Courtyard House: Starting with a 28-inch motorcycle

She and the MCA families are now related. Ever since He Yuzhu helped her find a way out, she knows in her heart that he is cold on the outside but warm on the inside, and very tough.

Ma Hua bowed his head and replied, "Yes, I understand, Sister Liu Lan."

—My master just told me that not a single word of this should be leaked.

……

Xu Damao hummed a little tune as he strolled toward the Red Star Cinema, feeling quite pleased with himself: Wang Sanzi and his gang were really good friends; they managed to subdue Sha Zhu for just five yuan. It was worth it!

Meanwhile, Wang Sanzi, Liu Laoer, and Zhang Wu had just finished getting their wounds bandaged at the hospital and were furious—Xu Damao had only said he was "teaching someone a lesson" when he came, without mentioning that the other person was a martial arts expert! The medical expenses plus lost wages had already exceeded five yuan!

The three men, their bodies wrapped in bandages, stormed to the entrance of the cinema and waited there. Same old place, same old rules—they were just waiting for Xu Damao to show up and settle accounts.

Xu Damao carried two bottles of baijiu, planning to have a couple of drinks that night, and then figure out how to completely deflate Sha Zhu—he wouldn't be able to sleep soundly until he got his revenge.

Seeing Wang Sanzi, Liu Lao Er, and Zhang Wu in such a disheveled state, Xu Damao's heart tightened, and he almost bit his tongue off—who on earth had managed to take them down? But then he thought of He Yuzhu's cunning and stubborn nature, and looking at the three men in front of him with bruised faces, crooked collars, and mud stains on their trouser legs, he figured they must have suffered some losses outside. He simply didn't believe that He Yuzhu could take down three strong men by himself.

Upon seeing Xu Damao, Wang Sanzi rushed forward, hooked his arm around Xu's neck, and tightened his grip: "Come on, let's have a good chat, brothers!"

Xu Damao was dragged and pulled into Wang Sanzi's house, and Liu Lao Er slammed the door shut with a "click".

Wang Sanzi sat down on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), lifting his eyelids: "Xu Damao, you've got some nerve, haven't you? You're having a good time making fun of the three of us?"

Xu Damao felt a chill run down his spine and his legs trembled—these people were not to be trifled with; they could easily smash someone's head with a brick.

"Third Brother, I really can't accept such words! How could I dare to gossip about the three of you?"

"Then tell me," Wang Sanzi sneered, tapping his fingers heavily on the table twice, "that guy called Sha Zhu, with such powerful punches and kicks, how come you didn't divulge a single truth?"

The three men were embarrassed and unwilling to admit defeat. They assumed that they had been tricked because they were too arrogant, so they simply pinned the blame on Xu Damao and tried to get some medical expenses out of him—they couldn't possibly pay for the plasters after being beaten up, could they?

Xu Damao hurriedly pulled out two bottles of red sorghum liquor from his pocket, the bottles still warm from his body: "Brother Sanzi, I'm not making this up! When I saw Shazhu in that state today, I thought you guys only had minor scrapes and bruises, so I brought some good liquor to apologize!"

Wang Sanzi shoved the bottle aside, his voice suddenly rising: "Wine? I want an explanation! Open your eyes and look at my forehead, then look at Zhang Wu's eye, swollen like a peach! Fifty yuan, not a penny less, and we'll return the beating to you exactly as it was!"

Xu Damao's face turned pale: "Brother Sanzi... this price is too outrageous, I really can't afford that much!"

But his heart felt like it was being gripped by iron clamps—these guys were really ruthless; if they could get Sha Zhu to get punished, they could make Xu Damao walk out of the alley lying down.

"Fine, I don't need the money," Wang Sanzi said slowly, rolling up his sleeves. "Then I'll 'repair' all the injuries on your body, one by one."

Sweat beaded on Xu Damao's forehead, and he immediately changed his tune: "No problem, no problem! I'll go home and get it right away! I'll pay twenty here first, and the remaining thirty... I'll run as fast as I can, I won't waste a moment!"

Wang Sanzi and his friends didn't stop him, but just stared at his back and sneered – unless Xu Damao hides away from everyone for the rest of his life, he's no pushover whenever they run into him at the alley entrance, the factory gate, or the bathhouse.

Xu Damao rushed home, bowing and wiping away tears as he faced his mother. He rummaged through drawers and cupboards until he managed to scrape together fifty yuan, his palms sweating profusely.

When he returned, he neatly folded the thirty yuan and presented it to Wang Sanzi with both hands: "Brother Sanzi, please accept this! Today I'm treating you all to a meal at a restaurant as an apology to help you calm your nerves!"

Wang Sanzi's expression softened slightly. He picked up his wine glass and took a sip: "Hey, Brother Da Mao, don't blame us for being ruthless—my mother's waiting for medical expenses, and my wife cried all night with the baby. If I can't do this work, how will we survive?"

Xu Damao bowed and scraped, "It's my fault, it's my fault. I've made my brothers suffer. I'll punish myself with three drinks!"

After several rounds of drinks and several dishes, Xu Damao swayed and moved towards the courtyard.

That evening, He Yuzhu had been watching him closely at the gate of the courtyard.

I started staking out as soon as it got dark, secretly peeking through the window cracks for half the night. The room was dark and there wasn't a soul in sight. I knew that bastard must be hiding somewhere drinking.

So I wandered into the old locust grove at the entrance of the alley and spent the whole night curled up in a pile of dead leaves.

That was the only narrow path back to the compound. The cold wind blew into his collar, making him stomp his feet in the cold. He was about to give up and was wondering whether to retreat when a crooked figure finally appeared in the distance.

The moonlight was pale, and the figure was blurry. Only when he got closer could you see clearly that it was Xu Damao's drunken face.

As soon as he turned into the alley, He Yuzhu suddenly jumped out, shoved a sack over his head, and kicked him hard.

Still not satisfied after kicking it, he remembered that there was an open-air outhouse at the end of the alley ahead, so he grabbed a latrine ladle, filled it up, and poured it over his head, causing a terrible stench.

After finishing, he turned around and ran away, taking a shortcut over the low wall, stepping on the wooden planks and leaping into the yard. He slammed the door shut and lay down pretending to be asleep.

He was humming a little tune to himself: "I'll let you drink fine wine, and I'll treat you to 'aged vintage' wine."

At three in the morning, the knocking on the door was deafening.

He Yuzhu asked lazily, "Who is it? In the middle of the night..."

The person outside answered crisply, "Comrade, police officer, please cooperate with the investigation!"

He slipped on his shoes, turned on the light, and opened the door. The old man was standing at the door with two police officers in blue uniforms.

The older man took off his hat and said in a calm tone, "Comrade, we received a report. Could you please tell me where the person was between 10 PM last night and 1 AM this morning?"

"I haven't moved since I got home from get off work," He Yuzhu said, shrugging. "My third uncle can testify—his house is right next to the gate, and he knows best when the gate is locked."

The third uncle immediately chimed in, "That's right! I watched Sha Zhu walk in with my own eyes, and he didn't even step over the threshold once until I locked the door!"

The police officer nodded: "Okay, sorry to bother you."

He Yuzhu smiled and saw them out, saying, "Thank you all for making the trip in this cold weather!"

"Serving the people is not hard work."

Before the words were even finished, the three of them had already turned and walked towards Xu Damao's house.

The old man was completely bewildered—it was the police who had knocked on his door, saying there was an emergency, and he had followed them without even putting on his cotton-padded coat properly, and he was completely confused the whole time.

Before leaving, he patted He Yuzhu on the shoulder: "It's too late, silly Zhu, you should rest. We have to get up early to start the fire tomorrow."

He Yushui, who was also awakened inside, peeked out from inside, wrapped in an old cotton-padded coat: "Brother, what's wrong? What do the police want with you?"

"I'm confused too!" He Yuzhu waved his hand. "Go back inside and cover yourself with the blanket. You have school tomorrow."

In fact, as soon as he entered the house yesterday, he had already planned everything – first, he heated up his sister's food, coaxed her to finish eating, then pretended to lie down, waited until the yard was completely quiet, then crouched down and slipped out of the yard wall, circled around Xu Damao's house twice, and only after confirming that no one was there did he climb over the wall and go out into the alley to wait for his prey.

He was afraid of being exposed, but even more afraid of getting into legal trouble—he wasn't afraid of fighting, but he was afraid of losing money.

The reason for not calling the police was that they were certain Xu Damao would never confess, much less reveal who had instructed him.

Meanwhile, the police officers had already visited Xu Damao's parents to inform them that he was still in the hospital and asked them to bring some changes of clothes to take care of him. After saying this, they left in a hurry.

Xu Damao lay in his hospital bed. The police officer had just left, his words still ringing in his ears: "He Yuzhu didn't leave the hospital at all last night." His brow furrowed, and his heart skipped a beat—it was probably Wang Sanzi and his gang who had taken money and were now trying to pin this on him! A surge of anger welled up inside him; he almost yanked the IV tube off: This wasn't just disciplining someone; it was like smearing mud on his face and pouring swill into his mouth! If he endured this any longer, his bones would turn to jelly!

These people have long since fed their conscience to the dogs; I'll avoid them whenever I see them again, not even bothering to make eye contact.

……

Just as dawn was breaking, the loudspeakers blared.

He Yuzhu's head was pounding from the noise—they were banging on his door and cursing in the middle of the night, and now they're starting to talk again as soon as the rooster crows. Do they think he's made of iron? He'll kick these troublemakers out sooner or later, or they'll pack their bags and get out!

He shuffled to the open space in the courtyard, where three old men were already seated in the main seats, their teacups steaming.

An old man cleared his throat: "I've gathered everyone here today for one thing: don't go out alone at night! We've had more than just one or two thieves lately—Uncle San's kid, Xu Damao, He Yuzhu—they've all fallen victim! I've discussed it with the neighboring courtyards, and we're forming our own patrol team! Each able-bodied family will take turns, from 6 PM to 9 PM, keeping watch at the alley entrance and along the courtyard walls. If we see any unfamiliar faces bullying anyone in our courtyard, don't hold back, beat them to a pulp! After that, take them straight to the police station!"

The second uncle immediately chimed in: "I'll add another point—each courtyard will elect a squad leader, and I'll be in charge of this task for our courtyard! From now on, patrol schedules and sentry post assignments will all be under my command."

A slight smile played on his lips, his heart already bursting with joy: with this job in hand, even the old man couldn't get a word in edgewise, and his prestige was finally on full display.

The old man slapped his thigh and chimed in, "They deserve it! They're too arrogant! If we don't do something about it, they'll kick us into a well tomorrow!"

Before the words were finished, a voice suddenly popped up from the corner: "Brother Da Mao, I heard you got doused with manure yesterday? Did you also follow the example of the 'sticky bug' and eat a moldy cornbread?"

The single stone stirred up a thousand ripples. Xu Damao and his two sons, Qin Huairu, and Jia Zhangshi turned ashen-faced, as if struck by lightning. Anyone who dared utter the word "excrement" again would have the table overturned on the spot!

Qin Huairu wasn't supposed to go to work, but upon hearing about the hospital-wide meeting, she insisted on dragging Jia Zhangshi along to make it happen. Old Jia, eager to show her hospitality, immediately knelt down and carried her over, earning thumbs-up from the neighbors. But with old wounds forcibly reopened, who wouldn't feel a turmoil in their heart?