1952: Walking through Nantongluo Alley

Not long after, Sha Zhu slowly emerged, holding a gigantic basin steadily in his hands, which was constantly bubbling with food. The basin seemed to hold all the delicacies of the world, emitting an alluring aroma.

"Pork stewed with Chinese cabbage is here!" With Sha Zhu's resounding call, the large bowl landed steadily in the center of the table. Everyone's attention was immediately drawn to it, and they eagerly picked up their chopsticks, ready to enjoy this sumptuous meal.

However, when the heat gradually dissipated, everyone finally saw the dishes in the basin clearly. In an instant, everyone was stunned in place as if they were cast under a spell.

"Shazhu, where's the meat? Where is the meat? Didn't we agree to have pork stewed with cabbage? But why is there only a big bowl full of cabbage served here?" Someone couldn't help but ask first.

"That's right, we were promised pork and cabbage, but now there's only cabbage and not even a speck of meat to be seen?" Others echoed, their faces full of confusion and dissatisfaction.

Facing the crowd's suspicious and questioning gazes, Sha Zhu showed no sign of panic. Instead, he grinned broadly and laughed heartily. His smile was as radiant as the warmest spring sunshine, instantly dispelling the tense and oppressive atmosphere. As his laughter rang out, his perfectly white, neatly arranged teeth were fully displayed before everyone's eyes, gleaming with a shimmering light.

Under the astonished gaze of the crowd, Sha Zhu remained unfazed. He slowly extended his right hand, his movements graceful and steady, as if completing a carefully choreographed dance. His fingers grasped the wooden chopsticks placed on the table with unerring precision. With a gentle lift, the chopsticks landed firmly in his hand. Then, without hesitation, he reached for the bowl and began to stir with the deftness of a seasoned chef.

Not long after, Sha Zhu suddenly shouted excitedly, "Hey, I found it!" His cry resonated like thunder, shocking everyone present. He quickly raised his tightly grasped chopsticks high in the air, his face brimming with unconcealed pride as he boasted to the crowd, "Look, the meat is here!" Everyone's eyes widened as they looked in the direction Sha Zhu pointed. After seeing clearly, they looked at each other in bewilderment—it turned out that Sha Zhu's chopsticks held a tiny, almost imperceptible strand of meat, as thin as a hair...

Surprisingly, however, Sha Zhu wasn't embarrassed or frustrated by this insignificant piece of shredded meat. Instead, he calmly placed it back in the basin, then, with a smile on his face, calmly declared to everyone, "Don't worry, everyone! We've got a delicious dish waiting in the kitchen! It's a big, lively carp. I've specially prepared a pot of delicious braised crucian carp soup for you!" Before he'd finished speaking, he turned and strode back into the kitchen. Everyone's eyes lit up at the mention of fish. Soon, Sha Zhu emerged with a basin of fish soup. The soup looked rich and steaming, but a closer look revealed a tiny crucian carp, lying pathetically in the middle of the large basin, surrounded by soup.

"Shazhu, you call this a big carp? It's barely enough to fill your teeth!" someone in the crowd shouted. Shazhu scratched his head and chuckled, "Don't underestimate the fish, I made it with great care. This soup is delicious." Everyone, though filled with complaints, still tried the soup with a glimmer of hope. But after just one sip, several people simultaneously vomited. "Shazhu, did you knock over the salt shaker? It's awful salty!" Shazhu, unconvinced, poured himself a bowl and drank, only to vomit it out as well.

Sha Zhu's heart skipped a beat, and he secretly cried out, "Oh no!" He instantly realized that something had gone terribly wrong. He had actually made such a simple mistake—putting salt into the soup instead of sugar! In an instant, his previously calm face flushed red like a ripe apple, as if it had been roasted by fire. However, despite knowing the truth, he remained stubborn and refused to admit his mistake.

He just stuck his neck out, pretending to be calm and shouted, "This soup tastes great, there's nothing wrong with it. If you don't believe me, let me try it!" As he said that, he scooped up a spoonful of soup and put it into his mouth, deliberately smacking his lips a few times, as if he was really savoring the deliciousness of it.

Seeing this, everyone turned their gazes to Sha Zhu. Their suspicious and disgruntled looks shot out like sharp arrows, making him feel uneasy. His face burned, even his ears were red, and for a moment he was at a loss as to what to do. Finally, unable to endure this awkward situation any longer, Sha Zhu, like a defeated rooster, fled into the kitchen, dusty and grimy.

Meanwhile, the people in the courtyard had been busy for most of the morning, each one breathless and sweating profusely, their energy exhausted. They eagerly anticipated a hearty and delicious meal to reward their hard work. But when they saw only a single bowl of cabbage on the table, their anticipation vanished, replaced by a raging rage.

"This Jia family is too unreasonable! They actually give us these cabbages to get rid of? Are we so many people working hard for a long time and only deserve to eat this little thing?" Someone complained indignantly.

"That's right! This is clearly bullying! How can we treat guests like this?" another person echoed angrily.

"Hmph! I've finally seen through this family. They've gone too far! I can't eat another bite of this meal! Let's go home!" Someone else stood up angrily, threw down their chopsticks, and turned to leave. Seeing this, the others followed suit, saying they would no longer eat and then stood up and left.

Suddenly, the once bustling dinner table became deserted, with only a table full of untouched food and a lone pot of cabbage. Following the first person's lead, more and more people began to put down their chopsticks and leave.

Inside the house, Yi Zhonghai finally managed to appease the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, Jia Zhang and Tingting, and comforted them softly, "You must mourn less. The deceased is gone, and the living must continue to live well." After seeing that the two's emotions gradually stabilized, Yi Zhonghai breathed a sigh of relief, turned around and planned to go out to see how everyone in the yard was eating, and then say a few polite words.

However, the moment he stepped out of the door, he was stunned by what he saw. He froze in place, as if under a spell. The courtyard, which should have been bustling with people, was now completely deserted. Not a soul was to be seen. The mourners had vanished without a trace, as if they had evaporated from the face of the earth.

Yi Zhonghai came back to his senses and quickly cast his gaze towards the table in the courtyard. When his eyes fell on the solitary pot of cabbage on the table, his heart suddenly sank, and he instantly understood the whole story. He couldn't help but get angry, and gritted his teeth and muttered: "This ungrateful Sha Zhu! Didn't I tell him over and over again to treat everyone with delicious food and fish? But he only brought us such a broken pot of cabbage! It really makes me mad!" The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. Yi Zhonghai strode towards Sha Zhu's house in a rage.

In a short while, Yi Zhonghai arrived at Sha Zhu's door in a hurry. At this time, he was already blinded by anger and didn't care about the basic etiquette of knocking. He kicked the closed door hard. There was a loud "bang" and the door opened. Yi Zhonghai shouted at the top of his voice: "Sha Zhu, get out of here!"

Meanwhile, inside the house, Sha Zhu was sitting at the table with his sister He Yushui, enjoying their lunch with great relish. Suddenly, he heard the deafening sound of kicking the door and Yi Zhonghai's exasperated shouting. Sha Zhu was startled at first, then, with a gloomy expression, he put down his bowl and chopsticks and turned to look towards the door.

Sha Zhu looked at the door of his house that was creaking and shaking after being kicked by Yi Zhonghai, and said with a dark face.

"Uncle, if you break my door, you have to compensate me with a new one."

"Compensation? I'll compensate you a few hundred!" Yi Zhonghai said angrily.

"What did I arrange for you yesterday? Didn't I give you five dollars and treat you to a feast? Why did you only make a pot of cabbage today?"

Sha Zhu's face was so gloomy that it looked like water could drip out of it. He grabbed Yi Zhonghai's arm tightly and pulled him out of the room without any courtesy. The reason for his haste was that he really didn't want his sister He Yushui to hear Yi Zhonghai's unbearable dirty talk.

After the two men arrived outside the door, Sha Zhu first closed the door carefully, then let out a long breath as if relieved, and then turned around to argue with Yi Zhonghai.

"Uncle, do you think that five dollars is a lot?" Sha Zhu widened his eyes and glared at Yi Zhonghai and asked, "Do you really think that a mere five dollars can allow everyone in our compound to eat delicious food?" At this point, Sha Zhu's voice unconsciously rose eight octaves.

Then, he took a step forward, approached Yi Zhonghai, and continued, "How about this, uncle? I'll give you five dollars right now, and you go and cook a feast for everyone in the courtyard! How do you think it is?"

Facing Sha Zhu's barrage of questions, Yi Zhonghai remained calm and composed, even putting on a confident air as he began to argue: "If five yuan isn't enough, you can just tell me. I'm not the kind of person who's stingy. I'll definitely give you more. But what about you? You know in your heart that five yuan can't buy that much meat and vegetables, yet you still force yourself to cook a meal filled entirely with cabbage. Sha Zhu, tell me, what are you thinking? Are you deliberately trying to make me, the boss, and the Jia family look bad?"

Yi Zhonghai's distorted words hit Sha Zhu like a heavy punch in the heart, leaving him stunned for a moment. After a while, he came to his senses and cursed in his heart: This Yi Zhonghai is so shameless, he actually bites back at this time and puts all the responsibility on himself!

For a moment, Sha Zhu felt a surge of rage surge through his head, his entire body shaking with anger. Even his already unpleasant face darkened to a level so dark it looked as if water could drip out. This series of events truly enraged Sha Zhu. First, the lady had unreasonably monopolized He Yushui's possessions, and now Yi Zhonghai had appeared, deliberately trying to embarrass him with a mere five yuan.

Isn't it obvious that they think he, Sha Zhu, is weak and can be bullied? Thinking of this, Sha Zhu's anger grew even stronger.

Just as he was filled with rage, Sha Zhu clenched his fists tightly, the veins on the back of his hands bulging from the excessive force. If it weren't for Yi Zhonghai's status as the head of the courtyard, Sha Zhu would have lost control of his impulse and thrown a punch.

Yi Zhonghai had obviously noticed the anger on Sha Zhu's face, but instead of letting up, he deliberately provoked trouble. The corners of his mouth curled up slightly, revealing a provocative smile. He asked slowly, "What? Do you really want to beat me up?"

Hearing this, Sha Zhu was so angry that his whole body was shaking, like a lit barrel of explosives, ready to explode at any moment. This abominable old man was so arrogant and domineering. Did he really think that Sha Zhu was afraid to teach him a lesson?

In the end, Sha Zhu clenched his fists tightly, his teeth chattering, but he still suppressed the anger and impulse in his heart and slowly loosened his hands.

Yi Zhonghai was the face of this courtyard! Everyone usually respected him. If he really went all out and beat him up today, the consequences would be unimaginable. Those people from the subdistrict office would definitely not let him off easily. They might even charge him with provoking trouble or intentional injury.

The thought of this made Sha Zhu gasp. Furthermore, if he were to be jailed for assault, his younger sister, He Yushui, would be left alone at home. She was still young and delicate by nature. Without her brother to look after and protect her, Yi Zhonghai and his mother might take advantage of the situation and bully or even seize the He family's house and property. What would poor He Yushui do then?

Thinking of this, Sha Zhu's anger gradually gave way to worry. He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself, reminding himself not to let his impulsive actions lead to disaster. Although he was still feeling pent up, for the sake of his sister and his family, he could only choose to endure.