Courtyard House: Starting as an eighth-grade worker, with too many wives.

the next day.

Li Jianguo went to find Xu Damao.

He doesn't need to do this himself. Xu Damao is his hands, his feet, and his good dog.

Xu Damao arrived quickly.

He's a minor official in the factory now, and he walks with a swagger. But when he sees Li Jianguo, he bends over, and his smile spreads like a steamed bun.

"Director Li, please feel free to ask if you need anything."

"night."

Li Jianguo leaned back in his chair, tapping his fingers on the table once, twice, three times.

"Go and invite Yi Zhonghai for drinks. Get him drunk. Ask him about his relationship with Bang Geng."

Xu Damao was stunned for a moment.

He paused for a moment, then immediately realized, "Director Li, this guy... he can't really be Yi Zhonghai's son, can he?"

"You know?"

Li Jianguo sat up straight.

"No, no, I was just guessing." Xu Mao waved his hand. "Didn't He Daqing say before that Yi Zhonghai and Qin Huairu were having an affair? People speak the truth when they're drunk, so I was thinking that maybe it's true."

Li Jianguo smiled.

"Quite clever. But guessing is useless. I want to hear it from him."

"Alright!"

Xu Damao turned to leave, then stopped and turned back: "Director Li, why are you suddenly asking this? Did Yi Zhonghai offend you again?"

His eyes changed; they looked a bit fierce.

"If he offends you, I won't let him get away with it."

Li Jianguo wanted to laugh at Xu Damao's sycophantic manner, but he held it in.

"He came begging me to let Bang Geng go," Li Jianguo said. "I'm the kind of person who treats others with respect, and I repay them tenfold. He came begging, but I didn't agree. But I also didn't want him bothering me every day. So..."

"Understood."

Xu Damao nodded, nodding vigorously.

"Don't worry, Director Li. After this, Yi Zhonghai will definitely not have the chance to bother you again."

night.

Xu Damao, carrying two bottles of wine, knocked on Yi Zhonghai's door.

Yi Zhonghai opened the door, saw it was him, and froze, as if he had seen a ghost.

What are you doing here?

"I'd like to invite you for a drink."

Xu Damao didn't stand on ceremony. He walked straight in, plopped down, and put the wine bottle on the table.

"Yi Zhonghai, look at yourself now, who else in this courtyard comes to visit you? Only me."

Yi Zhonghai stood at the door, not moving.

"Are you here to laugh at me?"

"joke?"

Xu Damao laughed, a loud laugh that made Yi Zhonghai frown.

"What other jokes do you have to make? Things have come to this." He stopped laughing and looked at Yi Zhonghai. "I, Xu Damao, am not a good person, but I'm still a human being. We've lived in this compound for so many years. Even if you're completely finished, we should have a drink and part ways amicably."

He poured the wine.

The sound of the wine being poured into the bowl was particularly loud in the quiet room.

"If you don't want to, that's fine. I'll leave the wine here."

He stood up.

"etc."

Yi Zhonghai called out to him.

Xu Damao had his back to him, and the corner of his mouth curled up slightly.

Yi Zhonghai walked over and sat down. His hands trembled slightly as he picked up the bowl and took a big gulp.

"Have a drink with me."

"OK."

Xu Damao sat down and filled his cup.

Yi Zhonghai was suffering. He knew it. Who could bear to go from being a respected elder to a pariah? During this time, everyone in the hospital avoided him, and he couldn't even find anyone to talk to.

Now that Xu Damao has arrived, whether his intentions are genuine or not, he needs someone to talk to.

As I drank, I got tipsy.

After downing more than half of the two bottles of wine, Yi Zhonghai's face turned as red as a pig's liver, and his speech began to become incoherent.

Xu Damao looked at the doorway.

The door was open.

There were footsteps outside, and a figure flashed by.

He leaned closer, his voice neither too loud nor too soft, just loud enough for those outside to hear:

"Sir, I heard you recently went to ask Director Li to put on a joke? Is that true?"

Yi Zhonghai was quite tipsy and didn't think much of it, so he nodded.

"Please. That bitch, fucking..."

His eyes turned red when Li Jianguo was mentioned.

"It was just a matter of a word from him! He wouldn't even help! He's just a kid! So heartless! So heartless!"

He started swearing, and he swore very badly.

Xu Damao listened without much expression on his face, but the knuckles of his hand gripping the wine bowl turned white.

More and more people gathered outside.

Liu Haizhong arrived, stood in the courtyard with his hands behind his back, and listened intently. Several women also gathered around, whispering among themselves.

Xu Damao looked outside and suddenly raised his voice:

"Sir, what's your relationship with Bang Geng? Why are you helping him so much? Is he your son?"

These words were like a stone thrown into a cesspool.

The people outside fell silent for a moment, and then—a buzzing sound erupted.

Yi Zhonghai was already very drunk.

He didn't even realize what Xu Damao was asking, and blurted out:

"That's my only son! The bloodline of the Yi family! How could I let him die!"

hum-

The courtyard was in complete chaos.

Xu Damao smiled, a bright and sunny smile.

"Oh, so you're saying you had an affair with Qin Huairu and even had a son with her?"

Yi Zhonghai suddenly woke up.

I'm sober now.

I broke out in a cold sweat.

"I...I was just kidding! Don't take it seriously! It has nothing to do with me!"

"Nonsense?"

Xu Damao stood up, walked to the door, and waved to the people outside.

"You even knelt down before Director Li to beg him, and you're still spouting nonsense?"

Liu Haizhong was the first to rush in.

He had waited too long for this day.

"Yi Zhonghai! Have you no shame?! You and Qin Huairu—you're a disgrace!"

Liu Haizhong shook his head in anguish, but his eyes were full of laughter. He had just become the person in charge of the courtyard and was worried about not having a chance to establish his authority; this lucrative opportunity had been delivered right to his doorstep.

"Our compound has maintained a clean and honest reputation for so many years, and it's all been ruined by you few! Now you've gone and done something disgusting! This matter must be dealt with seriously!"

The people outside joined in the commotion:

"Exactly! It's disgusting! We have daughters and wives in our family too, what will people say if word gets out!"

"Yi Zhonghai, you're old enough to be Qin Huairu's father, how could you bring yourself to do that?"

"Men, even in their seventies and eighties, still prefer younger women, right? I don't think Qin Huairu is any better; she's married but still hooking up with old men, ugh!"

"Jia Dongxu is so pitiful! He's raising a son for an old bachelor, and his wife is even sleeping with another man..."

These words, one by one, drifted into the Jia family.

Jia Dongxu sat on the kang (a heated brick bed), his face as white as paper.

He heard it.

I heard everything.

Then he just fell straight backward—

"Dongxu! Dongxu!"

Jia Zhangshi's screams could blow the roof off.

"My Jia family has had the worst luck in eight generations!!!"

She rushed out, grabbed Qin Huairu by the hair, and dragged her out of the house like a dead dog.

"You bitch! Get out! Get the hell out of here!"

Qin Huairu fell to the ground.

She looked up and saw the courtyard full of people.

Everyone was watching her.

Those gazes included contempt, disgust, schadenfreude, and—and a few men, whose eyes swept over her as if she were a piece of rotten flesh.

Qin Huairu opened her mouth, as if to say something.

He didn't say anything.

She lowered her head.

Liu Haizhong cleared his throat, put his hands behind his back, and stood in the middle of the yard, his belly protruding.

"This matter cannot be left like this. Those who commit adultery must be paraded through the streets! That's the rule!"

"Yes! Parade them through the streets! Parade them through the streets!"

"Go find some used shoes! Go find some brand names!"

The young people ran very fast.

Sha Zhu was lying inside the house.

He had been lying there for several days, neither eating nor drinking, just lying there, staring at the roof beams and the mouse hole in the corner of the wall.

He heard noises outside.

I heard the name Qin Huairu.