Courtyard House: I fish in the heavens, a professional bird abuser.

He was a middle-aged man in his forties with a serious face. When he saw the condition of Bang Geng's leg, his brows immediately furrowed.

"Spread out! Don't crowd around! The child needs fresh air!"

Dr. Wang said in a deep voice, squatting down to examine the patient carefully.

The steel rat trap clamped in very deep, its serrated edges embedded deep into the flesh of the man's calf, and blood soaked through his trousers, forming a small puddle on the ground.

Banggeng's lower leg was visibly swollen and purple, with the skin broken and the flesh mangled, and even some white bone fragments could be seen!

Dr. Wang tried to pry the clamp open, but it wouldn't budge. Instead, it caused the stick to let out an even more piercing scream.

"No! It's clamped too tightly and too deep! We need a tool!"

Sweat beaded on Dr. Wang's forehead as he shouted to several strong neighbors, "A few of you, come help! Hold him down! Old Zhang, go to my house and get my toolbox! It has a crowbar and wire cutters! Quick!"

A period of chaos ensued.

Several neighbors held down the man, who was convulsing and struggling wildly in pain.

Using the tools he brought, Dr. Wang exerted tremendous effort, accompanied by pig-like screams and a sickening metallic scraping sound,

Finally, with a "click," the stainless steel mousetrap was pried open and removed.

As soon as the clamp was released, even more blood gushed out.

Dr. Wang quickly applied a tourniquet to the groin of the thigh, and then swiftly performed cleaning, disinfection, medication application, and bandaging.

Even with his extensive experience, he still gasped in shock upon seeing the deep, bone-revealing wound and the severely deformed flesh and tissue.

"Dr. Wang, how is my grandson? Is his leg... can his leg be saved?" Jia Zhangshi rushed over, grabbed Dr. Wang's sleeve, and her voice changed.

Dr. Wang's face was grave. As he bandaged the wound, he said in a deep voice, "The injury is very serious! There are signs of a fracture in the shinbone, and the muscles, blood vessels, and nerves are severely damaged! He must be taken to the hospital immediately!"

The leg needs to be immobilized in a cast, given a tetanus antitoxin injection, and anti-inflammatory medication to prevent infection! If this is delayed, and necrosis or infection worsens… the leg may very well be lost. Even if it is saved, there's a high chance of lifelong disability; a limp would be the least of your worries!

boom!

Like a bolt from the blue!

Madam Jia's vision went black, and she collapsed to the ground, slapping her thighs. This time, she cried out in a truly heart-wrenching wail: "Ah—! My beloved grandson! My eldest grandson! You damned childless wretch!"

You owe me money for my grandson's leg! You owe me money! This is outrageous! Old Jia! Come up here quickly! Our Jia family line is about to end!

"Dr. Wang, how much will this treatment cost?" Yi Zhonghai tried to remain calm, but his voice was a little strained.

Dr. Wang sighed and announced a figure that sent a chill down the spines of most people present: "Hospitalization fees, plaster cast, medication costs, surgery fees, and if debridement and suturing of nerves and blood vessels are needed... all these miscellaneous expenses will add up to at least forty or fifty yuan!"

This doesn't even include the subsequent nutritional supplements and follow-up appointments! Hospital resources are strained right now; you have to pay upfront before you can receive medication! There's no time to lose!

"Forty or fifty yuan?!"

Jia Zhangshi's wailing instantly rose eight octaves, so piercing it could shatter eardrums, "This is killing us! This is going to kill our whole family! He Yuanchao! It's all your fault! It's all your fault, you heartless, rotten-necked, childless bastard! You have to pay up! If you don't pay up, I'll fight you to the death!"

She struggled to lunge at He Yuanchao, but was held back by a neighbor.

Yi Zhonghai's mind raced.

Forty or fifty yuan! The Jia family absolutely cannot afford that! Qin Huairu's meager salary is barely enough to support her entire family.

This is the perfect opportunity for him to win over Qin Huairu and solidify Sha Zhu as his "retirement partner"!

He immediately adopted a compassionate and authoritative stance, looking sternly at He Yuanchao, his voice carrying an unquestionable air of "fairness":

"Wan Chao! It's already happened! You saw how badly Bang Geng is injured!"

Regardless, you left the clip at your doorstep, and the stick was injured under your window!

For both moral and legal reasons, you can't stand idly by! You have to cover the medical expenses! Getting the money to treat Bang Geng's injuries is the priority!

The child is innocent! We can't let an adult's mistake ruin a child's entire life!

His words were high-sounding and full of moral blackmail, downplaying the act of theft and directly pinning the blame and liability on He Yuanchao.

"Yes, yes, yes! Old Yi is right!"

Liu Haizhong immediately chimed in, "He Yuanchao, look at all the fish you catch, living such a lavish life. What's a few dozen yuan to you? Hurry up and get the money to save the child! That's what neighbors should do!"

"Exactly! The child is already like this, we can't just watch him/her become lame, can we?"

"He Yuanchao, just admit it. Who told you to put that trap there?"

"I'll learn my lesson for a few dozen yuan; I won't put such poisonous things in there again!"

Some neighbors, influenced by Yi Zhonghai and Liu Haizhong, also began to urge He Yuanchao to pay money.

Their greedy gazes swept unabashedly over He Yuanchao's bucket of fish and Yan Bugui's fish basket.

With so many fish, if you took them to the black market, people would be fighting over them for at least forty or fifty, even seventy or eighty yuan! Why is He Yuanchao so lucky?

However, at that moment, Yan Bugui's two sons, Yan Jiecheng and Yan Jiefang, happened to come home from get off work.

Upon entering the backyard, I was shocked by the chaotic scene and the strong smell of blood and fish.

When their gaze swept over the wailing Bang Geng on the ground and the crying Jia Zhangshi, and finally landed on the tattered fish basket stuffed full in their father Yan Bugui's arms, with the fish tails still thrashing about, their eyes widened instantly!

"Dad! There are...so many fish?!"

Yan Jiecheng cried out in disbelief.

"My God! Dad, have you stirred up a hornet's nest today?"

Yan Jiefang also looked incredulous.

Yan Bugui was somewhat at a loss due to the chaos, and was still calculating which side would be more advantageous for him.

Seeing her two sons return and hearing their exclamations, vanity and extreme satisfaction with the catch instantly overwhelmed her hesitation.

He immediately straightened his thin back, his face beaming with barely suppressed pride and a radiant glow, and raised his voice, deliberately making sure everyone could hear:

"What's all the fuss about! You're making a fuss over nothing! This is Yuan Chao! He was doing something incredible today at Shichahai! Catching big fish one after another! Like dumplings being dropped into a pot! And this bucket..."

He pointed to the large water bucket on He Yuanchao's car, "At least fifty pounds! All caught by Yuanchao! Yuanchao is kind and generous! Seeing how pitiful my Air Force situation was, he gave me twenty pounds without saying a word!"

He patted his heavy fish basket as if it were a gold ingot, "Look! It's all here! There are still more than 30 jin left. Yuanchao said that our family can help with the smoking! Once it's smoked, half of it will be given to our family as a reward for their hard work!"

"Where's your mom? Get her out here! Get the gear ready! Let's start smoking tonight! With the best fruitwood! Plenty of salt!"

His voice was full of boastfulness and undisguised admiration for He Yuanchao.

The three women had already heard the commotion and were looking around inside the house. When they heard their husband's words, especially the phrases "divide into twenty catties" and "half after smoking," they rushed out as if they had been injected with chicken blood.

Seeing the lively, shimmering fish in Yan Bugui's fish basket, and smelling the tantalizing aroma of fresh fish, he was so excited that he didn't know where to put his hands.

"Oh my God! So many! And so big!"

The three women surrounded the fish basket, their eyes shining, and kept muttering, "Yuanchao... Yuanchao, that boy... he's really... really so generous! So kind! So kind!"

"A million times better than those ungrateful wretches who only know how to throw tantrums, freeload, and then complain about the food being bad!"

Her words were a veiled attack on Jia Zhangshi, spoken in a voice that was neither too loud nor too soft, just loud enough for Jia Zhangshi to hear.

boom!

Jia Zhangshi was already devastated by the huge medical bills and her grandson's miserable condition. Now, seeing the Yan Bugui family gain so many huge benefits out of thin air because of He Yuanchao, and even mocking her in public, a surge of evil fire mixed with overwhelming jealousy and resentment completely overwhelmed her reason!

"Yan Bugui! Third Aunt! You two shameless old bastards!"

Like a madwoman, Jia Zhangshi pointed at Yan Bugui's family and cursed them with foul language, like a filthy sewer spewing excrement, so vicious it was outrageous. "Lick! Lick that childless asshole hard! Does it taste good?"

Huh?! For a few bites of rotten fish and shrimp, they've even abandoned all respect for their ancestors! Your whole family are despicable bastards! Spineless cowards!

No wonder your family is dirt poor! No wonder your son can't find a wife! I think your ancestors' graves must have been emitting black smoke to raise a litter of lowly dogs who only know how to wag their tails!

Old Yan, why don't you take a piss and look at yourself in the mirror? Do you even deserve to eat this fish? Watch out, you old codger, you might choke on a fishbone!

You old hag, you wicked woman! You're a jinx who brings bad luck to husbands and children! May your whole family die a horrible death! May you be hit by a car, choke on your food, or drown your drinking water!

Old Jia! Come up here quickly! Bring his whole family down to keep you company!

These extremely vicious insults, cursing the entire family to die, were like steel needles coated with deadly poison, piercing deep into the hearts of Yan Bugui's family!

Yan Bugui was so angry that he trembled all over, his face turning from red to green. He pointed at Jia Zhangshi and stammered "You...you..." for a long time, unable to utter a complete sentence.

The old woman turned pale, her lips trembled, and her eyes instantly reddened. In her entire life, she had never been so viciously cursed in public.

The two brothers, Yan Jiecheng and Yan Jiefang, were young and impetuous. They had already developed a great liking for He Yuanchao because of the half roast duck they had eaten the night before and the twenty catties of live fish they had eaten today, and regarded him as their "god of wealth".

Seeing his parents being publicly insulted so horribly by that old hag Jia Zhangshi, how could he possibly bear it?

"Jia Zhangshi! You old, shrewish woman! Who are you calling names?!"

Yan Jiecheng was the first to jump out, pointing his finger at Jia Zhangshi's nose and roaring, "Your own grandson is dishonest, he stole something and got caught, serves him right! And you still have the nerve to spew nonsense here? I think you've shit your pants and your brain is all caked up too?!"

"that is!"

Yan Jiefang immediately followed up, unleashing his full force, "You old coffin-stuffed bastard! You spewing filth from your mouth!"

They're dirt poor, their grandson is starving and sneaks through other people's windows like a mouse, and they still have the nerve to blame others for setting traps?

Why don't you blame yourself for being incompetent enough to support your grandson? Why don't you blame your son for being paralyzed on the bed and a useless piece of trash?

I think Bang Geng inherited your thieving nature! A crooked head makes a crooked leg! He deserved to be trapped! He deserved to die from it! So he won't grow up to be a menace to society!

Although these two brothers were no saints either, they were masters of arguing and cursing, having inherited Yan Bugui's skills. They were in the right, so they went all out, each word piercing the heart, and nearly made Jia Zhangshi faint.