Chapter 411: with translation of chapter title

The news of Xu Damao's dismissal spread like wings through the siheyuan and the steel rolling mill.

First, a crowd packed tight in front of the factory bulletin board, workers tiptoeing to read the black-and-white notice of the disposition, their faces showing a variety of expressions.

Some clapped and cheered, some pursed their lips and shook their heads, some whispered discussions.

"Serves him right! Let him be arrogant!"

"I said this brat was no good, and sure enough!"

"A problem with his personal conduct… tsk tsk, sleeping with a widow, really something."

When the news reached the siheyuan, it was just evening mealtime.

Women washing vegetables and rinsing rice crowded the central courtyard sink, their chattering gossip louder than the splashing water.

Jia Zhangshi came out holding a basin, her ears perked up like a rabbit's.

"Have you heard? Xu Damao got sacked!"

She has a loud voice; one shout carried across half the courtyard.

Qin Huairu was sewing clothes inside the house; hearing this, her hand paused.

The needle pricked her finger, and a bead of blood seeped out.

She silently held it in her mouth, the salty, fishy taste spreading across her tongue.

In the back courtyard, at Liu Haizhong's home, Second Elder was holding a tea jar and drinking tea.

Second Elder's wife returned from outside, her face brimming with excitement she could barely contain.

"Old Liu, Xu Damao has fallen!"

Liu Haizhong didn't even lift his eyelids.

"If he's fallen, he's fallen; what's it to us?"

"How is it not our business?" Second Elder's wife leaned in, "You forget? Not long ago he became head of the projection team, acting all smug! He even came to our doorstep to show off, saying our Guangqi..."

"Shut up!" Liu Haizhong slammed down the tea jar.

Tea splashed out, spilling all over the table.

Second Elder's wife shrank her neck and said nothing.

Liu Haizhong stared at the water stain on the table, his chest rising and falling.

He thought of his eldest son, Liu Guangqi.

That lad took the family's money when he married and ran off to a third-tier city to support construction; to this day there's been no word.

What did Xu Damao say back then?

"Second Elder, you've raised your son well—he knows to run far away, so he won't be in your way."

Those words were like a thorn, stuck in Liu Haizhong's heart.

Now that Xu Damao has fallen, he ought to be pleased.

But for some reason, he can't feel happy.

In the front courtyard, Yan Bu Gui was tending his few pots of chrysanthemums.

Hearing the news, he pushed up his glasses, his small eyes darting.

"Dismissed? Demoted to ordinary worker? Tsk tsk..."

Third Elder's wife came out of the house.

"What are you tsk-tsking about?"

"I'm tsk-tsking Xu Damao." Yan Bu Gui set down the water kettle, "This guy can't get too full of himself. Look how he followed Li Huaide lately, tail in the air. Now? He must have taken a nasty fall."

He said this while shaking his head, but a hint of smile at the corner of his mouth couldn't be hidden.

Yan Bu Gui's family has no one working at the steel rolling mill, so whether Xu Damao falls or not has no direct impact on them.

But he just can't stand Xu Damao's smug, petty look.

Now it's fine—instant karma.

"Serves him right!" Third Elder's wife also pursed her lips, "Let him bully people! Let him report this and report that! He deserves it!"

Just then, Sha Zhu came over from the central courtyard, carrying his lunchbox.

Seeing Yan Bu Gui, he grinned widely.

"Third Elder, have you heard? That brat Xu Damao has come a cropper!"

His voice was loud, wishing the whole courtyard could hear.

Yan Bu Gui hurriedly waved his hands.

"Zhuzi, keep it down, lest people hear..."

"What if they hear?" Sha Zhu raised his voice even higher, "I want the whole courtyard to hear! Isn't Xu Damao capable? Isn't he supposed to become First Elder? Now he's just an ordinary worker—and got a major demerit!"

The more he spoke, the more worked up he got; he set his lunchbox on the windowsill and put his hands on his hips.

"This is what they call 'evil deeds bring their own ruin'—Heaven sees all!"

In Xu Damao's home, Wang Cuihua was smashing bowls and plates.

"You useless thing! A perfectly good squad leader, gone just like that! And a major demerit on top—how are we supposed to live now?!"

She cursed and wept, snot and tears smearing her face.

Xu Damao curled up in the corner, head in his arms, motionless.

Like a clay statue.

"I was really blind to have followed you!" Wang Cuihua grabbed a broom and swung at him, "You said you were capable, said you could climb up! Now? You've crawled into a ditch!"

The broom struck his back with a muffled thump.

Xu Damao still didn't utter a sound.

Wang Cuihua, tired from hitting, threw down the broom, plopped onto the ground, and wailed while slapping her thighs.

"My life is so miserable! I was bullied in the countryside, and after great difficulty I married into the city, hoping to live a good life, but now it's all over! All over!"

She was a rural widow; years ago she entrapped Xu Damao with a honey trap and was caught red-handed by the villagers.

Xu Damao wrote a confession, paid five hundred dollars, and was forced to marry her.

Everyone in the courtyard knows about this.

Behind his back, everyone says Xu Damao is stupid, having been swindled by a country woman.

But Wang Cuihua doesn't care.

She had nothing in the countryside; moving to the city was just to enjoy blessings.

Now Xu Damao has fallen, and her blessings can't be enjoyed.

Can she not cause a scene?

"What are you crying for!" Xu Damao finally lifted his head, eyes bloodshot, "I'm not dead yet!"

"What's the difference between you and being dead!" Wang Cuihua pointed at his nose and scolded, "The group leader is gone, wages have been cut, and I still carry a demerit! How can I hold my head up at the factory? How can I face people in the courtyard?"

The more she spoke, the angrier she got; she got up and wanted to hit him again.

Xu Damao sprang to his feet and shoved her away with one push.

"If we can make it, we stay; if not, we part. Do you think I want to live with you?"

Wang Cuihua staggered back a few steps from the push and collided with the cabinet.

She stared blankly, then let out a pig-slaughtering howl.

"You dare hit me? Xu Damao, you dare hit me?! I won't live! I'll fight you to the death!"

She lunged at him, scratching and clawing.

Xu Damao's face instantly bore several bloody marks.

The two grappled, fighting from the house into the courtyard.

The people of the central courtyard all ran out to watch the spectacle.

Jia Zhangshi held her rice bowl, eating while watching, and couldn't help commenting.

"Hit! Hit hard! This kind of man deserves to be beaten!"

Sha Zhu laughed so hard he doubled over.

"Hey, Xu Damao, you're fighting with your wife? Want me to help?"

Xu Damao was so angry his eyes blazed, but Wang Cuihua clung to him and he couldn't break free.

Wang Cuihua was truly a shrew.

All the fierce spirit of a country woman was unleashed.

She grabbed, bit, kicked, and stomped.

Xu Damao already had a lame leg, and now he was no match, being beaten back step by step.

"Sha Zhu! Stop your damn laughing!" he bellowed.

"What's wrong with watching the fun?" Sha Zhu crossed his arms, "You, Xu Damao, have your day too? Aren't you capable? Aren't you always scheming? Now you've been done in by your own wife—this is what they call 'evil meets its match.'"

That was a nasty remark.

The people around all laughed.

Even Yi Zhonghai came out of his house and stood in the doorway to watch.

Seeing Xu Damao's sorry state, he shook his head and turned back inside.

Liu Haizhong stood at his own doorway, watching this scene, and the slight resentment in his heart suddenly dissipated.

Compared to Xu Damao, although his son Guangqi ran away, at least he didn't lose such a big person.

Yan Bu Gui hid behind his own door, peeking through the crack, muttering softly, "A disgrace to scholarship, a disgrace to scholarship..."

Finally, Li Ping'an came out and managed to pull them apart.

He originally didn't want to get involved.

But if this farce continued, the whole courtyard wouldn't have peace.

"Enough!" he said, his voice not loud but deep.

Wang Cuihua still wanted to lunge, but he stopped her.

"Xu Damao, Wang Cuihua, take the fight back inside. Making a scene in the courtyard—what does that look like?"

Xu Damao panted, his face crisscrossed with bloody streaks.

"Li Ping'an…… you…… you stop meddling!"

Li Ping'an looked at him.

His gaze was very calm.

"I'm not meddling. I'm the Head of the Security Department; if someone dies in the courtyard, I must take responsibility."

He paused.

"Your marital matters should be settled behind closed doors. Making a scene in the courtyard affects the peace of the whole compound."

That made sense.

The onlookers nodded in agreement.

"Exactly, take the fight back inside!"

"Don't lose face here!"

Wang Cuihua still wanted to cause a ruckus, but after Li Ping'an gave her a glance, she suddenly shivered.

That gaze…… was too cold.

Cold as ice.

She shrank her neck back, not daring to cause a scene.

Xu Damao glared fiercely at Li Ping'an, then hobbled back to his room.

Wang Cuihua followed in, slamming the door shut with a bang.

The courtyard finally fell silent.

The next day, in the Steel Rolling Mill, Xu Damao became a pariah.

Wherever he went, people pointed and whispered.

"Look, that's Xu Damao, the one who had an affair with the widow."

"Tsk tsk, you really can't tell; he always looks respectable."

"I heard his wife fought with him last night and her face was all bruised."

Xu Damao lowered his head and hurried forward.

But his leg was lame, so he couldn't walk fast.

The murmurs behind him pierced his spine like needles.

Passing the cafeteria, Sha Zhu was smoking at the doorway.

Seeing him, he grinned.

"Yo, Xu Damao, what's with your face? Did a cat scratch you?"

Xu Damao ignored him and tried to walk around.

But Sha Zhu blocked his path.

"Don't go, let's chat." He exhaled a smoke ring. "I heard you were dismissed? Now you'll be doing odd jobs in the Logistics Department? That'll be tough. Want me to teach you a couple tricks? After all, I'm a cook, I know the chores."

That remark was a real insult.

The people around burst into laughter.

Xu Damao's face flushed bright red.

"Sha Zhu, don't get so smug!"

"I'm already smug, so what?" Sha Zhu leaned close, lowered his voice. "Xu Damao, you've gotten what you deserve. Do you remember how you treated me? Do you remember how you treated First Elder? Now karma has arrived, right?"

He patted Xu Damao's shoulder.

"Work hard and try to get your punishment lifted soon. But… with someone like you, it's enough to be a pain."

Having said that, he laughed heartily and walked away.

Xu Damao stood where he was, trembling all over.

But he could do nothing.

He is now an ordinary worker, Sha Zhu a cook, and a notorious troublemaker in the factory.

He can't be provoked.

In Xi Kua Yuan, Li Ping'an was having breakfast.

Lin Xueqing ladled a bowl of congee for him.

"Ping'an, last night… why did you meddle in that idle matter?"

"It wasn't idle." Li Ping'an picked up a piece of salted vegetable. "No matter how Xu Damao acts, he's still a person of the courtyard. If a death really occurs, we'll all get tangled up."

Li Yaozong looked up.

"Dad, why did Uncle Xu fight?"

"Because he made a mistake and felt uneasy." Li Ping'an patted his son's head. "Remember, a person must not make mistakes. If a mistake is made, a price must be paid."

Xiao Nuanqing also mimicked her brother, nodding earnestly.

"Nuanqing doesn't make mistakes."

Lin Xueqing smiled.

"Right, our Nuanqing is the most well‑behaved."

The sound of Wang Cuihua's crying came from outside the window.

It was intermittent, like a cat's meow.

Li Ping'an frowned.

"These days… I'm afraid they won't settle down."

As expected, in the following days, Xu Damao's household argued every day.

Sometimes Wang Cuihua scolded Xu Damao as useless, sometimes Xu Damao called Wang Cuihua Broom Star.

Bowls were smashed, dishes shattered, cries filled the air.

The whole courtyard got used to it.

They just treated it as watching a play.

Only Li Ping'an knew the matter wasn't over.

A man like Xu Damao, after taking such a big loss, won't give up easily.

He'll eventually take revenge.

He just doesn't know whom he'll revenge against.

Li Ping'an set down his bowl and wiped his mouth.

It's time to go to work.

The drama in this courtyard must keep being watched.

And this play has only just reached the second act.