Silly Zhu Throws His Weight Around, the Deaf Old Lady Takes His Side

Xu Damao immediately stood up, pointed at Silly Zhu, and shouted, "Get on your knees and kowtow to me!"

Silly Zhu glared. "I'll fucking castrate you!"

Xu Damao shuddered and immediately turned to complain to the Three Elders. "Three Elders, look how arrogant he is!"

Yi Zhonghai snapped, "Silly Zhu! Shut up!"

Silly Zhu wore a defiant, prickly expression, still tilting his head back to look at the sky.

Qin Jingru said, "Send Silly Zhu to the neighborhood office!"

Xu Damao said, "Have the steel mill's Security Section come and take him away!"

Although Xu Damao was not well liked in the courtyard, this time the neighbors really did side with him, all condemning Silly Zhu.

Even Qin Huairu complained, "Silly Zhu, what nonsense are you pulling? Hurry up and apologize!"

Silly Zhu stubbornly said, "Not happening. Xu Damao was disturbing the peace!"

Liu Haizhong arrived and said, "Fine. Since Silly Zhu refuses to recognize his mistake, send him straight to the Security Section. Lin Zhen, Yan Jiecheng, Liu Guangtian, take Silly Zhu away!"

The moment Silly Zhu heard that, he panicked. "Hey, hey, hey! What are you doing? Second Elder, why are you throwing your official weight around? If you're investigating this, shouldn't you ask what happened first?"

Yan Bugui said contemptuously, "Silly Zhu, can what you did even be discussed openly? Aren't you ashamed?"

Yi Zhonghai angrily said, "Silly Zhu, you've gone too far. Tell me, do you want us Three Elders to settle this in the courtyard, or do you want to go to the Security Section, the neighborhood office, or even be handed over to Director Zhang from the local precinct?"

Seeing how things stood, Silly Zhu realized the entire courtyard had him pinned down. It looked like playing the rogue would not work.

He hurriedly forced a smile. "Come on, Xu Damao and I have fought since we were kids. It's not that serious, right?"

Liu Haizhong sneered. "How serious it is will be decided by the whole courtyard, not by you. As for the punishment, that depends on whether Xu Damao and Qin Jingru are willing to forgive you!"

Qin Huairu quickly kicked Silly Zhu's foot. "Why aren't you going to apologize?"

Silly Zhu scratched his head, then slowly got up and walked over to Xu Damao and Qin Jingru. He gave a slight nod. "Sorry~"

"Not good enough! Silly Zhu, this isn't over!" Xu Damao had made up his mind not to let him off now that he had the upper hand. He was determined to make Silly Zhu pay dearly.

Silly Zhu was utterly shameless and asked with a grin, "Then what do you want?"

"Let the law handle it!"

"Then they'll have to charge you with disturbing the peace too!"

"I'm not afraid. Today, I'll take you down with me!"

"Hey! You..."

"Silly Zhu!"

Yi Zhonghai cut off their argument. Rising to his feet, he asked the people in the courtyard, "Everyone who believes He Yuzhu was at fault and should be punished and pay compensation, raise your hands!"

In an instant!

More than ninety percent of the people in the courtyard raised their hands, all pointing at him and criticizing him.

"Silly Zhu, you're not six or seven years old anymore. What you did was childish."

"To put it bluntly, it was immoral."

"Exactly. Why are you still being so stubborn?"

This time, Silly Zhu behaved himself. Other than the Deaf Old Lady and the Jia family, everyone was condemning him.

"Hey! Lin Zhen, why did you raise your hand too? Help a good brother out."

"Get lost. In my eyes, you and Xu Damao are the same. Wrong is wrong, and you should be punished!"

When Xu Damao heard Lin Zhen's stance, he gained even more confidence.

"Lin Zhen is right. He should be punished!"

Lin Zhen said disdainfully, "You too. Keep it down in the future. There are elderly people nearby. You make so much noise every day that they can't sleep. Is it any wonder someone smashed your window?"

Lin Zhen's words made everyone in the courtyard realize something.

They all turned in unison toward the Deaf Old Lady. Only then did they understand that Silly Zhu's foolishness had been ordered by her.

The Deaf Old Lady's expression did not change. She was still smiling, looking everyone over with a puzzled expression as if she could not hear a thing.

Yi Zhonghai said, "Silly Zhu, Xu Damao, Qin Jingru, do you want us to mediate this, or do you want the law involved? Think carefully. If the law gets involved, both sides will suffer, especially Xu Damao and Qin Jingru. It won't sound good if word gets out. I suggest you settle it here in the courtyard."

Yi Zhonghai was clearly trying to favor Silly Zhu, and Xu Damao could tell.

But when he considered that the matter might spread beyond the courtyard, even throughout the alley and the steel mill, it really would damage his reputation.

It felt like hurting the enemy by a thousand while injuring himself by eight hundred.

After thinking it over, he said, "As long as it's handled in the courtyard in a way that satisfies me, I'm fine with not involving the law."

Yi Zhonghai nodded and looked at Liu Haizhong and Yan Bugui beside him.

"Old Liu, Old Yan, tell us, what punishment should he get?"

Liu Haizhong curled his lip. "A public apology is a must. He also has to pay for Xu Damao's window, and he must do community work for the courtyard."

Yan Bugui immediately said, "Then have Silly Zhu sweep the courtyard for a month and pay Xu Damao ten yuan!"

Silly Zhu's eyes widened. "What? Ten yuan? I might as well replace every window in the whole courtyard!"

Xu Damao refused to accept it. "Ten yuan isn't enough. It has to be fifty!"

Silly Zhu said impatiently, "Not a cent. Do whatever you want. Go ahead and arrest me!"

Yi Zhonghai slammed the table in anger. "It's settled, then. Silly Zhu, if you refuse, we'll take you away right now!"

Silly Zhu looked at the Deaf Old Lady, and she gave a faint shake of her head.

Then he looked at the people in the courtyard. Lin Zhen, Yan Jiecheng, and Liu Guangtian were already rolling up their sleeves, preparing to seize him.

He was not afraid of Yan Jiecheng or Liu Guangtian, but if Lin Zhen made a move, he would be flattened.

Qin Huairu stared at him with a look of bitter disappointment, while Jia Zhangshi also shook her head.

"Fine, fine! Sorry! Happy now? Take these ten yuan! I... I'll sweep the courtyard for another month. I'll lower my head and give in!"

Silly Zhu was furious. This time, he had lost too thoroughly and had no way to turn things around.

Qin Jingru snatched the money and put it away, but Xu Damao still would not let it go. "Silly Zhu, you have to say, 'Master Xu, this grandson He Yuzhu was wrong!'"

"You won't let up just because you have the upper hand. Believe me, I'll smack you!"

Xu Damao cocked his head. "Come on, hit me right here!"

"I'll fucking hit you!"

"Enough! What are you doing? Stop!"

Seeing that the humiliated and enraged Silly Zhu was about to beat Xu Damao, the courtyard immediately erupted.

"Oh! My chest! I... I can't catch my breath..."

The Deaf Old Lady threw down her cane and cried out.

Silly Zhu was so frightened that he stopped acting tough and hurried over to ask, "What's wrong, Old Lady?"

The Three Elders panicked too. She absolutely could not die at a moment like this.

"Quick! Silly Zhu, carry the Old Lady to the hospital!"

"N-No need... I just got the wind knocked out of me..."

As she spoke, the Deaf Old Lady leaned close to Silly Zhu's ear and whispered, "You foolish grandson, take me back to the rear courtyard!"

Only then did Silly Zhu understand that the Deaf Old Lady was putting on an act.

"Don't panic, everyone. The Old Lady just got the wind knocked out of her. She's fine. I'll take her back to the rear courtyard."

Yi Zhonghai, frustrated by Silly Zhu's refusal to improve, angrily said, "Silly Zhu, add one more punishment. You will be responsible for the Old Lady's meals for one month. Meeting adjourned!"

Once the farce was over, Lin Zhen had enjoyed the spectacle to the fullest.

What a delightful sight—chaos everywhere, feathers flying all over the ground. He had truly experienced the Siheyuan in all its melodrama.

Lou Xiao'e shook her head. "How did I never notice before? The Deaf Old Lady really does blindly favor Silly Zhu."

Lin Zhen said, "That's why you should stay away from her in the future."

Silly Zhu carried the Deaf Old Lady back into her room and complained, "It's all your fault. What kind of stupid order was that? You got me criticized by the entire courtyard."

The Deaf Old Lady pouted. "You really are an idiot. I told you to smash it, and you actually went and smashed it? It would have been enough to teach Xu Damao a lesson during the day. But you smashed the newlyweds' window at night—of course no one would side with you. And you even dared to throw your weight around at the meeting. Good thing I coaxed you back, or if this kept going, Lin Zhen would have beaten you again!"

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