Siheyuan: I live next door to Xu Damao, my last name is Cao

It was late at night and the place was quiet. The dark night sky seemed like a huge piece of black silk, tightly wrapping the entire courtyard without any air leakage.

Occasionally, a few dog barks were heard from deep in the alley, breaking the silence but fleeting, soon dissipating in the cold air, only briefly breaking the dead silence before everything returned to silence again.

In Liu Haizhong's house, the atmosphere in the inner room was like the chilly wind outside the window, and the coldness penetrated into people's bones.

The pale moonlight emitted a faint glow, casting mottled shadows on the walls, making the room seem even more depressing.

Liu Haizhong and the second aunt were lying on the bed, tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep for a long time.

The previous complaints about the eldest son's marriage were like a huge stone weighing a thousand pounds, weighing heavily on the hearts of the two, making them feel uneasy and unable to feel at ease.

Outside the window, the dim moonlight tried its best to squeeze through the narrow gap between the window frames, casting a few rays of light, like a thin layer of frost, reflecting on the wrinkled face in the bangs, highlighting his full of boredom without reservation.

"Hey, boss, don't worry yourself. Guangqi seems to be very obedient on weekdays, why is he so stubborn about this matter?"

The second aunt turned over gently, her movements extremely gentle, for fear of disturbing her already irritated husband.

She leaned close to his bangs and spoke in a low voice, her voice full of helplessness and worry, like a pool of rippling autumn water, unable to hide the sorrow in her heart.

Liu Haizhong sighed heavily, and the sigh was like the muffled sound of an old bellows. He replied in a muffled voice: "Humph, he was just bewitched by that girl and didn't consider the family situation at all. We worked hard to raise him, and he survived many cold winters of lack of food and clothing. We just hope that he can live a stable life in the future and start a family with a local girl. Think about it, a local girl knows everything about him, and it is convenient for both families to take care of him. Visiting each other during the holidays, it's lively and lively, that's what life should be like. But it's good to find someone from another place, who is unfamiliar with the place. How many variables will there be in the future?"

The second aunt sighed, her chest heaving slightly, her face full of sorrow: "Yes, I also saw that Miss Qi Sihui, she is pretty, with delicate features, and looks well-behaved, with a quiet and gentle spirit in her every move. But we are far away from home, and if something urgent happens, we will be out of reach. We are getting older and older, and our legs and feet are not as flexible as before. We expect him to be around to take care of us. What if something happens at the girl's home and he just runs away? What should we do?"

At this point, Liu Haizhong sat up suddenly like a firecracker that was lit, and the bed creaked. His brows were twisted into a knot, and the muscles on his face twitched slightly with anger. He said angrily: "Also, there is no boy in her family. Although there is talk of a new era and new concepts now, when it comes to practice, some things still have to follow the old rules. If Guangqi gets married to her, won't he have to take on the responsibility of supporting the girl's family? We raised such a big son, and raised him with great difficulty, and in the end he will be used as a wedding dress for someone else's family? What kind of thing is this!"

Seeing this, the second aunt sat up quickly, stretched out her hand and gently patted the back of the fringe, again and again, and comforted him: "Calm down, calm down, let's persuade him slowly, Guangqi is not that ignorant child, maybe he will figure it out after a while. It's common for young children to be blinded by love for a while."

"Think it through? I don't think it's easy! When we had a fight today, he looked as stubborn as a donkey. Once he's determined to do something, even ten oxen can't pull him back."

Liu Haizhong became angrier as he spoke. He clenched his fists, raised them high, and then slammed them on the bed with a dull sound. The bed even shook.

The two were silent for a long time. The only sound in the room was the heavy breathing, like two old bellows working synchronously in the darkness.

Just then, there was a slight noise outside the window, as if someone accidentally touched debris in the yard. There was a slight "rustle" sound, which was subtle but extremely harsh.

Liu Haizhong became alert instantly and shouted in a low voice: "Who?" At the same time, he stood up quickly, his movements were so agile that he didn't seem like an elderly man.

He quickly put on his clothes, slipped on his shoes and walked towards the door, his steps quick and silent.

The second aunt's heart suddenly tightened. She reached out and grabbed the corner of her clothes in her bangs, and said nervously, "Boss, be careful."

The voice was full of worry and concern.

Liu Haizhong frowned, and with a look of impatientness, he gently shook off the second aunt's hand that was tightly holding him, and then tiptoed to the door like a thief.

He slowly turned the doorknob, gently pushed the door open a crack, and then carefully leaned half of his body out.

The silver moonlight sprinkled in the yard like water, illuminating the cold and silent scene.

Liu Haizhong's eyes quickly swept across the yard and soon spotted the figures of Liu Guangtian and Liu Guangfu.

The two boys were crouching and working furtively in the middle of the yard, seemingly trying to lift something heavy.

"You two little bastards! Why are you still awake at this late hour? What are you doing here?"

Liu Haizhong gathered his energy in his dantian and suddenly let out a deafening roar.

The roar was like a bolt from the blue, instantly breaking the tranquility of the night, exploding throughout the entire yard and echoing continuously.

The sudden roar scared a wild cat in the corner.

All the hair on its body stood up, and with a whoosh, it shot up to the roof at the speed of an arrow, and disappeared into the night in the blink of an eye.

Liu Guangtian and Liu Guangfu were so frightened by the roar that their bodies trembled violently, as if they were under a spell, and they were frozen in place, unable to move.

The faces of the two men instantly turned as pale as paper, completely bloodless, with expressions of utter terror on their faces.

Liu Guangtian raised his head tremblingly, looked at his angry father, and stammered as he tried to explain, "Dad...we...we just came out to use the toilet and accidentally...accidentally touched this thing."

His voice was trembling, like a candle in the wind that could go out at any time.

How could Liu Haizhong believe this? He took a big step forward, grabbed Liu Guangtian by the collar, pulled him up, and said with gritted teeth: "You still dare to lie? Tell me, where have you been? Are you doing something behind my back again? I'm telling you, if you don't tell the truth today, you'll be in trouble!"

Seeing this, Liu Guangfu knelt down with a plop, his knees hitting the ground hard, raising a small cloud of dust. He begged for mercy in a crying voice: "Dad, we really didn't do anything bad, please don't be angry, don't hit us..."

Tears welled up in Liu Guangfu's eyes and were about to burst out.

Liu Haizhong raised his hand as if to hit, his arm raised high, his palm trembling slightly in the air.

The second aunt ran out and grabbed him: "Boss, don't do it yet, let's talk it over."

She grabbed her arm in her bangs tightly with both hands, her face full of anxiety.

Liu Guangtian was so scared that his face turned pale. Beads of sweat the size of beans rolled down his forehead. Each bead was crystal clear and slid down his cheeks and wet his collar.

His body couldn't stop trembling slightly, his legs felt weak, as if he would collapse to the ground in the next second, and his eyes were slightly red. He took a step forward, subconsciously tugging at the corners of his clothes with both hands, making wrinkles on them. With a trembling and anxious voice, he explained stutteringly: "Dad, you... calm down first, it's really not what you think! Since you gave the order, my two brothers didn't dare to delay for a moment. We quickly cleaned the house thoroughly, leaving no corner untouched. Our arms were almost broken from swinging the broom, just hoping to satisfy you."

As he spoke, Liu Guangtian pointed to the clean and tidy appearance of the house, took a breath, and continued: "After cleaning, we were so thirsty that our throats were about to smoke, so we drank several large glasses of water. Who would have thought that after drinking too much water, the urge to urinate came so quickly and violently. Dad, we really couldn't hold it any longer, so we hurried out to the toilet. We wanted to make a quick decision and sneak back to the house, but it was dark and we didn't pay attention, and we bumped into the debris in the yard. It really wasn't intentional, you must believe us."

Liu Guangfu, who was standing by, also nodded repeatedly, his eyes full of tears that sparkled in the moonlight. He echoed, "Dad, everything my brother said is true. We have listened to you since we were young, so how dare we do anything bad behind your back? We remember your daily teachings in our hearts, and we dare not disobey you in the slightest. You have always been our backbone, and we cannot wait to respect you enough."

Liu Guangtian quickly added, "That's right, Dad. If you don't believe me, come in and take a look. The house is very clean now. This is all the result of our labor. The tables and chairs are polished to a shine, the floor is spotless, and the sundries are neatly arranged. Even flies will slip if they land on them. We really don't have any other intentions. Please don't be angry and forgive us this time."

After listening to Liu Guangtian's explanation, Liu Haizhong's brows were still furrowed. He went back to the room and took a quick look around with half belief and half doubt.

The house was indeed clean, the tables and chairs were put back in their places, the floor was spotless, and the sundries were neatly arranged. Even the corners that usually easily accumulated dust were spotless. It seemed that they were not lying.

Although his anger had mostly subsided, he still had a stern face and said to his two sons in a stern voice: "Hmph, forget it this time, but behave yourself from now on and don't let me catch you doing anything naughty again. If you do it again, I won't let you off so easily! Don't think that you can get away with it this time, I'm watching you closely."

Liu Guangtian and Liu Guangfu felt as if they had been pardoned. They nodded repeatedly like chicks pecking at rice, their heads nodding like rattles. They didn't dare to breathe. They returned to their room in shame, their steps hurried and flustered.

After the two brothers disappeared behind the door, Liu Haizhong put on his slippers and slowly returned to the bed, and the bed creaked a few more times.

Liu Haizhong lay down again, put his hands behind his head, stared at the dark ceiling, but his thoughts drifted back to the fierce quarrel with his eldest son Liu Guangqi.

What Cao Wei had said just now was like a sharp thorn that pierced straight into his heart, repeatedly rubbing his already irritable nerves. Every time he thought about it, his heart ached a little more.

"Perhaps I have spoiled Guangqi so much that he is so bold now and dares to openly go against me."

He pondered over it secretly, and the more he thought about it, the more it made sense to him. In his heart, he even felt a sense of regret, regretting that he had doted on his child too much and had not set strict rules early on.

The second aunt saw through his thoughts, turned over to his side, and gently and slowly advised, "Boss, although Guangqi has made you unhappy this time, hitting him is not a good idea. What if the child gets hurt or forced to run away from home? We still have to think long-term. The child is grown up and has his own ideas. He won't obey you if you beat him."

Liu Haizhong rolled his eyes impatiently and snorted, "Let's take the time to discuss this? I think if we keep dragging it out like this, he'll just bring that girl home! You didn't see how stubborn he was today. He was determined to be with that Qi family girl. He didn't listen to a word I said. He was simply unresponsive and ignored my words."

The second aunt sighed helplessly: "Guangqi is also an adult, he has his own ideas. If we force him, it will only backfire. Otherwise, let's find another opportunity to talk to him calmly and explain our concerns to him. Maybe he will listen. Communication is always better than scolding, don't you think?"

"Talk to him? Haven't I talked enough today? He just won't listen!"

As Liu Haizhong said this, he suddenly sat up and waved his hands in the air. His face was full of resentment and his arms drew arcs in the air.

"This child has been drugged by that girl and can no longer tell east from west. He only has eyes for that girl and doesn't care about the feelings of his family at all."

Seeing this, the second aunt sat up quickly and patted his back to comfort him: "Calm down, calm down, it's not worth it to get angry and hurt yourself. Otherwise, let's invite the girl from the Qi family to our house for a meal some other day. We can take this opportunity to observe her carefully and talk to her about our future plans. If this girl is really reliable and can dispel our concerns, maybe we don't have to object so much. This also gives both sides a chance to talk things out."

When Liu Haizhong heard this, his eyes widened instantly, as if he had heard some Arabian Nights fairy tale, and his eyeballs almost popped out.

"Invite her to dinner? Are you crazy? I don't want to see her. It makes me upset. When I see her, I think of Guangqi's stubbornness, and I get so angry. Besides, with Guangqi's current attitude, if the two of them team up to oppose us during dinner, wouldn't that be asking for trouble? If the situation gets out of control, how will it end?"

The second aunt patiently explained, "Boss, don't be so hasty to deny it. We are doing this to give Guangqi face and let him know that we are also trying to accept this girl. Secondly, it is better to make things clear face to face than to worry and speculate here. Maybe after talking it out, everyone will be open-minded and the problem will be solved. Just think of it as Guangqi's sake and give each other another chance, okay?"

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