The entire courtyard is full of villains

"Water... Saihua, give me some water..." Yi Zhonghai's throat was so dry that he could barely speak.

Tan Saihua quickly got up to turn on the light and pour water. After the footsteps faded into the distance, Yi Zhonghai cautiously reached for his lower back. The moment his fingertips touched the wound, a piercing pain made him gasp and curse under his breath, "That damned Zhou Changli!"

The thought of being bullied for so long in the detention center by that kid's henchmen filled him with rage. If he hadn't risked his life to run to the guards that day and publicly pull down his pants to expose his injuries, he probably would have continued to be tortured. He just didn't know what the police did to that beast in the end.

Meanwhile, in the small, dark cell of the detention center, Zhou Changli was sprawled out on the upper bunk, leisurely swinging his legs. Suddenly, with a "bang," the cell door was pushed open, and a policeman stood in the doorway, his face frighteningly grim: "Zhou Changli, still sleeping? Get up!"

Zhou Changli shuddered and quickly sat up, forcing a fawning smile on his face: "Uncle Policeman, what's wrong? I've only been an adult for a short time, and my body is still weak. I need to sleep a little longer to recharge."

"You're sleeping soundly, but Yi Zhonghai couldn't sleep a wink all night." The policeman stared at him, his tone as cold as ice. "Speak! Did you instigate the injuries on Yi Zhonghai?"

"No, officer! Please don't wrong me!" Zhou Changli immediately cried out, his face showing indignation. "It's clearly that old pervert Yi Zhonghai who likes to do those dirty things like rollerblading! My brothers took pity on him and kindly helped him, but he turned around and blamed us!"

The police officer interrogating him was so angry at his words that he laughed. He stepped forward and pointed at him, saying, "Your family's 'kind help' could result in someone getting a bloody butt? Zhou Changli, if you don't confess honestly, I'll transfer you to the adult offender ward. You'll be in for a world of hurt there!"

"Uncle, why don't you believe me? I really am happy to help others!" Zhou Changli was still being stubborn, but a hint of panic flashed in his eyes.

"Fine, you're going to be stubborn, huh?" The policeman, too lazy to argue with him, turned and left. "Just wait, you'll be crying tomorrow."

The door closed, and Zhou Changli instantly wiped the panic off his face, lay back on the bed, and cursed through gritted teeth: "You bastard Yi Zhonghai, you're lucky this time! Wait till I get out of here, I'll see how I deal with you!"

The next day, while others went to school or work, Yi Zhonghai limped towards the public toilet, supporting himself on his back. He hadn't noticed he'd drunk a lot of water on his way home the night before, and now his stomach was painfully bloated. With his current injuries, going to the toilet was like torture, but he couldn't hold it in any longer, so he could only clench his legs tightly and incline forward step by step.

As soon as they stepped out of the courtyard gate, they saw several women huddled together. They immediately lowered their voices and said, "Hey, do you think Yi Zhonghai's appearance was really like Zhang Erhe said, that he was... was violated inside?"

Another woman quickly chimed in, glancing at Yi Zhonghai: "Judging from the way he walks, it's probably true! Zhang Erhe wasn't lying this time."

“That’s right!” An older woman sighed, lowering her voice even further. “Before Liberation, I washed clothes for people in the Eight Great Hutongs, and I saw those handsome young men suffer. They walked like this…”

"But Yi Zhonghai is already this old, what are they after?" someone couldn't help but mutter, their eyes full of doubt.

"How did you figure it out?" Widow Wang, speaking in a thick local accent, interjected from the main room. "Back in Chengdu, some wealthy families used to have a taste for this. As the old saying goes, 'Three flat ones are not as good as one round one.' Maybe this Yi Zhonghai, despite his age, is actually quite savvy, and he might even have a taste for this himself!"

She paused, glanced at everyone, and said with a hint of certainty, "Otherwise, think about it. He suffered like this inside, and he's been back home for so long without making a sound, not even a fart—if it were anyone else, they would have been in complete chaos by now!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the women in the courtyard were stunned. They looked at each other, pondered for a moment, and then nodded in unison.

"Now that you mention it, there's actually some truth to it."

"That's right. Given how much he used to care about his image, how could he possibly keep it to himself if he was really wronged? Maybe... he really did enjoy it."

Yi Zhonghai finally managed to squeeze into the public restroom, frowning as he picked and chose – most of the stalls inside were dirty and messy, only the one at the very back was barely acceptable. He gritted his teeth and moved over, slowly pulling down his pants and squatting down. As soon as he exerted himself, a sharp pain shot up his spine, causing cold sweat to instantly break out on his forehead, and he couldn't help but groan.

The pain was excruciating, almost unbearable. Yi Zhonghai gritted his teeth, his mind focused on only one thing: finish quickly and get back. But his stomach seemed to be working against him; the more he strained, the less he could excrete. "Ouch..." he cried out, straining with all his might, but the wooden plank beneath him had cracked from years of neglect—everyone in the yard had been avoiding this spot for the past few days, but he was unaware of it. With a sudden effort, "plop!" he fell down the crack!

"Help! Help me!" Yi Zhonghai struggled wildly in the sewage, choking on the foul, fishy smell that shot straight into his throat. Ignoring his nausea, he desperately tried to climb out, but the more he struggled, the deeper he sank. He could only scream for help and scramble to the side with his hands and feet.

Unexpectedly, he hid in the women's restroom stall. At that moment, Jia Zhangshi had just finished using the toilet and was about to wipe herself when she suddenly caught a glimpse of a face peeking out from the gap under the stall door. The face was covered in filth, which terrified her.

"Ah—!" Jia Zhangshi screamed in agony. Forgetting to pull up her pants, she ran out, her buttocks sticking out, shouting as she ran, "A ghost! A ghost in the toilet! Someone, help me!"

The people in the courtyard were startled by the shrill screams and rushed over. When they rushed into the public toilet, they saw Yi Zhonghai lying in the latrine with his eyes rolled back, barely breathing; while Jia Zhangshi was hiding in the corner, her pants pulled down to her knees, her white buttocks facing the sun, dazzlingly bright.

Chapter 56 The Stick Gem Disappears

Tan Saihua was making breakfast at home when Yang Ruihua rushed in in a panic: "Sister-in-law Yi! What are you still doing at home? Come with me quickly! Your Yi Zhonghai has fallen into the toilet!"

"What?!" Tan Saihua dropped the spoon in her hand with a clatter to the ground. Without even bothering to clean it up, she turned and ran outside. Yang Ruihua looked at the open door, muttered, "Why didn't they even close the door?" and casually pulled it shut for her.

Tan Saihua stumbled to the public toilet and immediately saw Yi Zhonghai in the latrine, only his head sticking out, weakly calling out, "Saihua... quickly, have someone pull me up... I'm... I'm dying..."

Tan Saihua paced anxiously, glancing around. Only her neighbor, Liu Gen, was home—he hadn't gone to work that morning. "Liu Gen! Come here quickly and pull your old man up!"

Liu Gen's face turned pale, and he retreated repeatedly, saying, "This, this won't do! He's in the cesspool, I'm not going!"

Tan Saihua gritted her teeth and hardened her heart: "Liu Gen, as long as you pull your old man up here, I'll give you a dollar!"

"It's so dirty!"

"Two pieces!"

"Whoever wants to go can go!"

"Five yuan!" Tan Saihua stamped her feet anxiously.

"make a deal!"

Tan Saihua cursed under her breath, realizing she had given too much, and added, "You also have to help me take him to the hospital!"

"Okay!" The temptation of five yuan was not small. Liu Gen gritted his teeth, turned around and ran to the next alley. Before long, he borrowed a manure cart and an iron rake. He put the rake into the manure pit, let Yi Zhonghai hold on tight, and with a sudden pull, he hooked Yi Zhonghai to the edge of the pit and dragged him up.

Seeing Yi Zhonghai covered in filth, Liu Gen suppressed his urge to vomit, threw him onto a cart, and pushed the cart towards the hospital, muttering, "It stinks so badly... this smell is unbearable!"

Tan Saihua hurried home to get the money, locked the door, and chased after the person, but she didn't notice that someone had quietly slipped into the house. After she left, the figure pushed the door hard and knocked on the window, but couldn't open it, and could only pace anxiously inside.

At the hospital, Liu Gen threw Yi Zhonghai aside and ran away—the latrine had been fermenting for years, and with Yi Zhonghai struggling and churning inside, the stench was indescribable. The medical staff also frowned in disgust. Helpless, they could only call two people from the security department to drag Yi Zhonghai to the toilet, rinse him roughly with a tap, and then send him to the emergency room.

After a long while, the doctor came out of the emergency room and said to Tan Saihua, "Family, we have two pieces of news. The good news is that she has survived and is out of danger."

Just as Tan Saihua breathed a sigh of relief, the doctor continued, "The bad news is that his wound on his lower body has become infected with feces, and he needs to be hospitalized. Even if he recovers, he may experience frequent diarrhea in the future."

In the steel rolling mill workshop, Qin Huairu was clumsily learning the trade from Master Li, a thin layer of sweat glistening on her forehead. Suddenly, a security officer pushed open the door and called out, "Qin Huairu! Is Qin Huairu here?"

She quickly stopped what she was doing and replied, "I'm here!"

"There are neighbors from your compound looking for you at the gate. They say your mother-in-law has had an accident and you need to go back immediately," the security officer said succinctly before turning and leaving.

"What? What happened to my mother-in-law?" Qin Huairu panicked instantly, not even having time to put down her tools, and hurriedly went to ask Guo Da Piezi for leave. Fortunately, a coworker overheard the security officer's words and testified, so Guo Da Piezi didn't ask any more questions and readily approved her leave.

Qin Huairu rushed out of the factory area and saw Liu Haizhong's wife standing there as soon as she reached the gate. "Aunt Liu, what happened to my mother-in-law?" she asked anxiously, grabbing the woman's arm.

Liu Haizhong's wife looked somewhat embarrassed and found it difficult to speak, so she simply pulled her away, saying, "Don't ask anymore, just come back with me and you'll know."

When the two arrived at the corner of the public restroom, Qin Huairu's vision went black at first glance—she saw her mother-in-law, Jia Zhangshi, with her bare buttocks sticking out, motionless in the sun, looking like a fool. "Mom! What are you doing!" she rushed over, both angry and anxious.

Upon closer inspection, Qin Huairu noticed that Jia Zhangshi's eyes were tightly closed and her face was pale. Qin Huairu pushed her twice before she slowly opened her eyes, her voice trembling, "Huairu... I... I was in the toilet just now, and a ghost came out of the latrine! The ghost was pointing at my butt..."

She suddenly raised her voice, her expression turning ferocious: "That's a ghost looking for a substitute! I'll put my backside in the sun to drive away the bad luck and save my life!"

"A ghost in the toilet?" Qin Huairu was completely dumbfounded, her face full of disbelief. "Mom, are you serious?"

The women watching nearby couldn't hold back their laughter any longer. Yang Ruihua covered her mouth, laughing so hard she could barely breathe. She finally managed to say, "Jia Zhangshi, Qin Huairu, what ghosts are you talking about! That was Yi Zhonghai just now. He accidentally fell into the latrine!"

"What?!" The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law were both stunned, their expressions freezing.

After realizing what had happened, Jia Zhangshi flew into a rage, jumping up and down and cursing, "That son of a bitch Yi Zhonghai! He's made me lose face here!" After cursing, she hurriedly pulled up her pants, grabbed her waistband with one hand and put her other hand on her hip, and stormed into the yard, yelling, "Yi Zhonghai, you bastard! Get out here! You dare to take advantage of me? I'll tear your mouth apart!"

When she got to Yi Zhonghai's house, she found the door locked and empty. "Where's Yi Zhonghai? Where the hell is he?" she shouted, hands on her hips.

It was the kind-hearted widow Wang who reminded him: "After he fell into the toilet and was rescued, he was taken to the hospital."

"You bastard! He better not come back, or I'll scratch him to death!" Jia Zhangshi was so angry she jumped up and down; she had completely lost face today.

Helpless, Qin Huairu could only take her home and boil water for her to wash properly. After Jia Zhangshi had washed up and changed her clothes, Qin Huairu suddenly remembered something and hurriedly asked, "Mom, where's Banggeng? Where did he go?"

“Isn’t Banggeng at home?” Jia Zhangshi was taken aback. She had clearly seen Banggeng playing in the house before she went to the toilet. “He probably ran out to play. He’ll come back when he gets hungry at noon.”

By noon, Qin Huairu had served the food and called out several times inside and outside the yard, but there was still no sign of Banggeng. She was panicking, but there was nothing else she could do, so she could only rush to work at the factory, thinking that maybe the child would be there when she returned in the afternoon.

To her surprise, when she stepped into the courtyard after get off work that evening, the house was still empty—Bang Geng hadn't returned yet. The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law sat inside until seven o'clock, as darkness gradually fell, but there were still no familiar footsteps outside the door.

"Mom, the stick wouldn't be..." Qin Huairu was interrupted harshly by Jia Zhangshi before she could finish speaking.

"Shut your mouth!" Madam Jia stood up abruptly, her voice trembling. "Go look in the courtyard, I'll go check at the alley entrance!"

The two searched the entire courtyard, even venturing into the He family's unused cellar, but couldn't find any trace of the stick. Now, the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law were completely panicked. Jia Zhangshi plopped down in the middle of the courtyard, slapping her thigh and wailing loudly; her cries, heard in the night, sent chills down one's spine. Qin Huairu stood beside her, her lips trembling, tears streaming down her face.

The neighbors all gathered around, and seeing this, Liu Haizhong had no choice but to lead the group to search outside. They asked everyone in the nearby alleys, but neither the neighbors nor the children playing nearby said they had seen Banggeng. Finally, it was Yan Bugui who reminded them, and the mother and daughter-in-law hurriedly ran to the police station at the alley entrance to report the case. However, after questioning for a long time, the police found no clues and could only file a report for further investigation.

For two days in a row, there was still no news of Bang Geng. Qin Huairu simply took leave and spent her days at home in tears; Jia Zhangshi was even more red-eyed, and she gave no one a good look in the courtyard, often venting her resentment by making veiled insults.

Meanwhile, at the hospital, the doctor found Tan Saihua and urged her to quickly pay the remaining hospital fees. Tan Saihua felt her pockets and realized that the money she had brought that morning was all gone. She rushed back to the yard, took out her key, and opened the door. As soon as she pushed the door open, the scene inside made her pupils shrink, followed by a shrill scream. She collapsed straight down and fainted.

Chapter 57 A Little Rascal with Big Abilities

Inside the main room of the courtyard, Sha Zhu was chugging down one glass of wine after another, overwhelmed by regret. He hated himself for not being tough enough when facing Zhang Erhe the night before—the latter's last actions were clearly a joke, so why hadn't he stood his ground? Now, look what happened, like a toad stepping over the door, getting both his backside slapped and his face hurt.

So he could only numb himself with alcohol. When drunk, he would always show off his power in his dreams: that night he was incredibly fierce, beating Zhang Erhe until his face was bruised and swollen, and even forcing the other man to kneel down and kowtow to apologize in front of the whole hospital, while Sister Qin looked at him with deep affection!

But after sobering up, the harsh reality mercilessly dragged him back to where he started. To escape, he simply didn't go to the steel mill for several days—knowing the people in the yard, he was sure the news would spread throughout the whole factory the next day. Rather than going to the factory and being gossiped about, he preferred to stay home and avoid the storm.

He Yushui tried to persuade him twice, but seeing that he remained in a daze, she had no choice but to give up. Now, after drinking the bitter wine, Sha Zhu became even more sober. Suddenly, he heard a shrill scream coming from the courtyard. He hesitated for a moment with his bloodshot eyes, then put on his clothes and went out.

As soon as I stepped out of the house, I saw Yan Bugui from the front yard and Liu Haizhong from the back yard running over one after the other.

"Shazhu, what's wrong?" Liu Haizhong hurriedly asked.

Sha Zhu shook his head, indicating that he didn't know either.

"Are you guys in the middle courtyard ever going to stop?" A dissatisfied voice came from the front yard. Zhang Erhe shuffled in in his slippers, his tone full of disgust. "All you do is wail and cause trouble every day! Only when we kick you all out will this yard finally have some peace and quiet!"

All eyes turned to Sha Zhu. He instinctively clenched his fists, his knuckles turning white, but ultimately relaxed and went into his house without looking back. Behind him, though no one spoke, three words welled up in everyone's hearts: coward.

"Hey, why is Yi Zhonghai's door open?" Zhang Erhe glanced sideways, his tone full of doubt. "Didn't he fall into the toilet and end up in the hospital? Why isn't his door closed?"

Liu Haizhong and Yan Bugui quickly stepped forward and, sure enough, saw that Yi Zhonghai's door was wide open. Liu Haizhong, with his sharp eyes, vaguely spotted something lying at the doorway and hurried over. Upon seeing it clearly, he gasped, "My God! Isn't that Yi Zhonghai's wife, Tan Saihua? Why is she lying on the ground? Was that scream just now her?"

"Old Yan, come quick and take a look!" Liu Haizhong called out. Yan Bugui stepped forward and saw that it really was Tan Saihua. He immediately turned to his son and shouted, "Jiecheng! Go quickly and call your mother so she can help her inside!"

Liu Haizhong's eyes darted around, and he kicked Liu Guangtian next to him, saying, "You go too, and call your mother over!"

Zhang Erhe, standing to the side, deliberately dragged out his words: "Isn't this Yi Zhonghai getting his comeuppance? He fell into the toilet and was hospitalized, and then his wife fainted at the door, screaming so pitifully—could it be that they're hiding something shameful at home?"

These words instantly made Liu Haizhong's eyes light up. If he could really find out something fishy about Yi Zhonghai's family, he might be able to redeem himself by reporting it. Director Wang might even be able to put his position as liaison officer back on his head! Thinking of this, he immediately rushed into Yi Zhonghai's house.

By the moonlight streaming through the window, he could vaguely make out a bloodied and mangled figure lying on the table through his bangs. Although he wasn't exactly a coward, the sight of the thing covered in blood was truly terrifying, and he couldn't help but scream, "A ghost! A ghost!"

Zhang Erhe, who came in next, turned on the light and frowned as he scolded, "Liu Haizhong, what are you yelling about?"

"Zhang Erhe, look at that thing!" Liu Haizhong pointed at the table, his voice still trembling.

Zhang Erhe looked in the direction he was pointing and saw something that looked like a person lying on the table, its face a bloody mess. He walked over and picked it up, then stared blankly after seeing its appearance: "Isn't this the 'banggeng' from Qin Huairu's house? How did it get into such a state?"

Liu Haizhong then mustered up his courage and came closer. Sure enough, it was Bang Geng—his face was covered in blood, and he was still tightly clutching half a chicken leg in his hand.

"Stop just watching the show!" Zhang Erhe shouted, "Go and call Qin Huairu and Jia Zhangshi over here!"

At this moment, Tan Saihua, who had just slowly regained consciousness, caught a glimpse of the stick Zhang Erhe was carrying and saw the blood still dripping from the corner of his mouth. Her vision went black and she fainted again.

Not long after, Qin Huairu, who had been summoned, rushed over. She immediately spotted the stick in Zhang Erhe's hand and threw herself at it, crying out, "The stick! My stick!" Jia Zhangshi, who was following closely behind, also rushed out and, seeing the scene, screamed and threw herself forward, "My dear grandson!"

The scene inside the room instantly descended into chaos. Qin Huairu and Jia Zhangshi, clutching the stick, cried and shouted, barely managing to calm themselves down. On the other side, Yang Ruihua and Liu Haizhong's wife were pinching Tan Saihua's philtrum hard until her lips turned red before Tan Saihua finally woke up.

The first thing she saw when she opened her eyes was Yang Ruihua. She asked weakly, "Ruihua... am I in the underworld?"