

If all else fails, let him go to the employer and ask for help.

The day you gave birth, didn't he cook a whole banquet for that Commander-in-Chief?

"Okay, I'll bring it up with him when he gets back tonight."

The favor owed to the employer can be repaid gradually in the future.

But we ordinary people can't afford to owe the Japanese a favor; we could never repay it in our lifetime.

Chen Shuxiang's tone was tinged with an unyielding helplessness and worry.

"Yes, those black-hearted, rotten Japanese devils, we must never get involved with them."

When the day comes to repay that favor, we might have to pay with our lives.

The deaf old woman gritted her teeth, every word laced with deep-seated hatred.

"Yes, ma'am, I've noted it all down."

"Zhu Zi, why has Xu Damao been coming to your place so often these past few days?"

"Didn't you two always get along and fight every time you met?"

The deaf old lady suddenly changed the subject and looked at He Yuzhu, who was standing to the side.

Her eldest grandson, ever since before his mother went into labor, had shown an inexplicable, abnormal energy.

But the old lady couldn't quite put her finger on what was wrong.

"Hehe, I'm not going to beat him up anymore, so naturally he's willing to play with me."

He Yuzhu scratched the back of his head, smiling shyly and embarrassedly.

"So what happened between him and Jia Dongxu this morning?"

He Yuzhu then recounted to the two of them everything that had happened in the courtyard that morning.

"Martial arts? Who taught you that? When did you secretly start practicing? I had no idea!"

Chen Shuxiang was surprised and quickly asked.

"He was just gesturing wildly and throwing a few punches randomly."

"Wait a minute, don't you always follow that Jia family kid around like a shadow? Why are you suddenly unhappy?"

"His mother scolded me yesterday!"

"It's that Zhang Ruhua again. Her mouth is so venomous and sharp-tongued; not a single word she says is pleasing to the ear."

The deaf old woman picked up her cane and slammed it hard on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), her face full of disgust.

"It's not entirely because of that."

He always tries to get me to beat up Xu Damao, and he's always finding ways to trick me into giving him treats.

"I'd rather save all those good things for my newborn sister."

He Yuzhu lowered his head and muttered something under his breath.

"Wow, my grandson has finally figured it out!"

No wonder when I was watching from over there, I always felt like it was you doing something bad behind my back.

"If it weren't for you, would that fool from the Xu family have been able to take that kid's 'little chicken'?"

The deaf old lady was so happy she couldn't stop smiling, and the wrinkles on her face smoothed out.

"Forehead……"

He Yuzhu blushed deeply. The old lady's words were too blunt, making him so ashamed that he wished he could disappear into the ground.

"And then there was that fake fall you did later, I saw it all clearly, Grandma."

The way he threw that snowball, wow, his aim was absolutely amazing.