Siheyuan: I just came across and wanted to chase me away

Chapter 994 Xu Damao doesn't give Yi Zhonghai face

These words, like a steel needle quenched in fire, pierced Jia Zhangshi's heart with a "plop," silencing her. She trembled with rage, her fat bulging, pointing her finger at Xu Damao's nose. For a long moment, she couldn't catch her breath, her throat feeling like it was stuffed with cotton. Finally, she managed to choke out a hoarse curse: "You...you heartless bastard! You ingrate! If I'd known you'd moved in, I should have kicked you out, so you wouldn't be making me so angry now!"

She wanted to yell even harder, to throw out her favorite phrase, "giving birth to a child without an anus," but the words stuck in her throat—Xu Damao hadn't even gotten married yet, so such a curse would be toothless and lack power. Her eyes darted around, and she leaned forward, hands on her hips, spitting all over Xu Damao's face: "You inhuman bastard! This isn't over! My ass still hurts, all because of you. You're not going to let this go until you give me ten yuan for medicine!"

Xu Damao dodged to the side, took out a handkerchief to wipe his face, his smile long gone, replaced only by disgust: "Get lost! Not a single penny! Trying to scam me? You're still too green!"

The two were arguing heatedly when footsteps sounded at the courtyard gate—Qin Huairu and Yi Zhonghai had returned. Qin Huairu was carrying a piece of tofu she had just bought. Seeing the scene in the courtyard, she quickly walked over and asked, "Mom, what's wrong? Who are you arguing with?"

Yi Zhonghai followed behind with his hands behind his back, glancing at the situation in the courtyard. He immediately judged Xu Damao in his mind—this kid must have caused trouble. In his view, Xu Damao was unreliable and couldn't even handle a small matter. Without asking about the cause and effect, he looked directly at Xu Damao, his tone carrying the authority of an elder: "Xu Damao, you're a young man, how can you not show some consideration for your elders? Aunt Jia is an old lady in the courtyard, can't you talk things out properly? Why do you have to make such a fuss? What kind of behavior is this?"

Xu Damao was now standing tall and proud—since Deputy Factory Director Gu had accepted his gift, he was now on the same page as Gu Nan, and he no longer cared about Yi Zhonghai, this "eighth-grade fitter." He scoffed, tilting his head, and said, "Oh? How I talk to her is none of your business! Do you even know the whole story? You're just standing here playing the good guy? Uncle Yi, don't always try to intimidate me with your elder's airs. I don't fall for that."

The courtyard fell silent the moment those words were spoken. Yi Zhonghai's face darkened instantly. He hadn't expected Xu Damao to dare contradict him in public, especially in front of Qin Huairu. He had completely lost face. Jia Zhangshi, however, seemed to have gained the upper hand and immediately chimed in, "Did you hear that, Master Yi? This kid has no manners! He even dares to talk back to you; that shows how arrogant he is!"

Caught in the middle, Qin Huairu was in a dilemma. She could only tug at Jia Zhangshi's arm and say, "Mom, say less and go home first. We can talk inside." But Jia Zhangshi was holding back her anger and had nowhere to vent it. She wouldn't listen to her advice and instead made a bigger scene.

Before Yi Zhonghai could even finish his sentence, his tongue practically touching his gums, Xu Damao glared at him sideways, a blatant sneer curling at the corner of his mouth, like an icy knife: "Uncle Yi, don't forget, you're just a figurehead in this courtyard, you have no real power. Whether you can hold onto this position depends on whether we, the neighbors, are willing to give you face." He paused, deliberately drawing out his words, his disdain almost overflowing, "Besides, you haven't even figured out whether it's just pots and pans clashing or cats and dogs causing trouble, yet you rush here to act like an elder and lecture me? Do you even deserve it?"

"You—" Yi Zhonghai felt a lump in his throat, as if his chest was stuffed with waterlogged cotton. He felt suffocated and almost couldn't catch his breath. His face flushed red, and even his ears burned. He clenched his fists, suppressing the anger rising in his throat, and turned to look at Jia Zhangshi, who was wiping away tears with her sleeve. "Sister-in-law Jia, what exactly happened? Tell me. Although I'm not the head of the courtyard anymore, I'm still an elder in terms of seniority and the number of years I've lived here. I can still speak up for you fairly."

Upon hearing this, Jia Zhangshi's eyes lit up instantly, as if she had found her pillar of support. She immediately slapped her thigh and began to wail, recounting the whole story in a jumbled mess—basically, she had kindly gone to Xu Damao to discuss "neighborly friendship," but he was too sharp-tongued, and during their argument, she "accidentally" tripped and fell, scraping her elbow, which was still burning with pain. Finally, she glared fiercely at Xu Damao, then turned to Yi Zhonghai, her face full of grievance: "Old Yi, tell me, did I do anything wrong? If that scoundrel Xu Damao hadn't been so foul-mouthed, cursing my son Banggeng for being useless, would I have gotten so angry that I argued with him? Would I have fallen? I can't even move my arm now!"

Yi Zhonghai knew perfectly well that Xu Damao had just been invited to "have tea" by the Public Security Bureau a while ago. If he had really committed a serious crime, how could he have returned to the courtyard so easily? It was clear that Jia Zhangshi's fall was mostly due to her own tantrum and not directly related to Xu Damao.

Before he could figure out how to phrase it—how to avoid offending Madam Jia while also giving Xu Damao a way out—Madam Jia suddenly leaned closer, lowered her voice, and said mysteriously, "Besides, if Xu Damao has nothing to hide and hasn't done anything wrong, why would he rush to give Gu Nan a gift the other day? The pastry box was from Daoxiangcun, and the fabric was from Ruifuxiang—all top-quality stuff! There's definitely something fishy going on here. He might have done something wrong and wants Gu Nan to help cover it up!"

"What?" Upon hearing the name "Gu Nan," Yi Zhonghai's anger flared up even more than when he had been sullen by Xu Damao earlier. He had originally thought that after what happened last time, Gu Nan would have kept a low profile, but unexpectedly, not only was he doing well, but he had also become the deputy director of the steel rolling mill, and even Xu Damao had to fawn over him? This shattered his sense of superiority in an instant.

He suddenly turned to Xu Damao, his tone turning serious and carrying the authority of an elder: "Damao, this is where you went wrong. No matter what, Jia's injury was caused by you, and you should have done something to show your appreciation. Instead of giving Gu Nan so many nice things, you should have shared some with the Jia family. It would have been a form of compensation, maintained good neighborly relations, and would have silenced the gossips around the neighborhood, preventing them from saying you're inconsiderate."

Xu Damao laughed out loud as if he had heard the biggest joke in the world, almost unable to straighten his back: "What I give Gu Nan as a gift has nothing to do with you?"

He deliberately raised his voice so that all the neighbors watching the commotion in the courtyard could hear him clearly, "He's the deputy director of the steel rolling mill now, in charge of hundreds of people. I'm just currying favor with the leaders to make a living. Who does that bother? But you, Uncle Yi, if you're really so bored, why don't you think about when you can improve your skills as an eighth-grade fitter? Don't always meddle in other people's business and act like you're so capable."