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

Li Guihua gripped the two silver dollars tightly with her fingers, her knuckles turning white.

That was the wealth she had painstakingly gathered by rummaging through drawers and cabinets all night long, but now it felt as hot as a red-hot iron.

She bit her lower lip so hard it almost bled before steeling herself and handing over the small coarse cloth bag containing twenty silver dollars.

The man opposite him took the cloth bag, casually weighed it in his hand, and knew immediately whether it was heavy enough.

With a half-smile playing on his lips, he didn't waste any words, simply pulling out a small celadon porcelain bottle the size of a palm from his pocket and casually handing it to Li Guihua.

"Change the dressing every day, don't be lazy, and don't skimp on it." The man's voice was hoarse, carrying an indescribable coldness.

Li Guihua quickly caught it with both hands, as if she were holding some life-saving elixir, nodding repeatedly, tears streaming down her face uncontrollably.

"Thank you... thank you so much..."

She spoke words of gratitude, but her heart ached as if it were being cut by a knife.

The man in front of her had just castrated her husband, and instead of hating him, she had to thank him humbly.

This world is so bad that people don't even dare to cry out loud.

The "capable person" took the money, his face expressionless, turned and left, his steps swift and decisive, without the slightest hesitation.

It was as if that stab was nothing more than slaughtering a chicken.

Li Guihua dared not linger, her heart pounding in her chest, fearing something might happen to Yi Zhonghai inside. She practically stumbled and ran back.

As soon as I opened the door, I was hit by a strong smell of blood.

Yi Zhonghai lay on the bed, his face as pale as a sheet of paper, his eyes closed, his breath weak, still in a deep coma.

Li Guihua rushed to the bedside, and seeing the man's half-dead state, she finally couldn't help but cover her mouth, her shoulders trembling violently.

She dared not cry out loud, but could only bite her palm tightly, letting the tears flow silently down her face.

She cried for an unknown amount of time before finally managing to stand up. Her gaze fell on the lump of cloth wrapped around the foot of the bed, and a wave of nausea and humiliation washed over her once again.

She closed her eyes, gritted her teeth, wrapped herself tightly in layers of cloth, tucked it into her bosom, and slipped out of the house like a thief. In a secluded earthen slope behind the yard, she dug a hole and buried herself completely.

After doing all this, she felt as if all her strength had been drained away. She leaned against the tree trunk, panting heavily, tears blurring her vision once again.

She didn't dare go straight home, but instead mustered her courage and went to the He family's house.

In any case, if it weren't for Old Madam He's intervention last night, her husband might have really lost his life.

She had to accept this favor.

Upon knocking on the He family's door, Li Guihua, with tears in her eyes, bowed deeply to Old Mrs. He.

"Grandma, thank you so much... Last night, we were really fortunate to have you by our side."

Seeing her absent-minded and tearful appearance, Old Mrs. He roughly understood seven or eight parts of the situation.

She didn't ask any more questions, but gently patted Li Guihua's hand with a hint of pity in her voice.

"Girl, it's good that you're alright. From now on, live a good life."

"Sigh..." Li Guihua responded with a sob, said a few more words of thanks, and then left dejectedly.

Once Li Guihua's figure disappeared, Old Mrs. He sighed softly and shook her head at Chen Lanxiang beside her.

"That girl from the Li family has had a tough life."

Chen Lanxiang sighed, her face full of regret.

"Who can argue with that? A perfectly good family, turned into this overnight."

He Daqing, who was sitting to the side smoking a pipe, interrupted the two men's long sighs with a nonchalant tone.

"Alright, these days, who isn't unlucky? You two stop sighing and complaining. Taking care of yourselves and making the most of your lives is the most important thing."

He spoke calmly, but he had already made up his mind; he just kept it to himself.

—Whether Yi Zhonghai takes this knife or not, it's all the same; he's a mule that can't reproduce anyway.

Meanwhile, the backyard was a different, bustling scene altogether.

Sha Zhu was getting a headache from being pestered by Xu Damao.

Xu Damao is naturally curious and can't keep things to himself. Last night, there was such a commotion at the Intermediate Court, the noise could be heard clearly throughout half the courtyard, and he and Zhao Cuifeng were awakened long ago.

Zhao Cuifeng put on her clothes and went out to take a look. She saw that something was wrong with the scene. It was full of grown men, and the atmosphere was both oppressive and frightening. She didn't stay long and turned around and went back into the house.

At that time, Li Guihua was busy asking the He family for help and couldn't take care of her family at all.

Xu Damao immediately came over and grabbed his mother's arm, asking her questions incessantly.

"Mother, what exactly happened at the Central Courtyard? Was there a fight?"

Zhao Cuifeng was so annoyed by the questions that she glared at them and snapped at them.

"Go back to sleep! You're just a kid, stop meddling! You're such a busybody!"

Xu Damao shrank back after being scolded and dared not ask any more questions, but the curiosity in his heart was like a cat scratching at him.

He tossed and turned in bed for half the night, finally drifting off to sleep just before dawn.

His mother kept a close watch on him from the moment he woke up, and absolutely refused to let him go near the central courtyard.

As soon as Sha Zhu arrived, Xu Damao immediately seemed to have found a breakthrough and his mouth never stopped.

"Silly Zhu, silly Zhu, what exactly happened last night? I heard someone screaming terribly."

"Did Yi Zhonghai get into a fight? I saw that Li Guihua's eyes were swollen this morning."

"Do you know the inside story? Tell me!"

A barrage of questions came crashing down on Sha Zhu, leaving him feeling like his head was about to explode.

He wasn't a patient person to begin with, and Xu Damao's relentless pestering made him lose his temper.

"Are you asking for a beating, kid?"

Without saying a word, Sha Zhu raised his hand and delivered two clean and decisive slaps to the neck.

"Slap! Slap!"

Two crisp sounds.

Xu Damao staggered from the blow, clutching the back of his head, and immediately became obedient.

"Hey! Stop hitting me! I won't ask anymore, okay?!"

Sha Zhu snorted coldly and then gave up.

Actually, Sha Zhu himself secretly went out last night.

He followed Old Zhao back. If the system hadn't suddenly issued a temporary task, he wouldn't have bothered, and it's hard to say whether Old Zhao would have returned safely.

The task was completed swiftly, and the reward arrived immediately.

— Brush calligraphy (beginner's guide).

—A set of Kangxi Dictionary (the content can be directly imported).

Sha Zhu wasn't particularly fond of these literary things, but most of the things the system gave him were useful and might come in handy someday.

He took out this Kangxi Dictionary in particular and flipped through it. It was an old version published by Tongwen Bookstore during the Guangxu era, and it was clearly no ordinary item.

But as soon as he opened it, Sha Zhu felt a headache coming on.

The characters are arranged from right to left and from top to bottom. There are a lot of rare and traditional characters in them. He recognizes them, but they don't recognize him. He has to guess most of them.

Fortunately, the system is thoughtful and comes with a "content input" function, otherwise, given Sha Zhu's temper, he would have started criticizing on the spot.

……

Meanwhile, in the front yard, Old Jia had a terrifying day, his emotions fluctuating wildly, more thrilling than riding a roller coaster.

Early in the morning, as soon as he stepped into the factory, he went straight to the foreman's office to ask for leave for Yi Zhonghai.

It's still a long holiday.

This was something Li Guihua had specifically asked him to do before dawn, repeatedly urging him to make sure he got the leave.

If it were an ordinary worker, and they took such a long leave without any reason, the foreman would have kicked them out long ago, and might even have fired them for absenteeism.

But Yi Zhonghai was different. He was one of the top technical experts in the factory, proficient in turning, milling, planing, and grinding. Even the foreman had to give him some respect.

After hearing Jia Laonian's words, the foreman frowned and couldn't help but mutter a curse under his breath.

"That son of a bitch, he really knows how to pick his timing! With work so tight right now, he's just lying around doing nothing!"

Despite the criticism, the leave was still approved.

That so-called concern was nothing more than a casual question; there was no intention whatsoever of visiting their home.

Old Jia knew exactly what was going on, but he didn't point it out. He simply agreed and turned to leave.

Just as I reached the door, the foreman suddenly called me back.

"Wait a minute."

Old Jia was taken aback and stopped in his tracks.

"Foreman, is there anything else?"

The foreman pointed to the machine tool that Yi Zhonghai usually used outside the window, his tone leaving no room for argument.

"Go to Yi Zhonghai's workstation today and cover his work for him. Let someone else do your own workstation."

Upon hearing this, Jia Laonian was stunned and quickly waved his hand.

"Foreman, this...this isn't quite right, is it?"

Yi Zhonghai's machine tool is the best maintained, most precise, and easiest to use machine in the entire workshop.

Yi Zhonghai usually cherishes this more than his own life. He would give anyone else a hard time, let alone let them use it or even just look at it for a second.

Now, if he were to use it, Jia Laonian would actually be a little apprehensive.

The foreman was already furious, and when he was pushed away like this, his temper flared up immediately, and his voice rose several decibels.

"I told you to use it, so use it! If it delays production, can Yi Zhonghai take responsibility? That bastard, he really knows how to pick the right time to slack off!"

The foreman cursed and swore, showing no mercy whatsoever.

Now that things have come to this, how could Jia Laonian dare to say a single word of dissent? He hurriedly nodded and bowed.

"Yes, yes, yes! I'll do as the foreman says! I'll go right now!"

He understood that the foreman was in a bad mood, and if he dared to talk back, he would only be asking for trouble.

Since we're all just doing work, it doesn't matter where we do it.

When Jia Laonian moved to Yi Zhonghai's workstation and started operating the equipment, his eyes lit up.

This machine tool is fucking awesome!

With its stable speed, high precision, and smooth feel, it's worlds apart from his old, broken machine tool.

Old Jia felt a surge of joy and couldn't help but think to himself: If Yi Zhonghai could stay home and rest for a few more days, that would be wonderful.

All morning, Jia Laonian worked with great energy and was in a very good mood.

He also took a moment to glance at his old workstation.

The person who took over his work was a young apprentice who had just joined the factory not long ago. He looked to be only seventeen or eighteen years old and had a very green face.

Old Jia felt nothing, and was even a little relieved—at least he didn't have to watch over that broken machine tool every day anymore.

After a hurried lunch, Jia Laonian sat in front of Yi Zhonghai's good machine tool as soon as he started work in the afternoon, concentrating on processing the workpiece.

The workshop was bustling with activity, the machines humming.

Just then—

"ah--!"

A heart-wrenching scream suddenly pierced the noise of the entire workshop.

The sound was shrill and agonizing, sending chills down one's spine.

Immediately following was a chaotic chorus of exclamations.

Someone's dead!

"Someone has died!"

"A machine tool has run over someone!"

The sounds rose and fell, instantly creating an uproar.

Old Jia's heart skipped a beat. He dropped what he was doing and instinctively rushed toward the source of the sound.

He pushed through the crowd, glanced over, and his legs went weak. With a "thud," he collapsed to the ground.

The accident happened not somewhere else, but at his original workstation.

The one lying in a pool of blood was the young apprentice who had taken over his work that morning.

A cold, sharp drill bit plunged straight into the young man's temple, splattering blood everywhere.

The person had already stopped breathing and barely struggled.

Jia Laonian felt a chill run from the soles of his feet straight to the top of his head, his whole body was ice cold, and his hands and feet were trembling uncontrollably.

"Stop right there! Don't move! Nobody is allowed to touch the scene!"

Upon hearing the news, the foreman rushed over, his face ashen. With a loud shout, he quelled the chaos in the crowd.

Everyone quickly made way for them.

The foreman walked closer, looked down, his pupils contracted slightly, and he cursed his bad luck inwardly.

But he was an old man who had seen his share of storms, and he quickly regained his composure and immediately gave instructions to those around him.

"Quickly call security! Take him away! Seal off the scene! And get a technician to come and inspect!"

The orders were issued in a well-organized manner.

Soon, the security personnel arrived, covered the body with a cloth, and carried it out.

The machine tool that caused the fatal accident was immediately sealed off, prohibiting anyone from approaching it.

The technician inspected the machine tool thoroughly and concluded that the drill bit was severely worn out and not securely fixed. It suddenly fell off during high-speed operation, which led to the tragedy.

This was a complete accident.

Jia Laonian was in a daze and absent-minded all afternoon.

He dared not touch any more drilling machines, only daring to assist on the side and do odd jobs.

The image of that young man lying in a pool of blood, his eyes wide open, dying with his eyes wide open, kept replaying in my mind.

He couldn't help but begin to imagine—

If the foreman hadn't temporarily changed his workstation in the morning, if he had still been standing in front of that machine tool as usual...

Now, the one whose head is nailed shut by the drill bit is not the young apprentice, but Jia Laonian.

Thinking about this, Jia Laonian broke out in a cold sweat, his clothes getting wet and then dry repeatedly.

The foreman later came over and patted him on the shoulder, offering a word of comfort.

"Old Jia, this has nothing to do with you, don't take it to heart."

Old Jia nodded blankly, gave a few perfunctory replies, and didn't listen at all.

Seeing his pale face, the foreman asked, "Why don't you go home and rest for half a day?"

Old Jia immediately shook his head.

Taking leave will result in a deduction of pay.

His family was poor and lived a very frugal life. Every penny was earned with utmost care, and if they missed a day of earning money, the family would have to eat one less meal.

He dared not rest.

After finally getting off work, as soon as the bell rang, Jia Laonian was almost the first to rush out of the factory and run home like a madman.

All he wants now is to get home quickly, hug his son, and catch his breath.

As soon as he entered the house, Jia Laonian spotted Jia Dongxu playing inside.

He could no longer hold on. He rushed forward and hugged his son tightly in his arms, bursting into tears like a child.

"Wow--"

The crying was suppressed and fearful, sending chills down one's spine.

Jia Dongxu was stunned on the spot.

He had never seen his father so out of control in his entire life. He wanted to push him away, but he didn't dare. He could only stand there stiffly, letting his father hug him.

Jia Zhangshi, who was standing nearby, was startled by the sudden crying. She was stunned for a moment, then immediately put her hands on her hips and started cursing.

"Old Jia! What's wrong with you! You came back and immediately started crying and wailing while hugging Dongxu!"

"You think I'm dead? Oh wait, Dongxu's grandfather died a long time ago! Who are you cursing?!"

Upon hearing this, Jia Laonian's already stretched nerves snapped instantly.

He abruptly released Jia Dongxu, turned around, and delivered a resounding slap to his face.

"Snapped!"

A sharp crack silenced the entire room.

Jia Zhangshi staggered from the blow, half of her face swelled up instantly, and she was completely stunned.

Old Jia's eyes were bloodshot, his breathing was heavy, and he pointed at her, roaring angrily.

"I escaped death today! You wretched woman, what kind of curses are you spouting here!"

Only then did Jia Zhangshi realize something was wrong. She no longer dared to throw a tantrum and immediately softened. She hurriedly stepped forward and reached out to grope Jia Laonian's body.

"Hey! Old Nian, don't scare me! Are you alright? Are you hurt anywhere?"

She knew better than anyone that the good life she and her son had was entirely supported by Jia Laonian's earnings.

If something really happens to Jia Laonian, the mother and daughter will starve to death sooner or later in this courtyard.

Thinking of this, Jia Zhangshi dared not show the slightest temper.

"What exactly happened? Tell me!"

Old Jia, panting heavily, suppressed his shock and recounted everything that had happened at the factory in detail.

From a temporary change of workstation to the tragic death of a young apprentice, and then to the sudden breakage of the drill bit on that aging machine tool...

Every word made Jia Zhangshi's heart pound with fear.

After Jia Laonian finished speaking, Jia Zhangshi patted her chest and breathed a long sigh of relief. Then she pouted and revealed a gloating expression.

"My goodness, so that's what happened... No wonder you seemed so lost today."

"Who would have thought that Yi Zhonghai taking a knife wound would actually save your life!"

Old Jia was taken aback: "What do you mean?"

Jia Zhangshi lowered her voice and leaned closer mysteriously.

"You don't know yet, do you? This morning, a skilled person from the former imperial court came to our courtyard. He specializes in scalpels."

"Yi Zhonghai has become a complete eunuch!"

Old Jia's eyes widened suddenly, his face filled with disbelief.

"Huh? Really? You can't say things like that, it could get someone killed!"

Madam Jia rolled her eyes, looking completely certain.

"With so many people in the front yard witnessing it, how could it be fake? I just thought it was bad luck, so I didn't dare to join in the fun."

Old Jia fell silent.

He felt a mix of emotions.

On one hand, there was lingering fear, and on the other hand, a strange sense of relief.

It's a tragedy that Yi Zhonghai became a eunuch. But ironically, it was because of his accident that I was temporarily assigned to a different work station and saved my life.

In that sense, Yi Zhonghai did indirectly save his life.

Old Jia sighed, his eyes filled with complex emotions.

"Sigh... what a miserable life. Since they saved my life, I should at least go and see them, and show my appreciation."

Upon hearing that he was going to visit Yi Zhonghai, Jia Zhangshi immediately became alert and quickly grabbed him.

"What are you looking at! What's so interesting!"

"Let me tell you, you're not allowed to take any money or anything! Don't you know what our family's situation is? Not a single penny can be given away!"

Jia Laonian was getting a headache from her constant nagging.

"I'm just going to take a look and say a few words, it won't cause any trouble. Besides, this morning Yi's wife asked me to ask for leave from the factory, so I have to give her an answer."

Madam Jia was still worried and kept a close eye on him.

"Fine, go ahead and watch if you want. But let me make this clear: no 'savior' stuff or anything like that!"

"This is your own fate, it has nothing to do with Yi Zhonghai, do you hear me!"

Old Jia was so annoyed by her nagging that he could only nod repeatedly.

"Okay, okay! I understand!"

"That's good." Madam Jia finally relaxed, but her eyes were still watching him warily, as if afraid that he would secretly slip something out.

Jia Laonian didn't say anything more, straightened his clothes, and stepped out of the house.

The setting sun cast a long shadow on the blue brick floor of the courtyard.

He knew it very well.

From today onwards, some people and some things in this courtyard are completely different.

Yi Zhonghai is no longer the glamorous old man who was looking forward to his retirement.

But Jia Laonian had a brush with death and miraculously survived.

Old Jia has always been there.

Old Yi, however, had already become a full-fledged father-in-law.