I am Jia Dongjin in the Siheyuan (Courtyard House)

Chapter 38 Bad Things

"Huai Ru, don't worry about whether it's worth it or not. We've already torn each other apart since the house-grabbing started, so flipping the table was inevitable. What we need to think about now is how to win, and after winning, we need to think about the benefits. Since Dong Jin says we have a 99% chance of winning, let's go all out. If we win, everyone will benefit. It's settled then, and I'm in charge of this."

After Jia Zhangshi finished speaking, she picked up the iron shovel, sat on the stool closest to the door, and began to close her eyes to rest, but she kept picking up and putting down the iron shovel.

Even a fool could tell that Old Yan's family was being unreasonable, but the house was captivating, and envy was the prevailing sentiment for those who coveted the courtyard house.

In the past six months, the Jia family, a poor household in a courtyard house, has been living a more and more prosperous life, which makes some people feel very uncomfortable.

The most clear-headed person in the hospital was Xu Fugui. He looked solemn and reminded his son, Xu Damao, that something might happen at the hospital-wide meeting that night, and that it was best not to get involved and to observe from the sidelines.

Xu Fugui earnestly warned, "Da Mao, I know you have a good impression of Jia Dongjin. Tonight, you stay obediently at the Moon Gate. Don't go over to watch the fun or try to break up the fight. Fists and kicks don't discriminate, so don't get beaten up unjustly."

The second uncle, Liu Haizhong, and his wife were well aware that Yi Zhonghai was up to something, but they couldn't figure out why. Like Xu Fugui, they could only remind their son not to provoke trouble or get involved, since Liu Haizhong would get a share of any benefits.

Yi Zhonghai was only a level seven fitter and had not yet become a top figure among the steel rolling mill workers. In the No. 95 courtyard, Liu Haizhong's family was the most powerful family, with high wages and strong fighting force. Liu Guangqi was the first cadre in the courtyard. Yan Fugui's family was not even close to being one.

These people all have their own agendas. He Yuzhu is known as the strongest fighter in the courtyard, and it is Yi Zhonghai who is protecting him.

If they really wanted to cause trouble, the Liu family could have dealt with He Yuzhu in no time. It's just that Liu Haizhong hasn't made a move because of Yi Zhonghai's sake.

This is also a rule in Beijing: when children fight, adults shouldn't interfere, otherwise He Yuzhu would be taken down in no time.

Years ago, Liu Haizhong had considered marrying into the He family, but Yi Zhonghai stopped him.

Therefore, He Yuzhu and his sister treated Yi Zhonghai with utmost respect.

This time, because of the two dilapidated houses in the front yard, Yan Fugui took the initiative to provoke a dispute with the Jia family. Liu Haizhong was very interested and wanted to know how Yi Zhonghai would handle the situation.

Seeing that Liu Guangqi and Liu Guangtian had grown up and the Liu family was short of housing, he didn't mind reaching out to take advantage of the situation at this crucial moment.

At this moment, a brief but intense argument was taking place in Yi Zhonghai's family.

"Cuilan, don't worry, with me here, the house will eventually belong to Jia Dongjin."

"Zhonghai, think it over again. I don't agree with doing it this way. Aren't you afraid that something might happen to Jia Dongjin? The Yan family is dangerous; what if they damage Dongjin?"

Yi Zhonghai dismissed his wife Gao Cuilan's worries, waving his hand and laughing, "The time has come to temper him. Jia Dongjin is too young; he shouldn't have wanted those two rooms in the front yard. The Yan family has had their eyes on those two small rooms for a long time, and they drove one family away before. From the moment I learned about the room allocation, I knew it would come to this. This is a good opportunity God has given us to temper Jia Dongjin's character."

The subsequent general meeting of the entire courtyard at No. 95 was unforgettable for everyone in the courtyard.

Dusk, like a thick, gray-blue velvet cloth, slowly descended, covering the courtyard at No. 95 completely.

As the last rays of sunlight disappeared over the walls of the alley, the general assembly of the entire courtyard at No. 95 began slowly, accompanied by the biting north wind.

In fact, the plenary session ended very quickly.

Following Xu Fugui's advice, Xu Damao dared not cause trouble. He stayed away from the crowd and stood near the moon gate leading to the backyard to observe from afar.

By a twist of fate, Xu Damao turned out to be the one who saw things most clearly.

Throughout the meeting, Jia Dongjin remained seated in front of the Jia family's gate. Regardless of the discussion, Jia Dongjin insisted that the house was allocated to him by the government and that he had no right to resell, rent, or lend it to others.

Seeing that the stalemate was not over, Yan Fugui stepped forward to argue with Jia Dongjin, while Yan Jiecheng and Yan Jiefang attacked from the north and south.

Yan Jiefang ran fast and hit Jia Dongjin with a rolling pin. Jia Dongjin immediately fled to the backyard, seemingly having a shoving match with Yan Jiecheng.

He Yuzhu followed Yi Zhonghai's instructions and stepped forward to stop Jia Dongjin, but Jia Dongjin quickly shook off He Yuzhu's entanglement and headed straight for the moon gate leading from the courtyard to the backyard.

Jia Dongjin ran to the Moon Gate and found his way blocked. He paused for a moment and shouted to Xu Damao, "Get out of the way!"

Remembering his father Xu Fugui's words, Xu Damao hurriedly dodged the escape route. Jia Dongjin took the opportunity to rush through the moon gate, enter the backyard from the middle courtyard, easily climb over the gap in the backyard wall that people in the courtyard often climbed, and escaped to the outside of the courtyard in an instant.

Jia Dongjin wasn't just focused on escaping. As he ran, he kept shouting and yelling for the Jia family women to close the door and guard the house, warning anyone who dared to break in to be killed. After escaping to the backyard, he shouted "Help!"

After Jia Dongjin escaped to the outside of the courtyard, he heard cries for help, and the entire courtyard fell into a deathly silence.

Behind the octagonal table, an old man named Yi Zhonghai had a livid face. He was holding a large tea mug and his whole body was trembling. The water in the mug spilled all over the table. Fortunately, it was cold and the water cooled down quickly, otherwise his hands would have been burned.

The three members of the Yan family, father and sons, stood frozen in place, with Yan Jiefang still holding a rolling pin in his hand, unsure whether to pick it up or put it down.

Yan Fugui was the first to react. Only then did he realize the seriousness of the situation. His face turned deathly pale, and he collapsed to the ground, powerless.

What he found even more incomprehensible was that his wife, Yang Ruihua, rushed to the Intermediate People's Court to provide assistance after hearing the commotion.

"what!"

The people in the middle courtyard were completely silent when suddenly, Aunt Wang from the back courtyard, who had made peace with the Jia family, screamed and pointed directly at the hanging flower gate leading to the middle courtyard.

At this moment, the people in the courtyard realized that the third aunt, Yang Ruihua, was actually holding a weapon—a gleaming kitchen knife.

"This is bad!"

An elderly woman named Gao Cuilan let out a scream and fainted from fright.

The moment the kitchen knife appeared, the entire conference hall descended into chaos.

People quickly got up and made way for him. Erdan, being timid, screamed in fright and burrowed into his mother's arms.

Seeing this, the elderly man, Yi Zhonghai, quickly carried the elderly woman back into the house. As soon as they entered, the woman, Gao Cuilan, urgently whispered in Yi Zhonghai's ear, "Go find the deaf old lady quickly and beg her to go find Director Yang! This matter has become a big problem! Go now, go quickly!"

The wind in the alley was always stronger than elsewhere, howling and swirling the snowflakes, pounding against the vermilion gates of the courtyard houses with a whooshing sound. The old locust tree in the courtyard had lost all its leaves, its bare branches stretching out in the dim light, like a faded ink painting.

The snow in the corner was swirled by the wind, leaving fine lines on the ground. Occasionally, a night owl would dart by with a meow, startling snowballs off the branches, which would then fall to the ground with a soft rustling sound, breaking the silence of the night.

Jia Dongjin, having escaped the courtyard house, ran desperately, shouting "Help!" as he ran, and the quiet and peaceful atmosphere of Tongluoguxiang was completely destroyed.