Courtyard House: Starting with a 28-inch motorcycle

"Silly Zhu! How dare you touch my master!" Jia Dongxu's eyes turned red, and he roared as he lunged forward.

"Fuck you!" He Yuzhu shouted, raising his leg and kicking him squarely in the stomach.

With a muffled thud, Jia Dongxu flew out like a kite with a broken string, his back hitting the ground. He curled up like a shrimp in pain, unable to breathe for a long time.

Seeing her son being knocked away, Jia Zhangshi screamed and scratched He Yuzhu's face with her fingernails sticking out like eagle claws: "You little beast! I'll fight you to the death—"

"You damned old hag!" He Yuzhu slapped her twice more with his backhand, clean and crisp, making her fat face jiggle and her vision blur. She spun around halfway before falling to the ground with a "thud," her ears ringing, and it took her a long time to recover.

But those two slaps were no joke; half of her face burned, tears and snot streamed down her face, and she was in so much pain that she didn't want to stand up at all.

He was even more frightened—this silly Zhu was too ruthless; if he charged any further, he might really be going to meet the King of Hell.

She collapsed to the ground, wailing hysterically, "Oh my god—someone's been beaten to death! Old Jia, I don't want to live anymore! At my age, I still get slapped across the face, I can't live like this anymore..."

The garden erupted into chaos, with chickens flying and dogs barking. But despite the disorder, only the Yi and Jia families were jumping around, while everyone else huddled in the corner watching the spectacle, their eyes wide open, forgetting even to eat their melon seeds.

Liu Haizhong, his belly protruding, squeezed out and frowned, scolding, "Shazhu! Are you crazy? You dare to lay a hand on your elder? This is too much—"

"Fatty Liu," He Yuzhu interrupted coldly without even lifting his eyelids, "if you can't speak properly, shut up. Don't act like a big shot here."

"Who are you calling fat?!" Liu Haizhong's face immediately fell.

"What?" He Yuzhu glanced sideways, a mocking smile playing on his lips. "You can call me 'Silly Zhu,' but I can't call you 'Fatty Liu'? You've got quite the airs of an official." His voice suddenly rose. "Fine, since you're standing up for them today, I'll definitely have to have a word with Director Wang and Director Zhang about this—let's see if you can be this arrogant in the courtyard and the steel mill too!"

Upon hearing this, Liu Haizhong's expression changed instantly.

Director Wang is a powerful figure in the subdistrict office, and Director Zhang is the head of the forging workshop.

If these two are really alarmed, not only will they lose their team leader positions, but they might not even be able to go to work!

His heart sank, and cold sweat broke out—how could he have forgotten? Sha Zhu was a star in the factory, influential with the leaders, and technically superb; even the workshop director had to give him some leeway!

Getting involved now is just a rash decision to make things difficult for myself.

"Hmph! I'm not going to get involved in your business anymore!" he said defiantly, trying to save face but not daring to really turn against them. In the end, he slunk away with his tail between his legs, his back view exuding an indescribable sense of frustration.

As soon as Liu Haizhong left, He Yuzhu's gaze shifted, piercing Jia Dongxu, who was still curled up on the ground, like a knife: "Jia Dongxu, remember the time I gave you."

If there's still that mess at the door when I go out later—don't blame me for making the choice for you.

He then gave Yi Zhonghai, whose face was swollen, a cold look: "And you, you old bastard, you're jumping around quite happily, aren't you? You're not happy? Go call the police now."

"Hurry up before the police go off duty, or no one will pay attention to you."

He's determined to slap that old man twice today—once he's gone to the far Northwest, the journey is long and arduous, and it'll be hard to find another opportunity like this.

Moreover, he used a clever technique, and within five days, Yi Zhonghai was sure to lose three teeth, not one less.

After saying that, he turned around and pushed open the door, his back view clean and decisive.

Seeing this, no one dared to linger. They all lowered their heads and dispersed, not daring to utter a sound.

Nowadays, Sha Zhu is too ruthless and domineering. He has a strong fist and powerful backing. Anyone who gets involved with him is doomed.

Only Old Wang silently followed.

As he passed the spot where Jia Dongxu had fallen, he casually remarked, "Ill-mannered bastards should be disciplined." With that, he pushed open the door and entered He Yuzhu's house.

Seeing that everyone had left and that no one would pay attention to her wailing, Jia Zhangshi had no choice but to grit her teeth and get up herself. She turned to Qin Huairu and spat, "What are you looking at! Were you pretending to be blind when my son was beaten? Hurry up and help him up!"

An older woman nearby had already helped Yi Zhonghai up, and at his urging, she and Qin Huairu helped Jia Dongxu up. The three of them supported each other and moved towards the Jia family's house, looking back every few steps.

Jia Dongxu clutched his stomach, gasping for breath in pain. He curled up into a ball as soon as he lay down on the bed and weakly said to Yi Zhonghai, "Master...we...can't beat Sha Zhu..."

That kick was too fast and too hard; he didn't even see the person before he was lying on the ground.

Yi Zhonghai's lips twitched, but he forced a smile and comforted him, "It's alright, Dongxu. Your filial piety will be remembered." His voice was low, but with a hint of relief, "It's been worth it to help you all these years."

In his eyes, everything else was secondary; filial piety was the most important thing.

While rubbing her burning cheeks, Jia Zhangshi gritted her teeth and said, "Old Yi, all three of us have been beaten, are we just going to let this go? No way! We're calling the police right now, and that little beast has to go to jail!"

"Call the police? It's useless. It's just a minor injury, not even blood. The police will just try to break up the fight and mediate."

Besides—your dog went and caused trouble in front of someone's door, even peeing on the coal pile… Dongxu, what exactly happened? Why did he suddenly do something like that?”

As Yi Zhonghai finished speaking, Jia Dongxu's face turned pale and then red. After stammering for a while, he whispered, "My mother was cursing Sha Zhu in the house. Bang Geng probably heard it... He wants to avenge his family."

Standing to the side, Jia Zhangshi immediately straightened her back and added with great enthusiasm, "My Banggeng has always had backbone since he was a child, and he knows how to protect his family! When he grows up, he'll make that silly Zhu kneel down and call him 'Dad'!"

"Shut up!" Yi Zhonghai was furious, gritting his teeth. "I told you not to mess with him, and now look what's happened! Several men have been beaten to a pulp, all because of your foul mouth!"

After saying that, he winced in pain—his loose teeth started throbbing again, so he simply closed his eyes and leaned against the wall, too lazy to argue anymore.

Jia Zhangshi fell silent, her cheeks swollen as if they were stuffed with a steamed bun, making it difficult for her to speak clearly.

Normally, she wouldn't have been able to swallow this insult; she would have argued fiercely with Yi Zhonghai.

But now, the pain is so intense that all I want to do is curl up in a corner and lick my wounds.

After a moment, Yi Zhonghai recovered and said in a deep voice, "Quickly clean up that pile of coal briquettes that people urinated on in front of their door."

Otherwise, if Sha Zhu really destroys your family's coal for the winter, your whole family will freeze to death, and you won't even have time to cry."

Madam Jia stiffened her neck, turned her head, and snorted, "Let Qin Huairu go! My face still hurts; even the slightest movement is excruciating!"

The only people who could move around in the courtyard were Qin Huairu and an old woman, but since the Jia family had caused this trouble and Yi Zhonghai had been beaten up, it wouldn't be right to bother the old woman again.

Qin Huairu sighed, silently got up and went out. Following He Yuzhu's instructions, she replaced the dirty coal with a new pile and swept it clean.

Still unwilling to give up, Jia Dongxu asked in a low voice, "Master, about that thing you mentioned before..."

"No rush," Yi Zhonghai waved his hand to interrupt, "It'll be soon, we'll see the result shortly."

He said that, but his heart felt like it was filled with ice.

Especially when he heard the deaf old lady mention the things He Yuzhu had been investigating recently, he felt a chill run down his spine—once those shady dealings hidden in the shadows were exposed, he would become a rat being watched in broad daylight, hated by everyone.

He Family Courtyard

When Old Wang followed He Yuzhu inside, he looked guilty: "Zhuzi, I'll have two boys keep an eye on things for you from now on. I was really careless today... I didn't notice someone causing trouble."

He Yuzhu smiled and waved his hand: "Uncle Wang, this is not your fault."

But we really need your help in the future. Rain and I are rarely home, and we're worried they might take advantage of the situation to cause trouble.

"No big deal!" Old Wang patted his chest. "They were just loitering around the yard, so I had my three kids keep an eye on them. If they gave you the slightest hint of trouble, they'd report it to you immediately!"

He paused for a moment, then cautiously added, "Zhu Zi, how about coming over to my house for Chinese New Year this year? I've stocked up on a lot of meat, slaughtered two chickens, and even have a three-pound fish... I was just thinking of treating you to a nice meal."

He could never find a reason to invite guests in the past, but this year, thanks to He Yuzhu's wood carving, his family had a prosperous New Year—the three children wore new clothes, his wife was beaming, and he could finally stand up straight and say, "I can afford to invite guests."

He Yuzhu shook his head and smiled: "Thank you for your kindness, Uncle Wang, but it won't work this year."

My dad's back. Although he didn't move back to the courtyard house, Yushui and I plan to spend the New Year with him.

"Brother Daqing is back? Oh, that's wonderful! That's wonderful!" Old Wang exclaimed repeatedly, his face beaming with joy.

He Yuzhu turned around, took out a bag of milk candy from the cabinet, and stuffed it into Lao Wang's hand without saying a word: "Take this back for the child to eat, don't refuse."

Old Wang waved his hands repeatedly: "No, no! We only had a good New Year because of you, how could I take your things..."

"It's just a few candies, why are you being so polite with me?" He Yuzhu's tone hardened. "We'll need your kids to look after the backyard from now on, so take them!"

Old Wang couldn't refuse, so he had no choice but to accept it.

Not long after he stepped out the door, his three little ones came bounding over like bees drawn by honey, jumping and skipping to help tidy up the house.

If they can't move heavy objects, they rush to take out the trash, wipe the table, and carry the rice bags, keeping themselves busy.

Before leaving, she sweetly called out, "Brother Zhu, Happy New Year! Do you have any more candy? Could you give me another one?"

He Yuzhu jokingly called them "little smooth talkers" and then grabbed a handful of candy and stuffed it into their pockets.

After thoroughly cleaning up the area around the house, he pulled himself out of the yard through the rain and immediately saw the pile of coal briquettes neatly stacked into a small mountain at the entrance, shiny black and without a trace of dirt.

The two exchanged a smile and then left the courtyard house with peace of mind.

Back at his residence near Zhengyangmen, Yushui immediately recounted the entire day's events to He Daqing.

He Daqing's face grew darker and darker as he listened, his fists clenching so tightly they cracked: "In the years I've been gone, they dared to gang up on my son and daughter? If it weren't for my son's abilities, they would have been trampled into the mud and never made it out!"