Courtyard House: Starting by inheriting the tradition and suppressing the barbarians.

The Intermediate People's Court, the Jia family.

Under the dim light, dinner was laid out on the old, worn-out octagonal table.

A bowl of cornmeal porridge so thin you could see your reflection in it, and a dish of finely chopped pickled vegetables.

In addition, there were a few dark, two-grained steamed buns.

"Snapped!"

With a sharp crack, a chopstick was slammed onto the table.

It bounced off Qin Huairu's face and stung painfully.

"The noodles at noon were so dry they had no oil at all, which was bad enough."

"Why is dinner even worse!"

"Is this even fit for human consumption?"

Banggeng sat at the table, staring at the food in front of him, his eyes filled with violent rage!

"I was eating cornbread every day inside, and now you want me to eat cornbread again after I get out?"

"Are you trying to starve me to death?"

Qin Huairu covered her face, her eyes instantly reddening.

He explained in a humble voice, "Bang Geng, we really don't have any money left at home..."

"This is the refined grain that Mom saved by scrimping and saving..."

"I don't care!"

Banggeng suddenly stood up and overturned the pot of porridge on the ground. "I want to eat meat!"

"I want braised pork!"

"Just like the kind Li Xuan's family eats in the backyard! I want to eat it now!"

The scalding hot porridge spilled all over the floor, and Qin Huairu was so distressed that she burst into tears.

She squatted down to tidy up, but was stopped by Jia Zhangshi.

"What's there to pack up!"

"Can't you see my precious grandson is so hungry he's getting angry?"

Jia Zhangshi looked at Bang Geng with heartache, then turned to Qin Huairu and gave her a good scolding.

"Qin Huairu, you useless thing!"

"You work in a factory, and you can't even afford a meal of meat?"

"Are you trying to starve the only son of the Jia family to death?"

"Mom, I..." Qin Huairu cried, tears streaming down her face.

"All you do is cry! You're a jinx!"

Madam Jia glared at her with her triangular eyes, "Aren't you going to think of a solution?"

"Isn't there a silly Zhu there? Are you dead?"

"Go get it quickly!"

When Bang Geng heard the words "Sha Zhu," a cold smile curled at the corner of his mouth.

He sat back down on the stool, crossed his legs, and said, "Yes, let's go find that stupid cook."

"Hasn't he always been trying to curry favor with us?"

"Have him prepare some meat for me, and also, have him bring me two bottles of good wine."

Looking at the old man and the young girl, Qin Huairu felt a pang of sorrow.

But looking at her son's thin, sinister face, she softened her heart.

"Okay, Mom will go... Mom will go right now."

......

Inside the house of Silly Pillar.

Sha Zhu was humming a little tune, drinking his wine in silence with a few peanuts.

Since the cafeteria was shut down, he hasn't been able to make any money off it, and he's been struggling to make ends meet.

"Knock knock knock".

A knock came at the door.

Sha Zhu's eyes lit up. This technique—it sounded like Sister Qin's!

He quickly got up and opened the door.

Sure enough, Qin Huairu was standing at the door, her eyes red and looking pitiful.

"Hey, Sister Qin, what's wrong?"

"Who bullied you?"

Sha Zhu couldn't bear to see Qin Huairu cry, and said with great heartache.

Qin Huairu wiped away her tears, tears streaming down her face before she could even speak: "Zhuzi... I'm useless."

"Bang Geng just got back, he's feeling weak, and he wants to eat some meat..."

"But what's in Sister Ke's hands..."

Upon hearing this, Sha Zhu was suddenly filled with pride: "Hey! I thought it was no big deal!"

"The baby just came out, so they need some nourishment!"

"If this were the old days, what delicious dish couldn't I cook?"

As he spoke, Sha Zhu turned around and took out a mesh lunchbox from the cabinet.

Inside were some cured meat and eggs that he had saved up a couple of days ago.

I originally planned to save it for my birthday.

"Take this! Make a good meal for Bang Geng!"

Sha Zhu handed the lunchbox to Qin Huairu.

Qin Huairu was moved to tears: "Zhuzi, you're so kind..."

"I don't know how to repay you."

Sha Zhu chuckled and scratched his head: "Why are you being so polite with me?"

"We'll soon be family."

In Sha Zhu's opinion, Qin Huairu's refusal to register their marriage before must have been because of the "bang geng" incident.

I want to wait until the plagiarism comes out and get his consent before we get our marriage certificate.

Now that the "sticky joke" has emerged, he naturally wants to curry favor with it.

"Sister Qin, now that Banggeng is out..."

"Then we need to teach them a lesson."

"We must not repeat those petty theft habits we had before."

"As his uncle, I'll go over and say a few words to him today, and set some rules for him."

Sha Zhu felt that his relationship with Qin Huairu was bound to work out sooner or later!

That guy is like half a son to me!

It's only natural for a father to educate his son.

Qin Huairu's heart skipped a beat.

She knew that Banggeng now hated everyone in the courtyard, including Shazhu.

But for the sake of the meat in her hand, she had no choice but to bite the bullet and nod, "Okay."

"Zhu Zi, you should also try to persuade him."

......

The two entered the Jia family home one after the other.

The room was a mess, and Banggeng was sitting there sulking with a dark face.

As soon as Sha Zhu entered the room, he put the lunchbox on the table.

Then, adopting the air of an elder, he put his hands behind his back and said, "Bang Geng, it's good that you're back."

"Uncle He heard you wanted to eat meat, so he brought you all the best stuff he had hidden away."

Banggeng glanced at the lunchbox, a glint of greed flashing in his eyes.

But then it turned into disdain.

He reached out to grab the meat inside.

"Hey! Did you wash your hands?"

Sha Zhu reached out to block him, and scolded him with a stern face, "Don't you know any manners?"

"And also, you don't greet your elders?"

"You spent two years inside training and that's all you learned?"

Bang Geng's hand froze in mid-air. He slowly raised his head, his sinister eyes fixed on Sha Zhu.

Madam Jia remained silent; as long as she had the meat, she didn't care what Sha Zhu said.

Sha Zhu saw that Bang Geng was silent and assumed that he knew he was wrong.

He continued rambling on: "Bang Geng, let me tell you, you have to walk the right path in life."

"The past is the past."

"From now on, you must listen to your mother and your Uncle He."

"Stop associating with shady people, and stop trying to take advantage of others..."

"Snapped!"

Banggeng suddenly swung his hand, knocking the lunchbox full of cured meat and eggs to the ground.

The greasy slices of meat and eggs were scattered on the still-wet cornmeal porridge, ruining it all instantly.

Sha Zhu was stunned.

Qin Huairu was terrified.

Even Jia Zhangshi cried out in distress, "Oh dear! My flesh!"

"You good-for-nothing!"

Shazhu realized what was happening and his anger flared up: "Bang Geng! What the hell are you doing?"

"You think you're so great? This is money I saved up from all my scrimping and saving for you..."

"Who wants your junk!"

Banggeng suddenly stood up, pointed at Shazhu's nose, and spat almost onto Shazhu's face.

At this moment, Bang Geng was like a mad dog that had been provoked, completely irrational.

"He Yuzhu! Who do you think you are?"

"You dare to lecture me?"

"Aren't you just a lousy cook?"

"A childless heir who can't even find a wife! What are you pretending to be, acting all high and mighty?"

This phrase, "no descendants," was like a sharp knife, piercing deeply into Sha Zhu's heart.

Sha Zhu's face turned deathly pale instantly, his lips trembling as he stammered, "You...you little brat!"

"I'm doing this all for your own good..."

"For my own good?"

Bang Geng sneered, his face full of contempt and malice, "Pah!"

"Don't think I don't know what you're up to!"

"Aren't you just lusting after my mom's body?"

"You just want to sleep with my mom, don't you?"

boom!

The room fell into a deathly silence the moment those words were spoken.

Qin Huairu was filled with shame and indignation, her face turning a deep purplish-red: "Bang Geng! What nonsense are you spouting!"

"Am I talking nonsense?"

Bang Geng grinned maliciously, his eyes sweeping over Sha Zhu and Qin Huairu like knives.

"Who in the whole compound doesn't know that you're always fawning over my mom like a lapdog?"

"Isn't that what you're after when you deliver lunchboxes to our house?"

"I'm telling you, He Yuzhu, no way!"

"As long as I, Bang Geng, am alive, you can forget about ever setting foot in the Jia family!"

"You think you can be my sugar daddy? You think you're worthy?"

Sha Zhu was struck dumb, frozen in place.

He looked at the child in front of him, a child he had watched grow up since childhood, a child he had never been able to bear to punish even if the child stole his soy sauce.

He thought his sincerity could earn him a little respect, even if it was just a simple "Uncle He".

But what I got in return was such a naked and bloody humiliation.

A lousy cook.

No descendants.

I'm craving it.

Every word trampled his pitiful self-esteem underfoot, crushing it mercilessly.

"Get out! Take your lousy lunchbox and get out!"

Banggeng pointed at the door and roared furiously.

Sha Zhu opened his mouth, wanting to curse.

But he found that his throat was blocked and he couldn't say a word.

He glanced at Qin Huairu, who was looking down and dared not look at him.

He glanced again at Jia Zhangshi, who was busy picking up meat from the ground to eat.

Suddenly, he felt a chill run through his body, and his heart sank.

This is the Jia family that he has wholeheartedly helped for over a decade.

This is the reason why he treats his children like his own.

"Okay...okay..."

Sha Zhu gave a bitter laugh and nodded; the smile was more painful than a grimace.

"You've got guts, Bang Geng."

"He's a real man."

After saying that, he didn't even glance at the lunchbox on the ground.

Turning around, he staggered out of the Jia family's gate like a soulless zombie.

A gust of autumn wind blew outside, and Sha Zhu shivered.

He felt really stupid.

That's a fucking idiot.

......