The entire courtyard is full of villains

As they walked up the hillside, Zhang Erhe pointed to an old house at the foot of the mountain in the distance: "Jiaojiao, look, that's the courtyard where Dad lived when he was a child."

Zhang Jiao strained to see, and could only see a few ordinary little mud houses standing there all alone. "Dad, shall we go take a look later?"

"I won't go. Let's wait until summer. I'll come back in the summer to tidy up, and then I'll bring you to stay here. I guess we can't stay now."

"Okay, Dad, you have to remember that!"

"I remember! You little rascal, you're so clever every day." Zhang Erhe smiled and ruffled his daughter's hair.

Upon arriving at the cemetery, they found that Zhang Erhe's elder brother, Zhang Dajiang's, grave had only been moved from elsewhere after the founding of the People's Republic of China. In comparison, their parents' graves appeared relatively new.

Zhang Erhe took out a roast chicken, wine, and incense and candles from his bag. After lighting the incense and candles, he offered a cigarette to each of his father's and elder brother Zhang Dajiang's graves.

He silently prayed in his heart: "Uncle, brother, I have taken over your son's body, so I can be considered a member of your Zhang family. From now on, I will continue the Zhang family line. In terms of bloodline, future children will also be your Zhang family children, so please don't take offense."

After the paper money had burned out, he tore off a chicken leg from the roast chicken and handed it to Zhang Jiao: "Here, eat this."

Zhang Jiao looked at the chicken leg but didn't dare to take it: "Dad, isn't this for Grandpa and Grandma?"

"Grandpa and Grandma have already eaten, so they're having you eat now. They'll be especially happy if you eat."

"Oh!" Zhang Jiao quickly took the chicken leg and started eating it after hearing her father say that.

Zhang Erhe handed another chicken leg to Guan Xue: "You eat this one."

"Erhe, you eat. You still need to ride your bike back."

"Just eat what I tell you to eat, stop talking nonsense. If you don't get your body in good shape, how are you going to give me a... lucky baby?"

Guan Xue glared at him reproachfully and gently pinched his waist: "The child is still here, what nonsense are you talking about!"

Chapter 86 Thriving

The roast chicken was quickly reduced to bones. Zhang Erhe offered a cup of wine to each of his parents' and elder brother's graves. Just as he was about to kowtow and get up, he saw an old woman with a hunched back slowly walking down the mountain.

Zhang Erhe glanced at him, immediately recognized who it was, and quickly went to greet him.

"Fourth Aunt! Why did you come up the mountain alone?"

"I've come to see your fourth uncle," said Fourth Aunt, wiping away tears, "and your poor cousin!"

"Sigh..." Zhang Erhe sighed, "You can't come up alone, the mountain path is difficult to walk. Where is my brother Changhe?"

“Your brother Changhe broke his leg this year, otherwise he would have accompanied me up here in previous years.”

"What? Brother Changhe hurt his leg? Is it serious?"

"Almost done, almost done." Aunt Si waved her hand, her gaze turning to the graves. "Erhe, you've come to see your parents and your older brother too... Good, good. Aunt Si has always known you're a filial son." Only then did she notice Guan Xue and Zhang Jiao behind her. "Is this your wife and child?"

“That’s right.” Zhang Erhe waved his hand. “Guan Xue, Jiao Jiao, come here. Guan Xue, this is Fourth Aunt.”

"Fourth Aunt," Guan Xue called out as instructed.

"Oh my!" Aunt Si looked Guan Xue up and down, her face lighting up. "I heard from your brother Changhe and the others that Erhe married a beautiful city girl. I thought they were just making things up! I didn't expect her to be such a stunning beauty, like she stepped out of a painting." Guan Xue was a little embarrassed by the praise, and her face flushed.

Zhang Erhe pulled his daughter over again: "Jiaojiao, call her Fourth Grandma."

"Hello, Fourth Grandma!" Jiao Jiao greeted him very generously.

"Oh, Jiaojiao, how are you?" Fourth Aunt said, reaching into her bosom and pulling out a small paper packet containing a piece of candy. "Here, Jiaojiao, have some candy."

Jiaojiao didn't dare to answer and looked up at her father.

Zhang Erhe nodded: "If it's from Fourth Grandmother, then take it. You should thank Fourth Grandmother."

Jiaojiao then took the candy and said sweetly, "Thank you, Fourth Grandma!"

"Oh, good child, good child..." Aunt Si looked at Jiao Jiao with affection, and then sighed to Zhang Erhe, "Erhe, your daughter is so pretty... She looks exactly like your sister when she was little."

Seeing Zhang Erhe's face darken instantly, his fourth aunt quickly grabbed his arm: "Erhe, there's no hurdle that can't be overcome between siblings! Besides, your sister secretly came back to see your parents in the summer..."

"Fourth Aunt!" Zhang Erhe interrupted her, his voice harsh. "Back then, she didn't listen to my parents and was determined to run away with that bastard. Since it was my parents' decision to elope, I didn't want to say anything more later. But when my parents passed away, she and that bastard didn't even show their faces! I'll remember this, and from now on... I'll pretend we're not related!"

"Erhe, why are you doing this to yourself..." Aunt Si sighed deeply.

Guan Xue watched Zhang Erhe's ashen face, not daring to utter a sound. After she married into the family, she once saw her mother-in-law secretly shedding tears while looking at a photograph, and vaguely heard the old couple mention a daughter, but Zhang Erhe was very secretive about it, so she never dared to ask him for details.

The mountain path was difficult to traverse, so Zhang Erhe asked Guan Xue to look after Zhang Jiao while he carefully helped his fourth aunt down the mountain. Once they reached level ground, he said goodbye to his fourth aunt before turning back to pick up his wife and daughter.

After they reunited, Guan Xue couldn't help but ask, "Erhe, why did Fourth Aunt go up the mountain to pay respects to Fourth Uncle and Cousin? It doesn't sound like a normal cemetery."

Zhang Erhe sighed, "Alas, what a miserable world, it's all the fault of the Japanese devils. That was in 1939. My fourth uncle took my cousin to the mountains to arrange a marriage. The marriage was already arranged, and we were just waiting to pick an auspicious day for the wedding. But on the way back, we ran into the Japanese devils who were searching for the Eighth Route Army in the mountains."

He paused, as if he could imagine the horror of the moment: "When my fourth uncle saw that my cousin was about to be captured by the Japanese, he steeled himself and turned to run towards the cliff next to him, trying to lure the Japanese away... but he lost his footing and fell straight down. Although my cousin was surrounded by the Japanese, she was strong-willed and pretended to say that she wanted to pay respects to her recently deceased father. The Japanese were careless and agreed. She walked to the edge of the cliff and jumped down without hesitation."

“As you know, there were many wolves and wild animals in the mountains back then,” Zhang Erhe’s voice grew even deeper. “When the villagers finally found them… the bodies were unrecognizable, just some tattered pieces of cloth. There’s an old custom in the clan that people who die violent deaths cannot be buried in the ancestral graveyard. So Aunt Si had no choice but to go to the cliff edge every New Year’s Eve to pay her respects and talk to them.”

"Fourth Aunt's life... is so tragic." Guan Xue's eyes reddened as she listened, and she sighed sincerely.

"Sigh, what can we do?" Zhang Erhe shook his head. "In those days, which family wasn't suffering? Which family didn't have a lot of blood and tears to draw from their history?"

Seeing that Zhang Erhe's mood seemed to have eased up a bit, Guan Xue gently changed the subject: "Erhe, if you're feeling upset about your sister's matter, just tell me."

Zhang Erhe paused for a moment, took out a cigarette, lit it, and took a deep drag. His expression was somewhat blurred by the smoke. "She's five years older than me. When we were little... she was really good to me." There was a hint of nostalgia in his tone, but it quickly turned cold and hard. "But after we grew up, she met a bastard, got blinded by his sweet words, and ended up running off with him without a second thought."

"Later, when I was hanging around on the streets, I found out they lived in the West District. Originally, I didn't intend to have anything to do with her anymore, but when my parents passed away, I thought that she was, after all, their biological daughter, and she should at least come back to see them off, so I sent someone to deliver a message to her." At this point, Zhang Erhe's voice revealed suppressed anger, "But that bastard, as soon as he heard that it was me who came looking for him, was afraid of getting into trouble, so he ran away with her that very night! She didn't even get to see my parents one last time, she didn't even come to offer incense!"

He stubbed out his cigarette hard: "From that moment on, I'll consider this sister dead. From now on, it'll just be the three of us living together."

“Dad, it’s a family of four!” Zhang Jiao interjected earnestly, correcting him. “Mom has a little brother in her tummy too!”

"Ah, right! Right, right, right!" Zhang Erhe was amused by his daughter's words, and the gloom in his heart dissipated a lot. He picked up Zhang Jiao and said, "Daddy was wrong! From now on, it's just the four of us living a prosperous and happy life. That's better than anything else!"

After saying that, he poked Zhang Jiao with his beard, making her giggle!

Chapter 87 wasn't much better.

Although Zhang Erhe rode his bicycle very fast, the journey was still long, and by the time the family returned to Beijing, it was already afternoon. Scattered firecrackers occasionally went off in the streets, and a large group of children would rush forward to grab the unexploded or duds.

When we arrived at the gate of the compound, just as we were about to go in, we ran into Sha Zhu coming out from inside.

Surprisingly, instead of avoiding him as usual—ever since being publicly humiliated by Zhang Erhe, he had always taken a detour when he saw Zhang Erhe—he did something completely different. Instead of avoiding him, he gave Zhang Erhe a thumbs up and said out of the blue, "Man, awesome!" before sauntering away.

This left Zhang Erhe somewhat bewildered. The strange feeling intensified once he entered the courtyard. Neighbors frequently cast glances at him with a mixture of surprise, astonishment, and even a hint of regret.

"Erhe, could something have happened in the courtyard while we were away?" Guan Xue sensed that something was wrong.

"Who knows?" Zhang Erhe said nonchalantly. "Anyway, there aren't many good guys in this yard. Let them look at it however they want."

Although Zhang Erhe said that, Guan Xue still felt uneasy. After settling the children in, she made an excuse to go out and went straight to Widow Zhu's house in the back of the front yard. Usually, she had a fairly good relationship with this Widow Zhu, and would occasionally give her some cornmeal that Zhang Erhe didn't like to eat.

"Guan Xue? You're finally back!" As soon as Widow Zhu saw her, she immediately pulled her into the house and lowered her voice, "Guan Xue, I have a question for you, did your Erhe... beat your father again a couple of days ago?"

"Huh?" Guan Xue's eyes widened. "You...how did you know?"

"Oh dear! As soon as you left today, Yan Laokou's wife, Yang Ruihua, started making a huge fuss in the yard, saying that even though your Zhang Erhe became the workshop director, he's still a simpleton. Who would be so kind as to beat his father-in-law so badly before the New Year that he can't even get out of bed now!"

"That's not how it is!" Guan Xue exclaimed anxiously. "My dad went gambling again and got cornered by debt collectors! Erhe was just angry with him, so he gave him a beating to teach him a lesson. It wasn't that serious!"

Widow Zhu opened her mouth, unsure of what to say: "Guan Xue, you know... Erhe, no matter what... he's still my father-in-law, we can't... sigh! Your Erhe already had a bad reputation, and things only improved a bit after he became the director, but this whole mess... who knows, after the New Year, the factory leaders might talk to him, affecting his future!"

"Yang Ruihua's mouth is as loose as a cotton trouser waistband!" Guan Xue was furious.

"Thank you, Sister-in-law Zhu." She thanked her with a worried expression, then quickly left Widow Zhu's house and hurried back to the east wing.

As soon as she entered the house, Guan Xue anxiously said to Zhang Erhe, "Erhe, I've found out! It was because you hit Dad that Yang Ruihua made a scene in the yard!"

"So what if they start arguing?" Zhang Erhe remained unconcerned.

"Erhe, how could you be so foolish!" Guan Xue stamped her feet anxiously. "She's spreading this everywhere, trying to ruin your reputation! It didn't matter when you were a worker, but now you're the workshop director. If you get a bad reputation for beating an elder, how will you work in the factory after the New Year? What will the leaders think of you?"

As Guan Xue spoke, her eyes reddened, her heart filled with anger and resentment. She was angry at her good-for-nothing father, who was so addicted to gambling; and she resented Yang Ruihua, who stirred up trouble and ruined her future with his foul mouth.

Without thinking about anything else, Guan Xue stormed out of the house in a rare fit of anger and went straight to Yan Bugui's door.

"Yang Ruihua! Come out here!"

"Who is it?" Yang Ruihua answered and lifted the curtain to come out. When she saw Guan Xue, her heart skipped a beat. Usually, no matter what Guan Xue did, she would always address her as "Sister-in-law Yan," but today she called her by her full name, which clearly meant that she was not here with good intentions.

"Guan Xue, what's wrong?" Yang Ruihua asked, trying to remain calm.

"Yang Ruihua! I'm asking you, what gives you the right to spout nonsense in the yard, saying that my Erhe beat my dad? Who told you that?" Guan Xue questioned her abruptly, her voice trembling with agitation.

Yang Ruihua couldn't help but feel annoyed. She should have known better than to blurt out that extra word! In the morning, after Zhang Erhe's family left, she went to the water tank in the middle courtyard to get water. It was cold and the taps were frozen. Several people were there scalding the taps to turn them on, and Yang Ruihua joined them to chat about everyday matters!

Someone sourly remarked that Jia Zhangshi's family didn't know how to manage money; they'd eaten the half-pound of meat they were given out a few days ago in one meal, and they'd be starving by the New Year. Jia Zhangshi overheard this, and came out looking smug, saying, "Tonight I'm having dumplings with Yi Zhonghai, Sha Zhu, and the old lady's family for the New Year. The dishes will be much more plentiful than yours, making you all drool!"

The neighbor was unconvinced and said, "Even if all four of you families pooled your money together, you might not have as much meat and vegetables as Zhang Erhe's family for the New Year. He's the workshop foreman." As soon as Jia Zhangshi heard Zhang Erhe's name, she immediately wilted.

At this moment, Qin Huairu came out of the house. Seeing that her mother-in-law had been rebuffed, she stepped forward to help, "Auntie, Zhang Erhe's family does eat well, but they're not spending the New Year in the yard this year. They're going to their father-in-law's house for the New Year! I saw the three of them leaving the house this morning!"

"Come on, Qin Huairu, going to her father-in-law's house for the New Year? He's beaten her so badly she can't get out of bed!"

The moment the words left her mouth, Yang Ruihua froze, her heart skipping a beat, filled with utter regret. Old Yan had repeatedly warned her that this matter absolutely could not be told to anyone, at least not from her own family. How could she have let her guard down? She should have slapped herself right then and there!

"What?! Zhang Erhe beat up his father-in-law?!"

When the old women in the courtyard heard about such a big melon, their eyes lit up, and they all swarmed around it, bombarding it with questions.

"No...no, no! I just blurted it out without thinking, I misspoke!" Yang Ruihua waved his hands frantically, trying to salvage the situation.

Liu Haizhong's wife, who loved to gossip, stepped forward and said, "Ruihua, we clearly heard it all! You just said it yourself, Zhang Erhe beat his father-in-law again, didn't you?"

Yi Zhonghai's wife, Tan Saihua, also sighed in a mocking manner, shaking her head: "Sigh... I thought that Erhe would be more mature now that he's become the workshop director, but I didn't expect... Sigh!" Her sigh seemed to confirm the matter.

"No! Really no! You must have misheard!" Yang Ruihua shouted anxiously, trying to forcefully cover up his mistake.

Jia Zhangshi, standing to the side, immediately had an idea. She knew Yang Ruihua's temperament best; he couldn't stand being provoked in the slightest. So, she spoke in a sarcastic tone:

"Hey everyone, let's all move on! Yang Ruihua is just spouting nonsense! She's a housewife who stays home all day, how would she know anything about Zhang Erhe's in-laws? Don't listen to her ramblings, let's all move on!"

Sure enough, Yang Ruihua couldn't stand this kind of teasing and immediately retorted, "Jia Zhangshi! You're the one making things up! I'm not making this up! Old Yan told me personally that Zhang Erhe beat up his father-in-law, and everyone in his father-in-law's neighborhood knows about it! Only you are so stupid as to think that Zhang Erhe is a good person? He's just a simpleton, and he's not any better even as a workshop director!"

Chapter 88 Bullying an Honest Person

After Yang Ruihua poured out her heart, the women present looked at each other and fell silent for a moment. Soon, they had filled their water containers and dispersed.

With something on his mind, Yang Ruihua carried two buckets of water home. He put the buckets down by the stove and couldn't help but sigh deeply.

"Old Yang, Old Yang!" Yan Bugui came in from outside, muttering, "Where's my... my fish bucket?" He glanced at the bucket by the stove and immediately became displeased. "I already told you, this bucket is for fish, why are you using it to fill water again? What are you thinking all day long!"

“Old Yan…” For once, Yang Ruihua didn’t argue with Yan Bugui. Instead, he pulled him aside, lowered his voice, and said in a panic, “Old Yan, I… I just got into trouble.”