Chapter 401

Holding a beautiful scheming thought.

When Er Da Ma was shouting at the street.

Jia Zhangshi, heedless of consequences, was the first to jump out and retort at Er Da Ma; her words were fiercely intense, her wording harsh, and it truly shocked some people.

Jia Zhangshi leads the charge, breaking through the enemy formation.

They just need to watch the show.

Jia Zhangshi, her eyes lowered, caught the neighbors' reactions in her peripheral vision and secretly glanced toward Xu Daming's house across the way.

She felt a slight sense of loss in her heart.

She herself had shouted so loudly.

The light in Xu Daming's house still wasn't on.

Could it be that he drank too much and fell asleep?

At that moment, Bangeng said that Xu Daming and Shazhu were drinking with Yan Fugui and the others.

It's also possible that Xu Daming was secretly observing all this.

Whether he was asleep or not,

or he hadn't fallen asleep.

Tomorrow, someone will surely relay these words to Xu Daming's ears; besides, it's Bangeng's brother-in-law, and this connection must be put to use.

Just thinking about this,

Jia Zhangshi's attitude grew even more arrogant and overbearing.

"I don't know who gave you the nerve, but the neighbors in the courtyard have been driven to the brink of death by your family. When the day of reckoning comes, your family just says 'sorry' and tries to shirk responsibility. I'll beat old Liu of your family to death, and afterward I'll kowtow three times to you, Er Da Ma—would you be willing?"

No sane person would agree.

Naturally, she is completely unwilling.

"This hasn't caused any deaths, has it?"

"Still no deaths? Yan Fugui's eldest son is gone, Gao Shulai's family also left—count them yourself, how many lives is that? Liu Haizhong's wife, I'm telling you, your family's good days are over; you will surely face retribution. Who let Liu Haizhong not accumulate blessings for the younger generations? Your family says Yi Zhonghai is extinct of line, but this old woman sees your family not far from extinction. It might end up like me, with the elderly sending off the young."

"Jia Zhangshi, are you giving me face?"

Er Da Ma, stimulated to the point of ecstasy.

The retorting voice was unusually sharp.

It shook people's ears until they hurt.

"What? You still want to settle scores with my old woman? Too bad, your family's Liu Haizhong is no longer the team captain—go ahead and try to lay a hand on me. Don't say my old woman won't like it; the neighbors won't be happy either." Jia Zhangshi pointed at her own head, gesturing to Er Da Ma, "This is my head—come on, hit me? Hit me! Lend you two dog's courage, dare you?"

Er Da Ma simply didn't dare to move.

She feared that if she moved against Jia Zhangshi, the neighbors in the courtyard would gang up on her.

Consider the principle that the law does not punish the many.

If a fight really broke out and she accidentally caused an accident, it would also be Er Da Ma's responsibility.

That's settled.

I can't afford to provoke them.

Er Da Ma buried her head like an ostrich.

But she didn't expect Jia Zhangshi to never let her off; Jia Zhangshi, who had intended to blow things up and thereby win Xu Daming's favor, bent down and picked up a brick from the ground.

In front of Er Da Ma, she hurled the brick at the Liu family's window; the glass stood no chance against the brick, and with the added force of the half‑brick toss, it struck the glass and shattered it into pieces.

This was like a resounding slap.

It struck Er Da Ma's face heavily.

It also made Liu Haizhong, who was hiding indoors and dared not come out, well up with sorrow.

In fact,

Liu Haizhong regretted it.

On one hand, he hadn't taken any regret medicine; on the other, he didn't know how to clean up this mess, which gave people the illusion that he was avoiding disaster.

From beginning to end.

Liu Haizhong did not consider this his responsibility, and he even harbored a slight resentment, resenting those neighbors who kept causing him trouble.

In Liu Haizhong's mind, everything he had done was done according to Deputy Factory Director Li's wishes.

As the old saying goes,

Every grievance has a source.

Every debt has a responsible party.

Whoever caused the trouble, that's whom you should seek.

I'm just a small figure following orders; why do you insist on not letting me go?

He wanted to go out.

When his gaze fell on that brick on the ground, the thought of going out instantly died, for he feared going out would earn him a beating from the neighbors.

Liu Haizhong did not go out.

Er Da Ma hid back inside her home again.

The brick‑throwing incident thus ended in a lackluster fashion, with the Liu family opting to let things rest.

The neighbors who remained at the scene each went their separate ways, wondering whether they could, like Jia Zhangshi, find some dirt on Liu Haizhong.

……

Liu Family.

Liu Haizhong and his wife, you look at me, I look at you.

Each let out a sigh of 'nai' from their mouths.

The neighbors in the courtyard were taking revenge on them like this; even just thinking with their toes, one could guess how the workers at Yagangchang would deal with Liu Haizhong.

Surely their methods are even worse than Jia Zhangshi's.

Perhaps, as Jia Zhangshi said, the Liu family will surely have no good days ahead.

Liu Haizhong suddenly thought of an idiom.

Better dead than alive.

Perhaps he is now in such a state.

"Ah!"

Another low sigh.

He glanced at his own wife, a bitter smile flickered across his face, he shifted his butt off the stool, walked over to the left corner, and grabbed the broom and winnowing basket leaning against the wall.

The shards of glass on the ground.

They need to be cleaned up.

Liu Haizhong meticulously set about cleaning up the glass shards, sweeping every last piece into the winnowing basket, holding the basket he pushed the door open and walked toward the front courtyard.

Along the way.

His steps were light.

He feared that if he were not careful, he would use too much force.

Thus he startled the neighbors in the courtyard.

He walked out onto the main street.

After dumping out the glass shards,

Tears suddenly welled up in his eyes; he quickly wiped them with his sleeve, struggling to hold back his emotions, he glanced at the dim streetlamp not far away, then looked up at the brilliant night sky, striving to calm his mind.

Just now in the courtyard.

Some neighbors, hiding inside their houses, cursed Liu Haizhong's ancestors to the eighth generation; their voices flew over the wall into Liu Haizhong's ears.

The words were so vicious.

The tone was filled with a resentment that wished to crush Liu Haizhong's bones and scatter his ashes.

He couldn't figure it out.

The things I did were all arranged by Deputy Factory Director Li; as a team captain, carrying out tasks assigned by superiors is perfectly normal, right?

Why do those people dislike me so much?

He couldn't understand it.

He enjoyed the faint night breeze for a while.

His mood seemed to improve a bit.

He turned and walked toward the gate.

He arrived at the courtyard gate.

He bumped into Yan Fugui head-on.

Liu Haizhong was returning to the courtyard after taking out the trash.

Yan Fugui had come out to close the courtyard gate.

"Old Yan, it's me!"

"Isn't that Team Captain Liu? What are your orders? Just command me, and I'm a tiny grasshopper—you only need to lift your little finger, and I'll be easily crushed."

"Old Yan, I'm sorry."

"Team Captain Liu, are you coming in? If you don't come in, I'll close the gate; if you do come in, I'll still close the gate."

"I'm coming in."

Liu Haizhong stepped inside, hoping to take advantage of the rare opportunity to ease relations with Yan Fugui, but he didn't expect Yan Fugui to give him no chance.

In the end, he could only head home.

Behind him came Yan Fugui's voice.

"I spit, what a damn thing."