Chapter 426: Liu Haizhong Beats His Child

Just as He Daqing and the other two were chatting happily, a wailing sound suddenly came from the Liu family's home in the Houyuan.

He Daqing frowned and cursed: "What kind of trouble is Liu Haizhong stirring up again? Jia Zhangshi just left, and the courtyard has finally been quiet for a while, yet he's starting to make a scene again!"

He Yushui curled her lip and said: "Liu Guangtian is the worst. He bullies kids younger than him at school every day. After summer vacation started, he began hanging out with bad kids around Dian'anmen. A while back, he was the one who incited those bad guys to rob the money we made from selling popsicles. If Uncle Ershuan hadn't had a gun, they would have almost snatched it away."

"What? Why didn't Ershuan tell me about this?" He Yuzhu was stunned.

"He felt embarrassed, so he wouldn't let us tell anyone." He Yushui stuck out her tongue.

"Why wouldn't he let you tell?" He Yuzhu found it strange.

"That day, Ershuan didn't win against those bad kids!" He Yushui curled her lip.

"Tell me exactly what happened!"

"Liu Guangtian saw us making money and being able to buy all kinds of good things, so he got jealous and told those bad kids. Last Friday night, when we were walking back after selling popsicles, those bad guys pretended they wanted to buy popsicles wholesale and got close to Ershuan, then suddenly attacked and tackled him. Luckily, Ding Li and Dahua reacted quickly and went up to help, which is how they saved Ershuan. Those bad brats even wanted to throw stones at us, but Ershuan pulled out his gun, and that's when they got scared and ran off..." He Yushui said, still feeling a lingering fear.

"That's robbery! And Ershuan didn't even say anything! How old are those kids?" He Yuzhu asked.

"Thirteen or fourteen, I guess," He Yushui said.

He Yuzhu finally understood; children at that age were at a stage where they didn't know their own strength. Ershuan was usually lazy and had never seriously practiced any Kung Fu, so he was actually worse off than Ding Li and Dahua, who had followed Chen Daya to practice martial arts for a few years.

"How did those bad kids end up hanging out with Liu Guangtian? He's only ten," He Yuzhu frowned.

"I heard two of them are the younger brothers of Liu Haizhong's Apprentice," He Yushui said.

"I'll have to teach them a lesson another day; I'll definitely break their dog legs!" He Yuzhu said coldly.

He Daqing hurriedly advised: "Zhuzi, how old are you now? Why are you getting involved in kids' fights? It's best to let Liu Haizhong settle this with his apprentices."

He Yuzhu nodded and agreed verbally, but he kept the matter in mind. If they dared to commit robbery at ten-something years old, could they ever be peaceful when they grew up?

In the TV series, Liu Guangtian was probably the biggest jerk in this courtyard, even worse than Xu Damao. Looking at it now, he didn't become that way overnight.

As for Liu Haizhong beating his child every day, he certainly had his own problems, but if the child were obedient, who would beat them to death every single day?

At this moment, the crying and shouting in the Houyuan grew louder. He Daqing couldn't sit still anymore; he got up and walked toward the East Cross Courtyard.

A crowd had already gathered in the Houyuan, with Yi Zhonghai and Yan Bugui standing to the side trying to persuade them.

Liu Haizhong roared with red eyes: "Nobody try to persuade me today! I'm going to beat this degenerate to death!"

"What on earth happened?" He Daqing asked.

Liu Haizhong was so angry his face turned bright red, and he didn't say a word.

The second aunt lost her patience first and cried out: "This life is impossible to live! In the first half of the year, we paid the Yan family 600,000, and this time, this brat followed those half-grown kids from the Dian'anmen area—Chen Erlv, Dang Tuzi, and Zhao Laizi—and robbed three kids of their bicycles near Deshengmen, even breaking one kid's leg! The three older ones were all sent to the Juvenile Detention Center, and only he was released because he's young, but we were fined 2,000,000, and each family has to pay 500,000! Tell me, how are we supposed to live like this!"

Yi Zhonghai sighed: "This child really needs to be disciplined properly; if he goes on like this, there's no saving him."

"How can I discipline him?" The second aunt wailed, "Can I tie him up at home? Every time he goes out, he causes trouble; every time he goes out, he causes trouble!"

When Liu Haizhong heard his wife say this, he struck even harder, the broom handle landing on Liu Guangtian's body, one blow after another. "You've rebelled, haven't you! You little bastard! I'm going to beat you to death today! Keeping you is just a waste of food; why can't you learn to be good!"

Liu Guangtian cried his heart out, but his eyes, like a little wolf, stared fixedly at the onlookers.

The second aunt cried even harder: "How did I give birth to a degenerate like you! I'm going to the hospital tomorrow to ask if you were swapped at birth! Your older brother is on vacation, and even when his classmates ask him to play, he doesn't go out; he stays home every day reading and doing homework. You, on the other hand, can't stay still for a single moment!"

He Daqing advised: "Haizhong, let it go. The matter has already happened; beating him a few times to teach him a lesson is enough. If you keep beating him, the medical bills will cost even more."

"But our family really can't afford this 500,000!" The second aunt howled.

Yi Zhonghai interjected: "Doesn't Old Liu have quite a few apprentices? Why not borrow from them?"

The second aunt immediately cast her gaze toward He Daqing: "Daqing, your family is the most well-off in this courtyard. Even Yushui and the other kids go out to sell popsicles to earn money. Why don't you lend me some?"

He Daqing had originally wanted to lend them some money, but upon hearing that Liu Guangtian had actually incited those kids to rob He Yushui's popsicle money, he shook his head and said: "I only make 360,000 a month, not even as much as your Haizhong earns. My family lives well only because Zhuzi earns some extra money to support us. His mother's savings were all used up when her eldest brother's family held their wedding at the beginning of the year. Now Guizhi is pregnant, and we have to buy some good things to nourish her; how could I have any spare money?"

The second aunt didn't manage to borrow any money and cried even harder.

Yan Bugui's arm had just healed, and seeing the Liu family in such chaos, he felt nothing but delight. He simply stirred the pot: "Second Aunt, doesn't your family eat eggs every day? How could you possibly not even be able to scrape together 500,000?"

"Yan Laoxi, you bastard!" The second aunt cursed loudly, "If you hadn't swindled 600,000 from our family, would we be this strapped for cash?"

Yan Bugui gave a cold snort: "I wore a splint for three months; do you think it was easy for me? How about I break your arm too and give you 600,000? Would you be willing?"

"Go ahead and break it! Give me the money once you're done!" The second aunt had completely lost her mind.

Seeing her like this, Yan Bugui adjusted his glasses, cursed "unreasonable," and turned to leave.

Just as Liu Haizhong stopped, Liu Guangtian suddenly sprang up from the bench, pointed at him, and roared: "Liu Haizhong, you just wait! You'll have a day when you're old too!"

After saying this, he turned and ran.

Liu Haizhong was so angry his vision went black; he dropped the broom and was about to chase after him when Yi Zhonghai grabbed him: "Old Liu, calm down. If you keep making a scene, no one in the courtyard will be able to sleep!"

Only then did Liu Guangqi come out of the room and sigh: "Dad, Mom, stop being angry. Second brother is still young; he'll be sensible in a couple of years."

"I'm just afraid I won't live to see those two years and will be angered to death by him first," the second aunt wiped her tears.

"Alright, everyone disperse," Yi Zhonghai said.

The onlookers returned home one after another, but He Yushui and the few little girls all had faces full of schadenfreude.

Yan Bugui returned home, fished out a bottle of watered-down Erguotou from the cupboard, and took a small paper packet from the drawer—it contained a few peanuts, confiscated during class from Liu Aiguo, the student with the worst grades in the class.

Yang Ruihua said: "It's the middle of the night, why are you drinking?"

"I'm happy!" Yan Bugui took a sip of wine, "That spendthrift Liu Guangtian has finally caused a huge disaster. I think the Liu family is truly out of money this time; they've even started borrowing!"

"He Daqing is really stingy, too. With so much money at home, he wouldn't lend a single cent," Yang Ruihua muttered.