Chapter 57: Who is the Bully Huang Shiren?

"Yushui, you can't give up on life.

This is a new society now; the people have risen to become the masters.

Those landlords and bullies will never dare to bully us common folk again."

"Brother Aiguo is right. In a moment, I'll invite my father here and have all those old bastards who persecuted you dragged off to face a firing squad."

Yi Zhonghai rushed into the room.

Seeing He Yushui clutching a rope, sticking her head through the loop, while Li Aiguo and Wang Ruxin desperately held her legs to stop her, he was completely stunned.

He Yushui had actually tried to hang herself!

Fortunately, Li Aiguo had arrived in time. Otherwise, as the Great Uncle of the courtyard, he would have been caught up in the fallout.

"He Yushui, girl, what is bothering you so much? You mustn't attempt suicide!"

Trembling with fear, Yi Zhonghai stumbled forward to dissuade her.

At that moment, the other residents rushed in.

Auntie Liu felt a pang of heartache seeing He Yushui's desperate state. He Yushui was such a good girl; seeing that she had no one to care for her, she often helped Auntie Liu carry water and wash clothes. To think she was being driven to suicide by Yi Zhonghai and Liu Haizhong—it was truly hateful.

The residents were also stunned by He Yushui's attempt, and their gazes toward Yi Zhonghai and Liu Haizhong turned unfriendly. They had all heard that Yi Zhonghai and Liu Haizhong had been frequently "talking" to He Yushui these past few days. To drive a living person to hang themselves—only landlords and bullies could do such a thing.

Li Aiguo caught sight of Director Wang from the Street Office outside and secretly pinched He Yushui's calf.

In pain, tears began to fall from He Yushui's eyes. Realizing his intent, she raised her voice and shouted, "Yi Zhonghai! You rely on your status as the Great Uncle of the courtyard to force me not to sever my sibling relationship with Shazhu! I don't want to live anymore!"

He Yushui had fully entered character. Her expression of misery and indignation was so convincing that anyone seeing her would think she was a victim from *The White-Haired Girl*. And naturally, Yi Zhonghai was the villain, Huang Shiren.

Yi Zhonghai did not want to be Huang Shiren. He waved his hands frantically. "Miss Yushui, you've misunderstood. I am doing this for your own good. No matter how much of a bastard Shazhu is, he is still your biological brother. You are siblings, connected by blood. No matter what happens, you must help each other and stay united so you can have a longer path ahead of you."

Liu Haizhong also added earnestly, "We are all family; there's no such thing as a grudge that lasts overnight. Shazhu might even face imprisonment this time. If you sever ties with him now, think of how heartbroken he will be."

It was only because of He Yushui's impulsive nature that she had come up with the idea of a fake hanging. If she were truly facing these old foxes of the courtyard, she wouldn't stand a chance. Indeed, after only a few words, she was already being manipulated.

Seeing He Yushui's face turn red from the effort of not speaking, Yi Zhonghai felt a sense of smugness. *Is that it? Such a weakling. I almost got fooled by this little girl today.*

Just then, a cold voice rang out in the room.

"Yi Zhonghai, are you saying that as long as people are relatives, they shouldn't sever ties even if the other party has committed a massive error?"

Li Aiguo signaled Wang Ruxin to pull He Yushui down, then walked into the center of the crowd and spoke calmly.

Yi Zhonghai's face instantly turned pale. "That's different! The families of those comrades are from the landlord class or are reactionary elements—they are class enemies. Shazhu comes from a commoner background."

"How is Shazhu's treatment of He Yushui any different from that of a landlord or a bully!"

Li Aiguo turned and pointed at He Yushui. "Look at her. Shazhu is a ninth-grade chef with a monthly salary of thirty-two yuan. There are only two people in his house; even if they ate white flour buns every day, they wouldn't spend all that money. Yet He Yushui is as thin as a bamboo stick, her clothes are covered in patches, and even her shoes were scavenged from Wang Gangtie."

Hearing this, the eyes of the crowd turned toward He Yushui with a hint of pity.

"It's true, that girl He Yushui is truly pitiful."

"A while ago, the He family ran out of food, and the girl was so hungry she had to eat bark from the big tree at the entrance."

"Ah, so that bark was gnawed off by He Yushui? No wonder the tree looks so bald."

"Shazhu really is something else. Instead of living a good life, he goes and gives cornmeal to the neighbors. How foolish."

"Shazhu isn't foolish. He wasn't giving cornmeal, he was giving..."

Amidst the chatter, Qin Huairu's face turned bright red, yet she had no way to refute it. After all, Li Aiguo and the residents hadn't mentioned her name. If she jumped out now, it would look like she had a guilty conscience.

However, she couldn't just let her reputation be damaged. If one Shazhu went inside, there might be a second Shazhu in the courtyard. If her reputation was ruined, everything would be over.

Qin Huairu's large eyes darted around. Seeing Jia Zhangshi squatting on the ground watching the drama with great interest, an idea struck her.

Qin Huairu leaned in and whispered, "Mother, if He Yushui severs ties with Shazhu, they will definitely split the household. He Yushui might demand back all those things we borrowed from Shazhu before."

Shazhu wouldn't be coming out, and whether He Yushui lived or died, or whether the He family split or stayed together, had nothing to do with the Jia family. Today, Jia Zhangshi had come just to watch the drama and hadn't intended to get involved. But now, the drama was turning on her.

Jia Zhangshi felt a chill. She stood up abruptly, hands on her hips, eyes squinting. "Li Aiguo, what nonsense are you talking? What Shazhu does is called caring for neighbors; it shows high ideological awareness. If your level of thought isn't as high as his, stop talking nonsense here!"

"Caring for neighbors, huh..." Li Aiguo laughed. "If Shazhu were alone, I wouldn't mind if he gave his entire fortune to your Jia family. But He Yushui is his sister. He has the responsibility and obligation to raise her. He is taking He Yushui's food rations to give to your family—that's not generosity, that's theft. Since that's the case, He Yushui isn't even part of the same family as Shazhu anymore."

Jia Zhangshi felt humiliated. She opened her mouth to curse, but remembering the two slaps she received last time, she swallowed her profanity.

Xu Damao looked at Jia Zhangshi's embarrassment and said sarcastically, "Jia Zhangshi, weren't you very formidable before? Why can't you hold your own in front of Li Aiguo?"

The residents laughed, "How could Li Aiguo be an ordinary person!"

Li Aiguo hadn't been home all day, but news had already spread through the courtyard that he was a big shot—he had just gotten his driver's license and become a train driver. Even more enviable was that he earned over a hundred yuan a month, which was higher than even Yi Zhonghai. Some even said, "Li Aiguo has great skills, a good background, and is politically reliable. The higher-ups might transfer him to drive special trains."

If Li Aiguo heard this, he would surely marvel at how sharp the "Chaoyang masses" were with their information.

Xu Damao's words incensed Jia Zhangshi. She rolled up her sleeves, intending to scratch Xu Damao. "I might not be able to handle Li Aiguo, but I can certainly deal with you!"

In the past, facing the pig-like Jia Zhangshi, Xu Damao would have certainly fled in terror. But today, Damao had a backer—Xu Jixiang was also watching the commotion nearby.

Xu Jixiang shielded Xu Damao behind him and said coldly, "Jia Zhangshi, what do you think you're doing!"

"What do I think! I'm going to deal with that foul-mouthed son of yours!"

Jia Zhangshi was tough in speech, but she knew in her heart she was no match for Xu Jixiang. Since the liberation, Xu Jixiang had become a projectionist. His family didn't own a bicycle, so he carried all the projection equipment on his shoulders and in his hands. Carrying equipment weighing a hundred or two hundred pounds, Xu Jixiang could walk briskly through the furrows of rural fields; he was far beyond Jia Zhangshi's ability to handle.

If you had reinforcements, so did Jia Zhangshi.

"Dongxu!" Jia Zhangshi yelled toward the back. "Dongxu, come help Mother!"

Jia Dongxu shrank his neck and hid behind Qin Huairu. He had experienced Xu Jixiang's heavy palm before. It hurt like hell.