Courtyard house: Just the right amount of pressure, leaving you bewildered but not brain-damaged.

Summer of 1954, Beijing.

At No. 95 Nanluoguxiang, Jia Zhangshi's loud voice resonated with countless people.

The entire Mao'er Hutong was filled with the noisy sound of "zhi-liao, zhi-liao".

"Old Jia, come back quickly! Someone is bullying us, a widow and her child! They broke our locks and threw all our belongings out."

"Life's unbearable, Old Jia! You'd better take this little brat away right now!"

Madam Jia sat on the ground in the front yard, patting the ground with both hands in turn. Her plump, round face was raised high, and her triangular eyes were fixed on the young man in front of her.

With a smile on his lips, Gao Xiaosheng glanced at the street office clerk beside him who was stomping his feet in frustration but was at a loss, and quickly walked up to Jia Zhangshi.

"W-What are you going to do...?"

Jia Zhangshi was frightened by Gao Xiaosheng's malicious gaze. She pushed off the ground with both feet, trying to create distance. In her panic, she didn't even notice that she had kicked off one of her shoes.

"Slap, slap"

Unfortunately, he was too slow. Before he could even reach the steps leading to the main hall, Gao Xiaosheng grabbed his collar and yanked him up from the ground.

Without saying a word, Gao Xiaosheng swung his right hand repeatedly, slapping two large blouses, one facing forward and one backward, across Jia Zhangshi's face.

The crisp sound of the slap was like pressing the pause button on time. For a full five seconds, Jia Zhangshi opened her mouth wide, her face full of disbelief, and two drops of saliva ran down the corner of her mouth onto the back of Gao Xiaosheng's hand.

"what!"

"Someone's being hit! Someone's being killed! Everyone, come out and help!"

The pause ended, and Jia Zhangshi let out a pig-like howl, attacking Gao Xiaosheng's face and groin simultaneously with both hands and feet.

But she overestimated her figure.

Gao Xiaosheng simply stretched out his arm, and Jia Zhangshi's wild punches and series of kicks all missed. Instead, due to his disordered footwork, his body leaned back uncontrollably.

Gao Xiaosheng's smile grew even brighter as he quickly loosened his grip on his collar.

"Bang!"

As expected, Jia Zhangshi fell to the ground, her arms and legs still flailing about, looking like a fat turtle lying on its back.

"Comrade Gao, how could you hit someone?"

Xiao Zhang, an official at the Yu'er Subdistrict Office, has an incredibly slow reaction time; he only just realized what happened.

"Hehe, Officer Zhang, you heard what she just said, didn't you?"

Gao Xiaosheng acted as if nothing had happened, patted Xiao Zhang on the shoulder, and secretly flipped his palm over while Xiao Zhang wasn't paying attention, smearing all the saliva on the back of his hand onto Xiao Zhang's shirt.

"Hey, Comrade Gao, even if she scolds you a few times, you can't slap her across the face."

Gao Xiaosheng shook his head repeatedly, his smile fading and his expression turning serious.

"She said she was a widow and orphan, so Old Jia must have been her deceased husband, right?"

"Letting Lao Jia come back to see me, and even taking me with him—that's blatant superstition."

"Officer Zhang, do the neighborhood committees in Beijing really not care about this kind of thing? Tsk tsk, I've really learned something new."

After managing to be serious for a dozen seconds, Gao Xiaosheng smacked his lips and reverted to his usual carefree and irresponsible demeanor.

"I spent four years in the army, traveling all over the country, and even stretched my legs on the railway tracks."

"We passed through at least 80 or 100 cities and counties. No matter where we went, we cracked down on superstition with heavy blows. The military control commission wanted to shout messages through loudspeakers every day."

"I never expected it, the capital city of Beijing is so spacious..."

"I need to write to my comrades in the Northeast tomorrow and tell them about this."

"If any elderly person in your family likes to worship the fox and weasel spirits, don't hesitate, immediately find a way to transfer them to work in Beijing, so they won't have to be educated at home every day."

Do people say that?

Eighteen-year-old Zhang was so frightened that his face turned pale. He waved his hands and shook his head, his lips trembling, unable to utter a single coherent sentence.

Even if Gao Xiaosheng doesn't actually bring people here, once the news gets out, it will be a huge mess.

Not to mention this lowly clerk, everyone in the Yu'er Subdistrict Office would be criticized.

"Comrade Gao, no, that's not how it is."

"Since its establishment, our subdistrict office has been relentlessly cracking down on superstitious activities."

"In the first half of this year alone, we organized more than 20 anti-superstition propaganda activities."

"All residents in the area, from eighty-year-old seniors to six-year-old children, are very aware of the enormous harm caused by superstition."

Zhang, the clerk, has excellent language skills, even when he speaks fluently.

He was just too nervous and unconsciously treated Gao Xiaosheng as his superior, standing ramrod straight as if he were reporting to someone.

"Haha, Zhang, relax, don't be so tense."

Gao Xiaosheng laughed heartily, but in Zhang's eyes, it was not like that at all.

How could someone who is born a human laugh so shamelessly? It made him want to rub the villainous face in front of him with the sole of his shoe.

Although he had seen Gao Xiaosheng's transfer letter in person, Officer Zhang still seriously doubted the authenticity of his four years of military service.

Has the military's entry requirements become so low that they can recruit just anyone?

Yes, I must admit, this guy isn't ugly. He has big, round eyes, a straight nose, and a chiseled face.

But that can't hide the fact that Gao Xiaosheng isn't a decent person.

The kind-hearted person's eyes darted left and right, their smile carrying a hint of disdain and mockery.

"Ouch, that hurts so much!"

"Huai Ru, Gui Zhen, Cai Yun, Rui Hua, come out quickly! The neighborhood committee has brought people to our door!"

As Officer Zhang was inwardly cursing Gao Xiaosheng, Jia Zhangshi, lying on her back, had already completed the difficult move of "turtle flipping over," leaning against the steps and sitting on the ground, shouting for help.

Gao Xiaosheng pursed his lips and looked at Officer Zhang with a half-smile.

The message conveyed by their eyes was very clear—they had just said nice things, now it was time to take concrete actions.

Avoiding Gao Xiaosheng's mocking gaze, Officer Zhang looked around and clearly saw someone watching through the window of the west wing, and figures moving about on both sides of the hanging flower gate leading to the central courtyard behind Jia Zhangshi.

"Stop shouting!"

With a sharp shout from Officer Zhang, Jia Zhangshi fell silent instantly, like a hen being strangled.

"Aunt Zhang, you've attended quite a few of the information sessions organized by the neighborhood committee, haven't you?"

"Thanks to Uncle Yi, Uncle Liu, and Uncle Yan for vouching for you, saying that your thinking has progressed very quickly."

"And what happened? It's still the same as before, nothing's changed."

"Although Comrade Gao was a bit reckless, he was doing it for your own good. If we really wanted to handle this officially, it wouldn't be unfair to take you to the police station."

"If you seize public housing to store personal belongings or change the locks, the lightest punishment is detention, and in more serious cases, you could be sent back to your hometown."

In July, Beijing was hot and humid, and Jia Zhangshi was so frightened that she hugged her arms and trembled like a leaf.

"I was wrong, I was wrong, please don't detain me, and please don't send me back to the countryside. I'd rather die in Beijing."

Jia Zhangshi never wanted to live a life of hard labor, toiling in the fields again.

The city is where you can enjoy life. Before, you had to cook, do laundry, and occasionally tidy up the house. But ever since Dongxu got married, she can sleep until she naturally wakes up every day, and has everything done for her. She doesn't have to do any chores.

Five years ago, when Lao Jia passed away, she weighed less than 90 pounds. Three years ago, when her son got married, she weighed around 100 pounds. Now she weighs more than 110 pounds.

This fat is all from her eating and sleeping, and sleeping and eating.

With that soft, frail body, if he went back to the countryside, he would definitely be exhausted to death in the fields within three days.

"Then quickly apologize to Comrade Gao, move your things away from the door, and don't delay our house viewing."

"Oh, right, you have to return the padlock that the neighborhood office hung up. If it's lost or broken, you'll have to pay for it."

Officer Zhang only wanted to resolve the emergency smoothly and had no intention of giving Jia Zhangshi a profound lesson.

If Gao Xiaosheng hadn't held him back, he wouldn't have said a single harsh word.

"Okay, I'm sorry, I'll move right away."

Jia Zhangshi nodded vigorously, as long as they didn't go to the police station, everything was fine.

"Mom, why are you sitting on the floor? Let me help you up."

"Oh dear, Aunt Zhang, what's wrong? I was sewing in the house when I thought I heard someone calling me, but I couldn't hear it clearly. I only thought to come out and take a look after I finished sewing."

Just as Madam Jia finished speaking, two voices came from behind her, one in front and one behind, through the hanging flower gate.

Gao Xiaosheng raised his eyebrows slightly, exchanged a glance with Zhang, and the corners of their mouths turned up slightly in unison.

They stood opposite Jia Zhangshi and could see her very clearly.

These two have been eavesdropping behind the hanging flower gate for quite some time.

The body was well concealed, but the existence of the shadow was overlooked.

Two figures, like two guardian generals, stood on either side of the hanging flower gate, extremely conspicuous.

"Huai Ru, let's each take one side and help your mother-in-law up."

Jia Zhangshi was pulled up by the two women. Forgetting to complain that they were late, she pointed to the pile of broken items on the ground and said to the young woman beside her, "Huai Ru, take these things back. I've hurt my back and need to lie down and rest."

"Guizhen, help me up."

Qin Huairu released Jia Zhangshi's arm, paused for two seconds, and saw her mother-in-law turn and walk towards the hanging flower gate. She curiously looked Gao Xiaosheng up and down, and said, "Auntie, thank you for your trouble."

Wu Guizhen didn't turn around, but replied, "It's not appropriate for our two families to talk about such trivial matters."

While Qin Huairu squatted down to gather the items, Gao Xiaosheng glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, a series of exclamation marks flashing through his mind.

Is this Qin Huairu from the TV series?

No wonder everyone says that time is like a bag of pig feed.

The slender, beautiful young woman with a slender waist in front of us, ten years later, has become a voluptuous widow with a slender waist and a large bust and hips.

Tsk tsk, Jia Dongxu, that short-lived fellow, was lucky. Although he died young, at least he was a snake charmer for ten years.

Then look at He Yuzhu, who waited in line for so many years before finally becoming a "grass python hero".

Gao Xiaosheng felt sorry for He Yuzhu, and without stopping, followed Officer Zhang into the house.

At the same time, Wu Guizhen sat on the edge of the bed, pretending not to know what had happened, and asked Jia Zhangshi what had happened.

"Guizhen, don't even mention it, that little brat..."

"He took advantage of Officer Zhang's backing, smashed my lock, threw all my things out, and even slapped me twice."

"This isn't over. When Lao Yi gets off work, I'm going to complain to him. We'll have a hospital-wide meeting tonight, and that brat has to pay me back, at least 50,000, no, 100,000." (In the first set of RMB, 10,000 yuan was equivalent to 1 yuan)

When the topic of extorting money came up, Jia Zhangshi's back pain and leg soreness disappeared, and her eyes lit up. She jumped out of bed and sat down next to Wu Guizhen to discuss the details.