Chapter 402

Inside the Siheyuan.

Yan Fugui, who always regarded himself as a cultured gentleman of literary families, could even curse foully, showing that Liu Haizhong had done something that provoked heaven and angered people.

Liu Haizhong knew he had hurt Yan Fugui's feelings.

He couldn't figure out why, at that time, he wouldn't listen to anyone's advice.

He only wanted to achieve some accomplishment.

Moreover, he insisted on using these Siheyuan neighbors as his first targets.

His methods of dealing with people were becoming more and more despicable.

Even though Liu Haizhong clearly knew that one day his usefulness would be exhausted, he still hardened his heart and began to deal with those Yagangchang coworkers.

Regret comes too late when the matter is at hand.

He regretted it.

It's just a pity.

There's no medicine for regret in the world, so he could only suppress his full chest of resentment deep inside, walking a few steps along the path, Liu Haizhong stopped his obese body.

He turned his head.

He looked at Yan Fugui.

What entered Liu Haizhong's sight was Yan Fugui spitting saliva at him, accompanied by Yan Fugui's cursing.

"You despicable, smoke‑spouting bastard, now you remember that I, Yan Fugui, am your neighbor? What were you doing earlier? Too late—I, Yan Fugui, wouldn't even want a neighbor like you. If it weren't for my good fortune in meeting a kind neighbor, I might have already been harmed to death by you, Liu Haizhong. You've been stripped of your position, worried that the neighbors will come settle scores, trying to curry favor in every way, hoping for what good things? Pah!"

Yan Fugui did not shy away from Liu Haizhong; facing him, he spat a mouthful of saliva toward Liu Haizhong, but because they were some distance apart, the saliva could only fall uselessly to the ground.

"Ah!"

A low sigh.

A sigh welled up in Liu Haizhong's heart.

A sigh.

That was the only thing Liu Haizhong could do.

He realized that besides sighing, he dared not do anything else, could not do anything else.

Times are different now.

No longer the high and mighty team captain, he has become a despicable bastard that even people and dogs dislike; likely even a street rat is better than him, at least people shout "beat him" rather than "kill him". All the surrounding neighbors, each and every one, would love to tear Liu Haizhong apart limb from limb.

A smile that is hardly better than crying.

Such a smile appeared on Liu Haizhong's face.

He took a strong sniff.

He could still faintly smell the aroma of dumplings permeating the air.

They were meat-and-egg dumplings.

This was a delicacy the neighbors had saved for the New Year, but on the day Liu Haizhong fell from grace and was no longer team captain, they brought it out to enjoy.

Even if Liu Haizhong were foolish.

He would still know that the neighbors were celebrating his downfall.

Still not bad.

They didn't set off firecrackers.

It all seemed as if a roundworm in Liu Haizhong's belly; after he finished pondering why the neighbors hadn't set off firecrackers, a "pa" sound rang out in the central courtyard, immediately followed by a half‑section two‑kick firecracker exploding in the air, still giving off a crisp "pa" firecracker sound.

Like a signal for action.

In the front and back courtyards, people came out one after another to set off firecrackers, and even several of the surrounding large courtyards had people letting off two‑kick firecrackers.

The bitterness on Liu Haizhong's face grew even stronger.

As a resident of the large courtyard, he could see that the surrounding large courtyards were all people whom Liu Haizhong had dealt with.

Is being a person really such a failure?

He dared not look.

Nor did he want to look.

With the thought of "out of sight, out of mind," Liu Haizhong wanted to quickly leave this damned place, hide alone indoors, and quietly await tomorrow's hard days.

He clearly knew.

Tomorrow will be his first ordeal at the Yagangchang.

Those coworkers might deal with him in any way.

He walked past the front courtyard.

He arrived at the central courtyard.

Hearing the neighbors' mocking voices, Liu Haizhong unconsciously quickened his pace; as he passed the former Jia Family residence, a basin of foul‑smelling water was splashed out from inside the Jia Family house, landing squarely on him, drenching him in dog‑blood‑like filth. He licked his tongue—it tasted salty, stinky, and slimy—just as he was about to say something, he saw Qin Huairu put on a pitiful expression and act like a big‑tailed wolf toward him.

"Second Grandfather, are you alright? I blame myself, truly I do—how did I get the lazy thought to just throw out dirty water as soon as I opened the door, and ended up dousing you all over? Second Grandfather, why don't you do this: go back home first, take off your clothes, and let Er Da Ma or Guang Tian, Guang Fu bring them to me; I'll wash them clean and return them to you."

On her pitiful, frail face.

Yet it made Liu Haizhong feel a bit nauseated.

As time passed.

And because of life's hardships.

Qin Huairu no longer had even a trace of the former Yagangchang belle's charm; she looked like a woman in her forties with a sallow face, full of wrinkles, her visage marked by hardship.

Liu Haizhong suddenly recalled something.

An Jiahe seemed not to have appeared in the Siheyuan for a while.

Of course.

This matter was none of Liu Haizhong's business.

When he was Team Captain, he didn't even have the authority to manage An Jiahe, let alone mention that he's no longer Team Captain now.

He looked around.

The entire Siheyuan.

All are people Liu Haizhong cannot afford to offend.

One has to say.

This is truly a huge irony.

Before today, everyone in the courtyard feared Liu Haizhong; after today, everyone in the courtyard are ancestors that Liu Haizhong cannot afford to offend.

He didn't see Qin Huairu start using the splashing water trick to curry favor with the new Team Captain Xu Daming.

Liu Haizhong let out a breath, then immediately pinched the wet, smelly sock on his head in his hand and gave Qin Huairu a teasing look.

It was obviously deliberate.

He didn't speak.

He threw the smelly sock at Qin Huairu, wore a grim face, and strode toward the Hou Yuan.

Watching his retreating figure.

Qin Huairu, like Yan Fugui, fiercely spat a glob of spit on the ground and then stomped on it hard with her shoe.

She turned and went back home.

Indeed, that old saying holds true.

If you're not of the same family, you don't enter the same gate.

After Xu Daming became Team Captain, Jia Zhangshi and Qin Huairu coincidentally came up with the same idea: to use Liu Haizhong as a stepping stone, ultimately to cling to Xu Daming's thigh.

Jia Zhangshi's idea was to resolve Bangeng's rural relocation issue through Xu Daming; after Bangeng returns from the countryside, Yagangchang will arrange a job for him; then she will watch Bangeng marry, have children, and help him raise the kids.

Qin Huairu's idea is more realistic; since Yi Zhonghai died, she has worked five years in Yagangchang's Cleaning Section, from cleaning toilets to sweeping the factory area streets, truly a step-by-step progression.

Based on Qin Huairu's seniority in the Cleaning Section, she has already reached the verge of promotion.

Becoming a small group leader or squad leader, overseeing a dozen or twenty cleaners, getting a raise, and also satisfying the urge to direct people working.

But because of that matter.

He could never bring it up.

No way.

Could only think of another way.

When she heard Yan Fugui scolding Liu Haizhong, she hurriedly lay on the glass, saw Liu Haizhong's figure walking toward their home in the Hou Yuan, and deliberately, when Liu Haizhong reached their doorstep, she gave him a big show of a smelly sock and dirty water poured over his head.

These people in the Siheyuan.

All are people who cannot stand seeing outsiders do well.

These things they did will surely reach Xu Daming's ears.

Qin Jingru is her cousin, thick-skinned; this relationship means Xu Daming cannot deny it.

Harboring such thoughts.

After Qin Huairu returned home, she silently pondered some things that troubled her mind.

"Mom, you eat."

Four- or five-year-old Huaihua.

At such a young age.

Already possesses some advantages that Bangeng and Xiao Dang never had.

She understands filial piety, knows that this mother Qin Huairu is not easy; in many matters, she comforts Qin Huairu like a little adult.

This is something that makes Qin Huairu feel relieved.

These years.

If it weren't for Huaihua, Qin Huairu might not have been able to hold on.

Also a reason why Jia Zhangshi doesn't interact much with Qin Huairu: if it were like in the previous life, Qin Huairu would work at Yagangchang while Jia Zhangshi stayed home to care for Bangeng, Xiao Dang, and Huaihua; Huaihua would surely follow in the footsteps of Bangeng and Xiao Dang, becoming an ungrateful white-eyed wolf.

This shows Qin Huairu's ability to educate children.

But she still has her own limits.

She reached out her hand.

Smiling, she rubbed Huaihua's little cheek, snatched the candy Huaihua was holding, and put it into a small jar beside her.

The kind of bare fruit candy that costs ten or more pieces for one cent, made of honey etc.; Qin Huairu bought forty or fifty cents' worth, counting as Huaihua's snack.

"Mom, you eat candy."

"Huaihua, Mom doesn't like candy, you can't have it either; watch your teeth. Huaihua, hurry up and sleep; after you finish eating, Mom will buy you more."

Qin Huairu took off Huaihua's clothes, fetched Huaihua's little blanket and sheet, held the little one inside, trying to lull her to sleep.

The little one opened her dark, shiny eyes, curiously looking at Qin Huairu, then suddenly mentioned the opposite side's Weiguo.

That is Shazhu's eldest son.

"Mom, can I play with Weiguo tomorrow?"

"Sure, Mom isn't stopping you."

"But Aunt Yu Li seems to dislike me; she doesn't want me to play with Weiguo, and Grandma Yan in the front courtyard also doesn't want me to play with their family's Jianguo. Mom, why is that?"

Qin Huairu didn't know how to answer Huaihua's question.

We can't just say they look down on us, thinking they'll steal our stuff.

That's not right either.

It's not that they look down on Huaihua, but that they look down on Jia Zhangshi, Bangeng, Xiao Dang, and Qin Huairu; it's because Jia Zhangshi and Bangeng staged that rotten meat mess.

She put her gaze.

He looked toward the Shazhu family's house diagonally opposite.

His eyes flickered with a hint of envy.

Everyone says a woman fears marrying the wrong man.

This saying is not wrong at all; how did I ever fall for Jia Dongxu? If I had been more careful, looked around, I wouldn't be living such a miserable life.

They're all women.

Why is Yu Li so happy while I have to be so miserable?

"Mom!"

Qin Huairu, whose soul was called back by Huaihua's shout, looked at Huaihua's dark, shiny little eyes; unable to bear disappointing Huaihua, she fabricated a kind lie.

"It's not that Aunt Yu Li doesn't like you, nor that Grandma Yan doesn't like you; they think Huaihua is still a child, and only when Huaihua grows up can she help Aunt Yu Li look after Weiguo and help Grandma Yan look after Jianguo. So, my little Huaihua, you must grow up quickly; when you grow up, you can share my burden."

Under the Qin family's window.

The two little rascals each had resentment welling up on their faces.

The older child.

It was Bangeng.

The younger child.

It was Xiao Dang.

The cause of the incident.

It was candy.

Xiao Dang noticed that Huaihua ate candy every day, so he told Bangeng; Bangeng didn't believe him, so Xiao Dang simply took advantage of the night's cover and sneakily came to eavesdrop at the wall's base.

The two of them heard Qin Huairu and Huaihua's conversation clearly.

Instantly, their lungs felt like they were about to explode.

Because Jia Zhangshi raised Bangeng and Xiao Dang, she bombarded them all day with the idea that Qin Huairu, bringing the Jia family's work, remarried An Jiahe.

This ultimately made Bangeng and Xiao Dang feel twelve parts resentment toward Qin Huairu; in their hearts, they were both Qin Huairu's children, so why favor one over the other?

Huaihua can eat candy every day, while Bangeng and Xiao Dang can only eat air.

Especially, the money Qin Huairu used to buy candy was still the salary earned from the Jia family's work, as Jia Zhangshi put it; Bangeng thought the candy Huaihua ate was actually his own.

He felt extremely unbalanced inside.

The Jia family.

The partiality for males over females shown by Jia Zhangshi taught Bangeng what enjoyment was: the family's good food and drink were always given to Bangeng first, and only after he had finished could Jia Zhangshi and Xiao Dang have their turn.

……

The Liu family.

Liu Haizhong returned home in a despondent state.

Just as he entered the door.

Er Da Ma then saw Liu Haizhong, who had been drenched in dog blood by someone.

He hurriedly shouted a sentence.

"Dad, what's this?"

Having said that,

Tears welled up.

A tearful, sobbing appearance.

Liu Haizhong, already irritated beyond endurance, glared at Er Da Ma and then let out a cold snort.

"Why are you crying? I'm not dead yet—are you crying because I'm not dead? When I die, you can cry all you want."

"Dad, I don't mean it that way; I feel that this kind of life is simply impossible to go on—even going out to use the toilet brings retaliation. Otherwise, tomorrow you could go find Deputy Factory Director Li and tell him: we don't have to be team captain; we could be vice team captain. There's no precedent for stripping someone straight from team captain to the bottom; at least give people a way out. You're the one doing those things for him—he gets the benefits, you get the drawbacks. What's this for? Are you burning bridges?"

Liu Haizhong, face full of anger.

The indifference on his face gradually faded away.

He suddenly felt that his wife's words made sense.

But he couldn't let a minor setback crush him completely.

Who is he?

Liu Haizhong!

He thought it over carefully.

Today's events were a bit strange: from seeking trouble with Shazhu to being sought for trouble, it felt like falling into a trap; moreover, Liu Haizhong received the order to be demoted without even having met Deputy Factory Director Li.

It's possible that someone else forged Deputy Factory Director Li's order.

Thinking that over,

Liu Haizhong felt elated, believing his competence had caught Deputy Factory Director Li's eye; Li also needed someone like him who could do underhanded things, so he took off his clothes, put on new ones, and, lost in the wonderful feeling of anticipating a bright tomorrow, thought about how to take revenge on those people.

People like Jia Zhangshi, Qin Huairu, and Yan Fugui—he wanted them to know that even if he was no longer the captain of the senior team, he was still someone they could not provoke.

As for Shazhu, let him be for now.

Once I've recovered my strength, dealing with Shazhu won't be too late.