Volume 1, Chapter 28: Pfft, Pfft, Pfft, Snap, Snap, Snap

"I have understood this matter. The '100' incident truly needs to be resolved as soon as possible, so let us hold a courtyard-wide meeting."

"Let us discuss and resolve this together."

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone could not help but look at one another.

The memory was still fresh in their minds; in all previous courtyard meetings, the police from the station would always show up uninvited.

"Will the Second Master call the police again this time?"

"I'm not sure, but it seems there might be good news this time!"

Mentioning the promise made that day by the Second Master, Liu Haizhong, stirred ripples in everyone's hearts once again.

"Don't be afraid, the expenses for the wedding banquet will be covered by Su Jianshe..."

"I am the Second Master of our courtyard, what are you afraid of..."

Everyone had different thoughts, and they whispered to each other on their way back.

"If Jia Zhang can really get the money, we can go and ask for it too!"

"That's right, why does the Second Master give money to others but not to us? Isn't this bullying?"

"Let's join forces and demand money from the Second Master; let's see if he dares not pay!"

"If that doesn't work, we'll go find Su Jianshe. After all, it was their wedding banquet!"

...

Regarding the Jia family's actions, Chu Yan was puzzled and asked Su Jianshe.

"Brother Jianshe, the Jia family is so poor, where did they get the money to buy meat?"

Su Jianshe waved his hand, picked up a stool, and cleared up Chu Yan's confusion.

"That meat might not be real meat."

"Think about it, which families in our courtyard can afford meat? Let alone the Jia family."

"Therefore, Qin Huairu didn't give the Second Master any meat at all."

Chu Yan was still puzzled:

"Then why did Liu Haizhong record a bowl of meat for Qin Huairu in the ledger?"

Su Jianshe patted Chu Yan's head dotingly and explained:

"They originally wanted us to reimburse the wedding banquet expenses, calling it 'for our own good,' but in reality, they just wanted a free meal!"

Chu Yan suddenly realized, her face showing disgust.

Deeply agreeing with her brother's statement that there wasn't a single good person in the courtyard, she said indignantly:

"That's just too much! Expecting us to cover the costs—what a huge sum of money that would be! He really is a 'senior' indeed!"

"Forget it, forget it, don't be angry. Let's keep watching the show and see how this group of people turns on each other."

The Third Master, Yan Bugui, sat comfortably in the courtyard, sighing, "Life is truly pleasant!"

The Third Mistress, while tidying clothes, asked her husband: "As the Third Master of the courtyard, the Second Master Liu Haizhong's household is practically in an uproar, aren't you going to take a look?"

Upon hearing this, Yan Bugui looked displeased and quickly defended himself: "That is your woman's perspective; you simply don't see the situation clearly! Initially, Liu Haizhong asked me to manage the wedding banquet ledger, but I left. If I go now, they will surely drag me into it!"

"I heard that there is a record of over four hundred jin of pork in that ledger! Good heavens, four hundred jin of pork—their whole family couldn't finish that in a lifetime!"

Hearing this, the Third Mistress was equally shocked: "Where did so much pork come from? Could it be a mistake? I remember very clearly that the meat stir-fried that day didn't add up to thirty jin for the whole courtyard."

Yan Bugui retorted dismissively: "It must be wrong, but the fault isn't mine; it's Liu Haizhong's. He only knows how to take benefits. This is called embezzlement, lining his own pockets, and bribery! In the past, this would have been a capital offense!"

"Even now, it's against the law!"

Speaking of this, a look of smugness appeared on Yan Bugui's face as he said confidently: "Su Jianshe did the right thing. If he had actually paid the money, who knows how those people in the courtyard would have treated him."

"You don't need to rush; I will go when the courtyard-wide meeting starts. Going too early is not a good thing."

The Third Mistress was convinced and nodded in agreement: "Alright, you go later, just make sure not to go too early!"

"Over five hundred jin of pork... if that gets associated with our family, this home is finished."

Liu Haizhong sat in the courtyard, looking somewhat dejected.

"Over five hundred jin..."

Liu Haizhong was clear about it in his heart.

If he pays that shrew Jia Zhang this time, the others will surely tear him apart.

But as the Second Master of the courtyard, if he doesn't pay, his position as Second Master will likely be lost.

"No! I absolutely cannot give this money. Why should I pay? I did this for Su Jianshe's sake; he should be the one to pay!"

Liu Haizhong secretly made up his mind to make Su Jianshe pick up the tab.

He cursed inwardly: "This matter must never be linked to me. Su Jianshe, just you wait; it's all because of you, you damned guy!"

On the other side, Chu Yan led Su Jianshe to a corner.

"Brother Jianshe, let's sit here."

"Alright, I'll listen to you."

As soon as the two sat down, they saw Yi Zhonghai bring the Deaf Old Lady to sit nearby.

The Deaf Old Lady's eyes were like torches, staring fixedly at Su Jianshe, as if she wanted to devour him alive.

"Hmph, perhaps one day those old eyes of yours will go blind."

Su Jianshe sneered, seeing from the old woman's gaze that she had already formed an irreconcilable grudge against him.

And Su Jianshe had no intention of letting her off either!

Writing that letter of understanding back then wasn't entirely for the money.

People in the courtyard gathered, and seeing that Liu Haizhong had not yet appeared, they began to murmur.

"Why hasn't the Second Master come out yet? Could it be he wants to back out?"

"We gave him the meat in good faith, how could he dare to back out?"

"Let's go to the Second Master together and ask for the money; if he doesn't pay, he shouldn't be the Second Master anymore!"

"That's right, our courtyard used to be a 'Red Flag' unit, how can we let someone who breaks his word be the Second Master?"

Soon, the Jia family also appeared before everyone.

Qin Huairu helped the paralyzed Jia Dongxu to a corner and sat down gently, completely ignoring the arrogant Jia Zhang beside her.

"Dongxu, don't be too soft-hearted. Look, the Second Master's family owes our family meat, and he just won't pay it back!"

"That Second Master is truly shameless. He owes meat and won't return it. Who in the courtyard doesn't know our family is struggling?" Jia Zhang turned to scold Qin Huairu: "Qin Huairu, I'm telling you, from now on you are not allowed to lend meat to anyone. If you dare to lend it again, see if I don't skin you alive!"

The people in the courtyard were secretly shocked. Although Qin Huairu was often demanding, she had done her best for the Jia family. This time, after going to such lengths to redeem her mother-in-law from the police station, she was met with beatings and scolding. Everyone shook their heads and sighed, not knowing whether to feel indignant for Qin Huairu or to have other thoughts.

Soon, everyone's attention was drawn to the Second Master in front. The Second Master's back was hunched, and he was clutching the ledger under his arm, hurrying back to his original position. Shortly after, the Third Master, Yan Bugui, appeared slowly, and everyone paid him little attention. By custom, the Third Master would always conclude with some sour remarks after the courtyard meeting; this time was likely no exception.

"Everyone is here, let the courtyard-wide meeting begin!" As soon as the First Master, Yi Zhonghai, finished speaking, Jia Zhang stood up abruptly.

"Liu Haizhong, return our family's meat quickly!"

"Yi Zhonghai, you must uphold justice for us! Our family is dirt poor, yet we used our meat to subsidize the wedding banquet, and now Liu Haizhong refuses to acknowledge the debt! Where is the justice? Where is the law!"

Jia Zhang waved her crippled arms, deliberately highlighting her misfortune.

At this time, Jia Dongxu, sitting on his "throne," also began to yell loudly.

"Master, you must uphold justice for our family. I'm already in a wheelchair, and the Second Master of the courtyard is still bullying us!"

Yi Zhonghai felt a massive headache upon hearing this.

As Jia Dongxu's master, he should have stood up for him.

But over the years, the subsidies he had given to the Jia family were too numerous to count.

And now, Jia Dongxu's actions were clearly meant to embarrass him.

"Old Liu, you are the Second Master of our courtyard, what do you have to say?"

After pondering for a moment, Yi Zhonghai threw the question to Liu Haizhong.

Liu Haizhong looked around at everyone with a blank expression.

"This matter cannot be blamed on me. Hosting the wedding banquet was to help Su Jianshe integrate better into our courtyard."

"We did it for his own good. Now that he refuses to pay, it has nothing to do with me; I was just keeping the ledger."

...

"That's right, we were helping Su Jianshe back then, why should we have to pay now?"

"Whoever brings this up again, I'm not finished with them. We are victims too!"

"One must be reasonable in words and actions; how can you slander us without evidence?"

After Liu Haizhong finished speaking, the three Liu brothers sitting in the crowd quickly stood up to support their father.

The eldest, Liu Guangfu, shouted the loudest; he knew very well how important this four hundred jin of pork was to their family.

Once they agreed to compensate, the family would be ruined.

But how would Jia Zhang dare to provoke Su Jianshe?

She stood up and yelled loudly:

"I don't care! The Second Master said he would be responsible, you must give me this money."

"Don't bully a widow and an orphan like us. Believe it or not, I'll go to the police station and make sure you can't be the Second Master anymore!"

Jia Zhang's words caused the faces of the Liu Haizhong family to change drastically.

As everyone was arguing, the Deaf Old Lady, who was sitting in the corner, suddenly stood up.

She raised her cane tremblingly, pointed at Su Jianshe not far away, and scolded: "Su Jianshe, you little beast, pay the money back!"

"It's all your fault that our courtyard has become like this."

Before she finished speaking, she lunged at Su Jianshe, her old face twisted.

"Get lost!" Su Jianshe frowned and shouted coldly.

The Deaf Old Lady ignored everything, hatred flashing in her eyes, and bit down hard on Su Jianshe's arm.

"Brother Jianshe!" Chu Yan, standing nearby, was stunned with fear and instinctively wanted to push the old lady away.

Su Jianshe, fearing Chu Yan would be hurt, turned sideways to block her. Before Chu Yan could react, he had already kicked the old lady in the stomach.

"Bang! Bang!" The old lady flew out three or four meters and fell heavily onto the open ground.

She groaned in pain, feeling her stomach churning and the pain unbearable.

"Ouch... Su Jianshe, you're crazy! You're crazy!"

The Deaf Old Lady began to wail loudly like a shrew.

"Yi Zhonghai, Liu Haizhong, Yan Bugui, are you still not going to do something! Su Jianshe is crazy, he's crazy!"

As the elder of the courtyard, she shouted loudly.

The old lady's words carried significant weight in terms of safety.

Everyone instantly forgot about the Second Master's business and stood up one after another, rushing towards the direction where the old lady had fallen.

Chu Yan also became nervous, clutching Su Jianshe's arm tightly, and asked worriedly: "Brother Jianshe, you didn't hurt the old lady, did you? Let's go apologize quickly, maybe they won't pursue it."

A calm smile hung on Su Jianshe's face as he said: "Don't be afraid, I used a clever kick, she won't be injured, but I can't guarantee anything else."

A mysterious smile hung on the corner of his mouth.

Chu Yan was stunned for a moment, then nodded: "Brother Jianshe shouldn't have struck too hard. After all, the old lady can still shout, which means she is physically fine."

Just as Chu Yan was pondering, Yi Zhonghai and the others hurriedly helped the Deaf Old Lady up.

"Old Ancestor, are you okay? Tell me where you feel uncomfortable, and I'll take you to the hospital immediately!"

However, just as Yi Zhonghai helped the old lady aside, intending to let her sit down and talk, something happened.

The old lady's complexion changed suddenly, from anger to turning purple with straining.

"Yi Zhonghai, hurry! Hurry!"

Yi Zhonghai, Second Master Liu Haizhong, Third Master Yan Bugui, and Xu Damao, who had gathered around, had solemn faces as they quickly huddled closer.

"Old Lady, where are you uncomfortable? Speak up!"

"That's right, tell us quickly, we'll take you to the hospital. With many people, there is strength; we can even carry you there."

"Old Lady, if he really hurt you, we will never let him off!"

The old lady's face was already somewhat pale blue, and she waved the cane in her hand, trying desperately to drive everyone away.

"Go away, don't worry about me... don't surround me!"

Then, she used her last bit of strength to shout at Yi Zhonghai: "Yi Zhonghai, take me away quickly..."

As the last word emerged,

In an instant, a sharp and loud sound erupted.

That sound... it was as if something was being poured out somewhere unrestrainedly...

Or as if someone had taken croton beans and drank cold water, then unluckily caught a chill.

*Pfft, pfft, pfft, pop, pop, pop...*

Yi Zhonghai, who had just arrived at the old lady's side upon hearing the noise and was about to help her to the hospital, froze instantly.

He looked in astonishment at the old lady in front of him, who now had an unusual expression on her face.

"Old Lady, you..."

Before he could finish,

Another violent sound of discharge interrupted Yi Zhonghai.

*Pfft, pfft, pfft, pop, pop, pop...*

At this moment,

Liu Haizhong, Third Master Yan Bugui, and Xu Damao, who had just run over and were originally doubting if they had heard correctly, had their faces turn ugly instantly.

As a foul stench filled the air, everyone finally understood what was happening before them.

"Did Su Jianshe scare the old lady into losing her bowels?"

Xu Damao blurted out this sentence inexplicably.

The crowd that had originally gathered intended to check if the old lady was injured.

But they had been quite far away, and although they heard the sound earlier, they had just dismissed it as an illusion.

But Xu Damao's words spread clearly.

"Su Jianshe... what's going on, what's the matter?"

"No way? The old lady looks fine right now, how could it... who would defecate in the street!"

"What are you all talking about? Why does it smell so bad?"