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

At night, at Jia Zhang's house, Banggeng was already tired of crying, and his small body curled up in the corner of the bed, like a frightened baby animal that found a corner to rest.

His breathing was even and gentle, with a trace of grievance still on his young face. He had fallen into a deep sleep, unaware of anything going on around him.

However, Jia Zhang and Jia Dongxu were still trapped in the nightmare-like pain they had just experienced, unable to extricate themselves.

Thinking about how Lao Ba could gain heat by eating shit, but the mother and son only suffered endlessly after eating the golden juice and gained nothing, he became filled with resentment, and the resentment seemed to burst through his chest.

Jia Zhang lay on the cold ground with her limbs limp and her back pressed against the ground. Every inch of her skin could feel the biting cold penetrating into her pores.

But this coldness was nothing compared to the anger and resentment burning in her heart.

In her mind, the humiliating scene of being force-fed golden juice by everyone just now was replaying like a kaleidoscope, and every detail was magnified infinitely.

Yi Zhonghai's serious and commanding words hit her heart like a heavy hammer; Liu Haizhong's seemingly enthusiastic but hypocritical figure who was helping her became particularly glaring at this moment; and the cold and curious eyes of the neighbors around her were like sharp thorns that pierced deeply into her heart and made her feel miserable.

She cursed fiercely in her heart, and those unbearable words rolled over and over in her mind. She hated Yi Zhonghai, Liu Haizhong, and all the neighbors who were involved in this matter.

She felt like a lamb to be slaughtered, being bullied by these people and having no power to fight back.

So, she swore secretly in her heart that as long as she could breathe a sigh of relief, no matter what the cost, even if it meant making the whole world an enemy, she would find a chance to pay back for all the humiliation she had suffered today and make these people pay a heavy price for what they had done.

Jia Dongxu leaned against the wall, feeling as if there were millions of ants gnawing at his stomach, and as if there were sharp knives stirring it, making him feel extremely uncomfortable.

The extreme physical discomfort and the strong sense of shame deep in his heart made him wish he could find a hole to crawl into, feeling so ashamed.

His eyes were empty and confused, staring ahead out of focus. He didn't dare to imagine how the people in the yard would look at him strangely when he walked out of the house after the sun rose tomorrow.

Those looks might be mocking, or they might be pity, but no matter which one, they made him feel as if he was being pricked by millions of needles.

In the days to come, how can I face the pointing and criticizing of others calmly? Every time I go out, it feels like I am going to accept a cruel judgment.

He was filled with regret, regretting why he had compromised so easily and drank the disgusting golden juice. Every time he thought about it, his stomach couldn't help but churn.

But reason told him that if he didn't drink, his condition might deteriorate rapidly and even endanger his life. Between survival and dignity, he had no choice but to choose the former, but this also became an eternal pain in his heart.

The cold moonlight quietly shines into the house through the shabby window.

The window glass was covered with dust and water stains, and became mottled when the moonlight passed through, adding a bit of loneliness and desolation to this small space filled with pain and resentment.

In the moonlight, Jia Zhang's eyes flashed with a sinister and ferocious light, like an enraged beast, ready to pounce and bite the enemy at any time.

She suddenly spoke, her voice hoarse as if sandpaper was rubbing against her, and full of resentment, as if it came from the depths of hell: "Dongxu, you must remember the ugly faces of these people today, and don't leave any of them behind. When we recover, we must not swallow this breath. We must settle this account properly! Blood debts must be paid with blood. I will make them pay back a thousand times the pain they inflicted on us!"

Jia Dongxu responded weakly. He was exhausted both physically and mentally at the moment, as if all his strength had been drained away. He couldn't even lift a finger.

He had neither the energy to respond to his mother's hateful words. To him, those words were just noise that made him more tired. Nor did he have the courage to look forward to how he would spend the days ahead. In his eyes, the future was pitch black without a single ray of light.

He subconsciously pulled at the tattered clothes on his body. The patches on the clothes were piled up like ugly scars.

He tried to find a bit of spiritual comfort from this meager warmth, but that little bit of warmth seemed so insignificant in the face of endless pain and despair, like a glimmer of light in the darkness that could be swallowed up by the darkness at any time.

After a long time, Jia Zhang finally recovered from the abyss of pain that was like falling into hell.

Her legs felt like they were filled with lead, so heavy that she could hardly move. Every step she took seemed to exhaust all her strength, and her bones and joints protested painfully.

She slowly looked around. The house was in a mess, as if it had just experienced a brutal war. Every bit of the mess told of the chaos and pain that had just occurred.

Traces of filth remained in various corners, some had dried up, like ugly patches, tightly stuck to the ground, tables, chairs and walls; some still emitted disgusting heat, and the pungent smell was like a ghost, tightly entangled and lingering, as if it had deeply penetrated into every inch of air and every corner of this home, making her feel her stomach churning every time she breathed.

She first walked towards the old wardrobe with difficulty. The hinges of the wardrobe door were rusty due to its age. It made a harsh "creaking" sound when opening and closing, as if telling the vicissitudes of time and the decline of this family.

Jia Zhang struggled to open the closet door. The resistance of the closet door made her arms tremble slightly. She dug out a few relatively clean old clothes and threw them next to Jia Dongxu, who was still leaning against the wall and gasping weakly. She said in a hoarse voice, "Change your clothes. This smell is really pungent. If you keep smelling it like this, you'll be suffocated. Change them quickly, and don't let this dirty stuff stick to you anymore."

Jia Dongxu's eyes were dull and lifeless, like a pool of stagnant water, without a ripple. He responded weakly, his hands trembling like a candle in the wind that could go out at any time. He began to undress his stained clothes, and every movement seemed so difficult and slow.

Then, Jia Zhang found the old broom and dustpan. Most of the bristles of the broom had fallen off, and the edges of the dustpan were worn to uneven shapes.

She began to sweep the floor. Every time she swept, she couldn't help frowning, her face full of disgust. The look of disgust was as if she was facing not filth, but her most hated enemy.

From time to time, he would grumble in dissatisfaction, and those grumbles were full of curses and complaints.

Some of the filth on the ground had dried up and was tightly attached to the ground as if it had taken root. She had to use all her strength to scrape it hard with the broom. Each time she scraped it was accompanied by a "rustling" sound. The sound was particularly harsh in the silent room. The raised dust filled the air, making her cough repeatedly. Her body trembled violently, and every cough seemed to be coughing out all her internal organs.

After cleaning the floor, she brought another basin of water. Because the water had been left there for a long time, a light layer of dust had floated on the surface of the water, as if a layer of gauze was covering the water surface.

She picked up a worn rag, which still had stains from the past and emitted a faint musty smell, as if telling of the hardships of the past.

She began to wipe the tables, chairs and walls. Every time the rag passed over a place, it left a faint water stain, but the disgusting smell still stubbornly existed and could not be covered up, just like the resentment in her heart, which could not be eliminated no matter how hard she tried.

Jia Zhang's movements were mechanical and numb, and the scene of being force-fed golden juice by everyone kept appearing in her mind.

Anger and humiliation continued to intertwine and surge in her heart, like raging waves, one after another, almost suffocating her.

Her hands trembled slightly because of anger, and her wiping movements became more vigorous, as if she wanted to vent all her hatred on the tables, chairs and walls.

When she finally cleaned up the house, the night outside the window was as dark as ink, without a trace of starlight, as if the whole world was swallowed up by darkness.

The moonlight shines into the house through the window, adding a bit of coldness and loneliness to the slightly messy space, making the home look even more desolate.

Jia Zhang sat tiredly beside the bed, looking at her weak son lying on the bed. The resentment in her heart grew stronger, as if it was going to burn the whole world. The resentment was like a raging fire, burning more and more vigorously in her heart.

At this moment, her eyes fell on the pile of red persimmons on the table, which she had just brought from Cao Wei's house.

Jia Zhang's eyes suddenly became sharp, like the twinkling cold stars in the night sky, or like sharp daggers that can see through all conspiracies.

An idea suddenly flashed through her mind. This idea flashed through her mind like lightning, making the blood in her body boil.

She stood up suddenly, gripping the edge of the table with both hands. Her knuckles turned white from the force, as if she wanted to crush the table. The veins on the back of her hands bulged out like angry little snakes.

"Dongxu, we got sick from eating these persimmons!"

Jia Zhang's voice trembled slightly with excitement, like a taut string that could break at any time, and her voice was full of anger and determination.

"If we hadn't eaten these persimmons, we wouldn't have suffered so much and been forced to eat shit! This is simply a nightmare, all caused by these damn persimmons! Cao Wei is a wolf in sheep's clothing, deliberately harming us!"

She began to pace back and forth in the room, her steps hurried and messy, like a trapped animal in a cage.

As she walked and talked to herself, her thoughts became clearer and clearer, and every thought was like a nail, firmly nailed into her mind.

"Originally, Cao Wei had a bad relationship with our family. When I went to his house to ask for meat before, he didn't give me any. I remember his stingy face clearly. He only had himself in his eyes and didn't take our Jia family seriously at all. Today, he suddenly gave us meat and fruit. How could he be so kind?"

"We got the meat from Second Uncle's house, and he ate it himself, so it's fine. But as for the persimmons, no one else ate them except our family, so the problem must be here! He just wanted to hurt us on purpose, to laugh at us, to see our family destroyed, and he would be so proud of it!"

Jia Zhang sat down on the edge of the bed, close to Jia Dongxu, her face full of anger and unwillingness, as if she wanted to eat Cao Wei alive.

Even his voice unconsciously rose a few notes, almost like a roar, and the sound echoed in the small room, shaking people's eardrums. "Dongxu, I'm telling you, I've figured it out. It must be that kid Cao Wei who did it! It was these persimmons he gave us that caused us to vomit and have diarrhea, and we suffered so much! He was deliberately calculating against us, and he had no good intentions from the beginning. We absolutely can't let it go like this! We must make him pay for this with his blood!"

Jia Dongxu struggled to sit up from the bed. His pale face was full of fatigue, like a piece of white paper without a trace of blood. His lips were chapped and covered with a layer of white frost.

But when Cao Wei was mentioned, a trace of resentment flashed in his eyes. That resentment was like a flame in the darkness, burning fiercely as if it would burn everything to ashes.

"Mom, I think it was him too. When we went to his house to ask for meat before, he was not very happy. I can't forget his impatient look. His nose was not a nose, and his face was not a face, as if we were going to rob his life. Who knows what bad things he is planning this time. He must have picked the bad persimmons for us on purpose, hoping to laugh at us and make a fool of himself. He would be so proud. He is a despicable villain, and I will never forgive him!" As he said this, he pounded the side of the bed hard. His hands did not have much strength, but his voice was fierce, as if he wanted to vent all the resentment in his heart. This pounding made the dust beside the bed shake.