Chapter 136: with translation of chapter title

Yang Qing had a black line across his face, you bastard, playing hooligan, why did you drag me in?

This isn't just mud smeared on your pants; if it's not shit, it's still shit!

Haven't you seen that Liang Ladi's gaze toward him is unfriendly?

If you don't help, the Yang Family puts on the airs of a courtyard head; not speaking up for your own people makes it easy to lose the hard-won popular support.

But Yang Qing cannot get involved in this.

Both families are workers; what am I, a mere scallion? When will I ever be qualified to speak for workers?

So I need to find a good excuse to get out of this.

He racked his brain and came up with an excuse.

"This neighborhood dispute still needs a few elders to resolve it."

"I think we should wait until tonight to talk; I believe a few elders can handle it properly."

Upon hearing this, everyone didn't see a problem; after all, that's how it's always been done, and we're used to it.

Second Madam also felt fine; her husband is Er Da Ye, but the key is that she's been caught with a handle, so it's not advisable to keep arguing.

"Hmph, then we'll talk again tonight."

Liang Ladi was also fearless, and it just so happened she had something to say, so she could bring it up at the courtyard meeting.

"Who's afraid of whom?"

After saying that, she went home to do household chores.

Several kids, startled by the sudden event, became a bit timid; following their mother inside, they never came out again.

Seeing there was no excitement to watch, the others dispersed.

Yang Qing let out a breath and hurried home.

He almost got hit by the melon he was eating; what bad luck.

In the evening, the courtyard meeting started on time.

The courtyard was packed full.

Yi Zhonghai sat there, looking as if it had nothing to do with him.

The First Elder didn't take charge, so the Second Elder could now be the master of the house, and he immediately put on airs.

"Today a new family moved in, and right away they got into a conflict with the courtyard residents."

"What kind of behavior is this? It's behavior that destroys the courtyard's stability and unity."

"I think we can't tolerate such a person in our courtyard."

"Do you all agree?"

As soon as they spoke, they set the tone, and even Sha Zhu could sense something was off.

"Second Elder, you haven't even explained the matter and you're already trying to drive them out— isn't that a bit overbearing?"

There was nothing to be done; after returning, hearing that a beautiful widow had arrived, his sense of justice flared up.

Liu Shumin pinched He Yuzhu a little, but didn't stop him too much; she couldn't stand seeing women bullied.

Literary and artistic young women? They always easily empathize with the lower classes.

Liang Ladi, already prepared to fight a million enemies alone, upon hearing this instantly gave He Yuzhu a grateful look.

"Thank you, brother, for speaking a fair word for me."

"I never expected the courtyard to become this elder's one-man rule."

"I still thought the other elders would enforce the law impartially, but I never expected that, aside from this brother, no one would speak a fair word for me, such a frail woman."

"This Second Elder wants to drive me out, and the other elders remain silent."

"Alright, since that's the case, tomorrow I'll go to our factory's security office; I believe our factory's security can uphold justice for me."

Sha Zhu was stirred by Liang Ladi's spring-water-like gaze, almost making his body go limp.

"Yes, go to the security office; there should still be a place to reason."

Although the Second Elder looks down on women, hearing about the security office made his bones go soft.

He is the type who is domineering at home, and once he gets his way he becomes arrogant; today he just acted recklessly, and Liang Ladi almost put him back in his place.

All that remained was his stubborn mouth.

"Hmph, does only your Mechanical Factory have a security office?"

"Our Steel Rolling Factory isn't easy to bully either."

Seeing that her first punch didn't make the opponent yield, Liang Ladi didn't linger.

"Fine, you're impressive; then we'll go to the neighborhood office, the police station, and if that still doesn't work, I'll go to the women's federation— there's always somewhere to reason."

"Even you, Second Elder, can't cover this sky."

San Da Ye, hearing this, knew he couldn't let Liu Hai Zhong run wild anymore; this woman is clearly not to be provoked, and if they really drove her to desperation and blew things up, would they still be able to carry on?

"Old Liu, this is wrong of you; a female comrade just moved in, and you're talking about beating and killing— what kind of talk is that?"

"If there's a conflict, we should resolve it; don't make everyone lose face."

When Liu Hai Zhong saw he couldn't intimidate Liang Ladi, he also felt nervous; this woman is too brave.

At the slightest disagreement, they want to stir up heaven.

"Hmph, what about her scolding my wife?"

He still wants to twist the facts.

Liang Ladi won't indulge him; she crackled out everything that happened in the afternoon.

Upon hearing this, everyone's gaze toward the Second Elder changed.

"Bullying a newcomer who is an orphan and widow, this Second Elder's conduct is indeed terribly lacking in virtue."

"Yeah. Isn't this using power to bully people? If it weren't for this woman being so formidable, she'd have been bullied to death."

In a moment, everyone in the courtyard's gaze toward the Er Da Ye family changed.

During this period, the Eldest Uncle keeps claiming he's sick, and now in the courtyard he basically doesn't handle any affairs.

Your Er Da Ye has only been up a few days, and you've already started lawlessly bullying the neighbors—if you were made Eldest Uncle, wouldn't that be intolerable?

Wouldn't the other folks in the courtyard be bullied to death by you two?

"Excessive, far too excessive—bullying orphans and widows, what kind of ability is that?"

"As for Er Da Ye, if all the uncles in the courtyard behaved this way, would there be any way for us ordinary people to get by?"

"This family is simply more hateful than a greedy landlord."

"Although the crowd's discussion was quiet, their contemptuous gazes could not be hidden."

"Yan Fu Gui looked at Yi Zhonghai, who pretended not to know anything, head down, as if his illness hadn't healed yet."

"No choice—I have to step in myself; otherwise, their uncle's image will collapse."

He stood up, his small, thin body, trying to put on an air of authority.

"Everyone quiet down a bit; I think there's a misunderstanding here."

"As for Second Aunt, upon seeing strangers, she thought they were outsiders. Moreover, everyone knows that Old Liu and his wife are busy with the matter of Guang Qi, completely tied up; encountering this, they spoke a bit louder and got a bit more emotional, which is also understandable."

"This comrade is also not at fault; after finally getting a house, as soon as they arrived someone told them to get out—anyone would feel bad, so out of indignation their words were a bit improper, which is also understandable."

"We're all neighbors; I think we should drop this matter, pretend it never happened, remain good neighbors, help each other, and live well together—isn't that the real issue?"

"San Da Ye's words, though somewhat smoothing things over, with a round of scolding and beating resolved the immediate embarrassment and also showed off his two skills."

"When Liang Ladi spoke the matter aloud, the Er Da Ye couple, seeing everyone's gazes toward them, also realized they might have provoked public anger."

"Now that San Da Ye gave them a way out, they hurriedly seized it."

"Since San Da Ye said that, let's do it that way."

"The crowd rolled their eyes—who are you putting on that broad-minded act for?"

"Liang Ladi understood that, being new, she couldn't give others the impression of being unreasonable, and so she readily agreed to San Da Ye's proposal."

"As long as others don't provoke me, I won't go looking for trouble."

"Our family consists only of women and children—how could we possibly bully anyone?"