Courtyard House: Erguotou (a type of Chinese liquor) Traded for an Aircraft Carrier, the Whole Count

"Ah—! Help! Don't grab me! Don't grab me!"

Jia Zhangshi's pig-like screams, like a wild cat whose tail had been stepped on in the dead of night, instantly echoed throughout the entire courtyard.

Immediately afterwards, with a loud "bang," the Jia family's already flimsy door was smashed open by a brute force.

Jia Zhangshi, with her hair disheveled and barefoot, scrambled into the courtyard. The buttons on her old cotton-padded jacket had popped open, and her trousers were soaked, making her look particularly disheveled in the moonlight.

"Old Jia! I was wrong! I was really wrong!"

Jia Zhangshi rushed to the center of the courtyard and, as if possessed, knelt down with a thud in front of the empty air, frantically banging her head on the ground like a pestle.

"Thump! Thump! Thump!"

That was solid bluestone slabs; after a few slams, blood seeped from her forehead, but she seemed oblivious to the pain, continuing to kowtow and wailing incoherently, "I shouldn't have cursed people! I shouldn't have cursed them while sewing shoe soles! I shouldn't have been greedy for small gains! Old Jia, please spare me! Don't take me away! Waaah..."

The commotion was so huge that the entire courtyard was instantly in an uproar.

The first to rush out was Yi Zhonghai, who lived across the hall. He was wearing a Zhongshan suit, carrying a flashlight, and rushed out in a panic, shouting, "What's wrong? What happened? Sister-in-law, what are you doing?"

Immediately afterwards, Liu Haizhong from the backyard, Yan Bugui from the frontyard, and the neighbors who had been woken up all put on their clothes and slippers and ran to the middle yard.

Qin Huairu rushed out, carrying the terrified and wailing Banggeng. Her face was deathly pale, and she tried to pull Jia Zhangshi away, crying, "Mom! What's wrong? Don't scare me!"

"Get away! Don't touch me!" Madam Jia shoved Qin Huairu aside, pointing at her dark doorway, her eyes practically bulging out of their sockets. "He's there! He's watching me! Old Jia's back! He said he's taking me away! He said my mouth is too foul, that I've offended a powerful person, and that he's going to drag me down and pull out my tongue!"

Following her finger, everyone looked inside the Jia family's house, which was pitch black. Apart from the dilapidated tables and chairs, there was no one in sight.

"Sister-in-law, are you still half asleep? There's no one here." Yi Zhonghai frowned and shone his flashlight into the house.

"Yes! It really is! A huge, pale face, his eyes practically popped out!" Jia Zhangshi trembled, shrinking into a ball and clinging tightly to Yi Zhonghai's trouser leg. "Uncle, please save me! Old Jia always listens to you, please tell him not to take me away..."

Seeing Jia Zhangshi's incoherent and erratic state, the neighbors exchanged glances, feeling a chill run down their spines.

This Jia Zhangshi is usually as fierce and domineering as a female tyrant in the courtyard. When have I ever seen her so frightened? Could it be... that there really is such a filthy thing?

Just as everyone was filled with doubt and uncertainty, a series of unhurried footsteps came from the direction of the backyard.

"What's going on at this hour?"

Jiang Chen, dressed in a neat dark blue pajama set and holding a freshly lit cigarette, slowly walked out of the moon gate. He looked languid, leaning against a pillar of the hanging flower gate, exhaling a light smoke ring, his gaze calmly sweeping over the farce unfolding in the center of the courtyard.

Upon seeing Jiang Chen appear, Jia Zhangshi, who had been frantically kowtowing, suddenly shuddered like a mouse seeing a cat, shrinking back and even suppressing half of her sobs.

The words of that "ghostly figure" were still echoing in her ears—"You've offended a powerful person."

Now, in her eyes, Jiang Chen seemed to be shrouded in an invisible divine light, a kind of malevolent aura that even fierce ghosts would have to respect.

"Jiang... Cadre Jiang..." Yi Zhonghai began somewhat awkwardly, "This... it seems that my sister-in-law is having a nightmare and is having a nightmare."

Jiang Chen flicked his cigarette ash, a half-smile curving his lips as he looked at Jia Zhangshi's face, which was covered in blood, snot, and tears.

"Aunt Jia, there's a saying that goes, 'If you have a clear conscience, you have nothing to fear.'"

Jiang Chen's voice wasn't loud, but it carried clearly to everyone's ears in the quiet night. His tone was calm, yet it possessed an undeniable penetrating power.

"You just got out of there, and instead of reflecting on your actions at home, you're out at your door making shoe soles and cursing people. Well, look what you've done! You've brought your relatives from the underworld here!"

As Jiang Chen spoke, his gaze turned slightly cold, like two knives scraping across Jia Zhangshi's face: "From now on, watch your mouth. There are gods watching over you. Some things are real if you believe, and not real if you don't. If you continue to be so unrepentant, next time they come, it might not be just to scare you."

If anyone else had said these words, it would have been considered feudal superstition. But coming from Jiang Chen, coupled with Jia Zhangshi's current miserable state, it somehow possessed an extremely eerie persuasive power.

Looking at Jiang Chen's calm and composed demeanor, and then at the terrified Jia Zhangshi, the neighbors couldn't help but think: This Jiang Chen must really have some kind of background, even ghosts and gods are helping him!

"I...I dare not...I will never dare to do it again..." Jia Zhangshi's mental defenses had completely collapsed at this point. She kowtowed and bowed repeatedly to Jiang Chen, "Officer Jiang, you are so magnanimous, please let Old Jia go back. I will definitely do good deeds in the future, I will definitely do good deeds!"

Jiang Chen chuckled lightly, ignored her, and turned to stub out his cigarette.

"Alright, everyone, you can all go home now. We have to go to work tomorrow."

After he finished speaking, he walked towards the backyard without looking back. As he passed Qin Huairu, he paused slightly, but didn't even glance at the tearful young widow, and simply brushed past her.

This farce finally came to an end with the departure of the main character.

It took Yi Zhonghai and Sha Zhu a great deal of effort to carry the limp Jia Zhangshi back into the house. Even after they got inside, the old woman huddled under the covers, trembling and muttering, "Don't grab me."

Back in his room, Jiang Chen listened to the gradually quieting noises outside and glanced at the calendar on the wall.

This was just a minor incident, a little trick to clear away the noise and incidentally gain some emotional points. After being frightened like this, Jia Zhangshi won't be able to get out of bed and cause trouble for at least half a month.

"The farce is over."

Jiang Chen walked to the window and looked towards the distant north, towards the direction of Luanshipo on the outskirts of Beijing.

"Judging by the time, those treasures should be ready by now."

Compared to dealing with the beasts in this yard, that was his real trump card, allowing him to establish himself in this era and even stir up trouble.