Chapter 67: Yi Zhonghai Battles Liu Haicheng

"Humph, Liu Haizhong, are you trying to disrupt the courtyard's rules?"

Yi Zhonghai looked at Liu Haizhong with cold eyes, once again brandishing his moral weapon.

"Do you know that if we call the police, we might lose our chance at being named an Advanced Courtyard? If we lose those New Year rewards, will you take responsibility?"

Liu Haizhong gave a disdainful smile and retorted, "What you're doing is illegal. When the neighborhood committee finds out, are you certain they won't make us return the reward money?"

The rewards for a civilized courtyard weren't actually all that substantial—just some melon seeds and peanuts distributed during the New Year, or perhaps washbasins in a good year. To every household, these weren't strictly necessary; it was great to have them, but no big deal if they didn't.

Hearing Liu Haizhong's words, the residents in the courtyard began to whisper among themselves.

"That's true. If the neighborhood committee finds out, will they really make us return the money?"

"This... surely not, right?"

"They definitely will. This counts as defrauding state funds. We might not only have to return the money, but face punishment as well."

Yi Zhonghai hadn't expected Liu Haizhong to become so articulate, and his expression turned gloomy.

Liu Yishou watched Yi Zhonghai and Liu Haizhong match wits with a smile, finding it immensely entertaining. Originally, he had even considered taking action against Mrs. Jia and Yi Zhonghai himself.

Seeing Yi Zhonghai losing the upper hand, Mrs. Jia cursed inwardly, "This Yi Zhonghai is completely useless! Calling himself the First Head of the courtyard!"

For the sake of her own interests, Mrs. Jia glared fiercely at Liu Haizhong.

"Liu Haizhong, you're bullying an old woman! I'll fight you to the death!"

With that, she bent down and charged directly at Liu Haizhong.

Although Mrs. Jia was rather heavy, her speed was indeed fast, and this brutal charging technique of hers had reached perfection.

However, Liu Haizhong wasn't someone to be trifled with either. He stepped forward and delivered a swift kick, sending the charging Mrs. Jia flying backward.

Seeing this, Yi Zhonghai hurriedly looked over at Silly Zhu.

Noticing Yi Zhonghai looking at him, Silly Zhu pondered for a moment and decided to side with Yi Zhonghai.

"Liu Haizhong, how can you hit people?"

Seeing Silly Zhu step between him and Mrs. Jia, Liu Haizhong shot a chilling glare in his direction.

"Silly Zhu, this has nothing to do with you. I advise you not to meddle in affairs that don't concern you."

"Heh, Liu Haizhong, you hit someone and you still think you're in the right? Today, I'm going to teach you a lesson you won't forget."

Mid-sentence, Silly Zhu threw a punch straight at Liu Haizhong.

Liu Yishou knew that Liu Haizhong was no match for Silly Zhu. Even though Liu Haizhong had stepped up to fight his battles, Liu Yishou had no intention of helping him; instead, he smiled even more brightly.

Qin Min knew she needed to step forward now, or else when they got home, her unreasonable mother would definitely give her a hard time.

"Mom, are you alright?"

Mrs. Jia slapped Qin Min across the face and began cursing immediately.

"You little hussy, you were just standing there watching me make a fool of yourself and didn't even think to help me!"

Qin Min knew that the more she argued, the more aggressive Mrs. Jia would become, so she simply chose to keep quiet. She lowered her head and kept wiping away her tears, acting as though she had suffered the greatest injustice in the world.

Meanwhile, Liu Haizhong had already taken the brunt of Silly Zhu's fist, getting knocked flat onto the ground with a single punch.

"Liu Haizhong, do you admit defeat or not?"

Lying on the ground, Liu Haizhong clutched his injured right eye with one hand while pointing his other finger at Silly Zhu, furious.

"Silly Zhu, how dare you hit me? Call the police! We must call the police today!"

Hearing their father's words, Liu Haizhong's three sons turned and bolted toward the exit in a flash.

Noticing this, Yi Zhonghai let out a low bark.

"Let's see who dares!"

Liu Haizhong harbored secret resentment, never expecting that his own three good-for-nothing boys would be cowed by a single word from Yi Zhonghai.

"Absolute good-for-nothings."

"Let me tell you, everyone in this courtyard takes orders from the First Head."

Seeing that Liu Haizhong no longer dared to act arrogant, Silly Zhu turned his gaze back to Liu Yishou, pointed at Liu Haizhong, and said,

"And you, did you hear that? If you ever disobey the First Head again, this will be your fate."

At this, a smile finally appeared on Yi Zhonghai's face, and he felt extremely satisfied with Silly Zhu.

"Good, very good. It seems making Silly Zhu my retirement support was the right choice."

Liu Yishou began to applaud. Wearing a smile, he slowly stood up, looked at Silly Zhu, and calmly spoke,

"So, when you can't win an argument, you just resort to brute force instead?"

Silly Zhu was nothing more than a hot-headed brute, and he blurted out without a second thought,

"That's right, so what?"

Hearing Silly Zhu's words, Yi Zhonghai's expression darkened. If outsiders were to catch wind of this, his position as the First Head would be in serious jeopardy.

"Silly Zhu, stop talking nonsense. We are reasonable people."

"Ah, right."

Silly Zhu felt rather stifled. He never imagined that after stepping up to help Yi Zhonghai, Yi Zhonghai would actually be displeased with him.

Yi Zhonghai pulled Silly Zhu back, cast a cold glance at Liu Yishou, and spoke indifferently.

"As the First Head, I think you should apologize to Mrs. Jia, compensate her with ten yuan, and at the same time agree to have Qin Min clean your room. What do you think?"

Liu Yishou smiled as he watched Yi Zhonghai attempt to threaten him. He showed no intention of yielding whatsoever, his smile radiating mischievous amusement.

"I don't think much of it at all. Furthermore, I believe Qin Min should clean my room not just at night, but during the day as well. At the same time, Mrs. Jia needs to compensate me with twenty yuan. Otherwise, I will go call the police and report this to the neighborhood committee, accusing Mrs. Jia of armed home invasion."

"Liu Yishou, how dare you!"

Yi Zhonghai panicked. If Liu Yishou really went to the police and the neighborhood committee, the scandalous affairs of the courtyard would likely be exposed, which was the last thing he wanted.

"Silly Zhu, stop him!"

Seeing Liu Yishou walking toward the exit, Yi Zhonghai dropped all pretense and directly gave the order to Silly Zhu.

Silly Zhu lunged straight toward Liu Yishou, shouting darkly,

"Liu Yishou, you stay right where you are!"

Liu Yishou gave a faint smile, and the next moment, a cry of agony escaped Silly Zhu's lips.

"Ouch!"

Immediately following that, Silly Zhu took a face-first tumble like a dog eating dirt.

Seeing Silly Zhu in such a pathetic state, Xu Damao was overjoyed.

"Hahaha, Silly Zhu, you're utterly useless! Nobody even touched you and you just face-planted. Don't tell me you took a dive on purpose? Are you trying to frame Liu Yishou?"

Although Xu Damao harbored deep resentment toward Liu Yishou in his heart, compared to him, he loathed Silly Zhu even more. Seeing Silly Zhu take a hit, he naturally seized the opportunity to ruthlessly mock him.

Liu Yishou walked right out. Yi Zhonghai didn't dare to make a move himself, as he had already noticed something deeply unsettling about Liu Yishou. It seemed that anyone who attempted to lay a hand on him would be bitten by something unseen—in short, it hurt intensely, and it felt toxic.

By this time, Silly Zhu was already sprawled on the ground, rolling his eyes back, foaming at the mouth, and convulsing all over.

Though Qin Huairu and the other young women disliked Mrs. Jia, the Jia family currently consisted of only two women and a child with no steady income, making their lives extremely difficult. Consequently, they still felt a shred of pity for them. Now, seeing Liu Yishou physically assault Mrs. Jia, resentment toward him had firmly taken root in their hearts.

"Brother Lin, this Liu Yishou is simply too wicked. Can't you teach him a lesson and make him behave in the courtyard? Otherwise, once our child is born, the child might pick up his bad habits."

Qin Huairu spoke softly, and the other women also cast expectant gazes toward Wang Lin, especially Ding Qiunan. She vividly remembered that back at the rolling mill, this same Liu Yishou had threatened her.