Kill the beasts in the courtyard, I fled to Hong Kong, surrounded by beauties on both sides.

Chen Fei woke up just as dawn was breaking.

I didn't wake up naturally; I was woken up by someone.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

The violent banging on the door was particularly jarring in the quiet morning, accompanied by Jia Zhangshi's shrill voice: "Chen Fei! Open the door! Get out here!"

Chen Fei opened his eyes, his gaze devoid of the drowsiness of just waking up, replaced by a cold, clear-headedness. He had long anticipated that after his falling out with Yi Zhonghai last night, these beasts wouldn't let it go so easily.

I just didn't expect it to come so quickly.

He slowly and deliberately put on his clothes—a faded blue work uniform, patched upon patched, but still fairly clean. Then he walked to the door but didn't open it immediately.

"Chen Fei! Are you deaf? Open the door!" Jia Zhangshi's voice grew even louder.

There was some commotion in the courtyard, and some people opened the door to see what was going on.

Chen Fei then slowly pulled the latch and opened the door.

Outside the door, Jia Zhangshi's mean face was almost touching his. This old woman was over fifty years old, with a face full of fat, triangular eyes, and thin lips; she was clearly not a kind person. Behind her stood Qin Huairu, holding a stick in her hand, while Xiao Dang and Huaihua hid behind their mother's legs.

"What's up?" Chen Fei asked calmly.

"What is it?" Jia Zhangshi shrieked. "I'm asking you, did you curse at that old man last night? Did you say you wouldn't let the Jia family live in your house?"

The news spread really fast. Chen Fei sneered inwardly, but remained outwardly calm: "So what if I told you?"

"You still have the nerve to talk back!" Madam Jia spat as she spoke. "You heartless little brat! Everyone in the courtyard cares about you and helps you out, and not only do you not appreciate it, you dare to talk back to your elders! What kind of upbringing did your parents give you?"

When his parents were mentioned, Chen Fei's eyes instantly turned cold.

"How my parents raised me is none of your business." His voice wasn't loud, but it carried a chill. "But you, Jia Zhangshi, banging on someone's door first thing in the morning—is this how your family is raised?"

"You..." Madam Jia choked, then became even angrier, "You, Chen Fei! You think you're all grown up now? Let me tell you, at tonight's meeting, don't even think about acting tough! You'll have to give up the house, whether you like it or not!"

"On what grounds?" Chen Fei asked.

"Why should I?" Jia Zhangshi retorted confidently. "Because you live alone, it's a waste for you to have two rooms! Because my family of five has difficulty squeezing into one room! Because all the old men in the courtyard say I should give it up!"

What a self-righteous attitude! Chen Fei almost laughed in anger.

He looked behind Jia Zhangshi and saw Qin Huairu with her head down, looking pitiful. Bang Geng, on the other hand, looked at him with his head held high, as if the house already belonged to them.

Other residents also came out of the courtyard one after another.

The third uncle in the front yard, Yan Bugui, pushed up his glasses and stood at his doorway, watching without saying a word, but his eyes revealed calculation. Liu Haizhong from the middle yard walked over with his hands behind his back, adopting the air of a "second uncle": "What's going on? What's all the noise about so early in the morning?"

"Second Uncle, you've come at the perfect time!" Madam Jia Zhang exclaimed, as if she'd found a powerful backer. "That brat Chen Fei is so unruly! He talked back to you last night, and he was arguing with me this morning!"

Liu Haizhong looked at Chen Fei, his face stern: "Chen Fei, what's wrong with you? Aunt Jia is an elder, and this is your attitude?"

Chen Fei looked at Liu Haizhong, this "Second Uncle" who was obsessed with officialdom and loved to put on airs. He said calmly, "Second Uncle, even elders should be reasonable, right? Smashing my door early in the morning and pointing your finger at me to my face to curse, is this what elders should do?"

"You..." Liu Haizhong was embarrassed by the retort, "Even if Aunt Jia's methods were wrong, it was for your own good! Everyone in the courtyard knows your family's situation. It's really inappropriate for one person to occupy two rooms!"

"Why isn't it appropriate?" Chen Fei asked. "The house was allocated to my father by his work unit, and the property certificate is in Chen Jianguo's name. My father is gone, and I am his son, so the house naturally belongs to me. What's the problem with that?"

"That's true," Liu Haizhong waved his hand, "but we also need to consider the actual situation. The Jia family is in trouble; we're all neighbors, shouldn't we help each other out?"

"Helping each other?" Chen Fei laughed. "Second Uncle, you have three rooms, but only you, Second Aunt, and Guangqi live there. Liu Guangtian and Liu Guangfu both live in the factory dormitory. Your house is spacious enough, why don't you give one room to the Jia family?"

"You..." Liu Haizhong's expression changed. "How can my family be the same? Guangqi is getting married, so we need to reserve a house!"

"Then I also want to get married, and I need to keep the house too," Chen Fei said.

"You're getting married? How old are you? Besides, you don't even have a job, what's the point of getting married?" Liu Haizhong said disdainfully.

"Who said I don't have a job?" Chen Fei stared at him. "The factory has agreed to let me fill in for my dad's workstation. If I have a job, I have income, and I can get married."

When the workstation was mentioned, Liu Haizhong's eyes flickered.

Chen Fei knew exactly what was going on. Liu Haizhong's eldest son, Liu Guangqi, worked at the local street office; his second son, Liu Guangtian, was an apprentice at a steel rolling mill; and his third son, Liu Guangfu, was still in school. Liu Haizhong himself wanted his son to take over Chen Jianguo's job—that was a level six fitter position, earning 68.5 yuan a month!

"The factory will arrange the workstations," Liu Haizhong said vaguely. "You're just an apprentice; you can't handle a level six worker's job. The old man will talk to the factory about this."

"Communication?" Chen Fei sneered. "The result of communication is that my workstation will be given to someone else? Second Uncle, do you also want your son to take over?"

These words were too blunt, and Liu Haizhong lost face: "Chen Fei! What nonsense are you talking about!"

"Whether I'm lying or not, you know in your heart." Chen Fei stopped looking at him and turned to the crowd of onlookers. "Neighbors, everyone is here. I just want to ask one question: My Chen family has suffered a disaster. My parents and sister are all gone, and I'm all alone. It's one thing if you don't help me, but you're also trying to take my house, my job, and my compensation money. What kind of logic is this?"

The courtyard was completely silent.

Some people lowered their heads, while others awkwardly averted their gaze. In truth, everyone knew that the elders in the courtyard and the Jia family had gone too far. But since it didn't concern them, they chose to remain silent. Besides, Yi Zhonghai held considerable prestige in the courtyard; who dared offend him?

"Chen Fei," Yan Bugui finally spoke, adjusting his glasses, "you can't say that. It's not that we don't want to help you, it's that we're trying to make arrangements for you. You're young and don't understand many things, so we're helping you handle things for your own good."

It was "for your own good" again. Chen Fei felt like throwing up.

"Third Uncle, if you really care about me, please return my family's grain coupons to me." Chen Fei looked at him. "You've been holding onto them for three months; shouldn't you return them?"

Yan Bugui's face stiffened.

He did indeed "manage" the grain coupons, but they were almost all used up. Chen Jianguo was a sixth-grade worker with a high ration, receiving 45 jin of grain coupons a month, as well as coupons for refined grains, oil, and meat. In these three months, Yan Bugui's family had taken advantage of the situation quite a bit.

"I'm keeping the grain coupons for you," Yan Bugui stammered. "I'll give them to you when you need them."

"I need it right now," Chen Fei said. "I'm out of food at home. Yesterday, I ate sweet potatoes that I bought with borrowed money. Uncle, please give me back my food coupons so I can survive."

These words sounded pitiful, but Chen Fei's face showed no pleading, only indifference.

Yan Bugui was in a dilemma. Should he return it? He couldn't bear to. But if he didn't return it, with so many neighbors watching, it wouldn't be right.

"Um... I didn't bring it with me today," Yan Bugui said, making an excuse. "Wait a minute, I'll bring it to you later."

Chen Fei knew he was stalling, but he didn't call him out on it: "Alright, I'll wait for you."

He looked at the others: "Who else 'helped' me keep things? Return them all. My father's pension was kept by Uncle Yi. My family's industrial vouchers were 'borrowed' by Xu Damao. My sister's belongings were 'taken' by Banggeng. Shouldn't these all be returned?"

The courtyard was quieter now.

Jia Zhangshi's face turned ashen, Qin Huairu bit her lip, and Banggeng shrank behind his mother—he had indeed stolen Chen Xiaoyu's things: a fountain pen, a hair clip, and a few comic books.

"Chen Fei!" Yi Zhonghai finally appeared, walking out of the house with a grim face. "What's all this commotion so early in the morning!"

"You've come at the right time, sir." Chen Fei looked at him. "I'm asking when my things that are being 'held in custody' will be returned?"

Yi Zhonghai walked closer, glanced at the people in the courtyard, and said in a deep voice, "Whatever it is, we'll discuss it at the meeting tonight. Now, those who need to go to work, go to work; those who need to go to school, go home!"

He was, after all, an elder in the compound, and his words carried weight. The onlookers began to disperse, but they all whispered among themselves as they left.

"Why is Chen Fei so tough today?"

"I would be just as assertive if I were in their shoes; my house has been almost completely emptied out."

"Keep your voice down, don't let the old man hear you..."

Jia Zhangshi wanted to say something more, but was glared at by Yi Zhonghai and reluctantly shut her mouth.

"Chen Fei, go back to your room first," Yi Zhonghai said. "The Intermediate People's Court will hold a general meeting at 7 p.m. Your family's matter will be discussed at the meeting."

Chen Fei nodded: "Okay."

He turned and went back into the house, closing the door behind him.

Outside the door, Yi Zhonghai stared at the closed door, his eyes filled with complex emotions. He sensed that Chen Fei had changed. He was no longer the cowardly boy who could be easily manipulated, but a wolf driven to desperation.

This made him somewhat uneasy, but more than that, he was annoyed.

Can a mere kid really turn the world upside down?

Inside the house, Chen Fei leaned against the door, listening to the sounds outside.

The footsteps gradually faded away, and the courtyard returned to silence.

He walked to the table and sat down, taking out the sweet potato he had bought the night before—there was one left. He slowly peeled it, his mind racing.

The conflict that morning was within his expectations. This was exactly the effect he wanted—to make the conflict public and let everyone in the compound know that the Chen family was not someone to be trifled with.

In this way, those beasts can no longer plot in secret at the evening meeting; they must put their schemes into the open.

But if it's out in the open, he'll have a chance to fight back.

After finishing the sweet potato, Chen Fei drank some water. He was still hungry, but much better than yesterday.

He checked the time; it was 7:30 in the morning.

Time to go out.