Siheyuan: Starting from the driver

Chapter 719 When the heavens are mad, rain will surely fall; when people are mad, disaster will surely follow.

backyard.

Xu Damao lay on the bed, his legs crossed and swinging back and forth. He held a palm-leaf fan in his hand and weakly fanned his face, his movements inattentive and perfunctory.

Having held this title of "Second Uncle" for over a month, Xu Damao's heart felt like a stagnant pond with stones thrown in.

It's not exactly rippling, but rather turbulent.

It's calm on the surface, but there's a smug, itchy feeling hidden beneath the surface.

He has no rights whatsoever; he's not worthy of being called the second uncle for nothing.

"No way! I can't just sit here in this position of Second Uncle for nothing. I have to let the whole courtyard see how powerful I, Xu Damao, am!"

Xu Damao jumped up, but not knowing what to do, he lay back down.

A couple of days ago, the neighborhood office conveyed an initiative to "build a new style of harmonious neighborly relations," and the courtyard became surprisingly "harmonious."

Not a feather flies, not a dog jumps, and even the mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law who usually love to fight have stopped as if they had agreed to do so.

This left Xu Damao with no opening to exploit the situation.

For several days in a row, the courtyard was calm and peaceful, and nothing of the sort happened.

"No way! If I don't stir up trouble and make a scene, what kind of old man am I? Who will listen to me after this?"

Xu Damao thought about it more and more and it made more sense.

Immediately, Xu Damao got up and strolled around the backyard.

Liu Haizhong's family? Forget it, we can't afford to offend them.

A deaf old lady? That's even more dangerous.

The other residents were all too weak; Xu Damao had no intention of provoking them at all.

There was no backyard, and I was too lazy to go to the rear building. My gaze involuntarily drifted past the central passageway toward the middle courtyard.

The Jia family is always noisy and argumentative, but what about that old hag, Madam Jia Zhang? Provoking the Jia family is just asking for trouble.

Let's let it go since Yi Zhonghai is a senior figure.

That's Sha Zhu, that troublemaker. If you mess with him and end up in a fight, even if you win, you'll still get hurt. It's better to avoid it.

After wandering around for a while, Xu Damao arrived at the front yard.

The front yard was peaceful, and nothing seemed to be happening.

Just as Xu Damao was about to die without a trace, a voice came.

"How many times have I told you not to pile things up in this public passageway! Not only are they blocking the way, but what if someone trips over them?"

Yan Jiecheng pointed to a pile of old brooms, dustpans, and other miscellaneous items in the corner, which had obviously just been cleared out of the house, and spoke in a serious tone.

"I'll just put it off for a little while," Yan Jiedi pouted.

"Not even for a little while! Rules are rules! It's not good if someone gets hurt. Take it back and put it under your own window!"

Yan Jiecheng raised his voice slightly.

Upon closer inspection, it was clear that Yan Jiecheng was teaching Yan Jiedi manners. After all, she was no longer a child, and it was time for her to learn the rules.

Yan Jiefang and Yan Jiekuang, who were standing to the side, didn't say anything.

"Hurry up, take it all!" Yan Jiecheng shouted. There weren't many things, and Yan Jiedi could carry them herself.

"What's all the noise about! What's all the noise about!" Before Xu Damao had even gotten close, his deliberately raised voice rang out.

He stood with his hands behind his back, his chest not particularly imposing, his chin slightly raised, his nostrils pointing to the sky, and he walked steadily towards the group with a pigeon-toed gait.

His small eyes gleamed, first scanning the pile of junk before landing on Yan Jiecheng's face.

"What are you doing in the middle of the day? Demolishing houses? Don't you want the neighbors to rest? Huh?!" Xu Damao immediately started making a big deal out of nothing.

Seeing Xu Damao's attitude, Yan Jiecheng didn't bother with him and waved his hand, "Go away, what's it to you about Xu Damao!"

Yan Jiecheng's attitude immediately displeased Xu Damao: "Hey, Yan Jiecheng, what kind of attitude is this? I'm your second uncle, how can this not be my business!"

Seeing Xu Damao like this, Yan Jiecheng looked him straight in the eye: "Hey, Xu Damao, who do you really think you are? Do you really think that just because you're a big shot, I have to give you face?"

"This is my family matter, what are you doing meddling in? Mind your own business! Get out of here!"

"Bullshit! What do you mean it has nothing to do with me? Huh?! Let me tell you, it has a lot to do with me!"

Xu Damao put one hand on his hip (looking very imposing) and said to Yan Jiecheng in a pretentious manner, "Now the street office is asking us to 'build harmonious neighborhood relations,' and the whole courtyard is responding."

"You're arguing and making a scene in front of the kids in the middle of the day, and this is 'harmony'?! You're yelling and shouting at the kids, is this how a brother should act?"

Xu Damao spoke rapidly and illogically, accusing Yan Jiecheng, but his aggressive manner, like a machine gun, gave Yan Jiecheng no chance to defend himself.

Yan Jiecheng was completely dumbfounded. How did his attempt to educate his sister escalate into "undermining the construction of harmony"?

Isn't Xu Damao just making trouble out of nothing and escalating things?

"Xu Damao, are you fucking crazy? You're just looking for trouble. If you have nothing better to do, go home and stop messing around with me!"

"Oh ho?!" Xu Damao was overjoyed to see that Yan Jiecheng dared to talk back and even curse back.

He was really worried about how to show off his power.

"Hey! You little ticket seller, you think you're so tough?! You dare to insult the supervisor?!"

Xu Damao lunged forward with his not-so-tall body, deliberately bumping Yan Jiecheng with his shoulder.

Caught off guard, Yan Jiecheng staggered and took a step back.

This collision, ironically, brought out Yan Jiecheng's fighting spirit! Even a clay figure has some backbone! No one would be in a good mood if they were bothered for no reason.

"Xu Damao! You bastard! You dare to lay a hand on me?!" Yan Jiecheng was completely enraged and no longer cared about being polite.

He grabbed a broom from the ground and, without thinking, swung it at Xu Damao!
"Oh my god!" Xu Damao was so frightened that he instinctively dodged. Seeing that Yan Jiecheng actually dared to fight back, he became even more "ambitious" and howled, "You dare to hit people? You've gone too far!" He then pounced on him with bared teeth and claws.

The two immediately started fighting.

Xu Damao was able to beat Sha Zhu, so his skills were naturally not bad. He used insidious methods, targeting the lower body, pulling hair, pinching soft flesh, and spitting.

Yan Jiecheng was blinded by rage, as if he had activated a 'superhuman body', and disregarded the pain at all.

"You bastard Xu Damao! How dare you hit my brother!"

When the brothers Yan Jiefang and Yan Jiekuang saw their older brother being beaten, they roared and rushed over, kicking Xu Damao in the waist.

Xu Damao was wrestling with Yan Jiecheng, who was red-eyed, pulling hair and pinching flesh with great gusts of wind when suddenly two gusts of wind came from the side and behind him.

His method of 'calling out names' was completely useless against the three of them ganging up on him.

"Ouch!" A sharp pain shot through his waist, and Xu Damao cried out in pain, his hand that was gripping Yan Jie's hair involuntarily loosening.

Just as I was about to turn around and yell angrily, a sharp cracking sound rang out.

Yan Jiekuang delivered a solid blow to his left cheek.

This intense fight left him seeing stars, his ears ringing, and half his face burning and numb.

"You... Ouch!" Xu Damao had just opened his mouth when Yan Jiecheng seized the opportunity to break free and delivered a powerful headbutt to Xu Damao's chest. Two fists can't fight six hands.

"Stop hitting me! Stop it!" Yan Jiedi, who was standing to the side, was already terrified and burst into tears.

However, the Yan brothers, caught up in the fierce battle, and the disheveled Xu Damao were oblivious to the little girl's cries.

As Xu Damao covered his face and retreated, Yan Jiefang kicked him a few more times on his monkey-butt-like face.

"Serves you right for abusing your power! Serves you right for looking for trouble!"

"Stop it, stop it!"

"Help me—!"

Okay, that's it. He didn't get to show off his power properly.

Yan Bugui was the first to hear it; he had seen it when the fight started, but the three brothers were in the lead.

He must be stupid to try to stop it.

He had so many children just so that he wouldn't be bullied by outsiders.

Yi Zhonghai from the Intermediate People's Court was the first to arrive upon hearing the commotion. Seeing the group tangled together, he loudly rebuked them:
"What are you doing! Are you all lawless?! Stop it!"

His powerful shout actually made the four people on the field pause in their movements.

When the Yan brothers turned around and saw that it was Yi Zhonghai, they couldn't help but slow down their movements.

Xu Damao seemed to have seen a savior, and he scrambled and crawled away from the three men's attack in a disheveled state.

His face was patchy with red and white marks, his hair was a mess, and his clothes were torn and crooked. Where was the dignity of "Second Uncle"?

"Uncle, you have to stand up for me! Look at what they did to me!" Xu Damao complained, covering his face.

"I just said a few words to Yan Jiecheng, telling him to be more mindful of neighborly harmony, and he immediately started hitting me! The three of them then ganged up on me without saying a word! Is there no manners at all? This is outrageous!"

Xu Damao's skill in distorting the truth and exaggerating facts is unparalleled.

"Bullshit!" Yan Jiecheng trembled with rage. "Uncle, don't listen to Xu Damao's slander! He hit me first, and now he's making a big deal out of it!"

"I'm just properly disciplining my own sister, what business is it of Xu Damao's? He comes out here pointing fingers, acting all high and mighty, and even started the fight by hitting me first!"

"That's right! Grandpa, it's clearly Xu Damao who's just looking for trouble!" Yan Jiefang chimed in, panting heavily, his sleeve torn.

At this point, even more people were alarmed.

Jia Zhangshi, forgetting all about pasting matchboxes, rushed over to watch the commotion, as did the others.

It was particularly strange that Yan Bugui and the Third Aunt did not come out to see what was going on.

Yi Zhonghai watched the two sides arguing, but he had no intention of dealing with it at all.

Whoever hits whom deserves to be hit!

"It's the middle of the day, and all the men in the courtyard, young and old, are taking their afternoon nap. How can you be fighting like this? What kind of behavior is this!"

“Xu Damao!” Yi Zhonghai stared at him, his gaze icy.

"As the second eldest uncle, instead of taking the lead in maintaining harmony in the courtyard, you escalate things over trivial matters, deliberately sowing discord among neighbors. Not to mention, you even started a fight! Is this the kind of power you 'second eldest uncle' enjoys? Huh?!"

"I'm an old man, please let me explain," Xu Damao tried to argue.

Yi Zhonghai had no interest in listening. His gaze swept over the three Yan brothers. "Jie Cheng, you're also at fault! Can't you handle family matters behind closed doors and keep your voices down? Jie Fang, Jie Kuang, you two young men, you got into a fight, and a group fight at that?"

"Even if they were in the right, they've become unreasonable! They didn't know their own strength; what if they really hurt someone?"

Yan Jiecheng stuck out his neck, but Yi Zhonghai's criticism was reasonable. He lowered his head and replied, "Yes, sir, I was furious at the time, but Xu Damao is a real scoundrel!"

Yi Zhonghai turned to the neighbors who had gathered around and said loudly, "Neighbors living together will inevitably have some minor disagreements, but what kind of behavior is it to make such a scene and fight over such a trivial matter?"

"They've brought shame to our entire hospital!"

Finally, returning to the individuals involved: "This matter must be punished! It will teach you a lesson! And it will give the entire court an explanation!"

"Xu Damao! You're the instigator! As the person in charge, you've stirred up trouble, disrupted harmony, and caused extremely bad influence! You're punished by cleaning all the public areas of the compound for a week! Starting tomorrow! If you don't clean it properly, you'll get an extra week!"

"Huh?!" Xu Damao was struck dumb. Cleaning? And for a whole week? This was even more humiliating than being beaten up by the Yan brothers!

His face turned a deep purplish-red: "Grandpa! I just became a grandpa, you see, this punishment is too harsh!"

Yi Zhonghai didn't give him a chance to bargain, turning his gaze to the Yan brothers: "Yan Jiecheng! Although you had a reason, fighting is wrong! You are punished to clean the front yard passageway for three days!"

"Yan Jiefang! Yan Jiekuang! You two joined the fight without asking any questions, and you didn't know your own strength! You're each sentenced to clean the corridor of the central courtyard for three days! If you don't finish, you'll get an additional penalty! Do you understand?!"

Although Yan Jiecheng was indignant about the result, he knew that he had indeed acted impulsively, especially since he had brought his younger brother along. He said in a low voice, "I understand."

Yan Jiefang and Yan Jiekuang could only nod and say, "We understand."

"Alright, everyone disperse! Go do whatever you were doing!" Yi Zhonghai waved his hand. "Don't gather here anymore! It's an eyesore!"

After hearing Yi Zhonghai's punishment at home, Yan Bugui would naturally stand up if the punishment was unfair.

Yi Zhonghai simply didn't give him that chance, and he was too lazy to say anything more.

Most importantly, Xu Damao was originally responsible for cleaning the courtyard this week, but he took on the majority of the cleaning duties.

This also serves to set rules for Jie Di, showing that if someone doesn't follow the rules, someone will be punished, which is much more important than just talking about it.

No matter how you look at it, it's a win-win situation.

The crowd of onlookers gradually dispersed amidst whispers and snickers.

Madam Jia clicked her tongue and said, "Tsk tsk, this Xu Damao, he's gotten cocky now that he's a nobody. He's kicked a hornet's nest, hasn't he? Serves him right!"

The three Yan brothers pulled Yan Jiedi, who was still wiping away tears, home.

Yan Jiecheng glared at Xu Damao, who was still standing there, looking utterly dejected. His gaze was like a knife, full of warning and contempt. He spat:
"Pah! What is that?!"

The front yard finally returned to tranquility, leaving only the footprints left from the fight and the lingering tension and dust in the air.

Xu Damao stood alone in the empty front yard, like a ridiculous clown who had been abandoned.

He resented that damned title of "Second Uncle," which not only brought him no benefit but also made him a laughing stock, leaving him with nothing but sweeping the yard!
"Why? Why? I'm the second uncle!" Xu Damao roared inwardly.

Sha Zhu looked at Xu Damao with undisguised schadenfreude and mockery on his face.

"You little brat! You think you're so arrogant now that you've just become the 'second uncle'?" Sha Zhu muttered to himself, feeling extremely pleased.

"What kind of trash is this? Daring to act like someone in charge? Feeling good now? Haha, serves you right for sweeping the streets!"

The more he thought about it, the more relieved he felt. He couldn't hide the smile lines on his face, and his mouth stretched all the way to his ears. He felt even more comfortable than if he had just cooked a delicious dish.

I can't beat Xu Damao myself, but someone else can handle him!
Xu Damao inadvertently caught a glimpse of Sha Zhu's blatantly mocking gaze, which felt like a bucket of boiling oil had been poured onto the fire of anger in his heart!
"Idiot Zhu! What are you looking at?!" Xu Damao couldn't hold back any longer, pointing at Idiot Zhu and cursing, "What's it to you? Are you trying to make a fool of me? You think you can mess with me?"

"Xu Damao, try yelling at me again!" Instead of getting angry, Sha Zhu rubbed his fists together and deliberately looked Xu Damao up and down.

It seems they intend to kick someone when they're down!
Xu Damao naturally wouldn't give him that chance.

"Humph!"

He snorted coldly and slunk away.

(End of this chapter)