The entire courtyard is full of villains

Madam Jia sat up groggily: "Huai Ru... what's wrong?" Seeing Bang Geng, she hurriedly asked: "My dear grandson, are you feeling better?"

"Grandma, my stomach doesn't hurt anymore."

Then Jia Zhangshi turned to Qin Huairu, her face hardening: "Why didn't you deliver the paper last night?"

"I was busy taking Bang Geng to the hospital... Mom, let's not talk about that," Qin Huairu interrupted hurriedly, "Everyone in the hospital is saying you're going to marry Xu Damao!"

"What utter nonsense! I've guarded Old Jia's house for half my life, how could I... Why are these heartless, drunkards saying such things?"

“They said… said that you said it yourself last night, that Xu Damao saw your butt.”

"Oh dear! These heartless gossips!" Jia Zhangshi slapped her thigh and cried out, her voice trembling with sobs, "Old Jia! I have no face to live with! Come up here and take all these gossipy women away!"

In the front yard, Guan Xue had just woken Zhang Erhe to wash up when they heard Jia Zhangshi calling for Old Jia again in the middle yard. Zhang Erhe threw down his towel:

"Damn it, do you really think I'm talking nonsense?!" After saying that, he stormed off towards the Intermediate People's Court.

Guan Xue grabbed him and smiled, "Don't pay attention to her. There's a rumor about Jia Zhangshi circulating about her today."

"What pornographic rumors?"

"She said she's going to marry Xu Damao."

"Why? Just because Xu Damao saw her butt?"

"That's right!" Guan Xue rolled her eyes at him. "From now on, Xu Damao will be your 'brother-in-law'."

Zhang Erhe chuckled: "Then Xu Damao's appetite... is truly top-notch."

Chapter 95 Junior High School Grade 8 Argument

On the second day of the Lunar New Year, just as dawn was breaking, Yan Bugui opened the front door. Before he could even turn around and go back inside, a figure barged in menacingly.

"Who is it?" Before Yan Bugui could finish speaking, the man ignored him and rushed straight into the door of the west wing of the central courtyard.

She rolled up her sleeves, put her hands on her hips, and started yelling:

"Jia Zhangshi, I'll fuck your mother! You widow who's lost her husband, don't you even look in the mirror and see what you look like—not as tall as a vat, but thicker than a vat, all you're got is a waist! Someone like you dares to covet my Da Mao? Keep dreaming!"

"Can't sleep at night, huh? It's so itchy, isn't it? The donkey tethering post at the gate is still there, why don't you go and grind it? Why do you have to come here and ruin Da Mao's reputation?"

"You were out naked in the middle of the night, caught red-handed by the patrol, and you're accusing my Da Mao of watching you all by yourself? Let me tell you, the patrol team all saw you! With your filthy behavior, they wouldn't even bother looking at an old sow! And you think you can cling to Da Mao and marry into our Xu family? As long as I'm still in the Xu family, you can forget about stepping foot in our door! Don't even think about it, it's illegal!"

This outburst of cursing immediately woke up everyone in the courtyard.

Guan Xue was still asleep in bed when she heard the noise. She threw on her clothes and rushed out. Zhang Erhe called after her anxiously, "Grandma, wear something warmer! You're pregnant!"

When Zhang Erhe got dressed and arrived at the central court, Jia Zhangshi had already rushed out of the house and was tearing at Xu Damao's mother.

Xu Damao's mother was clearly prepared, bundled up in a thick cotton-padded coat and with a thick cloth mask covering her face. Jia Zhangshi, however, was at a disadvantage—firstly, she was caught off guard, and secondly, her clothes weren't properly on. After a few rounds, she was at a disadvantage.

"Qin Huairu! Are you dead?!" Madam Jia shouted as she pulled at her mother-in-law. "Didn't you see your mother-in-law being beaten? Why aren't you coming out to help?!"

Qin Huairu then timidly came out of the house, "Aunt Xu..."

"Shut up!" the woman turned and cursed. "What kind of good thing could a young widow raised by an old widow be? She's always wiggling her big butt in the yard washing clothes, attracting this and that. Does she need a man too? If she does, just say so, and I'll go outside the city and find you some laborers. I guarantee you two will be comfortable!"

At this time, Qin Huairu had not yet developed the innocent and naive demeanor she would later possess. She was immediately speechless and stunned when Xu Damao's mother rebuked her.

Seeing that the help she had summoned was useless, Jia Zhangshi steeled her heart, no longer protecting her vital organs, and rushed towards Xu's mother without regard for anything else.

Although Xu Damao's mother managed to rip open Jia Zhangshi's front, her own mask was pulled off in the process, leaving several bloody marks on her face with a "rip."

"Ah! My face!"

Xu Damao's mother screamed, but seized the opportunity to exert sudden force in her hand—

With a "whoosh," Jia Zhangshi's thin clothes were ripped open, instantly becoming a "double door." A cold wind rushed in, and Jia Zhangshi shivered. No longer caring about saving face, she hurriedly covered her clothes with her hands.

Xu Damao's mother took the opportunity to scratch again. Jia Zhangshi tried to protect her face but couldn't cover her front, and tried to pull her clothes but couldn't protect her face. She was in a predicament and could only scream.

"All right!"

A loud shout came from the east wing. Yi Zhonghai, putting on his coat, strode over:

"Da Mao's mother, we're neighbors in the same courtyard, what's wrong with her so early in the morning?"

"I'm crazy? Yi Zhonghai, what nonsense are you spouting!" Xu Damao's voice trembled with anger. "If it weren't for that old widow Jia Zhangshi ruining my Damao's reputation, would I have come all this way to find her? You're just standing by and making sarcastic remarks without knowing the reason!"

The story begins on New Year's Eve. Xu Damao was frightened that night and took some alcohol from home to go back to his parents' house. He told his parents about it when he got back, but the old couple just laughed it off.

Unexpectedly, on the afternoon of the first day of the Lunar New Year, Xu Damao's younger sister, Xu Xiaoling, went ice skating with her classmates and ran into a classmate from Nanluoguxiang. The classmate asked her with a grin, "When is your brother Xu Damao going to do things with Jia Zhangshi?"

Xu Xiaoling was stunned on the spot—Jia Zhangshi? The image of that plump, triangular-eyed, mean-looking old widow immediately flashed into her mind. With a "waah," she burst into tears, abandoned her skating, and ran all the way home.

"Mom and Dad, could you please find my brother a different girlfriend? I really don't want Jia Zhangshi to be my sister-in-law!"

The elderly couple were completely bewildered. After Xu Xiaoling finished sobbing and explaining the situation, their anger flared up instantly:

What a Jia Zhangshi! How dare a widow try to extort money from them? That night, Da Mao and the patrol team clearly saw her walking around naked in the street. How come now it's all Da Mao's fault? Did the Xu family move out and make the old widow think they were no good anymore, or is Jia Zhangshi just taking advantage of Yi Zhonghai and not afraid of anyone, even daring to ride roughshod over a widow?

The elderly couple suppressed their anger, coaxed their daughter, and waited until after midnight before Xu Damao returned home drunk.

As soon as he entered the door, Xu Fugui slapped him twice across the face, giving him a physical wake-up call.

"Da Mao, tell us the truth, did you hide anything from us about what happened the night before last?"

"What's wrong, Dad?" Xu Damao was still dazed even though he had been woken up by the beating.

"It's about you and the patrol team seeing Jia Zhangshi's naked buttocks!"

"I'm not lying to you."

"Did you watch it with the patrol team?"

"Yes."

"How did Jia Zhangshi end up extorting money from you?"

"She's trying to extort money from me?" Xu Damao shuddered at the thought of Jia Zhangshi's appearance. "How is she trying to extort money from me?"

"You idiot! You brainless freak!" Xu Fugui stomped his foot angrily. "Xiaoling came back and said that the whole of Nanluoguxiang is talking about you and Jia Zhangshi getting married!"

Xu Damao's mouth gaped open enough to swallow an egg, and it took him a long time to frantically shake his head: "I didn't! It wasn't me! Don't talk nonsense!"

"You really didn't hide anything from me?" Xu Fugui still didn't believe it.

"No, Dad, I promise you!"

Xu Fugui finally believed it and turned to Xu Yangshi, saying, "Da Mao's mother, it seems our family has been the target of rumors. This concerns Da Mao's reputation. If we don't make a scene, Da Mao's reputation will be ruined." He sighed, "I originally planned to arrange a marriage for him after the New Year, but now that this has happened... I guess it's going to fall through."

Xu Damao's mother also looked bitter and resentful: "Old Xu, who do you think did this?"

Xu Fugui didn't answer directly, but turned to ask his son, "Da Mao, who in the courtyard has a grudge against the Jia family?"

“Having a grudge against the Jia family? There are plenty!” Xu Damao counted on his fingers, “Yan Bugui’s family, Liu Haizhong’s family, Zhang Erhe’s family…” He said a long list, which made Xu Fugui’s head ache.

Good heavens, apart from Yi Zhonghai and the deaf old woman, the Jia family has offended almost everyone in the courtyard.

"Alright, alright," Xu Fugui quickly interrupted his son, who was about to continue counting, "Then whose family has the deepest grudge?"

"The family with the deepest grudge... should be Zhang Erhe's family, right? When he was hospitalized recently, the Jia family even tried to take over his house."

Xu Fugui gasped: "Could it be Zhang Erhe who did it?"

Xu Damao shook his head: "I don't think so. Zhang Erhe wouldn't do something so insidious." He paused, then lowered his voice:

"I reckon it was some old woman who did it."

Chapter 96 Going Back to My Mother's Home

Xu Fugui nodded in agreement. The fact that this matter had spread so widely must have been due to word-of-mouth among the women. Guan Xue from Zhang Erhe's family was clearly not cut out for this; it was unlikely that Zhang Erhe, a grown man, would be the one spreading the word. But they couldn't quite place it for the moment.

So, the family of three agreed that the next morning, Xu Damao's mother would go to the courtyard house and cause a scene. Xu Damao's mother readily agreed—she hadn't experienced such a battle in a long time. She packed her things overnight and even sewed a thick cloth mask.

In the middle courtyard, after Yi Zhonghai finished scolding Xu Damao's mother, he saw everyone looking at him and seemed to have rediscovered the feeling of being a big shot back then.

“Da Mao’s mother, we’re neighbors in the same courtyard. My sister-in-law is already upset enough because of the rumors spread about her. And you come here to yell and make a scene. Aren’t you obviously taking advantage of her because she has no one to rely on?”

He adopted a serious demeanor, glanced at the clothes that Jia Zhangshi was covering up, and said, "How about this, I'll make the decision. You apologize to your sister-in-law, pay her five yuan, and buy her a new dress. Then we'll call it even."

"Who said it's over?"

A voice that was neither male nor female drifted over.

Yi Zhonghai turned his head and saw Xu Fugui leading his son Xu Damao in.

"Old Yi, you just said the Jia family has no men? I don't think so," Xu Fugui said with a forced smile. "Aren't you one?"

"Old Xu, what nonsense are you talking about?"

Xu Fugui completely ignored him and turned to the crowd: "Everyone, look! Look at how Yi Zhonghai is protecting Jia Zhangshi. Doesn't he look like a man protecting his wife?"

Upon closer inspection, everyone realized that the two men's postures actually looked quite convincing.

Xu Fugui then turned to Yi Zhonghai's wife, Tan Saihua, and said loudly, "Tan Saihua, don't you have any sense? Can't you see that Yi Zhonghai and Jia Zhangshi are as close as family? If I were you, I would have divorced Yi Zhonghai long ago and given my position to Jia Zhangshi. That way, Old Yi wouldn't be called 'childless'!"

Tan Saihua's face turned pale instantly. She glared at Xu Fugui, then coldly swept her gaze over Yi Zhonghai and Jia Zhangshi before turning and walking towards her own home.

Yi Zhonghai's face flushed red and then turned pale: "Old Xu! How could you do this? I can understand if others say this, but how could you... Back then, Old Jia drank with you, me, and Old He from the Intermediate People's Court a lot! Before he died, he specifically told us to take good care of Old Sister-in-law and Dongxu, how could you..." He looked heartbroken.

“Yeah,” Xu Fugui sneered, “Old Jia asked us to help take care of him. The rest of us just took care of him normally, unlike you—taking care of him in bed!”

"You! Xu Fugui! You're too old to be talking nonsense!"

"Nonsense? I'm not talking nonsense." Xu Fugui's voice suddenly turned cold. "In the summer of '49, the three of us—He Daqing, you, and me—drank together. He Daqing and I both went home. Where did you go?"

Yi Zhonghai's heart trembled violently: "I...of course I'm going home!"

"Oh? Then how come I saw you sneaking into the Jia family's house when I went to the toilet? Dongxu was still in the countryside at that time, what were you doing sneaking into the Jia family's house?"

Jia Zhangshi, who was standing to the side, turned pale with fright: "Xu Fugui, you're talking nonsense!"

"Jia Zhangshi, let me tell you, Old Jia is dead, but he's still watching from down there! Anyone who talks nonsense will be taken away by Old Jia!"

"Ah—!" Jia Zhangshi screamed, covered her face, turned around and ran home.

Upon seeing this, everyone in the courtyard understood the situation perfectly—would Jia Zhangshi be so frightened if she weren't guilty? It seems this matter is absolutely true!

"Who would have thought that Yi Zhonghai, with his thick eyebrows and big eyes, had this skill..."

Yi Zhonghai was stared at by the strange looks from everyone, and felt so ashamed and embarrassed that he wanted to disappear.

"Hmph! I'm not getting involved in this anymore! I was trying to help you mediate your conflict, but you took my kindness for granted and even spread rumors about me!" He finished speaking with a forced smile, then turned and left.