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

Niu Dazhuang's eyebrows shot up: "Trying to be unreasonable, huh? Let's see whose old woman this is! Tell your man to come find me after work, or I'll come find your house!"

Qin Huairu quickly stepped in front of Niu Dazhuang to separate him from the others: "Aunt Zhang, if you have any complaints, go talk to Director Zhao. What's the point of blocking Dazhuang like this!"

"Qin Huairu, this is none of your business. Get out of the way. I don't believe he would dare to hit me."

"How come it's none of my business? Dazhuang is my brother-in-law. Dazhuang, go back and don't argue with a bunch of old women!" Saying that, she pushed Niu Dazhuang by the back and pushed him towards the backyard.

Seeing that Qin Huairu had pushed the man away, the older women started to stir up gossip: "Aunt Jia, your daughter-in-law is having an affair right under your nose, aren't you going to do anything about it?"

"Tsk tsk... Look at how protective she is of Niu Dazhuang. If you didn't know better, you'd think he was her husband."

Madam Jia was no pushover either: "You're talking nonsense with your eyes wide open. If Huai Ru pushed someone away, does that mean she's having an affair?"

"Your second son from the Zhang family and his sister-in-law are always joking around, it's clear they're having an affair. And your old man from the Qi family, I saw him chatting and laughing with your daughter-in-law this morning, isn't that incestuous?"

"Jia Zhangshi, don't be stubborn. The clothes Niu Dazhuang is wearing now were made by Qin Huairu, weren't they?"

"What's wrong? Qi Da, if there's nothing wrong, go back. Stop stirring things up. I made the clothes. Can't relatives help each other out?" Qin Huairu returned.

"Mom, let's go home and not gossip with them." With that, she pulled Jia Zhangshi into the house.

"There isn't a single good person among them, waiting for your men to come back." Niu Dazhuang wasn't going to tolerate them.

When Niu Youliang came home from get off work, Niu Dazhuang told him what had just happened. As soon as he finished speaking, Grandpa Niu walked out with his hands behind his back.

He turned back to Niu Dazhuang and said, "Let's go, are we keeping them here for the New Year?"

"Hehe, grandpa, you don't need to lift a finger, just watch from the sidelines. I've already taken care of them."

The father and son entered the west courtyard one after the other.

"Old Zhang, Old Qi, Old Ye, you fucking get out here!" Before Niu Dazhuang could even open his mouth, Old Niu shouted first.

"Hey! Uncle Niu, you're here!"

Niu Youliang glanced at the two of them, then smacked each of them on the head with a pipe. Whether it hurt or not was irrelevant; so many juniors were watching, and this guy was really making a fool of himself today.

Old Qi and Old Ye exchanged a furtive glance, shook their heads helplessly, and pretended nothing had happened.

Then he shouted towards the west wing, "Damn it, Old Zhang, stop playing dumb and get out here!"

The door to the west wing opened, and Old Zhang came out, followed by his son. Now Old Niu and Little Niu finally found an outlet for their frustration.

Just now, when Lao Qi and Lao Ye came out, they were greeted with smiles. Lao Niu tapped them with his pipe, but the two of them didn't retaliate. They couldn't possibly bully an old man, could they? The two of them were full of anger but couldn't vent it.

Niu Dazhuang was faster than Niu Youliang this time. He darted behind Lao Zhang, grabbed his son's arm, and pulled him out. The young man was also quite strong and wanted to compete with Niu Dazhuang.

Niu Dazhuang hooked his foot and laid the man down. Looking back at Lao Zhang, he was even more agile than his son, already squatting down while clutching his stomach.

Old Qi and Old Ye watched the Zhang father and son fall to the ground, secretly pleased with themselves for having acted like grandsons earlier.

Seeing that the old man had taken care of the person, Niu Dazhuang felt relieved. He then turned around, knocked down Xiao Zhang, who had already stood up, and stomped on him twice.

Seeing that the father and son had been laid down, Aunt Zhang lifted the curtain and came out, shouting, "Murder!" She quickened her pace and rammed into Niu Dazhuang.

Niu Dazhuang dodged to the side. His upper body avoided the attack, but one of his feet moved, and Aunt Zhang fell flat on her face.

Now Aunt Zhang felt even more justified, and she lay on the ground and started cursing: "Niu Youliang, you heartless bastard, bullying people by taking advantage of your power..."

The father and son weren't angry. Niu Youliang dug out a pipe, and Niu Dazhuang lit it for him: "Dazhuang, if only your mother were still alive! She knew exactly how to deal with that shrew!"

People were already lying on the ground when the neighbors in the yard heard Zhang Ma's wolf howls.

Liu Haizhong was about to speak when he saw Niu Youliang squatting next to him smoking, so he turned around and went back.

Just then, they ran into Yi Zhonghai: "Old Yi, Old Niu is over there."

"Oh," Yi Zhonghai lost interest in going over there and turned to call someone.

Niu Youliang finished his pipe, tapped off the ash, and tucked it into his belt. "We in the Niu family won't stand for anything that's unreasonable. Go back and keep your women's mouths shut. If I hear any more nonsense, hmph!"

"Don't worry, Uncle Niu, I'll tell the women at home when I get back."

"Uncle Niu, me too!" Old Qi and Old Ye quickly nodded and bowed in agreement.

After seeing off the Niu family, Lao Qi and Lao Ye ignored Lao Zhang's family and went back to their own homes.

"My goodness! I was so scared!" Aunt Qi breathed a long sigh of relief when she saw her husband return.

"You must be so bored. Of all the people you've been dealing with, why did you have to mess with that killer?" Old Qi rubbed the bag that had been hit by the tobacco pipe.

"We didn't say anything, it was all Aunt Zhang."

"You've seen what kind of person Niu Youde is, haven't you? The Zhang family might not know, but you certainly do, right?"

"Old man, I really didn't say anything. I just chimed in when Aunt Zhang was being unreasonable."

"Alright, that's all. The Niu family has vented their anger today, so this matter should be considered closed."

Old Ye wasn't in the mood for a proper talk with his wife. He took off his shoes as soon as he entered the door and started yelling, "I think your good days are over. You can't even keep your mouth shut."

The eldest son of the Ye family was about fifteen or sixteen years old, so he quickly pulled the old couple apart. There were three other little ones below, who started crying as soon as they saw their parents fighting.

It was even more lively than a temple fair.

"Don't you fucking go back, I'm not dead yet."

"All you do is show off at home. Why were you acting like a little grandson just now? They were blocking the doorway, and you were all bowing and scraping." Aunt Ye was still unconvinced.

"Boss, you take them out to play. I need to talk to your mom."

After the children left, Old Ye lit a pipe, took a couple of puffs, and then said, "Do you remember things from before Liberation?"

"It's only been a few years since liberation, of course we remember. Before liberation, he was powerful and influential..." Aunt Ye's voice trailed off as she spoke.

Finally, he realized he was scared: "Honey, it's all liberated now. Even if he has cattle and grain, he won't join the army anymore..."

"So what if we're liberated? If we anger him, it's not hard for him to kill our whole family."

Aunt Ye's face turned deathly pale: "No way, I didn't say anything!"