Siheyuan: Reborn Silly Pillar, Taking Control of the Entire Courtyard

"Don't get involved in this."

Chen Lanxiang's voice suddenly turned cold, like well water poured in the dead of winter, carrying a chilling coldness.

Her brows furrowed, her eyes were so deep they seemed to drip water, and she stared intently at Li Guihua, as if issuing a warning or drawing a line that could not be crossed.

Li Guihua rubbed the hem of her clothes, a troubled look on her face. Her lips moved as if she wanted to say something, but in the end she swallowed her words back.

"Hmph, that stupid old woman needs to be taught a lesson!"

Chen Lanxiang slammed her hand on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), causing the porcelain bowl on the table to rattle loudly.

"Otherwise, wouldn't she become even more arrogant and steal gold and silver? It's only because the situation outside is so unstable that if it were before, we would have just taken her to the police station and made her sit in jail to reflect on her actions!"

She paused, her gaze suddenly sharpening, like two small knives stabbing directly at Li Guihua.

"Also, I just heard Zhu Zi calling out for Jia Dongxu, that kid from the Jia family, in the yard. Did he get involved too?"

Li Guihua opened her mouth, but her throat felt like it was blocked with cotton, and she couldn't squeeze out a single word for a long time.

Her eyes darted away, avoiding direct eye contact with Chen Lanxiang, her little scheme was obvious—she simply wanted to downplay the issue and avoid damaging neighborly relations.

Chen Lanxiang saw through her thoughts at a glance and sneered inwardly.

This is hardly a way to settle things peacefully.

This is clearly encouraging that wicked woman, Zhang Ruhua, to act arrogantly!

If we let this go so easily, who knows what even more outrageous things they might do next time? Who knows when they might turn their attention to our own home?

"Um."

He Yuzhu walked into the room carrying freshly brewed tea, a smile on his face as he watched the spectacle unfold, and then chimed in.

"That Jia Dongxu was quite a character; he stole the eggs and in his haste to hide them, he actually stuffed them into his crotch."

As a result, he lost his footing while going down the steps, slipped, and fell flat on his backside with a "plop"—the eggs were completely crushed!

As he spoke, he even made a wrestling gesture, which made Chen Lanxiang and Li Guihua burst out laughing.

"The yolk of the egg dripped down my pants, soaking a large area. I looked so disheveled."

He Yuzhu continued, his tone full of mockery.

"Xu Damao is a very sharp-tongued guy. He immediately gave him the nickname 'Crazy Crotch Xu,' which the whole courtyard heard."

Just now, Jia Dongxu was chasing after Xu Damao, but that kid ran fast and disappeared in a flash.

Chen Lanxiang smiled and shook her head: "Xu Damao's mouth is just too sharp."

Li Guihua chimed in, "That's right! Once this nickname gets around, how will Jia Dongxu ever hold his head high in the courtyard again?"

After laughing, the two chatted for a few more minutes about everyday things before Li Guihua got up to say goodbye.

As she was leaving, she twitched her nose and caught a faint scent of milk. She couldn't help but glance at the furnishings in the room a few more times.

Chen Lanxiang's heart skipped a beat, and she immediately explained with a smile, "I just gave birth and was thinking of drinking more soup to help with lactation. Maybe the smell of the stewed chicken soup is what's wafting out."

Li Guihua said "Oh," and without asking any further questions, turned and left the He family's house.

She came here on Yi Zhonghai's instructions to check on the He family's situation.

It seems that the He family is doing well now, and Zhang Ruhua probably didn't gain anything from that incident—otherwise, she wouldn't have ended up stealing eggs.

Inside the Jia family's house, however, the atmosphere was so oppressive it was almost palpable.

Jia Zhangshi sat cross-legged on the kang (a heated brick bed), her face ashen, her chest heaving violently, looking like a powder keg about to explode.

The more she thought about it, the angrier she became. Others who failed to steal chickens at most ended up with nothing to show for their efforts, but she was caught red-handed stealing a few eggs and even lost her cotton-padded coat and trousers!

These days, which family doesn't have one cotton-padded coat for each person to get through the winter? Once it's washed, there's nothing left to wear.

Raw eggs have a strong fishy smell and stick to clothes. You have to wash them, but how do you dry them in this cold weather?

Thinking of this, Jia Zhangshi became furious and slammed her hand on the kang table, causing the enamel mug on the table to jump.

At the other end of the kang (a heated brick bed), Jia Dongxu hunched his shoulders, his cheeks puffed out with anger, like a toad that had been inflated.

The thought of Xu Damao's nickname "Crazy Xu" made him want to crawl into a hole in the ground—everyone in the courtyard heard it, how could he ever face walking around the courtyard again?

"Mom, I said I wouldn't take it, but you insisted!" Jia Dongxu complained after holding it in for a long time.

"Now look what happened! He tried to steal a chicken but lost the bait, and now he's got such an awful nickname!"

"What nonsense are you spouting?" Madam Jia glared at him, her spittle nearly landing on Jia Dongxu's face.

"I gave it to you, and you happily took it, didn't you? Now that something's happened, you're blaming me?"

"What if we get caught now?"

Jia Dongxu didn't dare to talk back anymore, his tone tinged with panic.

"If the He family comes knocking on our door to settle scores, we'll be in trouble."

"What can we do? Just let it be!" Madam Jia retorted stubbornly, "Whatever! It's just a few eggs! They're not short of that!"

"But that's stealing..." Jia Dongxu stammered, still feeling guilty.

"So what if you steal? I'll teach you to steal! Steal! Steal!"

Enraged by her son's words, Jia Zhangshi grabbed a feather duster from beside the kang (heated brick bed) and lashed it out at Jia Dongxu, yelling, "You're such a coward! You're so afraid of everything!"

The feather duster whistled through the air as it landed on Jia Dongxu, making him wince in pain and yelp as he cried out, "Mom, stop hitting me! Stop hitting me!"

"Hmph, I'll beat you to death, you spineless bastard!" Jia Zhangshi cursed, but the force in her hand loosened a little.

After being beaten, Jia Dongxu rubbed his sore arm, his face still showing grievance, but he couldn't help but mutter to himself.

"What a pity about those eggs... I didn't even get to eat them, they were all wasted."

"All you ever do is eat! Who did you get this gluttony from?" Madam Jia scolded irritably.

"It's just like you..."

Jia Dongxu lowered his head and muttered something under his breath.

"What did you say?!" Jia Zhangshi instantly bristled, raising her feather duster to strike again.

"It's nothing! It's nothing!" Jia Dongxu waved his hands frantically. "Mother, I was wrong! I shouldn't have said that!"

He rolled his eyes and added.

"You've already had the spanking, and you've been so active, you'll need to eat an extra bowl of rice later!"

These words struck a chord with Madam Jia, who reluctantly put down the feather duster: "Hmph, at least you have some sense."

"Mom, please go out for a moment, I'm taking off my pants."

Jia Dongxu blushed and said somewhat shyly.

I just tripped and fell. The egg yolk mixed with sweat made my crotch sticky and uncomfortable.

"Just take your clothes off!" Madam Jia waved her hand dismissively. "I've seen you all over since I was a child, I've seen you eight thousand times. What's there to be ashamed of? Hurry up, or the egg wash will dry and won't be able to wash it off!"

"mother……"

Jia Dongxu wanted to try again, his cheeks burning red like a branding iron.

"Alright, alright, I'll turn my back, okay?" Jia Zhangshi turned around impatiently, her back to him.

The sound of clothes being taken off came from inside the room. After a while, Jia Dongxu's voice rang out.

"Mom, that's enough. Could you find me a pair of underwear? I can't wear those anymore."

"understood."

Without turning her head, Jia Zhangshi answered and pulled out a pair of faded underpants from the cabinet, throwing them to him.

"Take off your cotton-padded coat! In this freezing weather, I still have to wash your clothes. It's all your fault for causing all this trouble!"

Jia Dongxu didn't dare to talk back. He obediently took off his cotton-padded coat and quickly crawled into the quilt, leaving only his head sticking out.

He secretly rejoiced that his mother hadn't pursued the matter further, otherwise the beating he'd received today would have been for nothing—it was all his fault for accidentally tripping and falling.

After Li Guihua left, Chen Lanxiang pulled He Yuzhu aside and questioned him for a long time, asking how much he spent on buying these things and whether he had encountered any trouble on the way, afraid that he had been wronged outside.

He Yuzhu answered patiently one by one, and only breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that his mother did not ask any more questions.

As the two were talking, Xu Damao pushed open the door and walked in, a gloating smile on his face.

"Sister-in-law Lanxiang, let me tell you, Jia Dongxu chased me for half a block just now. The way he looked was absolutely hilarious!"

Xu Damao shouted as soon as he entered the door.

Chen Lanxiang rolled her eyes at him and laughed, scolding, "You, you have such a sharp tongue! Giving someone such an awful nickname, aren't you afraid Jia Dongxu will fight you to the death?"

"Hehe, I'm just telling the truth," Xu Damao scratched his head and chuckled. "Besides, he stole things first, so he deserves to be laughed at."

Chen Lanxiang didn't reply, but turned to the two boys playing on the kang and said, "You two go play in the yard for a while, don't make a fuss in the house."

The two boys cheered and skipped away.

Only Chen Lanxiang, He Yuzhu, and Xu Damao remained in the room. After chatting for a few more minutes, He Yuzhu looked at the sky and said to Xu Damao.

"Da Mao, could you help me wash some vegetables? You can stay for dinner later."

"Okay."

Xu Damao readily agreed, "I had nowhere else to go anyway."

He Yuzhu nodded and turned to walk towards the backyard. He remembered what his mother had said earlier, that they should ask the old lady in the yard to uphold justice. He thought he could take advantage of the meal to invite the old lady over and have her teach Zhang Ruhua a lesson for her arrogant attitude.

In the small house in the backyard, the old lady was sitting in a chair, basking in the sun, and dozing off with her eyes half-closed.

He Yuzhu tiptoed over and called softly, "Grandma, sunbathing?"

The old lady opened her eyes, saw it was He Yuzhu, and smiled: "Zhuzi, is something the matter?"

"My mother asked me to invite you to our house for lunch," He Yuzhu said with a smile.

"She made chicken soup, thinking that you are in poor health, so she wanted you to come and have some nourishment."

"Okay," the old lady happily agreed, "then I'll accept it without hesitation."

He Yuzhu helped the old lady slowly stand up and carefully walked towards the He family home.

When the old lady arrived at the He family's door, she inadvertently caught a glimpse of Jia Zhangshi squatting by the well in the corner of the yard, laboriously washing her cotton-padded jacket and trousers.

"In this freezing weather... she washed her cotton clothes, what is she going to wear?" The old lady frowned, a look of doubt on her face, and muttered to herself.

"My mother will tell you once we're inside," He Yuzhu smiled, offering no further explanation.

The old lady didn't ask any more questions and followed He Yuzhu into the house.

Hearing footsteps, Jia Zhangshi, who was in the corner of the courtyard, looked up and saw He Yuzhu supporting the old lady. A nameless anger rose in her heart. She vigorously rubbed the clothes while cursing inwardly.

"You old bastard...you little brat...why didn't you both just fall and die!"

The icy well water seeped up her fingertips, and the bone-chilling cold made her shiver involuntarily.

But when she thought of the grievances she had suffered, she gritted her teeth and tightened her grip, as if she wanted to vent all her resentment on the two cotton coats.

Inside the He family's house, as soon as the old lady entered the inner room, she sniffed the air keenly, her eyes filled with a hint of inquiry.

"Huh?" She turned to look at Chen Lanxiang, her tone questioning. "Lanxiang, why does your room smell like milk? Have you started producing milk?"

"No," Chen Lanxiang said frankly to the old lady, having nothing to hide.

"Then this milk flavor..." The old lady looked puzzled.

"Zhu'er, why don't you go to the kitchen and cook? I'll chat with the old lady for a while," Chen Lanxiang said to He Yuzhu.

"Okay, Mom, I'll go right away." He Yuzhu nodded and turned to walk towards the kitchen.

Only Chen Lanxiang and the old lady remained in the room. Chen Lanxiang briefly recounted how she obtained the milk powder, but attributed the credit to He Daqing.

"It was brought here by someone from the Qing Dynasty. The child is still young and can't just drink rice water."

After hearing this, the old lady's expression turned serious, and she sighed softly.

"Tell the Qing Dynasty to be careful. In these chaotic times, even if he knows some martial arts, he can't withstand bullets."

"I understand, ma'am, I will talk to him." Chen Lanxiang nodded.

"Oh, right."

The old lady changed the subject, her brows furrowing again.

"I just saw Zhang Ruhua washing her cotton-padded jacket and trousers outside. What's she doing doing that in this freezing weather?"

Chen Lanxiang burst out laughing and recounted in detail how Jia Zhangshi was caught stealing eggs and got her cotton-padded clothes dirty. She even mentioned that Jia Dongxu had fallen on his backside and was given a nickname by Xu Damao.

Upon hearing this, the old lady first chuckled a few times, then her expression gradually darkened, and she spoke in a serious tone.

"This Zhang Ruhua really needs to be dealt with severely. I, the old lady, kindly rented them such a nice house and didn't even ask for extra rent, but she goes and does these petty theft things in the yard. She's corrupting the atmosphere of my yard!"

She paused, then continued, "If it weren't for the fact that Lao Nian was an honest and kind man, we would never have rented this house to them. Now look what's happened, he married such a troublesome woman, sooner or later something terrible is going to happen."

"You decide what to do," Chen Lanxiang said, echoing the old lady's words.

"They really need to be taught a lesson, otherwise who knows what they might do in the future."

"Yes, I'm determined to handle this." The old lady nodded, her eyes revealing an undeniable authority.

Lunch was a lavish affair, including stewed chicken soup, stir-fried vegetables, and scallion pancakes specially made by He Yuzhu.

The old lady was very satisfied with the meal, and He Yuzhu and Xu Damao also ate to their hearts' content, making for a lively and enjoyable meal.

After the meal, He Yuzhu and Xu Damao cleared away the dishes and went to the kitchen to wash them.

The old lady sat on the kang (a heated brick bed), drinking the tea brewed by Chen Lanxiang. After resting for a while, she said, "Grandson, help Grandma to Old Jia's house to digest her food."

He Yuzhu knew immediately that the old lady was going to stand up for the stolen eggs.

He secretly cheered, quickly dried his hands, and replied with a smile, "Okay, Grandma, I'll help you right away."

Xu Damao came out of the kitchen after washing the dishes, and immediately perked up when he heard that they were going to the Jia family's house.

He followed behind her excitedly, shouting, "Grandma, I'm going too! I'm going too!" He loved watching a good show, and how could he miss out on such a spectacle?

The three of them walked towards the Jia family's house one after the other. As soon as they arrived at the Jia family's door, the old lady gestured to He Yuzhu that he didn't need to knock.

She raised her cane and began pounding it against the Jia family's wooden door with such force that the door hummed loudly.

"Which scoundrel is outside?" came Jia Zhangshi's impatient curses from inside the house.

"Can't you even knock properly? Are you asking for a scolding?"

The old woman's face darkened, and she gripped the door harder, slamming her cane against it with a loud thud, even more violently than before.

"You son of a bitch! How dare you come to my house and cause trouble?"

Jia Zhangshi's voice grew closer, filled with intense anger.

"Didn't your mother teach you any manners? How dare you bang on my door? Believe me or not, I'll smash your face with a broom!"

She assumed it was He Yuzhu or Da Mao outside, and she was already seething with anger; this only added fuel to the fire.

She angrily got off the kang (a heated brick bed), slipped on her shoes, grabbed a broom handle from the corner of the wall, and flung open the door.

As soon as the door opened, seeing the old lady, He Yuzhu, and Xu Damao standing at the door, Jia Zhangshi's anger instantly froze, her eyes filled with astonishment and panic.