Courtyard houses: Those who are capable are rewarded, and many children bring many blessings.

Sha Zhu was a trained fighter; an ordinary person would have been unable to get up long ago. But Sha Zhu did a somersault and stood up again.

With red eyes, he roared, "This doesn't count, let's do it again!" Then he rushed forward again in a hurry.

Niu Dazhuang twisted his waist and stepped to the side, dodging Sha Zhu's fierce bull-like bell-striking.

"Silly Zhu, I'm going to use my back again this time, so watch out." As the saying goes, you can tell if someone is good or bad just by looking at their first move. After those two moves, Niu Dazhuang felt confident.

Xu Damao, always eager for drama, shouted, "Shazhu, go for it! Take him down!"

Sha Zhu wasn't really stupid. After turning around, he calmed down, got into a fighting stance, and stared intently at Niu Dazhuang with wide, round eyes.

Niu Dazhuang sidestepped, moved quickly, and approached Sha Zhu, reaching out to grab Sha Zhu's shirt. Sha Zhu tried to dodge, but it turned out to be a feint by Niu Dazhuang.

By the time Sha Zhu reacted, Niu Dazhuang's shoulder was already to Sha Zhu's side. He twisted his waist, turned around, and used his back to deliver another powerful back kick, slamming Sha Zhu's ribs and sending him flying.

Niu Dazhuang was holding back; otherwise, Sha Zhu would have broken several of his ribs with that one blow.

Sha Zhu flew off to the side, this time even harder than the last time. He landed sideways, and his clothes were torn by the pebbles on the side he landed on.

Sha Zhu clutched one side of his ribs with one hand and sat on the ground, refusing to get up.

Xu Damao walked over with a sly grin, patted Sha Zhu on the shoulder, and said, "Don't be a coward, hurry up and do it!"

Sha Zhu looked up, his eyes practically blazing with fury, but he couldn't utter a single word.

Seeing that he didn't speak, Xu Damao slapped Shazhu on the back again: "Why are you still mute?"

Niu Dazhuang then walked over, pulled Xu Damao aside, and slapped Sha Zhu on the back.

"He's messing around!"

After a long while, Sha Zhu finally caught his breath, let out a long sigh, and stood up: "Niu Dazhuang, you're amazing." Then, covered in dust and grime, he clutched his side and walked away.

Niu Youliang pretended nothing had happened, ate breakfast as usual, and then went out for a stroll.

"Brother, these are the food coupons the neighborhood committee gave us when we registered our household. I think we don't have much food left at home."

"And this is mine. Our ration is 32 jin per month, this is mine."

All three of them wanted to give the grain coupons to Niu Dazhuang.

"Big Bear, make a small notebook and manage all the food coupons and money at home."

"Brother, I'm fine with the accounts, but with our appetites, it's definitely not enough to feed us!"

"I know. You take charge of the accounts and keep good records. Don't worry about anything for the next few days. Get to know the people and environment around you, go out and explore. I'll figure something out for you in a few days."

He then took out some money and gave each of them fifty cents: "Take this. When you're out and about, if you see anything you like to eat, buy some and try it."

All three were around sixteen or seventeen years old, but only Da Yu went out frequently; Da Xiong and Da...

Yong rarely went out. It wasn't that they didn't want to go out, but their master was strict and they had a lot of homework.

The three of them were a little embarrassed as they accepted the money.

"From now on, we're family. I'll let you go hungry while I'm fed. In return, when you become successful, you can forget about me. If you continue to be so distant, I'll get angry."

After finishing their chores, the four of them went out.

"These three are basically blank slates, so we can train them however we want. They'll be my helpers too," Niu Dazhuang comforted himself.

He found a dead end, took out the makeup potion from his spatial storage, and applied it to his face, neck, and hands. In no time, Niu Dazhuang transformed into a dark-skinned young man.

He glued his beard back on, and suddenly he looked like a middle-aged man in his thirties or forties. He went to the gate of the cardboard box factory in Dongcheng District.

After a day of surveillance, it became clear that this man surnamed Sun was no ordinary person. Who would turn around and look back when they come home?

This guy's choice of location is quite sophisticated. His house is at the south end of Buxiangzi Alley, right next to Zhushikou East Street, and at the north end it leads to Xianyu Hutong, which is a market selling fresh produce. Zhushikou East Street is even more bustling.

Now that we've found out where he lives, things are much easier.

We were supposed to have a drink together today, Sunday, but this morning Sha Zhu got knocked out by Niu Dazhuang. He's lying on the kang (heated brick bed) at home, refusing to move.

The head chef was unwilling to move, and Xu Damao, who had contributed more money, readily agreed and didn't buy anything.

As soon as Niu Dazhuang entered the gate that evening, Yan Jiecheng stopped him: "Brother Niu, where have you been all day? We're waiting for you to come back and uphold justice."

Niu Dazhuang was so focused on making big money that he had completely forgotten about drinking.

"Aren't there three old men in the courtyard? What do you want with me?"

"These three gentlemen can't handle this, so we have to come to you."

Helpless, Niu Dazhuang had no choice but to stop and ask, "Tell me first, what's the matter?"

"Brother Niu, you haven't forgotten, have you? We agreed a couple of days ago that we'd all have lunch together today."

"Hey! I really forgot, we can get together another time," Niu Dazhuang said casually.

"Hey, Brother Niu, you make it sound so easy. You have no idea how cunning Xu Damao is. He's even more shrewd than Hou when he gets involved with something. Getting him to bleed is no easy feat."

Hearing him say that, Niu Dazhuang thought to himself, "In this compound, when it comes to being stingy, no one can compare to you Yan family father and son."

"What can I do? I can't just hold someone down by the neck and force them to bleed!" Niu Dazhuang ignored him and walked inside.

Yan Jiecheng was still unwilling to give up and followed behind, saying, "Don't be like that! If you can't say it, I will. As long as you show up, I guarantee they'll bleed."

In the Intermediate People's Court, Jia Dongxu sat on the threshold of his house with a bowl in his hand. Sha Zhu squatted next to him, also holding a bowl. The two ate and chatted at the same time.

As Qin Jiawa's son-in-law, Jia Dongxu knew a little about the situation in Niujiazhuang.

"Tell me, why did you provoke him for no reason? His family has a long history of extraordinary people."

"I didn't provoke him. It's all that scoundrel Xu Damao's fault. This morning, before I even got out of bed, he came over and insisted on dragging me to the backyard to spar with him."

Jia Dongxu looked at Sha Zhu's sleeve from the outside and saw that the cotton was sticking out of one of them: "You, don't you know how to sew it yourself? The cotton is sticking out. When you take it off, I'll have your sister-in-law sew it for you."

There was a reason why Sha Zhu took care of the Jia family after Jia Dongxu kicked the bucket.

"Hehe, then I won't stand on ceremony. I'll change after we eat."

"Hey! This house just won't do without a woman to run it, you silly brother, are you just going to stay single like this?"

"I don't want to be single either. I was introduced to two people last winter, but neither of them seemed like a good match. I'm worried that if they married into my family, they might cause trouble. No rush, I'll take it slow!"