Volume 1, Chapter 24: Second Uncle Invites Disaster Upon Himself

"Why hasn't the Second Master, Liu Haizhong, gone to collect the debt yet?"

"Liu Haizhong is truly shameless. He promised yesterday that he would definitely get the money back!"

"Exactly! If he doesn't go, I'll block his doorway so he can't even step out of his house!"

"Let's go, let's all go together. I don't believe he, Liu Haizhong, can afford to cross all of us!"

The crowd was aggressive, dragging their families along, seemingly determined that even if they couldn't get their money back, they would at least make the Second Master's household pay a price.

Qin Huairu suddenly remembered that she had used a bowl of pickled vegetables to masquerade as a bowl of meat in the ledger. But since she had to go and pick someone up, she put that thought aside.

The Third Master, Yan Bugui, seeing this, dressed neatly and sat in the corner of the courtyard, observing the commotion at the Second Master's door through the gaps in his shoes.

The Third Mistress stood by his side, her face showing fear: "Old man, it's lucky you stayed away, otherwise these people would have pestered you too!"

Yan Bugui smiled smugly upon hearing this: "Liu Haizhong doesn't understand anything. As the old saying goes, 'Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated.' Who is this Su Jianshe? He fights like Wu Song and has the wit of Wu Yong; how could he possibly hand over money so easily?"

"If it weren't for the fact that I saw them all bringing out meat from their own homes, I wouldn't have bothered keeping the ledger!"

As he spoke, Yan Bugui’s face was filled with self-satisfaction.

"Only a fool like Liu Haizhong would do such a stupid thing. Look at Yi Zhonghai—he didn't do a thing!"

At that moment, the Liu Haizhong being discussed by Yan Bugui was in a state of extreme anxiety. The crowd at his door was practically breaking it down, and the insults never ceased.

"Liu Haizhong, you said you'd go find Su Jianshe to collect the debt first thing this morning, didn't you?"

"That's right! You talked a big game back then. We didn't just provide meat; we even helped him host his wedding banquet. So, where is the money?"

"Second Master, hurry up and go get the money back. That money is crucial to us—I was counting on it to buy flour!"

"Second Master, if you don't want to go, just give us the money yourself, and we'll go collect it. It's all clearly written in the ledger!"

At the mention of the ledger, Second Master Liu Haizhong’s heart burned with rage, which was immediately followed by a surge of cowardice.

How much of the debt in that ledger was actually real?

Probably less than a third.

Even for Qin Huairu’s bowl of pickled vegetables, he had dared to record it as a bowl of meat. God knows how exaggerated the entries for the other families were.

But he dared not show the slightest bit of weakness, or else these people before him would surely tear him apart.

"Alright, stop arguing! I'm going right now!"

"After all, I am the Second Master of this courtyard, and this wedding banquet was hosted for Su Jianshe's own good!"

Liu Haizhong grabbed the ledger and flipped through it roughly.

His scalp instantly went numb.

At the beginning of the ledger, Third Master Yan Bugui had recorded everything in meticulous detail, with every gift from every family accounted for.

But by the time it reached his own hands, everything had turned into "meat," and as for the other items...

"I suppose I changed them all to meat. Su Jianshe, you absolutely must pay this back!"

Leading the group, Liu Haizhong hurried toward Su Jianshe's house.

Su Jianshe, who had just finished washing up, twitched his ears, faintly hearing the noise from outside.

"Are these people ever going to stop?"

"To pull such a disgusting stunt on my wedding day, and to come here to be a nuisance so early in the morning!"

"Do they really think I, Su Jianshe, have no temper?"

He had nearly resorted to violence yesterday; if not for his younger sister holding him back, he would not have let it go so easily.

As for this bunch of people in the courtyard, he had no intention of showing them any mercy.

Su Jianshe put on his coat and gently closed the door, not wanting them to disturb his new wife.

When the group from the front courtyard saw Su Jianshe standing at the very front, staring at them coldly, many of them couldn't help but shudder.

Liu Haizhong, walking at the front, felt a gaze as sharp as a knife and felt a moment of hesitation, but he quickly regained his composure.

"What is there to fear? I hosted this wedding banquet for Su Jianshe's benefit, and I am the Second Master of this courtyard. What can he do to me?"

With this thought, Liu Haizhong’s stride became more steady.

"Su Jianshe, this is the ledger from yesterday. Take a look. If you have no objections, please pay up according to this."

"We aren't greedy people. You can just pay whatever you feel like for the meat; we'll consider it our wedding gift to you."

Someone in the crowd wanted to speak but was gently pulled back by another.

"What are you afraid of? The ledger is fake anyway. We know how much meat we actually gave. Even if Su Jianshe pays less, we're still coming out ahead."

But they were completely unaware that Su Jianshe had never intended to reimburse them for any of it.

"Are you finished?" Su Jianshe’s tone was indifferent.

His eyes were cold, as if he were looking at stray dogs, viewing them as nothing more than beasts.

"I have never seen such shameless people!"

"You claim to have helped me host a banquet, but where are the people? My wife and I hadn't even returned, yet you had already eaten and drunk everything, leaving nothing for us."

"Furthermore, did I ever ask you to host this banquet for me?"

"Don't even mention reimbursement. Let's talk about you insulting my wife yesterday: either you apologize to us, or we'll see you at the police station!"

At this moment, Xu Damao was still hiding in the crowd.

He had some eggs at home, but he had bribed Second Master Liu Haizhong with one egg to change his record to five pounds of meat.

Xu Damao was solely focused on taking advantage of the situation.

However, every time he tried to speak, he felt his teeth shaking precariously.

Xu Damao had suspected that Su Jianshe had done something to him, but with no palm print or injury on his face, how could only his teeth be damaged?

Besides, he had been the one to start this; if things really blew up, it wouldn't be to his benefit.

As for the wine money, he wasn't the one paying it anyway!

"You!"

Second Master Liu Haizhong’s face turned livid with anger.

He had brought people to confront Su Jianshe, hoping to pressure him with moral superiority.

But Su Jianshe wasn't swayed by soft or hard tactics and was even threatening to call the police.

The crowd began to whisper among themselves.

"Second Master, forget it. Just give us the money yourself; don't involve the police!"

Someone spoke up.

The bullies in the courtyard immediately turned their spears toward Liu Haizhong.

"That's right, Second Master. You started this, telling us to do this and that, which is why things ended up like this."

"You should be the one to pay!"

"Yes, yes! Our meat couldn't have been eaten for free. It’s all written in the ledger; that was our family's entire life savings!"

Seeing them begin to turn on each other, Su Jianshe was in no rush to leave; instead, he watched with great interest.

"You... you people..."

Second Master Liu Haizhong’s head throbbed with anger.

He pointed a trembling finger at the residents of the courtyard who were blaming him.

Usually, they called him "Second Master" so affectionately, yet now they were turning around to bite him.

Was this even reasonable?

"Second Master, do you mean to go back on your word? You were the one who asked us to keep this ledger. If you back out, we'll have no choice but to go to the police."

"That's right, Second Master. It's recorded in the ledger; just pay us back. We aren't asking for much, just compensate us for the meat at market price."

"Exactly. It's hard to buy meat these days. We aren't greedy, just compensate us at market price."

Second Master Liu Haizhong was so angry his face distorted, as if his head had been hit with a heavy hammer.

Before coming, he had carefully flipped through the ledger and had a rough idea of the total.

"Five hundred! At least five hundred yuan! These people are being too excessive with their fake entries!"

He even cursed them for being shameless, only wanting to take advantage of Su Jianshe.

Little did he know that, frightened by Su Jianshe, these people had turned their hostility toward him.

"I am the Second Master of this courtyard! What do you want? Everyone knows what they contributed; are you trying to threaten me with this?"

"Besides, everyone ate and drank their fill. The meat went into your stomachs, so let's just let it go!"

Once Liu Haizhong said this, the crowd couldn't sit still.

They didn't care who paid or who ended up losing out.

They had only one goal—the money!

"Who do you think you are, calling yourself Second Master? Let me tell you, if you don't return our money today, we'll report you to the neighborhood committee and make sure you lose your position as Second Master!"

"That's right! You claim to be the Second Master, so pay up! You were the one who proposed the wedding banquet for Su Jianshe."

"If you hadn't said anything, would we have done it?"

"The fault is yours regardless. If you don't pay today, you'll see what happens!"

Liu Haizhong felt his blood pressure rising and began to curse at the people in front of him.

"What do you brats want? Are you rebelling?"

"I'm telling you, as long as I'm the Second Master of this courtyard for one day, I'm the Second Master for life! I have no money, but I have a life—if you have the guts, come and take it!"

Seeing Liu Haizhong acting like a stubborn mule, those who wanted their money were at a loss.

They certainly didn't dare to cross Su Jianshe.

Not to mention that he would call the police at the drop of a hat, one look at the deep fist mark on the old locust tree was enough to know that even if Shazhu returned, he might not be able to withstand a single punch.

And besides...

Thinking back, Su Jianshe was right.

He indeed never asked them to prepare a wedding banquet.

The point was, although they all had a greedy streak, they wouldn't have done such a thing if Liu Haizhong hadn't led them.

"That won't do! You have to compensate for our losses; you're the leader!"

"That's right! If you hadn't instigated us, we wouldn't have hosted any wedding; we barely have enough meat for ourselves!"

"Second Master, my family gave ten pounds of meat. You know how much money ten pounds of meat costs!"

Hearing the last sentence, Liu Haizhong wanted to scream.

Where were there ten pounds?

Which family could afford to bring that much?

Five pounds at most.

But he was the one who kept the ledger, he was the one who came up with the idea, and he was the leader.

Liu Haizhong remained in his stubborn state, standing coldly in the corner of the front courtyard, looking at the aggressive crowd.

"I'll repeat myself: I have no money, but I have a life. If you have the guts, take it!"

Once this was said, the crowd became even more anxious but remained helpless.

Did they really want his life?

"Second Master, this isn't over. Just wait—you'll regret not paying us back!"

"If you don't pay today, I'll block your door tomorrow and go make a scene at the factory!"

...

The crowd made threats but were at their wits' end.

Seeing the crowd disperse, Liu Haizhong slowly walked out of the corner, looking exceptionally aged.

Su Jianshe watched the farce from the sidelines, let out a cold laugh, and strolled home to prepare a loving breakfast for his wife, Xiaoyan.

"Where would you like to go after breakfast?"

As Su Jianshe was pondering, a dog's bark suddenly echoed through the courtyard—it sounded like his own dog.

The barking was urgent, as if it had discovered something unusual or was in a confrontation.

Normally, such a clever dog would bark little and know how to protect itself, otherwise, it wouldn't have survived.

Su Jianshe finished his meal and went out to investigate. Before he reached the door, he saw several people approaching.

Bang Geng was clutching his hand, and Grandma Jia was walking in front, cursing and swearing, with Qin Huairu following close behind, her expression complex.

"Qin Huairu, you useless thing, why are you lagging behind?"

Grandma Jia’s face was deathly pale, and she scolded Qin Huairu as she walked.

"You shrew! Bang Geng and I were suffering in jail, and you didn't visit us even once!"

"If I hadn't been tough, I would have been cursed to death by you!"

Grandma Jia cursed as she walked, completely unaware that Bang Geng, ahead of her, was clutching his fingers with eyes full of hatred.

"Su Jianshe, just you wait! I will definitely have my revenge! And you, you old immortal hag, you just wait and see!"

The person Bang Geng hated most was Su Jianshe, followed by this old woman who had instigated him.

Although Bang Geng was young, he wasn't stupid. He knew that his current wretched state, while partly due to Su Jianshe, was mostly because of this old woman's constant goading.

"Old hag, you just wait. Before long, I'll make sure you pay!"

Thinking about how he had become a cripple and ended up at the police station, Bang Geng’s heart burned with rage.

"Qin Huairu, you shrew! Didn't you see my precious grandson trying to enter? Open the door already!"

Hearing the old woman still insulting his mother, Bang Geng clenched his fists.

Then, he relaxed his grip.

The man on the bed was watching him.

"Dad!" Bang Geng called out, a flicker of resentment in his eyes, which vanished in an instant.

"Just lie there, you old immortal thing!"

Grandma Jia, sitting at the table, returned to her usual state and began ordering Qin Huairu:

"Go get some money and buy some meat. I need to help my precious grandson recover..."

Su Jianshe stroked his dog, already having a rough idea of what was happening.

"It must have been Bang Geng and Grandma Jia disturbing the dog when they returned. These two have always been repulsive."

After calming the dog down, the sky began to brighten.

The people in the courtyard went out to work, and the place became lively.

Su Jianshe didn't pay much attention to the return of Bang Geng and Grandma Jia.

"The plan should be implemented. I want to see if this 'Necromancer of the Courtyard' dares to shout her husband's name again! And that brat—if he dares to reach out toward our house again, I will show no mercy!"

After a moment of affection with the dog, Su Jianshe strolled toward his home, where his wife was waiting for him to make breakfast.

Before he reached the door, a fragrant scent wafted toward him.

The figure busy in the kitchen was his beloved wife.

Su Jianshe felt a warmth in his heart.