Liu Haizhong rubbed his temples, but no matter how much he cursed Sha Zhu's ancestors, it was no use. Sha Zhu remained the same stubborn and resentful fool.
"Shazhu, I only have one question: do you want to calm this down?"
"Of course I want this to end quickly, old man." Sha Zhu plopped down on the stool and crossed his legs.
Rubbing his temples wasn't very effective, so Liu Haizhong rubbed his face vigorously and said slowly, "Okay, Shazhu, listen to me, go apologize to Xu Damao first, a sincere apology."
Upon hearing that he had to apologize to Xu Damao, Sha Zhu immediately stiffened his neck: "Why should I? If he doesn't change his tune, I'll kill him."
Liu Haizhong was at his wit's end. Even a simple apology to Xu Damao was not enough for Sha Zhu, let alone making him stand there and let Xu Damao hit him.
"Alright, then I won't say anything else. I can't handle this. You'll have to figure it out yourselves."
Liu Haizhong got up and walked to the door, then turned to look at Sha Zhu, who was still sitting on the bench throwing a tantrum: "If the neighborhood committee investigates, I'll just quit, but you should think it over. Qin Huairu won't be able to go to work then either."
“Once Yan Bugui and the rest of us step down from our positions as managers, you, Shazhu, can be the boss. Qin Huairu hasn’t become a permanent employee yet, and she doesn’t receive a fixed salary. If she loses her job, do you think the Jia family can survive?”
"This is all because of your stubbornness, you silly Zhu. Don't say I didn't warn you."
After saying that, Liu Haizhong opened the door and was about to leave.
Sha Zhu swallowed hard, jumped up and grabbed Liu Haizhong: "Oh my god, what are you doing? It's not that serious."
Liu Haizhong struggled hard, almost knocking Sha Zhu off his feet, and turned around to glare at Sha Zhu.
"Shazhu, let me tell you, stop joking around with me. I've already made things clear. Since you're not cooperating, I don't care how things turn out."
"No, sir! Just tell me what to do and I'll do it!"
When Sha Zhu saw that Liu Haizhong was serious, he immediately backed down and grabbed Liu Haizhong's arm again, refusing to let go.
Seeing that he had achieved his goal, Liu Haizhong sneered: "Do you know what Xu Damao said? He said that whatever you do to him, he will do back to you."
With a quick scratch, before Sha Zhu could react, Liu Haizhong immediately applied the increased intensity.
Sha Zhu's eyes almost popped out: "What the hell? That bastard dares to lay a hand on me? I think I haven't taught him enough lessons."
Liu Haizhong was no longer in a hurry. Since he had Qin Huairu under his control, he wasn't afraid that Sha Zhu wouldn't compromise.
"Alright, Xu Damao is at Yan Bugui's house. Go and teach him a lesson. Qin Huairu will lose her job in less than two days."
"Sir, are you suggesting I go over there and get beaten up?"
Sha Zhu slowly released his grip and stared at Liu Haizhong, asking a question.
Liu Haizhong almost laughed out of anger at Sha Zhu: "This is not my idea, it is Xu Damao's idea. If we want to settle this matter and get Xu Damao to change his mind, we have to fight back."
Sha Zhu took out a cigarette and handed it to Liu Haizhong, then lit one for himself: "Give me two or three minutes to think about it."
For a full five minutes, Sha Zhu smoked two cigarettes in a row, then threw the cigarette butts on the ground. "Let's go. It's just a beating, nothing serious. I've never liked Xu Damao. I'll just consider it a dog bite."
The front yard, Old Yan's house.
“Da Mao, I’m not trying to be mean, but your request is too much. Old Liu definitely can’t bring Sha Zhu.”
Yan Bugui sat sideways at the table, his small eyes blinking behind his glasses. "Why don't you do something practical and have Sha Zhu pay you five yuan?"
Xu Damao picked up the teapot and refilled the water for Wang Dabao and himself, which prompted Yan Bugui to bang on the table: "Why don't you pour me some too!"
After pouring the water, Xu Damao took a swig and said, "I'm telling you, Second Uncle, that was two beatings, do you know how humiliating that was? It's not about paying money. Besides, I can't get over this. I'll never be able to face anyone in the yard again."
"Alright, I won't say anything more. Let Da Bao say a few words."
Yan Bugui waved his hand and looked at Wang Dabao.
Wang Dabao was listening intently when he unexpectedly became the one to speak.
“I can see that Da Mao doesn’t want anything else, he just wants to vent his anger. But what Lao Yan said makes sense. People can’t just stand there and let you hit them. Don’t let the two of you start fighting in Lao Yan’s room.”
Wang Dabao's words had been better, as they startled Yan Bugui, who was standing nearby.
“Let me tell you, Xu Damao, if you want to fight, go outside. My house can’t hold you.”
As the three were talking, Liu Haizhong arrived with Sha Zhu.
Yan Bugui stared wide-eyed in disbelief, never expecting that Liu Haizhong had actually persuaded Sha Zhu.
Upon entering, Sha Zhu glanced around, forced a smile at Wang Dabao, then looked at Xu Damao and said through gritted teeth, "Xu Damao, it was wrong of me to hit you before, I've come to apologize to you."
Xu Damao snorted: "Oh, so you, Silly Zhu, can apologize? Just saying it isn't enough."
Sha Zhu's lips twitched: "You can do whatever you want, as long as you're willing to change your tune and help Sister Qin clarify things."
Yan Bugui's peacemaker nature kicked in again. "We're all neighbors, why make things like enemies? How about this, Shazhu, you let Damao punch you a couple of times."
“Okay, Lao Yan’s idea works.” Liu Haizhong chimed in, “Sha Zhu got beaten up, and Xu Damao also felt better.”
All eyes turned to Xu Damao.
Xu Damao was taken aback. "That won't do. You have no idea how he beat me last night."
"Why didn't you fight back when he hit you?" Liu Haizhong glared at him. "At most three punches. If he hit me, I hit him; if not, forget it."
The room fell silent for a moment.
After a moment, Xu Damao nodded: "Okay, three punches it is, but you can't fight back."
"Nonsense, if you want to hit me, then hit me. Do you think I'm some kind of grandson? Let's make it clear first, I'll let you hit me, but after you're done, you have to change your statement as agreed." Sha Zhu shook his head.
After only three punches, Yan Bugui didn't manage to drive the two men outside.
"Bang!"
Xu Damao's powerful punch sent Sha Zhu staggering. If Wang Dabao hadn't caught him, he would have crashed into the cabinet.
Another punch landed squarely on Sha Zhu's eye socket, instantly turning it bruised.
"Xu Damao, you haven't eaten yet, have you?"
Even after being hit, Sha Zhu remained defiant, saying, "Put some effort into that last punch, don't act like a girl."
"Bang!!!"
Xu Damao gritted his teeth and rushed forward, throwing a punch that landed squarely on Sha Zhu's face.
As Sha Zhu fell backward, a spurt of blood shot out of his nostril.
Seeing that Sha Zhu's nose was splattered all over the table and floor, Yan Bugui was so anxious that he kept slapping his thigh. He didn't care whether Sha Zhu's nose was okay or not; what he cared about was how to clean up the blood.
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