1952: Walking through Nantongluo Alley

............................................................

Liu Haizhong's lips curled up slightly, letting out a soft chuckle that seemed to carry a hint of disdain and mockery. As the second-in-command of the courtyard, he held a certain status and prestige within it, and everyone usually treated him with awe. However, when a fight broke out, how could he be left out? After all, maintaining order and stability within the courtyard was his unshirkable responsibility.

Not only would he intervene in today's incident, but he was also determined to investigate it thoroughly and show no mercy. His face was gloomy, his eyes slashing fiercely at the scuffle. Then, in a blunt and threatening tone, he shouted, "If you dare to continue this unruly behavior and violence, don't blame me for immediately reporting it to the police station and having them deal with you lawless people!"

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone present was stunned. Yi Zhonghai, in particular, felt a surge of displeasure after hearing Liu Haizhong's words. He felt his authority was being challenged. Liu Haizhong was so arrogant and domineering, not taking him, the head of the courtyard, seriously at all. After all, Yi Zhonghai was the dignified and upright eldest uncle, and he had always had the final say in all matters of the courtyard. Now, a mere second uncle dared to openly challenge him in front of so many people. It was simply insubordination and ignorance!

Yi Zhonghai's already wrinkled forehead was now even more tightly knitted together, as if it could pinch a fly to death. His eyes, which were not big to begin with, narrowed slightly, revealing a hint of coldness, like two cold arrows shot straight at the person opposite him. He suddenly raised his eyebrows and shouted loudly in a cold and questioning tone: "Humph! What's the matter? Don't even a word from me, an old man, have any effect now? Do you still respect me as an elder?"

Liu Haizhong, standing opposite Yi Zhonghai, was not to be outdone. He straightened his chest, held his head high, and cast a fierce look at Yi Zhonghai. At the same time, he opened his mouth and retorted without hesitation: "How about we go to the neighborhood committee office and have a good talk? Let the leaders of the neighborhood committee office judge and decide how to handle this matter!"

After saying this, the look in Liu Haizhong's eyes became even more fierce, and he added, "What? Do you think you're justified in a fight? What kind of perverted logic is this! There must be an explanation for what happened today!"

When the words "street office" reached Yi Zhonghai's ears, his heart skipped a beat, and his originally aggressive expression instantly became a little timid.

When he thought about this matter being reported to the street office and letting them know that it was him, the always highly respected Yi Zhonghai, who had instigated the fight, he felt a chill on his back and broke out in a cold sweat.

Worse still, if the neighborhood committee intervened to investigate, according to regulations, such blatant violations of public security regulations and disruptions to social order would likely result in severe punishment—outright dismissal! By then, the prestige and reputation he had built up over the years would be destroyed, and he would become a laughingstock in the eyes of everyone.

Immediately, Yi Zhonghai's tense face relaxed, revealing a fawning smile like a flower blooming in spring. He hunched his body slightly and walked briskly toward Liu Haizhong, muttering to himself, "Oh my, Old Liu! Look, how serious can this matter really be? There's no need to alarm the officials at the subdistrict office, let alone trouble the police!"

As Yi Zhonghai uttered these polite words, he secretly observed Liu Haizhong's reaction out of the corner of his eye. Liu Haizhong, on the other hand, stood there, arms folded across his chest, a smug look on his face. He thought to himself: Hey, I've always been the one fawning over and sucking up to Yi Zhonghai, but I never thought today the situation would change and I'd actually be treated like one of Yi Zhonghai's fawning friends. Thinking of this, Liu Haizhong couldn't help but raise the corners of his mouth, and the smile on his face grew even brighter and more dazzling.

At this moment, Liu Haizhong's face was full of smiles and pride. He straightened his back, put his hands behind his back, raised his head high, looked down at Yi Zhonghai with a condescending attitude, and then said slowly with a smile: "Huh, if that's the case, you all should go home obediently! Stop messing around here!"

However, when Yi Zhonghai heard this, his face, which had just been full of smiles, instantly darkened, as if covered by a thick layer of dark clouds. His eyes turned extremely cold, and he stared at Liu Haizhong intently, gritting his teeth and squeezing out a few words: "Uncle, I'm trying to advise you with good intentions, but you'd better not meddle in other people's business. You're overreaching!"

Liu Haizhong raised his eyebrows slightly, the corners of his mouth turned up, and he said with a hint of sarcasm: "Oh, from what you said, do you want me to report this to the street office?"

After saying that, he glanced at Yi Zhonghai. Yi Zhonghai's originally calm face had become extremely gloomy at this moment, and his eyes were fixed on Liu Haizhong, as if they were about to spit fire. And his fists were unconsciously clenched slowly, and the joints looked a little white due to excessive force. At the same time, Yi Zhonghai secretly cursed in his heart: "Liu Haizhong, Liu Haizhong, don't be so shameless, do you really think I'm afraid of you!"

Jia Zhang, who had been standing aside and watching coldly for a long time, finally saw the clue. She knew clearly in her heart that Liu Haizhong was here to support Sha Zhu! So, Jia Zhang put away the timid look on her face, put on a ferocious expression, and questioned Liu Haizhong in a bad tone: "Second uncle, what on earth did you mean by what you said just now?" Then, she suddenly stretched out her finger, pointing directly at her own disfigured face, and continued to yell: "Look at my old face, it has been scratched into a state by that damn Sha Zhu! It's horrible! Do you think you can let me go like this?"

Liu Haizhong looked in the direction Jia Zhang pointed, his gaze landing on her scarred, pitted face. However, he showed no sympathy. Instead, he responded slowly, "Sister-in-law, while your face is indeed badly damaged, I think Sha Zhu isn't much better off. If I'm not mistaken, those scars on his face are probably caused by you, right?"

Jia Zhang was seen with her hands folded in front of her chest, her head slightly tilted up, and an expression of indifference and nonchalance on her face.

"Well, he deserves it!" she said contemptuously.

When Sha Zhu heard this, his eyes widened instantly, his face turned red with anger, and veins bulged on his forehead.

"What? How dare you, an old woman, say that to me!" Sha Zhu was furious. He pointed at Jia Zhang and shouted, "Who do you say deserves it, you old thing? Say it again if you dare!"

Jia Zhangshi showed no sign of weakness, meeting Sha Zhu's furious and sinister gaze. At this moment, she felt no fear at all, for she knew full well that not only was the eldest uncle, who always favored her, present, but also the second uncle, who usually put on airs.

Jia Zhang secretly believed that with Sha Zhu's courage, he would never dare to attack her in front of the two masters. Thinking of this, she became even more fearless. She rolled her eyes at Sha Zhu and responded provocatively, "Oh, look at you, you are really powerful! Come on, come and hit me if you have the guts!" After saying this, she deliberately puffed out her chest, pretending to be waiting for a fight.

At that moment, Sha Zhu's fury was uncontrollable, like a volcanic eruption. How could he possibly swallow Jia Zhang's brazen provocation? His eyes widened, his face flushed red as he brandished his hammer-like fists, swearing non-stop with a ferocious look. It looked as if he was truly determined to teach Jia Zhang, this ignorant woman, a lesson.

However, just as Sha Zhu was about to strike, a figure rushed over like lightning and stopped him. This person was Liu Haizhong. He glared at Sha Zhu with a serious face and shouted, "Sha Zhu, what are you doing? Do you dare to hit my sister-in-law in front of me?"

However, at this moment, Sha Zhu was completely overwhelmed by anger and had no time to pay attention to Liu Haizhong's obstruction and scolding! He walked straight towards Jia Zhang like a wild bull out of control, thinking that he must punch her a few more times to vent his anger.

Seeing Sha Zhu completely ignore his words, Liu Haizhong was so angry that he trembled all over and his blood pressure instantly soared. He roared in anger, "I told you to stop right there! Did you hear me?" He quickened his pace and rushed to Sha Zhu, arms outstretched, blocking his way.

Sha Zhu frowned tightly and shouted at Liu Haizhong with an angry face: "Get out of my way!" His impatient tone seemed to penetrate the air, making people shudder.

However, Liu Haizhong stood in front of Sha Zhu like a wall, showing no sign of backing down. The corners of his mouth curled up slightly, revealing a scornful smile, and he responded provocatively, "What if I don't give way?"

By this time, Sha Zhu was raging with rage. His gaze burned like a blazing flame as he stared intently at Liu Haizhong. His clenched fists were so tight that the joints were white from exerting so much force, and the veins on his arms were bulging, making him look terrifying. He gritted his teeth and threatened, "Second Master, don't force me to hit you too!"

Liu Haizhong was stunned at first, then burst into laughter as if he had just heard the biggest joke in the world. His laughter echoed in the air, sounding particularly harsh. He stopped laughing and said in a tone full of sarcasm, "What did you say? You mean you want to beat me up too? Haha... How funny, so funny! How dare you, a brat like you, say such outrageous things?"

Seeing the tense scene between the two people in front of him, Yi Zhonghai's wrinkled mouth corners slightly raised, and a hint of gloating smile appeared imperceptibly.

At this moment, his restless heart was screaming frantically in his chest: "Fight! Fight quickly! It would be best if we could beat up that old guy Liu Haizhong as well!" However, things did not go as he wished. The fierce fighting scene that Yi Zhonghai was looking forward to did not happen as he wished.

The two men remained locked in a stalemate for a long time, the atmosphere tense as if time had stood still. Finally, like a deflated ball, Sha Zhu was the first to concede defeat.

If you think about it carefully, it's a natural reaction. Liu Haizhong holds a high position in this courtyard, after all; he's still the dignified Second Uncle. And Sha Zhu had already accidentally offended the highly respected First Uncle Yi Zhonghai, even resorting to violence in a fit of rage. If he were to beat up Liu Haizhong now, he'd be asking for trouble.

As the saying goes, it's better to resolve a feud than to create one. Moreover, in this small courtyard, everyone was constantly around. If he made too many enemies at once, he'd probably be the only one who'd suffer in the end. So after careful consideration, Sha Zhu decided to swallow his anger and endure the humiliation for now.

Then Sha Zhu pointed at his old face and spoke to Liu Haizhong.

"Second uncle, today we Shazhu can give you some face."

As soon as he finished speaking, Sha Zhu took a deep breath and continued, "But, just today, look at my face! What has it become of that Jia Zhang scratching me? It's practically disfigured! This matter can't just be let go like this. As someone involved, you must give me a clear explanation!"

As he spoke, he pointed at the shocking scratches on his face, his eyes revealing anger and unwillingness.

"If I don't get a satisfactory answer today, humph! Even if Jia Zhangshi doesn't plan to report this to the police, I, Sha Zhu, will never let it go! At worst, I can go to the police station myself and report the case, explaining everything in detail. Then we'll see who is right!"

.................................................. .........