Siheyuan: Starting from a Truck Driver

"I just think that accusing others of stealing chickens without any evidence is confusing and may be used as a means of revenge," Li Xiaodong explained.

Xu Damao responded firmly: "My family is indeed missing two chickens, and Sha Zhu's family stewed one. We just..."

"You just said that you lost two, but Sha Zhu's family only had one, so where did the other one go?" Li Xiaodong asked.

"Shazhu naturally hid himself." Xu Damao replied.

"Then let's look for it. It's such a small place, we'll find out after searching it once. If we can't find Shazhu's house, we'll search every house. No one can eat two old hens for one meal." After saying that, Li Xiaodong's expression was serious, and his eyes swept over the residents one by one.

"There are more than 20 households and hundreds of people in our compound. No matter who stole the chicken, someone would have seen it. I'll give them a chance. If they admit their mistakes, we will let this matter go," Li Xiaodong continued.

Qin Huairu felt that Li Xiaodong seemed to have some clues.

Seeing Sha Zhu bowing his head and not saying anything, she felt pity for him and wanted to step forward to take responsibility. But Jia Zhang held her back and said, "Daughter-in-law, don't be impatient. He is bluffing."

However, if Li Xiaodong was allowed to search, the truth would be exposed sooner or later. Jia Zhang stood up and asked, "Li family boy, today is a courtyard meeting. The three housekeepers haven't spoken yet. What qualifications do you have to interrupt?"

She finally couldn't bear it anymore and her anxiety exploded.

At this time, Li Xiaodong smiled slightly and turned to the three people watching: "What do you think of my proposal?"

The first person to express his opinion was Liu Haiyang: "I support Li Xiaodong. We can find out who stole the chicken by investigating."

Yi Zhonghai also nodded in agreement. As long as things were confined to the yard, he would be in control of the overall situation.

However, he was somewhat unhappy that Li Xiaodong had taken the lead.

Yan Bugui was so dissatisfied with Li Xiaodong that he even stopped eating his melon seeds and glared at him: "You searched me just because I told you to. Are you better than the police?"

This guy really put his knowledge into practice and even imitated the words he used to refute him.

Seeing that someone was backing her up, Jia Zhang was excited and shouted loudly: "You, Li Xiaodong, are not a police officer, so how can you have the right to search other people's homes..."

Before she could finish her words, her voice stopped abruptly in her throat.

Because her eyes caught the figure of He Yushui walking into the crowd holding Xiao Huaihua.

Li Xiaodong breathed a sigh of relief. The little girl was soft-hearted and it took her a while to make up her mind.

He Yushui brought Xiao Huaihua to the three stewards, looked deeply at Qin Huairu, and then squatted in front of Xiao Huaihua: "Aunt He Yushui hasn't tasted chicken for almost half a year, and has long forgotten its taste. Can you tell me? I will give you candy as a reward."

He Yushui was very friendly to the Jia family. After Jia Xudong passed away, she often took the three children to play. She bought popsicles in the hot summer and roasted sweet potatoes in the cold winter. Even the jacket on Xiao Huaihua was bought by He Yushui.

To Xiao Huaihua, He Yushui was like her own aunt. In order to win over He Yushui, Qin Huairu also asked them to call He Yushui aunt.

Therefore, the ignorant little Huaihua answered without hesitation: "Chicken is very delicious, especially the chicken breast. Huaihua has never eaten such delicious food in her life."

As soon as Little Sophora japonica opened her mouth, Qin Huairu immediately realized that something was wrong. She could no longer sit still and quickly shouted, "Sophora japonica!"

However, despite everyone's efforts to stop her, Xiao Huaihua still spoke out first.

Lou Xiao'e looked as if she had suddenly realized something: "No wonder Qin Huairu got so angry when I said Bang Geng stole my chicken. It turns out that the real culprit who stole the chicken was Bang Geng."

Everyone thought that Bang Geng was a thief. After all, adults would not do such a shameful thing.

He Yushui looked at Jia Zhang carefully, and seeing that she didn't react, he took out a candy from his pocket, stuffed it into Xiao Huaihua's mouth, then squatted down and asked, "How did you know?"

Little Huaihua sucked the candy, smiling, and said happily: "The braised chicken grandma made this afternoon was super delicious."

He Yushui rubbed her head lovingly and guided her, "Where does chicken come from?"

Xiao Huaihua was about to point out Jia Zhang, but Jia Zhang, realizing the crisis, rushed out of the crowd and went straight to Li Xiaodong.

"Does what you just said still count?"

Jia Zhang was a shrewd woman and understood that if her chicken theft was discovered, a fine of four dollars would be enough to keep her locked up in a pen for a year.

Li Xiaodong didn't want to have too deep a grudge with the Jia family.

What if Jia Zhang and Bang Geng were caught, and Qin Huairu was frightened and sneaked into his bed in the middle of the night? Even if he was right, he wouldn't be able to explain himself.

"Just now, the third uncle said that I am not a police officer and have no right to handle this kind of thing, so I think we should ask someone from the police station to handle it."

Upon hearing this, Jia Zhang's eyes suddenly widened, and she spat in anger, cursing, "He is just a poor scholar who thinks he has some culture and puts on airs in the courtyard, but in fact he is nothing! Xiaodong, you are steady and you decide how to deal with this matter!"

Yan Bugui felt like crying but had no tears. He thought to himself, we are companions, how could you betray me, Jia Zhang?

Xu Damao seemed to understand at this time, and he was furious: "Okay, Qin Huairu, your parents-in-law stole the chicken and are still here to persuade us hypocritically,"

Lou Xiao'e was equally furious: "Qin Huairu, why didn't you just tell me that Jia Zhang was stealing chickens with a stick? Can I force you to sell your house and land? We have lived in the same courtyard for so many years, and you can't even get a word of truth or apology. Do you have the heart to watch our whole family suffer here and play tricks on you?

Qin Huairu was speechless for a moment and could only look at Yi Zhonghai for help, asking him to help the Jia family again for Dongxu's sake.

At this moment, Yi Zhonghai, who had been shocked just now, came back to his senses.

Although he didn't know why Jia Zhang stole the chicken, and why He Yushui was so obsessed with the Jia family's affairs.

But he knew that such matters must be resolved within the courtyard. "Things in the courtyard should be resolved within the courtyard. There is no need to alert the police station."

This is where Yi Zhonghai's prestige in the courtyard comes from. As soon as his decision was made, the neighbors nodded in agreement.

Xu Damao was not able to convince Sha Zhu, and he was dissatisfied. He said sourly: "Why didn't you have anything to do with the chicken in Sha Zhu's pot? But you, Xu Damao, don't you know the origins of those two old hens in your home?"

Xu Damao remained silent. He knew that Li Xiaodong was favoring Sha Zhu, but he could do nothing about it since they were close after all.

It’s a pity that I was too stingy when I was a child and I was reluctant to share even a popsicle with my friends.

...

As for how to punish Jia Zhang, it became a thorny issue.

Jia Zhang cried and shouted on the ground, constantly complaining about her poverty, and even called out Old Jia.

For a moment, the courtyard was filled with smoke and the atmosphere was uneasy.

Onlookers sneered at Jia Zhang's behavior and expressed contempt.

However, Li Xiaodong believes that Jia Zhang is actually quite shrewd.

Her husband has passed away, her son is no longer around, and her daughter-in-law's income is almost the same as that of her third uncle, and the two families have similar numbers of children.

Look at the life of the third uncle’s family. Peanuts for a week are considered a luxury, and Yan Jiedi has never bought new clothes.

As for the Jia family, they had a complete set of new furniture, sewing machines, radios, and fine food every day. Jia Zhangshi was well-fed and plump, while Qin Huairu was charming and plump.

Why!

All this is due to the tacit cooperation between Jia Zhang and her mother-in-law.

After the mother-in-law throws a tantrum, the daughter-in-law pretends to be pitiful. When the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law join forces, which family can escape disaster?

Even Xu Damao was left helpless by Jia Zhang.

If you make her angry, she will block the door and curse at you.

Therefore, when Yi Zhonghai asked how to deal with Jia Zhang, Xu Damao hesitated and could not give a clear answer.

In the end, Lou Xiao'e softened her heart and, for the sake of their neighborliness, asked the Jia family to pay ten yuan in compensation, thus hastily resolving the matter.

--------

It was late at night, the moon was dark and the wind was strong, and the courtyard was shrouded in silence.

Only a few houses still had faint yellow lights on.

In the Jia family's house, under the dim light, the story continues.

On the big kang, Qin Huairu tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep. She got up, covered the children with quilts, and sat at the head of the bed, staring at the ceiling.

Jia Zhang also opened her eyes, feeling increasingly distressed about the loss of ten yuan.

"That girl Lou Xiao'e actually dared to extort ten dollars from my family. The daughter of a concubine is uneducated and vicious."

Qin Huairu remained silent.

She could find another way to get the money, but she was more worried about He Yushui's betrayal.

He Yushui was the result of her years of hard work, and she had gone to great lengths to win him over to her side.

Thanks to this simple girl who whispered sweet words into Sha Zhu's ear and passed on messages at any time, Sha Zhu was willing to help the Jia family with all his strength.

Now everything has come to nothing.

No, why did He Yushui suddenly become smart this time? Did Li Xiaodong reveal it?

impossible!

When Jia Zhang was stealing in the yard, Li Xiaodong was not there at all.

Maybe He Yushui heard the gossip of some old lady.

"Mom, it's time to go to bed. I have to go to work tomorrow." Qin Huairu couldn't figure it out, so she simply pulled the quilt over her head and prepared to go to sleep.

Seeing that Qin Huairu was unhappy, Jia Zhang pretended to be sad and sighed deeply.

"It's all my fault that I'm an incompetent old woman. I can't even tie a chicken with my hands, and I often have headaches. I can only be a burden to you. This time I have to pay Xu Damao ten dollars. I might as well find a rope and hang myself at the door of his house. That way I can have an explanation and reunite with Dongxu and his son."

"Don't say that. Dongxu is gone, and we, mother and daughter, must support each other. I will think of a way to solve the money problem tomorrow, and if it doesn't work, I will borrow from others." Qin Huairu couldn't stand Jia Zhang's words.

Of course, Jia Zhang was reluctant to commit suicide, she was just talking. "I think you can ask Li Xiaodong for a loan. He just got 50 kilograms of food coupons, so he has plenty of money! Besides, today's incident is thanks to him. If it weren't for him, Xu Damao's family would have sent us to the police station. You should thank him."

Others have helped you, but you are thinking about borrowing money from them, and you don't want to pay it back.

This seemingly bizarre behavior has become the norm for Jia Zhang.

Qin Huairu naturally understood that she was trying every means to portray Li Xiaodong as a "silly pillar".

"Mom, I'm sleepy. I'm going to sleep first."

Recalling the previous two experiences, Qin Huairu's heart was filled with waves. She pulled the light cord and lay on her side.

She stared with wide eyes at the swaying shadows of the trees on the window until she fell into a deep sleep late at night.

At Shazhu's house.

After the meeting, Li Xiaodong was invited by Sha Zhu to drink in the house.

"Thanks to you, otherwise I would have been severely punished by Xu Damao. Let's drink together tonight."

Sha Zhu scooped out chicken soup from the stainless steel pot, and then began to rummage through the drawers looking for snacks to go with the wine.

Li Xiaodong took out a cigarette and just lit a match when He Yushui came out from the inner room and said, "Brother Xiaodong, I'll light it for you."

Li Xiaodong did not refuse and let He Yushui light a cigarette for him.

"Oops!"

Sha Zhu searched for a long time, then suddenly slammed the table and said angrily, "Those peanuts must have been stolen by Bang Geng."

"Don't we have stewed chicken? One chicken is enough for the three of us. Don't bother." Li Xiaodong had just finished eating hot pot at home and his stomach was full of greasy food. The smell of meat made him feel a little nauseous. How could he eat any more?