Xu Damao was taken aback by Wang Dabao's words.
Realizing what had happened, he immediately chuckled and said, "Alright, I'll go home and change my clothes. I don't want to accidentally burst Sha Zhu's hemorrhoids and get covered in blood."
"Xu Damao, how disgusting are you?"
Liu Haizhong immediately turned around and retorted, "Go quickly if you want to go. I'll wait for you at Brother Da Bao's door."
Xu Damao was quite fast; he ran back in just a few minutes and followed Liu Haizhong to retrieve the belt.
Wang Dabao and Yan Bugui stood at the bottom of the steps by the door, waiting.
"This time, Sha Zhu will be in for a rough time. I reckon Da Mao will go all out."
Yan Bugui blinked his small eyes, licked his lips, and said dryly, "Dabao, do you think we should stop him? Last time, Shazhu fainted from the pain."
Wang Dabao sighed inwardly, really wanting to say, "Old Yan, besides your dad, only your brother Dabao like me spoils you this much!"
He took out a cigarette and offered one to Yan Bugui. "What's wrong? Have you forgotten about me peeing on your trouser leg this morning?"
"Can I stoop to his level?"
Yan Bugui chuckled and took the cigarette with both hands, glancing at the brand name without making it obvious. "Shazhu's dad is a real bastard. He abandoned these two brothers and ran off with a widow. Shazhu has had a tough time all these years carrying Yushui. I'm just being a little too compassionate."
Wang Dabao lowered his head and let Yan Bugui light his cigarette. He took a deep drag and slowly exhaled, saying, "Shazhu is actually a good person, but he has too many flaws. We should take this opportunity to have Da Mao help him correct them, otherwise he will suffer a great loss in the future."
"We beat him up in the yard, so Sha Zhu won't get beaten up by others outside. Doesn't that make you feel a lot better?"
Wang Dabao patted Yan Bugui on the shoulder meaningfully.
Yan Bugui pondered for a long while, a cigarette dangling from his lips, before finally nodding emphatically: "That's really true!"
"Da Bao, your knowledge far surpasses mine. You can speak such profound words so fluently. Old Yan is truly impressed."
"Just something I made up on the spot."
Wang Dabao waved his hand and then asked, "Did Jie Kuang come today?"
Yan Bugui nodded: "They went there a long time ago, carrying a long bench over to reserve a good spot for his Uncle Dabao."
"This kid is more promising than you, Lao Yan." Wang Dabao was finding Yan Jiekuang more and more pleasing to the eye.
As the two were chatting, Liu Haizhong and Xu Damao walked over one after the other.
Seeing Xu Damao holding the belt respectfully with both hands, as if he were holding a snake, Wang Dabao almost choked on his cigarette and cried.
"Da Mao, what are you doing? Can't you just carry it?" Wang Dabao wiped his face and asked.
“Da Bao, you’re mistaken. Just now you asked me to wash my hands and go get this belt, and I’ve figured it out on the way.”
Xu Damao spoke in a low voice, as if he were holding a sacred object. He glanced down at it, then slowly looked at Wang Dabao, "This is not an ordinary belt!"
Wang Dabao really wanted to rush over and give him a good whack on the neck. You went to Liu Haizhong's house and came back speechless, huh?!
"Yes, that's right. It's definitely not ordinary. It's a leather belt with a perfect balance of softness and firmness, making it especially suitable for whipping people."
Wang Dabao threw the cigarette butt on the ground, stomped on it twice, and continued, "You tried smoking Shazhu last time, didn't you? It must have felt pretty good, right?"
Xu Damao nodded, then shook his head: "That's not what I meant. I think this belt might become the 'disciplinary ruler' of our compound, and quite a few people will have to taste it in the future."
"So you're right, we should treat it with reverence."
After saying that, Xu Damao took a deep breath and raised the belt even higher.
Wang Dabao, Yan Bugui, and Liu Haizhong looked at each other in bewilderment.
"Old Liu, tell me the truth, is Xu Damao possessed by an evil spirit in your house?" Yan Bugui leaned closer to Liu Haizhong and whispered.
"Don't talk nonsense."
Liu Haizhong certainly wouldn't like to hear the claim that his house was haunted by evil spirits, and immediately retorted, "Who knows what happened to him? He just came out like this."
Finally, escorted by Wang, Liu, and Yan, Xu Damao led the way, carrying the "ruler" in both hands as he walked towards the central courtyard.
At a glance, the central courtyard was bustling with people, chatting in twos and threes.
The previously noisy crowd was instantly stunned by Xu Damao's posture of holding the belt, and fell silent for a moment. After two or three seconds, the discussion resumed, briefly drowning out what had just happened.
Xu Damao walked to the table and respectfully placed the belt on it.
Afterwards, the three mediators, Liu, Yan, and Xu, took their seats in turn.
You could see that Liu Haizhong's lips were trembling with excitement after he sat down.
After waiting for so long, today has finally come; after hoping for so long, my dream has finally come true. This perfectly encapsulates Liu Haizhong's state of mind!
Yan Bugui moved from the right side of the table to the left side. Although it didn't seem to make much difference, it was still a step up in position. However, he had been used to resting his left arm on the table for many years, so he would have to readjust to the new position.
Needless to say, this was the first time Xu Damao had ever sat in the front and met everyone. He felt that he wouldn't trade this bench for a dragon throne.
As soon as Wang Dabao appeared, Yan Jiekuang pulled him over and made him sit in the first row.
Liu Haizhong glanced at the crowd opposite him and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that Sha Zhu and Yi Zhonghai were both there.
The brothers Liu Guangtian and Liu Guangfu stood on either side of their father, like two guardian generals.
"Bring Sha Zhu up here."
Liu Haizhong said coldly.
The two brothers walked towards Sha Zhu, lifted him up from both sides, and led him to the bench in front of the table.
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