[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-siheyuan-food-love-and-family-in-1960s-beiji":3,"chapter-the-siheyuan-food-love-and-family-in-1960s-beiji-the-siheyuan-food-love-and-family-in-1960s-beiji-chapter-98":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","The Siheyuan: Food, Love, and Family in 1960s Beijing",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2314148,4526,"Chapter 98","the-siheyuan-food-love-and-family-in-1960s-beiji-chapter-98",98,"\u003Cp>Why did Old Man Yi say it wasn’t about whether Xu Damao beat his wife, but about his affair?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because they thought beating one’s wife was perfectly normal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The most famous case was the “Punch King” of the northwest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’ll punch you!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lou Xiaoe thought that if last night had been rape, Xu Damao was finished, she’d become a widow, and her life afterward would be over.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If it was adultery, then she and Xu Damao were finished too—just thinking about it made her feel dirty.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Old Man Yi asked the entire courtyard: “What do you all think we should do?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sha Zhu was just thinking about revenge and shouted first: “Take him to court! Yeah, take him to court!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The onlookers, not shy of trouble, echoed loudly: “Take him to court! Arrest him! Arrest him!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Xuewu swallowed a sip of hot water, thinking Xu Damao’s reputation was truly terrible—he had no friends at all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Old Man Yi turned to Lou Xiaoe and said: “Lou Xiaoe, now I want to hear your opinion—do you want to settle this within the courtyard, or send him to the steel plant’s security office?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As he spoke, Old Man Yi glanced at Li Xuewu, fearing Li Xuewu might jump in and take over the case.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Xuewu saw Old Man Yi’s look and spat out the dandelion leaf in his mouth—did he really think Li Xuewu wanted to meddle in this courtyard’s nonsense?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was just looking for an opportunity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If you don’t kill the snake, it’ll climb back up the stick—you can’t learn from Sha Zhu. Every time he dealt with Xu Damao, he only gave a half-hearted hit, like playing with a dog—was that fun?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If he dealt with this brat, he’d break his spine so he’d never get up again to bite anyone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Old Man Yi wanted to build his reputation, but he didn’t want the courtyard to harbor a real rapist—even moral corruption like adultery was unacceptable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just now asking Lou Xiaoe’s opinion was meant to strike first, then pull back, strike again, then pull back again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sha Zhu’s strike had already landed; now it was time to pull “Fat Three” back, so he wanted to see if Lou Xiaoe, out of marital ties, would handle it internally.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If handled internally, they’d have the right to punish Xu Damao again—with another light blow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing Old Man Yi say “send him to security,” Sha Zhu panicked—his earlier words were pure fabrication! Where would he find that person if they went to security?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Demon War God”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lou Xiaoe was also stunned—she never imagined things would escalate this far.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Once sent to security, there’d be no coming back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Damao looked pleadingly at Lou Xiaoe, then at Old Man Yi, Old Man Er, and the others.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing everyone silent, the deaf old woman said: “Hey, why is everyone silent?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this moment, the old woman’s hearing was fine—she deliberately denied Xu Damao the chance to beg Lou Xiaoe for mercy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That’s why the older you get, the more terrifying you become.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the martial world, you don’t bully children, because you mustn’t underestimate the poor youth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>You don’t bully the elderly, because they have too much experience—they know exactly how to ruin you.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing the old woman spoke, Old Man Yi replied: “Old lady, should we send Xu Damao to the factory’s security office, or just let it drop here in the courtyard?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The way he phrased that—now that was skillful.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It reversed the wording from his earlier question to Lou Xiaoe—clear intent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When he asked Lou Xiaoe, he emphasized sending him to security—to scare her into pleading.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When he asked the old woman, he emphasized letting it drop—to tell her to let Xu Damao off.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sha Zhu kept winking at the old woman and Old Man Yi, signaling to settle it within the courtyard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the deaf old woman’s mind was sharp—and cruel.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Having lived next to Xu Damao’s parents for years, she knew Xu Damao was no good.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even before marriage, the Xu family had had several such incidents; after marriage, more—plus he was Sha Zhu’s sworn enemy, ruining Sha Zhu’s matchmaking attempts multiple times.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The old woman treated Sha Zhu like her grandson, desperate for him to find a wife and have children so she could see her great-grandchildren.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So the old woman was ruthless, her voice firm: “Send him to security. Punish him.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Old Man Yi’s expression flickered in surprise—why wasn’t the old woman following the script?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sha Zhu was dumbfounded—Grandma! Your winks meant the opposite! Did she not understand—or was she pretending?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Damao’s eyes went blank—he was ruined. No one ever walked out of security whole.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If one or two people accused him, he could defend himself; if dozens did, there was no chance to plead—especially when the oldest person in the courtyard, the deaf old woman, spoke—her words carried weight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The crowd around them all shouted for Xu Damao to be punished.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The old woman hated Xu Damao for being bad and corrupting Sha Zhu; the courtyard residents hated this brat for envying how Xu Damao, thanks to his wealthy in-laws, lived in luxury.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He flattered anyone with power—even Old Man San was willing to befriend him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He nitpicked with those without influence, always arrogant, looking down his nose at everyone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In past incidents, when men brought their wives to the courtyard to cause trouble, this brat had paid off the abused wives—this time, he couldn’t be let off.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even our own household didn’t have a red flag, yet his house had one flying steady while outside flags fluttered everywhere—how hateful.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes, yes, punish him!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The deaf old woman spat: “Spit! No good.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing Xu Damao had turned the whole courtyard against him, Old Man Yi knew trying to pull back would damage his prestige—he went along: “We’ll follow your advice. Send him to the factory’s security office. The head of the security squad is right here in the courtyard—hand him over to Li Xuewu to handle.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lou Xiaoe was now stunned—she never imagined things would escalate this far. She’d only wanted the three Old Men to scare Xu Damao into stopping his affairs—she never thought they’d send him to security!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Old Man Er waved his hands: “Go on, go on.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As everyone rose to carry out the arrest, Sha Zhu panicked first.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Wait! Hold on, Old Man Er!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sha Zhu wanted revenge on Xu Damao, but never meant to kill him!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Their usual squabbles were minor—how could he bear it if he was the one who got him branded as a criminal?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Plus, they all lived in the same courtyard—now everyone was satisfied, but later they’d blame Sha Zhu for snitching, and no one would ever befriend him again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So Sha Zhu wanted to salvage the situation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Lou Xiaoe hasn’t spoken yet, right?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just as Old Man Er moved to grab Xu Damao, Xu Damao was completely lost, pleading with his eyes left and right, finally fixing his helpless gaze on his wife, Lou Xiaoe.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lou Xiaoe looked at her husband, memories of their past blending and separating from the man who had betrayed her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sha Zhu quickly gave her a way down: “Lou Xiaoe, speak up! Say he’d never dare again—even if he had three guts—let it drop, now!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The more Sha Zhu spoke, the more Lou Xiaoe’s hatred flared—looking at Xu Damao made her feel sick, and Sha Zhu’s relentless pressure pushed her toward a cruel decision.\u003C\u002Fp>",1245,"2026-06-20T13:46:54.288Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","c6d58cde82ccacd50f688245c31b63b706a24524adf14d2263405b1b80af13ca","the-siheyuan-food-love-and-family-in-1960s-beiji-chapter-99","the-siheyuan-food-love-and-family-in-1960s-beiji-chapter-97",1000,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-siheyuan-food-love-and-family-in-1960s-beiji-cover.jpg"]