Xu Damao glanced at Sha Zhu with a grin, secretly pleased. Luckily, it had been cold these past two days, and he was too lazy to wash his feet and change his socks, so this came in handy.
Yi Zhonghai shook his head helplessly and waved for Jia Dongxu to continue.
Jia Dongxu took a deep breath, swung the belt again, and lashed Sha Zhu's buttocks with a "smack".
"one!"
Xu Damao shouted at the top of his lungs.
Sha Zhu gritted his teeth, endured the pain, raised his head, and gave a trembling thumbs-up to the three old men in front of him!
Yi Zhonghai slammed his hand on the table. "Xu Damao, do you even know how to count? If you do, then count properly. If you don't, then find someone else."
Xu Damao chuckled: "Wrong, wrong, it's the second time, the second time."
The leather belt in Jia Dongxu's hand kept falling, making a crisp sound that echoed in the yard along with the whimpering sounds coming from Sha Zhu's mouth.
Each lash made Shazhu's body tremble.
After about twenty strokes, Sha Zhu's forehead was covered in sweat, and his face was as pale as paper.
When Jia Dongxu reached the thirtieth strike, his arm felt a little numb. While he was moving his arm around, Xu Damao stepped forward and volunteered to do the rest, promising that he would put in just as much effort as Jia Dongxu in each subsequent strike.
The onlookers whispered amongst themselves, some showing signs of pity, while others remained gloating.
Xu Damao cracked his whip once, counting aloud: thirty-two, thirty-three, thirty-three, thirty-four, thirty-three...
When he counted to thirty-five, Sha Zhu finally couldn't hold on any longer, his head lolled to the side and he fainted.
Yi Zhonghai quickly stepped forward to check, pulled the sock out of Sha Zhu's mouth, and found that he was just unconscious and not seriously injured.
"Okay, stop now."
Yi Zhonghai waved to stop Xu Damao.
Looking at Sha Zhu, who had collapsed on the bench, Yi Zhonghai felt a pang of pity. But he also understood that things had come to this point, and between Jia Dongxu and Sha Zhu, he could only wrong the latter.
Xu Damao, however, was still not satisfied and leaned close to Yi Zhonghai, whispering, "Uncle, should we wake him up so we can keep smoking?"
Yi Zhonghai glared at Xu Damao. "That's enough. Send him back to rest."
"Fine, fine, you're in charge."
Xu Damao verbally agreed and waved to Wang Dabao, "Brother Dabao, come and lend a hand. Let's take Shazhu home together."
Just a few steps from Sha Zhu's house, Yi Zhonghai saw Wang Dabao and Xu Damao helping Sha Zhu home. He didn't say anything, but went to discuss something with Jia Dongxu.
The unconscious Sha Zhu was carried away by two men, who held him by the arms like a dead dog.
Upon entering Sha Zhu's house, Xu Damao kept giving Wang Dabao meaningful glances.
Wang Dabao understood immediately, and the two of them turned around and picked up Sha Zhu, shouting "one, two, three" at the same time. Sha Zhu's 130-140 jin body crashed heavily onto the wooden bed frame with a thud.
With his bottom landing on the ground, Sha Zhu jumped off the bed with a "whoosh," baring his teeth and sweat dripping from his face.
Wang Dabao quickly made his escape, while Xu Damao almost burst out laughing.
"Xu Damao, you son of a bitch! You're plotting revenge, don't think I don't know. You're just making things up for me." At this moment, Sha Zhu felt like his entire buttocks weren't his own anymore, and excruciating pain spread from his buttocks throughout his entire body.
"Hey, if you're going to talk like that, then let's go find an old man. You haven't finished fighting yet."
Xu Damao raised an eyebrow and was about to go up and grab Sha Zhu.
"Get lost."
Sha Zhu dodged, the movement aggravating his wound and causing him to hiss in pain.
Xu Damao wasn't satisfied yet, and standing by the bed, he couldn't help but start lecturing Shazhu: "Shazhu, you've finally met your match! What happened? You didn't get to sleep with that woman Qin Huairu and you still got lashed dozens of times. Was that satisfying?!"
Sha Zhu was bent over, his whole body aching terribly, but he didn't want Xu Damao to take advantage of him.
"You fucking know nothing, just stay here and be envious."
"Shut up, what nonsense are you spouting?"
Yi Zhonghai called over Dr. Zhou from the neighboring courtyard. As soon as he entered the house, he heard Sha Zhu and Xia Damao arguing. He immediately scolded Sha Zhu and then glared at Xu Damao, "Alright, the meeting is over. Go home and don't talk nonsense outside."
"Well, I've had my fill of playing with my hands today."
With that, Xu Damao gave Sha Zhu a mocking laugh, lifted the curtain, and went out.
Sha Zhu lay face down on the bed, his buttocks a bloody mess, quite frightening. After Dr. Zhou diagnosed it as just superficial injuries, Yi Zhonghai finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Dr. Zhou had experienced the previous brawl in the compound, so he could be considered a "veteran".
Yi Zhonghai's explanation was that Sha Zhu had accidentally fallen. Doctor Zhou muttered to himself, "He really was careless!"
By the time Xu Damao left Shazhu's house, most of the neighbors in the courtyard had already left, except for Wang Dabao, who was still sitting at the door drinking tea.
Xu Damao wrapped up the teapot and went back to the backyard with Wang Dabao. As soon as they entered the backyard, they heard the old deaf woman's house shouting and cursing.
The two exchanged a smile and went back to their respective rooms.
The next morning, Wang Dabao pushed his bicycle out the door.
Today marks his first working day at the steel rolling mill.
As they approached the front yard, Yan Bugui immediately came over, holding two packs of cigarettes and stuffing them into Wang Dabao's pocket.
"Hey, Lao Yan, what are you doing?"
Wang Dabao laughed, "I never thought I'd be smoking a cigarette from you, Old Man Yan. This is incredible!"
"Hey, what are you saying, Da Bao? Even if I, your brother Yan, am stingy, I have to consider the consequences, right? Let me tell you, these cigarettes aren't cheap."
Yan Bugui chuckled, "If it weren't for you last night, Jie Kuang wouldn't still be lying on the kang sleeping in. Your sister-in-law said she'll have to invite you over for a meal sometime."
"Forget about eating, at least we have cigarettes to smoke."
Wang Dabao patted his shirt pocket. "Okay, you go ahead with your work. I'm going to work now."
After watching Wang Dabao walk away, Yan Bugui went back into the house.
Seeing the three women making breakfast, Yan Bugui asked, almost as if possessed, "What does Wang Dabao do at the steel rolling mill again?"
"You didn't ask, so how could I possibly know?"
Yan Bugui slapped his forehead: "Look at my brain, I forgot to ask again."
The third aunt rolled her eyes at Yan Bugui. "If you ask me, Da Bao is a good guy. The key is that he has a good relationship with our family. No matter what job he does, as long as he works at the steel mill, he's a regular worker. I think he's not young anymore. Why don't we try to find him a suitable partner?"
"Do you think I don't want to? Introducing someone to a potential partner is also a way to build connections."
Yan Bugui clapped his hands. "The key is that there isn't a suitable one around. Sha Zhu even mentioned this to me the other day. Let's wait and see, until the school gets another new teacher."
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