An unusual atmosphere permeated the Hongxing Courtyard at dusk.
Yan Bugui had long since grown tired of staying at school and made an excuse to go home.
He was sitting on a small stool by the door, lost in thought.
It's getting cold, and the doorway is bare. He's not in the mood to move the flowers outside, which saves him the trouble of cleaning up after get off work.
Yan Bugui's wife went back and forth to the door several times, but in the end she didn't say anything, sighed and went back inside.
When Yan Jiekuang came home from school, he didn't even dare to breathe loudly as he passed by his elderly father.
He had heard about it at school.
His father was taken away by the factory's security personnel while he was in class, which made him quite worried. Fortunately, he returned at noon and seemed to be alright, otherwise he wouldn't still have that smiling face.
Little did he know that Yan Bugui was just putting on an act; in reality, he longed to find a secluded place to cry his heart out.
With Yan Bugui's narrow-mindedness, barely bigger than a pinhole, how could he withstand such a blow?
After an afternoon of calculations, Yan Bugui had already figured out how much he could buy with three hundred yuan, how many sets of furniture he could furnish.
The neighbors coming and going in the courtyard had heard about what happened at the school, but they didn't know exactly what had happened. They wanted to ask a few questions, but Yan Bugui had a very unapproachable look on his face, so they just greeted him and left.
It's not that the neighbors are being malicious, it's just that they don't want to provoke Yan Bugui at this time.
Anyway, if there's any gossip in this courtyard, you're sure to hear it the next morning. Piece together the gossip, and you can pretty much piece together what happened.
It won't make a difference if it's just one more night!
Soon, Yan Jiecheng returned with his head hanging low.
"Dad, what... what are you doing sitting here?"
As Yan Jiecheng entered, he saw Yan Bugui sitting on a stool, staring blankly ahead. "Dad, we can earn more money if we lose it. Just don't get too stressed and ruin your health."
Yan Jiecheng mustered his courage and offered words of comfort.
That afternoon was equally agonizing for him; several times he wanted to go to the propaganda department to see if Xu Damao was there.
There's no one like Xu Damao. He was supposed to help him solidify his position as the third uncle, but after the incident, he didn't even bother to discuss it and just abandoned the father and son.
This setback has really brought bad luck to the Yan family.
If he didn't vent his anger, not only Yan Bugui, but even Yan Jiecheng would be depressed to death.
When he got home, he saw his father sitting at the door. He knew that his father was waiting for Xu Damao, but Yan Jiecheng still had to ask him a question. He was really afraid that this matter would leave a bad impression on his father.
"Waiting for someone."
Yan Bugui didn't even glance at his son, uttering just two words.
Yan Jiecheng licked his lips but didn't dare to reply. He quietly went into the house and soon brought out a small stool, sitting down behind Yan Bugui.
The father and son, with their serious and unsmiling faces, became a striking sight for the neighbors passing by.
Sha Zhu hummed a little tune and came back with a lunchbox swaying back and forth.
Go around the door and you'll see the father and son sitting there like wooden sculptures.
"Ouch!!!"
Sha Zhu's shout almost made Yan Bugui and his son jump off the bench. "I said, Third Uncle, no, you're Second Uncle now. What are you two doing?"
"It can't be that art thing they mentioned in the newspaper, can it?"
Before Yan Bugui and Yan Jiecheng could react, Sha Zhu slung the lunchbox over his back and said cheerfully.
Yan Jiecheng immediately got angry and jumped up from the bench. "Shazhu, this is none of your business. Get out of here. Your arm is all better now, huh? What are you so smug about?"
"Hey, got a gunshot wound? Or did someone steal your wife away?"
Sha Zhu's expression changed, but he didn't show any anger. He straightened up and swung his arm forward. "It's not ready yet. If you're not blind, you should be able to tell."
"Your wife ran off with someone else." Yan Jiecheng pointed at Shazhu. "Shazhu, with a mouth like that, you'll never get a wife. Just wait to be a bachelor for the rest of your life."
Yan Jiecheng really wanted to take advantage of Sha Zhu's injured arm and beat him up.
But a mere argument isn't enough reason to break things off!
If we go up there, we might get swindled out of some money by Sha Zhu, which would be terrible.
He'd just paid out 300 yuan; even if Yan Jiecheng were to be extorted for 10 yuan in medical expenses, Yan Bugui would still beat him to death.
"I can't be bothered with you. Get out of my way and stop getting in my way."
"Hey, this yard doesn't belong to your family. Besides, I wasn't even talking to you, so why are you interrupting? You have no manners, do you, Second Uncle?!"
Yan Bugui had no intention of breaking up the fight; he just listened expressionlessly as his son and Sha Zhu exchanged barbs.
He only snapped out of his daze when Sha Zhu called him "Second Uncle" again.
"Silly Zhu, something's happened at Second Uncle's house today, so don't get involved. Go home and eat!"
After Yan Bugui finished speaking, he waved his hand weakly, as if shooing away flies, and didn't even look at Sha Zhu.
Sha Zhu's eyes darted around. He figured it out. Something big must have happened to the Yan family. These two were probably holding them captive here.
"Okay, I won't keep you any longer. I'll just have a smoke here."
Sha Zhu took out a cigarette and handed one to Yan Bugui. Then he showed off the cigarette pack to Yan Jiecheng, walked to the window of Old Yan's house, leaned against it, and leisurely began to puff away.
Yan Jiecheng was annoyed, but since Yan Bugui didn't say anything, he didn't say anything either. He could only glare fiercely at Shazhu, who was leaning against his window.
Sha Zhu didn't care. He figured he couldn't glare away a piece of flesh anyway, so he might as well glare.
Before long, the three of them saw a dog sneaking into the yard.
Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be Jia Dongxu.
Jia Dongxu entered the courtyard with his head down. When he looked up, he saw three people staring intently at him. His heart skipped a beat for no reason, and he immediately stopped in his tracks.
Sha Zhu glanced at Yan Bugui, then at Yan Jiecheng, wondering who the two were waiting for.
Yan Bugui was too lazy to speak, and Yan Jiecheng, seeing that Xu Damao was not the target, didn't want to pay attention to him either, and waved his hand casually, as if shooing away a cat or dog.
Jia Dongxu pursed his lips, feeling humiliated, but he didn't say a word and strode towards the central court.
Sha Zhu frowned, unable to understand what the father and son next to him were up to.
However, he wasn't foolish enough to go and ask further; judging from the current situation, he would get an answer soon.
Not long after Jia Dongxu left, Liu Haizhong's obese figure appeared.
Seeing this, I couldn't help but step forward to ask.
And Yan Bugui and his son could not possibly treat Liu Haizhong with the same perfunctory attitude they had shown to Sha Zhu.
After understanding the intentions of Yan Bugui and his son, Liu Haizhong decided not to leave. He asked Yan Jiecheng to bring a stool and sat down next to Yan Bugui, together keeping an eye on the door and waiting for Xu Damao to arrive.
Sha Zhu kept twisting his body, because it was cold; leaning against the brick wall was nowhere near as comfortable as sitting on a bench.
Yan Jiecheng deliberately brought out a stool. He wanted to go home and bring a stool, but he was afraid of missing the show, so he looked conflicted.
He had just heard that these people were all waiting for Xu Damao.
Anyone else, even a fool like Zhu wouldn't miss such a scene, but when it comes to Xu Damao, he wouldn't budge even if he froze to death here!
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