The entire courtyard is full of villains

The entire courtyard is full of villains

Author: Plum Wine 0623

Synopsis: This is an unbalanced world. The courtyard house, serving as an anchor point, appears outwardly to be filled with love and affection, but in reality, it's teeming with beasts. Behind every seemingly virtuous face lies a hidden side. Zhang Erhe plunges headlong into this vortex—will he succumb to depravity, find redemption, or…?

Chapter 1: Different from Others

On the morning of September 9.3rd, as the internationally renowned J-10 fighter jet streaked across the sky, trailing colored smoke, peace doves took flight, and the majestic military music still echoed in the living room. Zhang Erhe clicked off the television, rubbed his stiff neck, and slowly walked down the stairs.

The afternoon sun in September was just right, casting dappled light and shadows through the branches of the old locust tree in the courtyard. He pushed open the gate, took a few steps towards the alley entrance, and saw several familiar men with short haircuts gathered together, chatting enthusiastically.

"Xiao Ding, a customer has arrived!" Zhang Erhe raised his hand and tapped the somewhat worn wooden sign on the beef noodle stall.

The people gathered around turned around at the sound, and one of them, a young man wearing a white apron, replied with a bitter face, "Brother Erhe." Then, he subconsciously glanced at the entrance of the small shop at the alley entrance.

Old Li, the shop owner, was leaning against the doorframe smoking when he saw this scene. He gave a helpless, bitter smile and waved to Xiao Ding. Xiao Ding seemed resigned to his fate, sighed, turned around, turned on the gas, picked up a dough ball from the cutting board, and began to skillfully stretch it.

"Not bad, Xiao Ding." Zhang Erhe leaned closer and watched Xiao Ding skillfully cook the noodles, scoop them out, and pour the soup over them. He couldn't help but nod. "Your skills are much better than before. But, compared to those established brands, there's still a difference."

"Brother Erhe, don't you dare smack me!" Xiao Ding paused, his spoon slamming down, his neck stiff with defiance. "I learned this skill from our old squad leader in the cooking department, how is it worse than what you get outside?"

A sly glint flashed in Zhang Erhe's eyes. Seeing this, Old Li from the convenience store quickly came over and glared at Zhang Erhe, saying, "Alright, stop teasing this silly kid, Xiao Ding."

He paused, then lowered his voice, "Let's get down to business. Once we're done today, we should head out. And don't post those random tutorials online anymore. It's strictly regulated in China, but those videos get leaked overseas..."

Zhang Erhe's smile faded. He scratched his head and looked at Lao Li with an innocent expression: "Lao Li, I really didn't think that much at the time, do you believe me?"

“Believe it! Why wouldn’t I believe it?” Old Li retorted irritably, pointing at him. “But the problem is, we believe it, but those abroad don’t! The embassy even submitted a protest letter before the higher-ups sent us to come and protect you for a few days. Now that the storm has passed, you should be able to settle down and live a peaceful life. That account should be unblocked in a few more days.”

"Okay, thanks, Lao Li." Zhang Erhe took out his wallet from his pocket. "Also, grab me two more black Zhongpin cigarettes. I'm waiting for someone here."

"Waiting for whom?" Old Li asked casually as he turned to get a cigarette. "Which new girl is it this time?"

"No, it was the one from a couple of days ago." Zhang Erhe took the cigarette and put it in his pocket.

Old Li looked him up and down, as if he'd heard something interesting, and raised an eyebrow, saying, "Didn't you always boast that you never look back on an ex? What happened this time..."

“Hey, that’s different.” Zhang Erhe waved his hand, his eyes slightly unfocused, but his tone was very firm. “It’s mainly because of that faint milky scent on her that I really like.”

After hearing this, Old Li's expression instantly turned strange. He hesitated for a moment, but still couldn't help but remind him, "Erhe, is it possible... that the milky scent on her body is because she really has a child?"

"No way?" Zhang Erhe stood there stunned, instinctively defending himself, "She showed me her ID card. She just turned eighteen this March."

His heart skipped a beat. He knew Old Li's background; if Old Li said so, it was probably true. He tentatively asked, "She...she really has a child?"

Old Li nodded, his tone certain: "We checked, there's a chubby little boy who's six months old."

Zhang Erhe, standing nearby, was completely stunned. He had always thought he had found a young woman with the charm of a mature woman, but he never expected that she was actually a young mother. This sudden truth left him with mixed feelings.

Old Li patted him on the shoulder and said meaningfully, "Be careful."

"Alright." Zhang Erhe had just stood up when he saw a girl wearing a JK skirt and white stockings running towards him from a distance.

"Brother Erhe!" The girl smiled sweetly, her voice clear and crisp. She familiarly took the cigarettes Zhang Erhe had bought from Old Li, "Thank you, Uncle Li." Then she took Zhang Erhe's arm, "Let's go, Brother Erhe."

The two walked towards Zhang Erhe's house, and the girl asked curiously, "Brother Erhe, this place is so remote, why are there still people setting up stalls here?"

Zhang Erhe replied absentmindedly, "Oh, them? They're going to have a military parade, but the streets are under strict control, so they came here to hide for a few days."

"I knew it," the girl said, suddenly realizing, "It's no wonder that setting up a stall in such a sparsely populated place would result in losses."

Once inside, the girl skillfully went to the bathroom to run the water, and before Zhang Erhe could react, she pulled him inside.

Half an hour later, Zhang Erhe lay on the bed, the girl nestled in his arms, her fingers gently tracing circles. "Brother Erhe, what's wrong with you today? You seem restless."

"Oh, it's nothing." Zhang Erhe stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray on the bedside table, his eyes flickered as if he had made up his mind, and then pulled the blanket up again.

By the time it was over, the sun outside the window was already setting in the west; it was afternoon. The girl playfully punched him and whispered, "Are you a donkey? You've been so exhausting today."

However, Zhang Erhe did not flirt with her as usual. He got up, walked to the safe, opened the door, counted out 100,000 yuan in cash, and placed it on the bedside table.

Upon seeing the money, the girl's blush faded instantly, and she asked hesitantly, "Brother Erhe, what's this...?"

“Huimei,” Zhang Erhe’s voice was a little hoarse, “Here is 100,000 yuan. Take the money and don’t come back again.”

"What?" Huimei seemed frozen in place, staring at him stiffly. "Brother Erhe, didn't you say you wouldn't mind that I wasn't there for my first time? Why the sudden..."

“Listen to me, Huimei,” Zhang Erhe interrupted her, his tone becoming serious for the first time. “Although I’m not a good person, I never destroy other people’s family happiness. This time I didn’t ask clearly enough. Take this 100,000 yuan as compensation. Go back and live your life well. After all, you have a child now, so let him have a happy childhood.”

These words were like a bucket of cold water, instantly extinguishing all of Huimei's excitement. She stared blankly at Zhang Erhe, her lips trembling, wanting to say something, but he interrupted her again.

"Alright, that's enough." Zhang Erhe stopped looking at her, turned around, put on his clothes, walked straight out of the bedroom, went down to the yard, and pushed open the gate.

At the alley entrance, Old Li and Xiao Ding had indeed packed up their stall and disappeared without a trace.

In the bedroom on the second floor, Huimei sat alone on the bed, staring blankly out the window. The thick stack of 100,000 yuan in cash on the bedside table was particularly glaring. Suddenly, Zhang Erhe's telephone, which he had left in the living room, rang urgently.

Meanwhile, at the other end of the alley, a young man with dyed yellow hair gulped down a large mouthful of baijiu (Chinese liquor), his eyes bloodshot. He stumbled to a heavy truck, used a stolen key to climb into the driver's seat, started the engine in a few seconds, and then slammed on the gas. The truck, like a runaway beast, hurtled straight toward Zhang Erhe's yard.

Mr. Li, who was anxious because he couldn't get through on the phone, happened to run around the corner and saw this horrifying scene at a glance.

"Zhang Erhe! Run!" Old Li roared, rushing towards him with all his might.

Upon hearing the sound, Zhang Erhe was about to turn around when he saw a heavy truck bearing the "Sino Truk" logo hurtling towards him like a mountain crashing down on him.

The last thought that flashed through his mind was: Why is it that when other people encounter this kind of thing it's "great luck", but when it comes to me it's "Sino Truk"?

Chapter 2 Bastard

September 5, 1959, Hongxing Steel Rolling Mill Staff Hospital.

Zhang Erhe slowly opened his eyes, and in his line of sight was a slightly old-fashioned hospital room. The white walls were painted with a green wainscoting about a meter from the ground. A faint smell of disinfectant filled the air, making it look nothing like a modern hospital.

"Where am I?" He tried to turn his head, but a sharp pain shot through his temple, and he couldn't help but cry out in pain.

On the other side of the bed, two figures suddenly looked up. A woman with short, shoulder-length hair, wearing old clothes that had been altered from blue overalls, and a little girl, also wearing patched but faded blue clothes, walked over quickly.

"Erhe, you're awake!" The woman's voice trembled, her eyes red-rimmed. "You scared me to death!"

Zhang Erhe frowned, carefully scrutinizing the woman before him. He was certain he had never seen her before in his life. The little girl beside him, startled by his gaze, timidly hid behind the woman.

"Erhe, what's wrong? Why aren't you saying anything?" The woman panicked when she saw him just staring at her. She reached out to touch his forehead, but Zhang Erhe instinctively dodged away.

The woman became even more anxious and turned to run out of the ward, crying, "Doctor! Doctor! My husband is awake! Please come quickly!"

man?

Zhang Erhe blinked, his mind going blankly, as if countless needles were pricking him. Before he could process the information, everything went black, and he lost consciousness again.

"Mom! Come quick! My dad's 'dead' again!" the little girl screamed shrilly.

The woman rushed back in a panic. When she saw Zhang Erhe lying motionless with his eyes closed, she was terrified: "Doctor! Doctor! Look at my husband! Why isn't he moving again!"

A group of doctors and nurses in white coats quickly surrounded the ward, taking blood pressure and listening to heartbeats, and the ward was immediately in a flurry of activity.

At this moment, Zhang Erhe was immersed in a surge of unfamiliar memories.

He crossed.

It wasn't a journey to the future, but rather a trip back 66 years to 1959.

The original owner of this body was also named Zhang Erhe. After his parents passed away in 1957, he took his father's place and became a worker at the Hongxing Steel Rolling Mill.

“Red Star Steel Rolling Mill…” Zhang Erhe repeatedly chewed on the name in his mind, feeling a strange sense of familiarity. He quickly dug into the original owner’s memories and soon found the key information—the original owner lived in a three-courtyard siheyuan near Nanluoguxiang in Beijing. There were three stewards in the courtyard, namely Yi Zhonghai, Liu Haizhong, and Yan Bugui.

The moment Zhang Erhe heard those three names, it felt like his mind had been struck by a hammer. Before he could recover, more fragments of memories flooded back: Xu Damao, the film projectionist in the backyard; Sha Zhu, the canteen cook in the middle courtyard; and Jia Dongxu, Yi Zhonghai's apprentice…

"Holy crap! Isn't this 'Full House of Love'?"

Zhang Erhe was completely dumbfounded—he hadn't traveled to 1959 at all; he had clearly entered the world of the TV drama "Birds Fill the Courtyard"! He was both amused and exasperated. He had just escaped the deadly situation of being hit by a truck, and now he had to face the group of "tough characters" in the courtyard: the morally upright Yi Zhonghai, the indifferent Liu Haizhong, the generous Yan Bugui, the blessed Xu Damao with many children, the healthy and long-lived Jia Dongxu, the chaste He Yuzhu, the virtuous Qin Huairu, and the law-abiding Jia Zhangshi...

But this self-deprecation didn't last long before the original owner's "dark history" crashed into his mind—this predecessor was no pushover either. In junior high school, he gathered a group of teenagers to fight in the streets and steal chickens and dogs; after graduating from high school, he even pulled people together to set up a small "pigeon market" to smuggle scarce goods and make dirty money; it wasn't until he entered the factory in 1957 that he restrained himself a little, but his inherent ruthlessness and recklessness hadn't diminished in the slightest.

Zhang Erhe continued to sort through the memories in his mind, and the past of the woman named Guan Xue by the bedside gradually became clearer.

Guan Xue's family was well-off, though by her father's generation they were practically bankrupt. Born in 1933, she was three years older than the original owner of this body. The original owner, during middle school, got into a fight and happened to see Guan Xue, immediately becoming captivated by her beauty and relentlessly pursuing her. However, he was too young at the time, and the matter was eventually dropped.

The turning point came in 1955. Guan Xue's father was a compulsive gambler who was tricked into losing all his family's assets and incurring huge debts. The other party threatened to sell his family's only remaining house to pay off the debts. With nowhere else to turn, Guan Xue had no choice but to bite the bullet and ask Zhang Erhe, who was already quite well-known in "Pigeon City" at the time.

Zhang Erhe, who already harbored desires for Guan Xue, immediately set a condition: he would only lend her money if she married him. Guan Xue, with no other choice, could only agree tearfully. After paying off her father's gambling debts, Zhang Erhe didn't stop there. He directly led his men to break both of his father-in-law's legs, threatening, "If you gamble again, I'll kill you!"

In 1956, with the help of Zhang Erhe's parents, Guan Xue officially married into the Zhang family. Initially, Zhang Erhe treated Guan Xue quite well. However, shortly after Guan Xue gave birth to their daughter, Zhang Jiao, Zhang Erhe's parents passed away the following year.

Now, gossip began to fly all over the courtyard. Everyone said that Guan Xue was a jinx who would bring misfortune to her in-laws, and that even her daughter Zhang Jiao was a jinx who would bring misfortune to her grandparents. These words pierced Zhang Erhe's heart like needles. He was not a kind person to begin with, and from then on, his attitude towards Guan Xue and her daughter plummeted. He would beat and scold them at the drop of a hat, showing no mercy.

The reason the original owner was sent to the hospital this time was not because of a work injury, but because he was hit on the back with a club on his way back from doing business in "Pigeon City"! As for who did it, the original owner had no clue in his memory.

"What a complete bastard," Zhang Erhe thought to himself.

Not only did he force himself on his wife, but he also broke his father-in-law's leg, and then abused his wife and daughters because of a few rumors. Such character might be despised elsewhere, but in a traditional courtyard house, this is commonplace, and could even be considered a moral benchmark!

Just then, the ward door was gently pushed open. Guan Xue carefully walked to the bedside.

"Erhe, are you feeling any better now?" Her voice trembled slightly.

Following the original owner's temperament from his memory, Zhang Erhe didn't speak, but simply nodded coldly.

Guan Xue's tears welled up instantly: "Erhe, could you... could you please not go to that place again?"

"Shut up!" Zhang Erhe shouted almost instinctively. "You cry all the time, you've cried away all the good fortune this family has!"

He saw Guan Xue's body suddenly shrink back, and her tears fell even more fiercely. He felt a pang of pity, but now was not the time to reveal his own feelings. He hardened his heart and continued to ask in a commanding tone, "Tell me, how long have I been in the hospital?"

“It’s been two days,” Guan Xue replied, choking back tears. “The doctor said you… almost died.”

"Hmph," Zhang Erhe scoffed, "When I went to the hospital, who came to see me?"

“Your sworn brothers are all here. As for what’s going on in the courtyard…” Guan Xue’s face showed a troubled expression.

"Hmph, those beasts in the yard," Zhang Erhe sneered, "when they heard I was dying, they all set off firecrackers to celebrate? And they even came to see me?"

Guan Xue didn't say anything, but blushed and acquiesced.

"What about the little money-losing one?" Zhang Erhe asked again.

"My mom came this afternoon, and I asked her to take the child back," Guan Xue said softly. "After all, I'm in the hospital, and it's not convenient for the child to be here."

"I'm hungry," Zhang Erhe said, rubbing his stomach. "Go to the hospital cafeteria and buy some meat. I want to eat meat."

Guan Xue was a little anxious: "Erhe, the doctor said that you can't eat too much oily food now, you have to eat something light."

"Alright, alright, stop nagging all the time!" Zhang Erhe waved his hand impatiently. "Go buy some food, do you have any money?"

Guan Xue nodded: "There's still a little."