Siheyuan: Fighting against Japanese Aggression in Beijing

When they were almost done eating, there were sporadic sounds coming from the yard. Hearing the sounds, Xu Damao said with a smile, "It's the filial son and grandson who are back, hehe!"

"What is Damao talking about? The Jia family is pitiful enough, and it would be fine if you didn't go to help, but you still say this about others. Are there any people like you?" Lou Xiao'e said, glaring at Xu Damao.

"I'm not wrong. The Jia family deserves to be pitied. Didn't they bully me enough when Jia Dongxu was alive? Humph!" Xu Damao retorted.

"You're still holding a grudge even though the person is gone! Now there's only a house full of orphans and a widowed mother left. We'll still have to help them in the future." Lou Xiao'e said.

"Brother, look at your sister-in-law. She has a kind heart again. Please help me talk to your sister-in-law. She won't listen to anything I say!" Xu Damao asked for help.

"Haha, okay, for the sake of Brother Xu's chicken, I will predict your fortune again today. You can come up with a word for the Jia family, and I will predict for you whether the Jia family is miserable or not!" Li Kangri said with a smile.

"Brother, what is fortune-telling?" Li Qinghe asked puzzledly.

Before Li Kangri could speak, Lou Xiaoe interrupted and said, "I know this. Before the founding of the People's Republic of China, some people walked around the streets or set up stalls on the street to tell people's fortunes, right?"

"Haha, yes, sister-in-law is right." Li Kangri said.

"You know this? And you've tested it on my son Damao?" Lou Xiao'e asked puzzledly.

"Yes, brother, how come I didn't know you had this skill!" Qinghe also asked in confusion.

"This is inherited from our ancestors, passed down to males and not females. Of course you don't know." Li Kangri deceived.

"I have the most say in this, brother. Can you tell me about Jia Dongxu's matter?" Xu Damao asked excitedly.

Seeing Xu Damao's anxious look, Li Kangri nodded and said, "Okay, but this matter cannot be spread outside, sister-in-law, is it okay?"

"I won't say anything. I'm not a gossip!" Lou Xiao'e said dissatisfiedly.

"Let me tell you, let me tell you..."

Xu Damao then told the story of how he had predicted the fortune for the Jia family in detail, and at the end he added, "Brother Li is like a god in my heart."

"Really?" Qing He and Lou Xiao'e asked in surprise at the same time.

"Of course, why would I lie to you!" Xu Damao said proudly with his hands folded.

"Haha, it's just a little trick. Brother Xu, you should write the words for the Jia family!"

When Xu Damao heard that he was asked to write the words himself, he was very excited. He wanted to verify Li Kangri's ability again, so he began to think about it carefully.

"The word 'miserable'. I think the Jia family is very miserable, and I also hope his family is very miserable, so I came up with the word 'miserable'." Xu Damao said meaningfully.

"Xu Damao, you are such a mean person. Is it really that serious? A family of orphans and a widow! Humph!" Lou Xiao'e said dissatisfiedly.

"Sister-in-law, please be calm. Is it really that miserable as Brother Xu said? I don't think so. Judging from the words, the Jia family is going to rise, and life will get better and better." Li Kangri said in a mysterious voice.

"What do you mean, brother? Hurry up and tell me!" Xu Damao said anxiously.

“Haha, this word ‘miserable’ is good. It means people with good intentions will not suffer. Let’s start with the literal meaning! The word ‘miserable’ has a vertical heart radical and a 参 (participate) character.” As he spoke, Li Kangri dipped his hand in a little water and started to write.

"What does '参' mean? It means to participate, which means a lot of people. There is a vertical heart next to it, which means someone is willing to participate. Brother Xu also wants the Jia family to suffer, so he added another heart unintentionally. Does this mean that many people are willing to participate?" Li Kangri deceived.

"Participate in what?" Xu Damao asked.

"Many kind-hearted people are helping the miserable people! Who is the most miserable? The Jia family! Judging from the literal meaning, many kind-hearted people will help the Jia family! Brother Xu, you miscalculated. The Jia family may live better in the future than before."

"No way! Who would help the Jia family? So many people? In the courtyard, only Sha Zhu and Yi Zhonghai are the most active. As for the others, haha, I'm not saying this nonsense, every one of them is the kind of person who hopes that the Jia family will die out." Xu Damao said.

"Brother Xu, the most frightening thing in life is a person with a bad heart. Do you know how to write the Chinese character for "miserable"? " Li Kangri asked.

"Ah! I don't know about this. Haha, I never studied it seriously in school." Xu Damao said embarrassedly, scratching his head.

"I know this. There's a 厶 radical next to the vertical heart, and a big plus small character below it." Lou Xiao'e said.

"My sister-in-law is right. The word "厶" in ancient Chinese means pregnancy, which is easier to understand. The big character is a person, and the small character is at the bottom. This indicates that a villain with ulterior motives will support the pregnant person. The daughter-in-law of the Jia family is pregnant! Therefore, there will be a villain who will take the lead in helping the Jia family. Do you understand?" Li Kangri deceived.

"Really?" Xu Damao asked.

"Haha, won't we know whether it's true or not very soon?" Li Kangri said with a smile.

"I don't believe it." Lou Xiao'e said.

"Brother, I don't believe it either, but it seems like what you said makes sense." Qinghe also said.

"Haha, okay, since I can't sleep now anyway, I might as well analyze it for you based on my understanding of the people in this hospital!" Li Kangri said.

"Hurry up, I love to listen to you!" Xu Damao said anxiously.

"Okay, who do you think this villain is?"

"Shazhu! He is most enthusiastic about the Jia family's affairs." Xu Damao blurted out without hesitation.

"Haha, Brother Xu, you are obsessed. I don't know whether that big fool is stupid or not, but he is really not a villain. Although he also wants to help the Jia family, he does not have the ability to ask everyone to help the Jia family. Guess again."

"Who is it?" Xu Damao looked thoughtful, "Could it be Yi Zhonghai?"

"Impossible. The uncle is a very upright person who often helps others. How could he be a villain?" Lou Xiao'e was the first to object.

"That's right, Brother Xu guessed correctly, sister-in-law, let me explain it to you again. You said Yi Zhonghai often helps others, so who did he help?"

"The Jia family, and the old lady, he has always been the one taking care of the old lady. Also, I heard from people in the courtyard that when Sha Zhu's father ran away, it was the eldest uncle who took care of him. If it weren't for him, Sha Zhu and his sister would have starved to death long ago." Lou Xiao'e said.

"Apart from these three, are there any others? Think about it carefully? Or have you ever seen Yi Zhonghai help any other company?" Li Kangri asked.

"I haven't seen this, but it's a lot of help to the three families." Lou Xiao'e said.

"Do you know why Yi Zhonghai helped these three families?"

"Why else? Because I have a good heart!" said Lou Xiao'e.

"Haha, Brother Xu, do you think so too?" Li Kangri asked Xu Damao.

"I have heard my father analyze this before. He said that Yi Zhonghai helped the Jia family and Sha Zhu in order to provide for him in his old age. As for the old lady, it was to set an example of respecting the elderly for the people in the courtyard, and also to covet the old lady's house." Xu Damao said.

After listening to Xu Damao's words, Lou Xiao'e was full of contempt, thinking that the father and son of the Xu family were judging others by their own mean standards. However, she did not say anything, after all, Xu's father was her father-in-law.