Courtyard House: My Wife is Xu Huizhen

Page 184

At this time, he was not yet 40 years old, and in principle, he could still have Aunt Yi give birth to him. He never gave up on this idea, but when he was pushed to the limit, he directly swore an oath that he would be childless.

Xu Damao said angrily, "Your oath is useless; you're an old woman without descendants anyway."

"Da Mao, are you looking for death?" Yi Zhonghai was furious. Although Aunt Yi couldn't have children, I, Yi Zhonghai, am not without sons. Xiao Bai, who lives far away in Baocheng, gave me two sons.

If we become an old, childless family, wouldn't that be a curse on those two children, causing them to die young?

Xu Damao was also unconvinced, staring wide-eyed at Yi Zhonghai, as if he was ready to fight at the slightest provocation.

This is no small matter; if Xu Wude goes to jail, he will immediately lose his source of livelihood.

Although Xu Damao had graduated from high school and entered the steel rolling mill, he was still earning an apprentice's wage. Without Xu Wude's wages, his family had no savings and owed more than 300 yuan in debt. How was he going to make a living?

Xu Damao then decided to rely on Yi Zhonghai, who was still only 17 years old. Although he didn't know what to do, this was his last straw.

He Yuzhu quickly stopped them and advised, "Alright, alright, let's all say less. Lao Yi, don't deny it, you're the one who started this."

"Stop trying to smear me. What evidence do you have?" Yi Zhonghai said angrily.

He Yuzhu said, "I don't have any evidence, but what can I do? You two have a grudge against each other."

Yi Zhonghai laughed in anger: "Zhu Zi, stop talking nonsense. If we had a grudge, Xu Damao would have chopped you up with a knife."

Xu Damao blushed, but still stubbornly insisted, "That was also at your behest, Yi."

Yi Zhonghai was so angry that his liver hurt. This time, he had said something out of turn, and not only did he lose face, but he was also extorted 1500 yuan by Xu Wude.

This is why Xu Damao and all the neighbors in the courtyard believe that he reported it, but he really didn't report it.

"Alright, let's not bring up the past, lest you two start fighting later."

He Yuzhu gained a thousand yuan, which could buy 1 jin of cornmeal, enough to feed his family for several years.

Besides, I didn't suffer any loss at the time. With Xu Damao's small stature, he couldn't possibly pose any threat to me.

He Yuzhu persuaded the two to calm down. He explained that his room was full of high-end furniture and exquisite porcelain, and if the two started fighting, it would be his things that would be lost.

"Hmph, you surnamed Yi, if you don't get my father out today, we're not done yet."

Xu Damao always thought that Xu Wude was only harmed by Yi Zhonghai, and that as long as he withdrew the report, Xu Wude could come back.

Yi Zhonghai hated Xu Damao to the core. Xu Damao was like a stubborn leech; he couldn't hit him, as that would only escalate the conflict.

He could only plead with He Yuzhu again: "Please, have mercy on me and let's go to the police station to see why Lao Xu was arrested. It wasn't me who reported him."

He Yuzhu said, "Don't go. It's no use asking. I'm just asking you, weren't you sacked, hit on the head, and robbed a few days ago?"

Yi Zhonghai nodded: "Yes, I don't know why I was so unlucky that day. Someone robbed me of a net bag full of things worth twenty or thirty yuan."

Then, belatedly, he asked, "What do you mean by this?"

He Yuzhu said, "Have you ever thought about who the robber was?"

"I never thought about it. How would I know who it was?"

After saying this, Yi Zhonghai asked incredulously, "Zhu Zi, you mean the person who robbed me was Old Xu?"

He Yuzhu nodded: "I heard from the police that they are investigating your robbery case. Let me be clear beforehand, this is all just my guess, and it's not clear whether it's true or not."

Xu Wude was arrested yesterday and has not been released yet. He was responsible for most of the robbery of Yi Zhonghai.

When He Yuzhu brought up the case at this point, it was nothing more than casual conversation among the three of them, and there was nothing seriously wrong with it.

"Silly Pillar, you're talking nonsense." Xu Damao was furious. He stopped calling him Pillar and started calling him Silly Pillar directly.

Xu Damao is no longer a child; he has already graduated from high school and was married before the liberation.

Of course they knew what robbery was, a very serious offense. At best, it could mean more than 10 years in prison, and at worst, it could mean being dragged out and shot.

Seeing that he was very angry, He Yuzhu said, "Then let's go to the police station and ask them."

“I’ll go then. My dad could never be a robber.”

Xu Damao stormed out of the house, and the three of them walked out together.

He Yuzhu said, "Whether you believe it or not, your father got into trouble because he stole Yi Zhonghai's net."

Chapter 136 It really was him

He Yuzhu simply couldn't be bothered to go to the police station.

The main problem is that this news is too explosive; if it were revealed, the two of them might end up fighting.

Just to be on the safe side, He Yuzhu asked them to come out of the house to avoid damaging his expensive and exquisite purple clay teapot.

Yi Zhonghai had never imagined that the person who ambushed and stole the supplies that day might be Xu Wude.

Now that He Yuzhu has reminded me, I can't help but think of it.

Under normal circumstances, Hüwood would never have done something so despicable.

Just days before the robbery, Cheng Dayuan caught Xu Wude having an affair with a young widow from Tayuan Village.

Xu Wude thought he had betrayed the company, but many people in the factory knew about it. Who knew who had told Cheng Dayuan?

Xu Wude assumed that he had reported him, and then, harboring resentment, he put a sack over his head and beat himself up, also stealing the net bag, since Xu Wude had been struggling financially lately and had been swindled out of a thousand dollars.

Thinking about it this way, Yi Zhonghai became more or less convinced and said, "Now that you've reminded me, it's really possible that it was Old Xu who did it."

"Impossible, my dad wouldn't do such a thing." Xu Damao was still somewhat incredulous.

Yi Zhonghai instantly felt infuriated by the slander he had been subjected to these past two days. He never expected that Xu Wude would actually commit robbery; he truly deserved it.

The Xu family, acting as if they were in the right, stood guard at their own door, hurling all sorts of nasty insults.

Especially since Xu Wude knocked out one of his teeth, and Xu Damao also knocked out one of his teeth, he was bullied by the Xu family because he had no children and lacked confidence.

Well, that's it. Xu Wude has committed a serious crime of robbery and is now going to be stuck in jail.

Lin Zhonghai suddenly felt incredibly happy, like a serf who had been liberated and was now singing a song of joy. He couldn't help but say:

"Da Mao, don't be sad. Now that your father is in jail, you have to behave yourself. Otherwise, if you do something wrong, you'll end up like your father and go to jail too."

"You're the one who's going to jail."

Xu Damao was furious and couldn't accept that his father was going to jail for robbery.

Hearing Yi Zhonghai's sarcastic remark, she could no longer hold back and clenched her fist to punch Yi Zhonghai's smug face.

Yi Zhonghai was overjoyed, but now Xu Wude is in trouble and will go to jail for such a shameful crime, so he will never be able to hold his head up high again.

Caught off guard, Xu Damao's fist was almost upon him before he became alert, but by then it was too late.

Xu Damao's fist slammed directly into Yi Zhonghai's face.

"puff"

Yi Zhonghai spat out another mouthful of blood, with a tooth mixed in, before collapsing to the ground.

Xu Damao stepped forward, straddled Yi Zhonghai's waist, and started hitting him. Caught off guard, Yi Zhonghai was pinned down and had no ability to resist.

He Yuzhu inwardly applauded his brilliant decision just now; if a fight had broken out inside the house, who knows how many things would have been damaged.

Seeing that Xu Damao had the upper hand, He Yuzhu quickly stepped forward and pulled Xu Damao off Yi Zhonghai, while verbally persuading him.

Yi Zhonghai was furious. He got up from the ground and slapped Xu Damao in the face.

Why should he do this? He didn't fight back several times before. Does Xu Damao think he's easy to bully?

Yi Zhonghai is a fitter with exceptionally strong arms. Given that he is in his prime, he is no pushover in a fight.

Yi Zhonghai followed suit and punched Xu Damao in the face.

Xu Damao now realized how formidable Yi Zhonghai was, and he spat out a mouthful of blood and two teeth.

Yi Zhonghai, however, was unforgiving and continued to beat her.

He Yuzhu then pulled Yi Zhonghai off Xu Damao, and Xu Damao turned around and hit Yi Zhonghai.

He Yuzhu would pull on whichever side was weaker, and in the blink of an eye, Yi Zhonghai and Xu Damao were covered in bruises and blood.

There were usually no servants coming to the backyard. The two fought for a while before someone saw them and rushed over to separate them completely.

He Yuzhu was also exhausted and said, "You two can't fight anymore. You're both grown up, yet you're still acting like children."

Xu Damao glared fiercely at Yi Zhonghai: "You just wait, you surnamed Yi."

Knowing that he wouldn't gain anything by fighting any further, he turned and ran away after saying what he had said.

"Just wait and wait."

Yi Zhonghai was incredibly humiliated today, having actually gotten into a fight with a young punk.

He turned to He Yuzhu and said, "You're no better."

"Old Yi, what you're saying is going too far. What have I done to wrong you? It's all your doing behind my back. You even ordered Xu Damao to grab a knife and try to kill me, and I didn't even hold it against you."

"Hmph, don't you know how much money you swindled from me?"

Yi Zhonghai said, "Take what just happened as an example. Don't think I don't know you were secretly helping Xu Damao."

Yi Zhonghai was in his prime, while Xu Damao, though grown up, was still relatively weak and couldn't beat Yi Zhonghai at all.

He Yuzhu had secretly helped Xu Damao a lot earlier; otherwise, the two of them would never have been evenly matched and fought so fiercely.

Upon hearing Yi Zhonghai bring this up, He Yuzhu chuckled twice and then said, "You're just slandering me."