Courtyard House: Inheriting the Restaurant, the Jia Family Wants to Get It for Free

The Jia family, who should have been the most prestigious family in the entire courtyard today, has become the biggest joke.

All eyes, like searchlights, were focused on Jia Dongxu in the center of the courtyard.

There was sympathy and pity in their eyes, but more than that, there was an undisguised schadenfreude and a mocking morbid curiosity.

On the wedding day, the wedding banquet was a complete disgrace. As soon as the bride entered the house, her mother-in-law was handcuffed and taken away by the military control officers.

This is enough to keep all the neighbors in Nanluoguxiang talking about it for a year.

Jia Dongxu stood there, feeling dizzy and as if countless bees were buzzing in his head.

The gazes of those around him felt like needles, piercing his face and causing a burning pain.

"Dongxu..."

Qin Huairu's voice trembled slightly, almost imperceptibly.

She bit her lip hard, and her pretty face, which had been painted with rouge for the festive occasion, was now as white as a sheet of paper.

Looking at the bewildered man before her, and then at the dark doorway, an unprecedented sense of regret and coldness surged from the soles of her feet to the top of her head.

Is this the man she carefully selected, who turned down countless suitors, and was determined to marry? Is this the family she would entrust her life to?

She originally thought that marrying Jia Dongxu, a steel mill worker, would lead to a bright future.

But who could have imagined that before the light could even shine in, a bucket of ice water would be poured over its head and toes?

"Bang!"

Qin Huai stomped her foot, her brand-new red cloth shoes making a dull thud on the ground. She didn't look at Jia Dongxu again, turned and rushed into the suffocating new room, slamming the door shut behind her.

The slamming of the door was like a resounding slap across Jia Dongxu's face.

A few suppressed snickers escaped from the crowd of onlookers in the courtyard.

"Alright, everyone stop watching, let's all go home!"

Yi Zhonghai, his face dark, waved to the crowd.

"What are you standing there for? Hurry up and go inside to comfort your wife! Today is your big day, we can't let accidents keep happening!"

"As for your mother, Officer Wang said he can only go tomorrow. There's no use in rushing now! Take care of the things at hand first!"

Yi Zhonghai walked up to Jia Dongxu, lowered his voice, and gave an unquestionable order.

"Yes, Master, I understand."

Jia Dongxu seemed to have grasped at a straw, nodding repeatedly before pushing open the door and going home to comfort his wife.

The crowd gradually dispersed, but some people's eyes grew brighter and brighter.

In a corner of the backyard, Xu Damao, Liu Guangtian, Yan Jiecheng, and a few other teenagers huddled together, winking and grinning mischievously.

"Hey guys, this is going to be good!"

Xu Damao nudged Liu Guangtian with his elbow, lowered his voice, and laughed like a weasel that had stolen a chicken.

"Jia Dongxu's mother has been arrested, and his new wife is arguing with him again. What do you think... will things go smoothly on their wedding night?"

Yan Jiecheng muttered to himself, his eyes gleaming with gossip.

"Let's go! Let's eavesdrop!"

Xu Damao slapped his thigh and made a decision.

"This...this isn't a good idea, is it?"

Liu Guangtian hesitated, afraid that if his father, Liu Haizhong, found out, he would be beaten with a belt again.

"What's there to be afraid of!" Xu Damao waved his hand, displaying a certain leader-like charisma. "We'll just sneak over and listen to what's going on, we won't do anything else. Besides, don't you want to know if Jia Dongxu can actually win over his new wife?"

These words struck a chord with the young men.

The hormones of puberty, coupled with their natural inclination to enjoy a good spectacle, made them instantly forget all their concerns.

"Walk!"

Several heads huddled together, sneaking around, using the dim light and various clutter in the courtyard as cover, crouching low, and slowly making their way to the window of the Jia family's house.

Some elderly people who were still awake in the courtyard smiled knowingly at the young men's actions, shook their heads, and turned to go back into their houses.

Who hasn't been young?

Inside the Jia family's house at this moment, the atmosphere was as cold as an ice cellar in the twelfth lunar month.

Qin Huai sat on the edge of the bed, her back to the door, her shoulders heaving as she wept silently.

As soon as he entered the room, he immediately went over and squatted down in front of Qin Huairu, adopting an extremely humble posture.

"Huai Ru, don't cry. It's all my fault. I'm so useless. I made my mom... make you suffer." Jia Dongxu's voice was full of guilt and pleading. "You can hit me, you can scold me, it's all fine, just don't ignore me."

He reached out to take Qin Huairu's hand, but she shook him off.

Qin Huairu raised her head, her almond-shaped eyes red and swollen from crying, tears streaming down her pale cheeks like broken beads.

She looked at the man in front of her, her heart filled with mixed feelings.

"What's the point of saying all this now?"

"On my very first day after I married into this family, so many things happened, and we've become the laughingstock of the whole compound! How am I supposed to face anyone here now?"

Qin Huairu's voice was hoarse, filled with resentment.

"I..." Jia Dongxu opened his mouth, but couldn't say a word.

He knew that what Qin Huairu said was true.

"Huai Ru, believe me, I will treat you better from now on, even better than before!"

"I'll listen to everything you say. I'll work hard, I'll ask my mentor to teach me more, and I'll earn more money so you can live a good life!"

"I'll go to the military control commission first thing tomorrow morning and get her out. I promise she'll never dare to do this again..."

Jia Dongxu swore an oath and said every kind word he could think of.

He promised that all the family's money would be under Qin Huairu's control from now on, and that if his mother dared to cause trouble again, he would stand up to her.

Outside the window, Xu Damao and his friends pressed their ears against the cold wall, listening intently.

"Hey, that bastard Jia Dongxu, he's pretty good at sweet-talking."

Xu Damao commented in a low voice.

"I doubt it; the new bride is furious."

Yan Jiecheng analyzed.

As Qin Huai heard Jia Dongxu's assurance, her crying gradually subsided.

She knew perfectly well that things had come to this point, and what good would it do to make a scene any further?

She's already married, the marriage certificate is in order, and she's a member of the Jia family. If she were to run back to her parents' home now, she'd only be losing face.

She looked at Jia Dongxu's face, which was covered in sweat from anxiety, and sighed inwardly. Although this man was a bit of a coward, he was indeed good-looking and cared about her quite a bit.

"Alright, stop talking." Qin Huai wiped her tears with the back of her hand, her voice still somewhat cold. "It's getting late, go to sleep. How you behave from now on depends on your performance."

"Okay! Okay!"

When Jia Dongxu saw that his wife was no longer angry, he felt as if he had been granted a pardon and relaxed completely.

He stood up, rubbing his hands together, and looked at Qin Huairu sitting on the bed. Under the lamplight, the bride's tearful appearance had a unique charm.

The flame he had just suppressed suddenly flared up again. After all, it was their wedding night. Jia Dongxu rubbed his hands together, chuckled twice, and wanted to go over and do something naughty.

"Huai Ru, look how late it is, let's..."

Before he could finish speaking, Qin Huairu coldly interrupted him.

"I'm not in a good mood today, and I don't feel energetic." Qin Huairu pulled the blanket over, turned over and lay down, her back to him. "Let's talk about it later."

Jia Dongxu's smile froze on his face.

He watched Qin Huairu's resolute back as she walked away, feeling a pang of disappointment. But then he thought, so much had happened today, it was understandable that his wife was upset.

There's plenty of time; there's no need to rush.

"Okay, okay, then you should get some rest." He sighed, went to blow out the lamp himself, and then carefully lay down on the other side of the bed.

Outside the window, Xu Damao and his group listened intently for a long time, but apart from the occasional sound of someone turning over, there was no other noise from inside the house.

"What's going on? There's no movement."

Liu Guangtian asked, puzzled.

"Yeah, why isn't there any sound at all?" Yan Jiecheng also looked puzzled.

The group of people looked at each other in bewilderment.

Xu Damao's eyes darted around, and a wicked idea popped into his head.

He lowered his voice and said in an exaggerated, suddenly enlightened tone, "Holy crap! Guys, I get it!"

"What do you understand?"

"Think about it, Jia Dongxu ruined the banquet today, and then he watched his mother get arrested. He's suffered such a huge shock... Could it be... that he's impotent?"

"It's not working?" Liu Guangtian and Yan Jiecheng were taken aback at first, then their eyes lit up at the same time.

This guess is absolutely explosive!

They crouched under the window and listened for a full half hour, but the room remained completely silent.

"Looks like it's true!" Xu Damao slapped his thigh, concluding, "Let's go, let's go back to sleep! There's going to be a good show tomorrow!"

The boys, satisfied with their newfound secret, tiptoed home.

Little did they know that their mischievous guess tonight would set off an even bigger storm that would engulf the entire courtyard the following day.