Chapter 97: Easily Overheated

Hearing Li Xuewu's words, Da Lao smiled, draped a coat over his shoulders, and stepped out of the room.

Da Lao walked to the horse shed, unhooked two copper bells from the Da Qing Ma's neck strap, threaded them onto a red string, and returned to the room to hand them to Li Xuewu, who tied them to the rope holding the cradle.

Now there was something to play with; the two small copper bells made a "ding-a-ling" sound as the cradle swayed. The child's gaze was instantly drawn to them, and he even reached out with his two little hands to grab at the bells.

"When you have some free time, go to the second-hand market and look around. See if you can find some small rattles or things like that to amuse the child," Liu Yin said to Li Xuewu after getting off the kang.

Li Xuewu agreed, "I know, Mom. I've noted it down."

As if remembering something, Liu Yin said to Li Xuewu, "Hurry and find someone to handle the child's household registration. That group of gossips in the courtyard has already started spreading rumors."

Li Xuewu nodded, indicating he understood. This Sihe Academy was just like that—not good; every household lived so close, and there was no private space.

Sometimes, if the couple across the way was doing their business in the middle of the night and the sound was too loud, the surrounding families could all hear it. If the sound was particularly loud, the people in the back courtyard would wink and nudge each other when they got up in the morning.

Seeing that his son didn't speak, Liu Yin was afraid he wouldn't take it seriously and urged, "Don't take it lightly. Yi Da Da Ma even came to ask about the child this morning, claiming she was just dropping by, but Yi Da Da Ma never steps out of her door. It must have been Yi Er Da Ye who sent her to ask. It was only because Yi Da Da Ma came that we found out about the situation at Lou Xiaoe's house."

Li Xuewu finally understood; there wasn't a single thing in this courtyard that the three Dayes didn't meddle in.

Not to mention his own family's affairs, just take the Xu couple who had a quarrel and got physical—they should have just fought in their own room. Couples fighting in bed is resolved in bed.

How can a husband and wife have overnight grudges? But once outsiders get involved, it becomes endless.

Sigh, Xu Damao was thinking exactly that, so he felt it didn't matter if he was a bit heavy-handed; he had been tolerating this wife for a long time.

Not only could she not bear children, but she also relied on her family's wealth to try and control him. What did she have? Just a bit of stinking money. Once I squeeze your money out, I'll find someone better and replace you.

Every time he went out and was discovered, they had to have a fight. This time, perhaps... they argued even though he clearly hadn't done that kind of thing, which made him feel very stifled. He vented his "new hatred and old grudges" with his hands, figuring she wouldn't dare do anything anyway.

Who would have thought that this delicate young lady, Lou Xiaoe, had such a stubborn temper? Seeing that Xu Damao's words were harsh and his hands were heavy, she told the Dayes in the courtyard about the matter.

It just so happened that Sha Zhu also came to join the fun, vividly recounting the filthy things he saw Xu Damao doing outside the wall of the steel mill.

How could Lou Xiaoe endure this? She immediately demanded that the Dayes uphold justice.

Good heavens, Yi Er Da Ye wanted to build a reputation, Er Er Da Ye wanted to establish authority, and San Er Da Ye wanted the peanuts and melon seeds on the table during the holidays.

They finally caught an opportunity to "divide the wealthy household," which is why they started the full-courtyard assembly.

By now, those who had been on duty at the steel mill on Sunday afternoon had all returned, so the personnel were considered complete.

Li Xuewu represented the Li family at the assembly, wearing a military overcoat, holding a large tea mug, and carrying a stool as he sat under the window, basking in the sun while attending the meeting.

Every time they held a meeting, it was like watching a grand opera; it just happened to enrich Li Xuewu's dull spare time.

The last time he handled the Jia family's affair, he had the intention of educating the residents of the courtyard on the law.

Matters involving illegal or immoral acts should go directly to the Security Department or the police station—educate those who need education, criticize those who need criticism, and handle those who need handling. Once everyone has the concept of abiding by the law in their hearts, there won't be so many issues.

The three Dayes in the courtyard were scheming against each other for positions, either smoothing things over or taking sides, making the courtyard full of constant trouble without a moment of peace. What kind of tune is that?

If the old and the big don't set an example for the young, wouldn't that lead to a few bastards later on?

Not respecting the old, not loving the young, discussing comrades with their own parents, seeing Sha Zhu about to get married and punishing Bang Geng by pulling his pants down—if one were to say that Er Er Da Ye and San Er Da Ye's education was truly a failure, they still had the leisure to educate others now.

The crooked winds and evil spirits were all created by these old ones; the chaos and grievances that followed were all debts they had incurred themselves.

"The Wanderer Starting from Douluo"

Furthermore, regarding the trivial matters between neighbors, if you three Dayes want to have a good reputation and want the people in the courtyard to be well, shouldn't you go to their homes to persuade them to reconcile, or help them solve their problems?

When a couple fights, persuade both sides, talk it over, and wouldn't that be the end of it? Even an honest official finds it hard to judge family affairs.

Now it's fine; the couple's fight is brought out into the open. The couple won't be able to reconcile; even if they consider their respective faces, they won't admit their mistakes or reconcile in front of so many people.

The three Dayes are the same; every time they put on official airs, setting up a broken table and chairs as if it were a grand trial.

This Liu Guangfu is considered the liaison for the three Dayes' referee organization; it's always him. All the men, women, old, and young in the courtyard gathered in the front courtyard.

Several children from San Er Da Ye's and Er Er Da Ye's families helped put out a broken Eight Immortals table and stools.

The three Dayes waited until everyone in the courtyard had arrived before slowly taking the stage.

Li Xuewu looked carefully at Lou Xiaoe's face.

Hey, this bastard Xu Damao's hands are truly black!

Lou Xiaoe's eye sockets and corners of her mouth were beaten purple, blood was still flowing from the corner of her mouth, and her face was swollen very high.

Other injuries on her body couldn't be seen, but her clothes were already dirty, as if she had rolled on the ground. The injuries on her body were likely not light.

This Xu Damao has really grown some skills; he even dares to use lethal force to beat his wife.

Everyone in the courtyard knew that Xu Damao had always been submissive to Lou Xiaoe for the sake of her family's property. Even if he was scolded or cursed, he would just be hypocritical and wouldn't dare talk back.

Today, he was first bullied hard by Sha Zhu, then his brain ached from Lou Xiaoe's arguing because of the alcohol, and coupled with the fact that he had long had a change of heart, his hands became heavy.

This Lou Xiaoe is just a simple, silly wife.

Carefree in life, and naturally open-minded in character.

If other factors weren't considered, living with Sha Zhu would actually be quite suitable.

Yi Er Da Ye gave the opening speech: "Everyone knows, Xu Damao and his wife fought. Everyone look, what Lou Xiaoe has been beaten into. Why do couples fight? It's because Xu Damao didn't return home at night and lost his underpants."

"Hahaha~"

Hearing this, Li Xuewu also followed with a laugh. Holding such a serious meeting, yet talking about underpants.

But ever since he had embarrassed the three of them last time, this time the three had a tacit understanding not to mention letting him participate.

He only heard people in the crowd laughing from time to time: "Underpants lost, underpants lost."

Li Xuewu heard the crowd jeering, smiled speechlessly, got up, and returned to his room to fill his large tea mug with another ladle of water.

Li Xuewu rarely brewed tea when drinking water now; he mostly used the dandelion from Li Shun's medicine cabinet.

Dandelion brewed in water after processing is slightly bitter, but it can clear heat, detoxify, promote diuresis, and dissipate nodules.

Li Xuewu drank it mainly because he slept on a heated kang in the winter, and coupled with the vigorous fire of a young man, it was easy to get overheated.

By the time Li Xuewu came out, Sha Zhu had already finished his performance in the center of the venue.

Watching Sha Zhu's performance, he was a bit high, pretending to be shy, as if he had seen some taboo thing Xu Damao did last night.

At this moment, Xu Damao also began to doubt himself. He would black out whenever he drank, and he really had done things with people outside. If Sha Zhu insisted on this, he wouldn't be able to withstand an investigation.

Lou Xiaoe couldn't help but start crying. In this era, having an affair was a very serious matter, even more serious than domestic violence. ===== CHAPTER 98 =====