Courtyard House: Starting with a 28-inch motorcycle

Actually, he had been keeping a small pond of live fish for a while, the big ones could flick their tails and splash water, and the small ones would burrow into the roots of the grass in groups—he was just too lazy to take care of them.

The older woman was indeed tempted. Hearing the older man say that "children who eat fish have good memories and sharp eyesight," she immediately chimed in, "Is it really that amazing? Then you have to give me a discount!"

She actually took the nonsense that the third uncle made up on the spot seriously.

After haggling back and forth for a while, the two finally settled on a deal for four catties of fish for two yuan and forty cents. The old man, pocketing the money, hummed a little tune as he walked back.

Passing by Uncle Erda's house, I saw him swinging a rattan cane at Liu Guangfu, the cracking sound sharp and piercing. Uncle San chuckled to himself: This rough man teaches the child only because of his thick arms and heavy stick.

He leaned against the doorframe and slowly called out, "Second Brother, take it easy—if you beat someone after you've eaten your fill, your strength will dissipate quickly, and you'll be starving later!"

Upon hearing this, Second Uncle Liu Haizhong was so angry that his veins throbbed, and he tightened his grip even more.

The third uncle loved watching this play and always added fuel to the fire.

Unexpectedly, the stick swept off course and struck Liu Guangfu squarely on the forehead with a dull thud, and beads of blood immediately welled up.

Liu Guangtian huddled against the wall, trembling, his crotch half-soaked—if his younger brother really died, he would be the only one left to be beaten. He lay sprawled on the ground, too afraid to move, not even daring to lift his eyelids, terrified that his father's stick would fall on his head at any moment.

Second Uncle roared, "Playing dead? I think you deserve a beating!" and slapped him three more times on the head.

Suddenly, the third uncle shouted at the top of his lungs, "Someone's dead—the second uncle has smashed the kid's brains! Everyone come quick and stop him! Our civilized compound can't tolerate this kind of thug!"

Liu Haizhong froze on the spot, as if he had been struck by a pressure point.

The second aunt, without even taking off her apron, stumbled over and rushed over to check the child's breathing.

In less than a minute, everyone in the alley rushed to Uncle Er's door, chattering away.

He Yuzhu strolled in, a toothpick dangling from his mouth, and casually stood in the crowd.

Banggeng squatted in the corner, trembling like a leaf—Liu Guangfu had almost been beaten to death for stealing half a meat bun. He secretly rejoiced: luckily, he had reformed early and never again stole a single grain of rice from others.

When the old man rushed into the yard carrying Jiye, his face was ashen: "Liu Haizhong! What are you standing there for? Take him to the hospital! If this really happens, don't think you'll be the father, you'll be the great-grandfather and get shot!"

The old man and his wife picked up their child and ran away, losing one of their shoes in the process.

The third uncle stood on the steps, spitting as he berated the second uncle. He Yuzhu only listened for a couple of sentences before turning and leaving.

—Was she really unconscious? The blood on her forehead hadn't even covered her eyebrows yet, her face was rosy, and her breathing was very even. She was clearly in a lot of pain and had closed her eyes to pretend to be dead.

If things really get really bad, and a person collapses, their lips immediately turn blue, and their chest rises and falls so weakly that it's barely noticeable. That's when it's too late to save them.

Someone was giving advice behind this, specifically targeting the elderly men in the courtyard. He Yuzhu pondered that the Third Uncle used to know how to break up fights and mediate, but now he'd learned to fan the flames.

It seems a master has arrived, but we can't quite figure out who it is. Today's farce, seemingly accidental, is actually like a fuse—underneath the scenes, undercurrents have been surging.

I should talk to the old lady. She's seen a lot in life, so maybe she can glean some clues from her.

He Yuzhu carried the freshly cooked dish to the backyard.

"Grandma, I'm here!"

"Oh my, my dear grandson is here!" The old lady came out to greet him, leaning on her cane, her eyes crinkling with laughter.

……

He recounted everything that had happened during the day, asking the old lady to help him decide who was the most suspicious.

The old lady squinted and asked, "In our courtyard, who has enough money to regularly send gifts to Old Man Yan? And who's the newest person to move in?"

He Yuzhu pondered for a moment: Xu Damao had a high salary, no children to burden him, and the commune brought him a lot of local products, but his strategy wasn't shrewd enough...

"You mean, Xu Damao's wife?"

"It's pretty much a done deal." The old lady tapped her cane. "Xu Damao has been cunning since he was a child, but he lacks experience. This matter was rushed too much; there will definitely be more to come. Yan Laoxi? He doesn't have that kind of brain—he'll probably flatter one of them first, then turn his guns on him. Let's wait and see; the other side hasn't really shown their true colors yet. Grandson, you also need to be careful; before the wind has even blown, the yard is already in chaos."

He Yuzhu nodded, knowing what was going on: Want to mess with him? We'll see if he's willing to hand over the knife.

Those old tricks are no longer effective. Now, I spar with space robots every night, and three or five strong men can't even get close to them.

The old lady added, "If we really have to make an example of the Third Uncle, tonight is the best time."

The village meeting is scheduled for tonight. Second Uncle's trouble during the day is enough to warrant a public reprimand. With everyone here, isn't it the most logical thing to take his blame?

Sure enough, right after dinner, the third uncle started running around the yard, knocking on doors and calling people to a meeting.

The weather was already quite chilly, but no one dared to be absent—this was a rule, and more importantly, an attitude.

Two of the seats that the three old men usually sit in were already taken.

Liu Haizhong rushed over and was about to sit down on the stool.

The third uncle raised his hand: "Liu Haizhong, don't sit down yet. Your methods of beating children don't deserve the title of 'Second Uncle.' From now on, you don't need to get involved in the patrol—if you really beat a child to death, our whole alley will be disgraced!"

Uncle Erda stood there with his mouth agape, so quiet you could hear a pin drop. No one spoke a word in his defense.

These days, if someone has a convict in charge of a labor camp in their yard, that's considered incredibly unlucky. If the person in charge is in jail, how can anyone else remain innocent?

The third uncle looked around and said in a clear voice, "The purpose of today's meeting is to formally inform everyone: Liu Haizhong is unfit for his position, and effective immediately, he is being removed from his post as the second uncle!"

The old man nodded in agreement. In this day and age, Liu Haizhong truly didn't deserve to remain in that position. But was things really that bad? He felt a fog over his mind, unable to pinpoint which thread had been pulled wrong.

After all, Uncle San had long ago branded Liu Haizhong with the shame of "beating someone to death," yet the man was clearly still alive and kicking in the courtyard—no one had actually seen blood or witnessed a murder. Everyone just felt a lump in their throat, but didn't know where to vent it. Beating a child? Which family hasn't been heavy-handed at times? But out of the twenty-odd households in the courtyard, Liu Haizhong was the most ruthless and merciless, leaving no room for anyone to even catch their breath.

The old man slammed his fist on the table: "Now, in front of everyone, write your self-criticism! Promise you'll never do it again!"

Uncle Erda still looked bewildered, as if he had just woken up from a dream and couldn't understand how he had suddenly become the target of everyone's criticism.

He hung his head, his voice trembling: "I, Liu Haizhong, admit my mistake, I completely admit my mistake! I will never dare to lay a hand on anyone again, let alone implicate my neighbors... I'm so sorry everyone, I truly repent. Please keep an eye on me and expose my shortcomings anytime!"

Before he finished speaking, he had already silently moved to the center of the crowd, his back hunched over as if all the tendons had been removed.

An old man waved his hand: "Alright, you've done your self-criticism, everyone can go home. You have to go to work tomorrow, don't ruin your health."

Just as everyone breathed a sigh of relief and prepared to turn and leave, a clear yet cold voice shattered the silence of the courtyard—

Hong Jingqiu, Xu Damao's wife, stepped out of the crowd: "Second Uncle's matter is settled, but what about Third Uncle? He's stirring up trouble, spreading rumors, gossiping, and making a mess of things, turning this perfectly good courtyard into a chaotic mess—can someone like that continue to be in charge?"

Her gaze was like a knife, piercing Yan Bugui: "Liu Haizhong may have lost his temper today, but 'killed someone'? Who was killed? Who saw it? Who heard it? Letting someone like this, who talks nonsense, run the courtyard is nothing short of a disgrace to all of us!"

The courtyard erupted in an uproar. Someone chimed in, "That's right! This morning he was blocking my door, saying that because of Liu Haizhong's commotion, the whole courtyard would be dragged into this mess!"

"They even said my son couldn't get into technical school because of Liu Haizhong's bad luck!"

"Even when my clothesline broke, he said it was because of my second uncle's bad luck!"

Yan Bugui stood up abruptly, his fingers trembling as he pointed at Hong Jingqiu. He struggled to speak for a long time, managing only to utter a few "you...you...you..." words, unable to form a complete sentence.

He certainly did those things—but it was all planned in private with Hong Jingqiu! Now that she's gone back on her word, who will believe him? Who will listen to him?

A chorus of cheers erupted in the courtyard: "Thank goodness Hong Jingqiu stepped forward!" "I almost fell for his fake compassion!"

"Yan Bugui! Get down here! Confess in front of everyone! Stop pretending and lying around!"

"Get down here! If you don't reflect on your actions, I'll tear off that hypocritical mask!"

The more they thought about it, the angrier they became: No wonder he was always so stingy and greedy; his roots were rotten to the core—his family values ​​were crooked, and his character was skewed; he was bound to fall sooner or later.

Once a person collapses, even a cough can be interpreted as a guilty conscience causing them to vomit blood.

Just then, someone else stepped forward, their voice booming: "Remember that time with Bang Geng? Sha Zhu and the old man rushed in to break up the fight, and he just stood there grinning, hands in his pockets! Does someone like that deserve to be in charge? Does he deserve to be an elder? He should just bow his head and admit his guilt, and stop stirring up trouble in the yard!"

Qin Huairu's face darkened further, and she sighed inwardly: Can we please stop bringing up old grievances in meetings?

She secretly rejoiced that Jia Zhangshi hadn't gotten involved—Yan Bugui had just sent a pound of cornmeal to persuade her, only to be kicked out by Jia Zhangshi the very next day. The resounding slap she'd received last time still made her ears ring. Besides, the rice jar and grain sack were never empty, though no one knew it.

On her way home from get off work, Jia Zhangshi leaned closer and whispered a few words, to which Qin Huairu replied indifferently, "Same as always. You won't starve, two yuan a month, treated as a legitimate employee. But if you dare to say another word, I'll make you kneel down and return that slap."

Since connecting with Yu Wenyan, he has only been a source of income to fill gaps in her finances; the only people she truly relies on are her three children.

She had long since stopped showing any mercy to Jia Zhangshi, only adhering to the rules: she would fill your rice bowl to the brim and warm your hand with hers—if you were not honest, she would make you be honest.

……

Yan Bugui's vision went black, and he almost vomited blood on the spot. After all that work, he had dug his own grave and was even laughing as he jumped in.