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

They talked about rotten vegetable leaves, rotten eggs, and those small pebbles.

Yi Zhonghai walked with his head down, his steps trembling.

The story goes that Qin Huairu was chased and pinched by Jia Zhangshi until her arm turned blue.

Li Jianguo listened without saying a word.

After he finished speaking, he asked:

"Is Yi Zhonghai in the hospital now?"

"I'm here. Just got back. I was locked up all day, and I'll have to be criticized tonight."

Li Jianguo stood up.

"I'll go check on him."

Xu Damao was stunned: "Director Li, what are you going there for? I can take care of anything."

"It's just a matter of a word."

He went outside.

Jiang Min wanted to go with them, but then didn't. She sat inside and cleared the dishes.

Yi Zhonghai sat at his own doorstep.

The door was locked. An older woman locked it.

He sat on the doorstep, hunched over, looking like an old man in his seventies or eighties.

Seeing Li Jianguo and Xu Damao walking over, he jumped up.

"Xu Damao! Li Jianguo! You two are in cahoots—"

He rushed up.

Before he even got close, Li Jianguo kicked him in the stomach.

He flew out, crashed to the ground, and couldn't get up for a long time.

Li Jianguo walked over.

Squat down.

She reached out and grabbed his neck.

Yi Zhonghai's face turned red, his eyes widened, and he tried to struggle but couldn't.

Li Jianguo leaned close to his ear and spoke softly:

"There's a secret I think you should know."

Yi Zhonghai glared at him.

"You're childless."

Yi Zhonghai's eyes widened even more.

"Having children isn't just a woman's responsibility. If a man isn't capable, he's useless."

Li Jianguo smiled.

"You're a useless man. So you can't have children. Bang Geng has nothing to do with you."

Yi Zhonghai's mouth was open.

He wanted to say something, but couldn't.

"Don't believe me? Ask your wife."

Li Jianguo released his grip and stood up.

An older woman happened to be coming back from outside.

She stood there and heard everything Li Jianguo said clearly.

"Director Li is right."

She spoke coldly.

"I had someone check for you before. It's because you're infertile. You'll never have children in this lifetime."

Yi Zhonghai sat on the ground.

He glanced at Li Jianguo, then at the old woman.

Then he opened his mouth.

"impossible--!!!"

He spat out a mouthful of blood.

He fell down.

He collapsed unconscious on the ground.

The older woman looked down at him, her face expressionless.

"Director Li, I have something to attend to at home, so I won't invite you in."

"You're busy."

Li Jianguo smiled and left.

He went back inside and sat with Jiang Min for a while longer.

As darkness fell, he got up and escorted her home.

He escorted her to the school gate, watched her go inside, and then rode his bike back home.

Back in the courtyard, I heard a commotion.

At the entrance to Yi Zhonghai's house, things were piled up. Bedding, clothes, pots and pans, everything was thrown out.

Yi Zhonghai sat in the middle of the courtyard, tears streaming down his face.

"What's wrong now?"

Li Jianguo asked Xu Damao, who was watching the commotion from the side.

"This old lady wants a divorce," Xu Damao said gleefully. "She threw everything out. It's a complete breakup."

Several young men came out of the house; they were the aunt's nephews and nieces.

One of them walked up to Yi Zhonghai and kicked him.

"Get out! Don't get in my way!"

Yi Zhonghai was kicked to the ground.

He got up, hugged his luggage, and walked away with his head down.

Liu Haizhong stood in the courtyard, his belly protruding:

"Yi Zhonghai, you have nowhere else to go. You can stay in that storage room in the back. Don't say we're being mean, at least you'll have some shelter from the wind and rain."

Yi Zhonghai remained silent.

He carried his luggage and walked towards the back.

Passing by the Jia family's house.

Jia Zhangshi stood at the door, saw him, and burst into laughter.

"Yi Zhonghai! How did you feel watching your own son die?"

Yi Zhonghai stopped.

He turned his head and looked at Jia Zhangshi.

Laughed.

"It would be better if the stick died."

Jia Zhangshi's smile froze on her face.

"I was born disabled and will never be able to have children. What does it matter to me whether he lives or dies?"

"What?"

Jia Dongxu rushed out of the house.

"What did you say?! Bang Geng isn't your son?! You and Qin Huairu clearly—"

Yi Zhonghai sneered:

"Qin Huairu wants me to save her son and make me acknowledge him. I'm not stupid."

Jia Dongxu stood there, stunned.

He slowly turned his head and looked at Qin Huairu, who was huddled in the corner.

"Is he telling the truth?"

Qin Huairu raised her head.

There was no light left in her eyes.

She nodded.

Jia Zhangshi's howls were loud enough to blow the roof off.

"My grandson! My eldest grandson!"

Jia Dongxu's legs went weak, and he knelt on the ground.

"How could this be... how could this be..."

Yi Zhonghai laughed heartily, picked up his luggage, and went to the backyard.

His laughter carried far into the night.

The Jia family cried all night.

The next morning, Jia Dongxu came to find Li Jianguo.

He knelt down as soon as he entered the door.

Li Jianguo was eating breakfast, without even looking up.

"Get out."

"Li Jianguo, please spare my son! He's still so young! I promise I'll never let him ever appear before you again!"

Jia Dongxu began to kowtow.

Thump, thump, thump, the sound echoed on the floor.

Madam Jia Zhang also came, and followed behind, weeping:

"Li Jianguo, I beg you, please spare my grandson..."

A crowd of people gathered in the courtyard.

No one spoke; they just watched.

Li Jianguo put down his chopsticks.

"What does it have to do with me if stick-sticking is illegal?"

He looked at Jia Dongxu and spoke each word clearly:

"He deserves to die."

Jia Dongxu's face turned pale.

He crawled forward a step and reached out to grab Li Jianguo's trouser leg.

Li Jianguo raised his foot and kicked him out.

The door slammed shut.

Jia Dongxu lay on the ground, unable to get up for a long time.

In the days that followed, the Jia family went out every day. They sought connections, asked favors, and begged and pleaded, trying to get the stick out of the house.

People in the courtyard rarely see them.

But you can see Sha Zhu quite often.

He lost his job. He lost all his money. Qin Huairu swindled him out of it all.

He wanders the streets every day, asking everyone he sees:

"Do you need help? I'm strong. Just give me some food."

Nobody wanted him.

Later he started collecting scraps.

Later on, he stopped even picking up trash.

Li Jianguo had seen him a few times at the factory.

He was always the one pestering Director Yang for work.

Every time, the security guards would throw them out.

But he came again next time.

Factory Director Yang saw Li Jianguo and smiled bitterly:

"That idiot Zhu is driving me crazy."

Li Jianguo smiled but didn't reply.

The project is almost complete.

Just one last step.

When Director Yang heard this, his eyes lit up:

"Great! If we can complete the technology upgrade this year, we'll have new technology to sell!"

Li Jianguo chatted with him for a few minutes before going home after get off work.

As he passed by the garbage dump, he saw a familiar figure.

Silly Pillar.

He squatted next to the garbage heap, rummaging through something.

Several children ran over and threw stones at him:

"You big idiot! Collecting scraps!"

Sha Zhu suddenly stood up and chased after the children.

The child screamed and ran away.

Sha Zhu stopped, panting heavily.

He turned his head and saw Li Jianguo.

He stared at Li Jianguo.

There was something indescribable in his eyes.

Li Jianguo glanced at him, got on his bike, and rode away.

Back in the courtyard, Xu Damao came over.

"Director Li, are we going to the execution ground tomorrow?"

"execution ground?"

Li Jianguo was stunned for a moment.

"He Daqing is being executed tomorrow. We're all going to watch the spectacle, aren't you coming?"

He Daqing.

Li Jianguo had almost forgotten this name.

He thought of Jiang Min.

"Go by yourself."

He put his things down and rode his bike to school.

Jiang Min just got out of school, saw him, and ran over.