Siheyuan: Mastery started in the 50s

Wang Qiang knew that if he wanted to gain a foothold in this courtyard, he had to deal with the people in the courtyard first, but he was unwilling to give in easily. When he first arrived, he noticed that Qin Huai treated him coldly. When they occasionally met, Qin Huai's provocative eyes always made him uncomfortable. Qin Huai seemed to be waiting for him to give in and bow his head.

Wang Qiang knew that although the courtyard was not big, the people were complicated. If he did not control the situation, he would be squeezed out sooner or later. The most important first step was to take Qin Huai down and not let him look down on him.

One evening, people in the yard came back one after another. A few old people were already sitting and chatting at the gate, and children were chasing and playing around. Wang Qiang was about to pack up and go into the house when he suddenly heard Qin Huai yelling in a rough voice: "Hey, new brother Wang, you have a strong hand! You swing the hoe so happily, why don't you clean up the wasteland in our yard as soon as possible?"

There was a hint of provocation and teasing in his words, and everyone in the courtyard looked at him sideways, waiting to see how Wang Qiang would respond. Qin Huai said this directly. On the surface, he wanted Wang Qiang to help him with the work, but in fact, he was testing him to see if he was a soft persimmon and wanted to take the opportunity to establish his authority. After all, the rules of the courtyard were formed in this way - the strong are respected, and anyone who dares to talk back will face endless troubles.

Wang Qiang sneered in his heart, but the hoe in his hand did not stop. He replied slowly: "Brother Qin, you are joking. The land is for you old residents to take care of. Why should I, a newcomer, get involved?" His tone was understated, but his words were sharp and full of thorns. He did not give Qin Huai any face at all.

Qin Huai didn't expect Wang Qiang to fight back like this, and his face was ugly for a moment. He glared at Wang Qiang fiercely and cursed: "Newcomer, don't be shameless! I'm giving you a chance, don't refuse my toast and drink the penalty!" Everyone around him fell silent, and the atmosphere suddenly became tense.

Wang Qiang remained calm, stuck the hoe into the ground, stood up, looked at Qin Huai calmly, and said calmly: "Opportunities are reserved for those who know how to seize them. Brother Qin, if you really think that I, Wang Qiang, can do that, why don't we try it on the spot to see if I have the ability?"

After hearing this, Qin Huai's eyes became even more fierce. Several people watching the excitement nearby began to whisper, fearing that the two would really quarrel. However, Wang Qiang's calmness and peaceful eyes made Qin Huai's heart sink. This newcomer was not a simple person. Just based on his courage and dignified demeanor, Qin Huai felt a little uneasy.

“Hey!” Qin Huai laughed in anger, took a step closer to Wang Qiang, his chest almost hitting his shoulder, put his hands on his hips, and blew hot air from his mouth, “You are quite a guts boy, I want to see what you can do!”

Wang Qiang did not retreat, but took a step forward. The two of them looked at each other in the air, and the atmosphere was tense to the extreme. At this time, the old Zhang stood up and walked forward with a smile to smooth things over: "Hey, Qin Huai, Wang Qiang, we all live in the same courtyard, why bother? It's getting late today, everyone go back to your room to rest, it won't be too late to talk tomorrow."

Qin Huai stared at Wang Qiang for a moment, his eyes flickering, as if he was weighing the current situation. Finally, he snorted coldly, turned around and walked away, and before leaving, he did not forget to throw a sentence: "You are lucky, don't think I will just let it go, let's take it slowly!"

The atmosphere in the courtyard eased slightly after Qin Huai left, but everyone's eyes kept looking at Wang Qiang, with curiosity and surprise. Wang Qiang knew that this was just the beginning. Although he had temporarily avoided direct confrontation, people like Qin Huai would not give up easily. In the days to come, there would definitely be more temptations and difficulties.

Sure enough, within a few days, troubles came one after another. That day, Wang Qiang was about to go out to do something, but he found that an old tree in front of his house had fallen down, blocking his door. He went over to check and found that the roots of the tree were obviously sawed off deliberately, which was obviously someone deliberately creating trouble.

Without thinking too much, Wang Qiang immediately understood that Qin Huai was most likely the one who did it.

However, Wang Qiang did not say anything. He calmly walked around the fallen tree and went out to do his work as planned. The people in the yard were surprised to see him so calm. They thought Wang Qiang would be furious and even go to Qin Huai to argue with him, but he acted unusually calm, as if nothing had happened.

Wang Qiang knew that this matter could not be resolved on impulse. He had to find the right opportunity to teach Qin Huai a profound lesson and let him know that he was not someone who could be easily manipulated.

A few days later, Wang Qiang secretly found an old craftsman with superb craftsmanship in the courtyard and paid him to help set up a mechanism in front of his door. This mechanism was hidden very secretly, and it looked like an ordinary floor tile on the surface, but once someone stepped on a specific position, the floor tile would suddenly sink, revealing a trap that was enough to make people fall.

He did it very cleverly. The mechanism does not affect normal traffic at all and will only be triggered when you step on that floor tile.

Sure enough, a few days later, Qin Huai deliberately walked to Wang Qiang's door again. He thought no one dared to do anything to him, and was thinking proudly about how to cause more trouble for Wang Qiang. As a result, he stepped on the trap and suddenly felt weightless, and fell directly into it.

The people in the yard heard the noise and ran out to watch the fun. They saw Qin Huai crawling out of the trap in a mess, covered in mud, and were furious. But he couldn't openly look for Wang Qiang to settle the score, because the trap was at the door of Wang Qiang's house, and it was his own fault for meddling in other people's business and stepping on someone else's door.

Qin Huai was completely humiliated. His face turned blue and red. He was so angry that he had no place to vent. He could only glare at Wang Qiang. However, Wang Qiang remained calm as usual, even with a faint smile on his face, as if nothing had happened.

This time, the people in the courtyard saw through the trick. Wang Qiang was not someone to be trifled with. He had courage and means, and more importantly, he was not afraid of Qin Huai. At that moment, Qin Huai's prestige in everyone's heart seemed to be weakened a little.

Wang Qiang stood at the door of the medicine shop, looked up at the plaque hanging on the door lintel, and wondered how to deal with Qin Huai next. In the past few days, he seemed calm on the surface, but he was actually secretly observing the situation in the courtyard. After Qin Huai fell into the trap that time, he did not immediately come to him to settle the score, but became more silent, which made Wang Qiang more vigilant.

He knew in his heart that a man like Qin Huai would never give up. The fall might have been an unexpected setback for him, but the anger in Qin Huai's heart would only grow stronger, waiting for the opportunity to strike back.