Chapter 303: Bang Geng Steals a Cabbage

The lingering afterglow of the Liu family's infamous joke in the back courtyard still lingered, and in the Siheyuan another chaotic farce unfolded, but this time the protagonist was the Jia family of the Central Courtyard.

As evening approached and the winter sky darkened early, each household began to arrange dinner. In the Front Courtyard, Wang's daughter-in-law, a somewhat timid middle‑aged woman, was squatting beside her own little vegetable cellar at the doorway, preparing to take a cabbage to stir‑fry that night.

The rummage itself wasn't the issue; she discovered that one of the carefully stored, winter‑reserve, top‑quality cabbages had vanished! The spot was empty, and a few torn, rotten leaves lay scattered nearby.

The Wang daughter‑in‑law felt her heart drop; these days a plump, juicy cabbage is a rare treasure! She hurriedly looked around and spotted the Jia family's prized rascal—Bang Geng—whose mouth was still stained with bits of fresh cabbage, sneaking toward her own door.

"Bang Geng! Stop!" the Wang daughter‑in‑law could no longer afford her timidity; pained for the cabbage, she mustered courage and shouted.

Bang Geng startled, his guilty conscience flaring, and instead of stopping he quickened his steps to slip inside the house.

At that moment, Jia Zhangshi's plump figure blocked the doorway like a door god; Sanjiao Yan glared, hands on hips, his voice shrill enough to split eardrums: "What are you shouting for! What are you shouting for! You scared my grandson! Wang's family, what do you mean? Why are you stopping our Bang Geng?"

The Wang daughter‑in‑law turned pale with anger, pointing at the empty cellar spot: "Jia Zhangshi, my home is missing the best cabbage! Bang Geng… he still has cabbage residue on his mouth!"

"What a load of crap!" Jia Zhangshi instantly launched into a tangled tirade, spittle flying, "Our Bang Geng is such a well‑behaved child, how could he steal your cabbage? Which eye saw it? Huh? Maybe some depraved, smoking‑tailed stray cat or dog snatched it, or perhaps you just misremembered! On what grounds do you blame our Bang Geng?"

While speaking, she yanked the Bang Geng who tried to hide behind her, slapping his back hard twice—big thunder, little rain—"Good grandson, don't be scared! Grandma's here; see who dares to throw mud at you!"

With his grandmother backing him, Bang Geng's fear instantly turned into swagger; he stuck out his neck and shouted at the Wang daughter‑in‑law: "I didn't steal! You're talking nonsense! Your rotten cabbage, I don't even want it for free!"

The Wang daughter‑in‑law, an honest person, trembled all over as the grandparent‑grandchild duo sang in unison, unable to speak smoothly: "You… you… how can you do this? It was clearly him…"

"What about us?" Jia Zhangshi stepped closer, her plump body exuding pressure, her voice tinged with a sob, and she began her favorite summons of old Jia: "Alas! There's no justice! They're bullying our orphaned widows! Old Jia! You left early! Look, now every stray cat and dog dares to ride over our heads and defecate! Isn't it just because our family lacks a respectable male head? They smear my grandson! We can't live like this anymore!"

Her howl immediately drew many neighbors from the front and back courtyards out. They gathered around, and as they watched the scene, their hearts were as clear as a polished mirror.

Bang Geng's petty thievery wasn't new, and Jia Zhangshi's skill at defending her child was unrivaled in the courtyard. Yet, seeing Jia Zhangshi's shrewish demeanor and the Wang daughter‑in‑law's helpless grievance, no one dared to step forward.

Someone muttered softly, "Surely Bang Geng did it, no escape!"

"Jia Zhangshi is being way unreasonable…"

"The Wang daughter‑in‑law is really unlucky…"

Yet no one was willing to confront Jia Zhangshi's tangled, relentless onslaught directly.

Someone suggested, "Let's wait for the First Elder to return, so he can preside over justice!"

"Right, wait until old Yi and Qin Huairu finish work and come back!"

In the current situation, it was clear there was no immediate solution. The Wang daughter‑in‑law was outnumbered and outmatched; facing Jia Zhangshi's relentless onslaught and moral blackmail, she could only redden her eyes, temporarily lower the flag, swallow a belly of grievance and return home, too distracted to even think about dinner.

As for the three elders in the courtyard? Second Elder Liu Haizhong, since the family incident, has become a turtle that hides its head, rarely showing his face, let alone presiding over justice; for troubles like this, he can't even dodge them.

Third Elder Yan Bu Gui strolled over with his hands behind his back and glanced, but upon hearing it involved the Jia family stealing something as cheap as a cabbage, his interest vanished instantly.

No benefit, only trouble—such a losing deal is for fools! He adjusted his glasses, pretended not to have seen anything, and sauntered back to the Front Courtyard to tally his own petty accounts.

When Yi Zhonghai and Qin Huairu returned to the courtyard, one after the other, the sky had already turned black. The Wang daughter‑in‑law, as if finding a backbone, rushed out and, crying, recounted the whole incident.

Yi Zhonghai listened, his brows furrowing. He first soothed the Wang daughter‑in‑law with two words: "Old Wang's family, don't worry; the matter will be clarified." Yet in his heart, the scale had already tipped.

He summoned Jia Zhangshi and Bang Geng, along with some on‑looking neighbors, and held a brief "on‑site meeting" in the Central Courtyard.

Jia Zhangshi stuck to the same argument, insisting Bang Geng didn't steal and that the Wang daughter‑in‑law was slandering; she wailed about an orphaned widowed mother being bullied. With his grandmother and mother present, Bang Geng remained defiant.

Yi Zhonghai cleared his throat and began his usual "consider the big picture, neighborhood harmony" smoothing over: "As for this matter, each side holds its own view. Bang Geng may have been playing outside, gotten something on him, not necessarily cabbage. As for Old Wang's family, their attachment to the cabbage is understandable."

He then shifted his tone, looking at the Wang daughter‑in‑law, his voice condescendingly advisory: "But, Old Wang's family, we've been long‑time neighbors, seeing each other up and down. To quarrel over a single cabbage, ruining harmony— is it worth it? Everyone knows the Jia family's situation isn't easy. As neighbors we should be more understanding, more helpful, not cling to a trivial matter. One should be honest and tolerant."

Those successive caps of "understanding," "help," "honesty," and "tolerance" slammed onto the Wang daughter‑in‑law, leaving her dizzy, her belly full of grievance she could not voice.

Yi Zhonghai finally ruled: "I think that's that; let this end here. No one brings it up again. Bang Geng, be more careful when you play, don't cause misunderstandings. Old Wang's family, be magnanimous, don't take it to heart. This stays within our courtyard; no one may speak of it outside, lest we tarnish the courtyard's reputation!"

Though his words seemed fair, they were really a fifty‑fifty split favoring the Jia family, and the "courtyard reputation" clause blocked any avenue for the Wang daughter‑in‑law to complain outwardly.

The Wang daughter‑in‑law's eyes welled with tears, but seeing Yi Zhonghai's unquestionable expression and Jia Zhangshi's smug gaze, what could a weak woman do? She could only grit her teeth, swallow blood, nod in suppressed resentment, and run home crying.

And the instigator Bang Geng, under his grandmother's protection and the First Elder's "mediation," not only escaped punishment but grew even more brazen, thinking stealing a little was no big deal.

As for Xi Kua Yuan's Li Ping'an? When he returned from work, he arrived at the tail end of the "on‑site meeting." He stood at his doorway, observing with a cold eye Yi Zhonghai's pompous rhetoric and Jia Zhangshi's victorious smirk, a faint, barely perceptible sneer curling his mouth.

Bullying the honest, smoothing over, and favoring the Jia side—that's Yi Zhonghai's method of preserving his "Moral Model" persona and the courtyard's superficial balance.

He shook his head, showing no intention of intervening. As long as the matter didn't reach the factory's Security Section or disturb the courtyard's overall stability, he was too lazy to care. With that spare time, wouldn't it be better to go home, cuddle his soft little daughter, tease his son who practices punches seriously, and keep his gentle wife company?

He turned, entered Xi Kua Yuan without a hint of nostalgia, gently closed the door, and completely sealed off the courtyard's nauseating hypocrisy and injustice.

Inside, the warm light and the crisp laughter of children were the pure ground he truly worth protecting. As for the Siheyuan's whirlpool of disputes, let it be left to those who are willing to tumble within it.