Qin Huairu had Silly Zhu wrapped around her finger. The moment she saw him take out money,
she immediately stopped crying and smiled. "If Deaf Old Lady finds out, she'll probably be mad at me again."
"Nonsense. Old Lady isn't that kind of person!"
Qin Huairu wiped her tears and smiled. "Looks like I still have someone in this courtyard who likes me. Drink slowly. I'm heading back!"
As she spoke, she took the two lunchboxes from the table, along with the white-flour steamed buns.
Silly Zhu said unhappily, "I just gave you money, and you're leaving already?"
"If I don't leave, should I wait for my mother-in-law to come scold you?"
"True enough! Go on, then!"
Silly Zhu looked at the packet of fried peanuts she had left on the table and smacked his lips.
"Why can't I ever stand up to her? She didn't come to drink with me at all. She came to borrow money!"
Once he came to his senses, Silly Zhu only regretted not chatting with her a little longer. He certainly wasn't upset over the ten yuan.
He handled things with ease in the factory cafeteria, and in the courtyard, he wasn't afraid of being controlled by the three Elders either.
He bullied Xu Damao and looked down on Yan Jiecheng and Liu Guangtian.
He could even trade a few moves with Lin Zhen in daily life.
But whenever he saw Qin Huairu, he had no way to deal with her. All his usual cleverness vanished.
As he sat there drinking alone, his younger sister He Yushui came back.
One look at the table—only a packet of fried peanuts, no lunchboxes, no steamed buns—
and she knew the Jia family had swept everything away again.
He Yushui shook her head and smiled. "Sigh... silly brother, your chance has come this time. Let's see how you handle this."
Silly Zhu stared blankly. "What are you talking about? Have you eaten?"
"I ate ages ago. Was I supposed to come back and starve with you?"
"Hmph! Tomorrow, then. The factory director is treating us tomorrow. I'll bring you back half a chicken."
"Forget it. If you really bring it back, you'll hand it straight to Sister Qin, cozy up to Grandma Jia, and leave a good impression. Maybe someday, things between you and Sister Qin might actually work out."
Silly Zhu immediately shook his head again and again.
"No, no, no! Don't talk nonsense. Don't you know what happened to First Elder? He got scolded so badly that he still doesn't dare speak to Qin Huairu. Even when Second Elder passes through the middle courtyard, he keeps his head down. You little brat, quit setting me up. I don't want Grandma Jia slapping my mouth."
He Yushui said disdainfully, "Tch! Hopeless!"
In the blink of an eye, ten days passed.
It was now the time of Jingzhe in February. The weather warmed, and spring insects began to stir.
It was once again the season when nature came alive.
That day was Saturday morning.
Deaf Old Lady leaned on her cane and came to Silly Zhu's home.
Silly Zhu had just finished washing up and was about to leave for work. "Eh? Old Lady, do you need something?"
"Good grandson, come here. Great-grandma has something for you to do!"
"Alright! Tell me!"
"Tonight, take a brick and smash Xu Damao's window!"
"Huh?!!! Why?"
"Why? Hmph! He's disturbing the neighbors!"
After saying that, Deaf Old Lady stomped off in anger, leaving Silly Zhu standing there in confusion.
He knew that telling him to smash Xu Damao's window was an exaggeration. What she really meant was for him to teach Xu Damao a lesson.
But Xu Damao had been quite well-behaved these past few days. He hadn't caused any trouble. How had he offended the courtyard's old ancestor?
Silly Zhu shook his head. Just as he shut the door and turned to leave, he saw Xu Damao pushing his bicycle over while yawning, looking weak and half-asleep.
"Xu Damao! Stop right there!"
"Good heavens!"
Silly Zhu's shout startled Xu Damao so badly that his whole body jerked, and he nearly fell onto the ground.
"Silly Zhu, are you fucking sick? Why are you shouting?"
"I'm asking you, how did you offend Deaf Old Lady?"
Xu Damao looked equally confused. "What are you talking about? I haven't even paid attention to her these past few days!"
"Don't leave. This definitely has something to do with you!"
"I don't have time to play with you. Grandpa Xu has to get to work!"
The two chased each other until they happened to run into Lin Zhen in the front courtyard, just as he was heading to work.
Lin Zhen saw that Xu Damao had dark circles under his eyes, pale lips, and a floating, unsteady gait. His breath was weak, and his vitality was depleted.
"Silly Zhu! Bullying Xu Damao again? What's going on?"
"Lin Zhen, hurry and hold Silly Zhu back! He's about to lose his mind again!" Xu Damao jumped onto his bicycle and rode off.
Silly Zhu chuckled. "That bastard! I don't know how he offended Deaf Old Lady. She came looking for me just now and told me to smash Xu Damao's window in the middle of the night, saying he's disturbing the neighbors."
Lin Zhen could not help but chuckle when he heard that.
It seemed Xu Damao had taken his advice and plowed the field three times every day.
The layout of the rear courtyard had Xu Damao living in the east wing, Liu Haizhong in the west wing, and Deaf Old Lady in the central room. That meant any noise from Xu Damao's home could easily reach Deaf Old Lady's ears.
Her deafness was an act. When speaking to people normally, if something had nothing to do with her, she could not hear a thing.
But if someone was plotting against her grandson He Yuzhu, she could hear everything.
She was an old fox playing dumb, while inside, her mind was as clear as a mirror.
And old people slept lightly at night. The slightest sound could wake them.
For someone pretending to be deaf, hearing noise at night was especially aggravating.
Xu Damao and Qin Jingru had truly treated Deaf Old Lady as if she were deaf. They had not restrained themselves in the slightest.
As long as they did not disturb Liu Haizhong's family in the west-side home, that was enough.
As a result, Deaf Old Lady had really suffered these past few days.
Every night, she was disturbed until she could not sleep.
Lin Zhen truly had not expected that teasing Xu Damao would bring such an unexpected benefit.
Trying not to laugh, he said, "That's not right, is it? Isn't Deaf Old Lady deaf? Even if he disturbs the neighbors, the noise can't reach her ears!"
Silly Zhu had not considered that possibility and muttered, "How would I know? Old Lady told me to deal with Xu Damao. I should at least put on a show, right?"
Lin Zhen waved a hand. "Go on, go on. If you'd told me sooner, I wouldn't have stopped you!"
At lunchtime, Xu Damao specifically sought out Lin Zhen.
Holding his lower back as he sat down on a stool, he said, "Lin Zhen, your method isn't working. My back is about to break. I really can't keep this up."
Xu Damao said awkwardly, "It... it was only during the first couple of days. It's not like everyone has your physique. I've never trained. Even if it were Silly Zhu, he couldn't keep it up either. Ah—ptui, ptui! What nonsense am I saying? Silly Zhu can dream on!"
Lin Zhen spread his hands in mock regret. "If you don't persist, wouldn't all your previous effort go to waste?"
"If I really persist, I'll be going to play chess with Jia Dongxu in less than a month."
"Hehe, then won't you two brothers-in-law get to meet again?"
"Quit joking around. Seriously, give me some advice."
"No advice. It depends on your own fate."
"Hey! That's not very loyal of you. You and Lou Xiao'e definitely weren't like this at the beginning. If you won't tell me, I'll ask Lou Xiao'e myself tonight."
Lin Zhen's face darkened, and his teasing smile instantly turned sinister and terrifying.
"Say nonsense to my wife, and I'll geld you!"
Xu Damao instantly shuddered. He immediately put on a broad smile. "I-I... I was just joking. I'll listen to you, but physically, I really can't help it!"
Lin Zhen said coldly, "If your body can't help it, soak goji berries in your enamel mug!"
Xu Damao's eyes lit up. "Will that work?"
"Try it yourself. Get lost!"
Thank you all for your support.
Before you continue